Undusted Texts

  It is not enough to escape evil, if we are to attain the kingdom of the heavens, but many works of virtue are needed. So that we might escape Gehenna, we must cleave from wickedness; so that we might attain the kingdom, we must cleave to virtue….Not doing good is a part of evil; for this is idleness, and idleness is a part of evil; rather, not a part, but the foundation and root of wickedness; for idleness has taught all evil...For to not do good is to do evil…. Because of this, the blessed Paul, too, leading us from wickedness, leads us towards virtue. For what is the use, tell me, of cutting away all the thorns, if you do not plant good seeds? For, the toil remaining incomplete, it turns again to our loss….He who does not weep does not, because of that, laugh, but he is in a middle state. So, too, here, he who is not bitter is not thereby good, nor he who is not wrathful thereby compassionate; but another effort is needed so that we might obtain the good. ...

  Introduction Maurice Barrès (1862-1923) was a novelist, traveloguist, and politician.  After the initial portion of his life—in which he wrote a novel trilogy entitled The Cult of I and ran for office as a" national socialist" (long before the Nazis adopted the name)—he became a strongly anti-German nationalist.  His nationalism involved both strong ties to one's local land (his homeland of Lorraine was a polestar for his politics and writing) and Catholicism as part of the national French character (hence his push to have Joan of Arc declared patron of France and to be given a national patriotic feast).   Barrès' last prehumous novel was A Garden on the Orontes (1922).  The novel told the story of a Crusader who renounces the chance to recapture Jerusalem in order to spend his life with a Saracen princess with whom he had fallen in love.  Somewhat surprisingly, the novel stirred up a virulent reaction from some Catholics, who claimed the novel was...

  The Rosary in the Sun Francis Jammes Purchase the Paperback Edition Purchase the Kindle Edition   The most recent entry in the Undusted Texts Translations series is the first work of fiction in the series: the novel The Rosary in the Sun (1916) by French poet Francis Jammes (1868-1938).  Jammes early gained recognition for his poetry, particularly his 1898 collection From the Dawn Angelus to the Evening Angelus .  Despite the title of that collection, Jammes was a fallen-away Catholic until he struck up a friendship with poet and playwright Paul Claudel (1868-1955).  Due to that friendship, Jammes "converted" to practicing Catholicism in 1905, and all of his later works were infused with a fervent Catholicism.  The present novel is no exception: it tells the story of Dominica, a young rich girl from Marseille torn between our love for Christ and the poor and her love for a young scientist and for children.  A chance encounter with a poor widower an...

 Introduction This Greek homily is one of the many, many spurious works ascribed to St. Athanasius.  Quite possibly it is a homily for the Sunday Before the Nativity (Sunday of the Holy Fathers), one of the many days when Hebrews 11 is read at Liturgy: a large portion of this chapter is paraphrased in the first section of this homily.  The homily is notable for its detailed portrayal of God as a judge, with various prophets and others who had been wronged by the wicked approaching Him with their complaints.  Due to the references to Iconoclasm in §8, it is probably from around the 8th century, or later. Homily on the Holy Fathers and the Prophets Psuedo-Athanasius Faith, leading [us] on the way of God-knowledge, and in the virtuous and unconquered way of life, does not have a recent beginning, as the lawless and abominable Jews say; but it is f rom above, from the holy and pious Fathers, I say, from Abel, and from Enoch, and from Noah, and from ...

  Purchase the Kindle edition here   I have just released a translation of Bl. Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam's essay "On Progress Through Christianity."  Ozanam (1813-1853) was a literary historian, lawyer, and journalist, but he is best-known as one of the founders of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. His books include Civilization in the Fifth Century , Germanic Studies , Franciscan Poets in Italy in the 13 th Century , Dante and Catholic Philosophy in the 1 3 th Century , and a translation and commentary on Dante’s Purgatorio .  I previously translated a few passages by Ozanam on care for the poor. Being somewhat short, this release is only available in eBook (Kindle) format, not paperback; however, its price ($0.99) is much lower than my paperback-also eBooks ($2.99).  I am also in the process of preparing a longer anthology of Ozanam's writings, to be available in both paperback and eBook formats. You might notice that, in contrast to my prior books, the...

Rainer Specht, in an essay on Alfred North Whitehead's interpretation of John Locke, develops a schema of six forms of authorial presence.  The purpose is to explain how Locke was present to Whitehead, although Whitehead misunderstood and misquoted Locke in many ways (which is the main theme of the paper).  These forms are: Institutional presence .  "In this case, the institution, for reasons that can be reconstructed, identifies itself with an author to such an extent that an attack on him is also an attack on the institution that needs to be punished politically or through disciplinary sanctions."  The examples Specht gives are St. Thomas Aquinas in the Roman Catholic Church (at least, for many centuries) and Karl Marx in the Soviet Union.  (This essay comes from a book published in 1990, just before the fall of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall: the back-cover blurb highlights that it is mainly the work of authors from West Germany.)  We might also t...