Free Republic

In Herman Melville's classic story "Billy Budd," the narrator ponders what could be the matter with the master-at-arms "who has an animus toward the young seaman known as Billy Budd." Therein ensues a discussion about "natural depravity: a depravity according to nature." Thus, "one who has this natural depravity can be described as having an …even temper and discreet bearing [which] would seem to intimate a mind peculiarly subject to the law of reason, not the less in heart he would seem to riot in complete exemption from that law, having apparently little to do with reason [other] than to...

Review: A shipshape 'Billy Budd' caps Britten 100/LA Mark Swed Los Angeles Times February 24, 2014 ‘Billy Budd’s’ return to L.A. is musically powerful, but it is not about sex Jim Farber Los Angeles Daily News February 24, 2014 (subscription required) 'Billy Budd' sails at L.A. Opera Timothy Mangan Orange County Register February 23, 2014 Wikipedia article on the operaComplete video of 1966 BBC televison performance