Catholic Philosophy

St. Benedict and Gregory the Great

What little remains of the culture of Ancient Rome amid the widespread decline of civilization that began during the ceaseless wars of the 6th century and beyond was primarily preserved by the Church. However, the Church executed this role rather imperfectly, for even the greatest ecclesiastics of the time were ensnared by fanaticism and superstition, while secular knowledge bore a bad reputation. Nevertheless, ecclesiastical institutions formed a sturdy framework within which, in a later period, the revival of knowledge and the civilized arts became possible.

For the period under consideration in this chapter, three aspects of the Church's activities merit particular attention: first, the monastic movement; second, the growing influence of the papacy, especially during the reign of Gregory the Great; and third, the conversion of the barbarians from paganism to Christianity through missionary efforts. I shall briefly address each of these points in the order they have been named.

The monastic movement arose simultaneously in Egypt and Syria around the early 4th century, taking on a dual form: that of solitary hermits and communal monasteries. St. Anthony, the first hermit, was born in Egypt around 250 and withdrew from the world around 270. He spent a full 15 years in solitude in a hut near his homeland, followed by another 20 years in a remote desert location. Yet the fame of St. Anthony spread, and throngs of people yearned to hear his pastoral teachings. This compelled him, around 305, to leave his seclusion to instruct the people and encourage them to embrace the hermitic life. St. Anthony adhered to the strictest asceticism, reducing food, drink, and sleep to the minimum necessary for survival. The devil constantly besieged him with lascivious visions, but he steadfastly resisted the malicious schemes of Satan. In the later years of St. Anthony's life, the Thebaid was inundated with hermits inspired by his example and teachings.

A few years later—around 315 or 320—another Egyptian, Pachomius, founded the first monastery. The monks there lived a communal life, devoid of private property, sharing meals and religious rituals. It was in this form, rather than that initiated by St. Anthony, that monasticism conquered the Christian world. In the monasteries associated with Pachomius, the monks labored extensively, primarily in agricultural work, instead of idling away their time in the struggle against the temptations of the flesh.

Approximately during the same period, monasticism emerged in Syria and Mesopotamia, where asceticism took even more extreme forms than in Egypt. St. Simeon Stylites and other pillars of asceticism hailed from Syria. It was from the East that monasticism permeated the Greek-speaking countries, largely due to the efforts of St. Basil (circa 360). The monasteries he established adhered to a less rigorous asceticism; they included orphanages and schools for boys (not only for those intending to become monks).

In its early stages, monasticism was an unorganized movement entirely outside ecclesiastical structure. St. Athanasius reconciled ecclesiastics with monasticism. Partly due to his influence, the rule was established that monks must be priests. During his stay in Rome in 339, he brought the movement to the West. St. Jerome contributed significantly to the development of the monastic movement, while St. Augustine introduced it to Africa. St. Martin of Tours founded the first monasteries in Gaul, and St. Patrick did so in Ireland. In 556, St. Columbanus established the Ionian monastery. Initially, before monks were incorporated into the ecclesiastical organization, they became a source of confusion. Notably, it was often impossible to distinguish true ascetics from those who, deprived of means of livelihood, found monastic life relatively comfortable. Another source of difficulties was that monks provided strong support to their favored bishops, pressuring synods (and nearly compelling councils) into heresy. The Council of Ephesus (not a general council), which ruled in favor of the Monophysites, was under the influence of monks who terrorized its members. Had the pope not opposed this decision, the victory of the Monophysites might have become enduring. Such turmoil would not recur later.

It seems that nuns appeared earlier than monks, no later than the mid-3rd century. Some of them walled themselves into tombs. They regarded purity with disdain, calling lice "God's pearls" and considering them a sign of holiness. Saints, both male and female, often boasted that water had never touched their feet, except when they had to wade across rivers. In later centuries, monks served many beneficial purposes; they became skilled farmers, and some upheld or revived the tradition of learning. However, in the early stages of the monastic movement, especially in its hermitic branch, none of this was present. Most monks toiled not at all, read nothing beyond what religion prescribed, and understood virtue solely in a negative sense, as abstaining from sin, especially from the sins of the flesh. Indeed, St. Jerome took his library with him into the desert, yet later he deemed this a sin.

