Adam Smith distinguishes between what is praised and what is praiseworthy, between being loved and being lovely. What we desire is “that thing which is the natural and proper object of love”; what we really want is “not only praise but praiseworthiness,” praise for those things that are the proper and natural object of praise. He finds insipid those who are concerned only with praise or being loved: “They are the most frivolous and superficial of mankind only who can... Read more
According to Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments , sympathy is necessary to maintain concord in the midst of passionate disagreement. So long as disagreements and divergence of sentiment focus on minor topics, they are tolerable: “I can much more easily overlook the want of this correspondence of sentiments with regard to such indifferent objects as concern neither me nor my companion, than with regard to what interests me so much as the misfortune that has befallen me, or... Read more
Who said this? “The distinguishing feature of the community and the city is that every individual should maintain free and undisturbed control of his possessions.” And: “those charged with the defence of the state will dissociate themselves from the kind of lavish distribution which robs Peter to pay Paul. Their primary concern will be to ensure that the individual keeps his possessions through the just processes of law and the courts; that those in greater need are not victimized because... Read more
To hear us talk about voting, one would think that Americans vote on principle. By our votes, we endorse a particular vision of national good that we want to see realized. Our votes declare what role we think civil power should play in that national good. We are moralists with our voting as we are with so much else. It is preferable, however, for political activists to demystify and de-moralize voting so that we can recognize that we campaign and... Read more
Most histories of food tell the story of what we eat and why. For the most part, they don’t pay attention to how the food was prepared, what sorts of technologies went into making the food possible. Bee Wilson’s Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat aims to fill that gap. Since “the history of food is the history of technology,” Wilson’s book explores “how we have tamed fire and ice, how we have wielded whisks,... Read more
The restaurant is a modern invention, writes Adam Gopnik in The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food , created in France in the years surrounding the French Revolution. It is not, he admits, “the most original of modern instances and institutions” but it is “one of the most tenacious.” He elaborates: “It is the primal scene of modern life. Most modern urban people mark their lives by their moments in cafes and restaurants, just as ancient... Read more
I have known James B. Jordan and Peter J. Leithart for several years. I think I can say without any exaggeration that their lectures and writings enabled me to read the Bible through new eyes and to appreciate the depth and richness of it. However, they helped me to understand not only the Bible better but also see the manifold implications of its teaching in such fields like art and culture, history and politics, to mention few of them. In... Read more
In a New Yorker piece commemorating, and celebrating, the anniversary of the Book of Common Prayer , James Wood suggests that “perhaps the most inspired, and funniest, borrowing from the Book of Common Prayer occurs in Pride and Prejudice , when Mr. Collins makes his infamous marriage proposal to Elizabeth Bennet. Mr. Collins proposal is arranged in three parts: “My reasons for marrying are, first, that I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself)... Read more
INTRODUCTION When Cyrus the anointed shepherd comes (Isaiah 44:28-45:1), he will overthrow Babylon, which enslaved Israel. Babylon took Israel to captivity, but Babylon will one day be taken captive. THE TEXT “Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but have themselves gone into captivity . . . .” (Isaiah... Read more
In a 1989 article in the European Journal of Sociology on the changing conceptions of friendship through history, Allan Silver comments on the relationship between uncertainty and trust: “Uncertainty about others cannot be eliminated on purely experiential grounds. Trust is meaningful precisely because others retain their capacity to act against our interests or turn indifferent to them, and because a situation may arise in which they may be tempted to do so . . . . Trust copes with uncertainty... Read more
Select your answer to see how you score.
Leithart
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In