Move in a Groove

THEODORE DALRYMPLE (aka Anthony Daniels) has graced the pages of many journals, including this one, with essays urbane and sage, on matters literary and moral. He has drawn on a remarkable range of experience as a doctor working in prisons in England; he has treated the urban poor as well as patients in Africa.

He brings to these essays a finely honed literary craft, and an eye that can readily spot the moral shifts reflected in the smallest gestures. He recalls people “dropping in” on a funeral as they would on a supermarket, dressed as they would be for a bout of shopping. Dalrymple, for his part, follows the immemorial practice of wearing a dark suit: The person following the pattern of “convention” moves in a groove that cues him to respect the occasion, by reminding him-as he chooses his clothing-of its somber nature.

About the Author

Hadley Arkes

Hadley Arkes is the founder and director of the James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights and the American Founding.

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THEODORE DALRYMPLE (aka Anthony Daniels) has graced the pages of many journals, including this one, with essays urbane and sage, on matters literary and moral. He has drawn on a remarkable range of experience as a doctor working in prisons in England; he has treated the urban poor as well as patients in Africa.

He brings to these essays a finely honed literary craft, and an eye that can readily spot the moral shifts reflected in the smallest gestures. He recalls people “dropping in” on a funeral as they would on a supermarket, dressed as they would be for a bout of shopping. Dalrymple, for his part, follows the immemorial practice of wearing a dark suit: The person following the pattern of “convention” moves in a groove that cues him to respect the occasion, by reminding him-as he chooses his clothing-of its somber nature.