The Founding of Classical Education in the West

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  • Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
  • On the cold stone floors of a monastery nestled in the hills of Calabria, Italy, monks toiled silently, grasping at civilization like a wisp-it would be gone soon if they failed to catch it. Hunched over pieces of parchment, their ink-stained hands formed letters, painstakingly recreating faded texts. The monks at Vivarium, and the thousands more like them who unceremoniously copied manuscript after manuscript by hand, were just as much heroes and defenders of the West as Charles Martel or Leonidas.
    It was in the quiet confines of a monastery that the West was preserved. And it all started with a monk named Cassiodorus.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 329

  • @stefanhensel8611
    @stefanhensel8611 3 місяці тому +31

    I used to hear it so often: "The Catholic church destroyed ancient wisdom and replaced it with superstition and blind obedience." Turns out it was not that simple. Thank you for this video.

    • @AS-np3yq
      @AS-np3yq 11 днів тому

      It was wrong. Made by anticatholic "scientist" in the 1800

  • @DonBailey-od1de
    @DonBailey-od1de 4 місяці тому +127

    Long have i known that the church kept the light of learning alive in the dark ages .
    But this is the frist time i learn who , how and why it was done.
    Thank you so much.
    DEUS VULT !!!
    PAX DOMINI.

    • @becnal
      @becnal 3 місяці тому +5

      A lot more was kept by the Muslims in Cordoba, Toledo, and Sicily as well.

    • @DonBailey-od1de
      @DonBailey-od1de 3 місяці тому +10

      @@becnal
      That has nothing to do with the fact that if it wasn't for the church retaining the knowledge of reading and writing the light would have gone completely out.

    • @nunyabiznes4471
      @nunyabiznes4471 3 місяці тому +7

      Thomas E Woods, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization is an excellent book . Well worth reading.

    • @samuelsuarez6972
      @samuelsuarez6972 3 місяці тому +1

      do u think ur a poet blud? this is youtube

    • @aleccullen2696
      @aleccullen2696 3 місяці тому

      @@DonBailey-od1de Humbug. It was Christian fanatics who destroyed the Library at Alexandria. Only for the Arabs, we'd still be living in caves. I can't believe the level of ignorance that's carried into the 21st century. We're a damned species.

  • @brendamcgann4051
    @brendamcgann4051 4 місяці тому +167

    Thank you monks from Ireland as well as S Columbanus did a great job for western civilisation

    • @danawinsor1380
      @danawinsor1380 3 місяці тому +19

      That's right! People need to see the Book of Kells as well as the Lindisfarne Gospel! Also, many of the monasteries in other European countries were founded by Irish missionaries.

    • @outoforbit00
      @outoforbit00 3 місяці тому +8

      Yes, hope this channel covers it

    • @meiliang709
      @meiliang709 3 місяці тому +9

      It is glad that you mentioned S Columbanus, he died at Bobbio where is a small town in Northern Italy.

    • @kathleencook3060
      @kathleencook3060 3 місяці тому +5

      They certainly did.
      Irish monasticism, which came from an Egyptian Coptic origins, gave birth to European monasticism .

    • @jirislavicek9954
      @jirislavicek9954 3 місяці тому +10

      Great book on this topic: Thomas Cahill, How the Irish saved the civilisation. Also available as audiobook on Audible.

  • @mkbestmaan
    @mkbestmaan 3 місяці тому +111

    Ora et Labora. Thank you Benedictines.

  • @luisgerardoluevanosmedina433
    @luisgerardoluevanosmedina433 3 місяці тому +127

    We Need More Traditional Monks, to save today's world !👍💪🙏⛪

    • @DonBailey-od1de
      @DonBailey-od1de 3 місяці тому

      I believe the church to be indwelled by the holy ghost , so there's no way I will leave the church .
      However that don't mean a fun time won't be had by all , before it all comes out in the wash , meanwhile I don't go to the English mass , I am Roman Catholic .
      As with the time of
      Saint Francis the church is in ruins , Islam again has come into Western civilization.
      We again need warrior monks and another
      Saint Francis to rebuild the church , as I said , it's in ruin's.

    • @henriettanovember4733
      @henriettanovember4733 3 місяці тому +4

      Indeed! (But we are all the times we live in, we can all make a difference for the better)

    • @drileydriley2814
      @drileydriley2814 3 місяці тому +2

      NO! We don't more to shrink away from society. We NEED more to ENGAGE society by LIVING OUT the Word every day! More moks? To DO what, exactly? Copy books? The Library of Congress is in the process of securing the entirety of it's miles' long shelves of books for posterity; one can hit a button and print any of it on demand. So, I'm not sure what the purpose of becoming a monk would BE today.
      (More monks. You've GOT to be kidding me!)

    • @henriettanovember4733
      @henriettanovember4733 3 місяці тому +6

      @@drileydriley2814 The first and last purpose of a monk is to live for God in prayer for this world, for you and all life. So of course we need more monks!

    • @DonBailey-od1de
      @DonBailey-od1de 3 місяці тому +2

      @@drileydriley2814
      Your so in the dark if you lit a candle against the darkness you would go as blind as. If you walked into the light of glory.

