U / CHRONICLESnAmerican and British holdings in the Oregon country).nMoreover, French mihtary observers were telHng the Mexicansnthat they could win an easy victory over the UnitednStates. In 1846 Mexico had a regular army of 27,000 men,nwhile the American army numbered 7,200. Moreover, thenMexicans were armed with more modern weapons and werenbetter trained. The United States...
The Silent Invasion
servants about to receive the OBE (Obey Brass Eagerly), butnI saw more Stars and Stripes displayed by shopkeepers in thencapital than the Union Jacks issued them. One sign read:nEngland Forsaked Us; America Saved Us. On February 20,n1986, Reagan paid a similar visit and was met withnrapturous applause by nearly half the island at the Queen’snPark...
Transcendent Memory
VIEWSnTRANSCENDENT MEMORY by Anthony HanigannThe significance of the past—the past of a minute or annhour ago, 100 years ago, or 5,000 years ago—is ofnconsuming interest to me; many writers are concerned withnthe effects of time on people and institutions. The pastnprovides writers with most of their raw material. Proust hadnonly to taste a sweet, and...
A Superfluous Man
14/CHRONICLESnA SUPERFLUOUS MAN by Martin Morse Woostern”I once voted at a presidential election. There being no real issue atnstake, I cast my vote for Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. I knew Jeff wasndead, but I voted on Artemus Ward’s principle that if we can’t havena live man who amounts to anything, by all means let’s have...
A Myth in a Garden
VIEWSnA MYTH IN A GARDENnThe following is the text of Mr. Lytle’s speech at the 1986nIngersoll Prizes Awards Banquet:nBorn the day after Christmas, 1902, like a wet firecracker,nas my mother remarked, I entered a world that livednwith and by other creatures. My grandchildren and their ilknare unaware that they are creatures. 1 am closer to...
The Order of Virtue
161 CHRONICLESnTHE ORDER OF VIRTUE by John P. SisknFor some time now, the literature of the sporting worldnhas offered one of the most agreeable ways of experiencingnrevisions of public reality. Perhaps this is why it isnhard to read Howard Cosell’s best-seller I Never Played thenGame without a sense of deja vu. “In the beginning,” henwrites,...
Politics of Weakness
POLITICS OF WEAKNESS by Steven GoldbergnIn the 1980’s the doctrine of sexual equaHty is increasinglynbeing misapplied. The current discussion of women’snsports provides a graphic illustration. The central premise ofnthe sexual egalitarian is simple: It is unjust to reward ornsupport a woman less than a man, when the womannperforms on the same level.nMany would agree that...
Manly Codes
MANLY CODES by Chris AndersonnWhen Chuck Yeager was shot down behind enemynhnes in World War II, shrapnel wounds in his feetnand hands, German Messerschmitts still above him, henremained calm and controlled. “Back home,” he said, “ifnwe had a job to do, we did it. And my job now is to evadencapture and escape.” When the...
Some Thoughts on Being a Writer
VIEWSnSOME THOUGHTS ON BEING A WRITERnby V.S. NaipaulnThe following is the text of Mr. Naipaul’s speech atnthe 1986 IngersoU Prizes Awards Banquet.nI do not really know how I became a writer. I can givencertain dates and certain facts about my career. But thenprocess itself remains mysterious. It is mysterious, forninstance, that the ambition should have...
Rescuing Story From History
only recover by putting aside the world and the self thatnfrequents the world,”nAnd it is curious—yet not really surprising—that almostnthe same thought about the writer’s writing self should havenbeen expressed by a quite difierent writer, Somerset Maugham.nIn his fictional portrait of Thomas Hardy in Cakesnand Ale, Maugham, by a wonderful stroke (which earnednhim much abuse),...
Visionary Fiction
VISIONARY FICTION by Fred ChappellnSusan had set up the ironing board in the kitchen andnupended the iron there while she sprinkled her blouse. Incould not detect the heat waves rising from the face of theniron, but the morning sun showed them clearly on thenrefrigerator door, curling and uncurling in hypnotic arabesque.nThat became my image for...
