Cahill's How the Irish Saved Civilization


Thomas Cahill opens his story describing Rome's fall, "For as the Roman
Empire fell, as all through Europe matted, unwashed barbarians descended on the
Roman cities, looting artifacts and burning books, the Irish who were just
learning to read and write, took up the just labor of copying all of western
literature - everything they could get their hands on. These scribes then
served as conduits through which Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian cultures were
transmitted to the tribes of Europe, newly settled amid the rubble and ruined
vineyards of the civilization they had overwhelmed." (Cahill, p.3) The theme
of this book is that the scribes did something unique, they saved civilization,
not the masses of people, but literature, the content of "classical
civilization." (Cahill, p. 58) One reads of the time from Rome's fall to
medieval times learning through the stories of the characters, most notable
Augustine and Patrick.......

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Title: Cahill's How The Irish Saved Civilization
Approximate Word Count: 738
Approximate Pages: 3 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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