Tomland

Tomland
THE KEY TO A SUCCESFUL CIVILIZATION

Tommy Freiburger
Freiburger, Thomas Thursday, June 5, 2014 8:33:24 AM Pacic Daylight Time 70:56:81:b0:0e:6d
SECTION 1
The humidity of the rainforest that makes physical la-
bor so hard and unbearable is intense to the point that
one can taste water in every breath of oxygen one in-
hales. A jungle of tall, bushy, and lush trees seems to
spam the horizon in their numbers. The lush trees sur-
round an omnipotent waterfall cascading turbulently
into a pool of dirty water and causing the brown water
to churn and clash violently against mean, jagged,
black rocks like enemies in battle. Beyond the waterfall,
a river aggressively twists and turns, its white caps
crashing against any obstacles in its path with its care-
less speed and muscle. The river stretches itself all the
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainforest
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed. - Mahatma Gandhi
Introduction
1
way into a dark, hostile mountain range, being
stretched to the point just before it snaps. Steam pools
over the sharp purple mountains like smoke from a
pipe. The sky is a blanket of grey that casts a feeling of
melancholy over the whole area, with the occasional
outline of a cloud. The sky is unpredictable, with no
clue toward whether the sad, grey, clouds will create a
storm or suddenly clear up to reveal a magnicent sun
with a strong, friendly glare.

Upon this land will be born the civilization of Tom-
land. A civilization whose design has been inspired
from the study of past civilizations such as the Mayans,
Aztecs, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, and many more. This
book will document the steps needed to be taken for the
design of a successful civilization; specically in re-
gards to modications of the physical environment, in-
frastructure development, and the characteristics of gov-
ernment, belief systems, and culture.
2
CHAPTER 1
3
The Great Wall of China; an example of modication in ancient China.
http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2011/04/walking-great-wall.html#
Modications
SECTION 1
Part I - Analysis of the Problem
In order to make Tomland a successful civiliza-
tion, the problems of food and water must be ad-
dressed. Due to certain geographical setbacks, the fol-
lowing paragraphs account for the problems food and
water.
1. The people of Tomland do not know if the water
from the waterfall is clean. The people of Tomland
could use animal testing to determine whether or not
4
lack of food in ancient Egypt
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Egyptians/food.htm
Human Changes to the Land
the water is clean enough to drink, but animals have dif-
ferent immune systems than humans and if that animal
does get infected it could mess up the food chain and
leave us with fewer animals to hunt for food.
2. Tomland has no room for farmland because of the
many lush trees and mountainous terrain. If the people
of Tomland decide that clearing out the trees to make
room for farmland is a good idea, it could affect some
of the animals habitats and cause their numbers in
population to plummet, leaving the people of Tomland
no food. If the people of Tomland do not clear out some
of the trees for farmland, the people will be stuck hunt-
ing and gathering.
The issues that come with the environment of Tomland
will not be easy to overcome, but when they are over-
come, the people of Tomland will thrive.
Part II - Purposed Solution
Modication is everything when sculpting a civili-
zation. Modication is an alteration made by an organ-
ism to its surroundings or environment to better suit its
inhabitants. Modication is what built the great pyra-
mids. Modication is the ship that carried Christopher
Columbus to new land. Modication is what put the
rst man on the moon. Modication is simply what
makes the world that we live in what it is today. Some
specic examples of modication in history are the
Greeks building terraces into the hills for more and bet-
ter farmland (Frey 249 & 250), or the Aztecs, merging is-
lands into their own (Frey 274 75). The people of Tom-
land needed to make modications to their environ-
ment in order for them to survive and thrive.
Farmland and farming was a major problem for the
people of Tomland. If the people of Tomland could not
raise crops, the people could not have a thriving civiliza-
tion because in order to a thriving civilization, one must
have a stable food supply. The civilization of Tomland
is located in a lush and mountainous rainforest. With
numerous trees and a hilly terrain, there is very little
room for farming. To solve the problem of the hilly ter-
rain, the people of Tomland built Terraces into the hills
and mountains for at farmland, modeled by the
Greeks and Mayans (Frey 250 & 268). To clear room for
farmland, the people of Tomland decided to use the
technique of slash and burn, demonstrated by Mayans
5
(Frey 268). The concept of slash and burn is simple: A se-
lection of trees are cut down and burned leaving behind
a fertile clearing due to all the ash. The slash and burn
technique is still used today in some South American
and Southern Asian Countries. Not only is this tech-
nique brilliant; it was perfect for the civilization of Tom-
land.
Another signicant problem for the people of Tom-
land was the problem of drinking water. The people of
Tomland didnt know whether or not the water in the
Rainforest environment was clean, so the people of Tom-
land decided to use animal testing. The animal that the
people of Tomland tested on was unharmed, so the peo-
ple
of
Tom-
land dug wells much like the Arabs (Frey 78). After
Slash and burn technique.
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/01/31/jaguars-
battling-in-the-darkness-sense-of-place-in-the-peruvian-amazo
n/peruvian-amazon-cut-2/
Arabian style well.