  • @mechailreydon3784
    @mechailreydon3784 3 місяці тому +31

    I loved this video! We have forgotten the value of education in today’s world. Even though young people have access to knowledge at a level that was unthinkable in any stage in history there has never been a greater lack of interest in learning as there is today.

    • @aleccullen2696
      @aleccullen2696 3 місяці тому +4

      I don't know of any period in history where people (as in the vast majority) wanted to know anything worth knowing. As Mencken put it: 'No normal human being wants to hear the truth. It is the passion of a small and aberrant minority of men, most of them pathological. They are hated for telling it while they live, and when they die they are swiftly forgotten. What remains to the world, in the field of wisdom, is a series of long-tested and solidly agreeable lies.' It's true today, sure, but it was ever thus. And from what I see going on around me, it will ever be thus.

    • @jasminehasan890
      @jasminehasan890 12 днів тому

      Education is everything

  • @sammygoodnight
    @sammygoodnight 4 місяці тому +58

    Cassiodurus. His name should be more well-remembered.

    • @aleccullen2696
      @aleccullen2696 3 місяці тому

      I won't forget him. The Inquisition came from his contribution to humanity.

    • @sammygoodnight
      @sammygoodnight 3 місяці тому +4

      @@aleccullen2696 That's a stretch, although I suppose the case could be made that the inquisition was likely predicated on the Greco-Roman classical canon Cassiodorus labored so hard to preserve. On Christian terms it certainly seems an aberration. Much like the Western defense of slavery was based on ancient authors, Aristotle in particular, while Las Casas and the 16th century popes who thundered against slavery were based entirely in the Bible and Church fathers.
      Still, I think Cassiodorus's move to preserve the ancient texts that were mouldering from lack of interest was a good thing, even if they formed the basis for mistakes later on.

    • @aleccullen2696
      @aleccullen2696 3 місяці тому

      @@sammygoodnight Pope Innocent III (Ratzinger's hero) used the murderous Benedictines to wipe out all the French Cathars; men, women, children, pets and livestock. The whole city of Beziers was razed to the ground. Mistakes, you say? That's the revisionist Catholic perspective. My own sister, a nun, told me that all the Church crimes including the Inquisition were necessary to ensure the Church survived into the present. What sort of psychosis is that? Francis knows it and tries to save a sinking ship.

    • @HickoryDickory86
      @HickoryDickory86 3 місяці тому +7

      Cassiodorus should have been canonized as a saint ages ago. The Catholics are closer, after they elevated him to "Servant of God." But the Orthodox, to our shame, have by and large neglected entirely our wealth of Western saints and western Orthodox heritage, with a few notable exceptions.
      It is for this reason that I whole-heartedly support Western-Rite Orthodoxy, and a recovery of the Orthodox (i.e., pre-Schism) West, bringing it back into the collective memory and _phronema_ of Orthodox Christians.
      All that said, I do personally venerate Cassiodorus as a saint. Just reading his writings, one can witness his love of learning and his deep and abiding love for and faith in Christ our God.

  • @aek72
    @aek72 3 місяці тому +45

    1453: the Fall of Constantinople,bastion of Christinity and the first european city with Universitues and hospitals
    The exodus of these people from Constantinople contributed to the revival of Greek and Roman studies, which led to the development of the Renaissance in humanism and science. Byzantine emigrants also brought to western Europe the better preserved and accumulated knowledge of their own Greek civilization.

    • @kathleencook3060
      @kathleencook3060 3 місяці тому +4

      The Renasiance, started in the 14th(late 1300's) Century in Italy !!!!

    • @aek72
      @aek72 3 місяці тому +9

      @@kathleencook3060
      The Encyclopædia Britannica claims: "Many modern scholars also agree that the exodus of Greeks to Italy as a result of this event marked the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance",although few scholars date the start of the Italian Renaissance this late…”
      Point is that these émigrés brought to Western Europe the relatively well-preserved remnants and accumulated knowledge of their own (Greek) civilization, which had mostly not survived the Early Middle Ages in the West. That is:the revival of Greek studies that led to the development of the Renaissance humanism and science.

    • @donquixote3927
      @donquixote3927 3 місяці тому +5

      @@aek72: Yes, no doubt a trickle started well before 1453 to Venice and Genoa etc.

    • @aleccullen2696
      @aleccullen2696 3 місяці тому +2

      Christian fanatics destroyed the great Library of Alexandria because it embodied all the learning of the ancients.

    • @ravenalbj
      @ravenalbj 3 місяці тому

      @@aleccullen2696 It was the Muslims who burned it to the ground you fool!!!

  • @walterbsprinks
    @walterbsprinks 4 місяці тому +20

    Wonderful the trust of classic civilazation rests on Education…

  • @jeffreysharp8526
    @jeffreysharp8526 3 місяці тому +18

    Thank you, Sir for this video. It's rather rare for people to consider the history of education which, makes a vast difference in its pursuit. Please, keep up the good work.