The most significant figure in Western monasticism is St. Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine Order. He was born around 480 near Spoleto, into a noble Umbrian family; at the age of 20, he fled the luxury and pleasures of Rome to a secluded cave, where he lived for three years. Subsequently, St. Benedict led a less secluded life and around 520 founded the famous monastery of Monte Cassino, for which he composed the "Rule of St. Benedict." This rule was adapted to Western conditions and did not demand the stringent asceticism typical among monks in Egypt and Syria. Monks of that time sought to surpass one another in ascetic extremes, and the one who excelled in this futile competition was revered as a pillar of holiness. St. Benedict put an end to this practice by stipulating that ascetic privations beyond the rule could only be observed with the abbot's permission. The abbot wielded significant power: he was elected for life and, within the bounds of the rule and orthodoxy, possessed nearly despotic authority over his monks, who were no longer permitted, as before, to transfer from one monastery to another at will. In later times, the Benedictines became renowned for their scholarship, yet initially, all their reading was limited to religious service literature.

Organizations live their own lives, independent of the goals established by their founders. The most striking example of this fact is the Catholic Church, which would astonish not only Jesus but even Paul. A somewhat less significant example of the same phenomenon is the Benedictine Order. Monks take vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity. In this regard, Gibbon remarks: "I somewhere heard or read that a Benedictine abbot made the following confession: 'My vow of poverty provided me with an annual income of one hundred thousand crowns; my vow of obedience elevated me to the status of an autocratic ruler.' I do not recall what the vow of chastity brought him." However, the order's deviation from its founder's goals was not entirely regrettable. This is particularly true concerning knowledge. The library of Monte Cassino is universally renowned, and in various respects, the world owes much to the scholarly tastes of later Benedictines.

St. Benedict lived at Monte Cassino from the founding of the monastery until his death in 543. Shortly before Gregory the Great (who himself belonged to the Benedictine Order) became pope, the monastery was sacked by the Lombards. The monks fled to Rome, but when the fury of the Lombards subsided, they returned to Monte Cassino.

From the dialogues of Pope Gregory the Great, composed in the year 593, we learn much about Saint Benedict. He "was raised in Rome, immersed in the study of the liberal arts. Yet, observing that many, upon gaining such knowledge, fell into a life of debauchery and corruption, he withdrew his foot, so to speak, from the world, lest he himself be ensnared in that perilous and godless abyss through excessive familiarity with its learning. Thus, having spurned the pursuit of knowledge, he forsook his home and ancestral wealth and, with unwavering resolve to serve the one true God, set forth in search of a place where he might fulfill his holy desire. With these thoughts, he embarked on his journey, guided by learned ignorance and endowed with unlearned wisdom."

Saint Benedict immediately acquired the gift of performing miracles. The first of his wonders was the mending of a torn sieve through the power of prayer. The inhabitants of that place hung the sieve above the church door, where it "remained for many years, visible to all, even until the present invasion of the Lombards." Leaving the sieve behind, Saint Benedict retreated to his cave, of which no one knew except for a single friend who secretly provided him with food; this friend would lower the food on a rope, to which a bell was attached, ringing to signal the saint when his meal was brought. However, the devil cast a stone into the rope, severing it along with the bell. Nevertheless, the scheme of the enemy of humanity, who hoped to interrupt the supply of food to the saint, was thwarted.

When Benedict had spent a period in the cave according to God's design, our Lord appeared in a vision on Easter Sunday to a certain priest, revealing to him the hermit's whereabouts and commanding him to share his Easter feast with the holy man. At the same time, the shepherds discovered Saint Benedict. "At first, when they saw him among the bushes, clothed in animal skins, they truly thought him to be a beast; but upon closer examination, recognizing the servant of God, many left behind their brutish thoughts and turned towards mercy, piety, and faith."

Like other hermits, Benedict struggled with the temptations of the flesh. "At one time, he beheld a woman whom the evil spirit had brought before the eyes of his mind, and her appearance inflamed the soul of God's servant with such lust that the flame of passion scarcely contained itself within his heart, and, swept away by desire, he nearly longed to abandon the wilderness. But suddenly, by God's grace, he came to his senses and, seeing nearby dense thickets of briars and nettles, he stripped off his garments and threw himself into their very midst; he rolled there for a long time, and when he arose, all his skin and flesh were horrifically torn. Yet through the wounds of his body, he healed the wounds of his soul."

