Letters On The Page

Tracy Lee Simmons.  On Being Civilized: A Few Lines Amid the Breakage . Memoria College Press, 2023.  In 2002 Mr. Simmons published  Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin .  Climbing Parnassus  is an elegantly laid out argument for a return to learning the classical languages of Greek and Latin and the ancient stories that were once the bedrock of western humanistic education.  Learning these languages at any age will only enrich a person’s life. However, it is essential that they return as a core component of children’s education. Learning these languages forms the mind in myriad ways that enables a person to perform admirably in any vocation.  Twenty-one years later, Mr. Simmons provides another book worthy of our attention and contemplation. The focus of  On Being Civilized  is his concern that a higher-minded civil culture is rapidly diminishing in America. He is discouraged by the multiple harms of social media and ...

  Joseph Loconte.   A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918.  Nelson Books, 2015.  I enjoyed and learned from this book. Loconte illuminates Lewis and Tolkien's bond of friendship and their shared experiences in WWI.  He shows us how their friendship and their military service impacted their fiction stories.  During the first "war to end all wars," Lewis and Tolkien saw, and were surrounded by, horrific destruction of land, property and persons.  Most of their close friends did not survive.  They witnessed an inhumane disregard for life.  Many men were shattered by the war while others turned to pacifism and/or atheism.  Lewis was originally an atheist while Tolkien retained his faith, though it was sorely bruised.  Eventually, Tolkien was instrumental in Lewis coming to faith in the crucified and risen Christ as Savior. In the...

By President George Washington  With this Address President Washington officially began the tradition we celebrate today. But that’s not the only reason this proclamation is of interest. Washington carefully highlights the relationship between the American experiment, gratitude, and belief in God. Granted, he uses somewhat abstract terms, but we shouldn’t take this as evidence of unbelief or deception. We take Washington’s sincerity at face-value, and it remains an important reminder to America of our religious heritage, were we to remain open to such reminders. Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors ...