Arms and a woman

I read in the 11/2/2009 edition of The Weekly Standard about a letter written to New Criterion magazine by Sarah Ruden, whose translation of the Aeneid I am using in my AP Vergil class this year. So I decided to see if I could locate the letter at the magazine's website, and I was astonished and delighted to learn that the blog of New Criterion is called Arma virumque, arms and the man, the opening words of Vergil's Aeneid, and a clear explanation for the title is given in the sidebar at the link above.

Image of God

I went back to my high school alma mater this weekend for a Board of Trustees meeting. While there I attended a reception in the school’s art gallery where I viewed the delightful sculptures of an alumna I know from the class of ’74. Hoping to send her a message, I picked up her business card and was amused to notice that the words imago Dei "image of God" were part of her email address. I smiled to recognize that she as a sculptor was mindful of the ultimate sculptor of us all, and I also immediately recalled one of my recent favorite songs, heard on a recording by New York State dulcimer player and extraordinary musician/singer Susan Trump. The song is called “Fashioned in the Clay,” written by Elmer Beal. You can read the lyrics and a little about the songwriter here.