We Americans draw upon the traditions of the Five Cities, as Russell Kirk famously put it: from Jerusalem, the ancient Jewish tradition of Moses, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph; from Athens, the philosophy of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; from Rome, the republican tradition as articulated by Cicero and Cato, as well as the Christian tradition of Augustine, Aquinas, and Benedict [...]
It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. ~J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Lord of [...]
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ~Philippians 4:8 I pray that The Imaginative Conservative lifts your spirits and brings to your life things excellent and praiseworthy, as we pursue the True, the Good, [...]
Ora et labora.… “Pray and work.” This is the motto of the Rule of St. Benedict, written in 516 by the famous founder of Western monasticism. “Benedict of Nursia found the world, physical and social, in ruins,” observed St. John Henry Newman, “and his mission was to restore it… quietly, patiently, gradually.” We at The Imaginative Conservative also seek [...]
Dear Friend of The Imaginative Conservative: "At the end of Paradise," writes Senior Contributor Michael De Sapio, "Dante the pilgrim is enthralled by his ever-deeper penetration into the mystery of God. I think that is an excellent image of our search for truth in this earthly life: ours is not a march to the grave, but a journey [...]
It's almost the end of the year, and almost your last opportunity in 2024 to support The Imaginative Conservative. Our journal is now more than fourteen years old. Perhaps you have traveled with us since that day in 2010 when we embarked on our mission to preserve the transcendentals, the “permanent things” that constitute the glory [...]
Ora et labora.... "Pray and work." This is the motto of the Rule of St. Benedict, written in 516 by the famous founder of Western monasticism, Benedict of Nursia. For fifteen centuries Benedictine monks have lived their lives according to this motto, performing manual labor and praying to God. Many laypeople have similarly taken this [...]
It’s almost the end of the year, and almost your last opportunity in 2024 to support The Imaginative Conservative. Our journal is now more than fourteen years old. Perhaps you have traveled with us since that day in 2010 when we embarked on our mission to preserve the transcendentals, the “permanent things” that constitute the glory [...]
The conservative believes that the True, the Good, and the Beautiful are interrelated, and that all things are measured against these three transcendentals. Conservatism seeks the Truth that has emerged over time, drawing from the deep wellsprings of human experience, and builds anew on foundations that have withstood the tests of time. It fosters order [...]
At The Imaginative Conservative, we seek to preserve the American Republic and the Western Tradition, while working and praying for a better future, through the publication of essays that reflect the best of conservative thought, past and present. We could not have such success over the last fourteen years without the support of loyal readers [...]
Please join us in celebrating our 13th birthday by making a donation today! Is it possible to be strong in conservative principles and to present those principles in a manner which is attractive, persuasive, and genuine? As Russell Kirk said: “A conservatism of instinct must be reinforced by a conservatism of thought and imagination.” The Imaginative Conservative will continue to [...]
Will you join us in our mission to pursue Truth, Goodness, and Beauty by making a gift to us today? I am yearning for conservative voices offering great depth, thoughtfulness, and dare we say, grace. Is it possible to be strong in conservative principles and to present those principles in a manner which is attractive, [...]
A conservatism of instinct must be reinforced by a conservatism of thought and imagination. ~Russell Kirk The Imaginative Conservative presents a conservatism of thought and imagination in the hope of preserving the best of the Western tradition and restoring the virtue of our Republic. […]
Ora et labora... "Pray and work." This is the motto of the Rule of St. Benedict, written in 516 by the famous founder of Western monasticism, Benedict of Nursia. For fifteen centuries Benedictine monks have lived their lives according to this motto, performing manual labor and praying to God. Many laypeople have similarly taken this [...]