I think I was younger than 11 years old the first time I encountered raw academic cynicism. Some encyclopedia opining that Socrates didn’t exist and that Plato had made him up as a mask for his unusual beliefs. I still remember the sourness it engendered in my throat, and the way it dulled the world’s lustre in that moment. I was aware that people questioned the existence of Jesus in the same way*. Deeper acquaintance with Plato’s writings made me more and more comfortable seeing Socrates as a real person,… Read more Evidence of Socrates’ Existence; Preference for Plato or Socrates? →
I once wrote a poem that was more or less symbolic or allegorical, about flying serpents invading a holy place that represents a woman’s innocence. In the throes of composition,… Read more Inventive Literature has its Own Rules →
We are trying to get at G. K. Chesterton’s characteristic approach to what we call stereotype and what he called a vulgar joke or an established theme. But before we get into Chesterton, a word from our friendly neigborhood etymological dictionary. stereotype (n.) 1798, “method of printing from a plate,” from French stéréotype (adj.) “printed by means of a solid plate of type,” from Greek stereos “solid” + French type “type.” Meaning “a stereotype plate” is from 1817. Meaning “image perpetuated without change” is first recorded 1850, from the verb in this sense. Meaning “preconceived and oversimplified… Read more Chesterton on Dickens →
Comfort Speak low to me, my Saviour, low and sweet From out the hallelujahs, sweet and low Lest I should fear and fall, and miss Thee so Who art not missed by any that entreat. Speak to me as to Mary at thy feet ! And if no precious gems my hands bestow, Let my tears drop like amber while I go In reach of thy divinest voice complete In humanest affection — thus, in sooth, To lose the sense of losing. As a child, Whose song-bird seeks the wood for evermore Is sung to in its stead by mother’s mouth Till,… Read more Poetry Survey Series Post 4: Comfort by E. B. B. Browning →
As I came by to maybe put up a dilettante post about what I’ve been reading lately (it’s been a reading, not a writing time) I noticed that I have four comments I’d not seen. Ah, you lurky readers, you – there you are! Well, as you all know, I do enjoy comments. And the people who comment on this blog, spammers aside, are such decent thoughtful friendly people. I feel really fortunate in you all. I finished War and Peace. I found the ending very startling. True, everyone ends up… Read more Reading of Late (With Added Excerpts of Poetry) →
Slow Literature 