ABSTRACT
In "Up from Liberalism" Richard Weaver very nearly touches upon the private, as opposed to the personal; upon an open moment of soul-searching as he recounts his journey to a position whose conclusions are at least firmly personal. The distinction between private and personal is not easily made in our world, though one may immediately recognize a difference between the ghosted Hollywood memoir on the best-seller list and Weaver's essay. Weaver, recognizing the complex relation of the personal and private and the danger to public health when the distinction is lost, revisits his own moment of revelation in "Up from Liberalism," but with a proper discretion. Weaver's words clear away wild random inclinations of the will and intellect so that we may the more certainly watch the steady presence of the permanent at the center of any home we return to, eyes opened.
