EXTINCTION OF LEARNING 



In 590 Gregory the First had been elected Pope. 

 This man, born of a patrician family and of high 

 natural abilities, succeeded in keeping the Lombards 

 away from Rome itself. Sismondi says: "It is diffi- 

 cult to understand why Rome was not taken by the 

 Lombards when Alboin made the conquest of the 

 rest of Italy." * 



Gregory's energies were devoted solely to the pro- 

 gress and advancement of his church. Besides es- 

 tablishing the Orthodox faith in Great Britain, he 

 succeeded in converting to its doctrine many of the 

 Arians (Unitarians) of Italy and Spain, who, in com- 

 mon with the Gauls, the Ostro- and the Visi-goths, 

 and all the northern barbaric nations except the 

 savage and orthodox Franks had for centuries ad- 

 hered to that heresy. 



The writings of Gregory show that he held in 

 horror and aversion the classic literature of the -past. 

 The evidence that he instigated the destruction of the 

 monuments and temples of antiquity is very doubt- 

 ful. Equally without proof is the common belief that 

 he ordered the burning of the Palatine Library ; but 

 the fact of his contempt for learning is unfortunately 

 too well established. 



"Erudition consisted then, as it did for centuries 

 after, only in the recognition of the dogmas that a 



*Histoire des Republic Italians, T. 1., p. 100. 

 5 



