Latin’s death and immortality
One of the dangers of language is that the meanings of words often change with usage. People used to call God “awful,” because He inspired a sense of awe and wonder—now it means really bad; a “nice” person used to be someone who was silly, foolish or simple—now it means they’re friendly; and the word […]
The virtue of physical education
Ever wonder why PE class is part of school at all? I mean, let the athletic kids join the sports teams—but for the scholar, why the need for physical education in the first place? “Every sport,” said John Paul II, “at both the amateur and the competitive level, requires basic human qualities such as rigorous preparation, continual […]
Chase perfection, catch excellence
When guests come to visit CCA, I often take them to the wall over there, with the posted results of your fitness testing. The Presidential Fitness Test, which Mr. Buller and Mrs. Blecke have you perform, used to be a part of education in just about every school. I remember taking it when I was […]
Of music and meaning
Suppose you read all that has ever been written about Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony—all of the reviews of performances, descriptions of its greatness, analyses of its composition. Suppose you even read the sheet music itself, and studied everything about it. But suppose you never listened to it. Would it be fair to say you know the […]
The virtue of reading well
Have you ever had a conversation with someone who you could tell was just waiting for you to finish talking so that they could say whatever was on their mind? Or with someone who always responded by correcting you or telling you how you’re wrong? Or what about someone who seemed to always be telling you what […]
But why do we have to read old books?
We’ve talked about literature this week—what’s so great about books and why we read them. “But,” you may wonder, “why do we have to read all these old books?” Franz Kafka gives an answer: “You spend too much time on ephemeras. The majority of modern books are merely wavering reflections of the present. They disappear very quickly. […]
The crime of not reading
About 600 BC, King Jehoiakim destroyed Jeremiah’s scroll in a fire. Around 250 BC Emperor Qin Shi Huang of China ordered the burning of all philosophy books and history books from states other than Qin. Following the conversion of the Maldives to Islam in 1153, Buddhist manuscripts written by Maldivian monks were burnt or destroyed. The Nazi book burnings were […]
A science that belongs to God, or a God that belongs to science?
Do you believe in science, or do you believe in God? That is the choice that the modern world would have you make. Science, they say, is the province of reason; faith is irrational or non-rational belief. Pick one or the other, but you can’t have both. But that has not been the view for […]
Science, the incredible
Every field of knowledge has the capacity to amaze us: There are astonishing tales of history; awe-inspiring works of art and music; incredibly simple (and complex) mathematical proofs; brilliant and moving stories from literature. But science—the study of our natural world—seems to have a unique capacity to make us just say, “Wow.” Consider: There are […]
Not just a ‘break’
“So, what are you doing over the break?” I hear this question often. I confess, I’m frequently the one asking it. So, what’s the problem? Well, remember how the term ‘holiday’ used to mean a day of sacred observance…and now it usually just means a day off work or school? It turns out that the loss […]
