Illuminations
All the Colors of the World
by Anthony Esolen
I am not the first to note with dismay that the rainbow, once the radiant and quiet pledge of God that he would never again deluge the world to wash away the filth of man, is now raised as the banner of New Sodom, bubbling up from the bituminous sands of the Dead Sea. Such as it is, the banner is an advertising ploy, bright and garish and belligerent, like much of the bad art of our time, ignorant of history, tradition, culture, and the bewildering shades of the human experience. It is not for barbarians. It is not innocent enough for the barbarian. It is for the mad and decadent and blind.
The response to bad post-Christian symbolism is not bad symbolism of our own. In the battle before us, the Lord has given us a gift of inestimable value. Our opponents, though clever, have no taste, know nothing of the West's heritage of art and poetry, and, being ill-read, are not used to considering the depths of man's despair and joy in his encounters with the divine. Let us not squander the gift. Let us not meet stupidity with stupidity. Let us learn from the masters.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Anthony Esolen is the author of over thirty books, including Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church (Tan, with a CD), Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture (Regnery), and The Hundredfold: Songs for the Lord (Ignatius). He has also translated Dante’s Divine Comedy (Random House). He and his wife Debra publish a web magazine, Word and Song (anthonyesolen.substack.com), on poetry, hymnody, language, classic films, and music. He is a senior editor of Touchstone.
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
31.6—November/December 2018
on Childhood Encounters with a Christmas Icon by Rebecca Sicree
30.3—May/June 2017
on the Misuse of Property Rights to Justify Slavery & Abortion by Robert Hart
28.3—May/June 2015
Of Bicycles, Sex, & Natural Law
Describing Human Ends & Our Limitations Is Neither Futile Nor Unloving by R. V. Young
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