Having Opinions
VIEWSnHAVING OPINIONS by Stephen R.L. Clarkn”The pubhc buys its opinions as it buys its meat,nor takes in its milk, on the principle that it isncheaper to do this than to keep a cow. “n—Samuel ButlernWhen opinion polls are conducted on some urgentnmatter of the day (the character of Colonel Qaddafi,nor the compatibility of some soon-to-be-married...
About the University and Its Curriculum
16 / CHRONICLESnABOUT THE UNIVERSITY AND ITSnCURRICULUM by Thomas MolnarnThe sociological thesis that educahon is “for society” isnacceptable today because in this statement, “society” isna sufficiendy vague term to prescribe fewer and fewernbinding guidelines as we ascend from lower to higherneducation. The thesis becomes unacceptable when annideological restriction is added: The school must be a...
Gatekeeping Functions and Publishing Truths
GATEKEEPING FUNCTIONS ANDnPUBLISHING TRUTHS by Irving Louis HorowitznWhen a forgery is uncovered or a plagiarized volumenappears or a fake letter is adduced to support anmediocre manuscript, cries are sent forth that there is anneed for tighter security by publishers. This is often couplednwith a complaint that authors should scrutinize themselvesnmore carefully. The burden of my...
The Latin Invasions of English
10 / CHRONICLESnVIEWSnTHE LATIN INVASIONS OF ENGLISHnby E. Christian Kopffn”When all is said and done, soniething sticks innthe Barbarians.”n—Rudyard KiplingnWe need a practical education, an education that willnbe valid in the unforeseen and unforeseeable future.nThere are many possible forms, but all must includenmathematics and Latin. Of the 100 most commonly usednwords in English, only 10...
Epictetus in Uniform
12 / CHRONICLESnEPICTETUS IN UNIFORM by James B. StockdalenIwas all of 38 years old when I first encountered the classicntext that would influence my life. The year was 1962, thenbook was Epictetus’ Enchiridion, and we got off to a verynunpromising start together. I could not bring myself to seenhow what that old coot Epictetus had...
Still at the Still Point
18 / CHRONICLESnSTILL AT THE STILL POINT by Thomas P. McDonnellnThirty-one years ago, when I had aspirations as annup-and-coming critic in the Cathohc press, I wrote annessay on T.S. EHot that was published in the Jesuit weekly,nAmerica. I thought it daring to suggest that the major poetnof our time was something less than the robust...
Ezra Pound’s ‘Language of Eternity’
20 / CHRONICLESnmind and ear. In each instance, the true voice-print of thenpoet, derived from the poetry on the page itself, is clearlyndiscernible. Having heard Eliot read his poems at BostonnCollege and on other campuses and listening to him onnCaedmon records, one knew at once why the word “sepulchral”nhad already become a usable term in...
A Civic Proposal
12 / CHRONICLESnfarm and there bound him. Thrasymachus scribbled a note:n”Mr, Banker had to do it or die.” This absolution he civillyndeposited in one of Mr. Pierce’s pockets and told the banknmanager that he would be killed, should he leave the barnnin less than half an hour. The pair disappeared. Contrivingnto release himself in a...
Media Metaphysics and Mid-Term Results
MEDIA METAPHYSICS AND MID-TERMnRESULTS by Irving Louis HorowitznAmerican elections are difficult enough to interpret innPresidential years. In by-election years, like 1986,npolitical analyses assume the proportions of tea-leafnreadings—or so television network analyses would seem tonsuggest. Faced with complex nonreductionistic information,nthe media resorted to metaphysical quick-fixes tonexplain complicated events. The U.S. Senate was recapturednby the Democratic Party,...
Economic Ideology and the Conservative Dilemma
VIEWSnEconomic Ideology and the ConservativenDilemma by William R. HawkinsnFrom Edmund Burke’s distrust of “sophisters, calculatorsnand economists” to Calvin Coolidge’s boast thatn”the business of America is business” on to George Gilder’sn”economy of heroes” has been a long journey that conservatismnhas not weathered well, either intellectually or politically.nWhat was once a robust philosophy concerned withnall of humane...
