Tag Archives: history

Independence Day: America and Acting Like Love Matters

(From Balon Greyjoy, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)(Prometheus sculpture for Rockefeller Center’s lower plaza. (Paul Manship, 1934)) It’s been 246 years since a bunch of disgruntled colonists decided that they’d had enough of transatlantic micromanagement. There’s more behind the … Continue reading

Posted in Being Catholic, Discursive Detours | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

History, Viewpoints, Narratives and Ancient Rome

(From Giovanni Paolo Panini, via Staatsgalerie, Stutgard/Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)(Giovanni Paolo Panini’s “Ancient Rome” — an 18th century view. (1754-1757)) “…Naiad airs have brought me homeTo the glory that was Greece,And the grandeur that was Rome….”(“To Helen,” Edgar Allen … Continue reading

Posted in Golden Ages, Series | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Wagner, Servant of Faustus: What’s He Doing in the Play?

I’d like to say that my ‘Marlowe’s Faustus’ series follows some grand scheme, marching down a well-organized path toward a profound conclusion. But it doesn’t, so I won’t. I started re-reading Christopher Marlowe’s “The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus,” a … Continue reading

Posted in Marlowe's Faustus, Series | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Curiosity and Science, Intent and Wisdom 11:22

(From Bonhams auction house, used w/o permission.)(Louis William Wain’s “A curious cat.” (ca. 1930)) As a behavior, curiosity is part of being a rat, a cat, or a human. In humans, at least, it’s also an emotion. Whether the decline … Continue reading

Posted in Discursive Detours | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A Roman Founding Myth and Aeneas, Action Hero

(From Agostino Carracci, via The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wikimedia Commons; used w/o permission.) I figure folks have been hankering for the ‘good old days’ since long before we started keeping written records. And occasionally preserving them. The records, I … Continue reading

Posted in Golden Ages, Series | Tagged , , | Leave a comment