The Fleming Foundation Cultural Commentary

9

Wednesday’s Child: Devil May Care and Does

As there is little hope that the gentle reader can recall a post of mine from four years ago, I will quote its closing paragraph.  That week I had just returned from London from the funeral of a close friend where I came across an old acquaintance – novelist Sebastian Faulks, author of The Girl at the Lion d’Or and other light masterpieces – and this led me to reminisce about our last meeting many years earlier, at a Chinese restaurant of my choosing.

5

Gilbert and Sullivan, Part I: A Brief and Informal Guide

There are many studies, commentaries, and guidebooks to the world of Sir W.S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan.  I have read or consulted several them over the years, and I will provide a little bibliography as this series—undertaken in response to requests—but I disclaim any specialized knowledge that is not in the hands or in the heads of perhaps tens of thousands of people who have read, watched, and listened to their work for many years.

3

What’s Happened to the Eschaton?

Many, many years ago, in my callow and misspent youth, I had a lapel button that said:  “Don’t let them immanentize the eschaton.” This was a pretty good saying and conversation starter despite the fact, as I recall, that it was popularized by the intellectually shallow poseur William Buckley. The saying was an  over-simplified reference to the vast, erudite, and dense writings of Eric Voegelin.  Reduced shamefully to the simplest terms, immanentizing the eschaton is an attempt to bring Heaven to earth by the actions of men.  For Christian civilization the given universe is a divine design which includes the...

2

Resisting Evil, V: The Fundamental Things of Life

Instead of plunging headlong into the tedious history of self-defense legislation, let us rather begin (as Plato or John Locke might) by imagining a state of society in which there is no legitimate authority or, at least, no legal power to protect the innocent or punish the guilty.  We do not have to dig into the ethnographic accounts of such violent peoples as the Ifugao of the Philippines or the Yanamano of South America.  The Celtic, Slavic, and Germanic peoples of Europe provide a rich record of violent periods in which self-help and vengeance were a normal means of protection...

3

The Autodidact Remembers

Once upon a time I decided to learn Japanese.  I had none of the usual practical reasons: no business interests that would take me to Japan nor even an academic project comparing Noh plays with Attic tragedy.

6

The Doctor Is In.

    Rex asks Thomas Fleming a hard question:  What is Honor?  The answer ranges from Homer to Clint Eastwood, from Coriolanus to Bill Clinton, and ends with a commentary by Miss Peggy Lee.