Political Art and Artful Politics
POLITICAL ART AND ARTFUL POLITICSnby Vukan KuicnWe speak as readily of the art of politics as we do of the art ofncooking or writing, and what we have in mind in each casenis what the French call savoir faire. This sense of “art”nclaims excellence for the activity of which the term isnpredicated, and since to...
The Search for the Sacred
VIEWSnTHE SEARCH FOR THE SACRED by Thomas MolnarnReligion is inseparable from the sacred, the channelnthrough which the divine transcendent communicatesnwith man, according to man’s sensate nature. Any object,nnatural or man-made—a Gothic cathedral or the lapisnnegra excavated on the Roman forum—may assume thencharacter of sacredness. Through it, the divine communicationnbecomes incarnated, and, in the intellectual-rationalnorder, verities...
Olaf Stapledon: Philosopher and Fabulist
141 CHRONICLESnney, because the cause of the sacred is not man’s, it is God’sncause. Desacrahzed man cannot chmb back to the sacredncavern; he has lost the leading thread. The sacred arisesnmuch like civilizations arise, without man’s consciouslynpursued actions. But we know that every civilization is anhuman stylization on an already given theme, a divine andncosmic...
Orwell and Religion
18/CHRONICLESnselves. The flames themselves, Cass reports, are of anothernand more contemplative temperament than ourselves.nTheir philosophizing “was more imaginative and less conceptualnthan [ours], more of the nature of art, of mythconstruction,nwhich [they] knew to be merely symbolical,nnot literally true.” The active and the contemplative intellect,nthe critical and speculative imagination, the individualnand the community, “the cold light...
David Jones: The Last Liturgical Poet
201 CHRONICLESnDAVID JONES: THE LAST LITURGICALnPOET by Thomas P. McDonnellnThe Welsh poet David Jones (1895-1974) wrote two ofnthis century’s outstanding literary works, and yet neitherna single line of his writing nor any mention of his namenis included in so recent a collechon as The Harper Anthologynof Poetry (1981), an otherwise excellent volume ofnEnglish and American...
The Novel and the Imperial Self
instruct us in the possibilities of freedom, adventure, ornindividual integrity. Except for the two or three mostlynthird-rate novelists whose talent for self-caricature andnbitchery has endeared them to talk-show audiences thatnknow nothing of their books, the best of our writers todaynare ignored by the popular media unless and until they arenarrested for disturbing the peace or...
The Doors of Deception
THE DOORS OF DECEPTION by. John P. SisknOne of the many sociological uses of Hollywood is itsndramatic availability when things go wrong in America.nMichael Satchell, for instance, has raised the questionnin Parade of whether the movies by too often glamorizingndrugs and alcohol encourage their use among youngnpeople. He cites Goldie Hawn, Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton,nLily...
Faces of Clio
26/CHRONICLESnFaces of Clio by Robert NisbetnOPINIONSn”The obscurest epoch is today. “n—Robert Louis StevensonnThe Vital Past: Writings on the Usesnof History, edited by StephennVaughn, Athens, GA: University ofnGeorgia Press; $12.95.nBritain and the Weimar Repubhc bynF.L. Carsten, New York: SchockennBooks; $20.00.nThe Fringes of Power: 10 DowningnStreet Diaries, i939-i955 by JohnnColville, New York and London:nW.W. Norton; $25.00.nTaken together,...
Modern Conservatism and the Burden of Joe McCarthy
12 I CHRONICLESnVIEWSnMODERN CONSERVATISM AND THEnBURDEN OF JOE McCARTHY by Thomas C. ReevesnMany political experts have attempted to explain thenrise of the right in recent years. At the close of WorldnWar II there was no unified, articulate conservative movementnin the United States. Forty years later, Ronald Reagannwas serving his second term in the White House,...
The Evil That Men Don’t Do: Joe McCarthy and the American Right
16 I CHRONICLESnTHE EVIL THAT MEN DON’T DO:nJOE MCCARTHY AND THE AMERICANnRIGHT by Samuel T. FrancisnHis is probably the most hated name in Americannhistory. Other villains—Benedict Arnold, AaronnBurr, Alger Hiss, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg—today evokenmerely the esoteric passions of the antiquarian or theninterminable controversies of partisans. Only Joe McCarthynhas given his name to an enduring...
