Brief Notices

BRIEF NOTICES Satan. Edited by Pere BRuNo DE JEsus-MARIE, 0. C. D. New York: Sheed and Ward, 195~. Pp. 531. $5.5.0. This volume is a collection of essays on Satan, and is a translation of a volume of the same title appearing in the series " Etudes Carmelitaines " (Paris: Desclee de Brouwer, 1948) to which several other articles have been added. As it is impossible to give an account of each article, we shall discuss only those which seem to require special mention. The volume is divided into four parts: the first deals with Satan himself and his operations , the second with pagan notions on the devil, the third with possession, the " psychological devil," and the fourth with the devil in art and literature. The first article is a fine presentation of the Thomistic doctrine on Satan, ably written by the late Fr. Walter Farrell, 0. P., and deals with the nature of Satan himself, explaining what is meant by his being a fallen angel, and discussing his powers as a spiritual being, the highest of the creatures. There is also a clear exposition of St. .Thomas' teaching on the nature of the sin of Satan. This is certainly one of the most valuable articles in the entire volume. When the impossibility of sins of carnal lust in the angels is mentioned as a part of the Thomistic teaching (pp. 1~-IS), it would have been interesting to have found an explanation of several puzzling passages of St. Thomas. Difficulties in this regard arose from the interpretation of Genesis 6 :~ as referring to the angels (also, among some Fathers, Jude 6-7 were so interpreted) having sexual relations with women. At one point St. Thomas seems to admit this interpretation (II Sent. d. 8, q. 4, qcla. I, a. ~. and sol. ~. ed. Mandonnet, II, pp. ~~~-~IS) , though he later appears to reject it (Summa Theol. I, q. 51, a. S, ad 6). Yet, in both texts, the Angelic Doctor speaks of the angels taking on' assumed bodies '-and this presents difficulties as to the nature of the bodies assumed and as to the mode of assumption. The explanation of the possibility of the devil's sexual relations is a rather puzzling one. Furthermore, it might have been well in this section of the book to have made some. mention of the history of the doctrine of the absolute spiritu. ality of the angels, especially in view of the sharp criticism of St. Thomas offered by P. de Lubac (Surnaturel, Paris: Aubier, 1946, pp. ~14-~19 especially). It would seem that a great many Fathers held only a relative spirituality (or relative corporeity) in regard to the angels. That this may have been the opinion (personal or private, not official) of the 661 662 BRIEF NOTICES majority of the Fathers at the Second Council of Nicea. {787) may be evidenced by the letter of John of Thessalonica, advocating the liceity of paintings of the Angels {Mansi, t. XIII, 166). In any case, this matter is not discussed in this volume. The next article by Fr. Bernard Leeming, S. J., is well-done and informative , in a discussion of the role of Satan, the adversary of God and man, the tempter to sin. The most detailed study of Satan's power, however , is to be found in the next contribution, by P. J. de Tonquedec, S. J. On page 43 (and note 8) the author seems a bit strong on the extent of the devil's activity, but restricts 'himself on the following page to the conclusion of St. Thomas. Satan's role in influencing collective decisions is mentioned, but unfortunately not determined more exactly than to point out gen~ral principles. The author believes that no one, without exceptional privilege, escapes the temptations of the devil himself (p. 48) , but he gives no definite theological substantiation for this statement, which must then be taken as a personal opinion. On the whole, he maintains a well-balanced position between the extremes of seeing Satan himself everywhere and of scepticism as to his activity. Part III is devoted to the question of possession and exorcism. By far the finest article in...