From the July/August, 2019 issue of *Touchstone*

Quodlibet

Putting a Point on It

by S. M. Hutchens

Today I ungratefully received a communication completely, and insolently, I think, devoid of punctuation, which inspired me to observe that punctuation, once invented, becomes necessary to express the movements of the mind and voice it was meant to reflect. People who think without punctuation are insane; those who speak without it, unintelligible. Those who write without it one suspects of being cockroaches hopping about on typewriter keys—or texters, their modern equivalents. (So many of the latter have given their lives for their craft in traffic that a certain air of nobility hangs about it.)

This rant accomplished, I admit that former Touchstone editor David Mills once sent me a large box of fresh, unused periods and paragraph breaks—which I gladly accepted, and prize so highly that it has lasted me for years.

S. M. Hutchens is a senior editor.

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

Support Touchstone

• Subscribers: Manage your subscription account here.

• Not a subscriber or wish to renew your subscription? Subscribe to Touchstone today for full online access. Over 30 years of publishing!

personal subscriptions

Purchase
Online Subscription

Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives including pdf downloads for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!

RENEW your online subscription

Purchase Print &
Online Subscription

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!

RENEW your print/online
subscription

gift subscriptions

GIVE Print &
Online Subscription

Give six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for the reduced rate of $29.95. That's only $2.50 per month!

RENEW your gift subscription

Transactions will be processed on a secure server.

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.

kindle subscription

OR get a subscription to Touchstone to read on your Kindle for only $1.99 per month! (This option is KINDLE ONLY and does not include either print or online.)

Your subscription goes a long way to ensure that Touchstone is able to continue its mission of publishing quality Christian articles and commentary.