Marion Montgomery is professor emeritus of English at the University of Georgia. He is the author of numerous books, including the trilogy The Prophetic Poet and the Spirit of the Age, as well as many poems, novels, and critical essays.

This is a lovely and deeply felt rumination on the human condition by a distinguished poet doing a philosopher's work. Warmly recommended.....

• Chapter 1 Introduction: Getting Beyond the Cartesian BubbleChapter 2 Sign: The Fruit of IntellectChapter 3 The Mystery of Fathering ForthChapter 4 The Poet and Natural LightChapter 5 The Wisdom of LeisureChapter 6 The Authority of Voice in the SignChapter 7 The Sins of the Fathers, the Virtues of GrandfathersChapter 8 The Violence and Violations of AttributionChapter 9 A "Something" Beyond Subjective AttributionChapter 10 The Habit of HeresyChapter 11 Dilemma in Likeness and UnlikenessChapter 12 Intellect's First Act: In the Beginning Was LoveChapter 13 Intellectual Error: Sin SecularizedChapter 14 Image's Struggle with the Real ThingChapter 15 The Image as Node, the Poet as ConjurerChapter 16 The Shock of Sepulchral Verse on the Cauldron of ChaosChapter 17 The Progress of Doubt to HabitChapter 18 Grandeur's Charge Against Skeptical DenialChapter 19 Growing Accustomed to Flowering WholenessChapter 20 Concept: The Lonely Tenor of Our Intellectual WayChapter 21 Our Lot Crawling Between Dry Ribs, to Keep Our Metaphysics WarmChapter 22 EndnotesChapter 23 Index