In Honor of Mr. Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday

By |2026-04-13T11:48:43-05:00April 13th, 2026|Categories: Clyde Wilson, Russell Kirk, Thomas Jefferson, Timeless Essays, W. Winston Elliott III|

Here are recommended essays regarding Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) on The Imaginative Conservative: Looking for Mr. Jefferson by Clyde Wilson Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday by Clyde Wilson The Jeffersonian Conservative Tradition by Clyde Wilson Thomas Jefferson, Conservative by Clyde Wilson From Union to Empire by W. Winston Elliott III Was Thomas Jefferson a Philosopher? by Eva Brann [...]

Waiting for Odysseus: The Tale of Argos

By |2026-03-20T14:50:13-05:00March 20th, 2026|Categories: Essential, Great Books, Homer, Odyssey, St. John's College, Timeless Essays, W. Winston Elliott III|

As enticing as Odysseus’ adventures are, questions remain: what of Penelope, Telemachus, Laertes, and indeed Ithaca left behind? What about their twenty years without a King, a father, a husband, and a son? Odysseus’ brief encounter with his faithful dog Argos demonstrates the price paid by those left behind. When Odysseus, the man of wily [...]

A Friend Remembered

By |2026-03-17T14:53:07-05:00March 10th, 2026|Categories: Barbara J. Elliott, Books, Catholicism, Death, Love, Senior Contributors, The Imaginative Conservative, W. Winston Elliott III|

John Rocha with Winston & Barbara Elliott On Saturday evening, I went to sleep reflecting on a text I had received from Winston Elliott about the film The Emperor’s Club. On Sunday morning, as I awoke—still a little groggy from Daylight Saving Time—I saw another text from him saying that his beloved bride, [...]

Caves, Happiness, and Liberal Learning

By |2025-12-09T10:31:08-06:00December 8th, 2025|Categories: Eva Brann, Liberal Learning, Plato, Socrates, St. John's College, Timeless Essays, W. Winston Elliott III|

If Plato’s extended metaphor of the mind as depicted by the city is true, every human mind has the capacity to train its Guardians, curb the appetitive part of the soul, and live on the grassy plains in the sun above the cave. It’s a question of true learning. When Eva Brann describes a liberal [...]

The Shepherd of Hermas

By |2025-11-25T10:11:07-06:00November 24th, 2025|Categories: Bible, Catholicism, Christianity, Faith, Virtue, W. Winston Elliott III|

For nearly three hundred years, "The Shepherd of Hermas" gave instruction to the members and catechumens of the early Church. It taught them the Christian virtues and called for repentance. After being left out of the cannon of the New Testament, however, "Hermas" faded in popularity and use. So when “the Lord of the flocks [...]

An Ode to Great Books and a Beautiful Library

By |2024-05-22T17:08:19-05:00May 22nd, 2024|Categories: Books, Essential, Featured, Libraries, Timeless Essays, W. Winston Elliott III, Will Durant, Wisdom|

“If I were rich I would have many books, and I would pamper myself with bindings bright to the eye and soft to the touch, in paper generously opaque, and type such as men designed when printing was very young. I would dress my gods in leather and gold, and burn candles of worship before [...]

A Deadly Underestimation: The Dueling Words of Brutus and Antony

By |2023-10-02T17:35:50-05:00October 2nd, 2023|Categories: Great Books, Literature, Rome, St. John's College, Timeless Essays, W. Winston Elliott III, William Shakespeare|

The title of Shakespeare’s tragedy is misleading, in that "Julius Caesar" shows us much more about Antony and the friend who betrays Caesar, Brutus, than it does about the legendary leader of Rome. Brutus: “There is a tide in the affairs of men Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea [...]

Remembering in Gratitude Those Who Did Their Duty to the Republic

By |2023-06-02T11:47:54-05:00May 28th, 2023|Categories: Foreign Affairs, Memorial Day, Military, Timeless Essays, W. Winston Elliott III|

Today I honor the men and women of the United States military who have sacrificed their lives while doing their duty to the Republic. For them, and their families, I ask God to bless them and keep them. And for the fallen of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army [...]

A Conservatism of Joy, Gratitude, and Love

By |2023-07-10T10:46:20-05:00December 18th, 2022|Categories: Cicero, Classics, Conservatism, Essential, Featured, Russell Kirk, Support The Imaginative Conservative, Timeless Essays, W. Winston Elliott III|

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, [...]

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