World Literature

Literature will be interwoven with theology and history. 

The chief spine of the course will be G.K. Chesterton's Everlasting Man.

The Everlasting Man is G. K. Chesterton’s classic work of Catholic Apologetics. The book's thesis is ultimately that the Incarnation is central to an understanding of history. Chesterton takes on the claim that man is simply the product of evolution, arguing that Christianity provides the true explanation for the genesis and purpose of human life. Chesterton wrote the book as a rebuttal to popular author H.G. Wells, whose secularist The Outline of History was influential at the time (1920s). As Dale Ahlquist, president of the American Chesterton Society, says, “Of all of Chesterton’s literary monuments, this is perhaps his greatest, for he eloquently and concisely packs the whole human story between the covers of one book.” In this course, the class unpack that story and study it together.

The Everlasting Man is arguably the best and most important of Chesterton's books. In order to maximize their experience of this course students should read the reading assignment for each class, prior to the class, and then, after the class, re-read those passages specifically referenced in class and cited in the Class Notes. This will enable the student not only to understand the book but also to excel in the weekly class quizzes.

Ch.II

The Heidelberg jaw – Neanderthal man – Prehistory – Fire – Tools – Cavemen – Language – Painting – Making magic – The Ice Age and the Early Stone Age – Pile dwellings – The Bronze Age – People like you and me

Ch. III

King Menes – Egypt – A hymn to the Nile – Pharaohs – Pyramids – The religion of the ancient Egyptians – The Sphinx – Hieroglyphs – Papyrus – Revolution in the old kingdom – Akhenaton’s reforms

Ch. IV

Mesopotamia today – The burial sites at Ur – Clay tablets and cuneiform script – Hamurabi’s laws – Star worship – The origin of the days of the week – The Tower of Babel – Nebuchadnezzar

Ch. V

Palestine – Abraham of Ur – The Flood – Moses’ bondage in Egypt and the year of the departure from Egypt – Saul, David, Solomon – The division of the kingdom – The destruction of Israel – The prophets speak – The Babylonian Captivity – The Return – The Old Testament and faith in the Messiah 

Ch. VI

I C-A-N R-E-A-D 29 Writing with the alphabet – The Phoenicians and their trading posts

Ch. VII

The songs of Homer – Schliemann’s excavations – Sea-raider kings – Crete and the labyrinth – The Dorian migration – The songs of the heroes – Greek tribes and their colonies

Ch. VIII

The Persians and their faith – Cyrus conquers Babylon – Cambyses in Egypt – Darius’s empire – The Ionian revolt – The first Punitive Expedition – The second Punitive Expedition and the Battle of Marathon

Ch. IX

The Olympic Games – The Delphic Oracle – Sparta and Spartan education – Athens – Draco and Solon – The People’s Assembly and tyrants – The time of Pericles – Philosophy – Sculpture and painting – Architecture – Theatre

Ch. X

India – Mohenjo-Daro, a city from the time of Ur – The Indian migrations – Indo-European languages – Castes – Brahma and the transmigration of souls – ‘This is you’ – Prince Gautama – The Enlightenment – Release from sufffering – Nirvana – The followers of the Buddha

Ch. XI

China in the time before Christ – The emperor of China and the princes – The meaning of Chinese writing – Confucius – The importance of practices and customs – The family – Ruler and subject – Lao-tzu – The Tao

Ch. XII

The Peloponnesian War – The Delphic War – Philip of Macedon – The Battle of Chaeronea – The decline of the Persian empire – Alexander the Great – The destruction of Thebes – Aristotle and his knowledge – Diogenes – The conquest of Asia Minor – The Gordion Knot – The Battle of Issus – The conquest of Tyre and the conquest of Egypt – Alexandria – The Battle of Gaugamela – The Indian expedition – Porus – Alexander, ruler of the Orient – Alexander’s death and his successors – Hellenism – The library of Alexandria

