The Closing of the Western Mind

When the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in the fourth century A.D. and declared it the official religion of the Roman empire, he initiated a change that would thrust the Western world into a dark age. The Closing of the Western Mind is Charles Freeman's enthralling account of this pivotal point in Western history.

Charles Freeman is the author of The Greek Achievement (1999) and Egypt, Greece, Rome (1997). From the Hardcover edition.

Map: The Mediterranean in Late Antiquity

xii

Introduction

xv

Terminology and Sources

xxi

1 THOMAS AQUINAS AND "THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH"

3

(4)

2 THE QUEST FOR CERTAINTY

7

(19)

3 THE QUEST FOR VIRTUE

26

(10)

4 CHANGING POLITICAL CONTEXTS: ALEXANDER AND THE COMING OF THE HELLENISTIC MONARCHIES

36

(11)

5 ABSORBING THE EAST, ROME AND THE INTEGRATION OF GREEK CULTURE

47

(14)

6 "ALL NATIONS LOOK TO THE MAJESTY OF ROME": THE ROMAN EMPIRE AT ITS HEIGHT

61

(18)

7 THE EMPIRE IN CRISIS, THE EMPIRE IN RECOVERY: POLITICAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE THIRD CENTURY

79

(9)

8 JESUS

88

(19)

9 PAUL, "THE FOUNDER OF CHRISTIANITY"?

107

(21)

10 "A CROWD THAT LURKS IN CORNERS, SHUNNING THE LIGHT": THE FIRST CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES

128

(26)

11 CONSTANTINE AND THE COMING OF THE CHRISTIAN STATE

154

(24)

12 "BUT WHAT I WISH, THAT MUST BE THE CANON": EMPERORS AND THE MAKING OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE

178

(24)

13 "ENRICHED BY THE GIFTS OF MATRONS": BISHOPS AND SOCIETY IN THE FOURTH CENTURY

202

(15)

14 SIX EMPERORS AND A BISHOP: AMBROSE OF MILAN

217

(10)

15 INTERLUDE: QUINTUS AURELIUS SYMMACHUS AND THE DEFENCE OF PAGANISM

227

(6)

16 THE ASCETIC ODYSSEY

233

(18)

17 EASTERN CHRISTIANITY AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE, 395-600

251

(20)

18 THE EMERGENCE OF CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY IN THE WEST, 395-640

271

(36)

19 "WE HONOUR THE PRIVILEGE OF SILENCE WHICH IS WITHOUT PERIL": THE DEATH OF THE GREEK EMPIRICAL TRADITION

307

(16)

20 THOMAS AQUINAS AND THE RESTORATION OF REASON

323

(12)

Epilogue

335

(6)

Notes

341

(64)

Modern Works Cited in the Text and Notes

405

(12)

Index

417

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The Closing of the Western Mind

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials