2026s

Last month, we met with our friend Demetrius to discuss his observations on style. I mentioned in that post that Loeb’s edition of On Style also included Aristotle’s Poetics and Longinus’ On the Sublime, so today, let’s meet the last of those three men, Longinus.

One pervasive problem with the way that literature is taught today, perhaps the pervasive problem, is the lack of any framework for understanding and evaluating it. Typically, a class at the high school or college level is assigned some reading, perhaps with some background about the book or author, but then the lecture period is little more than a book club facilitated by the instructor. Students are asked for their opinions about this or that aspect of the novel (or poem, play, whatever), but no definitive interpretation or means of assessing the quality of the work is given. In my time as a Literature major at college, there was really only one professor who did otherwise, and it was in his course on Shakespeare that I first encountered Aristotle’s Poetics (which we’ve discussed previously) and today’s author, Demetrius.

I’ll admit that I originally planned not to review today’s book, Beth Kobliner’s Get a Financial Life, since its subject is outside of my wheelhouse. However, it was recommended to me by a friend and it seems useful enough to pass along that recommendation along with a few comments. Besides, the last time I reviewed a New York Times bestseller, it turned out to be the most Reactionary book ever written (in some sense, anyway).

Today, we’ll meet Fr. George Herbert. Our friend was born in 1593, and educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He served briefly in Parliament (1624-5), but retired from public life in 1626, due to health problems that plagued him for the rest of his life. He was ordained an Anglican priest in 1630.

Jill Barklem’s Brambly Hedge series is popular enough that I don’t think I need to spend much time introducing it. I’ll simply say that the books are a contender for the most beautifully illustrated children’s books I know, and the artwork seems to be what it’s most known for. The official website has a lot of merchandise featuring the art, from prints to mugs to calendars, which may seem a bit kitschy but honestly, I don’t blame anyone who wants to surround themselves with this art.