Peter J. Leithart

In her ‘Hamlet’ without Hamlet , Margreta de Grazia shows that Hamlet was not always considered a harbinger of modern subjectivity.   On the contrary, Restoration critics and playwrights considered Shakespeare and Hamlet to be retrograde and rude: “In the ‘refined . . . . Continue Reading »

Two members of Shylock’s household escape his house during Merchant of Venice .  Lancelot Gobbo leaves in order to become a servant to Bassanio, and Jessica leaves to be with her lover Lorenzo.  The parallels between the two are brought out by the juxtaposition of the plots in Act . . . . Continue Reading »

Why does Shylock insist on getting his pound of flesh?  He stands for law, for justice, and as a Jew his justice is the lex talionis , eye for eye.  He wants flesh because flesh has been taken from him. When?  ”My daughter is my flesh and blood” he laments when she . . . . Continue Reading »

Jim Rogers of Texas A&M writes in response to my post on the pledge of allegiance: “the Supreme Court overturned  Gobitis just three years later in  West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, thus making it one of the most short-lived precedents ever. “That does . . . . Continue Reading »

“I delight in mercy ( hesed ) rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”  Thus far Hosea (6:6), reaffirmed by Jesus (Matthew 9:13; 12:7). Less well-known is the context in Hosea 6: “What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What . . . . Continue Reading »

Jerome thought that heretics, like the animals on the ark, come in twos, male and female.  In Virginia Burrus’ translation: “Simon Magus founded a heresy, assisted by the help of Helen, a prostitute. Nicolaus the Antiochene, inventor of all impurities, led a female band. . . . . Continue Reading »

Burrus, summarizing the argument of Maurice Wiles, notes: “For Wiles, the viability of Arianism, whether in fourth-century Egypt or eighteenth-century England, was partly dependent on the existence of a worldview that could accommodate ‘spirits’ mediating between divine . . . . Continue Reading »

Like many other fathers, Athanasius described heretics as Jews - in his case, the Arians.  He had, as I read Athanasius, biblical and theological reasons for saying so. When Newman repeats the link between Judaism and Arianism in his book on the Arians, the emphasis is racial.  Jews are a . . . . Continue Reading »

In The Quest for Community , Robert Nisbet - no wild-eyed lefty he - argues, following Karl Polyani, that ” Laissez faire . . . was brought into existence.  It was brought into existence by the planned destruction of old customs, associations, villages, and other securities, by the force . . . . Continue Reading »

How is circumcision a seal of the righteousness of faith (Romans 4:11).  Augustine ( Contra Faustum ) says this: Circumcision was performed on the eighth day. The eighth day is the day of Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus resurrection is for our justification (Romans 4:25). Hence, . . . . Continue Reading »