"The earliest of the Gospels was not written until thirty or more years had elapsed after the Ascension. The Primitive Church was, consequently, without sacred books. Instead of deriving her teaching from the sacred writings, the Church began her mission before they existed, and consequently the authors of the New Testament Scriptures derived much of their knowledge of the teaching and life of our Lord from the Church. The Holy Scriptures, instead of being the source or rule of faith, are, to Catholics at any rate, a record of the teaching of the Church in the first ages; a record confirmatory and corroborative of the faith, but one which was never intended to supplant the divine authority of the living voice of the Church.

"Nothing is more clearly indicated throughout the New Testament than the divine and indefectible character of the visible Ecclesia instituted by Christ and designed by Him to be the ark of salvation for and the oracle of His revelation to mankind.

"Whereas Protestantism, in all its varying forms, professes to be based upon Scripture, and to be absolutely dependent upon it, Catholicism proclaims the eternal infallibility of the Church, independently of any book, by virtue of the abiding presence within her of the Spirit of Truth, her voice being, in all authoritative utterances, the voice of her Divine Author Himself. Before the New Testament existed, before its inspired books were collected together, before they were translated from the languages in which they were originally written, long before copies of the New Testament had been multiplied by the laborious process of transcription, ages before the invention of the art of printing, the Catholic Church was here, preaching the glad tiding of the Gospel, offering up the adorable sacrifice of the New Law 'in every place,' administering the sacraments and making disciples of all nations. What she did in her earliest days she has ever since continued to do in the same way, and she will not have completed her task until the end of all things is reached. Sects may come and sects may go, but the Church is eternal because she is divine, and consequently one and invisible, holy, Catholic both in time and extent, apostolic and Petrine-that is papal. Not only does the Church instituted by Christ possess all these distinguishing marks or notes, but so conspicuous are they that she can be recognized at a glance as the only institution upon earth possessing these visible indications of her divine origin and character.

THE LIVES OF THE POPES IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES. By the Rev. Horace K. Mann. Vol. III., 858-891. B. Herder, St. Louis. Price, net, $3.00. The period dealt with in the present volume of Father Mann's valuable history of the Popes extends through six Pontificates, viz.,

those of St. Nicholas I., Hadrian II., John VIII., Marinus I., Hadrian III. and Stephen (V.) VI. The dominating personage of the era was undoubtedly the great St. Nicholas I., who imprinted his strong character upon his times and became the founder of the mediæval Papacy, the claims of which he formulated and asserted with all possible clearness and precision. Though he reigned only nine years (858-867), the story of his Pontificate occupies more than one-third of the entire volume. His importance in the history of the Papacy amply justifies all the space allotted to him by the learned author. Such weighty topics as the Photian schism, the divorce of Lothaire, the curbing of arbitrary metropolitan power, the conversion of the Bulgarians, the missionary efforts in the distant North could not be dealt with summarily. The remaining five Pontificates are treated with a like view to their respective importance. The source, nature and scope of the False Decretals receive due attention. The appearance on the scene of Anastasius Bibliothecarius gives the author an opportunity of discoursing on the formation of the Papal library.

We await with mournful interest the next volume of Father Mann's history, dealing with the saddest epoch in the long annals of the Papacy.

PRINCIPLES OF RELIGIOUS LIFE. By the Very Rev. Francis Cuthbert Doyle, O. S. B., author of "Lectures for Boys," "Life of Gregory Lopez, the Hermit," etc. Third edition. 8vo., pp. 578. R. & T. Washbourne, Ltd., 1, 2 and 4 Paternoster Row. London. Benziger Brothers, New York, Cincinnati and Chicago.

"The chief object for which this work has been written is to furnish those who wish to lead a solidly devout life in the ecclesiastical, in the religious or in the secular state with a manual or textbook containing in as compendious a form as possible the “principles' upon which such a life must be built.

"The sources whence materials for an undertaking of this kind may be drawn are various and numerous; but out of the many at my disposal, two are especially deserving of mention, inasmuch as it has been by the doctrine which I have learnt from them that I have been guided in much that has been treated of in this book. The first of these are the works of Cassian, to which, as a child of St. Benedict, I felt myself drawn as it were by instinct; for it was from the worldfamed conferences of this learned ascetic that our Holy Father drew much of that spiritual lore which is so conspicuous in the various enactments of his rule, and to the pages of which he refers his children for those sublime lessons of spiritual wisdom which will lead them to the topmost height of 'Christian perfection.' Cassian's teaching,

save upon the question of divine grace, is unexceptionally good. His deficiency upon this point may be satisfactorily accounted for if we bear in mind that in his day various questions which arise out of this most intricate subject had not been thoroughly examined into and set at rest forever by the infallible decision of the Church. The second is the 'Theologia Mystica' of Father Dominick Schram, O. S. B., in which that erudite religious has bequeathed to us valuable treasures of Christian asceticism arranged with scientific accuracy and stored away with scholastic neatness and precision.

"The plan of which I have made use for reducing to order the mass of material which presented itself to my hands is a very simple one. It may be stated thus: In the life of every man there is an ultimate end, which is God. But in order to reach that ultimate end man must comply with certain conditions which have been laid down by God for the attainment of so magnificent a destiny. Therefore, besides his ultimate end, man has also a subordinate end or object in life. This is to win for himself that measure of perfection which is compatible with his state here below. Perfection, however, is made up of three elements-of charity, of purity of heart and of humility, all which must be made so to enter the very fibres of his being as to become part and parcel of himself. To obtain this subordinate end there are various means at man's disposal, chief among which are prayer, divine grace, docility to the movements and inspirations of the Holy Spirit, imitation of Christ and mortification, both internal and external.

