A Comic Vision of Self-Government: Essays About Political Ideas Shaped and Illuminated by Wisdom Literature
This volume serves as a companion to A Comic Vision of Great Constancy: Stories About Unlocking the Wisdom of Everyman. Whereas that earlier book drew lessons about government from the experiences of literary figures, A Comic Vision of Self-Government starts instead with the political thought of Adam Smith, Edmund Burke, and Paul Johnson, connecting their ideas to illustrative narratives drawn from wisdom literature.
Both works attribute a guiding role to Wisdom—personified, as in Scripture—as the force that helps a teacher endure life in the classroom and navigate the challenges of marriage and parenthood. Proverbs 8 opens with the question, “Does not Wisdom call out?” Indeed she does, and often at the moments when we most desperately need her. Comedy, for its part, sketches the contours of a basic form of self-rule. Because it is nonsectarian, it has the power to unite, and it teaches us to recognize wisdom’s voice when it breaks into our ordinary lives. Our errors, whether they bruise our bodies or our pride, are never comfortable.
When we stumble—through carelessness or intent—the reality beneath our feet reminds us, abruptly, of where we stand. That jolt of awareness has the flavor of wisdom, yet it fades unless anchored in something larger. We need a broader frame of reference, a storehouse of human trials and missteps that speaks meaningfully about Everyman’s falls. We need a human voice to interpret these experiences, as the authors in this volume attempt to do.
When Wisdom raises her voice, we owe it to ourselves—and to those who depend on us—to listen.
