Here are the books I consider to be the seven pillars of wisdom on which Western civilization is built.
This past week I gave a lecture on “Why Shakespeare Matters” at Colorado Christian University. In the dinner prior to the talk, the president of the university asked me to name what I considered to be the six foundational texts of Western civilization. Scurrying and scrambling to pull from the top of my head six titles that could plausibly fit the bill, I thought that such an exercise might provide inspiration for a thought-provoking essay.
Permitting myself a little poetic license or literary leeway, I’ve allowed myself seven texts, not six. With an appropriate deferential nod to T. E. Lawrence, here are what I consider to be the seven pillars of wisdom on which Western civilization is built.
Beginning in ancient Greece, the first two texts are those twin towers of antiquity, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Homer’s epic narratives deserve preeminence on their own literary merit but also for the influence that they’ve exerted in the three millennia since they were written.
Moving from Athens to Jerusalem, the inclusion of the Holy Bible needs no justification and no explanation. Its absence would remove the very heart from Western civilization.
We now move to Rome, the third of the foundational cities on which Western civilization is built, and to Virgil’s epic about the foundation of Rome itself. Although The Aeneid, as a work of literature, does not attain the literary heights of Homer’s epics, its influence outreached that of Homer during the early centuries of Christendom due to its being written in accessible Latin and not in the relatively inaccessible Greek. Latin was the language of civilization and Virgil was the Latin poet par excellence. It is needless to say, however, that Virgil’s debt to Homer is so great that his own epic would have been literally unimaginable without the presence in his imagination of The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Virgilian Muse stands on Homeric shoulders.
We now move to a giant of civilization in whom the thought of Athens, Jerusalem and Rome meet and meld. This is the great Saint Augustine and his magnum opus, The City of God, which is the fifth of our textual pillars. Apart from its brilliant exposition of Christian theology, Augustine grapples with the philosophy of the Greeks, illustrating the limitations of Platonism but also acknowledging the wisdom and truth of aspects of Platonic thought. It could be said, in fact, that Augustine baptizes Plato, bringing Plato into the great conversation which would animate Christian thought. The City of God and other works by Augustine consummated the marriage of faith and reason, bringing theology and philosophy together in an indissoluble union.
The penultimate pillar is that other edifice of Christian theology and philosophy, the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. It is no wonder that this great saint has been given the title of the Angelic Doctor. He is the preeminent philosopher and theologian in the entire history of Christendom, whose influence is immeasurable. One of his many seminal achievements was the integration of the thought of Aristotle into Christian philosophy, thereby baptizing Aristotle as Augustine had baptized Plato.
This brings us to the final pillar, Dante’s Divine Comedy, a work which brings together the Homeric and Virgilian Muses and baptizes them in the living waters of Thomistic theology and philosophy. In Dante’s journey from the Dark Wood to the Beatific Vision we see the fusion of classical epic and scholastic reason and the infusion of the most sublime Christian wisdom into the art of narrative.
Perhaps, at this juncture, we should offer a deferential nod to other great books, the exclusion of which from the magnificent seven might raise eyebrows or even be considered sins of omission. The exclusion of the works of Plato and Aristotle might seem a little odd, even though they have been incorporated vicariously in their baptized form in the works of Augustine, Aquinas and Dante. The absence of The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius might raise eyebrows, especially as it was one of the most influential texts on the culture of Christendom for many centuries. The Rule of Saint Benedict has had a seminal impact on Western civilization, its precepts governing the lives of those countless monastic communities which have carried the flame of faith and culture across the centuries.
Finally, we must mention Shakespeare. Many of his individual works merit inclusion among the illustrissimi of Great Books and his corpus, taken as a whole and published as The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, is the equal of any of the seminal titles in the list which constitutes the seven pillars of civilization. His exclusion from the list does not constitute a sin of omission, however, because the whole of modernity, including Shakespeare, stands on the solid pre-modern pillars of civilization we have listed. All that is civilized in modernity, and all that is civilized in the works of Shakespeare, is dependent on Western civilization itself and the seven pillars of wisdom which support it. These seven pillars of Western civilization are also the seven textual wonders of civilized culture. With them, we can plumb the depths of the human psyche and can reach for the heights of heaven; without them, we are lost in the cosmos with nothing but nothing to comfort us. For the priceless inheritance of these good, true and beautiful gifts we should give thanks to the Good, True and Beautiful Himself. Deo gratias!
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The Holy Bible is actual salvational history, and it is fundament to civilized culture in all nations. Bishop Augustine himself, in, the City of God, warns against identifying divine civilization with Graeco-Roman so called culture, says the former is built on love, but the latter only on libido dominandi, and so the latter perished. While Graeco-Roman culture is fundamental to Western European and Anglo-American school, there is no reason to impose it on all nations, as some kind of condition for civilization, it is not. The Holy Bible and Summa Theologica, being actual salvational history and catholic university theology, are condition for the catholic Church, who will still exist, if we perish, like Homer and Virgil still exists, and like Shakespeare will exist. But the City of God does not rely on Homer or Virgil or Shakespeare, because they are flawed. Western civilization, in the Augustinian sense, is the Church, who inculturates gentile tradition, that must perish anyway, because it is flawed, but in the modern sense is only geographical. And if we choose the latter option, it is all right, but eastern, southern, northern, and all kinds of civilizations also exist, in Holy Mother Church. Even in the USA, even in Lutheran Denmark, and these other civilizations, our public schools, while Graeco-Roman culture and Shakespeare are still high school curriculum, it is debatable. Western civilization needs to understand that the Holy Bible does not depend on us or on our schools, or on Homer or Vergil or Shakespeare. The latters are for our pleasure, and we do well in cultivating our minds with them, but there exists other nations, who love the Holy Bible. And if we must perish, civilization still prevails. For our own sake, we should like the ancients, but they are only pillars of ourselves. Thank you.
