Monday, August 30, 2010

Lecture on Dante

The translation of The Inferno used by fellows and faculty of the Center is by Anthony Esolen.

This lecture by Esolen on the final image of Lucifer embedded in ice (along with some other material from Purgatory) is an outstanding introduction to the central meaning of the Inferno. Esolan's style is a bit ragged, but his commentary gets one directly into the heart of the Inferno, and his lecture also gives one some insight into how to read the rest of the imagery of the Comedy.

Note: the lecture isn't actually as long as it appears. Some of the recording is taken up with questions and answers.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Beauty in Music

http://www.covenantseminary.edu/resources/
(update, Aug 2013:  go to this link and do a search for John Hodges' name - there is a more recent set of lectures for Covenant Seminary as well on music and metaphor)

This is a link to a lecture John Hodges gave in 1996, on Beauty in music. Having recently endured a rock 'n roll worship service led by college students, I turn in gratitude to something that gives me relief from the amplified subjectivist piety I was subjected to. The service might have been meaningful in some way to the students, but it was not by any measure of reality a beautiful service of worship.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Do You Like Tolkien?

Have you ever listened to him?

I listen to this trying to imagine him reading to the Inklings. He sits or stands, while Clive smokes a nice cigar and smiles.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

New Year

After too long a lapse in posting, this blog should become more active over the coming months as the Institute gears up with new students. Stay tuned for more discussion and for more links to helpful sources.