    • @KootFloris
      @KootFloris 3 місяці тому +4

      If you love that topic, then should add that most 'modern' European education, the school system was also developed in 18/19th century Prussia to get obedient soldiers, and later to get obedient workers! One consequence is that we hardly learn life lessons or social skills (that we have to do in our free time, or with rare awesome teachers) but all is focussed on the one profession we want, regardless that most people change professions quite a lot in life.
      We hardly learn critical thinking, we dominantly learn to please the system by giving the right answers.

    • @jeffreysharp8526
      @jeffreysharp8526 3 місяці тому

      Dear KootFloris, thank you for your comments. I couldn't agree with you more. Fortunately, I was exposed to critical thinking, history, culture and social skills growing up in Europe, as the child of an American soldier. After all these decades, people in the US still can't comprehend our experiences there. The Deep State is not limited to political news reporting. Thanks again for everything.

  • @mikebreeden6071
    @mikebreeden6071 3 місяці тому +7

    STEM has crowded out all other education including Phys Ed, Home economics, Civics, manual arts, etc.
    I study how humans can adapt genetically and strategically to the new ecology we have been creating since we left the tribal ecology for the farms and cities of civilization (Genetics For A New Human Ecology). As a biologist, I recognized the value of the lessons of philosophy, but I found something else. Noodle on this if you want. I was studying population decline and the commonest reason given for it is the expense of raising children and the uncertainty of the world. Some people admit it is birth control. We don't have a lot of instinct to have families, but we have a lot of instinct to have sex and nurturing instincts naturally follow that. Is there another way to release and develop instincts to have children? There are a few, but to make it short, we need to be teaching the foundations of philosophy at a grammar school level, as it used to be taught. That should release the instincts to have children. (It's more complicated than I'm going to write here). Can our society, civilization and nature, built upon philosophy, endure without it?

    • @marcobelli6856
      @marcobelli6856 3 місяці тому +2

      True I am an engineer never wanted a child. I started to read and learn history and philosophy and something clicked in me and I feel like I don’t want to die without a son or a daughter anymore

    • @EBL-hf9zb
      @EBL-hf9zb 3 місяці тому +3

      Very thought provoking comment. I agree with you. People that love the Western Civilization and Christianity should interconnect and exchange ideas. Biology and Science in general are very important contributions to the restablishment of Logic, among other sources of true knowledge. There is a lot of non-science prevailing across all sectors.

  • @antonius3745
    @antonius3745 3 місяці тому +8

    This is rare video nowadays giving a positive view to the heritage of catholic Christianity espc, from an Anglo-Saxon American source.

    • @drileydriley2814
      @drileydriley2814 3 місяці тому

      CATHOLIC Christianity is like saying SOCIAL Justice: the extra descriptor BEFORE what should be the main target word makes the target word have an entirely different definition. I don't want SOCIAL Justice, I want JUSTICE! I don't want CATHOLIC (Roman church) Christianity, I want CHRISTIANITY. Christ doesn't need much of our descriptors to describe HIS Church. There have been many truly wonderful and devoted Christians that may have come by the way of the Roman church... in SPITE of tge Papacy, Vatican, Holy See, Jesuit, Black Pope, etc. To be sure, there isn't one vein that has "the lock" on Christianity. So NONE should be too proud, as they all seem to have contributed and had their share of despotic, tyrannical, and/or heretical aspects to Christ's church!
      The word "catholic" simply means universal. To wit, the Roman "universal" church is different from Scripture - and in fundamental principles - to consider it Christian. You can't have a "vicar of Christ" and think you're not creating an idol of a man on Earth. Do I need to say that idols are not condoned by Christ? Did He not say He didn't come to abolish the Law, but to FULFILL it? Therefore, could one argue that the Roman empire lives on through Vatican City, nowadays thanks to Mussolini... who gave what is now Vatican City to the Roman church (Vatican/Holy See/Papacy, etc.)? Praying/communicating to the dead is necromancy, which flies in the face if Christ's Word. Mary and Jesus' brothers are no more special than anyone else, as the Gospels state when they came to see Him and He declared those either Him were His brothers and mother. "Queen of Heaven" is the title of the pagan godless Inana - research that. NOT good!!! Should we talk about the Vatican Bank, and the BEYOND corrupt practices of IT? Murder, sexual sins too numerous to count, the Jesuits (there's a LIFETIME of diabolical practices there!), choosing who are "saints" and who are not... isn't that Jesus' responsibility? I don't remember Him delegating that authority. Peter was NEVER the subject of Christ's church, but the REVELATION Peter had was what Jesus referred to about even the Gates of Hell wouldn't be able to overtake it.
      So, to sum: necromancy, sexual deviance, murder, financial greed and corruption, all being led by a "school" of "elites" (Jesuits) who will do ANYTHING to protect their club (the Roman church), all while falsely deifying people who were no more special than you and me, but had the many and political influence to corrupt, (echem) I mean "encourage" the Pope to grant special privileges and respect. Let's nit even start with indulgences and Purgatory, or the practicing of abstaining from certain foods and marriage (priests/nuns), which the Bible clearly states us doctrine of demons! Referring to some as "father," which Jesus Himself Saud was a no-no. There's enough Biblical errands in the Roman church for any studier of Scropture to know it's got a whole lot of heresy going on, and would need to significantly clean-up, repent, and humble themselves back to the Scripture's teachings before I'd EVER break bread with someone who thinks that is the path of the straight and narrow!
      We ALL need to be more humble in what we seem to gravitate to with pride. Is not pride the INITIAL sin? Be careful of that one!!!
      The Pope is no better than you or me, his vestments are little more than a Halloween costume; the sane with nuns and priests. They need to practice the teachings of CHRIST, not to be replaced by those who came after Him. Mary was to be considered Highly Favored and Bless among women. That is all scriptural, but praying to her, the rosary, and thinking you're not committing GRAVE SIN while doing so... is just ignorance having gone to seed, and don't think that behavior doesn't come with its own poems for you should you not reprint! Those who are to be considered the best in the Kingdom are the GREATEST SERVANTS, and those who do so WITHOUT a "look at me being a good person" while doing so. Learn to oractice the behavior Jesus taught, not any catechism to the contrary.

