Enemies of the Permanent Things: Observations of Abnormity in Literature and Politics was published by Arlington House in 1969. The title comes from Kirk’s central thesis: that there exist permanent things — moral norms, literary standards, truths about human nature — that are under sustained attack from ideologues who deny any permanent order.
Kirk divides the book between literary criticism and political philosophy, arguing that the two are connected: the corruption of literature (through ideology, propaganda, and the reduction of art to sociology) reflects and accelerates the corruption of politics. Writers who deny permanent moral truths produce readers incapable of maintaining a decent political order.
The literary figures Kirk champions include T.S. Eliot, Ray Bradbury, George Orwell, and C.S. Lewis — writers who (despite their differences) share a conviction that human nature is fixed, that moral truths are discoverable, and that imaginative literature communicates these truths more effectively than argument. The enemies are those who reduce literature to ideology: Marxist critics, relativist philosophers, and progressive educators.
Collecting Enemies of the Permanent Things
First edition (Arlington House, New Rochelle, 1969): Cloth with dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $40–$100
- Very good: $15–$40
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation.
Literature as Cultural Defence
Kirk argues that great literature communicates permanent truths about human nature — truths that ideological movements seek to dissolve. The “permanent things” of the title (a phrase Kirk borrowed from Eliot) are the enduring norms of human experience: piety, justice, courage, order, freedom, and the recognition of mystery. Kirk defends these norms through readings of authors from Homer and Virgil through Dante, Shakespeare, and Hawthorne to Eliot and Ray Bradbury, presenting literary criticism as a form of cultural conservatism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the “permanent things”? Kirk used this phrase (adapted from T.S. Eliot) to describe the enduring moral and aesthetic norms that underlie civilized life — truths about human nature, social order, and the human relationship to the transcendent that remain valid across cultures and centuries. They are “permanent” not because they are static but because they address permanent aspects of the human condition.