There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity.

“Our perspective on human Beauty is skewed by the glut of the Beautiful involved in the entertainment industry; when we think of human Beauty, we do not think of Helen of Troy or King David, but Heidi Klum. The sultry photographed faces gazing at us from the Victoria’s Secret show window have sullied the reputation of Beauty. If one wants to think of human Beauty aright, he ought to imagine a trio of adolescent boys from the 17^th century walking twelve miles to get a glimpse of a princess. Such a journey is not simply allowable, but morally commendable.”

-from On Human Beauty

“While the lines of competition are drawn between nations, watching the Games tends to produce a remarkable balance between love of one’s own people and love of others. When watching, I intuitively pull for the United States, but I find myself easily won over to charismatic athletes from other countries. In distinguishing athletes by nation, the Games ask us to humbly marvel at the fact that people unlike ourselves are capable of besting us. What is more (what is wonderful), the Games often invite us to relish the fact others can best us. When competition is properly framed, even losers feel they have contributed to the revelation of something transcendent and profitable; this revelation helps calm the tumult which attends loss.”

-from Why I Love Watching The Olympics, my latest for CiRCE

“Many classical Christian schools hold themselves to absurdly low standards when it comes to writing instruction. A few graduates come back from their freshman year in college and report, ‘After writing my senior thesis, college writing work is easy,’ and the school congratulates itself on how well they’re doing. Twenty years ago, I took a freshman composition class at the University of Idaho where, in the second week, we sat in a circle and rolled a ball back and forth to learn one another’s names. Breezing through college writing classes proves nothing.”

-from a lecture I will deliver in Charleston next week at the CiRCE National Conference (Register to attend the virtual conference here)