  • @outoforbit00
    @outoforbit00 3 місяці тому +18

    Just came accross your channel. I have been looking for this kind of education. THANK YOU.

  • @user-vj6po9df1e
    @user-vj6po9df1e 3 місяці тому +82

    He wasn't just a Christian, he was CATHOLIC, the first and only CHRISTIAN religion of the time.

    • @jorgefigueroa2231
      @jorgefigueroa2231 3 місяці тому +13

      Ethiopian orthodox church enters the chat

    • @RobertHugginsDJ
      @RobertHugginsDJ 3 місяці тому +4

      @@jorgefigueroa2231 😂LOL, you have made me laugh. "Ethiopian Orthodox enters the chat." Welcome Brother. Yes, there are many paths, but one journey.

    • @Colonel_Blimp
      @Colonel_Blimp 3 місяці тому

      @@jorgefigueroa2231this church is very catholic and orthodox.

    • @v1e1r1g1e1
      @v1e1r1g1e1 3 місяці тому

      Bosh!! There were dozens of so-called ''heresies'' prevalent throughout Europe at the time. Learn some PROPER history before you post again.

    • @cbbcbb6803
      @cbbcbb6803 3 місяці тому

      Many paths and many journies.​@@RobertHugginsDJ

  • @grivsxiaomi4661
    @grivsxiaomi4661 3 місяці тому +8

    Thank You Priest. May Lord Jesus bless you. Amen

  • @johnking6252
    @johnking6252 3 місяці тому +7

    So he didn't do it alone. Monks throughout our history have carried many causes. 🙏✌️

  • @EndingSimple
    @EndingSimple 3 місяці тому +10

    Once the internet starts being scrubbed of Western Civilization, we may well need to go back to copying books by hand again.

    • @EBL-hf9zb
      @EBL-hf9zb 3 місяці тому

      Wise thought!

    • @warmike
      @warmike 2 місяці тому

      You can create your own decentralized internet. The techlologies and protocols are all public knowledge.

    • @cheekibreeki4638
      @cheekibreeki4638 Місяць тому

      Tell that to kiwi farms, it has just BARELY survived, for now

  • @MMijdus
    @MMijdus 3 місяці тому +4

    Thank you! I totally agree with this. And nice that you brought this man into the spotlight. I think he deserved this.

  • @karenspivey3203
    @karenspivey3203 3 місяці тому +9

    Very interesting! The theologian-in-residence at my Episcopal church is a former Benedictine monk. He's a wonderful, scholarly teacher!

    • @estebancorral5151
      @estebancorral5151 2 місяці тому +1

      This is very interesting indeed. The founder of the Episcopalians, Henry VIll, had the Monks of Charter House of London executed in the Tower of London. Even Thomas More, who was awaiting his own execution wrote how saintly these men were.

  • @Thnz321
    @Thnz321 3 місяці тому +6

    Italy and renaissence.Thank you.!

    • @RobCummings
      @RobCummings 3 місяці тому +1

      Cassiodurus lived at the very beginning of the Dark Ages. Thanks to scholars like him, the knowledge of the ancients was transmitted across the thousand years of the Middle Ages to The Renaissance. Italy saw the first sparks of The Renaissance around 1350 AD. The rebirth (of knowledge and learning) spread to Holland, France and England after that.

  • @seanburton5298
    @seanburton5298 2 місяці тому +2

    This is the kind of stuff I like like to learn about in my "free time."

  • @megenberg8
    @megenberg8 3 місяці тому +8

    ".... and the East shall shake the West awake, while ye still have the night for morn" - James Joyce ⬆Awake! do not be anything but awakened! Forget 'woke' - BE AWAKE!!! YES!!! 🎯

    • @saddha1
      @saddha1 3 місяці тому

      Yup, Buddha was in Europe for 900 years in the Barlaam and Josaphat story which helped preserve monasticism during the Protestant revolution.

