Literally, though, how do we read stuff? It's a question we rarely ask seriously, but it's an ancient one with profound implications for art, faith, and morality. This week I'm presenting an ancient distinction between literal and allegorical reading that helps to get past simplistic modern bickering over merely material truths. Carrying forward our conversation in art, this is a theme that will help guide the show in 2024. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/ Pick up my book, How to Save the West: https://a.co/d/9S57cfh

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The classical education you never knew you were missing. Join scholar and writer Spencer Klavan on a tour through the great works of the West. In a world gone mad, we're not alone: the great men and women who went before us have wisdom to guide us. With their help, we can recover truth, beauty, and the stuff that matters.

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If you've never read a great work of literature before...where do you start? This week, in response to a listener request, I'm taking a poem I had never read before and walking through my process of getting to know it with you step by step. Hopefully, this will help give you some tips and pointers for getting acquainted with new authors and new ideas. If nothing else, by the time we're done you'll know which English queen helped make Shakespeare's career possible, what sorts of romantic entanglements can end you up in the Tower of London, and how to telegraph your sad boy vibes without getting your head chopped off. A review of Graven With Diamonds, by Nicola Shulman:  https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/graven-with-diamonds-by-nicola-shulman-2286444.html A podcast with Susan Bridgen, author of Thomas Wyatt: The Heart's Forest:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-just-the-tudors/id1564113869?i=1000554333559 Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com I maked this: "The Tale of the Brothers True," at Rejoice Evermore:  https://open.substack.com/pub/rejoiceevermore/p/the-frat-bros-of-the-round-table?r=wm1tt&utm;_campaign=post&utm;_medium=web  

Doin' It Live: How to Read a Poem for the First Time

When it comes to picking a translation, which brands can you trust? Like streaming services and video game consoles, publishers are always competing for eyeballs, which means no one imprint is going to be able to gather all the best authors and translators under one roof. But here are some good rules of thumb to help you understand the lay of the land when it comes to choosing a translation or series of translations, so you always know what you're getting yourself into. Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com

Words, Words, Words 11: The Translation Cinematic Universe

Before C.S. Lewis, before George Orwell, there was Goethe: in Faust Part II, the magician's servant Wagner concocts a literal test tube baby--a "homunculus" or "little man" made without any sexual intercourse at all. This picture of humanity cut off from its natural origins is frighteningly familiar, and it leads to a final word on science, magic, and the coming age of genetic screenings. Where do we go from here? Only the past can help guide us into the future. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com We maked this: The New Jerusalem, featuring Andrew Klavan's latest essay on antisemitism: https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com/p/essay-4-antisemitism-is-the-devils

The Abolition of Sex: IVF, Designer Babies, and Goethe's Faust

Why do we say "Holy Spirit" more often than "Holy Ghost"? It's not just because we're scared of things that go bump in the night. This week I'm taking a listener question about why "Spirit" and "Ghost" seem interchangeable in early modern English translations of the Bible, but not so much anymore. It's about how English has changed, how the Biblical languages changed over time, and how we've changed since salvation history began. Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com

Words, Words, Words 10: The Holy Ghost Story

"We're not a good species": that's the rallying cry of Les Knight, founder of the Voluntary Extinction Movement. But the idea that humanity was a mistake didn't just spring out of nowhere. It was built up gradually over centuries, as a side-effect of the scientific revolution. Goethe's Faust is a brilliant attempt to recover and sanctify the role of humanity in creating reality. It is more important now than ever. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com I maked this: "China's Three-Body Problem--and Ours," at Law & Liberty: https://lawliberty.org/chinas-three-body-problem-and-ours/   

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