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The following miscellany is a smattering of favorites culled
from my older writings. These pieces range from the academic to
the poetic, from the published to the personal. I hope that
they offer observations and analyses that might be of interest
or help to others. The footnotes and citations in the original
versions are here omitted (We wouldn't want this to become a
free term paper site for unscrupulous undergraduates, now would
we?), but I will gladly provide them to those who
contact me directly
with credible (and licit) requests. Of course, all rights in
these efforts are reserved, and these writings may not be
reproduced, retransmitted, or republished in whole or in part
without my express written permission. But, hey, just ask.
POETRY IN MOTION:
POLITICAL & LEGAL PHILOSOPHY
- A Thomist View of Law, Order, and Legitimacy
- "[A]n excellent presentation of St. Thomas [Aquinas]'s
legal/political philosophy as a whole ... [that] go[es] farther
beyond an exposition of the essential schema, to a striking and
elegant demonstration of why an ultimate or exhaustive theory of
legitimation is ruled out by the principles of [St. Thomas's]
system." (Charles Gray, University of Chicago)
- Nature and State in Edmund Burke's
Reflections on the Revolution in France
- Why was this eighteenth century statesman and writer so
soured on the French Revolution and the ascendancy of the
"Rights of Man" that were so lauded by his contemporaries?
Later vindicated by the Terror that gripped France, Burke voiced
some wise cautions during that heady time which remain
applicable even today. "I liked this very much: taut writing,
clear line of argument, and intelligent use of Burke's text."
(Ralph Lerner, University of Chicago)
- Burke: The Moral Medium of the English Constitution
- The contours of Edmund Burke's political philosophy are apparent
in his differing reactions to the French and English revolutions
and constitutions. "Another in a series of uniformly excellent
papers showing, among other things, a deeply sympathetic
understanding of Burke's way of looking at the world." (Ralph Lerner, University of Chicago)
- The Difficulties of Nature: The Good City in Plato's Republic
- Way back when, when roving philosophers spoke of the "natural"
state of something, they were not merely identifying the state
in which a thing exists as a matter of course. Back then,
"It's my nature" was an aspiration, not an excuse.
REVIEWS
- Impolite Politics
- In the crossfire between the "Religious Right" and the "P.C. Left," how ought Christians conduct themselves in the public square? Cease Fire: Searching for Sanity in America's Culture Wars, by Tom Sine, offers little guidance. This review first appeared in Crisis magazine.
POETRY

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