Ch. XIII

Italy – Rome and the myth of Rome’s foundation – Class warfare – The twelve tablets of the law – The Roman character – Rome’s capture by the Gauls – The conquest of Italy – Pyrrhus – Carthage – The First Punic War – Hannibal – Crossing the Alps – Quintus Fabius Maximus – Cannae – The last call to arms – Scipio’s victory over Hannibal – The conquest of Greece – Cato – The destruction of Carthage 

Ch. XIV

The Emperor Shih Huang-ti of Ch’in – The burning of the books – The princes of Ch’in and the naming of China – The Great Wall of China – The Han ruling family – Learned officials

Ch. XV

Roman provinces – Roads and aqueducts – Legions – The two Gracchi – Bread and circuses – Marius – The Cimbri and the Teutones – Sulla – Gladiators – Julius Caesar – The Gallic Wars – Victory in the civil war – Cleopatra – The reform of the calendar – Caesar’s murder – Augustus and the empire – The arts

Ch. XVI

Jesus Christ – The teachings of the Apostle Paul – The Cross – Paul preaching to the Corinthians – The cult of the emperor – Nero – Rome burns – The first Christian persecutions – The catacombs – Titus destroys Jerusalem – The dispersal of the Jews 

Ch. XV

Tenements and villas – Therms – The Colosseum – The Germans – Arminius and the battle in Teutoburg forest – The Limes – Soldiers and their gods – Trajan’s expeditions in Dacia – Marcus Aurelius’s battles near Vienna – Warrior-emperors – The decline of Italy – The spread of Christianity – Diocletian’s reforms – The last Christian persecution – Constantine – The founding of Constantinople – The division of the empire – Christianity becomes the religion of the state 

Ch. XVIII

The Huns – The Visigoths – The Migrations – Attila – Leo the Great – Romulus Augustulus – Odoacer and the end of antiquity – The Ostrogoths and Theodoric – Ravenna – Justinian – The Pandects of Justinian and the Agia Sophia – The end of the Goths – The Lombards 

Ch. XIX

‘The Dark Ages’? – Belief and superstition – Stylites – Benedictines – Preserving the inheritance of antiquity – The importance of the northern monasteries – Clovis’s baptism – The role of the clergy in the Merovingian kingdom – Boniface

Ch. XX

The Arabian desert – Mecca and the Kaaba – Muhammad’s background and life – Persecution and flight – Medina – The battle with Mecca – The last sermon – The conquests of Palestine, Persia and Egypt – The burning of the Alexandrian library – The siege of Constantinople – The conquests of North Africa and Spain – The battles of Tours and Poitiers – Arab culture – Arabic numerals

Ch. XXI

The Merovingians and their stewards – The kingdom of the Franks – Charlemagne’s battles in Gaul, Italy and Spain – The Avars – Battles with the Saxons – The Heldenlieder – The crowning of the emperor – Harun al-Rashid’s ambassadors – The division and decline of the Carolingian empire – Svatopluk – The Vikings – The kingdoms of the Normans

Ch. XXII

East and West in Carolingian times – The blossoming of culture in China – The Magyar invasion – King Henry – Otto the Great – Austria and the Babenbergs – Feudalism and serfdom – Hugh Capet – The Danes in England – Religious appointments – The Investiture Controversy – Gregory VII and Henry IV – Canossa – Robert Guiscard and William the Conqueror

Ch. XXIII

Horsemen and knights – Castles – Bondsmen – From noble youth to knight: page, squire, dubbing – A knight’s duties – Minstrelsy – Tournaments – Chivalrous poetry – The Song of the Nibelungen – The First Crusade – Godfrey of Bouillon and the conquest of Jerusalem – The significance of the crusades

Ch. XXVI

The burghers of Florence – Humanism – The rebirth of antiquity – The flowering of art – Leonardo da Vinci – The Medici – Renaissance popes – New ideas in Germany – The art of printing – Gunpowder – The downfall of Charles the Bold – Maximilian, the Last Knight – Mercenaries – Fighting in Italy – Maximilian and Dürer