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/
photo-of-the-day/yethewadi-water-well/
6
much struggle, the People of Tomland were able to se-
cure a thriving civilization.

7
CHAPTER 2
8
Law and Government
http://www.executedtoday.com/images/Cicero_Denounces_Catiline.jpg
Where you nd the laws most numerous, there you will nd also the
greatest injustice. - Arcesiaus
SECTION 1
Lessons on Democracy
One important lesson to be learned from Athenss
government is that Athens had one of the rst democra-
cies in ancient Greece. Athens had a different kind of
democracy than the one we have today. Their democ-
racy was called a direct democracy, and ours is a repre-
sentative one. In a direct democracy, all citizens have a
say in governing and creating laws, as opposed to a rep-
resentative democracy, where representatives are cho-
sen by the citizens to represent their best interests. All
http://www.artrenewal.org/artwork/523/523/3554/the_last_senate_of_julius_caesar-large.jpg
Maintaining Civil Order
9
citizens in Athens were aloud to vote. Citizens had to
be men 18 years and older born to Athens. As Frey
states on page
261, Women and
slaves were not
citizens. Ath-
enss governing
body was made
up of two parts,
the council of
500, and the as-
sembly, made up
of 6000 citizens.
The council of
500 created and
debated laws for
the assembly to vote on. Proposed laws had to be ap-
proved by a much larger group, the assembly (Frey,
261). The council of 500 was made up of citizens over
the age of 30 who were chosen at random each year. For
a meeting to take place, 6000 citizens had to be present.
If not enough citizens showed up, slaves dragged them
with ropes dipped in red paint to the meeting. As Frey
states, Men were embarrassed to appear at a meeting
with their clothes stained with red marks. This is
much like modern day jury duty. Although Athens had
a democracy, it was not always fair and just. For exam-
ple, talented speakers would persuade illiterate and un-
educated citizens into voting certain ways. The power
was really only in the hands of the council of 500. What
we can learn from the Athenian government is that a di-
rect democracy, despite common belief, is not always
the best form of government.
Few lessons can be learned from the Spartan gov-
ernment. Unlike Athens, Sparta was an oligarchy.
Sparta had something called The Council of Elders was
made up of two kings and 28 citizens from noble fami-
lies, all over the age of 60. The Council of Elders created
laws for an assembly to vote on, much like Athens, but
any laws that the assembly passed that The Council of
Elders later decided they didnt like, they could veto
them. Members of the assembly could only vote yes or
no and was made up of only male citizens. As Frey
states, The assembly had very little power. A lesson
to be learned from Sparta is that you may be able to get
away with giving citizens a facade of power.
10
council of 500.
Source:
http://www.welcometohosanna.com/PAULS
_MISSIONARY_JOURNEYS/AthensImage
s/aeropagusMeeting.jpg
Many great
lessons can be
taken away from
the Roman gov-
ernment. At rst
Rome was ruled
by Etruscans. The
Etruscans were
thrown out of rule
by an upper-class
group of citizens called Patricians, which made up
about 5% of Roman population. Although Rome was a
republic, only the Patricians hade the ability to vote and
elect leaders. Rome had a senate and two elected of-
cials called consuls who directed the army. A group of
lower-class citizens called Plebeians, about 95% of the
Roman population, had no say in the government and
had to serve in the army. The Plebeians began to resent
Patrician rule and went on strike. This was called the
conict of orders. The Plebeians gained political power
and 10 Plebeians called tribunes power to veto laws
that they saw as unjust. The Plebeians also forces the Pa-
tricians to write down their most important laws. This
was known as the Twelve Tables. As Frey states, The
plebeians gained some important rights. Eventually,
the plebeians gained all the same rights as the Patri-
cians. A lesson to be learned from Rome is that going on
strike is an efcient way for a group of people to get
what they want.

