Victor Nuovo: The man who would not be king

Tenth in a series. There is a tale told about George Washington — I may have first heard it in school — that shortly after Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, when independence from Great Britain became all but certain, a group of officers of the Continental Army proposed to make him king of the new nation, and that he refused. The story is apocryphal, but there is historical evidence that supports it, and shows at the very least that the idea was in the air. There was great discontent within the army, … (read more)

Ninth in a series. James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851) was an American writer who chronicled rural life from the Revolution through the first half of the 19th century. I am not a literary critic and would not pretend to evaluate the literary merit of his no … (read more)

Eighth in a series. Not long after he finished writing “The Republic” Plato, changed his mind — or so it seems. This happens often among philosophers, but when great philosophers like Plato change their minds, it is worth noticing. To put it briefly, in h … (read more)

Seventh in a series. This essay continues my Platonic digression on the theme of a moral universe. A moral universe is one in which Good is as basic to our existence as Heat and Energy. In a moral universe, Good is empowered to triumph over Evil, Truth ov … (read more)

I would like to report a midwinter night’s dream: Last night, in the middle of the night, I dreamed about Dickens’ “Christmas Carol.” I dreamed that Donald Trump desired to enter into the spirit of Christmas and became stuck in a White House chimney. He w … (read more)

Editor’s note: Sixth in a series. The previous essay concluded on a new note: the idea of a moral universe, and I have returned to Plato as my guide. Plato did not suppose that a moral universe is a world where everyone may expect rewards for their good d … (read more)

The title of this essay calls for an explanation. Four weeks ago, I began a series entitled “The Life of the Mind in America.” This essay, the fifth in the series, is about Plato. But what does Plato have to do with America? He was an Athenian who lived m … (read more)

It is regrettable that Jonathan Edwards (1703–58) is mostly remembered for a sermon, “Sinners in the hands of an angry God.” As his biographer Perry Miller once remarked, that sermon “did more to damage his reputation than all of his critics combined.”  H … (read more)

Editor’s note: Third in a series. A variety of motives caused Europeans to hazard crossing the Atlantic Ocean to settle in America 300 years ago. For some, it was a desire for adventure, for others, riches.  Still others came for what they believed was a … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series called “The Life of the Mind in America.”Perry Miller did not live to complete “The Life of the Mind in America.” Among the unwritten parts of his book was the introduction. From his manuscript notes, we know … (read more)

MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury Selectman Victor Nuovo has resigned from the selectboard, citing his desire to probe the philosophical mysteries of life during the balance of his golden years. Nuovo, who marks his 89th birthday on Nov. 13, is the Charles A. Dana … (read more)

This essay begins a new series about American intellectual history. I have entitled it “The Life of the Mind in America,” which is the title of an unfinished work on American intellectual history by the late great Perry Miller (1905–63). But the expressio … (read more)

Thomas Hobbes perceived that politics was all about power; the power to govern, to command, to make laws, and to enforce them, along with the power to levy taxes, regulate public opinion, and to make war and peace. The right to exercise this power is the … (read more)

This week’s writer is Victor Nuovo, professor emeritus of Philosophy at Middlebury College and a Middlebury selectboard member. “If a man die, shall he live again?” The question is asked by Job, sitting on an ash heap, his body covered with stinking sores … (read more)

Thomas Hobbes’ political philosophy is a paradoxical fabric. On the one hand, his view of mankind is uncomplimentary, bordering on the defamatory; and yet he also imagines our species endowed with extraordinary power and worth, capable of imitating God by … (read more)