4th Of July Meditation

“Love your neighbor as yourself” is an ethic which assumes love is a teacher. A man’s intuitive care for himself must always be pushed outward, stretched farther. Our neighbors are not on the other side of the world, but physically close to us. Our neighbors are just beyond our own bodies. Love is a dilation of being, the reception of the Infinite Himself. When God’s love fills a man it “runs over” and those near that man are blessed by the gratuitous bounty which overflows. The man who loves God cannot help loving his neighbors.”

-from Love Of Neighbor And Enemy On The 4th Of July

Journalism Of The Soul: How To Read Proverbs

“A proverb does not support itself. Our lives justify great proverbs, and so the more a man examines his life, the more a collection of proverbs will seem to him like newspaper headlines that offer up-to-the-minute reports on the state of his own soul. These are the news sources worth following. Who cares that CNN’s journalists can tell you what’s going on with Iran when journalists of the human condition like Solomon and Goethe can tell you what’s going on with your relationship with your father?”

-from my latest for CiRCE

Podcast Guest

In the last several months, I have been the guest on several podcast, two of which have only become available lately.

On this episode of The Path to the Academy, I was interviewed by Dr. Gary Jenkins on the subject of classical education.

On this episode of The Mind of the Early Church, I discussed classical education with Daniel Hanna.

And on this episode of The Notion Club Podcast, I discussed the difficulties of developing good taste with Justin Hall.

Tradition and Progress: How To Be Conservative All By Yourself

“One of the most interesting differences between progressives and traditionalists is their rival beliefs about personal responsibility. Progressive philosophy is chiefly concerned with changing society, which usually entails changing other people whether they like it or not. It is difficult to imagine a lone progressive individual living out a progressive worldview in a society otherwise occupied by traditionalists. Progress requires massive fortunes, massive projects, and extensive laws to oversee it all, which makes it hard to live progressively by yourself on a Friday night. On the other hand, a traditionalist is capable of living a traditional life in a society otherwise occupied by progressives. On a Friday night, he can read old books, listen to old music, and teach his children old truths whether anyone else in the neighborhood agrees or not.”

-my latest for CiRCE is a preview of the classes I am offering this fall through Gibbs Classical. If you enjoy my work, this is the ideal article to share with friends.

We Are Perplexed

The prodigal son realizes he must return home. The realization does nothing but begin a journey. The realization is not the journey. The realization is intellectual, abstract, spiritual. Then comes the physical agony of a potentially pointless journey home.

The potentially pointless nature of journey–this is what the Apostle means when he says, “We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.”