Code of Laws
Although the civilization of Tomland is thriving,
there are ve major laws that must be put into action
11
Etruscan Women.
Source:
https://dpomeroy.les.wordpress.com/2011/01/etrusca
n-women.jpg
and enforced by punishment to prevent havoc and
chaos among the citizens of Tomland, while the civiliza-
tion is still young. Before the leaders of Tomland could
come up with these ve chief laws, the leaders of Tom-
land had to explore the civilizations biggest threats. The
major threats to the civilization are theft and violence,
illegal immigration, controversy over religion, weak
military, and unjust governmental ofcials in ofce for
to long without a term limit. The following laws shall
prevent such things from happing.
All people must always obey the following laws as
they are written
I. Theft and Violence within Tomland are not permit-
ted. If one chooses to commence in the crime of theft,
said person will may face up to two years in prison. If
one chooses to commence in the crime of violence, said
person may face death, depending on the circum-
stances.
II. Citizens of Tomland may practice whatever relig-
ion they please (or chose not to practice one), but if a
citizen is caught in a public place trying to convert
other citizens to his or her religion, that citizen shall be
jailed for a week.
III. Every citizen of Tomland (male or female over the
age of 16) must serve in the military for at least two
years. If any citizen tries to avoid serving in the army
and is successful, he or she shall serve for at least four
years.
IV. If someone over the age of 16 is looking to become
part of the Tomland community, that person must go be-
fore the court of Tomland to apply for citizenship. That
person would then be put through a series of tests to
judge whether or not he or she is worthy of citizenship.
In the unlikely event that the court nd said person un-
worthy of citizenship, he or she will be asked to leave
the city and wait one year before applying again. If a
person over the age of 16 enters the city of Tomland and
12
does not leave within six months or apply for citizen-
ship, said person shall be viewed as an enemy to the
public and jailed for two months before being expelled
from Tomland. After a year, if said person decides he or
she would like to apply for citizenship, he or she may
do so.
V. If one may have in interest in serving in his or her
citys government, said person must be a citizen and
will only be permitted to serve for a maximum of four
years
The leaders of Tomland are positive that these ve
major laws will prevent chaos and havoc among the citi-
zens of Tomland and exceptional Tomlands outstand-
ing ability to thrive. For instance, the sixth law in Ham-
murabis Code states, if a man knocks out another
mans teeth, his teeth shall be knocked out. This law
demonstrates that violence has its consequences and
should not be permitted. This law has did not fail to pre-
vent violence in ancient Mesopotamia. The leaders of
Tomland based Tomlands rst written law on this prin-
cipal. Tomlands second law was created to prevent
ghting over religion within Tomland, obviously. This
law was created because many people feel very
strongly about their religious beliefs, and may be of-
fended to the point of truculence if said person were
here another citizen preaching and trying to convert
people to his or her religion in a public place. Although
the leaders of Tomland have no historical evidence of
such things happening in an ancient civilization such as
Rome or Greece, it is not hard to nd someone who
feels very strongly about there religion and would t
this scenario. The third law was created to maintain a
strong military, because a civilization with a weak mili-
tary cannot thrive and a weak military is often the
cause of a civilizations downfall, such as Rome. The
fourth law was created to restrain undesirables from
causing havoc within the walls of Tomland and to pre-
vent overpopulation, So much like the United States,
the leaders of Tomland decided to create a law against
illegal immigration. The fth and nal law of Tomland
was devised to maintain fairness and prevent corrup-
tion within the government. In many ancient civiliza-
tions such as Sparta and Athens, there were no term lim-
13
its, and that may have been a contribution to the unjust
governmental styles.
Political Leadership of Julius
Caesar
Politicians can learn
many lessons from Julius Cae-
sar, who, during his reign as
dictator, lowered unemploy-
ment levels and kept the citi-
zens of Rome satised and
happy. According to one his-
torical reference, As dictator,
Julius Caesar introduced
many economical and social reforms (Political Leader-
ship of Julius Caesar). Some steps Caesar took to
achieve these things were limiting the amount of slaves
one could own, starting projects such as new roads and
bridges, and staging free gladiator ghts. By limiting
the amount of slaves one could own and starting new
infrastructural projects, Caesar created more job oppor-
tunities for the poor. He kept the poor happy at the
same time by staging free gladiator ghts that they
would not have the money to attend otherwise. The
leaders of Tomland are going to utilize Julius Caesars
ideas of creating new infrastructure to create more job
opportunities for the unemployed. The leaders of Tom-
land think this was an excellent idea an Julius Caesars
behalf because not only can it create new and beautiful
infrastructure but it also lowers unemployment levels
by creating new job opportunities. Julius Caesar made
many wise decisions during his political reign that
serve as an inspiration to politicians today and will con-
tinue to do so.
Political Leadership of Caesar Augustus
Many lessons can be learned, both good and bad,
surrounding the topics of democracy, infrastructure,
community, Imperial expansion, and morals from the
political leadership of Caesar Augustus. For example,
14
Julius Caesar. Source:
http://www.chud.com/wp-c
Caesar tried very hard to prevent civil war. Unlike his
predecessor, Julius Caesar, Augustus made the citizens
swear alliance to him and not the senate. Augustus also
created something called the Praetorian Guard, nine
units made up of roughly 1000 soldiers each, to protect
him. Augustus referred to himself as the First Citizen,
rather than king or emperor to avoid the fate of his
predecessor. According to the article, Political Leader-
ship of Caesar Augustus, because the Romans feared
the power of a king, he never asked for that title, in-
stead he referred to himself as rst citizen. Augustus
established one of the worlds rst re and police de-
partments a long with often having repairs done on aq-
ueducts and other elements of the citys infrastructure.
He also expanded Romes empire, but after losing a bat-
tle in modern day Germany, Caesar became paranoid
and started passing strict laws surrounding family val-
ues and morals. One historical reference states, [He
pursued] a strict moral crusade that was largely un-
popular (Political Leadership of Caesar Augustus).
All in all, Caesar Augustus was a good ruler. The lead-
ers of Tomland will consider putting a re and police de-
partment into use. One thing that the leaders of Tom-
land will not incorporate into said civilization is the
passing of laws surrounding moral concepts. This is be-
cause in the views of Tomlands leaders, artist, poets,
and writers should be able to produce art without re-
striction, and citizens should not be forced to marry for
inheritance or to avoid unfair taxing. Every politician
has his or her aws, and so did Caesar Augustus, but
overall Augustus was a decent ruler, and many lessons
can be taken away from his reign.
Decline of the Western Roman Empire
Roma, valere
The decline of the Western Roman Empire was due
to many problems such as political corruption, a lack
of morals, unemployment, unsafe urban housing, a
lack of technological innovation, and military spend-
ing; although all of these were legitimate causes of the
empires downfall, corruption and political instability
were the paramount reasons for Western Romes down-
fall and are most likely the causes of Romes other prob-
15
lems. For example,
after Julius Caesar
was appointed em-
peror, Western
Romes govern-
ment never re-
turned to a demo-
craticy, which may
not have been a
problem, but the Romans never conceived of a just way
to elect an emperor. This led to the problem of horrible
and unjust emperors in ofce. Roman emperors would
often nd themselves in and out of ofce very quickly,
usually assassinated. An example of this was the em-
peror Didius Julianus, who was elected by the Praeto-
rian Guard after assassinating his predecessor Pertinax.
His reign as emperor lasted a mere nine weeks
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didius_Julianus). Laws
were often changed back and forth between emperors.
In some cases the throne would be auctioned off to men
with no political experience. One historical reference
states, Romans never created an effective system to de-
termine how new emperors would be selected (De-
cline of the Western Roman Empire). Another states,
When an emperor died, ambitious rivals with inde-
pendent armies often fought each other for the em-
perors crown (Frey 8). The reason that I believe that
the cause of Romes downfall was that of corruption
and political instability is that the emperor and govern-
ment are supposed rule and look after the empire and if
problems such as the ones listed are occurring, it is the
emperors and governments fault. Since Rome failed to
obtain a decent Emperor for a good amount of time,
none of Romes problems could be solved. To prevent
the downfall of Tomland and ensure that these prob-
lems do not occur, the leaders of Tomland are going to
devise a just way to elect a leader who will serve for a
given amount of time. If the leaders of Tomland are un-
able to devise such a way to elect a leader, Tomland will
not have an emperor at all and remain democratic. In
conclusion, political corruption is to blame for fall of
the Western Roman Empire.
16