The fame of Saint Benedict spread widely, and the monks of a certain monastery, whose abbot had recently passed away, earnestly petitioned him to be their new abbot. He heeded their plea but demanded of them the strictest adherence to virtue; this led the monks to such fury that they resolved to poison him, mixing poison into his wine. Yet Saint Benedict made the sign of the cross over the cup, causing it to shatter into pieces, after which he returned to the wilderness.

The miracle of the sieve was not the only practically beneficial miracle performed by Saint Benedict. One day, a pious Goth, while pruning briar bushes with garden shears, accidentally dislodged the iron piece from the handle, which fell into deep water. When the Goth recounted the incident to the saint, Benedict cast the handle into the water, and the iron piece floated to the surface, attaching itself to the handle of its own accord.

A neighboring priest, envious of the holy man's renown, sent him bread baked with poison. However, Benedict miraculously discerned that the bread was tainted. He had a custom of feeding a raven with bread, and when that day the raven arrived, the saint spoke to it: "In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, take this bread and carry it to a place where no human may find it." The raven complied, and upon returning, received its usual share of bread. The wicked priest, seeing that he could not kill Benedict's body, sought to ruin his soul and sent seven naked maidens to the monastery. The saint, fearing that this temptation might lead any of his still youthful monks to sin, left the monastery himself, so that nothing could further incite the priest to such actions. But in the priest’s chamber, the ceiling collapsed, killing him instantly. One of the monks, overjoyed, hastened after Benedict to inform him of this event and to urge his return to the monastery. Benedict mourned the death of the sinner, and for the monk’s delight at the sinner's demise, he imposed a penance upon him.

Gregory not only recounts miracles but also occasionally shares facts from the life of Saint Benedict. Having founded twelve monasteries, he ultimately arrived at Monte Cassino; here stood a shrine where the inhabitants of the surrounding areas continued, in accordance with pagan custom, to offer divine honors to Apollo. "Even then, the deluded throng of unbelievers brought loathsome sacrifices." Benedict overthrew the altar, transforming the shrine into a church and converting the nearby pagans to Christianity. Satan was furious:
"But the ancient enemy of humankind could not bear this in silence: he did not appear secretly or in a dream but openly manifested himself before the eyes of this holy father and, with loud lamentations, mourned his loss, so that the clamor he produced was heard by the monks, though they did not see his form. This adversary, as the esteemed father recounted to his disciples, appeared to his bodily eyes as a fearsome and savage figure; it seemed he wished to tear him apart with his fiery mouth and blazing eyes. What the devil spoke, all the monks heard for themselves. First, he called him by name; when the holy man did not answer the foe, the devil immediately began to hurl blasphemies at him. For, crying, 'Benedict, Benedict!' and receiving no reply, he shouted, 'Accursed rather than blessed! Why have you come after me? What have I done to you?'" The account then concludes; one can surmise that Satan, in despair, capitulated.

I have provided fairly extensive excerpts from Gregory’s dialogues, as they hold triple significance. First, they serve as our primary source for studying the biography of Saint Benedict, whose rule became the model for all Western monasteries (excluding those in Ireland or founded by the Irish). Second, Gregory's dialogues offer a vivid picture of the spiritual atmosphere prevailing among the most cultured people of the late sixth century. Third, the author of these dialogues was Pope Gregory the Great—the fourth and final doctor of the Western Church and, politically, one of the most prominent popes. To him, we must now direct our attention.

The venerable W. X. Hatton, Archdeacon of Northampton, insists that Gregory was the greatest figure of the sixth century; the only contenders, in his view, who could contest this position against Gregory are Justinian and Saint Benedict. One cannot help but agree that all three of these individuals profoundly influenced subsequent centuries: Justinian—with his code (though not with his ephemeral conquests); Benedict—with his monastic rule; and, finally, Gregory—with the increased authority of the papacy, a result of his policies. In the dialogues I have quoted, Gregory appears somewhat foolish and gullible, yet as a politician, he was astute, despotic, and well aware of what could be achieved in the complex and shifting world in which he had to operate. This contrast is striking; yet, the most outstanding figures of action often do not shine with exceptional intellect.

