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Show Which The Great Century? , THE Rev. Dr. Walsh has written a book to WM establish that the thirteenth was the great- M est of centuries. He calls as witnesses the facts that the thirteenth century "Is the century H of the Gothic cathedrals, of the foundation of tho H university, of the signing of the Magna Charta, ! H and of the origin of representative government H with something like constitutional guarantees H throughout Western Europe." It is further the age H of those "great monarchs, St. Louis of France, St. yH Ferdinand of Spain, Alfonso the Wise of Castile, lH Frederick II of Germany, Edward I. the English Justinian, Rudolph of Hapsburg, whose descend- wM ants still rule in Austria, and Robert Bruce." iM Again; it is the century of St. Francis of Assist, of Mm St. Dominic, of St. Clare, and St. Elizabeth of Hun- M& gary, (the first settlement worker Dr. Walsh calls jH the last), of St. Thomas Aquinas, Albertus Mag- lM nus, Roger Bacon, Duns Scotus, of Robert of Sor- M bonne, of Giotto, of the authors of the Arthurian lH Legends, the Nlbelungen, of the Melsterslngers, H Minnesingers, Troubadours, Trouvleres and M above all of Dante. M Good works, science, (Including physics, chem- Jh istry, medicine), learning, art, literature, all had WM their shining exemplars, and education flourished MM to such an extent that the University of Bolonga H had from 15,000 to 20,000 students. There was M co-education, too, and Dr. Walsh declares that the M "lamentable Helolse and Abelard incident at the M University of Paris during the twelfth" century is H responsible for the elimination of that feature of M education till modern times in many countries. H For, thereafter, Paris ceased to entertain women H students, and the French, English and Spanish in- M stitutlons are all descendants of the University M of Paris." M He charges, too, that the preoccupation of M women, in their studies, prevented them trom do- M lng their household work, and hence the Bolonga H sausage was Invented as a profitable manufac- JM turcd food. M We are afraid that the zeal of the doctor has fl carried him away a little. The fifteenth century M was a good deal of a century. The discovery of M America was an epoch-making event The bIx- HJ teenth century was wonderful In the great souls that Illuminated the world in England, In France, H in Spain, and Italy. But in all those centuries H there was not much done for the poor of the H world, the eighteenth century was when the man- H hood of men received Its fullest recognition. Our M Declaration of Independence; the French Revolu- 1 tlon which cleared the airs of Europe; the inven- B ' n of the steam engine; the opening of new H lands, and the perfection of machinery did more H to advance mankind than a dozen-previous con- HI B turles hnd done; more than had been accom- Bj pllshed in a thousand previous years. |