Written in the shadow of the Second World War, Ernst Jünger’s “The Forest Passage” reimagines the forest as a symbol of freedom in an age where the “Leviathan,” or all-encompassing totalitarian state, threatens to encroach on liberty and free space. Yet as long as the “forest rebel” has access to the domains of art, philosophy, [...]
For Joseph Conrad, the struggle between good and evil in the human soul was a permanent reality, a reality one might prefer to avoid, or try to sublimate, but one that nobody who has lived long can absolutely deny. Joseph Conrad: His Moral Vision, by George A. Panichas (165 pages, Mercer University Press, 2005) In [...]
You left the final day for re-creation, For art and song and festive feasts for all. You knew we’d work and toil to our damnation, So you left us space where we could wholly call Upon your name. Our feasts and songs are sourced In celebration of you, our only Lord. […]
History’s tyrants and thieves remain with us, and if things get very dark sometimes, then my best hope is to do the right thing in the light of His Grace. That’s all I can hope to do, passing on that Grace whenever I can. It’s strange how I can’t remember this guy’s whole name but [...]
Many details of Edgar Allan Poe’s scientific treatment of the universe in “Eureka” have flaws which we may today see as errors. However, the value of this masterpiece lies primarily in the concise method of fruitful thinking showcased throughout and the broad universal principles of order, beauty, goodness, and creativity which Poe makes intelligible to [...]
The lumbering beasts all graze upon the land, And offer up themselves to one another. Not just survival but harmony and Symbiosis was how the world was governed. […]
Turquoise waves on shell-white sand Rush forth – crashing, crashing, crashing – Dying gladly as they land, Surging, breaking, foaming, splashing. […]
The fear of the coronavirus allows our governing bodies to keep us in isolation and the consequences of our permitting this act are more pernicious than we can imagine. Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Notes from Underground” has never appeared less fictional. And why are you so firmly, so triumphantly, convinced that only the normal and the positive—in [...]
The birds all fly their pelicanic flights, Prepared to pierce their hearts to feed their young. The phoenix on its pyre-like nest alights And burns, the song that never goes unsung. […]
“Waldzell” is the name Hermann Hesse gives to the school in a “Pedagogical Province” brought to life in the book called “The Glass Bead Game.” St. John’s College is an American school with two campuses. The features in which Waldzell is like St. John’s as well as those in which it differs are responsive; they [...]
We’re blocking traffic in the city street Because we’re sick of inactivity Relating to the environment; it would be meet To see a bit of positivity Regarding rights of bison, bird, and bee; And yet among our governments we see no sign of urgency Concerning falling glaciers and rising sea – About the weather there’s [...]
To the People of the State of New York: Having previously exposed the unfailing dangers of Faction, the more pernicious and enticing danger of Efficiency may be revealed. Indeed, Efficiency, properly ordered as a servant, aids humanity in frugality. An efficient farmer may feed more people; an efficient merchant may employ more people; an efficient [...]
When my time has come And helium Weighs down on my exhausted core, Spent from shedding light Through the endless night Until the fuel could last no more, […]
Immortal Combat: Confronting the Heart of Darkness, by Dwight Longenecker (160 pages, Sophia Institute Press, 2020) It was, I believe, C.S. Lewis who said, speaking of the mediaeval mind and culture, that “the very air was thick with angels.” If, however, angels are real and not merely figments of the imagination, mediaeval or otherwise, the [...]