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The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful
Christ is "the way, and the truth, and the life";, but fallen mankind, although made in Christ's image, is not so pure. Human history—including Church history—is a tapestry woven of three the good, the bad, and the beautiful. This book tells the story of Christendom over two millennia, focusing on what was good, bad, and beautiful in each century. These three threads run through the heart of every person, revealing the pattern of our individual lives. These very same threads bind together the collective lives of men and make up the fabric of culture and civilization. No one saw this three-dimensional form more clearly than Benedict XVI. For him, the goodness of the saints and the beauty of art are the only antidote to the dark thread of evil that runs through history. Inspired by this insight, Joseph Pearce presents the past twenty centuries to show how goodness and beauty—stemming from God himself—work to conquer the bad.
300 pages, Paperback
Published November 6, 2023
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About the author
Joseph Pearce
182 books297 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author with this name on GR
Joseph Pearce (born 1961) is an English-born writer, and as of 2004 Writer in Residence and Professor of Literature at Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, Florida; previously he had a comparable position, from 2001, at Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He is known for a number of literary biographies, many of Catholic figures. Formerly aligned with the National Front, a white nationalist political party, he converted to Roman Catholicism in 1989, repudiated his earlier views, and now writes from a Catholic perspective. He is a co-editor of the St. Austin Review and editor-in-chief of Sapientia Press.
Joseph Pearce (born 1961) is an English-born writer, and as of 2004 Writer in Residence and Professor of Literature at Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, Florida; previously he had a comparable position, from 2001, at Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He is known for a number of literary biographies, many of Catholic figures. Formerly aligned with the National Front, a white nationalist political party, he converted to Roman Catholicism in 1989, repudiated his earlier views, and now writes from a Catholic perspective. He is a co-editor of the St. Austin Review and editor-in-chief of Sapientia Press.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 7, 2024
At the Chesterton conference last year, Joseph Pearce in his talk gave us a preview of what would be the subject of his then-upcoming book “The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful: History in Three Dimensions.”
The following from the prologue provides the framework for this book.
***
These threads reflect the three facets of man, who manifests himself in life and therefore in history as homo viator, homo superbus, and anthropos.
... Homo viator is pilgrim man; he is the man on the journey of life, which he sees as the quest for heaven, his ultimate and only true purpose. His is the path of virtue, the path of the saints and aspiring saints. He weaves the threads of goodness that we see in history.
... Homo superbus is proud man; he is the man who refuses the appointed journey, spurning the quest for heaven so that he can “do his own thing”. Homo superbus does not sacrifice his life for others; he sacrifices the lives of others for himself. He wanders from the path of virtue in the waywardness of egocentrism and the viciousness that is its cankered fruit. He weaves the bad threads of wickedness that we see in history.
... Anthropos is poetic man; he is man who looks up in wonder at the beauty of the cosmos, singing its praises by the making of beautiful things. His is the way of creativity that reflects the presence of the Creator Himself in the creation of beautiful works. He weaves the threads of beauty that illuminate the threads of goodness, offering hope in the midst of evil.
***
Each chapter covers a different century from the First Century to the Twentieth Century. His framework gives us a thumbnail snapshot of what is good, bad, and beautiful in each century covered. Even with so much to cover and so much that necessarily had to be left out, I enjoyed what he concentration on it.
His brevity could still include fascinating details to bring alive these points in history. I could imagine the amount of effort this book took to weave together a considerable amount of research and whittling it down to size.
One thing I like about the format is you get some sense of each century on its own merits. Some history can relate it is a march of progress, which is an artificially contrived framework. I consider this an insightful and brilliant work and one I would want to read again.
The following from the prologue provides the framework for this book.
***
These threads reflect the three facets of man, who manifests himself in life and therefore in history as homo viator, homo superbus, and anthropos.
... Homo viator is pilgrim man; he is the man on the journey of life, which he sees as the quest for heaven, his ultimate and only true purpose. His is the path of virtue, the path of the saints and aspiring saints. He weaves the threads of goodness that we see in history.
... Homo superbus is proud man; he is the man who refuses the appointed journey, spurning the quest for heaven so that he can “do his own thing”. Homo superbus does not sacrifice his life for others; he sacrifices the lives of others for himself. He wanders from the path of virtue in the waywardness of egocentrism and the viciousness that is its cankered fruit. He weaves the bad threads of wickedness that we see in history.
... Anthropos is poetic man; he is man who looks up in wonder at the beauty of the cosmos, singing its praises by the making of beautiful things. His is the way of creativity that reflects the presence of the Creator Himself in the creation of beautiful works. He weaves the threads of beauty that illuminate the threads of goodness, offering hope in the midst of evil.
***
Each chapter covers a different century from the First Century to the Twentieth Century. His framework gives us a thumbnail snapshot of what is good, bad, and beautiful in each century covered. Even with so much to cover and so much that necessarily had to be left out, I enjoyed what he concentration on it.
His brevity could still include fascinating details to bring alive these points in history. I could imagine the amount of effort this book took to weave together a considerable amount of research and whittling it down to size.
One thing I like about the format is you get some sense of each century on its own merits. Some history can relate it is a march of progress, which is an artificially contrived framework. I consider this an insightful and brilliant work and one I would want to read again.
April 13, 2024
I’ve always wanted to read a book like this, with historical events broken down by centuries. I love the theme of the good, bad, and beautiful. It’s very unique to read history that way and really help my perspective on the history of the Catholic faith in the world. Highly recommend.
September 7, 2024
An ambitious book seeking to concisely run through all 20 centuries since the birth of Christ, and identifying the good (saintly figures) the bad, and the beautiful (largely the art produced or inspired by that time). The book was very enjoyable and informative, and a good reminder that, as negatively viewed as the times we live in can seem, we're not living in the worst of times (or the best of times). The good, the bad, the beautiful exists on every century, and we should do our part to be a part of the good and beautiful while resisting the bad.
My only (and very minor) critique is that in discussing the beautiful there was a lost opportunity to include images of the art mentioned. I found myself constantly looking up the art, and this well done book could've been enhanced by the inclusion of the beautiful (not just their description).
My only (and very minor) critique is that in discussing the beautiful there was a lost opportunity to include images of the art mentioned. I found myself constantly looking up the art, and this well done book could've been enhanced by the inclusion of the beautiful (not just their description).
February 26, 2024
Educational and very interesting. Through the centuries the Catholic Church has been attacked, favored, and attacked again. Some of the popes have been powerful and some weak. Some obvious Saints and some not so much. Some effective and some useless. But no matter what, Christ's church prevails. Jesus told Peter when he gave him the keys that evil will not prevail against the church. Evil has tried several times and appeared to get the upper hand now and then. In the end the church prevails and always will.
January 24, 2024
Very straightforward and easy to follow approach on an important topic - Church history and I like the approach of highlighting the beautiful
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews