Steve Masty, RIP
Steve Masty (1954-2015). Photo by Lisa Schiffren.
Christian humanist stalwart and gifted wit, Steve Masty (1954-2015), passed away from this world yesterday in London. He died peacefully after a long and brutal battle with cancer.
A priest administered Last Rites immediately prior to Steve’s death.
Many of you may remember Steve as The Imaginative Conservative‘s “Man in Kabul” and “Man in Kathmandu.” He was one of the best writers and thinkers I have ever encountered. Never did I read anything of his without being moved by immense, gut-ripping laughter as well being moved intellectually and spiritually.
He was, not surprisingly, a Hillsdale College graduate and an utter character.
I never actually had the privilege of meeting him in person, but we corresponded frequently. I cherish the letters I received from Steve. He never failed to encourage me in every thing I wrote concerning Russell Kirk. We had deep conversations regarding Christian humanism, Catholicism, Kirk, Tolkien, imagination, and every thing else that really matters in this world. He invited me to visit him in at his club in London, but I was unable to accept due to family obligations.
He lived in London half of the year and the other half either in Afghanistan or Nepal. His parents and brother live in Florida.
There’s a lot about Steve I would guess we’ll never know. During the Reagan years, Steve was embedded with the anti-Soviet Afghan resistance. No, I’m not joking. As one of Steve’s Hillsdale professors has remarked, he might have single-handedly have brought down the Soviet Union. An exaggeration, of course, but a brilliant one.
Whatever he was, he was very much his own man.
It seems appropriate that he passed away on the day after Christmas Day, on the Feast of St. Stephen. I write this not merely because they shared the same name, but because, as far as I know, Steve gave every ounce of his ability to promoting western civilization and Christendom. Devout in his faith, he disarmed all opponents with unequalled humor.
His passing reminds me yet again just how tenuous the things of this world are. Steve lived his life fighting for the things of eternity. I am certain he is now enjoying his heavenly reward.
Dawson on Various Totalitarianisms, 1941
In 1941, Dawson appraised the various fundamentalisms and totalitarianisms–from fascist to Puritan–of his day.
Theodor Haecker, “The Unity of History,” 1946
Theodor Haecker
One of the greatest opponents of German National Socialism, Theodor Haecker. He died tragically in the bombing of Munich in the spring of 1945. This article, published posthumously, offers a brilliant insight into the mind of this forgotten figure.
Commonweal on Babbitt and More, 1929
A specifically Catholic examination of the New Humanism of Irving Babbitt and Paul Elmer More, 1929. Enjoy.
Christopher Dawson on the Future of Catholicism, 1942
Fascinating look at the future of Catholicism as seen during World War II.
Frank Sheed Interviews Christopher Dawson, 1958
Two of the most important men of the twentieth-century Catholic literary revival: Frank Sheed and Christopher Dawson.
Dawson, “Ploughing a Lone Furrow,” 1960
A really nice autobiographical piece Dawson wrote. An examination of his life as a non-academic scholar.
World Student Interviews Christopher Dawson, 1959
From a periodical I’d never heard of before my academic work on Christopher Dawson. Good interview, however.
Christopher Dawson, TRADITION AND INHERITANCE
One of Dawson’s little known and little-remembered pieces and one of his best. TRADITION AND INHERITANCE was an attempt to write an autobiography from the standpoint of family rather than individual. A beautiful idea, but it proved too cumbersome for Dawson to finish. Still, what’s here is nothing short of brilliant.
Second Interview with Christopher Dawson 1961
“They’ve got their history wrong. The best fruits came precisely from Christian humanism. When Christianity and humanism touch, the best things emerge.”
“The great Christian humanists, men like St. Thomas More, Vives, Erasmus, Castellion and others, were ever so much more humanitarian than the secular humanists.”
Stormfields 