The Moral of the Story: Literature and Public EthicsHenry T. Edmondson The contributors to The Moral of the Story, all preeminent political theorists, are unified by their concern with the instructive power of great literature. This thought-provoking combination of essays explores the polyvalent moral and political impact of classic world literatures on public ethics through the study of some of its major figures-including Shakespeare, Dante, Cervantes, Jane Austen, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Robert Penn Warren, and Dostoevsky. Positing the uniqueness of literature's ability to promote dialogue on salient moral and intellectual virtues, editor Henry T. Edmonson III has culled together a wide-ranging exploration of such fundamental concerns as the abuse of authority, the nature of good leadership, the significance of "middle class virtues" and the needs of adolescents. This collection reinvigorates the study of classic literature as an endeavor that is not only personally intellectually satisfying, but also an inimitable and unique way to enrich public discourse. |
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Page 39
... eyes is Paradise " ( 18.21 ) . Love , for Dante , when it is allowed to mature and be educated , opens our eyes to the divine goodness of world order and intellectual clarity . Its great result is not possession but transfiguration . By ...
... eyes is Paradise " ( 18.21 ) . Love , for Dante , when it is allowed to mature and be educated , opens our eyes to the divine goodness of world order and intellectual clarity . Its great result is not possession but transfiguration . By ...
Page 245
... eyes . Even before she assaults Mrs. Turpin , her eyes " appeared alternately to smolder and to blaze " ( 196 ) ; " She looked straight in front of her , directly through Mrs. Turpin and on through the yellow curtain and the plate glass ...
... eyes . Even before she assaults Mrs. Turpin , her eyes " appeared alternately to smolder and to blaze " ( 196 ) ; " She looked straight in front of her , directly through Mrs. Turpin and on through the yellow curtain and the plate glass ...
Page 248
... eyes and her words , even the tone of her voice , low but clear , di- rected only to her , brooked no repudiation . She had been singled out for the mes- sage , though there was trash in the room to whom it might justly have been ap ...
... eyes and her words , even the tone of her voice , low but clear , di- rected only to her , brooked no repudiation . She had been singled out for the mes- sage , though there was trash in the room to whom it might justly have been ap ...
Contents
Revolution | 15 |
The Teachings of Francesca | 27 |
Aliens Are Us? Walker Percys Response to Carl Sagan | 43 |
Copyright | |
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Achebe Achebe's African American Aristotle Austen authority believe C. S. Lewis Carl Sagan Cervantes chapter character Chinua Achebe Christian classical Conrad conventional right cosmos culture Dante Dante's democracy democratic divine Dutourd equality essay ethical evil extraterrestrial father Flannery O'Connor Francesca French Grandgousier great-souled individual Hank Henry Henry's human Hyacinth ideal Igbo Inquisitor irony Jane Austen Jean Dutourd Jefferson Jessup Joseph Conrad justice king leader Ledue Leggatt liberal literary literature live Longer at Ease magnanimity Mary Grace means modern Monipodio moral mystery never novel O'Connor Okonkwo Paolo Pascal peasant Percy philosophical Picrochole Plato poem political pride Princess Casamassima Rabelais reading regime revolution Rinconete Russian Sagan seems sense Shad Shakespeare Sinclair Lewis social society Solzhenitsyn soul statesmanship Stolypin storm story teaches tells tion Tocqueville traditional tragedy truth Turpin Twain Umuofia understand University Press virtue Willa Cather wonder writes York young captain