René Girard on Violence and the Sacred

At Uncommon Knowledge, Peter Robinson has the first of a five part interview with historian and literary critic René Girard.

“To read René Girard,” wrote Edward T. Oakes , “is to want to slap one’s forehead and say, ‘Of course, why didn’t I think of that?’”

If I might pump up the volume on my praise a bit more, he is the direct opposite of that sad figure in George Eliot’s masterpiece Middlemarch , the Rev. Mr. Casaubon, who spent his whole adult life pathetically trying to complete a “Key to All Mythologies,” a project that brought both him and his marriage to ruin. But Girard has pulled it off, at least in my estimation: Here we do have a key to all mythologies.

Over the years, First Things has presented number of articles by and about Girard. See Girard’s ” On War and Apocalypse ” and ” Are the Gospels Mythical? “, his interview with Cynthia Haven, and Joseph Bottum’s review essay, ” Girard Among the Girardians .”

Also, for those new to Girard’s intriguing but difficult thoughts, see my post How to Read Girard .”