The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-03-29
FATHER NUGENT AT HELENA.
Lectured at the Auditorium on "The
Philosophy of Civilization

The Auditorium was comfortably
filed Monday night. when Rev. Father
Nugent of st. Joseph Mo-. delivered
his famous lecture on The Philosophy
of Civilization" The lecture was ad-
vertised to be given for the benefit of
the new St. Johns hospital, and this
fact alone was sufficient to bring out a
houseful of public spirited citizens.
Added to this the additional fact that
wherever Father Nugent had delivered
his lecture it has been warmly received
and has been spoken of as one of the
finest lectures of its kind ever given in
the United States, and the presence of
the crowd can be accounted for.
The speaker was introduced to the
audience by ]. A. Walsh, and was re-
ceived with liberal applause. Father
Nngent began his lecture with brief
statement of the grandeur attained by
the early civilizations of Greece, Rome
and Persia, and comparing them to the
civilization of the present day.
Passion and reason have been the
two controlling factors in all civiliza-
TONS" said Father Nugent. History
records that where the actions of men
have been governed by reason they
have builded, and builded wisely and
well. On the other hand, it is shown
that where men have been governed
by passions they have torn down what
has been reared by those who were
governed by reason. These alternate
sways of passion and reason have
marked the rise and fall of many an
cient civilizations.
'"The question most persistently
asked by the student of history is why
the great civilizations of the past ages
were not able to propagate themselves
down to the present time. If it had
been possible for them so to do,
could imagine New York and Chicago
to be cities many thousands of years
old. and / would probably be address
ing you tonight in a tongue closely re-
sembling that of the ancient Egyptians
Strive as they might the philoso-
pliers of the past ages could not create
2 civilization which would Withstand
the test of ages. Like the monotonous
rise and fall of the oceans waves
with noise but without progression
their civilizations have risen but to fall
again Viewing the fall of the civiliza-
lions of the past, some one has formu-
lated the adage that history repeats it
self. and on this basis has predicted
the downfall of the civilization of the
present age. There could be no more
blighting commentary on the progress
y
itself 1t is but another way of saying
that the men of passion will continue
to tear down the structures reared by
the men of reason-it is but another
way of saying that the gods of war
will always keep pace with the angels
of peace
cient civiliza ton lies in the eternal
truth that the human cannot lift the
human above the human level. The
Greeks had as grand a civilization as
could be founded on the arts and sci
ences. but it was grandly human; the
Romans had as grand civilization
as could be founded IN the strong arm
of the military, but 1t, too, was grand
Iy human. but in the heart of both
these civiliza lions there was something
so mean. so rotten and SO degraded
that the very core rotted as the civil
izations rose in their apparent gran
deur. Plato. the greatest of all Greek
nhilosophers. was the man to see the
cause of II all. Re said that there was
something wrong back along the line,
and until that was mended no clVlllza-
tion could expect to stand the test OF
years.
II am firm in the belief that our pres
ont civilization will not fall but VIII
r+and as long as does the Rocky noun
tains. When the Savior was born at
Gallilee. the something which was
needed to lift the civilization of man
above itself was given to US, and with
the birth of Christ near Jerusalem be
gan the decline Of the Caesars at
Rome
Fs+her Nugent closed his address
Win a comparison of the works of
christ the Judean teacher, with those
of C,onf1Icius. the Chinese reformer.
AT the conclusion of the address
vocal selection was rendered by the
"a +l,ndral choir