17
Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich -
Napoleon Bonaparte
CHAPTER 3
18
Belief Systems
http://thirdeyeactivation.com/wp-content/
uploads/2014/01/cross.gif
Why do civilizations have belief systems?
A belief system is essential to a civilization because
it creates moral values for people to abide by and these
moral values steer them from wrong to right. A civiliza-
tion without a belief system to create a set of moral val-
ues would be in utmost chaos. For example, many histo-
rians believe that the downfall of the Western Roman
Empire was due to a lack of moral values. According to
one historical reference, There were 32,000 prostitutes
in Rome, and as gladiators fought, vicious cries and
curses were heard from the audience. Should the
ground become too soaked with blood, it was covered
with a fresh layer of sand and the performance went
on (Frey 8). These quotes show that Rome had a major
lack of morals and values. A belief system to create a set
of moral values is essential to any civilization, as
proved by the Romans. Tomland shall avoid the fate of
the Western Roman Empire by practicing a religion.
In order to better understand the importance of be-
lief systems within a civilization and how they can inu-
ence the actions and decisions of a people, please con-
sider the following moral dilemma:
A Callous Passerby
Roger Smith, a skillful swimmer, is out for a leisurely
stroll. During the course of his walk he passes by a de-
serted pier from which a teenage boy who apparently
cannot swim has fallen into the water. The boy is
screaming desperately for help. Smith recognizes that
there is absolutely no danger to himself if he jumps in
to save the boy; he could easily succeed if he tried. Nev-
ertheless, he chooses to ignore the boy's cries. "Why
should I inconvenience myself for this kid," Smith says
to himself, and passes on.

