Gadamer traces the development of the notion of symbol and the corresponding, and contemporaneous, devaluation of allegory. Allegory came to be identified with “non-art” as experiential-expressive notions of art and poetry developed in post-Kantian romanticism. Along the way, he notes the importance that allegory played in the formation of Western civilization. An aesthetics rooted in genius (as was the aesthetic theory of romanticism) cannot give a prominent role to allegory, which “rests on firm traditions, and always has a fixed,... Read more

Are we living in a time of world-revolutionary change? Impossible to say, of course, but there might be some hints contained in the developments of the last millennium. Rosenstock-Huessy notes that Western man has been formed by periodic world-historical revolutions since the 11th century: Gregorian (11th), the Reformation (16th), Puritan (17th), French (18th), and Russian (20th). Since the Reformation, the revolutions have occurred every century or two. With the end of the Cold War, the rapid advances in communications technologies,... Read more

William Cavanaugh suggests that globalization represents a false catholicity, a unification of the human race organized around consumption and Hollywood blockbusters. That’s certainly one legitimate angle. On the other hand: The wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous, and Cain and Nimrod built cities long before David and Solomon rebuilt Jerusalem. Globalization’s false catholicity is a preparatory phase for the coming of true catholicity, the genuine reunion of humanity. Read more

George L. Mosse’s Fallen Soldiers (Oxford 1990) is a fascinating study of the “Myth of War Experience” that developed between the French Revolution and came to a climax in World War I and its aftermath. Mosse develops a number of intertwined themes: the rise of volunteer armies after the French Revolution, and the consequent class diversity within Europe’s armies; the cult of manly youth that was prevalent throughout Europe prior to the First World War; the development of special military... Read more

With nationalism at its height in the nineteenth century, the common practice of giving children biblical names was a check on nationalist idolatry, a reminder that the child was part of Christendom, not merely of France, Germany, England, etc. Rosenstock-Huessy puts the point dramatically: “When biblical names disappeared in Europe around 1900, the World War was the immediate result.” Read more