Project Pietas – Cultivating Duty and Contentment in Community

Recommended Reading List

Legend: * = Free Digital Edition ** = Recommended Edition

Duty

  • The Abolition of Man * – C. S. Lewis
    Shows how an objective moral order (the “Tao”) undergirds true duty; a classic Christian apologetic that bridges philosophy and virtue.
  • Our Moral Nature * – James McCosh
    Provides a 19th‑century philosophical defense of innate moral law—useful for understanding conscience as a natural, God‑given faculty.
  • Lectures on Moral Philosophy * – John Witherspoon
    Direct source from one of the founding fathers; outlines the duty‑based moral framework that shaped the American Republic.
  • On Moral Duties (De Officiis) * – Cicero
    Explores the relationship between duty and the good life; complements the “Duty” shelf while also touching on contentment through virtue.

Contentment

  • The Consolation of Philosophy ** – Boethius
    Classical meditation on finding joy amid suffering; a bridge between ancient philosophy and Christian hope.
  • The Art of Divine Contentment * – Thomas Watson
    Puritan classic that articulates contentment as a fruit of trusting God’s providence.
  • The Art of Divine Contentment (Modern English) ** – Thomas Watson, Jason Roth
    Same Puritan truth rendered in contemporary language for easier reading.
  • The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment * – Jeremiah Burroughs
    Classic Puritan work that defines true contentment as a Christ‑centered trust in God’s providence.
  • The Works of Epictetus * – Trans. Thomas Wentworth Higginson
    Stoic teaching on inner peace and acceptance of what lies beyond our control—parallels biblical contentment.
  • Man’s Search for Meaning * – Viktor Frankl
    Psychological testimony that purpose (often found in purposeful duty) yields deep contentment, even in extreme suffering.

Reality and Human Nature

  • Certainties of the Soul and Speculations of Science  * – Joseph Cook
    Cook argues that the human mind possesses innate, God‑given capacities for truth‑seeking while also recognizing the provisional nature of scientific speculation.
  • Some of the Thoughts of Joseph Joubert  * – Joseph Joubert, trans. George H. Calvert
    Joubert insists that the soul discerns God through the harmonious union of intellect and feeling, urging readers toward wisdom, modesty, and lasting contentment.