classics digests, reflections and reviews
The Wounds and Glory of Alexander When the thigh of his father Philip had been pierced by a spear in battle with the Triballians, and Philip, although he escaped with his life, was vexed with his lameness, Alexander said, ‘Be of good cheer, father, and go on your way rejoicing, that at each step you may recall your valour.’… How, then, think you, did he glory in his own wounds, […]
Read moreWhere then is my hope? Who will see my hope? Will it go down to the bars of Sheol? Shall we descend together into the dust? –Job 17:15-16 Job is my favourite character in the Bible, because he has something that I admire but lack, namely, perfect moral integrity. He is someone who can stand before the judgment seat and challenge the justice of God, for though he is blameless, he has endured […]
Read moreBackground and Advance Apology I’ve been hesitant to write about suffering and Christian hope, because I have very little experience or knowledge of either, having lived a mostly sheltered life. I fear that my posts might be too superficial, even offensive, to people who are in the midst of suffering. But, I somehow backed myself into this position, by writing two blog series that converge on the subject of suffering, one […]
Read moreFor the Down-and-Out When in disgrace with Fortune and men’s eyes I all alone beweep my outcast state, And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, And look upon myself and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Featur’d like him, like him with friends possess’d, Desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope, With what I most enjoy contented least; Yet in these thoughts […]
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What is Despair? “Just as a physician might say there isn’t a single human being who enjoys perfect health, so someone with a proper knowledge of man might say there is not a single human being who does not despair at least a little, in whose innermost being there does not dwell an uneasiness, an unquiet, a discordance, an anxiety in the face of an unknown something, or a something […]
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