  • @RHStephanus
    @RHStephanus 3 місяці тому +4

    Just found this channel - Wow!
    We had never heard about this man; thank you for this remarkable episode!

  • @davidblack7528
    @davidblack7528 3 місяці тому +5

    Wow! So glad I spotted your history of Casiodorus. Very well done! Few know the impact of the great monks of times past. When critics of the Bible are long dead in their graves, the word of God will live on.

  • @kimwiser445
    @kimwiser445 3 місяці тому +8

    We take so many things for granted.

    • @shaughnfourie304
      @shaughnfourie304 3 місяці тому

      I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU TOO MANY VITALLY IMPORTANT THINGS

  • @______9322
    @______9322 3 місяці тому +88

    Thanks to the Catholic Church.

    • @MMijdus
      @MMijdus 3 місяці тому +1

      No, thanks to Cassiodorus.

    • @SpodgeDanish
      @SpodgeDanish 3 місяці тому

      @@MMijdusi wonder which institution to which he belonged?

    • @MMijdus
      @MMijdus 3 місяці тому +2

      @@SpodgeDanish It was not the church who instigated this. It was this man who took initiative, and made an effort.

    • @r.ladaria135
      @r.ladaria135 3 місяці тому

      ​@@MMijdus I guess you haven't the slightest idea about how the Catholic Church works as an institution.

  • @HowardARoark
    @HowardARoark 3 місяці тому +3

    Sometimes it is the humble tasks, such as copying, that turn out to be the most vital.

  • @hippomancy
    @hippomancy 3 місяці тому +2

    when Cosimo de Medici got the bug to gather old learning, and Poggio Bracciolini went out to find them, it was the legacy of the Vivarium and Cassiodorus that allowed them to locate the texts.

  • @FatherJMarcelPortelli
    @FatherJMarcelPortelli 3 місяці тому +23

    Excellent video. Many people in the West would appreciate their own roots and cultural patrimony far more if they just knew a little Church history. Please see the book "How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization" by Dr. Thomas Woods.

    • @jerryg3524
      @jerryg3524 3 місяці тому +2

      Thanks much F. Portelli, I have now bought T. Woods's book

    • @drileydriley2814
      @drileydriley2814 3 місяці тому

      The Roman Church is responsible for a lot in Western Civilization: good AND bad. While it appears they may have been responsible for helping to keep education alive, it is also true we got the Jesuits and the Inquisition from it, too.

  • @shedactivist
    @shedactivist 4 місяці тому +12

    A great scene setting video for what is yet to come from this great channel.

  • @RobLewis3
    @RobLewis3 3 місяці тому +3

    I must go back and visit the Cistercians near me again. I really wish they were in my town, because the bus ticket is pricey. So awesome that these monasteries are still around these days.

  • @glennlanham6309
    @glennlanham6309 3 місяці тому +13

    Monks STILL saving Civilization

  • @g.herbert3810
    @g.herbert3810 3 місяці тому +2

    Thank you Abba, Jehovah God works in Mysterious ways; Wonders to Perform.

  • @gregschinn6943
    @gregschinn6943 3 місяці тому +7

    Thanks for this interesting video! Small point: Please remember that “disinterested” means “impartial”; I believe you meant to say “uninterested”.

  • @nicolamustard7232
    @nicolamustard7232 3 місяці тому +2

    Thank you for this channel! What a fabulous idea! I'll keep my eyes on it ❤️🙏🏼🕊️

  • @GK-er8cw
    @GK-er8cw 3 місяці тому +2

    Excited to find this channel. So much of historical teaching focuses on whats wrong w the west (plenty), but ignores the good, the true, and the beautiful. I am unaware of a civilization that was/is better for humans spiritually, economically, or physically.

    • @DavidOfWhitehills
      @DavidOfWhitehills 3 місяці тому +1

      Well its not a competition but buddhism in its many facets, could easily be argued to be superior to christianity in those three qualities.

  • @leonstenutz6003
    @leonstenutz6003 3 місяці тому +1

    Included thus video in my "A1 Gems & Jewels" UA-cam playlist. Beautiful & fantastically well done. A true gem. Thank you.

  • @ted1045
    @ted1045 3 місяці тому +4

    The preservation of many classical texts is pretty remarkable. Byzantines, Arabs, and monasteries all contributed to their preservation. It's remarkable how each culture had people who recognized the value of ancient literature and the importance of preserving the works. How the texts went back and forth and how close some of them came to extinction. The Book Seller of Florence is a pretty interesting read as well. Foundational texts from places like China and India are also being questioned in those countries so there seems to be a real worldwide effort to discredit and put down ancient authors from around the world...But when you pull out the texts and read them you really start seeing how smart the people back then were and though things have changed they definitely seem to have some good thoughts and useful things to say regardless of whether they are from the east or west...It's just depressing how people generally don't care about it at all and if you are interested in it there's a great deal of animosity from many to you for even daring to try and read any of the texts.

    • @KnjazNazrath
      @KnjazNazrath 2 місяці тому

      As someone who adores books about books, I'm surprised I've never heard of this one. Much obliged, squire!

