much insistence on the Greek elements and too little importance attached to the Jewish elements in Philo's doctrine.

Although the "Literature" appended to the article Aquinas has a subtitle "Translations," we find no mention there of Father Rickaby's translation of the Contra Gentiles.

WILLIAM TURNER.

Conquests of Our Holy Faith, or, Testimonies of distinguished Converts, by James J. Treacy. Third Edition. New York: Pustet and Co., 1907. Pp. xvii + 473. Price, $1.00.

This is a collection of testimonials in favor of the Catholic Church from the pens of distinguished converts, some seventy-five in all, including such names as Newman, Allies, Theodosia Drane, Lady Fullerton, Northcote, Cardinal Manning, Aubrey de Vere, etc. They will be found useful by the popular apologist and should if placed in the hands of a non-Catholic, have the effect of breaking down prejudice. The impression produced by the collection would not be diminished if the preface were either toned down to simple prose or omitted altogether.

A History of the Holy Eucharist in Great Britain, by T. E. Bridgett, C. SS. R., with notes by H. Thurston, S. J. (London, Burns and Oates; St. Louis, B. Herder), 1908, folio, pp. 325. $7.00.

In this reprint of the classical work of the late Redemptorist, Father Bridgett (1829-99), modern English Catholic scholarship gives us an exalted idea of its many merits. When first published (London, 1881) the work attracted general attention as a valuable thesaurus of all attainable information concerning the place and influence of the Blessed Eucharist in the life of medieval England from Saxon times down to the Reformation. Earnest piety, great learning, and humble self-sacrificing toil characterized its pages. Soon this mine of historic and liturgical knowledge became a rarety even among bibliophiles. Few works, therefore, were more suitable for reproduction on occasion of the late Eucharistic Congress at London, among whose instructive "monumenta " this volume will always hold a high place. To make the work more popular some rearrangement and curtailment of the original have

been found necessary, not enough, however, to impair its acknowledged usefulness. The index has also been revised and completed, and several wood-cuts of Eucharistic interest have been added, e, g., the Ardagh Chalice (found in 1868), the Dolgelly Chalice (found in 1890), the Chasuble of St. Thomas of Canterbury (Cathedral of Sens, twelfth century), Stole from St. Cuthbert's tomb (90516), etc. But the chief value of this reprint consists in the numerous notes of the learned editor who has thus blended his own great erudition with that of Father Bridgett, and at the same time has popularized much of the new and curious archæologico-theological information of the last thirty or forty years. Thus (p. 131) we have a long note of Father Thurston's on the earliest (fifteenth century) prototype of "privileged altars" in England; (p. 13) a valuable note on Communion in the Early Irish Church, with reprint of the famous "Venite, Sancti Omnes" from the seventhcentury Antiphonary of Bangor, and Dr. Neale's translation; (p. 170) a brief but instructive study of the reasons why there are so few unequivocal early examples of devotions paid to the Blessed Sacrament reserved; (p. 240) a note on the stamping out of leprosy in fifteenth-century England through the rigid seclusion enforced and sanctioned by the Church, and elsewhere many other pleasing and instructive illustrations of similar importance. Suffice it to say that we have in this work a popular Eucharistic encyclopedia, at once edifying and scholarly, in which character it ought to be widely known and used, not only in theological seminaries, Catholic colleges and academies of all kinds, and by the clergy generally, but also in our Catholic families. Its beautiful folio form, its elegant new type, its reproductions of rare prints, illustrations and altar-accessories, make it suitable for a Christmas gift, a wedding or ordination present; it would be a solid addition to a public library, or prove a useful work for an ecclesiastical friend. The publishers rightly call attention to the fact that the work as now published "follows in modern England the example of beauty in the outward wear of theological works set in the great days of printing; " they also add that the price is lower than that of other new books of its size and class. One element of utility, however, is still lacking, but may easily be added, i. e., an alphabetical bibliography of all the works quoted in the text and notes. Such a bibliography would be of great service to professors and students of theology, scholarly readers, special inves

tigators, and the like. That our readers may have a clear concept of the value of this fine work we subjoin its table of contents.

Part I, The Eucharist in Great Britain: I, The Early British Church; II, The Picts and the Scots; III, The Anglo-Saxon Conversions; IV, The Anglo-Saxon Faith; V, The Holy Eucharist during the Norman Period; VI, The Holy Eucharist from the Norman Period to the Reformation. Part II, The Eucharist as a Sacrifice: I, The Mass-Priest; II, The Priest at the Altar; III, Requisites for Mass; IV, The Liturgy and Ceremonial of the Mass; V, Liturgical Changes; VI, On Saying and Hearing Mass; VII, The Value of the Mass and the Intentions of the Celebrant; VIII, Chantries and Masses for the Dead.

Part III, The Eucharist as a Sacrament: I, On Receiving Communion; II, Communion under One Kind; III, Communion for the Dying; IV, Reservation and the Tabernacle; V, Churches and Altars; VI, Riches of Churches.

