Daniel J. Mahoney’s new book, “Recovering Politics, Civilization, and the Soul,” is an analytical study as well as a work of praise for the contributions of two modern conservative philosophers: the French philosopher, Pierre Manent, and the British philosopher, Roger Scruton. These analyses and praises are displayed in essay form from one of the more…

Commentary There is no more fundamental task that lies before us than a self-conscious effort to recover the meaning of politics, civilization, and the soul for this (or any other) time. Not politics as a diabolical realm of power-seeking and “domination” rooted in will-to-power, but the “ruling and being ruled in turn,” as Aristotle called…

I have a suggestion, particularly for those unfamiliar with Roger Scruton’s voice: Use your Duck Duck Go browser to find his award-winning documentary “Why Beauty Matters.” In the cadences and rhythms of that voice, we discover a thinker and an attentive listener. He speaks gently for the most part, his words tempered by tolerance for…

The canon of Western literature is like some storied gold mine, deep and old, and filled with riches. The Bible. The “Iliad” and the “Odyssey.” The “Aeneid.” “The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.” “The Canterbury Tales.” Dante’s “Divine Comedy.” The plays of Molière and William Shakespeare. Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” and…

Commentary In “Four Quartets,” one of the most celebrated poems of the last century, T.S. Eliot writes: “Time present and time past/ Are both perhaps present in time future/ And time future contained in time past. … A people without history/ Is not redeemed from time, for history is a pattern/ Of timeless moments.” Eliot’s…

British philosopher Roger Scruton (1944–2020) was a defender of beauty and traditional art throughout his long writing career. In his book “Beauty: A Very Short Introduction,” Scruton guides the reader through the world of the beautiful: from art to architecture to nature to even the simple pleasures of everyday acts, such as eating. He writes…