Ch. XXVII

The compass – Spain and the conquest of Granada – Columbus and Isabella – The discovery of America – The modern era – Columbus’s fate – The conquistadores – Hernando Cortez – Mexico – The fall of Montezuma – The Portuguese in India

Ch. XXVIII

The building of the Church of St Peter – Luther’s theses – Luther’s forerunner, Hus – The burning of the papal bull – Charles V and his empire – The sack of Rome – The Diet of Worms – Luther at the Wartburg – The translation of the Bible – Zwingli – Calvin – Henry VIII – Turkish conquests – The division of the empire

Ch. XXIX

Ignatius of Loyola – The Council of Trent – The CounterReformation – The St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre – Philip of  xi Spain – The Battle of Lepanto – The revolt of the Low Countries – Elizabeth of England – Mary Stuart – The sinking of the Armada – English trading posts in America – The East India Companies – The beginnings of the British empire 

Ch. XXX

The Defenestration of Prague – The Thirty Years War – Gustavus Adolphus – Wallenstein – The Peace of Westphalia – The devastation of Germany – The persecution of witches – The birth of a scientific understanding of the world – Nature’s laws – Galileo and his trial 

Ch. XXXI

The Stuart king, Charles I – Cromwell and the Puritans – The rise of England – The year of the Glorious Revolution – France’s prosperity – Richelieu’s policies – Mazarin – Louis XIV – A king’s lever – Versailles – Sources of the government’s wealth – The peasants’ misery – Predatory wars

Ch. XXXII

Turkish conquests – Insurrection in Hungary – The siege of Vienna – Jan Sobieski and the relief of Vienna – Prince Eugene – Ivan the Terrible – Peter the Great – The founding of St Petersburg – Charles XII of Sweden – The race to Stralsund – The expansion of Russian might

Ch. XXXIII

The Enlightenment – Tolerance, reason and humanity – Critique of the Enlightenment – The rise of Prussia – Frederick the Great – Maria Theresa – The Prussian army – The Grand Coalition – The Seven Years War – Joseph II – The abolition of serfdom – Overhasty reforms – The American War of Independence – Benjamin Franklin – Human rights and negro slaves

Ch. XXXVI

The Biedermeier era – Steam engines, steamships, locomotives, the telegraph – Spinning machines and mechanical looms – Coal and iron – Luddites – Socialist ideas – Marx and his theory of class war – Liberalism – The revolutions of 1830 and 1848

Ch. XXXVII

China before 1800 – The Opium war – The Taiping Rebellion – China’s submission – Japan in 1850 – Revolution in support of the Mikado – Japan’s modernisation with foreign assistance – America after 1776 – The slave states – The North – Abraham Lincoln – The Civil War

Ch. XXXVIII

Europe after 1848 – The Emperor Franz Josef and Austria – The German Confederation – France under Napoleon III – Russia – Spain’s decline – The liberation of the peoples of the Balkans – The fight for Constantinople – The kingdom of Sardinia – Cavour – Garibaldi – Bismarck – The reform of the army in defiance of the constitution – The Battle of Königgrätz – Sedan – The founding of the German empire – The Paris Commune – Bismarck’s social reforms – Dismissal of the Iron Chancellor 

Ch. XXXIX

Industry – Markets and sources of raw materials – Britain and France – The Russo-Japanese War – Italy and Germany – The race to mobilize – Austria and the East – The outbreak of the First World War – New weapons – Revolution in Russia – The American intervention – The terms of peace – Scientific advance – End

Ch. XXX

The growth of the world’s population – The defeat of the central European powers during the First World War – The incitement of the masses – The disappearance of tolerance from political life in Germany, Italy, Japan and Soviet Russia – Economic crisis and the outbreak of the Second World War – Propaganda and reality – The murder of the Jews – The atomic bomb – The blessings of science – The collapse of the Communist system – International aid efforts as a reason for hope