The Dark Ages, 2021
by Peter Mullen, The Conservative Woman:
HERE is a report circulated by Associated Press and quoted last week in a number of British newspapers:
‘Two convicted paedophiles, who changed gender and then married each other in prison, have won damages after a judge criticised the Ministry of Justice for only allowing them to communicate by letter. The inmates took legal action after they were moved to different prisons and were not allowed to visit or talk to one another. They argued that the ban was an unjustified interference with their right to a private life.’ (Here is the Telegraph report.)
In a moral world, one might say that the pair were fortunate to be allowed the privilege to write to each other after the despicable crimes they had perpetrated upon children.
This is from the TV programmes guide in a national newspaper:
‘Knuckledust is a seedy British thriller set in an underground club run by an American boss (Camille Row) where punters play for twisted pleasures, including brutal fights to the death (certificate 15).’
Two examples at random: I could have given a dozen more. These episodes recall the sort of depravity we are accustomed to associate with the Dark Ages. As I read of these horrors, I recalled some words of C H Sisson: ‘What makes St Augustine remarkable is that he lived through times which were very much like our times – and he rejected them.’
Modern society is uncannily reprising the sort of things that were going on in the last days of the Roman Empire – things which St Augustine described in his great book City of God. The cruelty of the arena, the gladiatorial contests and the deadly games in the Colosseum where spectators would vote by a show of hands on whether a man should have his left foot or his right hand cut off first.
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