Gregory the Great, the first pope to bear that name, was born in Rome around 540 AD into a wealthy and noble family. There are grounds to believe that his grandfather, having become a widower, occupied the papal throne. Gregory himself, in his youth, possessed a palace and vast riches. He received an education that was considered good for the time, although it did not include knowledge of the Greek language; he never mastered this language, despite having lived in Constantinople for six years. In 573, Gregory held the position of Prefect of the City of Rome. However, religion claimed him: he renounced his office, distributed his wealth to establish monasteries and charitable causes, and transformed his palace into a monastic refuge, joining the Benedictine order himself. Gregory devoted himself to religious contemplation and ascetic deprivation, which constantly jeopardized his health. Yet, Pope Pelagius II, having heard of Gregory's political talents, sent him as his ambassador to Constantinople, to which Rome had been formally subordinate since the time of Justinian. Gregory lived in Constantinople from 579 to 585, representing papal interests at the imperial court and defending papal theology in disputes with Eastern clerics, who were always more inclined toward heresy than their Western counterparts. It was during this time that the Patriarch of Constantinople held the erroneous belief that, in the resurrection, our bodies would be intangible; Gregory saved the emperor from adopting this view, which represented a clear deviation from true faith. However, he was unable to persuade the emperor to launch a military campaign against the Lombards, which was the main goal of his mission.

Gregory spent five years (585—590) as the head of his monastery. Then, upon the death of the pope, Gregory became his successor. The times were difficult, but precisely because of the chaos that reigned, they opened vast opportunities for a talented politician. The Lombards ravaged Italy, while Spain and Africa were in a state of anarchy, provoked by the weakness of the Byzantines, the decline of the Visigoth state, and the marauding incursions of the Moors. France became a battleground between the North and the South. Britain, which had adhered to Christianity under Roman rule, had returned to paganism since the Saxon invasion. The remnants of Arianism persisted, and the heresy of the "Three Chapters" had not disappeared without a trace. These tumultuous times infected even the bishops, many of whom led anything but exemplary lives. Simony was a common occurrence and remained a glaring evil until the latter half of the eleventh century.

All these sources of disorder encountered in Gregory an energetic and discerning adversary. Before his pontificate, the Bishop of Rome, although recognized as preeminent in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, held no jurisdiction beyond his own diocese. For instance, St. Ambrose, who maintained excellent relations with the popes of his time, certainly never considered himself in any way subordinate to their authority. Thanks in part to his personal qualities and in part to the anarchy of the times, Gregory succeeded in affirming the power of the Bishop of Rome, which was recognized by clerics throughout the West and, albeit to a lesser extent, in the East. He exercised this power primarily through letters directed to bishops and secular rulers across the Roman world, as well as by other means. His work, The Pastoral Rule, which contains instructions for bishops, wielded immense influence throughout the early Middle Ages. It was conceived as a guide on how bishops should fulfill their duties and received recognition precisely in this capacity. Initially, Gregory wrote his book for the Bishop of Ravenna and also sent it to the Bishop of Seville. During the reign of Charlemagne, it was presented to all bishops upon their consecration. Alfred the Great translated Gregory’s book into Anglo-Saxon. In the East, it spread in Greek translation. In his guidance, Gregory provides bishops with sound, if not remarkable, advice, such as that they should not neglect their responsibilities. He also reminds them that they should not condemn their rulers but should constantly warn them about the dangers of hellfire if they fail to follow the church's guidance.

Gregory’s letters are of extraordinary interest, for they not only reveal his character but also paint a picture of the age in which he lived. To his correspondents (aside from letters addressed to the emperor and the courtly ladies of Byzantium), Gregory adopts a tone akin to that of a schoolmaster: sometimes instructive, often admonitory, and never revealing the slightest doubt regarding his right to issue commands.

Let us take, for instance, letters from a single year (599). The first letter is addressed to the Bishop of Cagliari (in Sardinia), who, despite his advanced years, was a poor shepherd. In this letter, he states: “I have been informed that on Sunday, before celebrating the festive Mass, you went into the fields to plow the harvest of the sender of this letter... Furthermore, that after the festive Mass you were unafraid to remove the boundary markers of this estate... We wish to spare your gray hair, and therefore we admonish: reconsider, old man, refrain from such frivolous behavior and such malicious deeds.” At the same time, Gregory addresses the secular authorities of Sardinia regarding the same matter. The aforementioned bishop further deserves rebuke for levying a tax on funerals and for permitting a newly converted Jew to place a cross and an icon of the Mother of God in the synagogue. Additionally, it has come to light that he and other Sardinian bishops have traveled without the permission of their archbishop; this must come to an end. Then follows an extraordinarily sharp letter to the Proconsul of Dalmatia, which states, among other things: “We do not see how you fulfill your duty before God or men”; and further: “When you truly sought our favor, as you assure us, you ought to have wholeheartedly, with tears in your eyes, dutifully fulfilled your obligation to the Savior in such matters.” I cannot ascertain the offenses of the unfortunate man.

