The century of ColumbusWalsh, James J. (James Joseph)
History
The century of Columbus
Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
Renaissance
St. Philip Neri's contemporary and intimate friend, St. Ignatius
Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, is always thought of as a great
organizer in education, seldom as a social worker. There was no phase
of social need in Rome, however, to which he did not give his personal
attention in spite of the many calls that there were on his time. He
taught little children catechism and insisted that this should be a
special feature of the work of his order in spite of its devotion to
the higher education. He organized various institutions for the poor
and secured by his efforts the foundation of a home for fallen women
in Rome and himself personally conducted through the streets to it
some of those who were to enter. His example in this matter must be
taken as a type of what many thoughtful persons of this time were
ready to do in the accomplishment of what they saw as their social
duties.
One of the great social reformers of the time whose unfortunate death
has made him the subject of wide attention ever since was Savonarola,
the Dominican monk, whose fate has been a sad stumbling-block of
misunderstanding of the time. He used his great powers of oratory to
bring about a social reform. It was sadly needed. Contact with the old
pagan ideas through the new learning had made many of the people of
the time even more selfish than usual. In the midst of the luxury and
worldly interests of the time there had come a neglect of the old
fellow-feeling of kindness and of charity that had characterized the
Middle Ages. This affected mainly the so-called better classes. It was
this, above all, that Savonarola tried to reform. He succeeded in
stirring up the people wonderfully, and it is probable that no one has
ever succeeded in working such a revolution in the social feelings of
a whole city as Savonarola did.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account