He raised hell and broke windows, and even worse”
A rash, unruly, haughty aristocrat.
If so, so what? He wrote the first blank verse
And some of our first sonnets. And if that
Were not enough to put us in his debt
Deeply and forever, he gave us more.
He saw to it that we should not forget
His staunch young squire, Thomas Clere, who bore
The miseries of battle with his lord
In Scotland and in France, where to be brave
Was to risk everything”and his reward?
An elegy to justify his grave,
Praise for his loyalty these five hundred years,
And, rarest of all attributes, strangers’ tears.
”Robert Mezey
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
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