Sadly, Sir Roger Scruton passed away a few days ago—January 12th, 2020. Heaven has gained a great philosopher.
Sir Roger recently received The Order of Merit from Hungary:
Viktor Orbán’s laudation address at the presentation of the Order of Merit to Sir Roger Scruton
Cabinet Office Of The Prime Minister
London, 3rd December 2019
Ladies and Gentlemen, Sir Roger.
Today is a great day in our lives. Now we can turn the tide. So far were awarded by your friendship, and now we can award you on behalf of the Hungarian Nation. When we think about philosophers, usually the last idea that pops up in our head is that of practice. However, if we think about Sir Roger Scruton, a philosopher par excellence, a man of practice immediately appears. How is that possible? Conservatism, the political thought to which professor Scruton subscribes to, is a weird phenomenon. While basically being a theory, it teaches us that the world cannot be explained by theory. While it exists in the world of ideas, it suggests that practice is far more important than abstract ideas. Conservatism, then, is some kind of contradiction itself; maybe that is why it is able to comprehend contradictions and explain them without turning into an ideology. Because, as we have learnt from our beloved professor, Conservatism is anything but an ideology, in fact: it is the antidote to ideology.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Sir Roger Scruton is a man of practice and not of abstractions. At the time when the Soviet Union still existed, he wasn’t just opposed to communism philosophically: he was an ardent and active ally to anti-communist forces in Central and Eastern Europe. He helped us in so many ways we can never even enlist them. He was so much a man of practice that he had been exiled from at least two spheres of existence: communist Czechoslovakia and Western Academia. These two must be the places from which if you’re excluded you are probably right. Professor Scruton is a man who was always sided with reality and truth. While the Soviets still occupied Central and Eastern Europe, he helped us fight against communism. But he did not blindly support the idea of open societies either; he was awake enough to see its flaws and warn about its dangers. And he was forward-looking enough to see the threat of illegal migration and defend Hungary against its unjust critics. He is a man of practice because the one trait that was constant in his behavior was his loyalty. He was and is a loyal friend of the freedom-loving Hungarians, who knows that this freedom relies on nation states and Christian civilization. He is a friend of Hungarians because he has sided with us, for good or ill. That is loyalty and friendship. And these only exist in practice.
Dear Professor,
We owe you eternal gratitude for all your wisdom and friendship. Sir Roger, may God bless you!
New York is well known for hotdogs, the Empire State Building, the Ponzi Scheme, and the Brooklyn Bridge among its many claims to fame. However, contrary to popular belief, DJ vinyl scratching is not one of them. Caveat; Most New Yorkers in fact believe the phenomena originated there.
When one thinks of the English countryside or rural France replete with rambling country house estates and fairly tale chateaus sitting alongside grand chapels and country church spires, one might imagine a realm of manners, neighborly love, and country gentlemen. However, history informs us [...] Read more →
Verum usque in præsentem diem multa garriunt inter se Canonici de abscondito quodam istius Abbatis Thomæ thesauro, quem sæpe, quanquam adhuc incassum, quæsiverunt Steinfeldenses. Ipsum enim Thomam adhuc florida in ætate existentem ingentem auri massam circa monasterium defodisse perhibent; de quo multoties interrogatus ubi esset, cum risu respondere solitus erat: “Job, [...] Read more →
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It has been said by a thoughtful writer that the subject of witchcraft has hardly received that place which it deserves in the history of opinions. There has been, of course, a reason for this neglect—the fact that the belief in witchcraft is no longer [...] Read more →
Are you dissatisfied with the Savings Account and CD Interest Rates your bank currently has on offer?
If so, go to https://www.treasurydirect.gov and open an account. The U.S. Government’s iBonds are currently earning 9.62% interest through October of this year.
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Harvey Wiley, Chief Chemist of the Department of Agriculture’s Division of Chemistry (third from the right) with his staff, not long after he joined the division in 1883. Wiley’s scientific expertise and political skills were a key to passage of the 1906 Food and Drugs Act and the creation of the FDA.
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The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee has a long heralded tradition of assisting farmers and growers through it’s Agricultural Extension Service. The following bulletin entitled Grape Growing in Tennessee discusses the Muscadine variety of grapes among others. Muscadine grapes are often found growing wild in Tennessee. On my grandfather’s West Tennessee [...] Read more →
Resolution adapted at the New Orleans Convention of the American Institute of Banking, October 9, 1919:
“Ours is an educational association organized for the benefit of the banking fraternity of the country and within our membership may be found on an equal basis both employees and employers; and in full appreciation [...] Read more →
Reprinted from FineModelShips.com with the kind permission of Dr. Michael Czytko
The SAN FELIPE is one of the most favoured ships among the ship model builders. The model is elegant, very beautifully designed, and makes a decorative piece of art to be displayed at home or in [...] Read more →
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A Lecture Delivered at the Guildhall, March 2, 1853 by Rev. H.M. Scarth, M.A., Rector of Bathwick.
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Eadweard Muybridge was a fascinating character. Click here to learn how Eadweard committed “Justifiable Homicide” after shooting his wife’s lover in 1874.
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Photo Caption: The Marquis of Zetland, KC, PC – otherwise known as Lawrence Dundas Son of: John Charles Dundas and: Margaret Matilda Talbot born: Friday 16 August 1844 died: Monday 11 March 1929 at Aske Hall Occupation: M.P. for Richmond Viceroy of Ireland Vice Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Lord – in – Waiting [...] Read more →
The Hunt Saboteur is a national disgrace barking out loud, black mask on her face get those dogs off, get them off she did yell until a swift kick from me mare her voice it did quell and sent the Hunt Saboteur scurrying up vale to the full cry of hounds drowning out her [...] Read more →
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Country House Essays, the book is now in print. This is an eclectic collection of both original, and historical essays, poems, books, and articles created for our loyal reader hear at CountryHouseEssays.com. It is jam packed with reprints of articles from this website. The cost is $49.95 for this massive [...] Read more →
This dish is a favorite in Northern Europe, from the British Isles to Sweden.
