Melius enim iudicavit de malis benefacere, quam
mala nulla esse permittere.
—St. Augustine
There is a kind of crypt, between
This window and the window-screen,
In which fine silken webs, unseen,
Like wires in levitating tricks,
Accumulate, somehow, and fix
Bits of the outer world: small sticks
And past years’ leaves and wisps of straw
All hang, suspended in mid-fall,
Ensorcelled by some happy flaw
In joining that allowed the space
Through which stray things may find this place,
At once their tomb and saving grace,
Where gravity need not apply
And, unalive, they shall not die
As dreams do in the opened eye.
—Ryan Wilson
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.
