The Aeneid is permeated by images of raging fire, fury, storms, and chaos. The whole epic poem foregrounds this anti-element as the unavoidable cost of Roman authority and mission. Indeed, the Roman mission is essentially to overcome chaos, especially in society. Thus Virgil has the shadow of Aeneas’ father say to him (or rather, to […]
The City of God and the Humbling of Virgil Read More »
In my previous two posts, I contended that human nature gives rise to three forms of education, which I then presented examples of in the US, Judea in the time of Christ, and ancient Greece. You can see the same pattern played out in China, India, the Muslim world, and any other civilization that lasted
What Happened To Classical Education, Part 3 Read More »
I ended part 1 of this series suggesting there are three forms of education in all but the most temporary societies. I added that without all three, a society can’t survive. In this post, I want to introduce the three to you and give three historical epochs when they can be seen rather vividly. The
What Happened To Classical Education, Part 2 Read More »
Starting a new year makes us particularly conscious of time. Time makes us conscious of limitations. And, contrary to the spirit of the age (at least prior to 2020), this is good, because limitations allow for definitions. When we pretend we don’t live on a calendar that comes to an end and has a beginning,
What Happened To Classical Education, Part 1: Introduction Read More »
I once read somebody who called Elie Wiesel “a professional whiner.” I remember thinking, “Wow, that is a disproportionate response.” Or at least, “Man, that’s not fair.” All my life, I have relied on people with more insight, skill, and wisdom than I have to help me maneuver my way through this confusing, over-informed, unprincipled
Only the Lover Sings, But Even the Critic Can Love Read More »
If we read tribally, we short circuit the path to wisdom. If we read obsequiously, we enervate ourselves on that path. What I mean is this: if my first question when I read the quoted paragraph above is, “Who wrote it?”, I am asking a perfectly natural question, one that is rooted in my desire
There is in human beings a charming and naive desire to create new things ex nihilo, to go back to the garden as it were, to start again as though we have not already done anything good or bad. In part, this drive arises from the presence of the image of God in us. He
The True Birth of Tragedy Read More »
If, as I have argued, following Lewis, MacIntyre, and the Christian and classical traditions, what our children read and how is just as important as our global standing as a nation; and if it is true that we have been debunking our children/selves for generations, the inevitable question must be confronted: What should our children
Then What Should Elementary Students Read? Read More »
As I write, Afghanistan has fallen and Bernard Lewis’s ghost is calling to us from Kabul, reminding us that he warned us as far back as 2002 that, in the eyes of the world, America is harmless as an enemy, treacherous as a friend. We should be troubled. Would you care to guess who said
Imperial Collapse and Elementary Textbooks Read More »
In a previous article, Lewis’s Accusation, I quoted C.S. Lewis from The Abolition of Man: While we speak from within the Tao we can speak of Man having power over himself in a sense truly analogous to an individual’s self-control. But the moment we step outside and regard the Tao as a mere subjective product,
Good Bye Baby, Good Bye Bath Read More »
In my previous post, Lewis Punks the World, I argued that the context of C.S. Lewis’s claim that we are “not sufficiently attentive to the importance of elementary text books”, might have driven a bit batty those whose attention was devoted to a global cataclysm. “Why did you do it, Jack? Were you fiddling when
Lewis’s Accusation Read More »
I have been known to say things that (to put myself in the best light) lead people to ask me to clarify. If my father was correct, mischief may be part of the problem. After all, Mercury, the god of rhetoric, was also the god of merchants and traders and thieves, and, furthermore, he was
I Suppose I’d Better Explain Read More »
