BOOK REVIEWS. The Encyclical of His Holiness Pius X on the Doctrines of the Modernists, Latin and English Text, With Annotations. By Thomas E. Judge, D. D., Editor of the New World, Chicago, 1907. Pp. vi, 135. This is a very useful reprint in convenient form of the recent Encyclical" Pascendi Dominici Gregis." The translation is accurate and lucid, and the division of the English text into paragraphs with sub-heads, as well as the introduction and appendix which the editor has added facilitate the study of this important pontifical document. Scholasticism, Old and New; An Introduction to Scholastic Philosophy, Medieval and Modern. By M. de Wulf, Professor at the University of Louvain. Trans. by P. Coffey, D. Ph., Professor of Philosophy, Maynooth College, Ireland. Dublin, Gill & Sons; New York, Benziger, 1907. Pp. x, 327. Price, six shillings net. Teachers and students of philosophy will find this volume by the well-known historian of medieval philosophy a valuable introduction to scholasticism. The superiority of the historical method of presenting problems and systems of philosophy is nowadays recognized when compared with the method of piecemeal presentation according to a scheme drawn up to meet the requirements of abstract logic. Philosophy is a product of mind, not of a dialectical process merely. In the volume before us, we have a masterly survey of the historical factors which contributed to make scholasticism, and, what is of most value, an attempt to define in terms of those factors the nature, or essence, of what we call scholastic philosophy. M. de Wulf finds that all the great scholastics agreed in accepting a definite body of doctrine, a synthetic view of the nature of reality, and in this doctrinal synthesis he makes the essence of scholasticism to consist. One may take the liberty of disagreeing with M. de Wulf when he refuses to consider that John Scotus Eriugena and the pantheists contributed anything to the synthetic doctrine of the schools; indeed, every year is bringing to light new evidence of the extent of "the Scot's" influence in certain circles of religious thought in the centuries during which his name is seldom mentioned in treatises on philosophy and theology. Nevertheless, M. de Wulf's success in the main portion of his work is so striking that one could not with justice emphasize a point on which all may not agree with him. He has done a service to the cause of scholastic philosophy, and his talented and painstaking translator has done a service to the same cause which we are sure will be appreciated in English-speaking countries. We congratulate Louvain and Maynooth, and wish the work a wide. sale. The Education of Our Girls. By Rev. Thomas Edward Shields, Ph. D., Associate Professor of Psychology in the Catholic University of America. New York, Benziger Bros., 1907. Pp. 299. Price, $1.00 net. We call attention here to this volume by Dr. Shields, and heartily recommend it to the attention of all who are interested in the elementary or higher education of girls. In another page, under the title "Notes on Education" (page 57) we publish a review of the book by one who is competent to judge its practical value. Report of the Proceedings and Addresses of the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Catholic Educational Association, Milwaukee, Wis., July 8, 9, 10, 11, 1907. Published by the Association, Columbus, Ohio, 1907. Pp. xiii, 396. This volume receives detailed notice under the head "Notes on Education" (page 73). It contains much that will be of interest to teachers and to pastors. Copies are to be had by applying to the Secretary-General of the Association, Reverend F. Howard, 1651 East Main Street, Columbus, Ohio. Commentaire français, litteral de la somme theologique de Saint Thomas d' Acquin. Par le R. P. Tomas Pègues, Lecteur en Theologie. Edouard Privat, 14 Rue des Arts, Toulouse. (Deux beaux volumes grand in 80. Les deux volumes, 12 francs net.) Father Pègues has undertaken the gigantic task of giving to the world the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas translated into a modern language, together with commentaries that will serve the purpose of elucidating the text and of explaining more fully the teachings of the Angelic Doctor. For many years, especially since Leo XIII by the Encyclical "Aeterni Patris” gave a new impetus to the study of scholastic philosophy and theology, there has been a demand for books that would give the principles of the great scholastics in a living language, and there has been a particularly strong desire for a more intimate knowledge of the Summa of Saint Thomas. That work was proclaimed to be the masterpiece of human reason applied to the explanation and defence of the truths of faith, but for those who were not familiar with the Latin language the Summa was a sealed book. It was as a storehouse filled with valuable treasures that were to be reached by only the chosen few who had a special key and knew how to make use of it. The clergy and highly educated laymen could enter into the grand cathedral erected by St. Thomas in honor of God and the true faith, they could admire all the beauties of the magnificent edifice as seen from within, whilst others had to content themselves with listening to descriptions of those beauties given by their more fortunate brothers, or, at the most, were permitted to enjoy an imperfect and unsatisfactory view from the outside of the building. In order to break the seal, to admit a greater number into the cathedral, it was necessary to popularize the Summa by translations and explanations in living languages more widely known than the Latin tongue. This is what Father