19
If Rodger Smith were a devout Buddhist, he would
have a moral obligation to save the drowning kid. This
is due to the Eightfold Path, a code of ethics that all Bud-
dhist follow. The eight laws found in the Eightfold Path
are based off the Four Noble Truths, four ideas related
to suffering that all Buddhists believe to be true. The
Eightfold Path states, promote good actions and pre-
vent evil actions (Frey 159). Letting someone drown
when you could easily save him is the equivalent to kill-
ing someone, something that would be considered an
evil action. Therefore, if Roger Smith were a Buddhist,
he would save the boy.
While Rodger Smith would have a moral obliga-
tion to save the drowning boy if he were a Buddhist be-
cause of the Eightfold Path, he would have to do the
same if were a Hindu, but for a different reason. This
reason is Karma. Karma is the belief that souls are pun-
ished or rewarded based on the good or evil they had
done (Frey 149). The belief of Karma comes from
Dharma, the belief that you must fulll your duties and
obligations (Frey 148). Letting someone drown when
you could easily save him is just like killing someone,
which is evil. If Rodger Smith did not save the boy, his
soul would be punished for his bad Karma, and he
would be reincarnated as a lesser being.
Roger Smith would save the
drowning boy if he were
Hindu.

Much like if he were a Buddhist or Hindu, Roger
Smith would have a moral obligation to save the drown-
ing boy if he were Confucian a` well. Confucius states,
Do not do to others what you would not want done to
you (Frey 208)w. Roger Smith indicates that he is a
man of high self-esteem and values his well being very
highly when he states, why should I inconvenience my-
self for this kid. From this, one can infer that if Roger
Smith were in the place of the boy, he would want some-
one to save him from drowning. This means that, if
20
Confucius. source:
http://cdn.theatlantic.com/n
Roger Smith were Confucian, he would save the boy
due to Confuciuss famous saying.

In conclusion, belief systems are essential to any
civilization, whether that belief system is Buddhism,
Hinduism, or Confucianism. The civilization of Tom-
land will be known for valuing happiness and inde-
pendence; Tomland will have a belief system similar to
Buddhism. In her book, Wendy Frey states that the goal
of Buddhism is enlightenment (Frey 159). The leaders of
Tomland have a interpreted this to mean happiness. A
belief system plays an important role in any great civili-
zation, and it will do so in Tomland.

