Denial

Francois Fenelon on The Denial of Death (illustration)

Francois Fenelon, a 17th century French mystic who wrote the classic Christian Perfection, spoke eloquently of the denial of death. We consider ourselves immortal, or at least we act as though we are going to live for centuries. Folly of the human spirit! Every day those who die …

Must Deny Himself (illustration)

Douglas Southall Freeman ends the fourth and last volume of his great biography of Robert E. Lee as follows: “It occurred in Northern Virginia, probably on his last visit there. A young mother brought her baby to him....He took the infant in his arms, looked at it and then a …

USA Today - Never Admitted Anything Going Wrong (illustration)

The lead story for the Money section of a recent issue of USA Today is a great example of denial. The long piece chronicled some of the problems facing Japanese bankers. Bad debts for that country’s banks rose 29% in the last fiscal year to $350 billion, and that may be onl …