    • @HickoryDickory86
      @HickoryDickory86 25 днів тому

      Wise men and women understand human nature and try to safeguard us from our baser selves. That is why many of the writings of the ancient past are still so applicable today, because human nature doesn't change.

  • @user-mj8ys6nq7o
    @user-mj8ys6nq7o 3 місяці тому +10

    in future, please cite the image sources in your videos. They convey as much meaning and value as the texts you cite.

    • @nelson3d867
      @nelson3d867 3 місяці тому +2

      Please do it.

    • @deborahberger5816
      @deborahberger5816 3 місяці тому

      Yes, please! I like to have a source I can go to for more information.

  • @user-qf2xz3tp2z
    @user-qf2xz3tp2z 3 місяці тому +5

    Thank YOU for creating this vid account of Cassiodoris. I appreciate ur ability to weave together the rhetoric, images, and chant, and cadence in an interesting fashion that held my interest. Thus, I have subscribed.

  • @lindabirge3683
    @lindabirge3683 3 місяці тому +3

    Thank you for the very interesting lesson.

  • @fotisvon9943
    @fotisvon9943 3 місяці тому +2

    cassiodorus is great. the monasteries are just really well run homes. these homes love education so it isnt too hard to see that these non political homes can preserve education for others

  • @bungalowlogic7676
    @bungalowlogic7676 Місяць тому

    First exposure to your channel and i like what it forecasts. Subscribed and want more

  • @themeat5053
    @themeat5053 4 місяці тому +8

    Oh, an Italian. Good on him!

  • @user-rg9yz5ou4y
    @user-rg9yz5ou4y 3 місяці тому +2

    You should also mention the contributions of St. Benedict at MonteCassino.

  • @fbcpraise
    @fbcpraise Місяць тому

    Many thanks for your work.

  • @paulobaptista6026
    @paulobaptista6026 3 місяці тому +2

    great work! love the quote at the end

  • @HistoryofWesternCivilisation
    @HistoryofWesternCivilisation 3 місяці тому +2

    Loving this channel. Subscribed!

  • @bobsmith-ui8uw
    @bobsmith-ui8uw 2 місяці тому

    You give hope. Thankyou

  • @emmanuelnicolaou8773
    @emmanuelnicolaou8773 3 місяці тому +2

    Thank the monks! Thank you Saint Columbanus

  • @Nonamearisto
    @Nonamearisto 3 місяці тому +9

    Notably, civilization was still alive and well in Greece, where Western Civilization had begun in the first place. But outside of the Eastern Roman Empire, it was struggling.

    • @kathleencook3060
      @kathleencook3060 3 місяці тому

      The Greeks believed in mythical Gods.

    • @HickoryDickory86
      @HickoryDickory86 3 місяці тому +3

      So did the Latins, until they converted to Christianity. Funny that.
      At this point in time, Greece had been just a thoroughly converted (if not more so) than the Latins to Christianity. They were not following the old pantheon any more than the Romans were.

    • @marcobelli6856
      @marcobelli6856 3 місяці тому

      @@kathleencook3060bro you think the Greeks (Byzantines) of the Middle Ages still believed in Zeus? They were as Christian as the Pope look at Byzantine iconography it’s impossible to find something not related to religion and it’s always Christianity

  • @English_Dawn
    @English_Dawn 3 місяці тому +1

    🙏. We owe so much.

  • @Leptospirosi
    @Leptospirosi 3 місяці тому +2

    I would rate Saint Thomas from Aquino even higher. A noble longobard he procured translated and copied the more important Arab treaties (including Greek translations, back to the ancient Persian ones, saving those form the "cultural revolution" that burned through the Arab world aroud the year 1000.
    He became the driving force behind the western philosophy for the following 1000 years.

  • @trojanhman8136
    @trojanhman8136 3 місяці тому

    Thank you, that was wonderful.

  • @josefigueiredo8022
    @josefigueiredo8022 3 місяці тому

    Thank you for this very important information. I shall remember it and pass it on.

  • @kaloarepo288
    @kaloarepo288 3 місяці тому +4

    Martianus Capella and the 7 Liberal Arts - there is a link between this and Cassiodorus

  • @mikethemonsta15
    @mikethemonsta15 3 місяці тому +2

    Excellent thank you!

  • @erandiasena1910
    @erandiasena1910 3 місяці тому +2

    We, the people living in Asia do not see West as a civilisation, but as a lot of ruthless barbarians.

  • @DKMKartha108
    @DKMKartha108 3 місяці тому

    “We do not merely study the past: we inherit it, and inheritance brings with it not only the rights of ownership, but the duties of trusteeship. Things fought for and died for should not be idly squandered. For they are the property of others, who are not yet born”
    ― Sir Roger Scruton, from "How to be a Conservative"

  • @jerryg3524
    @jerryg3524 3 місяці тому

    ThiningWest this is awesome! Brief but really informative & interesting. I knew a bit about early Xtian monks and their role in keeping Western civilization alive but didn't know about Cassiodrus. Thanx

  • @ErictheCleric1
    @ErictheCleric1 4 місяці тому +3

    My mind popped up with Alcuin, but Cassiodorus remains the OG.