Tomlands prime moral values.
In an effort to create a successful civilization, the
people of Tomland have established their own belief sys-
tem. This belief system shares similar moral values and
teachings with other world religions and helps the peo-
ple of Tomland love what they do, bring up society and
promote technological advances, and promote wisdom
and good judgment. Here are some examples.
The rst value in the civilization of Tomland is
pashism. Pashism is loving what you do. In order to
love what you do, you must do what you love. Accord-
ing to the Frey, To prove they had the proper knowl-
edge [Confucians] had to take exams that the emperor
himself might grade (206). This quote shows that the
Confucians were passionate about their jobs because to
get them, they had to prove themselves. Pashism pro-
motes hard work and happiness and revolves around
the idea of being passionate in all you do. If the people
of Tomland employ the value of pashism into their
21
daily lives, Tomland will be full of hardworking and
happy people, a prime reason as to why pashism is
Tomlands rst moral value.
Another important moral value in the civilization
of Tomland is Innovism. The people of Tomland em-
ploy innovism into their daily lives by constantly think-
ing about ways to improve or create new things. Accord-
ing to Frey, Muslims believe in what is called the lesser
Jihad. Lesser Jihad is the principal of improving your-
self or your community (101). This is most likely what
accounts for the large number of Islamic innovations.
The value of Innovism revolves around being innova-
tive, something that accounts for technological ad-
vances, which brings up the whole civilization. This is
why Innovism is one of Tomlands prime moral values
The last important moral value in the civilization of
Tomland is Wisum. The people of Tomland practice
Wisum by attending school. According to Frey, civil
servants under the Han were hired based on their abil-
ity and wisdom to do their jobs well (209). This shows
that it is important to study in order to get the job you
want. The moral value of Wisum revolves around the
principal of scholarship. Citizens that practice Wisum
are wise and have good judgment, which is why the
value of Wisum plays an important role in the civiliza-
tion of Tomland.

22
Minecraft sacred site
I chose to replicate Moai for this assignment be-
cause they are an example of one of Tomlands most val-
ued morals, innovation. Moai are an example of innova-
tion because, despite their lack of technology, the peo-
ple of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, were able to create
and erect these beautiful statues. According to pbs.org,
[Moai] represent the spirits of ancestors, chiefs, or
other high-ranking males who held important positions
in the history of Easter Island (1). Both sites, the origi-
nal and Tomlands replica, feature stone-faced Moai.
People will come to Tomlands Moai to pray and medi-
tate. Innovation is a prime moral in the civilization of
Tomland and Moai are an adequate example of it.
Blazon of the coat of arms of Tom Tomland, head foun-
der of Tomland

