Benedict describes the various strands that come together and reviews the lives and works of fifteen men who have had a lasting impact on the church and Western civilization. His writing style is clear and concise as always. He often draws parallels to modern day problems and demonstrates the relevance of these thinkers and theologians to today's world. His work is also an excellent entrance for those interested in the medieval period and he mentions several of the best works of each writer.
Here's a quote I found fascinating from the chapter on Saint Bonaventure:
Christ's works do not go backwards, they do not fail but progress, the saint said in his letter De Tribus Quaestionibus. Thus St. Bonaventure explicitly formulates the idea of progress, and this is an innovation in comparison with the Fathers of the Church and the majority of his contemporaries. For St. Bonaventure Christ was no longer the end of history, as he was for the Fathers of the Church, but rather its center; history does not end with Christ but begins a new period. The following is another consequence: until that moment the idea that the Fathers of the Church were the absolute summit of theology predominated, all successive generations could only be their disciples. St. Bonaventure also recognized the Fathers as teachers forever, but the phenomenon of St. Frances assured him that the riches of Christ's word are inexhaustible and that new light could also appear to the new generations. The oneness of Christ also guarantees newness and renewal in all the periods of history.
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