Western Civilization Short Essay: Two Topics( 12.22.16)

1) What kinds of contributions did the monks make to European society?

2) What was the attitude of most Christian writers toward the philosophers of ancient Greece?

3) Based on your reading of the Rule of St. Benedict, how would you describe the way of life and the spirit that animated a Benedictine monastery?

Question 1: What kind of contributions did the monks make to European society?

The monks introduced the idea of physical labor as being commendable, for one thing. Before them, the ancient world found manual work to be disgusting and something only slaves/commoners did. But the monks thought that physical duties were holy and weren't something to be ashamed of doing. They made a number of impressive contributions to Europe, over the course of centuries. The Roman empire had existed for 1500 years, and was beginning to crumble completely. While the rest of Europe began to despair, the monks were relatively unaffected because of their independence from the outside world. They were far more self-reliant and creative about surviving in the world. The agricultural restoration of Europe, after the fall of Rome, was largely due to them. They initiated new crops and production methods and educated locals in their findings. English professor Henry Gooddell says quote," They saved agriculture when nobody else could save it."

The Cistercian monks made significant process in the creation of factories and the use of water power. They were experts in fulling cloth, sieving flour, crushing wheat, and tanning. They also were highly successful in trades such as metallurgy(iron-making), animal husbandry(breeding) and the brewing of wine and beer. Finally, the Monks were instrumental in preserving ancient Greek literature and Biblical manuscripts. They spent numerous hours painstakingly copying out these works, in beautiful handwriting.If it weren't for them, a large portion of precious documents would be lost to us forever. 

Question 2: What was the attitude of most Christian writers toward the philosophers of ancient Greece?

Many people commonly think that the Christian viewpoint is one of scorn, towards anything contrary to their religion. However in actuality this is far from the attitude had by the majority of Christian writers. They were fairly open to the concepts of Greek philosophy and poets such as Plato and Homer. They were some writers(such as Tertullian) who were strictly opposed to using any life reference-book but the Christian Gospels and Epistles of Paul. But for the most part, Christians were willing to glean bits and pieces of valuable truth from Greek literature. The Greek apologist, St. Justin Martyr, believed that many Greek ideas could actually be traced back to the Old Testament. He thought that all the theories behind Stoicism, Platonism and other Greek religions were a river to Christianity. He said quote, that"Christianity is the fulfillment of philosophy and Christ the fulfillment of Socrates." 

St. Basil the Great was another Christian theologian who defended Greek writings. He wrote an Exhortation to Christian Youth, in which he says "the seeds of Christianity may be found in these writings." He claimed that there are many concepts in them already taught in light of Christian teaching.He didn't deny that there was some flawed material in the works, but did acknowledge the obvious beauty in each one.


In conclusion, Christians were pretty much impartial to Greek thought. They didn't agree with every aspect of their beliefs, but they weren't opposed to seeing the good in them. There was certainly plenty of spirituality and good motives in the writing.