by James V. Schall, S. J. | Dec 28, 2011
On Essays and Letters“It is easier to believe that one’s self is a fool than that Socrates was a fool; and yet, if he was not right, he must have been the greatest fool that ever lived.” —Robert Lynd, “On Not Being a Philosopher.” In book six of the Republic, the...
by James V. Schall, S. J. | Dec 11, 2011
On Essays and LettersIn the Spring of 1618, John Donne, of “no man is an island” fame, preached a sermon at Lincoln’s Inn, the seat of the legal profession in London. Some years earlier he had matriculated there and now was returning as a chaplain. His earlier life,...
by James V. Schall, S. J. | Sep 25, 2011
On Essays and LettersStudents of mine travel. Not a few of them manage to send me a note or a card, especially when they run across something they read in class or something they thought Schall would enjoy seeing. “I am currently in France,” a recently graduated...
by James V. Schall, S. J. | Jun 27, 2011
On Essays and LettersI. The two volumes of Johnsonian Miscellanies were abridged and edited by G. Birkbeck Hill and published by Oxford and Harper & Brothers in 1897. Theserecollections contain comments on Johnson from sources other than Boswell. Volume One is 488...
by James V. Schall, S. J. | Mar 27, 2011
On Essays and LettersIn tightly reasoned and intricate books, especially those of great writers, we find short segments that we do well to spell out as short essays of our own. A thing is never ours unless we state it, articulate it. The great Platonic teaching is...