By force of her imagination and skill, Emily Dickinson could take the measure of solitude, opprobrium and even damnation.

Philosophers have always wrestled with how love can be so morally important, yet so personal and even arbitrary.

I have always wondered about the meaning of that phrase in the Lord’s prayer asking God that we “not be put to the test.” Now I think I know what it means. People of faith — and those whose love of ...