The Irish standard., 1910-01-29
THE MIDDLE AGES
Net 30 Dark As Represented BY tho
Protestant Historians.

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Protestant Historians.
A correspondent writes to the Cath
olice Observer anent a discussion he
has had with an acquaintance who
honestly believes that the Catholic
Church is and always has been the
enemy of education and learning, land
SO the period of history when Roman
ism. held sway is called the Dark
Ages" The grounds on which our
are not stated. If he can read, from
what eravesty of history has he de-
rived his transformation? And if he
can't, who has imposed on his credulous
ignorance? The Middle Ages are CALL
ed Dark by the anti-Catholic for no
other reason than that he is in the
dark concerning them. The thirteenth
century, for example, has been eulog-
lied by Frederick Harrison as one OF
the most brilliant ages in the history of
the world. Kings and statesmen like
st. Louis of France, Edward l., of Eng
land (the English JustinianD, and
Simon de Montfort; theologians and
metaphysicians like st. Thomas Aqu-
mas, st. Bonaventure, Duns Scotus,
and Albertus Magnus; painter and
a poet like Cimaoue and Dante-these
are sibply sufficient to redeem that age
from the reproach of darkness,
The names of Bernard, Francis
D'Assissi, Thomas A. Kemnis, and Tos-
tatus leap into ones mind at every
mention of the Middle Ages England
has preserved to this day the text and
principle of Magma Charta, a docu-
ment dating from those ages, and hav-
ing for its first signature the name of
Stephen Langton, Cardinal of the
Roman Church. To that Church mod
ern Europe is indebted for it's civili-
cation, it's laws, its knowledge Of the
fine arts. The magnificent abbeys and
cathedrals that have escaped the saw
age vandalism of the Reformers bear
witness to the genius of architecture
which those ages knew, and to it's
achievements, which Professionalism
has never equalled, not alone surpass-
ed. No one who has studied the liter
allure of the Middle Ages can have
failed to perceive the strongest evil
dence of profound Biblical knowledge.
DR.. Maitland librarian to the Arch
bishop of Canterbury tells us that the
writings of those ages are made OF
the Scriptures
Where were the treasures of an
cfent Literature preserved for 1000 years
and more? Where were they found
prior to the invention of printing but
IN the libraries of the monks, who re-
newed the copies with the labor of
their own hands? The works that have
come down to us from those ages show
that their writer's were no strangers
to the merits of Virgil, Horace, Cicero,
and other classical authors In the
SSAAooAS VI lAC N1luul0 Ages reading.
writing, and the four rules of arithme-
tic were taught then as they are taught
now, and moral sciences, the most inn
portant of all, were taught in the pro-
fessional chairs of the various mn,
versities scattered throughout Europe.
and founded let our critics note. bv
Romanists. A principal feature of each
of the monasteries established nv 81
Pachomius, the patriarch of monastic-
ism, was minor school in which the
rudiments of knowledge were taught
daily, without fee, to all who applied.
In the eighth century Theodulf. Bish,n
OF Orleans, babe all priests open
schools in the towns and country
places, and seek no payment for teach
Ing the children save what parents
voluntarily offered through charity.
Pope Gregory VII. urged all the Bishop,
to protect art and letters, and to found
schools in connection with their
cathedral churches