There is a way to pray, in which ”this” world is not transcended, in which, instead, one attempts to incorporate the divine as a functioning component of the work­a­day machinery of purposes. Religion can be perverted into magic so that instead of self­dedication to God, it becomes the attempt to gain power over the divine and make it subservient to one’s own will; prayer can become a technique for continuing to live life ”under the canopy.” And further: love can be narrowed so that the powers of self-giving become subservient to the goals of the confined ego, goals which arise from an anxious selfdefense against the disturbances of the larger, deeper, world, which only the truly loving person can enter. There are pseudo­forms of art, a false poetry, which, instead of breaking through the roof over the work­a­day world, resigns itself, so to speak, to painting decorations on the interior surface of the dome, and puts itself more or less obviously to the service of the working world as private or public ”fashion poetry”; such ”poetry” never seems to transcend, not even once (and it is clear, that genuine philosophizing has more in common with the exact, special sciences than with such pseudo­poetry!).

Finally, there is a pseudo­philosophy, whose essential character is precisely that it does not transcend the working world. In a dialogue of Plato, Socrates asks the sophist Protagoras just what he teaches the youth who flock to see him? And the answer is, ”I teach them good planning, both in their own affairs, such as how one should best manage his own household, and in public affairs, how one can best speak and act in the city-state.” That is the classic program of ”Philosophy as Professional Training” a seeming philosophy only, with no transcendence.

But even worse still, of course, is that all these pseudo­forms work together, not only in failing to transcend the world, but in more and more surely succeeding in closing off the world ”under the canopy”: they seal off humanity all the more within the world of work. All these deceptive forms, and especially such seeming-philosophy, are something much worse, something much more hopeless, than the naive self-closing of the worldly man against what is not of daily-life. Someone who is merely naively confined to the work­a­day may one day nevertheless be touched by the disturbing power that lies hidden in a true philosophical question, or in some poem; but a sophist, a pseudo­philosopher, will never be ”disturbed.”

- Josef Pieper, Leisure, the Basis of Culture

"You must understand, young Hobbit, it takes a long time to say anything in Old Entish. And we never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say."
-Poor Chat motto

The Daily Poor is sponsored by King Arthur Baking Company.

Attention, fellow monarchists! Elevate your baking from serf to sovereign with King Arthur's flours!

Remember: Worldly power may crumble, but with flours from King Arthur, your baked goods never will!

He couldn't have it his way

Just in: Trump approves of decision made by Trump; "one of the best ever," he proclaimed.

Tune in to The Daily Poor tomorrow for more absolutely shocking news

Nice and pink (cooked to 142°F).

Great country

I can't wait until "right wingers" start saying our sons should be doing things like this, too

You vill not comment with emojis. You vill not use GIFS. You vill not post stickers. Und you vill be happy

I will not elaborate

We are an elitist channel. That is not even pizza

This might be the most based thing a Romanian has ever done

Better to live a lifetime as a millionaire, than a week as a poor man

Hard disavow. I am disgusted.