It's hard not to love this book, which introduces a diverse cast of characters ranging from C.S. Lewis and Emily Dickinson to Lily Munster and the Great Pumpkin to explain the historical, humorous, and even sacred origins of words most of us use without even knowing what they literally mean or where they come from. In this engaging discussion of the roots of everyday English, Anthony Esolen introduces readers to a linguistic heritage whose Christian and cultural origins are now largely forgotten. Join Professor Esolen in a fun, educational, and often downright hilarious romp through 98 of your soon-to-be favorite words. Learn how -- to say nothing of when and where -- to properly use the word, "drunken." ("The bridegroom's mother has drunken a whole bottle of champagne, and is now drawing flowers on the floor with her lipstick.") Learn why, if you are faithful to the King's English, you really don't want Lily Munster to "dust" your furniture! And learn why Professor Esolen and other lovers of beauty in language and liturgy wince when faulty word choice reduces a mighty angel of God to the status of a mere messenger boy. Again and again, you'll find yourself laughing along with Anthony Esolen, who channels his inner Boris Badenov (Bullwinkle the Moose's nemesis, for the philistines and millennials among you) and reminds us that "eees good" to know grammar and "eees fun" to play with linguistic style. Buy this book. You'll be glad you did.

Angels, Barbarians, and Nincompoops

Literature & Fiction

Esolen Ph.D., Anthony

Literary

TAN Books

Western civilization has no more eloquent defender than Anthony Esolen, a man who has counted the cost, and paid it, of leading the way in that defense. Following on his compelling prior volume, Defending Marriage: Twelve Arguments for Sanity, Professor Esolen returns, this time in defense of boys and an experience of boyhood that is on the wane, if not extinguished in many quarters of the modern world—and to illuminate the threats our precious sons face from harridans, harpies, and all purveyors and promoters of political correctness and of the misguided and ultimately doomed-though not before it has done much mischief-project of blurring the distinctions between boys and girls. Drawing on his own, in many ways all-American boyhood, Esolen, at times wistfully, at times, playfully, and at times prophetically—in the literal sense of employing the thunder of an Old Testament prophet, details what a good boyhood once was and what it can be again. He does so in chapters inspiringly titled: The Arena to Enter Brothers to Gather Mountains to Climb The Man to Follow Work to Do Songs to Sing Enemies to Slay Life to Give Anthony Esolen prescribes a return to sanity to an insane world. He may not be able to change the world, but enter into the world of boyhood with him and he just might change you and the lives of the boys you love.

Defending Boyhood: How Building Forts, Reading Stories, Playing Ball, and Praying to God Can Change the World

Religion & Spirituality

Real Music by Anthony Esolen is a comprehensive and fascinating guide, in print and song, to the great hymns of the Church. It shows that, unlike much of what is sung in too many Catholic churches today, good music, “Real Music”, combines great poetry with doctrinally sound lyrics and beautiful melody.\nWith noted Catholic author Anthony Esolen as your guide and the St. Cecilia Choir as your muse, join the Catholic Musical Renaissance which is truly a recovery of the best that has been sung and prayed down through the ages. You’ll be glad you did.\nReal Music is arranged by events in the life of our Lord and the seasons and Sacraments of the Church. This book will teach you much about poetry, music, and the Catholic Faith itself. What better way to learn your Faith than through beautiful music!\nWhether at home in your favorite easy chair, or among friends in an informal class at your parish, Real Music will bring you deep into the lyrics and melodies of the great hymns that so magnificently offer praise and honor to God.\nReal Music is meant to be savored; first by reading Esolen’s masterful explication of the poetic, melodic, and doctrinal elements of a hymn and then listening to the hymn itself.

Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church

Arts & Photography

Music

Dante's Divine Comedy can rightly be called the greatest poem ever written, praised through the ages by a pantheon of writers and scholars. Romantic poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850) referred to Dante's crowned "visionary brow." Irish novelist James Joyce (1882-1941) said "Dante is my spiritual food!" Pope Benedict XV (1854-1922) called Dante "the most eloquent singer of the Christian idea." Even the 20th century literary critic T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) famously wrote that "Shakespeare and Dante divide the world between them, there is no third." Yet today this great poem is often dismissed by modern scholars for its unabashed Catholic theology and deep spiritual vision. Shrug off these skeptical scholars disdain and discover for yourself the true grandeur, Christian nature, and sheer artistry of Dante's Divine Comedy. Just as Dante needed Virgil to lead him through the bowels of Hell, you also need a true and trustworthy guide. Dr. Anthony Esolen serves as your Virgil in this course on the Inferno, the first canticle of the Divine Comedy. An expert who has taught Dante to college students for more than twenty years, Professor Esolen is also the preeminent modern translator of the entire Divine Comedy from the original Italian. With Professor Esolen you will enter the terrible gates of Hell and progress level by infernal level to its diabolical depths. Professor Esolen places a special emphasis on the drama of the poem, leading you through each canto in succession. Along the way, he will highlight Dante's astonishing human and theological insights and discuss the destiny of man, how to find our way out of the wilderness of sin, the relationship between love and knowledge, and the integral unity between body and soul. Professor Esolen will more than satisfy your curiosity about Hell and the fate of the damned. He will reveal in all its starkness the horror of sin, and awaken in your heart a longing for divine love.

