Stephen Greenblatt leads us through the 4th-century theologian’s life and writings to explain how he invented the doctrine of original sin and associated it with sex and conception – and how, to justify that doctrine, he constructed an elaborate argument to take literally a biblical story that thinkers had treated as an allegory.
Progressive Rock Was Crazy And Ambitious And Pretentious (And Fans Still Love It)
The prog-rock pioneers embraced extravagance: odd instruments and fantastical lyrics, complex compositions and abstruse concept albums, flashy solos and flashier live shows. Concertgoers could savor a new electronic keyboard called a Mellotron, a singer dressed as a batlike alien commander, an allusion to a John Keats poem, and a philosophical allegory about humankind’s demise—all in a single song (“Watcher of the Skies,” by Genesis).