Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” is many things: several stories, some bleak, some uplifting, ranging from the creation of the world to the apotheosis of Julius Caesar. Yet in its most fundamental form, his epic love poem of many stories reveals deep truths in its poetic proclamations of the transformative power, and spirit, of love. Per my monthly … Continue reading The Metamorphoses of Ovid
Essays
The Erotic Cosmos of John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”
Is John Milton a man for our time or all time? The blind and pugnacious, indeed, radical, English poet arguably wrote the greatest epic in the English language. While claiming to “justify the ways of God to men,” Milton’s remarkable poem is not only a window into the battles of early modern English civilization, it … Continue reading The Erotic Cosmos of John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”
Science Fiction Fears, Fantasies, and Symbolism
Deep in the wellspring of science fiction is the ongoing struggle between mechanical monsters and holistic heroes. From bleak and dour tales of extermination and human destruction, to optimistic but nevertheless struggling and pathological battles to save life, science fiction has been battling with our modern monsters from the id boiling up inside of us … Continue reading Science Fiction Fears, Fantasies, and Symbolism
Augustine and the Politics of Love
Augustine’s recognition of the lust to dominate and how it veils itself in concepts like “glory,” “honor,” and “nobility” are as relevant today as in his own time. Augustine’s deconstruction of Romanitas was done to offer all the people of Rome a greater project in its place. How often do we hear, like the Roman … Continue reading Augustine and the Politics of Love
Virgil’s Use of Consciousness, Memory, and History in “The Aeneid”
The grandest image of Virgil’s Aeneid is the shield forged by the god Vulcan in the eighth book of Aeneas’ adventure to “Lavinian shores and Italian soil.” Virgil pays homage to Homer, his master and mentor, who also describes a grand image on a shield forged by the gods for Achilles. But where Achilles’ shield … Continue reading Virgil’s Use of Consciousness, Memory, and History in “The Aeneid”
Shakespeare: Between Politics and Love
These are two recent essays of mine on the immortal bard from Stratford-upon-Avon. I examine the theme of politics and love in Antony and Cleopatra in the first essay, and I examine the theme of politics and love in the general scope of Shakespearean tragedy in the second. The first essay was published as part … Continue reading Shakespeare: Between Politics and Love
God, Humanism, and the Wilderness
In this essay of mine, published at Front Porch Republic (where I occasionally write), I reflect on the role of the Wilderness in inculcating a spirit of humanism, humbleness, and fruitio Dei and the Wilderness' relationship to proper philosophical conservatism (spiritualism, naturalism, and communitarianism). What makes the Wilderness a conservative value is what it represents … Continue reading God, Humanism, and the Wilderness
Reflections on the Greek Classics
For those who would like to become more familiar with the classics, or, perhaps, understand more deeply the richness of the classics, you’re in luck! As part of my regular columns at TIC, I’ve covered Hesiod and Homer, and Pseudo-Apollodorus (among others). For Merion West, where I frequently freelance, I provided a five-part exposition on … Continue reading Reflections on the Greek Classics
Homer’s “Iliad”: From Strife to Love
Homer’s Iliad is the defining epic of Western literature. Its heroes live on in lure and our collective and individual consciousness. Most of Greek—and Roman literature—is indebted to the epic and its characters. Even modern English literature owes much to Homer’s monumental and heroic poem. Indeed, all Western literature owes to the wellspring of Homer. Even literary … Continue reading Homer’s “Iliad”: From Strife to Love
Plato’s “Symposium”: The Dramatic Trial of Love
Plato was a moralist. An ethicist. He was concerned with the primacy of action, of engagement, in a world that was deeply iconoclastic, barbarous, and savage. Love of wisdom allows for the creation of that space where ethical and loving life is possible. This means that eros must remain to any understanding of the self, world, and politeia. … Continue reading Plato’s “Symposium”: The Dramatic Trial of Love
