The Pagan Spirit of “A Christmas Carol”

Dickens expressed a general mistrust for organized religion, an admiration for Jesus Christ, and a social commentary that pointed out the corrosive effect of the Catholic church on personal liberty. Does this remind anyone else of every Pagan they’ve ever known?

Review: Gladiator II and the chaos at the heart of empire

“Nearly everyone in this film is obsessed with the Rome that was, where the emperor was a scholar instead of a syphilitic club kid in a toga,” writes Meg Elison in her review of Ridley Scott’s new film. “It is much easier to complain about a bad government than to build one that works. See Virgil for more on this. See Hannah Arendt. See Marija Gimbutas. See all of human history. See the news.”