graphy. There are some thirteen branches of knowledge represented, and many leading works that have recently appeared in Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, German and even in English are briefly described. Obviously the Latin language alone lends itself to such a vehicle. The book notices, while necessarily brief, are on the whole sufficiently descriptive to guide the reader to what he may want. We welcome the Bibliophoros and wish it success. The price is sixty-five cents per annum surely modest enough. ART ET APOLOGETIQUE. Par A. D. Sertillanges, professeur à l'Institut Catholique de Paris. One vol. in 16 de la collection Etudes de philosophie et de critique religieuse. Pr., 3 fr. 50. Bloud et Cie, ed., 7, rue Saint Sulpice, Paris. The problem which M. Sertillanges proposes to study and elaborate in this recent work is the relation subsisting between apologetics, whose necessity is evident at the present time, and art, which claims universal sympathy and exercises universal power. In developing his theme the author allows a wide range to the terms of the problem. In several chapters, combining strength of thought with elegance of style, he shows successively how art evokes religious feeling, how it expresses religious feeling and religious events, what is the artistic value of religious feeling in general and in particular of Catholic Christianity. He then answers the objections raised in the name of complete art and of life against Christianity. In a final chapter he treats of modern religious art. We find then that the book deals exhaustively with the set of questions which confront the æsthetic as well as the religious mind. The eminent professor of the Catholic Institute at Paris has furnished a book of such a kind as had hitherto no existence and which will be welcomed by all those readers who cherish a sincere love for religious truth as well as for artistic beauty. HELLADIAN VISTAS. By Don Daniel Quinn, Ph. D., successively student of American School of Classical Studies, Athens, Greece; professor of Greek at Mount St. Mary's College, Maryland; professor of Greek at the Catholic University, Washington, and rector of the Leonteion. Athens, Greece; now pastor of St. Paul's, Yellow Springs, Ohio, and professor at Antioch College. Second edition, 12mo., pp. 407. Yellow Springs, Ohio, 1909. "The following chapters have already appeared in print as magazine articles. They are republished with the kind permission of the editors of Harper's Magazine, the AMERICAN CATHOLIC QUARTERLY, the Catholic World, Donahoe's Magazine and the Catholic Uni versity Bulletin. Frequent repetitions of thought and expression have been allowed to remain, although almost inexcusable." These essays were written by the reverend author generally, if not always, during a residence of several years in Greece. They embrace a wide range of subjects, including customs, beliefs, localities, ruins, etc., and all have that special value which must attach to the writings of a specialist who is an enthusiastic student and who labors in a remote field, not easily accessible, and rather hard in the tilling. Dr. Quinn writes in a charming manner, bringing an enthusiasm to his work which vivifies it. His standing as a Greek scholar places his accuracy beyond question. LES ASSEMBLEES DU CLERGE ET LE PROTESTANTISME. Par I. Bourlon. One vol. in 16 de 128 pp. Pr., 1 fr. 20. Librairie Bloud et Cie. The assemblies of the clergy, which had become periodical towards the end of the sixteenth century, were intended above all to adopt measures for the material interests of the Church in France. But in course of time and from the very nature of things they took in hands all its interests, both spiritual and temporal. What was their line of conduct towards the Protestants? This is a question about which much controversy has been carried on in former times and much prejudice still prevails at the present day. No writer could have been more fittingly chosen to treat this important problem in history than M. Bourlon, the author of the well-known work "Assemblées du Clergé Sous l'ancien Régime" and also of the important and scholarly volume entitled "Assemblées du Clergé et le Jansénisme." LA DEDICACE DES EGLISES. Par J. Baudot, O. S. B. One vol. in 12. Pr., 0 fr. 60. Bloud et Cie, editeurs, 7, rue Saint Sulpice, Paris. The consecration or dedication of churches is defined as a sacred act, or rather a combination of sacred and solemn acts, appointed and determined by the Church, and whose effect is to render an edifice sacred, and for evermore dedicated to God and to His worship, this act or these acts being performed by a lawful minister of the Church, so that the edifice, hitherto profane, but now and forever holy and sacred, may serve as a sanctuary for celebration of the divine and ecclesiastical offices. It is this liturgical rite, of great importance and interest to all ecclesiastics which forms the subject of the opusculum published by the learned Benedictine, J. Boudot. It comprises two parts: First, the historical development of the ceremony of dedication; second, the canonical and liturgical regulations of the rite of dedication and its symbolism. DIARY AND NOTEBOOK FOR 1909. Designed for the Special Use of the Reverend Clergy. 16mo., cloth, net, 75 cents. Benziger Brothers, Cincinnati, New York, Chicago. The third issue of the "Diary and Notebook" is slightly different from the two previous editions, the most striking feature being the omission of the Ordo and the addition of a few thoughts for meditation each day. Although there may be some difference of opinion as to the wisdom of the omission, no one can question the value of the addition, and all will acknowledge the excellence of the book in general as to the matter, the plan, the presentation and the correctness. Indeed, Father Schulte's name is a guarantee of all this, and we expect nothing less from him. We doubt if any one could gather a greater amount of useful, necessary information into so small a space and state it so clearly. HENRY CHARLES LEA'S HISTORICAL WRITINGS. A Critical Inquiry into their Method and Merit. By Paul Maria Baumgarten. 