Libido dominandi is in the heart and mind of all people. Graeco-Roman culture is much more than that. Alphabet, architecture, law, road networks connecting cities, Latin the one language still dominant in bits and pieces in law, medicine, technology, et cetera.
Yes … but … as we say in Denmark … then why did Graeco-Roman great civilization go under? My conjecture is that, if there had not been Christianity, then, pagan civilization might have proceeded in either of two equally disastrous ways: It might have declined into aeternal dark ages, with no Church to revive it, or it might have risen into thermonuclear war, without religious checks and balances. Certainly, the true and the good and the beautiful were perceived by philosophers, but by the time of the nativity of our Lord, the Augustan world peace was fake, as it was based only on fear for Caesar’s sword. While philosophy and civilization still had creativity and dynamics from below, in my not so humble opinion, it needed love of God and love of neighbour, which had in earlier times been the inspiring Spirit, before people lost their common religion.
An interesting exercise would be to query younger generations as to their perspectives on the 7 Pillars of Western Civilization.
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Herodotus’s Histories! The first real attempt to investigate and analyze causes and effects in human affairs.
Yes but then also Thucydides, especially for his Melian dialogues, possibly hinting to God’s punishment on Athens, for their war crimes. Melian was an independent city state that was coerced by Athens to choose their side, which the Melians refused, and they were brutally wiped out, with power as sole justification. The great historian hints to, that power is not God, which is an extraordinary rare point of view, that, of course, Aristotle also hints to, when he says that it was friendship among free men who loved their families at home, that won Sparta victory over Persia, and which Augustine definitely canonizes, in, the City of God. War is sin. We must bury our dead, and sign treaties. See the essay, on TIC, Thucydides and Never-Ending War, by W. Winston Elliott III, 2015.
A generally commendable list, though Plato’s Republic should replace the Aeneid. Probably no other work has had so enduring an influence not only on central objects of Western thought, but also on how we think about them.
Agreed
YES, agreed!
You missed the Qur’an! Much more influential than the other books listed since it underpins the entire edifice of what became the Renaissance and European enlightenment.
I agree with you
Shouldn’t John SCOTUS Eriugena get a mention as the preeminent philosopher of the first millennium.
Hi,
I read the the assay and during the reading of the text I didn’t see you have mentioned the Holy book ” Quran”.
Isn’t it worth mentioning beside the Holy Bible?!
Agreed – see my comment above.
No.
Although the Quran is a major piece of literature, it does not fit within the aspects of the article. It would if “Western” was not in the title. It falls into the “Middle Eastern” realm. It is the same with the story of Gilgamesh – not Western. Get rid of “Western”, the add them in. Though, I would also add in the writings of Confucius and “The Art of War”.
True
Great job!
I am very thankful for this is amazing work, one of the best summary in the literary world.
Felicitations.
These are very interesting choices and, of course, there will be agreement and disagreement. My own impression is that a civilization is a monumental structure and would require more than just seven pillars in its construction in order to be viable. Also, pillars are raised after a foundation has been laid. I often noted when I was hunting for a home in my earlier years that there were many that had stone foundations and that a lot of said stones were put in place before the rest of the house went up. My mother, who grew up in a more remote part of Pennsylvania, always warned me that such dry-stone foundations were attractive to snakes holing up for the winter. Folk wisdom derived, I would presume, from lived experience getting on toward one hundred years ago…yet, not metaphorically inappropriate in these troubled times. I wish everyone warmth, comfort and love this last month of the year.
No Greco-Roman literary work would have ever existed without the massive contributions of Ancient Mesopotamian anonymous scribe
– The Epic of Gilgamesh
-The Enuma Elish
– The poems of Enheduanna
These millenary works are just the most famous works
Classical Greece and Rome did not emerge in a vacuum !
Euclid’s Elements should be on the list.
I would appreciate some insight into what, specifically, was the impact of Plato’s contribution to changing man’s perception of the nature of reality? In fact, a more in depth treatise on fleshing out the nuts and bolts transition of human thought in regard to all of them would be very intersting to me.
I am thinking about Corpus Juris Civilis – or some other embodiment of the Roman Law tradition. One of the powerest pillars of the Western civilization.
Only if post-modern society has a revival and returns to Scripture does it have any hope of survival and the victory of sanity over madness and good over evil.
As it stands, however, it is my belief based on Biblical prophecy and the signs around us, that we are hurtling towards the Last Days. Come soon, Lord Jesus.
What aboút the modern works of C.S… Lewis? Intuitive,academic yet accessible, entertaining yet informative. Eight Pillars.
A most complete list. As I was fortunate enough to have these works assigned to me and my classmates during the week. And the Holy Bible ‘assigned’ to me in Sunday School.
I believe that Locke should have been included as he has rightfully been called the father of the US Republic.
I think the list reflect a very limited scope of thought. I offer that two of the three Greek/Roman Texts should be replaced with:
One Seminal scientific/mathematical works that underpin modern scientific thought: Newton’s Principa established physics, Maxwell’s text Electromagnetic Theory paced the way for the modern world in almost all its dimensions and affected the philosophy of physics by uniting “fundamental” forces, or Einstein’s collected papers which inaugurated both relativity and quantum physics.
One economic/political document. Maybe Smiths Wealth of Nations, or the Magna Carta
If you insist on seven pillars, I would combine The Iliad and the Odyssey as single work (they are sister works) and add Don Quixote to the list. And perhaps I would replace City of God with St. Augustine’s Confessions. I think it was more influential.