John A. Cuddeback is a professor and chairman of the Philosophy Department at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, where he has taught since 1995. He received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from The Catholic University of America under the direction of F. Russell Hittinger. He has lectured on various topics including virtue, culture, natural law, friendship, and household. His book Friendship: The Art of Happiness was republished in 2010 as True Friendship: Where Virtue Becomes Happiness. His writings have appeared in Nova et Vetera, The Thomist, and The Review of Metaphysics, as well as in several volumes published by the American Maritain Association. Though raised in what he calls an ‘archetypical suburb,’ Columbia, Maryland, he and his wife Sofia consider themselves blessed to be raising their six children in the shadow of the Blue Ridge on the banks of the Shenandoah. At the material center of their homesteading projects are heritage breed pigs, which like the pigs of Eumaeus are fattened on acorns, yielding a bacon that too few people ever enjoy. His website dedicated to the philosophy of family and household is baconfromacorns.com.
John Cuddeback
Articles by John Cuddeback
Good-byes are Just That
They’re good. At least when we make an effort to do them right. I’m convinced after years of saying goodbye to my students—and others—that proper goodbyes are not only good,…
The Enemy of My Lawn?
I was shopping at Lowes last weekend, and something caught my eye. From the contents of the seasonal aisle it seems that Lowes is expecting a large number of people…
You Know You’re Middle Aged When…
“Every age of life has its own characteristics: boys are feeble, youths in their prime are aggressive, middle-aged men are dignified, old people are mature. Each one of these qualities…
Daddy, Why are There Flowers?
I pride myself on answering questions. As a teacher I have the opportunity to answer many, and I try to do so with precision and completeness. But some questions are…
Fathers and Sons, and Gardens
“The land provides the greatest abundance of good things, but doesn’t allow them to be taken without effort.” “Furthermore, the land also freely teaches justice to those who are capable…
The Gift of Spring
“Nor would the stress Of life be bearable for tender things Did not so long a respite come between The cold and heat, and heaven’s indulgence grant This comfort to…
The Silence of Authority
Sometimes speaking, or holding one’s tongue, can make the difference. All the difference. For life and death. Many in authority today are silent when they should not be. Through weakness.…
The Heart, in Suffering
“Some day, perhaps, remembering even this Will be a pleasure.” Virgil, The Aeneid, I Aeneas and his men have endured much since leaving Troy. And of course they left only…
What Can Be Sweeter?
An Ash Wednesday Quotation and Reflection “And the Lord, seeking his workman among the multitudes to whom he thus crieth, saith again: ‘What man is he that desireth life and…
Zeus’ Plan for February
“Aegis-bearing Zeus has a design for each occasion, and mortals find this hard to comprehend.” Hesiod, Works and Days Hesiod was convinced that Zeus has a plan for every occasion.…
When Your Mother Grows Older
“For other animals have their natural ‘forethought’ which enables them to provide for themselves: whereas man lives by reason, which can attain to forethought only after long experience: so that…
Virgil and Valentines
“Duty-bound, Aeneas, though he struggled with desire To calm and comfort her in all her pain, To speak to her and turn her mind from grief, And though he sighed…
Cobbett on Fires
A good fire might even save a marriage... “Fire is a capital article. To have no fire, or a bad fire to sit by, is a most dismal thing. In…
For the Sake of His Children
“But would the father have the heart to work if he didn’t have his children? If it weren’t for the sake of his children. And in winter when he works…
The Piety of a Pagan
“I am Aeneas, duty-bound, and known Above high air of heaven by my fame, Carrying with me in my ships our gods Of hearth and home, saved from the enemy.”…
A Husband in Winter
“At the very moment when the vine has shed Its latest leaves and the cold north wind has shaken The glory from the woods, at that same moment The lively…
Having the Heart to Hope
“Here for the first time he took heart to hope For safety, and to trust his destiny more Even in affliction.” The Aeneid, I, Virgil The great city of Troy…
A Wish for the New Year
"On New Year's Eve, at about quarter to twelve o'clock at night, the master of the house and all that are with him go about from room to room opening…
What We Wish at Christmas
In practicing the rites of worship men hope that they will be vouchsafed a share in the superhuman abundance of life. From time immemorial, this very thing has always been…
Belloc on Christmas
How we observe Christmas has a real urgency; at issue is our happiness, and even our sanity. So Belloc argues in A Remaining Christmas. I reflect on his profound essay at Aleteia, Why Christmas…
Teaching Responsibility
Ischomachus’ wife: “My mother told me that my job was to be responsible.” Ischomachus: “Yes, my dear, of course, my father gave me the same advice.” Xenophon, The Estate Manager,…
Pointless Parties
“There are others too…that pretend to be pleasures, such as gambling and pointless parties; as time goes on, it becomes clear even to the victims of their seduction that they…
Eating Salt Together
“As the proverb says, men cannot know each other until they have eaten salt together.” –Aristotle We don’t need the latest study to show us that we are losing the…
The Significance of Manners
These people will also discover the seemingly insignificant conventions their predecessors have destroyed. Things like this: When it is proper for the young to be silent in front of their…