Mr. Wilder's subtler comic instincts keep the humor reined in, and so when the broader, more vulgar Brooksian bits pop up, they're kept in check.

British collectors have sometimes referred to these as “the Uglies,” though it’s unclear when or where this term originated.

The magiric science, therefore, began in the year of the world 1656.

Ross Douthat's gotten a lot of pushback for using his soapbox to complain that liberal Christianity lacks a religious reason for its own existence. And with good reason—it'd be nice if the national paper of record's faithiest columnist could at least spin a fresher argument against us mainliners.