Dante's Inferno (Audio CD): A Study on Part I of The Divine Comedy

History & Criticism

Catholic Courses

We Know What Happens in Hell...But What about Purgatory? Dante's Inferno revealed some titillating details about the punishments inflicted on sinners - but in a way, we already knew what happens to people in Hell. What we don't know is what happens to people who end up in Purgatory. In this second part of The Divine Comedy, Dante probes the mysteries of that strange and often misunderstood place between earth and Heaven.Climb the Mount Purgatory is a place to work through - no one gets stuck there forever. The souls in Dante's Purgatory must climb up seven terraces on Mount Purgatory before they can reach Heaven. On these terraces, Dante and Virgil find:The prideful who are forced into humility by heavy loads of stones on their backsThe envious whose eyes are sewn shut to prevent them from seeing the goods of othersThe wrathful climb through choking smoke which represents the blinding nature of angerThe slothful engage in ceaseless activity to overcome their former lazinessThe covetous who must lie face down on the ground for their attachment to earthly goodsThe gluttonous must starve in sight of unreachable fruit hanging from trees above themThe lustful are purified by running through a wall of flame which represents God\'s pure love Along the way, they are cleansed from the stains of sin by punishments which are like, and very unlike, those suffered by the sinners in Hell. Here, the suffering souls glorify God and rejoice in their suffering because they know it prepares them for the eternal bliss of Heaven. A Real Place Virgil and Dante discover the astonishing spiritual reality of Purgatory as they climb through the terraces on Mount Purgatory. Dante created a poetic vision which might be the best imaginative representation of Purgatory ever written. While his poem might not reflect the actual nature of Purgatory, his insights can help us understand it better. Your Expert Guide A celebrated translator and teacher of Dante, Professor Esolen interprets and describes the rich theological insights discovered by Dante on his journey up the mountain. Join Dante, Virgil, and Professor Esolen to continue the journey begun in the Inferno which will culminate in the ineffable beauty of Paradise.

Dante's Purgatory (Audio CD): A Study on Part II of The Divine Comedy

You\'ve followed Dante through the dread gates of Hell, to the arduous slopes of Mount Purgatory, and now, finally, to the transcendence of the Heavenly Court. With Dr. Anthony Esolen, you've travelled into the depths of the Inferno. You've witnessed the terrible hopelessness of Hell and the bitter punishments for sinners there. You\'ve accompanied Dante and Virgil through the mysteries of Mount Purgatory where sinners are purged of all attachment to sin. Finally, together with blessed Beatrice, enter into the indescribable glory of Heaven.The Beatific Vision Dante imagines that Paradise consists of nine celestial spheres which surround the very Throne of God at the center. It is like a blossoming rose, each petal reveals further splendor and glory the nearer we come to the center. Yet, in a way, Dante's journey to God read something like science fiction - after all, he and Beatrice travel through:The Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and SaturnThe "Fixed Stars" - a region medievals imagined to contain all stars except the SunAnd finally, through the "Primum Mobile" - the sphere which causes the motion of all other spheres within it because it is moved directly by God In each astral location, Dante and Beatrice meet the blessed souls who enjoy the bliss of Heaven. Unlike Purgatory and the Inferno which are arranged by different types of sin, Paradise is structured according to virtue. Each sphere is associated with one of the cardinal virtues - prudence, fortitude, justice, temperance - or one of the theological virtues - faith, hope, charity. Poetry of the Highest Order Professor Esolen who has served as your guide through both the Inferno and Purgatory will guide you through the profound and elevated poetry of Paradise. An expert who has taught Dante to college students for more than twenty years, Professor Esolen is also the preeminent modern translator of the entire Divine Comedy from the original Italian. Dante can rightly be called the greatest poet who ever lived because he chose for the subject of his epic poem the greatest subject ever conceived - namely the whole purpose and end of man. Dante\'s imaginative genius gave us both astonishing human and theological insights and perhaps the most beautiful verse describing Heaven ever written. Discover the ineffable majesty of Paradise with Professor Esolen and complete the journey of all men who have conquered self through the sufferings in Purgatory.

Dante's Paradise (Audio CD): A Study on Part III of The Divine Comedy

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