The next letter is addressed to Callinicus, the Exarch of Italy, whom Gregory congratulates on his victory over the Slavs and instructs on how to behave toward the heretics of Istria, who have strayed from the true path concerning the "Three Chapters." On the same issue, Gregory writes to the Bishop of Ravenna. Only once, as an exception, do we find a letter to the Bishop of Syracuse, in which Gregory defends himself against accusations rather than attacking. The dispute erupted over a matter of utmost importance: whether “Alleluia” should be uttered at a certain moment in the Mass. Gregory asserts that the custom he established was not adopted out of subservience to the Byzantines, as the Bishop of Syracuse implies, but was borrowed from St. James through the blessed Jerome. Those who believed that Gregory was excessively subservient to the Greek custom were therefore mistaken. (This very question became one of the causes of the schism of the Old Believers in Russia.)

A number of letters are addressed to barbarian kings of both genders. Brunchilda, the Frankish queen, expressed a desire for a pallium to be delivered to a certain French bishop, and Gregory was wholeheartedly willing to fulfill her request; but, unfortunately, the emissary she sent proved to be a schismatic. To Agilulf, the Lombard king, Gregory sends a congratulatory letter on the occasion of peace. “For if, alas, peace had not been made, what other outcome could follow from sin and harm to both parties, except the shedding of blood from the unfortunate farmers, whose labor feeds both us and you?” At the same time, Gregory writes to Agilulf’s wife, Queen Theodelinda, urging her to influence her husband to steadfastly follow the path of goodness. Gregory again addresses Brunchilda to condemn two matters in her kingdom: first, laymen are immediately elevated to the rank of bishop without a probationary period as a mere priest; and second, Jews are permitted to have Christian slaves. To Theoderic and Theodobert, the Frankish kings, Gregory writes that, considering the exemplary piety of the Franks, he would like to speak only pleasant things to them, but he cannot remain silent regarding the simony that prevails in their kingdom. In a new letter, Gregory points out the injustice inflicted on the Bishop of Turin.

One letter to a barbarian king is entirely composed in a tone of praise; it is addressed to Richard, the king of the Visigoths, who was an Arian but converted to Catholicism in 587. For this, the pope sends him as a reward “together with his blessing a small key from the most blessed body of the blessed apostle Peter, still bearing traces of iron from his chains; and may that which confined the neck of the apostle, causing him suffering, free your neck from all sins.” I hope that Gregory’s gift was pleasing to His Majesty.

The Bishop of Antioch, Gregory, warns against the decrees of the heretical synod in Ephesus; he further informs that "it has reached our ears that in the churches of the East, no one can receive spiritual ordination without offering a bribe." The bishop must rectify this situation by employing all available means. Gregory admonishes the Bishop of Marseille for having destroyed icons that the faithful revered: while it is indeed wrong to worship icons, they are nevertheless beneficial, and one ought to treat them with respect. He reproaches two Gallic bishops for compelling a woman, who had become a nun, to marry against her will. "When you behave this way… you should be called not shepherds, but hirelings."

The aforementioned is but a small portion of letters from a single year. It is not surprising that Gregory found little time for religious contemplation, lamenting this in one letter (CXXI) pertaining to the same year.

Gregory harbored no fondness for secular knowledge. Addressing Desiderius, the Bishop of Vienne (in France), he writes: "It has reached our ears, a matter we can scarcely articulate without shame, that your Brotherhood has a custom of explaining grammar to individuals. This seems to us so inappropriate and blameworthy that the feelings we previously expressed have turned into groans and sorrow, for it is intolerable to offer praise to Christ with the same lips that praise Jupiter… And since it is particularly revolting when a priest is reproached for this, it is necessary to ascertain, with precision and truth, whether this was indeed the case or not."

This animosity towards pagan knowledge persisted within the Church for at least four centuries, until the time of Herbert (Sylvester II). It was only from the eleventh century onward that the Church replaced its wrath toward knowledge with favor.