"Upon each of these subjects, and upon the various ramifications into which some of them logically lead, ample instructions have been given. These will, perhaps, prove useful to those who are endeavoring to lead devout lives in the world. For those who wish to enter the ecclesiastical state there are chapters devoted to the treatment of subjects which are special to their sacred calling. Finally, for those who, in order to obtain perfection, make their self-renunciation perpetual by means of vows in the religious state, several chapters have been set aside for the explanation of those holy bonds by which they are more closely united to God.

"Also, an appendix has been added, in which each chapter has been carefully analyzed. These outlines or sketches of the matter which the reader shall have already pursued will, it is hoped, enable him to obtain a firmer grasp of it; they will help him to imprint it more deeply upon his mind; and if he should happen to be sealed with the priestly character and entrusted with the cure of souls, they will furnish him with plans by the aid of which he will be able to use the doctrine contained in this volume for the spiritual training of those committed to his charge."

CATHOLIC CHURCHMEN IN SCIENCE. Sketches of the lives of Catholic ecclesiastics who were among the great founders in science. By James J. Walsh, M. D., Ph. D., LL. D., Professor of Medical History, Fordham University Medical School, and Professor of Physiological Psychology in St. Francis Xavier's College, New York. 16mo., pp. 221, with portraits. The Dolphin Press, Philadelphia.

A few years ago the title of this book would have excited a sneer, but now it only causes mild surprise, and even that is not universal. Fortunately we have been giving more attention to our family history, and we have been bringing it to the attention of others. In recent years reading and thinking men have begun to understand that there is no conflict between science and religion, and cannot be. Cardinal Wiseman's great work on "Science and Revealed Religion" paved the way for similar books which followed. We have had several on Catholic scientists which by inference prove the same truth.

Dr. Walsh presents a new group to us, and their names will probably sound strange to most general readers, because they have been known to students principally.

After a chapter on "The Supposed Opposition of Science and Religion," the Doctor writes of "Copernicus and His Times," "Basil Valentine, Founder of Modern Chemistry," "Linacre: Scholar, Physician, Priest," "Father Kircher, S. J.: Scientist, Orientalist and Collector," "Bishop Stensen: Anatomist and Father of Geology," "Abbé Haney: Father of Crystallography," "Abbot Mendel: A New Outlook in Heredity." This is a remarkable group, nor is it by any means exhaustive. It contains names not sought out by the Doctor for the purpose of this book, but met with in the course of his work along other lines.

We cannot close without saying a word about the beautiful manner in which the book is made. It is a work of art, worthy of the subject, the author and the publisher. The author thus speaks of the book:

"The following sketches of the lives of clergymen who were great scientists have appeared at various times during the past five years. in Catholic magazines. They were written because the materials for them had gradually accumulated during the preparation of various courses of lectures, and it seemed advisable to put them in order in such a way that they might be helpful to others working along similar lines. They all range themselves naturally around the central idea that the submission of the human reason to Christian belief, and of the mind and heart to the authority of the Church, is quite compatible with original thinking of the highest order, and with that absolute freedom of investigation into physical science which has only too often been said to be quite impossible to churchmen. For this reason friends have suggested that they should be published together in a form in which they could be more easy of

consultation than when scattered in different periodicals. It was argued, too, that they thus also would be more effective for the cause. which they upheld. This friendly suggestion has been yielded to, whether justifiably or not, the reader must decide for himself. There is so great a flood of books, good, bad and indifferent, ascribing their existence to the advice of well-meaning friends that we poor authors are evidently not in a position to judge for ourselves of the merit of our works or of the possible interest they may arouse. "I have to thank the editors of the AMERICAN CATHOLIC QUARTERLY REVIEW, of the Ave Maria, of the Ecclesiastical Review and the Dolphin for their kind permission to republish the articles which appeared originally in their pages. All of them, though substantially remaining the same, have been revised, modified in a number of particulars and added to very considerably in most cases."

COMPENDIUM OF THE SUMMA THEOLOGICA OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS-PARS PRIMA. By Berardus Bonjoannes, A. D. 1560. Translated into English. Revised by Father Wilfrid Lescher, O. P. With introduction and an appendix explanatory of scholastic terms by RR. Carlo Falcini, Vicar General of the Diocese of Fiesole, Italy. 8vo., pp. 310. Thomas Baker, London. Benziger Brothers, New York.

The highest commendation which can be given to St. Thomas' great work is that after hundreds of years, notwithstanding the doctrinal development of the centuries, it still remains the standard. The great Leo only called attention anew to its unquestioned merits when he revived its study in the ecclesiastical institutions of the world. It is quite becoming that it should appear in an English dress at this time, when so many similar books are being brought out in the vernacular. It will stand at the head of them all, as the original has stood at the head of its companions and competitors in the Latin. An idea of its excellence may be gathered from this quotation of the translator:

"It has become customary in our times to depreciate the philosophy of Aristotle, which had served during so many generations as an adequate vehicle of thought for philosophers and theologians of every school. This universal mind language of the civilized world was virtually discarded and lost among other things that fixed standard of expression without which mutual understanding is impossible -a loss to which may be at least partially attributed the amazing misrepresentations of Catholic doctrine which confront the reader in almost every non-Catholic work of the day (and in some also which ought to be Catholic), when they treat of religion, either directly or indirectly.

"Of the so-called Scholastic Philosophy a contemporary writer