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  1. Great Books

An Apostle of Literature

In the fall of 2021, a student at the University of Dallas asked me to give a tribute to Dr. Louise ­Cowan, one of the most famous faculty members at the university, as part of an event centered on remembering the dead for All Saints and All Souls. I had had no occasion to ­commemorate her when . . . . Continue Reading »

Saved by Books

Plutarch tells us that Gaius Gracchus (154–121 b.c.) devoted his life to civic reform, while Cato the Younger (95–46 b.c.) would “rather compete in valor with the best, than in wealth with the richest or the most covetous in love of money.” Impressive in both cases, no doubt, but what are . . . . Continue Reading »

Briefly Noted

On Reading Well:  Finding the Good Life through Great Books by karen swallow prior brazos, 272 pages, $19.99 In On Reading Well, Liberty University English professor Karen Swallow Prior sets forth a thoughtful, nuanced vision of the relationship between morality and literature. This vision . . . . Continue Reading »

The Bookish Life

The village idiot of the shtetl of Frampol was offered the job of waiting at the village gates to greet the arrival of the Messiah. “The pay isn’t great,” he was told, “but the work is steady.” The same might be said about the conditions of the bookish life: low pay but steady . . . . Continue Reading »

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