Week 16 – Rome’s significance & St. Augustine

Why was Rome significant in the history of Western civilization?

Roman people created a lot of works that inspire us up to this day. Not only were there many plays, great art, architecture and literature, there were also many important people. Some Roman people, like Aristotle, were great thinkers, writers and taught us about reason and other aspects of life. Thanks to Rome and its Latin language, we have languages like Italian, Spanish etc. Not to mention their beautiful structures that in some cases helped us develop our own.

What was the significance of St. Augustine in Christian history?

St. Augustine was not only very inspirational, he also solved many philosophical questions. In this case, he solved the question “Why is there evil when our God created everything there is and he himself is good?” St. Augustine’s answer is very clever and simple. Evil is the lack of good. What happens when there is a lack of heat? There is cold. Same logic applies to good and evil.

He also taught that we should think in a moral way, not in a political or economic way. He said that whether or not Rome survive is not relevant to our souls, because our souls are saved by God, not by a political system.

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