This document discusses the three major influences on Western culture: Greek culture, Roman culture, and Christianity. It notes that Greek culture emphasized thought and speech and influenced the rest of the world. Roman culture emphasized practicality and law, with influences like Roman law and Cicero. Christianity was the third major influence, with Jesus and concepts like the Golden Rule shaping art, literature and more, and with movements like monasticism preserving knowledge through the Dark Ages.

1. West of What?

3. • “No man is an iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a
peece of the continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod
bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as
well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor
of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death
diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde;
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell
tolls; it tolls for thee”
• John Donne– Meditation XVII

5. Isocrates wrote of Greek culture that:
• "And so far has our city distanced the rest of mankind
in thought and in speech that her pupils have become
the teachers of the rest of the world; and she has
brought it about that the name 'Hellenes' suggests no
longer a race but an intelligence, and that the title of
'Hellenes' is applied rather to those who share our
culture than to those who share our common blood."
Later, the Latin poet Horace would remark that:
• "Greece, when captured, captured her savage
conqueror and brought the arts into rustic Latium."

6. Rome
• Roman culture was marked by its practicality, and
the greatest Roman contribution to Western
Culture has been Roman law. Blackstone's Law
Dictionary, which had wide influence,
encapsulated many principles of Roman law.
• Cicero had a major influence, not only in his
country, but throughout medieval times, St.
Augustine, and even affected the framers of the
U.S. Constitution.

7. Christianity
• The third and last formative influence on Western Culture is Christianity.
Jesus was among the most influential persons in human history. His
preaching of the Golden Rule, of salvation, redemption and immortality
not only affected the lives of people but also their art, literature,
philosophy, and architecture. With the preaching of Christianity came the
already existing concept of monotheism. The Bible became a central piece
of Western literature affecting all fields within Western culture; law,
philosophy, education, and politics.
• With Christianity came a movement called monasticism (monks and nuns).
Monasticism carried Christianity and science to all the countries of Europe
and preserved Latin and Christian texts during the Dark Ages.
• In order to educate its clergy, the Roman Catholic Church founded many
seminaries throughout Europe. These, in turn, grew into today's
universities and colleges.
• St. Augustine is premier, along with Plato, in forming the mindset of Latin
Christianity.