Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Anna Lea Merritt, The watchers of the straight gate (1894)

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Platonism


Platonism seems to be the current gateway drug to every flavour of traddy weirdness (if not to say actual traddy b-s), from Tolkien to Charles Coulombe's thoughts on the Latin Mass and "western Hermeticism" to Stephen C Lovatt's "gay traditionalism" to Tom Rowsell's "neo-paganism".

Why is this? I don't know. In order to find out I suspect I'd have to go back and read a lot more Plato than I have any great desire to.

My feeling though is that it's got something to do with a desire for a detachment from the boring mundane reality of the materially perceptible world.

And let's face it, whether you're into elves, Latin Masses, magic, old gods or bum-sex (or all five!), there are times when that's quite a comforting thing.
Alexandre Cabanel, The Fallen Angel

'Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship - never.' 
[Charles Caleb Colton]

Friday, April 3, 2026