Gregory regards the emperor with far greater respect than he does the barbarian kings. In a letter to one of his correspondents in Constantinople, he states: "Whatever the pious emperor wishes, whatever he commands to be fulfilled, is all within his power. As he decides, so must it be. Only let him not compel us to involve ourselves in the matter of the deposition [of the orthodox bishop]. We shall adhere to all his decisions when they align with ecclesiastical law. However, when the emperor's decisions contradict ecclesiastical law, we shall endure them as best we can, lest we ourselves fall into sin."

When, as a result of a rebellion led by the obscure centurion Phocas, Emperor Maurice was overthrown, this upstart seized the throne, murdering five of Maurice's sons before their father’s eyes, and then executed the aged emperor himself. Phocas, of course, was crowned by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who had no choice but to comply or face death. More astonishingly, from his relatively safe distance in Rome, Gregory wrote to the usurper and his wife letters filled with the basest flattery. "Between the kings of the barbarians," he writes, "and the emperors of the Roman Empire, there exists this distinction: barbarian kings rule over slaves, whereas the emperors of the Roman Empire rule over the free… May Almighty God guard in all your thoughts and deeds the heart of your piety (that is, you) in His grace; and may the Holy Spirit, who dwells in your breast, guide all that is accomplished justly and mercifully." To Phocas' wife, Empress Leontia, Gregory writes: "What mouth can express, what mind can comprehend that great gratitude we owe to Almighty God for the blessedness of your reign, which has freed our necks from an unbearably harsh and prolonged burden and has once again made the yoke of imperial power gentle and light." One might think that Maurice was a tyrant; in truth, he was a kind-hearted old man. Defenders of Gregory justify him by claiming he was unaware of the atrocities committed by Phocas; yet, he must have known well how Byzantine usurpers typically behaved, and he did not wait to ascertain whether Phocas was an exception.

An essential aspect of the Church's growing influence was the conversion of pagans to Christianity. The Goths were converted as early as the end of the fourth century by Ulfilas, or Wulfila, unfortunately to Arianism; Arianism was also the religion of the Vandals. However, after the death of Theoderic, the Goths gradually embraced Catholicism; as we have seen, even during Gregory's lifetime, the king of the Visigoths accepted orthodox doctrine. The Franks adhered to Catholicism from the time of Clovis. The Irish were converted to Christianity even before the fall of the Western Empire by St. Patrick, a provincial nobleman from Somerset, who lived among them from 432 until his death in 461. In turn, the Irish made significant contributions to the Christianization of Scotland and northern England. The foremost missionary in this endeavor was St. Columba; St. Columbanus also had great merit, writing lengthy letters to Gregory regarding the date of Easter and other similarly important matters. The conversion of England to Christianity, excluding Northumbria, was of particular concern to Gregory. The well-known tale recounts how, even before his elevation to the papacy, Gregory saw two youths with beautiful hair and blue eyes in the slave market in Rome; when told they were Angles, he replied: "No, they are angels." Upon becoming pope, Gregory sent St. Augustine to Kent for the conversion of the Angles. In Gregory's correspondence, there are many letters to St. Augustine, to King Æthelberht of the Angles, and to others regarding the mission's activities. Gregory instructs that pagan temples in England should not be destroyed, but rather that only the idols be removed and the temples consecrated for the Church. St. Augustine inundates the pope with questions, such as whether cousins may marry and whether wives who had relations the previous night may attend church (they may, if they have washed, asserts the saint), and so forth. The mission, as we know, met with complete success, leading to the Christianization of all.

The singularity of the period we have examined lies in the fact that, although the great figures of this era may pale in comparison to those of many other epochs, they exerted a more profound influence on subsequent centuries. Roman law, monasticism, and the papacy owe their enduring and deep impact significantly to Justinian, Benedict, and Gregory. The figures of the sixth century, though culturally inferior to their predecessors, were markedly superior to those of the subsequent four centuries, as they succeeded in establishing the institutions that ultimately subdued the barbarians. Notably, of the three figures mentioned, two were born of aristocratic lineage in Rome, while the third was a Roman emperor. Gregory is, in the truest sense, the last of the Romans. The authoritative tone of Gregory, though justified by his office, essentially stemmed from the pride of Roman aristocracy. After Gregory, for many centuries, Rome lost the capacity to produce great figures. Yet, in its decline, Rome managed to conquer the souls of its conquerors: the reverence they held for the throne of Peter was a result of the fear they harbored for the throne of the Caesars.

In the East, the course of history took a wholly different turn. Muhammad was born when Gregory was already around thirty years old.