The Peripatetic Philosopher presents:

NOWHERE MAN IN NOWHERE LAND

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“The Age of Faith” illustrates the resilience of man but reveals also his consistent plunge into typical insolence. Utopian hubris, a characteristic of “Nowhere Man” was apparent in this age as in the “Age of the Roman Empire.” A surfeit of riches is followed inevitably with a fall from grace into “Nowhere Land,” only to be rescued again by man’s prevailing will. This has been the endless story of man’s history.

After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 C.E., it was improbable that Christianity would survive. Yet in 380 C.E., Roman Emperor Theodosius declared Christianity the religion of State in 380 C.E., only to have Rome collapse in 476 C.E. with the invasion of the barbarians from the North.

The shadow of the “Dark Ages” followed which hung over Europe like a shroud for 300 years or until Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the “Holy Roman Empire” in 800 C.E. He was called “The Father of Europe” for his leadership, a sobriquet he would share with St. Benedict who established the Benedictine order.

This was significant because while Europe was in recovery, and again feeling its oats, folly returned with the “Crusades to the Holy Land,” but Benedictine monks never lost their focus.

Over the centuries, they quietly recorded the accumulated knowledge of mankind that otherwise might have been lost during the “Dark Medieval Age.” These monks were also finding practical ways to do things that had material and social consequences to society, and for this, they became something of a bridge between the Medieval World and Industrial World that was to come.

In reading this segment, it is likely that you will see parallels to our times and the inevitable consequences when man behaves judiciously and sensibly, or recklessly and foolishly.


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NOWHERE MAN IN NOWHERE LAND -- PART FIFTEEN -- OUR DEBT TO ARABIC CULTURE