Finding Arcadia: Wisdom, Truth, and Love in the Classics

The classics used to be the seminal texts of Western civilization and education. From Homer down through the Greek poets and philosophers, including the Roman poets and early Christian writers, the classics were indispensable in shaping the hearts, minds, and souls of Westerners toward the Good, True, and Beautiful. Today, however, the classics are under attack as nothing but a relic of racism, misogyny, and sexism that have no place in the modern world. Far from irrelevant, the classics are deeply pertinent to the struggles of modern society and the human soul. In this collection of essays, Paul Krause offers a guided tour through the classics and highlights the wisdom, truth, and beauty that these great works embody. Recovering the hermeneutic of love, rather than promoting the politicization of literature, is needed in restoring the great works of Western literature to their important place in Western culture. From Homer and Aeschylus to Herodotus and Plato, from Virgil and Catullus to Ovid and Saint Augustine, Finding Arcadia reveals the wisdom that our ancestors gained from the books rightfully called the classics.