Monday
Those are four of my kids, handling a snake during their visit to Detroit these
past few days. I think the picture is gross. Snakes give me the willies. It's
because I have such a finely-honed sense of original sin and the snake's role in
the
Topic
Books
A collection of 327 issues
Wednesday
Background: When I was the editor of Gilbert Magazine
[http://www.chesterton.org/explore-the-acs/gilbertmagazine/], I was responsible
for the "Tremendous Trifles" column. It was occasionally hard to find a
sufficient amount of interesting GKC material to fill the page, so John Peterson
sent me a file full
Saturday
Mini-Review
Plato and Aristotle by Eric Voegelin (1957). Volume III of Order and History.
Choice quote: "Thanatos orients the soul toward the Good by relieving it from
the sickness of appearance; Eros is the positive desire for the Good."
Plato the mystic. Aristotle the scientist. Right? No. They
Friday
Mini-Review
The World of the Polis by Eric Voegelin (1957). Volume II of Order and History.
Choice quote: Homer "strove valiantly for the insight that ordering action is
action in conformance with the transcendent, divine order, while disruptive
action is a fall from the divine order into the specifically
Thursday
Mini-Review
Israel and Revelation by Eric Voegelin (1956). Volume I of Order and History.
Choice quote: "A Prophet can hear and communicate the word of God, but he is
neither a Philosopher or a Saint."
Josef Pieper writes thick and thin books: books that are short but packed.
Wednesday
Mini-Review
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953).
Choice quote: “'But I know something else you don't. There's dew on the grass in
the morning.' He suddenly couldn't remember if he had known this or not, and it
made him quite irritable.”
Everyone
Tuesday
Mini-Review
An Anthology by Josef Pieper (1981).
Choice quote: "The possibility of incurring guilt is the ultimate existential
threat for every person."
There are some authors who make you think, "I could just read this guy for the
rest of my life. He'd bring me
Saturday
Mini-Review
Leisure, The Basis of Culture by John Pieper (1948).
Choice quote: "[T]here can be unused space in the total world of work."
Obsessed with efficiency? I am. At least I used to be. I'm a recovering
efficiencoholic. It was bad, so bad that my
Friday
Mini-Review
Studies in Classic American Literature by D. H. Lawrence (1923).
Choice quote: “I should think the American admiration of five-minutes tourists
has done more to kill the sacredness of old European beauty and aspiration than
multitudes of bombs would have done.”
Yeah, I know: D. H. Lawrence among Catholic
Thursday
Mini-Review
Introduction: If you find these reviews bizarre yet orthodox, I have
accomplished my goal. If you find them entertaining yet profound, I am humbled.
If they brings you a little closer to classic works of the twentieth century, I
am gratified. If you forward the review to friends with