Can limits be essential to happiness? The idea that limits contribute, let alone are essential, to happiness or living well is inimical to most modern views. Over 175 years ago the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard … Psalm 1 on Beneficial BondsRead more
Psalm 1 Raises a Universal Question
What is the meaning of life? What could be a bigger question than that? This post is the first in a series of brief reflections on the biblical book called “The Psalms.” So often the … Psalm 1 Raises a Universal QuestionRead more
Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South
Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South[i While conversing with a colleague about the great English novelist, Jane Austen, she asked what I thought of Elizabeth Gaskell. I told her that I knew the name but … Elizabeth Gaskell, North and SouthRead more
The Likeness of Sinful Flesh
CHAPTER 1 Evil is an uncommonly difficult problem. The mistake of the intellectuals is to despise the efforts of the common people to deal with it. They fancy themselves as standing aloof like a god … The Likeness of Sinful FleshRead more
Jane Austen’s Persuasion
Persuasion is the last novel completed by Jane Austen and was published posthumously. Its main character, Anne Elliot, is twenty-seven years old, the oldest of Austen’s chief female protagonists. She also seems to be the … Jane Austen’s PersuasionRead more
