What is the classical view of literature and art? In his book The Mirror and the Lamp, M. H. Abrams observed that art could be viewed from four different perspectives: First there is the emphasis on the universe of art, that is, the thing or idea the work is about, its subject; for example, Mona […]
Author Archives: Martin Cothran
St. John’s Academy, which is located on a little country road in beautiful St. Augustine, Florida, celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year. The school is now a fully accredited member of the Classical Latin School Association. The independent, inter-denominational school has, like many small Christian schools, struggled during economic hard times. But in recent years, the school has thrived through […]
One Saturday many years ago, when even my oldest children were young, we had a visit from two friends, Jim and Renee. They were not quite my parents’ age, but they were old enough that they had just become grandparents. We invited them in, and, as happened when anyone entered our home at that time, […]
About a year ago, Universal Pictures released the movie Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman. It is about a man and a woman (Cruise and Andrea Riseborough) stationed on a post-apocalyptic earth. They are charged with maintaining the drones which protect a number of orbiting installations, mining water for the human encampment now situated […]
When I was in junior high school, I had a horse named Lady Anne that could count to three. I would say, “Count to three!” and she would scrape the ground three times with her right hoof. She could do it for one and two as well. She also nodded her head when she was […]
A common question asked of classical Christian educators is why we should read the pagans. If you had to buy one book to help you answer this question, this is it. Markos, one of the most exciting Christian writers today, explains how Homer, Hesiod, the Greek dramatists, and Virgil foreshadowed the Christian revelation. Markos joins […]
Book Review: Preface to Paradise Lost by C. S. Lewis Most of us know that C. S. Lewis was a great Christian apologist and author of The Chronicles of Narnia. What most of us don’t know is that, as Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English Literature at both Oxford and Cambridge, Lewis was first and foremost […]
Book Review: The Schools We Need and Why We Don’t Have Them by E. D. Hirsch E. D. Hirsch, a first-rate scholar and the author of Cultural Literacy, masterfully exposes the philosophy behind progressive education to its source in 19th-century Romanticism, a European literary movement that produced some beautiful poetry, but was disastrous as an […]
I was attending an education conference a while back and decided that I wanted a sandwich for lunch, so I walked into a nearby mall and found a popular sandwich chain store. I ordered a Chipotle Steak and Cheese with Avocado. “What kind of meat would you like?” she asked. “Uh, well, I think this […]
Almost Half of Highlands Seniors Recognized by National Merit Corp. Yet another reason for studying Latin. Congratulations to Semifinalists Samuel Roberts, Logan Crum, Andrew Thibaudeau, Spencer Henderson, Anna McCain, and Lauren Petrey, and Commended Student, Tom Mangione. Highlands Latin has created a culture of excellence that has led to the highest percentage of National Merit Semifinalists […]