  • @andrear4954
    @andrear4954 3 місяці тому

    InspiringPhilosophy has talked about how Christians have contributed to education and referenced many books and historians, his channel is amazing, would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested 😊

  • @TheGringoSalado
    @TheGringoSalado 4 місяці тому +8

    Prayers for your works!

  • @JoeMahan
    @JoeMahan 4 місяці тому +5

    Great job.

  • @user-pr9mr6qo1i
    @user-pr9mr6qo1i 3 місяці тому +1

    Praise the Lord ❤

  • @roryo1970
    @roryo1970 3 місяці тому

    Some historians suggest the picture is more complex. Cassiodorus strove to keep classical learning alive, but it was Christians, and Justinian, who forced the closure of Athens’ Platonic Academy in 529. Large numbers of Classical texts were lost to zealotry and intolerance of what was deemed ‘Pagan’. Your quest might, ironically, gain strength if it considered the West with its warts and all, rather than with a more hagiographical slant that falls to scrutiny and, in the end, fails to convince.

  • @jamessheffield4173
    @jamessheffield4173 4 місяці тому +2

    Thanks for this video.

  • @Ggdivhjkjl
    @Ggdivhjkjl 4 місяці тому +1

    Thank you for recognising how similar today's word is.

  • @georgenorris2657
    @georgenorris2657 3 місяці тому

    Really interesting video and thought-provoking too.

  • @cbbcbb6803
    @cbbcbb6803 3 місяці тому +1

    Interesting. Was anyone else promoting education and learning at that time?

  • @Thorwald_Franke
    @Thorwald_Franke 3 місяці тому +1

    Important channel, good!

  • @camillopellegatta581
    @camillopellegatta581 3 місяці тому +1

    Good job. Bravo.

  • @fastjack2792
    @fastjack2792 3 місяці тому

    Thank you for sharing this story. I subscribed and I am interested in what Value your Channel can provide to me.

  • @Exayevie
    @Exayevie 4 місяці тому +12

    Can someone send this video to the Chicago "Teachers" Union?

  • @computron808
    @computron808 3 місяці тому +1

    Good stuff !!! SUBSCRIBED !!!

  • @pedrozaragoza2253
    @pedrozaragoza2253 3 місяці тому

    Amen 🙏
    Gloria in Excelsis Deo!

  • @marlelarmarlelar9547
    @marlelarmarlelar9547 3 місяці тому

    Thank you so much for this.

  • @raulsimon2218
    @raulsimon2218 3 місяці тому +1

    Very good!

  • @adrianburke7995
    @adrianburke7995 3 місяці тому +1

    Cassiodorus was not a Benedictine Monk - he was a monastic experimenter, loved disciplined life and ascetical practice, whose "rule" was essentially a syllabus of reading classical texts from Latin and Greek sources, as well as patristic writings from East and West as the basis for theological investigation (study of Scripture) in order to pursue God, not secure classical education per se. His was a monastic life that centered on learning and reading as "work" rather than manual labor, as Benedict wanted. Cassiodorus' way did not survive long after his death - it lacked the balance necessary to be attractive and sustainable, given how Benedict valued moderation in his Rule (ca. 520 or so, Monte Cassino).

  • @dereknelson4509
    @dereknelson4509 3 місяці тому

    One of my hippie concerns: the transition from the "Gutenberg Internet" (1451-199x) to the Digital Age... different set of landscapes... but still away forward with the responsibilities of stewardship... looks like you're exploring some heavy material in how we became who we are today !

  • @gezley100
    @gezley100 3 місяці тому +1

    Please note that Ireland is not included in the British Isles.

  • @sgrant39
    @sgrant39 3 місяці тому +1

    Well done

  • @charlesvanderhoog7056
    @charlesvanderhoog7056 3 місяці тому

    Excellent ! Thanks. I didn't know this data.😊

  • @ivanstrydom8417
    @ivanstrydom8417 4 місяці тому +2

    Doing Gods work sir. Deus Vault.

  • @gusloader123
    @gusloader123 4 місяці тому +17

    Interesting video. I don't agree with everything they did/copied/read but starting with the Psalms as a base of learning in an excellent choice. Good visuals. P.S. To "Thinking West": It might be a good idea to turn down the music a decibel when you are talking.

    • @ThinkingWest
      @ThinkingWest  4 місяці тому +3

      Thanks for the feedback. I will try to adjust the audio in future videos

    • @donaldlococo954
      @donaldlococo954 4 місяці тому +8

      The music level was just right. Western civilization benefitted from Cassiodorus' selection of the texts that were since then agreed upon and adopted by thousands of scholars through the ages. Modern scholarship in history, science, philosophy, and theology benefitted by his refusal to exclude any learning from the ancient world through censorship

    • @gusloader123
      @gusloader123 4 місяці тому +1

      @@sassenspeyghel4155 Reading from the God-breathed Psalms is excellent, BUT - as 99% of the R.C.'s do they read and study and integrate the garbage from the minds of the wretched Greek philosophers which was totally against the message of Paul a Hebrew Christian missionary telling pagans about the Gospel message of The lord Jesus Christ.

