The Apocalypse of Saint John by R. J. Loenertz, O. P. (review)

BOOK REVIEWS The Apocalyp.~e of Saint John. By R. J. LoENERTZ, 0. P. (Translated by Hilary Carpenter, 0. P.) New York: Sheed and Ward, 1948. Pp. 156, with index. $2.50. The Apocalypse or Revelation of Saint John is a long letter, written to seven Christian communities or churches of the Roman province of Asia, in which the author sets down what he has seen, heard, and understood in the course of his prophetic ecstasies during his exile on the island of Patmos in the Egean Sea. The book, "The Apocalypse of Saint John," attempts to analyse this letter and the result is uniformly good. The book is made up of three parts, an introduction, a translation of the Greek text of the letter, and a commentary. The introduction is brief and is concerned with the scheme or plan of ·the literary structure of the letter. Pere Loenertz has made use of the French translation by Bossuet but the English translation of the work reproduces the Douai version with certain modifications. These modifications, as noted by the Translator, are four in number: (1) the numbering of chapters and verses are relegated to the margin, (2) divisions in the text have been introduced to serve as a basis for the commentary, (3) certain words are enclosed in brackets because they do not pertain to the original text, (4) occasionally, in view of some particular need, in a note, an alternative translation is given which is more in con}ormity with the critical Greek text. The commentary, however, follows the Greek text, and is brief but lucid. It is meant to appeal to the ordinary reader as well as the expert and is based on the classical commentary of the late Pere Allo, 0. P. Without introducing the wealth of detail which increases the bulk of the more technical works of this kind, he has produced a valuable introduction to a little known but very important book of the New Testament, the Apocalypse or Revelation of Saint John. The work of Pere Loenertz comes to English readers through a clear and pleasing translation made by the English Dominican Provincial. Of all the books of the New Testament, the Apocalypse, perhaps, is the least read; not, however, because it is the least interesting for it is not. Indeed there are some passages familiar to everybody, familiar even to those who have never heard of the Apocalypse. For instance, the scene of Apocalypse 6: 1-8, describing the four horsemen, is one of the most popular in the book. And the reason is because that vision is readily grasped by the imagination and even easily transferred to canvas. It has in fact, inspired many illustrious artists and among them, DUrer. And there are a few other sections which are among the most widely known parts of the Bible. But the book, as a whole, is neglected because of its extreme difficulty. In 370 BOOK REVIEWS 871 many of the visions we cannot visualize all the details that John describes; they are intellectually but not pictorially comprehensible. Many details appear fantastic and even grotesque, and it would seem that the ecstatic experience of the Seer enjoyed the same liberty which the human imagination possesses in dreams. As soon as people begin to read the book as a whole, they are perplexed by obscurities which confront them in almost every verse. They may get as far as the end of the third chapter without much travail but as soon as they attempt to penetrate further, the symbols of the visions sometimes become so strange as to seem meaningless. And this failure to penetrate the visions of the Apocalypse is not entirely due to some ineptitude on the part of readers in modern times. Even in the early days of the Church the book was considered obscure. Although few of the Fathers have written formal commentaries on the Apocalypse, they quote it frequently and from the references and commentaries which have come down to us, they all agree, it appears, that the book is filled with mystery; indeed, it itself is the sealed book of chapter five. For instance St. Jerome (Ep. 58) says: " How many...