Everything on my coat of arms stands for some-
thing. The lion symbolizes strength and courage. The
our de Lis symbolizes sixth. I added this to my Coat
of Arms because I am the sixth person with the name
Thomas in my family. The two circles and a star are a
family symbol. The light blue stands for beauty. The red
stands for strength. The dark blue stands for passion.
The yellow stands for
warmth. The black stands
for hate.
23
Role of the Church
The Catholic Church provided safety, guidance,
education, and salvation in Medieval Europe. Through
this, the Church had great inuence on everyday medie-
val life. The church offered safety and guidance because
it provided food and shelter for travelers and destitute
people and provided answers to questions that seemed
unanswerable. The church offered education to those
who chose to become monks or nuns. The Church ac-
quired its money through tithes, or ten percent of every-
ones earnings. With these tithes the churches bought
more territory, built libraries and schools, and made re-
pairs and additions. The most important thing that the
Catholic Church offered was salvation. Salvation is the
idea of being admitted into heaven by living a strictly
moral life. The concept of Salvation granted the church
most of its inuence and power in medieval society. Sal-
vation was a concept so powerful that it inspired sev-
eral massive crusades. According to Pope Urban IIs
speech, All who die by the way, whether by land or by
sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immedi-
ate cancellation of sins (The affects of the Crusades
2). This is a quote from pope Urban IIs speech, which
inspired the rst crusade, a massive and horrendous bat-
tle over something as simple as rights to visit the Holy
Land, or Jerusalem. This quote shows how much power
the concept of salvation holds. If people did not follow
the Catholic Church, their eternity was at stake. The con-
cept of hell was so scary during medieval life that peo-
ple would do whatever the church said in order to not
end up there. The Catholic Church was the center of me-
dieval life.
24
Master of the Codex of Saint
George
"An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all."
- Oscar Wilde
CHAPTER 4
25
The Power of Ideas
http://vedux.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Idea.jpg
SECTION 1
European Society and Humanism
As an impact of the Humanist ideas and mindset,
Europe became more literate, developed a love for art
and beauty, and grew apart from the Roman Catholic
Church. Humanism was a philosophy that taught that
every human being had dignity. Humanism also taught
people to use their minds to question. During the Ren-
aissance period, people developed their own ideas
about the Earth, Solar system, and everything around
them. The Renaissance was a period in time dating
How New Ideas Advance and Threaten a
Society
26
Francesco Petrarch, a well known poet, is said to be the founder of Humanism
http://www.janamusic.info/medici/images/petrarch.jpg
roughly 1300-1600. According to Frey, [Humanist paint-
ers] wanted to depict real people who were posed in
lifelike ways and who showed feelings. They also
wanted to include realistic backgrounds. The result was
a very different style from the more at, rigid paintings
of the Middle Ages (Frey 326). This quote demon-
strates how art in European society changed under the
inuence of Humanism. Art became more diverse and
beautiful. People no longer solely painted religious g-
ures with blank expressions and solid backgrounds.
This is because Humanism taught that it is okay to ap-
preciate life and all of its beauty, and life on Earth mat-
ters just as much as life after death. Art was not the
only thing that underwent a huge changed under the in-
uence of the Humanist mindset during the Renais-
sance. Science and Mathematics advanced because peo-
ple no longer wanted to rely on ancient Greek and Ro-
man texts and the teachings of the church. Scholars and
scientists dissected bodies and studied the stars. Archi-
tecture, Engineering, and sculpting also underwent a
change during the Renaissance. A lot changed in Euro-
pean society during the Renaissance.
Minecraft Civilization and Humanism
If Humanism was brought to the civilization of
Tomland, a few laws would be reformed, and there
would be an increase of interest and focus on the arts
and education. Humanism revolves around the princi-
ples of human dignity and a focus on life and culture;
according to Humanism, everyone has the ability to con-
trol their own lives and achieve greatness and to look at
society with fresh eyes and question everything. Hu-
manists would question a few of Tomlands laws such
as the law on immigration. According to the laws of
Tomland, If a person over the age of 16 enters the city
of Tomland and does not leave within six months or ap-
ply for citizenship, said person shall be viewed as an en-
emy to the public and jailed for two months before be-
ing expelled from Tomland (Freiburger 11). This law
goes against Humanist principle that states, every hu-
man deserves dignity (Frey 320). An example of a mod-
ern day law that Humanist would strongly support is
freedom of speech. This is because Humanists often got
into trouble with the Roman Catholic Church for speak-
ing their minds. Humanist ideas often went against
27
those of the church. An example of something that
would change in the civilization of Tomland is the lack
of arts and education. Humanists put an emphasis on
the importance of arts and culture. Not only would
there be more art in the civilization of Tomland, the art
would be more realistic. Art would have perspective,
depth of eld, and would feature average people in
their daily lives with active expressions, not just relig-
ious gures like those from the Middle Ages. The educa-
tion that the people of Tomland would receive would
cover astronomy, engineering, architecture, mathemat-
ics, and science. If Humanism were brought to the civili-
