Both T.S. Eliot and Russell Kirk defined “the permanent things” rather indefinitely (yes, I know what I just said … blame them), but that hasn’t stopped me from trying to figure out what they meant.
If you are also interested, I recommend reading Dr. Bradley Birzer’s biography of Russell Kirk. Brad is a friend and I may have a footnote reference to me in the book, but despite this it’s an amazing read.
And I know that neither gentlemen meant merely “The Classics” when referring to permanence, but it is mildly shocking to me that when you type “Lethe and Euone” into Google, my blog is the 5th entry. And it continues to be my most consistently popular post.
Are even that small number of people reading the Purgatorio?
Carl Oberg 