Some Principles Of Political Philosophy Contained In De Regimine Principum
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Authors
Gallagher, Charles
Date of Issue
1949-04-01
Type
thesis
Language
Subject Keywords
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Abstract
"And much it grieved my heart to thin;; What man has made of man." (1)
Writing one hundred and fifty years ago, the English Romantic poet, William Wordsworth, has put into the form and language of poetry the thoughts and opinions held by most thinking people in the world today: By ignoring, or even totally denying the Fatherhood of God, mankind has consequently and necessarily forgotten about the brotherhood of man.
And in speaking of the locale and circumstances surrounding the poem's composition, Wordsworth said: "Actually composed while I was sitting by the side of the brook that runs down from the Comb, in which stands the village of Alford, through the grounds of Alfoxden." (2)
How similar is our position today! We are seated by the stream of History, at a point where it has just passed the raging whirlpools and treacherous reefs of that great human catastrophe called World War II, wherein so many have gone to their deaths. As they rush by us, the waters of The Day are still frothy and turbulent from the tremendous churning to which they have just been subjected. Passing by a sharp bend, around which no man can see with certainty, the stream forges through its banks to Tomorrow. Once there, will this raging torrent become calm and placid, affording a place where children may safely play along the banks and where their parents, tired from their labors, may gain respite and refreshment before once more shouldering their daily tasks and responsibilities? We fervently hope that this will be the case. But looking at the present, it portends but ill for the future.
What’s wrong with the world today? Why, three years after World War II, is everything in such a state of confusion?
The Scholastic philosopher would answer these questions with "Communism abroad and Secularism at home." He does not set up a dichotomy of isolated conditions here, for Communism abroad is a result of extreme secularization (3), and therefore the two conditions are not unrelated. (4)
In this, as in all things, the Man-on-the-Street has an opinion. And in this case, his opinion would seam to be right. He says: ''What’s wrong with the world today? Why, I’ll tell you. It’s politics. That’s what it is. Politics."
"And much it grieved my heart to thin;; What man has made of man." (1)
Writing one hundred and fifty years ago, the English Romantic poet, William Wordsworth, has put into the form and language of poetry the thoughts and opinions held by most thinking people in the world today: By ignoring, or even totally denying the Fatherhood of God, mankind has consequently and necessarily forgotten about the brotherhood of man.
And in speaking of the locale and circumstances surrounding the poem's composition, Wordsworth said: "Actually composed while I was sitting by the side of the brook that runs down from the Comb, in which stands the village of Alford, through the grounds of Alfoxden." (2)
How similar is our position today! We are seated by the stream of History, at a point where it has just passed the raging whirlpools and treacherous reefs of that great human catastrophe called World War II, wherein so many have gone to their deaths. As they rush by us, the waters of The Day are still frothy and turbulent from the tremendous churning to which they have just been subjected. Passing by a sharp bend, around which no man can see with certainty, the stream forges through its banks to Tomorrow. Once there, will this raging torrent become calm and placid, affording a place where children may safely play along the banks and where their parents, tired from their labors, may gain respite and refreshment before once more shouldering their daily tasks and responsibilities? We fervently hope that this will be the case. But looking at the present, it portends but ill for the future.
What’s wrong with the world today? Why, three years after World War II, is everything in such a state of confusion?
The Scholastic philosopher would answer these questions with "Communism abroad and Secularism at home." He does not set up a dichotomy of isolated conditions here, for Communism abroad is a result of extreme secularization (3), and therefore the two conditions are not unrelated. (4)
In this, as in all things, the Man-on-the-Street has an opinion. And in this case, his opinion would seam to be right. He says: ''What’s wrong with the world today? Why, I’ll tell you. It’s politics. That’s what it is. Politics."