zation of Tomland, a lot would change for the good.
Danger of new ideas pt. 1
During the Late Middle Ages, people started ques-
tioning the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church.
By the time of the Renaissance, this questioning was em-
powered by the Humanist mindset: question every-
thing. The Roman Catholic Church was viewed as cor-
rupt because of the eccentric amount of indulgences it
sold and the practice of simonies. Indulgences were a
form of forgiveness that was bought with gifts and
money. This practice was highly frowned upon, espe-
cially by those who did not have a sufcient amount of
money like peasants, because most people believed that
forgiveness and salvation was not something to be
bought, but something to by earned through good
deeds and right action. According to Frey, During the
Middle Ages, the church granted indulgences in return
for gifts to the church and other good works (348).
This shows that selling indulgences was a corrupt act.
Simony was the act of the Church selling off positions
of power to the highest bidder. According to Frey, Buy-
ing an ofce was worthwhile because it could be a
source of even more income (348). Many did not like
28
to see people working positions of power in the Roman
Catholic Church who were unsuited to do so. Faithful
citizens were fed up with the Churchs corruption.
Faithful Europeans were tired with the Roman
Catholic Churchs corruption and started teaching their
own ideas about Christianity. This period is called the
reformation. People looking for religious reformation
were called protestant reformers. Most reformers
wanted a pure relationship between humans and god.
Reformers did not like the colorful jeweled robes that
priests and bishops wore and the political power that
the Church held. A very famous reformer was a Ger-
man priest named Martin Luther. His ideas, like many
other reformers, differed from those of the Roman
Catholic Church because he believed that salvation was
not something that could be earned, but was a gift from
God given through faith. According to Frey, people,
[Luther] said, were saved by their faith, not their good
works (352). This shows that Luther had his own ideas
about Christianity. After Pope Leo X sent preachers
around Europe to sell indulgences in order to raise
money for the building of St. Peters cathedral, an out-
raged Martin Luther nailed a
set of arguments called the 95
theses to a church door in Wit-
tenberg (Frey 352). The Roman
Catholic Church viewed reform-
ers as heretics.
The Roman Catholic Church excommunicated Lu-
ther and pronounced him heretic. Luther was tried at
the City of Worms. Luther refused to renounce his argu-
ments although the reformer faced death by execution.
According to Frey, At the risk of his own life, he re-
fused to take back any of his arguments(Frey 353).
The Roman Catholic Church ordered all of Luthers
books to be burned. Shortly after his trial, Luther went
into hiding. He then proceeded to create a new Protes-
tant branch of Christianity called Lutheranism. Luther-
anism is still an active branch of Christianity, and many
people practice it today.
29
Martin Luther. source:
http://a2.les.saymedia-content.com/image/upload/c_
ll,g_face,h_300,q_80,w_300/MTE1ODA0OTcxNzA3MjM3
Danger of New Ideas Part 2
To deal with the danger of new ideas, such as the
Roman Catholic Church did during the Late Middle
Ages and the Renaissance, the civilization of Tomland
will not devise a strategy. This is because one of the
laws in play in the civilization of Tomland is freedom of
speech. The people of Tomland will be allowed to share
whatever new ideas individuals may have with the pub-
lic. Even if said ideas go against Tomlands political or
religious beliefs, it would be a corrupt action for the
leaders of Tomland to anything about them because of
Tomlands law of freedom of speech. According to Frey,
Many Catholics were dismayed by worldliness and
corruption (347). This quote shows that dangerous
new Protestant ideas were provoked by the Roman
Catholic Churchs corruption. If the leaders of Tomland
do not become corrupt, there is no danger of new ideas
that may harm the civilizations political or religious be-
liefs. Not having a strategy to deal with dangerous new
ideas may be a bad idea, but the civilization of Tomland
would rather decline than fall into the greedy, malevo-
lent hands of corruption.
Danger of New Ideas Part Three
In an effort to raise the bar of intelligence within
the civilization of Tomland, the leaders of Tomland
have nominated Leonardo da Vinci, fteenth century
humanist personal. Leonardo da Vinci was a painter,
sculptor, architect, engineer, and inventor. Leonardo is
an excellent portrayal of someone with the humanist
mindset; Leonardo was endlessly curious and ques-
tioned everything. Although Leonardos ideas were of-
ten in conict with those of the Roman Catholic
Church, this thinker bettered European society with his
endless creativity. According to Frey, With his many in-
terests and talents, Leonardo is a nearly perfect exam-
ple of the spirit of the Renaissance (344). Leonardos
achievements will raise the bar of intelligence in the civi-
lization of Tomland because Leonardo will inspire the
citizens of Tomland to be creative, come up with new in-
ventions, and create beauty through paintings and
sculptures. This will create a great advance in technol-
30
ogy and the arts within the civilization of Tomland.
Leonardo da Vinci, with his many achievements and ad-
vances, will make an excellent addition to the civiliza-
tion of Tomland.
31
SECTION 2
32
Bibliography:
Frey, Wendy. History Alive!: The Ancient World. Palo Alto, CA: Teachers Cur-
riculum Institute, 2011. Print.
Frey, Wendy. History Alive!: The Medieval World and Beyond. Palo Alto, CA:
Teachers Curriculum Institute, 2011. Print.

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THE KEY TO A SUCCESFUL CIVILIZATION

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