audiobook Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox by G. K. Chesterton in History

Description

The perfect St. Patrick's Day gift; and a book in the best tradition of popular history -- the untold story of Ireland's role in maintaining Western culture while the Dark Ages settled on Europe.Every year millions of Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day; but they may not be aware of how great an influence St. Patrick was on the subsequent history of civilization. Not only did he bring Christianity to Ireland; he instilled a sense of literacy and learning that would create the conditions that allowed Ireland to become "the isle of saints and scholars" -- and thus preserve Western culture while Europe was being overrun by barbarians. In this entertaining and compelling narrative; Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Europe evolved from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era. Without Ireland; the transition could not have taken place. Not only did Irish monks and scribes maintain the very record of Western civilization -- copying manuscripts of Greek and Latin writers; both pagan and Christian; while libraries and learning on the continent were forever lost -- they brought their uniquely Irish world-view to the task. As Cahill delightfully illustrates; so much of the liveliness we associate with medieval culture has its roots in Ireland. When the seeds of culture were replanted on the European continent; it was from Ireland that they were germinated. In the tradition of Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror; How The Irish Saved Civilization reconstructs an era that few know about but which is central to understanding our past and our cultural heritage. But it conveys its knowledge with a winking wit that aptly captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish who relaunched civilization.