Part IV, The Eucharist in the Life of the People: I, The Eucharist and the Religious Life; II, The Eucharist and the Solitary Life; III, The Eucharist in the Schools and Universities; IV, The Eucharist in the Court and the Camp; V, The Observance of Festivals; VI, Holy Week; VII, The Easter Communion; VIII, The Feast of Corpus Christi; IX, Interdicts; X, The Keystone.

T. J. SHAHAN.

The

Egypt Exploration Fund, Graeco-Roman Branch. Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Part v, edited with translations and notes, by Bernard P. Grenfell, M. A., D. Litt., and Arthur S. Hunt, M. A., D. Litt., with seven plates. London, 1908. Pp. vii + 342.

The general method of publication is the same as in the earlier volumes of this series. The editors have also maintained the high standard of accurate and painstaking scholarship that characterized the previous volumes and rendered them models of papyri publications. As these qualities have been recognized in earlier reviews, it is my present purpose merely to outline the contents of this volume which in interest and richness is second to none of its predecessors.

In January, 1906, the editors came in the course of their excavations at Oxyrhynchus upon a large mass of fragments of literary papyri, representing some twenty MSS., among these were four

1Cf. C. U. B., x, 495; xII, 95; XIII, 298.

of the five texts published in the present volume. The fifth is a vellum leaf that was discovered in the month preceding.

The leaf came from a book written in the fourth century, and on account of the general interest of its contents the editors' translation of the passage, which the scribe managed to compress into a space but little over two inches square, may be quoted in full.

cuse.

. . . before he does wrong makes all manner of subtle exBut give heed lest ye also suffer the same things as they; for the evil-doers among men receive their reward not among the living only, but also await punishment and much torment. And he took them and brought them into the very place of purification, and was walking in the temple. And a certain Pharisee, a chief priest, whose name was Levi, met them and said to the Saviour, Who gave Thee leave to walk in this place of purification and to see these holy vessels, when Thou hast not washed nor yet have Thy disciples bathed their feet? But defiled Thou hast walked in this temple, which is a pure place, wherein no other man walks except he has washed himself and has changed his garments, neither does he venture to see these holy vessels. And the Saviour straightway stood still with His disciples and answered him, Art thou then, being here in the temple, clean? He sayeth unto Him, I am clean; for I washed in the pool of David, and having descended by one staircase I ascended by another, and I put on white and clean garments, and then I came and looked upon these holy vessels. The Saviour answered and said unto him, Woe ye blind, who see not. Thou hast washed in these running waters wherein dogs and swine have been cast night and day, and hast cleansed and wiped the outside skin which also the harlots and flute-girls anoint and wash and wipe and beautify for the lust of men; but within they are full of scorpions and all wickedness. But I and my disciples, who thou sayest have not bathed, have been dipped in the waters of eternal life which come from But woe unto the . . .

Evidently the fragment is a portion of a continuous account of our Saviour's life that covers the same ground as the Gospels. The doctrine contained in it, the distinction between purity of soul and merely external ceremonies of purification accompanied by no proper dispositions of the soul, is a prominent feature of Our Lord's teaching. This doctrine is here enforced with a vigorous rhetoric which gives to the fragment considerable literary merit. In the subject matter the chief point of interest is the apparent minute familiarity with the Jewish ritual. On further

examination, however, this breaks down and carries with it any claim that might otherwise have been made for the fragments representing a genuine tradition of our Lord's life. The editors' conclusion that it is the fragment of an apocryphal gospel composed in the second century (more probably in its first half) and elaborating the narrative of Matt. xv, 1-20 and Mark VII, 1-23 (under the influence we may add of Matt. XXIII, 25-28) is probably to be accepted. Even as such it is a most interesting addition to our knowledge of the traditions of the early church. From another point of view the fragment is also of interest. The details of ritual, while evidently inapplicable to the temple of Jerusalem, do not bear the stamp of ad hoc invention. May it not be that the author has drawn his account not from his imagination, but from some pagan ceremony with which he was familiar?

The second Ms. published is a papyrus dating from the second century. When found it was unfortunately in a badly mutilated condition, having been broken into no less than 380 fragments. The industry and skill of the editors have enabled them to piece together most of these fragments with the result that four sections of the MS., accounting for forty columns of text, have been recovered. The contents are the Paeans of Pindar, a class of the poet's work previously known only from fragments too short to permit of the forming of an adequate estimate of it. Now portions of nine of these poems have been recovered; and while unfortunately none are complete, the metrical structure of most can be discerned, and considerable portions of the text are practically perfect. Of especial interest is the recovery of the greater part of the strophe and the complete antistrophe that followed the famous fragment on the eclipse of the sun. The metrical structure thus revealed renders possible certain improvements in the text of this splendid passage and proves the existence of the lacuna which Blass had suspected.

The third text is also of unusual interest. No one can dispute the claim of the editors that it is the most important historical papyrus discovered since the finding of the 'Αθηναίων Πολιτεία in 1890. Some thirteen columns of the text are capable of restoration to a readable condition and prove to contain a history of the events in Greece of the years 369 and 395 B. C., given in minute detail. The date of composition is fixed successfully by the editors between the years 386 and 346; they also show that the work probably began with the events of 411, where Thucydides' history breaks off, and that there is no reason to believe that it was con