November 28: The Royal Society

Coat of Arms, Royal Society of London

In the 1640s, a group of natural philosophers led by Robert Boyle  exchanged correspondence and met informally to discuss scientific ideas. Influenced by Francis Bacon’s empirical emphasis in the “new science”,  he described in his essays and his New Atlantis, they exchanged data from their various experiments and observations, and sought rational explanations. Boyle called… Continue reading November 28: The Royal Society

November 27: Clovis I

Tomb of Clovis I at St. Denis, Paris (taken 2008 by Christe Ann McMenomy)

This is rather long, but bear with me. For the past month, I’ve been exploring topics inspired by the lists  of events, births, or saints for the day in Wikipedia and the Britannica, trying to see whether one or another of these might help illuminate the goals, methods, or outcome of a classical Christian education.… Continue reading November 27: Clovis I

November 26: Hermits and Contemplation

Icon of Alypius the Stylite now in the Hellenic Insititute of Byzantine and Post Byzantine Studies in Venice

In the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions, today is the feast day of several saints who were hermits: St. Stylianos of Paphlagonia (fifth century), and Alypius the Stylite and Basolus of Verzy (both seventh century). Regardless of your views on saints, it is worth considering what the practices of these men can tell us about… Continue reading November 26: Hermits and Contemplation