On Genetic Determinism and Morality
12 / CHRONICLESnVIEWSnON GENETIC DETERMINISM ANDnMORALITY b, Edward O. WilsonnIn his recent speech to Congress, Anatoly Shcharanskynsaid, “All understanding between the East and West mustnbe based on human values common to all men.” Thisnappealing statement takes us straight to the central questionnof moral reasoning: What, if anything, are common humannvalues?nHumanity is and always has been...
Monkeys and Machine-Guns: Evolution, Darwinism, and Christianity
MONKEYS AND MACHINE-GUNS:nEVOLUTION, DARWINISM, ANDnCHRISTIANITY by Stanley L. JakinIt often happens that when a Greek or Latin word is givenna new lease on Hfe in one of the major modern languages,nand especially in English, the original meaning ofnthe word may be replaced by a rather different one. This isnparticularly the case when a word, which...
The Poet and the Plowman
PTTn:?n.*nVIEWSnTHE POET AND THE PLOWMANnSurprisingly often we talked about Vergil, usually aboutnthe Aeneid, but sometimes about the Georgics, and thennwith the wry sentimental fondness of old students who hadnbeen made, not quite willingly, to go to school to the poem.nAnd during the plentiful longueurs of the Redskin games ofnthe mid-1960’s, we would regret that so...
Trojan Asses
TROJAN ASSES wn”Then unbelieving Priests reform’d the nation,nAnd taught more pleasant methods of salvation.”n—Alexander Pope, An Essay on CriticismnOn April 22, 1950, I published in the London Tablet annarticle entitled “The American Catholics Revisited,”nwhich provoked an avalanche of letters to the editor, wildlynprotesting against my observations. Nearly all of them camenfrom “God’s Own Country.” My...
Sexual Politics
10/CHRONICLESnVIEWSnSEXUAL POLITICS by George GildernThe 1980’s witnessed one of the greatest miracles in thenhistory of American pohtics and the chmactic triumphnof one of the most effective poHtical leaders ever to emergenin America. That leader was a woman, and howevernwell-known she is today, she has never achieved the honornand celebrity of her many inferiors. The national...
Equal Opportunity and the Limits of Liberalism
A. s *» • ••’ itn101 CHRONICLESnVIEWSnEQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND THE LIMITSnOF LIBERALISM by James S. FishkinnThe last two decades have seen a remarkable revival innacademic polihcal philosophy, particularly in thenEnglish-speaking world. A subject which was widely pronouncedndead in the 1950’s has recently produced thousandsnof articles and numerous books of real importance.nOne indicator of the scale...
John F. Kennedy: Character and Camelot
JOHN F. KENNEDY:nCHARACTER ANDnCAMELOT by Thomas C. ReevesnJFohn F. Kennedy first gained national attention at the agenI of 23. His book Why England Slept, published in 1940,necame a best-seller and earned the new Harvard graduatenplaudits as a man of learning and thoughtfulness. Kennedynwas heard from again in the summer of 1944 when the NewnYork Times...
The “Melting” Experience: Grow or Die
n/CHRONICLESnVIEWSnTHE “MELTING” EXPERIENCE:nGROW OR DIE by James StockdalenIhave a friend, a Boston thoracic surgeon, who has a greatnsensitivity for issues concerning the meaning of hfe andnthe nature of man. It’s easy to understand how a man whonspends the best part of his busy days at the pressure-packednjuncture of hfe and death could become absorbed innphilosophical...
The Unnatural History of Giant Ideology
18 / CHRONICLESnTHE UNNATURAL HISTORY OF GIANTnIDEOLOGY by Russell KirknBorn in a Parisian coffeehouse during the first year of then19th century, Ideology has grown gigantic in our time.nInfant Ideology was consecrated to an educational reform;nthe colossus Ideology that now bestrides the world isnengaged successfully in the extirpation of culture.nThere comes to my mind often, when...
