Today is the commemoration, in the Lutheran and Anglican traditions, of the death of Isaac Watts in 1748. Regardless of your religious persuasion, if you have been in the United States or Canada or Great Britain at Christmas, you’ve run into at least one of his many hymns, “Joy to the World”, in some form… Continue reading November 25: Isaac Watts
November 24: Lucy
On November 24, 1974, two anthropologists working in Ethiopia’s Afar Depression discovered bones from the skeleton of an a hominin, a human-like biological classification group. In particular, this skeleton appeared to be a member of the Australopithecus afarensis subgroup. Only about 40% of the skeleton was eventually recovered: part of one leg, pieces of both arms,… Continue reading November 24: Lucy
November 23: Areopagitica, or Free Speech
In 1644, on November 23, in the midst of England’s Civil War, John Milton published a pamphlet entitled “Areopagitica”. It is a defense of freedom of speech, and an eloquent argument for the fundamental role of civil discourse and rational analysis in classical education. The title is a reference to the Areopagus Hill, where Athens… Continue reading November 23: Areopagitica, or Free Speech