    • @susanc4622
      @susanc4622 4 місяці тому +2

      What this video made me think about was that a person felt so desperate in light of what was happening, that they believed there would be no more teachers and students had to learn for themselves. Hence the need to copy as many texts as possible especially as monasteries were under attack from Vikings in coastal areas.

    • @jcb3393
      @jcb3393 3 місяці тому +1

      ​@@gusloader123so, you don't believe there is some good and truth to be gleaned, even from pagans? St. Paul would disagree with you, as he quoted the inscription on a Greek monument to the unknown god, "in whom we live and move and have our being."
      Everything has some good in it, because everything is from God. This is not to say to swallow it all, whole... But we can pick the good from the bad.
      Just as compost is rotted food scraps and animal waste and is not to be eaten directly by humans, it is excellent for fertilizing plants, so they may process it into a form palatable for human consumption... So too may we learn - through careful and proper handling and processing - from the philosophical teachings of ancient Greece.

  • @shaughnfourie304
    @shaughnfourie304 3 місяці тому

    A BIG THANK YOU

  • @user-io9ln1or7c
    @user-io9ln1or7c 3 місяці тому

    Thank you Sir.🎉

  • @brucermarino
    @brucermarino 3 місяці тому +2

    Yes!

  • @mauricearpin7946
    @mauricearpin7946 3 місяці тому

    The monk that really saved civilization is Dom Perignon. Decadence is good.❤❤❤❤

  • @WMedl
    @WMedl 3 місяці тому +1

    Far from denying the contributions of Cassiodorus it is not true that the fall of western part of the Roman Empire led to chaos. The roman institutions remained under Odoaker as well as the gothic kings and queen, you noticed in the video that Cassiodorus held the office of a praetorian prefect under the gothic king Thoederich. Some short chaos arose when the easter roman Emperor brought Italy again under direct byzantine administration.
    But also in Gaul roman culture remained and led to the romanization the the germanic Francs.

  • @christianfrommuslim
    @christianfrommuslim 4 місяці тому +4

    How do you integrate this with "How the Irish Saved Civilization," which claims that the remote location of dedicated monks there saved the books that were destroyed by the dark ages and Vikings?

    • @johnhastings462
      @johnhastings462 4 місяці тому +3

      Cassiodorus was late 5th to early 6th century. Vikings first appeared in the 8th century.

    • @thomashutcheson3343
      @thomashutcheson3343 3 місяці тому

      I wondered that as well; see 3:48 to 4:03 for a mention.

    • @christianfrommuslim
      @christianfrommuslim 3 місяці тому

      @cushyglen4264 I don't think you understand that that was my point.
      Although Dublin was a Viking trading center, monasteries survived and preserved the great books of Western Civilization.

  • @jeffreywestgarth6317
    @jeffreywestgarth6317 3 місяці тому

    truth beauty good....thx

  • @easwaransanthakumar297
    @easwaransanthakumar297 3 місяці тому +1

    Pagan literature and philosophy shaped the Western Civilization after renaissance.

  • @nextinstitute7824
    @nextinstitute7824 3 місяці тому

    Great video. Until the emergence of the flat earthers and other science sceptics, I often wondered how knowledge could simply disappear. Now we know.

  • @NeoclassicYT
    @NeoclassicYT 3 місяці тому

    A very noble video

  • @AS-np3yq
    @AS-np3yq 4 місяці тому +11

    One monk? They where thousands

    • @kenchappell2054
      @kenchappell2054 3 місяці тому +4

      A single spark turns into a flame but only if the tender is ready to receive.

  • @thormusique
    @thormusique 3 місяці тому

    I love this, cheers!

  • @sandorbakki6241
    @sandorbakki6241 3 місяці тому

    The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know!

  • @JacoBecker
    @JacoBecker 3 місяці тому +1

    no person is able to save anything, a person is only able to accomplish by the Grace of the Good LORD. Success is given by our Sovereign Lord Jesus Christ. With Him and Through Him all shall be / not be.

    • @bobthabuilda1525
      @bobthabuilda1525 3 місяці тому

      That which can be claimed without evidence can be dismissed just the same. Your supposed holy book has no more apparent validity than those of countless other religions. Asserting such a baseless claim to diminish the accomplishments of real, flesh and blood people is abhorrent.

    • @marcobelli6856
      @marcobelli6856 3 місяці тому

      @@bobthabuilda1525true but the monk for sure wouldn’t mind giving credit to Christ I mean as a monk he thanks Christ for everything he does

    • @pillmuncher67
      @pillmuncher67 3 місяці тому

      So, Hitler accomplished the mass murder of Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals, Communists, and disabled people thanks to the Grace of God? Good to know!

  • @sidclark1953
    @sidclark1953 3 місяці тому

    God bless Cassiodorus. God loves us, he gives us donuts and pizza.