The Lure of Youth
land, appearing on campuses and television programs innopposition to such ideologues as Tom Hayden, LeonardnWeinglass, Dick Gregory, Staughton Lynd, Ayn Rand,nMalcolm X, William Kunstier, and Michael Harrington.nSuch debates foster a distaste for ideological enthusiasms,neven among young Americans. Sometimes the element innthose audiences most tolerant of my opinions was the localnchapter of Students for a Democratic...
The Most Unbelievable Thing
22 / CHRONICLESnVIEWSnTHE MOST UNBELIEVABLE THINGnby Robert NisbetnThe following is the text of Professor Nisbet’snspeech at the 1985 IngersoU Prizes AwardsnBanquet:nOne of Hans Christian Andersen’s lesser-known storiesnbears the title “The Most Unbelievable Thing.” Anking offered a fortune to the subject who created the mostnunbelievable thing in the arts. Competition was intense andnprolonged. When at last...
Let Me Count the Ways: What to Make of Survey Research
24 / CHRONICLESnLET ME COUNT THE WAYS: WHAT TOnMAKE OF SURVEY RESEARCH by John Shelton Reedn”Things and actions are what they are, and thenconsequences of them will he what they will he:nwhy then should we desire to be deceived?”n—Joseph Butler, Fifteen SermonsnNo doubt many of us could think of an answer or two tonHis Grace’s...
The Doctors and the Bomb
26 / CHRONICLESnevaluating survey research, but, to repeat, it is important tonrecognize that no one is more aware of these issues, or hasndone more to deal with them, than professional surveynresearchers. After all, usually no one has a greater interestnin getting it right. Caution is appropriate in dealing withnsurvey data, but it should be an...
Realism and the Spirit
VIEWSnREALISM AND THE SPIRIT by Eugene lonesconThe following is the text ofM. lonesco’s address atnthe 198S IngeisoU Prizes Awards Banquet:nIam extremely proud and honored to hae been awardednthe very prestigious T. S. Ehot Prize, which has beenngien to such persons as Jorge Luis Borges and the novehstnAnthony Powell, artists who exemplify the prime alues ofnthe...
Simple Goethe
a destiny that is metaphysical and spiritual, and that can bennothing else.nEliot is not often performed in France these days. Butnthere is no one who doesn’t remember the wonderful handsnof Jean Vilar joined in prayer in the inihal performances ofnMurder in the Cathedral at the Vieux Colombier, rightnafter the Second World War.nThis spirituality, indeed, through...
The Promise of Life
VIEWSnTHE PROMISE OF LIFEn”Give them hope, so they may fear.”n—The ApocryphanThere is no more Atlantis.n”Where,” I was asked in prison, by a Yugoslav StatenSecurity agent, “is this Atlantis you would like to live in,nSelic?” I didn’t tell him that I wanted to live in America, itnbeing alive and well, and still above the waters.n”How many...
War, Peace, and the Church’s Teaching
WAR, PEACE, AND THE CHURCH’SnTEACHING by Thomas MolnarnThe amazing thing about the nuclear debate and thenCathohc bishops’ participation in it is that the accumulatednwisdom and experience of mankind, as well as thenChurch’s pronouncements on peace and war, are so completelynignored. This is quite a natural phenomenon on thenpart of so many lay debaters: it belongs...
Henry James at the Sacred Fount
HENRY JAMES AT THE SACRED FOUNTnby Thomas P. McDonnellnIt has* long been self-evident that Henry James wasnthoroughly apolitical in any practical sense of the term.nHe did not involve himself in public affairs as such andnhardly took more than passing notice of the Civil War, evennthough his two younger brothers, Wilkinson and RobertsonnJames, served with distinguished...
Bianca and the Commissar
VIEWSnBIANCA AND THE COMMISSAR by Andrei NavrozovnIwas reading at the Periodicals Room of Yale’s SterlingnMemorial Library the other day. The magazine I happenednto pick up was called Soviet Literature, subtitled “AnMonthly Journal of the Writers’ Union of the U.S.S.R.npublished in English, French, German, Spanish, Hungari-nrMic&k^^unan, Polish, Czech, and Slovak.” The issue, for Marchn1985, “marked the...