We visited Notre-Dame today, four years after the fire that destroyed its roof and spire. The cathedral was still closed, surrounded by scaffolding, cranes, and construction barriers as craftsmen worked toward its restoration and reopening.
Golden hour at the Arc de Triomphe, with the Eiffel Tower hiding in the corner.
We left early in the morning for Versailles and spent most of the day touring the palace and gardens. The palace was impressive (7/10), but the gardens were easily the highlight (10/10). We ate lunch at one of our friends' (David and Sherin) favorite spots at the back of the gardens.
A slow morning in Luxembourg Gardens before spending six hours getting lost in the Louvre. Fueled, as all good days in Paris should be, by pastries and sandwiches. Also including an unreasonable amount of walking.
Arrived in Paris exhausted after a sleepless overnight flight. Then we walked out of our Airbnb to find a little corner store for water, milk, and food. And just around the corner, we find this is the view of the Eiffel Tower.
Fascist is a good example of what C.S. Lewis called Verbicide. He writes about this in Studies in Words. The idea behind the term is not just exaggeration. Verbicide happens when the word ceases to tell you what the person or policy actually is and tell you only how strongly the speaker disapproves of it.
| Practical | Theoretical |
|---|---|
| knowledge for solving problems | knowledge for its own sake |
| what is the case | what to do about it |
| knowing that | knowing how |
| what (or how) you should do | what you should believe or know |
| practical reason | pure reason |
Mortimer Adler created the concept of "great ideas" to describe recurring ideas in Western thought. His goal was to create a useful framework for synthesis (or syntopical reading). The core challenge was finding the right level of abstraction. Specific enough to be meaningful and general enough to connect across contexts.
I finished reading Surprised by Joy today. Simply wonderful. How did C.S. Lewis remember his childhood with such insightful detail?
Found C.S. Lewis's term "Chronological Snobbery" in Surprised by Joy today. For some reason, I had it in my mind that it was used in his essay, On Reading Old Books, but it's not. Even though that essay is very much related.
Albert Mohler uses the term Theological Triage to describe the "intellectual tool" that he uses to determine which doctrines deserve "first-rank attention in a time of theological crisis". Original article here.
I enjoyed listening to the audio lectures so much that I immediately purchased the physical book (The Platonic Tradition). When the digital book became available, I bought that too. My wife is probably hoping he doesn't come out with a graphic novel version of the book.
Screwtape Letters, or letters from "Your Affectionate Uncle, Screwtape"
In Studies in Words, C.S. Lewis tackles the words nature, sad, wit, free, sense, simple, conscience and conscious, world, and life. He also looks at the phrase I dare say. His goal is to trace how ordinary words accumulate, shed, and sometimes obscure older meanings over time.
A carnival attraction is an apt analogy for this book. Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl is a dizzying ride.