12mo., pp. 200. New York: Joseph Wagner, 1909. A review of Henry C. Lea's work translated from the German seems odd at first, especially to Mr. Lea's fellow citizens of Philadelphia, but an examination of the book will prove that it is worth going so far to get so good a thing. It has always been a matter of surprise to observers in this country, as it was to the German author of this book, that a layman like Mr. Lea should choose for his life work a field of historical research which requires a philological, philosophical and historical training which very few men ever acquire, and which Mr. Lea has never acquired; which requires, moreover, a mental balance and a calm, cool, fair judgment, free from bias and prejudice, which is partly inherited and partly acquired, and which Mr. Lea has not gotten in either way, and which, finally, calls for an indifference as to the final result of the search after truth which leads the student invariably to the right conclusion, and indicates in its possessor a bigness almost superhuman, and Mr. Lea is very human. If Mr. Lea had devoted the same amount of time and labor and money to some undertaking, to some work for which he was better equipped, he would have accomplished more good and earned more merit. Now, as his long life draws to a close, he sees before him, as the result of his life work, several large volumes treating of subjects which he never understood, and which, while they may draw applause from the multitude, make the judicious few grieve. We have sufficient respect for Mr. Lea to think that he would prefer the approval of the latter, Mr. Lea's profuseness, as well as his method, makes a systematic and free review of his works impossible. Hence, Monsignor Baumgarten follows the lead of Dr. Bouquillon and Father Casey, S. J., in this country by discrediting him. In this spirit he takes up in turn Auricular Confession, Indulgences. The Inquisition of the Middle Ages, The Spanish Inquisition and The Sacred Penitentiary. We freely subscribe to what the publishers claim for the book, namely: that it is a notable review of Mr. Lea's volumes on the history of Auricular Confession and other institutions of the Church. The author, himself an historian of repute, views Mr. Lea's work in the light of modern historical research, and offers much proof, in the shape of quotations from other eminent historians and from original records, in support of his charge that Mr. Lea's data are not always correct, that he made errors in the use of his material, and that he was prejudiced in his deductions. The following quotations from Monsignor Baumgarten's introduction are good specimens of his method: "A peculiarity of Lea's method, observed in all his volumes, and one which renders the tracing of his deductions at times difficult, is his habit to quote sources in more or less slipshod fashion. His authorities for various matters, dealt with on two or more pages, are frequently lumped together in one common annotation; the books quoted from are enumerated in the informal fashion of the old French and Italian schools, various editions of quoted books are hardly ever distinguished; bibliographical exactness is lacking, folios of quoted passages are omitted oftener than is to the liking of the critical reader, and not infrequently are the sources of quoted documents only suggested. Thus the critical reader has his troubles, due to this supreme disregard for the requirements of modern scientific writing. It may be suggested in passing that this indifference does not seem to manifest any great amount of respect, on part of the author, for the readers to whom he addresses himself. Whenever there is a lack of documentary proof, Lea chooses to present his matter in a form which a careful and conscientious historian would endeavor to avoid. The words 'doubtless' and 'evidently' play a conspicious part in his writings, and as a significant fact, chiefly there, where the matter allows of most diverse conjectures. And Lea's conclusions, in a great many instances, are not so 'doubtless' as he would fain have them believed to be. 'We can readily conceive;' 'we may easily imagine;' 'it can be readily understood;' such and similar expressions, often occurring, will warn the reader to look sharp unless he is willing to accept Lea's hypothesis as a proved fact, proved by one of Lea's phrases. Lea's use of many quotations, from sources in print or manuscript, admits, with the most generous allowance, of no other characterization but that of a misrepresentation of their meaning, the meaning they will convey in connection with their context. The earmarks of the card index product are here plainly and painfully apparent. "But this is not the worst. There are quotations in Lea's books which can only be described as falsifications of their sense in the full meaning of the term. Until proof to the contrary is at hand, let us suppose that we have before us objective falsifications. The knowledge of medieval theology and of the Canon Law prevailing at that time, with which Lea obviously equipped himself, affords the basis of this severe reproach, for which I shall furnish proof in the course of this review. It is difficult to understand why Lea should have resorted to such questionable means, when he had ample opportunity to give, in other ways, expression to his aversion for the Church and her representatives. He actually availed himself, to a great extent, of such opportunities, and frequently uses expressions of such coarseness that the reader asks himself in astonishment whether they are warranted by the facts described according to Lea's method. These are phenomena whose psychological and scientifical explanation is not apparent to me; I simply record the fact, therefore, and leave it to the reader to draw his own conclusions." ALCUIN CLUB COLLECTIONS: VIII. The "Interpretations" of the Bishops, and their Influence on Elizabethan Episcopal Policy. With an Appendix of the Original Documents. By W. M. Kennedy. IX. The Edwarden Inventories for Buckinghamshire. Edited by F. C. This book is not a new work on first aid to the injured, nor instructions for those who save the body, but it is the soul-saver's guide for those who labor in a field that is very ripe and that needs many reapers. "The author has written with the aim of furthering religion in those whose loyalty to the holy cause will do the most toward stemming the rising tide of unbelief, anarchy and immorality; for assuredly spiritual advancement is of its very highest efficacy in the directions just named when secured in our boys, destined to be heads of families and leaders in all departments of life. "And yet these arbiters of the future carry the seed of pretty much all the evil that is to be. Bless their innocent sisters, who stand so little in need of preservative care! Indeed, in godliness of life, the gentle half of our race could easily hold its own if only the sterner partner would cease playing the role of tempter. Take care of the boys, then, and the girls will take care of themselves. Nay, more; could but half of the obstreperous scamplings be made into anything like perfect men, feminine virtue, thereby obtaining fuller play, would almost repair the primeval lapse and restore the world to a paradise anew." This declaration has the ring of experience, earnestness and confidence. The experience has had that best of all effects, toleration. Hence the author does humbly say that he does not dictate, but suggests. "However, warm interest in youth does not burden these pages |