Pègues has undertaken to do for all who read French,-a language, by the way, which lends itself most admirably to the brevity and clearness that characterize the style of Saint Thomas. His volumes, no doubt, will be welcomed and appreciated even by many who can read, and perhaps prefer to read, the text of the Summa in the original; for the work is not simply a translation, it contains interesting and valuable notes and commentaries, together with a brief exposition of the various controversies occasioned by the words of St. Thomas and of the questions that have arisen since the thirteenth century. In a word, the work, when finished, will be a complete theology, "juxta mentem et secundum litteram D. Thomae Aquinatis," by one who for many years has devoted himself with great ardor to the study of the Summa and who in the lecture hall has been a most successful expounder of the teachings of the Angelic Doctor. Those years of study and teaching have made Father Pègues familiar with every part of the Summa; hence he is a competent guide for all who desire to become acquainted with the beauties and marvels contained in that remarkable book. He takes pains in the beginning to explain the grand plan of St. Thomas' great theology, and in the course of the work he frequently calls the reader's attention to the care with which every detail was worked out, so that one question throws light upon another, one article paves the way for another, the complexus of treatises, questions and articles forming a grand synthesis of Christian doctrine, the most perfect that was ever formed by the mind of man. It is a well known fact that in the writings of St. Thomas nuggets of wisdom are often found hidden away, as it were, in corners; important principles are sometimes set forth in the answers to objections. Father Pègues knows every one of those little corners in the Summa, and those who follow him as a guide may admire the brightness and appreciate the value of the little lumps of gold which escape the notice of the ordinary observer. In the commentaries on the text we find a most pleasing conciseness, clearness and moderation, the author faithfully keeping his promise to make the work "doctrinal rather than historical,” an exposition of the Summa, not a manual of controversy. It is not, however, a mere dry translation, there being just enough of commentary and discussion to elucidate the text and to show that in the great masterpiece of the middle ages are to be found principles of the eternal truth applicable to the controversies of all times, even unto the twentieth century with its multitude of doubts and disputes relating to matters philosophical, theological, scriptural, apologetical and historical. The first two volumes deal with all the questions found in the Summa under the heading "De Deo Uno." Other volumes will follow as rapidly as the matter can be prepared for the press, and it is hoped, notwithstanding the trials to which all ecclesiastics are now subjected in France, that the author will be able to complete his work in good time, to the great satisfaction of all who have been waiting for an up-to-date edition of the Summa in a living language. The Laws of the Spiritual Life. By D. J. KENNEDY, O. P. B. W. Maturin. New 8vo, 281 pp. In the enormous output of literature which characterizes the present day, suitable books for spiritual reading are rarely to be found. The higher needs of the soul are but too often overlooked in favor of the cravings of the intellect and the imagination. In the "Laws of the Spiritual Life" Father Maturin has sought to produce a work that would help to meet this want. He is to be congratulated in having succeeded so well. It is a series in essayform of meditations on the Eight Beatitudes, admirable alike for their literary dress, their high spiritual tone, their freshness of thought, their delicate analyses of views and motives that have to be reckoned with in the life of Christian perfection, their commonsense treatment of certain perplexities that the religiously-minded so often encounter in their contact with the world of men and things. In reading this excellent treatise, one cannot help feeling that it is the outcome, not of book-reading and speculation, but of wide personal experience and observation. The publishers have presented it in a form worthy of its contents. It is beautifully printed, on excellent paper. Appealing as it does to intelligent, cultivated minds, it ought to have a large circulation among educated laymen and studious priests. CHARLES F. AIKEN. Le péril religieux. Par A. M. Weiss, O. P. Traduit de l'Allemand, par l'abbé L. Colin. Paris, Lethellieux, 1906. 80, 395 pp. The author of this work is the well known Dominican, whose Apologie des Christentums, both in the original and in the French version, has won many admirers. The same translator who has given his earlier productions their attractive French dress, has now made accessible to French readers this latest work, written to sound a note of warning against the inroads of revolutionary innovations on Catholic belief. It consists of ten chapters. The first chapter offers a rapid survey of the religious situation today and leads to the exposé in the next four chapters of the forces and movements outside the Catholic Church that are making for the downfall of the Christian religion. First among these the author puts the modern science. of religion, which in the hands of the majority of its exponents, denies primitive revelation and all other accepted forces of divine positive communication, puts all religions without exception in the class of purely human developments, and views Christianity itself |