G. K. Chesterton is so full of wisdom and wonder, and sanity and sanctity, that it comes as a surprise to learn of his darker side. Yet there were two particularly dark and bitter periods in his life that should not be overlooked. The first was the unholy and unhealthy darkness that descended during a [...]
Having been forced into retirement by the old-school Puritans, Shakespeare is now being routinely abused by a new generation of puritans who are equally obsessed with censoring the goodness, truth and beauty of his Muse. Once upon a time, it was frowned upon to condone rape and rapists on the stage. Today it seems to [...]
Why is it that those who like both G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis almost invariably prefer one to the other? This question is best answered with a sweeping generalization: There are two types of people in the world—hikers and walkers. Readers who are hikers prefer Lewis; readers who are walkers prefer Chesterton. There are two [...]
We see, in his poetry and prose, the humour and humility of G.K. Chesterton, but also the extraordinary genius who sees that the ordinary things of life are not merely a matter of life and death but a matter of eternal life and eternal death. The genius of G.K. Chesterton is hard to pin down [...]
In one of the great ironies of history, we find socialists and anarchists on the side of the new generation of slave-holders. The workers and wage-slaves of the world are being delivered into the hands of the overlords of the globalist future. These socialists and anarchists, obsessed with the slavery that was, sell us into [...]
Most of Jeffrey Epstein’s so-called “philanthropy” was directed to the financing and promotion of transhumanism. At the prideful heart of this movement is a disdain for all that is authentically human and a sordid desire to replace human frailty with superhuman or transhuman strength. The sordid life of Jeffrey Epstein serves to highlight the decadence [...]
It seemed inconceivable that Marx could be seduced by Hitler. And yet “critical race theory” is as obsessed with race as were the Nazis. According to the new generation of Marxists, the political struggle is not about a struggle between the classes but a struggle between the races. Many years ago, when I was an [...]
Great Christian poetry teaches us many priceless lessons about life. Engagement with the enraptured vision of wonder-filled poets enables students to learn that virtue is the necessary prerequisite for the perception of the fullness of the beauty of reality. I recently taught a short six-class course for Homeschool Connections on “Poems Every Catholic Should Know.” [...]
Joseph Pearce, series editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions, is interviewed by Paul Senz. Paul Senz: What prompted you and Ignatius Press to produce the series of Ignatius Critical Editions? Joseph Pearce: As someone who has taught undergraduate students for many years, I am well aware of the hijacking of the study of literature by [...]
What is it about J.R.R Tolkien that speaks so powerfully? What are the roots of his enchanting genius? In my editorial for the new Tolkien theme issue of the St. Austin Review, I state that the very word “Tolkien” has great power of enchantment. Seeing it, or hearing it spoken, brings to life strange and [...]
Any attempt to mould Shakespeare into the image of what Evelyn Waugh called “our own deplorable epoch” is ridiculously absurd, and “queer theorists” who seek to do so should not be taken seriously as scholars or critics. If these critics were able to empathise with the past, they would see Shakespeare’s sonnets as they truly [...]
Love, as the foundational principle of a loving society, is analogous to the arithmetic which forms the foundations of rocket science. Today, however, we live in a society that does not know the basic laws of love. Our society must once again learn to love, turning its back on pride, or it will destroy itself [...]
Dante’s “Divine Comedy” is often taught poorly, if even taught at all. At the root of the problem is the tendency to remain trapped in hell, never venturing forth into purgatory and paradise. This is a consequence of the way that Dante has been taught for decades—indeed, for centuries. Lovers of the Great Books argue [...]
I recognize G.K. Chesterton as a guide who led me from the doldrums of disbelief into the glorious light of the Gospel. Unbeknownst to me, the gloom in my prison cell was the gloaming of a new day in which the Son would rise, Easter-like, in my soul. The debt I owe to him is [...]