Pill bottles in assorted sizes lie
scattered across the smooth Formica plain
of the bathroom countertop. They testify
like pediments and pillars that remain,
broken, askew, and fallen, on the site
of some great ancient temple, to a past
both glorious and vivid, and invite
the meditations of elegiast.
The architect of this Aesclepion
built carefully that it might stand for years.
Its private altar, visited each dawn
and dusk, suppressed his pain and muffled fears.
But understanding some theology,
we realize that this temple’s final fall
was foreordained before the moment he
laid cornerstone in place to bear it all.
You have a decision to make: double or nothing.
For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.
In other words, your gift of $50 unlocks $100 for First Things, your gift of $100 unlocks $200, and so on, up to a total of $120,000. But if you don’t give, nothing.
So what will it be, dear reader: double, or nothing?
Make your year-end gift go twice as far for First Things by giving now.