Clean and skin the eels and cut them into pieces about 3/4-inch thick. Wash and drain the pieces, then dredge in fine salt and allow to stand from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse off the [...] Read more →
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Slice 5 pounds lean beef (flank steak or similar cut) into strips 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, 1 to 2 inches wide, and 4 to 12 inches long. Cut with grain of meat; remove the fat. Lay out in a single layer on a smooth clean surface [...] Read more →
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Take to every quart of water one pound of Malaga raisins, rub and cut the raisins small, and put them to the water, and let them stand ten days, stirring once or twice a day. You may boil the water an hour before you put it to the raisins, and let it [...] Read more →
The Abbots and Barons Leaving Bury St. Edmunds for Runnymeade – June A.D.1215
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The following highly collectible Franklin Library Signed Editions were published between 1977 and 1982. They are all fully leather bound with beautiful covers and contain gorgeous and rich silk moire endpapers. Signatures are protected by unattached tissue inserts.
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Before meeting with an untimely death at the hand of an unknown assassin in Rome on January 11th, 1996, master forger Eric Hebborn put down on paper a wealth of knowledge about the art of forgery. In a book published posthumously in 1997, titled The Art Forger’s Handbook, Hebborn suggests the following [...] Read more →
From The Historian’s History of the World (In 25 Volumes) by Henry Smith William L.L.D. – Vol. XVI.(Scandinavia) Pg. 308-310
The northern part of the Scandinavian peninsula, as already noticed, had been peopled from the remotest times by nomadic tribes called Finns or Cwenas by the Norwegians and Lapps [...] Read more →
Tucked into all corners of the large stately farm house Loquacious aunts, uncles of letters, adventure and public house, Grandmother wrapped in wool, grandfather’s pipe Gas fired ceramic tiled fireplaces, a Christmas delight Glowing red ember warming through the night
Fried fish cakes are sold rather widely in delicatessens and at prepared food counters of department stores in the Atlantic coastal area. This product has possibilities for other sections of the country.
The origin of the apothecary in England dates much further back than one would suppose from what your correspondent, “A Barrister-at-Law,” says about it. It is true he speaks only of apothecaries as a distinct branch of the medical profession, but long before Henry VIII’s time [...] Read more →
Kneller was born in Lubeck, studied with Rembrandt in Amsterdam and by 1676 was working in England as a fashionable portrait painter. He painted seven British monarchs (Charles II, James II, William III, Mary II, Anne, George I and George II), though his [...] Read more →
THE FOWLING PIECE, from the Shooter’s Guide by B. Thomas – 1811.
I AM perfectly aware that a large volume might be written on this subject; but, as my intention is to give only such information and instruction as is necessary for the sportsman, I shall forbear introducing any extraneous [...] Read more →
EIGHTEEN GALLONS is here give as a STANDARD for all the following Recipes, it being the most convenient size cask to Families. See A General Process for Making Wine
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THE SNIPE, from the Shooter’s Guide by B. Thomas – 1811
AFTER having given a particular description of the woodcock, it will only. be necessary to observe, that the plumage and shape of the snipe is much the same ; and indeed its habits and manners sets bear a great [...] Read more →
The following are transcripts of two letters written by the Founding Father Thomas Jefferson on the subject of seed saving.
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Robert Barker was the printer of the first edition of the King James Bible in 1611. He was the printer to King James I and son of Christopher Barker, printer to Queen Victoria I.
Cannone nel castello di Haut-Koenigsbourg, photo by Gita Colmar
Without any preliminary cleaning the bronze object to be treated is hung as cathode into the 2 per cent. caustic soda solution and a low amperage direct current is applied. The object is suspended with soft copper wires and is completely immersed into [...] Read more →
I swapped a parakeet for a red-headed Macaw That drank my rum and called me paw I’d rock in my chair, she’d swing on her perch When the preacher came around she’d pretend it was church
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Add 3 quarts clover blossoms* to 4 quarts of boiling water removed from heat at point of boil. Let stand for three days. At the end of the third day, drain the juice into another container leaving the blossoms. Add three quarts of fresh water and the peel of one lemon to the blossoms [...] Read more →
I once met a chap, hailed from Harvard said where’d ye attend school, this here is starboard On his diploma was a bit more yellow Than that on the belly of his scholarly fellows His hat was a good half inch taller Than his lapels which were narrowly smaller So I yanked him up [...] Read more →
Sal soda…8 ounces av. (hydrated sodium carbonate)( Na2CO3∙10H2O) or soda ash. Borax…….4 ounces av. Both should be in powder.
In using, this amount of material is to be dissolved in a gallon of water, then mix this with a solution of a pound of soap (any good [...] Read more →
Gold or silver watch chains can be cleaned with a very excellent result, no matter whether they may be matt or polished, by laying them for a few seconds in pure aqua ammonia; they are then rinsed in alcohol, and finally. shaken in clean sawdust, free from sand. [...] Read more →
The following recipes form the most popular items in a nine-course dinner program:
BIRD’S NEST SOUP
Soak one pound bird’s nest in cold water overnight. Drain the cold water and cook in boiling water. Drain again. Do this twice. Clean the bird’s nest. Be sure to [...] Read more →
