The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-05-30
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the lowest depths of human conduct.
have recently pointed out how super
1cially ignorant is that use of the adj
jective medieval. The lowest depths
of superstition in Europe came with
the witchcraft delusion in the seven
teenth and eighteenth centuries. The
worst fortunes were inflicted in the six
teenth and seventeenth centuries. That
is when the Virgin of Nuremberg and
the famous iron boots and gloves were
made and torture became recognized
part of legal procedure. Shackles were
put on the insane in the eighteenth
century, but not in the fourteenth and
fifteenth. The worst hospitals were
built in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries; the medieval hospitals were
beautiful. Nursing reached it's lowest
ebb about 1850. Medieval nursing and
hospital care was model
Medieval social conditions are well
worthy of study. Urban Gohier, the
French Socialist, writer and lecturer,
while lecturing at Columbia University
some years ago, emphasized the fact
that the medieval workmen had sue
ceeded in obtaining for themselves
''the three Fights Eight hours of
sleep, eight hours of work, and eight
hours for recreation and the necessi-
ties of the body. He also reminded his
hearers that in the Middle Ages there
was a holiday absolutely free from
work at least once in two weeks, and
that they had the Saturday. half holt
day. The guilds established old age
pensions, disability insurance, and in
surance for losses by fire, by loss at
sea, by highway robbery, from piracy,
from the destruction of crops, and
many other insurance features that are
supposed to be quite modern in origin.
Besides the guilds supplied opportuni-
ties for recreation for the masses.
They organized plays and pageants in
order to occupy leisure fruitfully,
somewhat as we are beginning to do
again now; they supplied opportunities
| for education in the arts and crafts
and even had the funds for the sending
of particularly bright pupils, children
of the guilds, to schools and the uni
versities. Shakespeare went to guild
school, which in his time masqueraded
under the name of an Edward vi
grammar school, but Edward vi has
no right to any credit for the school,
which was established by the Stratford
Guild of the Holy Cross, and main
tanned by it's revenues.
Not only did they have these practi-
cal applications of their belief in the
rights of the working man, but they
recognized exactly the abuses that
were likely to develop, and some of
them, the thinkers and writer's, stated
in no uncertain phrases what they
thought of these abuses. There are no
expressions in this regard any stronger
than those of Sir Thomas More, who
was afterwards Lord Chancellor of
England. AS a young man he saw very
clearly just what the abuses were and
stated them. There is passage in his
utopia" that remains eternally true
as representing tendency of men to
abuse and take advantage of their fell
low men.
AS recent editor of More's
Utopia" Maurice Adams, in his intro
duction to the volume in the Camelot
series has said: mo modern reform
er has uttered more scathing con-
demnation of the existing economic
system, or emphasized more strongly
the right of the laborer to the prod
uct of his industry, and the absolute
dependence of the rich upon the poor,
than this Lord Chancellor of Eng
land" After speaking Of the Utopian
State as chat which alone of good
right may claim and take upon it the
name of commonwealth" Sir Thomas
More continues: Here now would
see, if any man dare be so bold as to
compare with this equality (among the
Utopians) the justice of other nations
among whom / forsake God, if I car
find any sign or token Of equity and
justice. For what justice is this thai
rich goldsmith or an usurer, or to be
short any of them which either dc
nothing at all, or else that which they
do is such that it is not very neces
sary to the Commonwealth, should
have a pleasant and wealthy living
either by idleness or by unnecessary
business, when in the meantime pool
laborers, carriers, ironsmiths, carpen
tiers and ploughmen, by so great ant
continual toll as drawing and bearing
beasts he scant able to sustain: anC