Lyceum Digest #19
On William Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!," Madison's ideas on education, Cicero's advice to those choosing an area of study, and more.
Welcome to our Friday Digest, a bi-weekly email newsletter designed to showcase everything we have published on the Substack over the past few weeks. Below you will find links to our most recent posts. Happy reading!
“Why do you hate the South?”
Enter William Faulkner, the essential poet of the South and the American Civil War. When Faulkner published Absalom, Absalom!, he believed that he captured the essence of the Civil War by conveying the fictional story of Thomas Sutpen, a northerner who became a plantation owner in the South and then a colonel of rebel forces in the Civil War. When Faulkner sent the manuscript to a friend, he said, “I think it’s the best novel yet written by an American.” Click here to read on…The Best “Civic Education” is Simply Good Education
Madison’s philosophic digression shows us that what Americans need is not merely an education suited and bound to their form of government, but an education that is open to nature and politics. In short, Madison’s example teaches us that the best education is simply a good education. Click here to read on…Cicero and Vico on Choosing a Major
As we prepare to aid in the transition of new students to the halls of academe, we would be wise to encourage them to slow down, survey the landscape, and take seriously the need to read widely and deeply (as we do here at Lyceum), to make a full self-examination before selecting a major and life’s course. Click here to read on…The Foolishness of Knowledge?
“...It is dangerous to go too far away from the house of Scripture. A child, indeed, never wants to go too far away from home. There is the same danger in the sciences, for people spread out so much through the consideration of their [own] knowledge that later they are unable to return to the house of Scripture…” Click here to read on…