Cajetan et Luther en 1518: Édition, traduction et commentaire des opuscules d'Augsbourg de Cajetan ed. by Charles Morerod, O.P. (review)

BOOK REVIEWS697 to debates on the bureaucratic state, on the relationship between center and periphery, and on early modern ItaUan eUtes. Tommaso Astarita Georgetown University Cafetan et Luther en 1518:Édition, traduction et commentaire des opuscules d'Augsbourg de Cajetan. Edited by Charles Morerod, O.P. 2 vols. [Cahiers Oecuméniques, 26.] (Fribourg: Éditions Universitaires. 1994. Pp. iv, 423, xvü; iv, 425-676. Fr. s. 95. paperback.) The meeting at Augsburg between Luther and Tommaso deVio has long been recognized as one of the decisive moments of Reformation history. The Dominican theologian, better known as Cajetan, was arguably the most profound Thomist ofhis generation. Luther, not yet under ecclesiastical censure,could explain and defend his theological views without the polemical rhetoric that would characterize his later work. Luther had a sufficienüy mature theological program for Cajetan later to declare that the Wittenberg Augustinian was creating an entirely new church. This is an important observation from a member of the Thomist tradition. The question of the relation of Luther to Thomistic theology was forcefully posed by Otto-Hermann Pesch in 1967, and recent studies have continued to explore subtleties and difficulties. Cajetan himseU in the meanwhUe has been the subject of investigations by Jared Wicks and Barbara HaUensleben, among others, and as a result has acquired a more prominent place in the canon ofcontroversial theologians. Although several dogmatic treatises have been published in the Leonine edition ofThomas, only a few of Cajetan 's anti-Reformation writings are avaUable in modern editions. The present edition of the Augsburg Opuscula is the first edition of any of Cajetan's controversial works to appear since 1925. The heart of Father Morerod's work is a careful transcription of the first edition of 1523 with significant variants from the other seven editions that appeared in the sixteenth century. Abbreviations have been expanded, though spelling and capitaUzation have not been altered. The result is a readable text which retains the flavor of the original edition. The commentary, conveniently placed beneath the text, provides bibUcal citations and references to texts cited by Cajetan. Particularly helpful are the quotations from Luther's Resolutiones, which help the reader understand precisely the points and terms in question. The limitations of space posed by the position of the commentary preclude lengthy explanatory notes, but nothing essential has been ignored. A clear translation runs paraUel to the text and is a valuable aid to understanding Cajetan's often intricate Latin. Text, translation, and commentary are supplemented by two extraordinarily learned studies, one an historical introduction and the other an analysis of the 698book reviews theological dispute and Cajetan's role in it. In the course of tracing the paths that led to the encounter and the detaUs of the meeting itsetf, Morerod reveals the extent to which political as weU as ecclesiastical concerns stood behind the Dominican's legation to the Diet. Just as carefuUy, Morerod provides a sensitive analysis of Luther's own progress to Augsburg, which presents in detaU the main points of the Resolutions on Indulgences, the Sermon on Penance, and the Sermon on Excommunication. Although Morerod makes Uttle use of recent Luther scholarship in the historical introduction, he knows Luther's own texts thoroughly. Morerod's knowledge of Luther and of modern Luther scholarship is fully in evidence in the theological analysis that makes up the bulk of the second volume . With admirable clarity Morerod organizes his exposition around the three central points of the debate: indulgences and purgatory, the efficacy of the sacrament of penance, and excommunication. WhUe impressively knowledgeable about the history of these doctrines, Morerod does not sacrifice clarity in order to display his erudition. He provides, instead, reUable guidance through the problems which precipitated the Reformation. Two distracting features caU for attention. Both the historical and theological introductions are broken up by numbered topical headings, which delay and bewUder the reader more than they help. Not even the most organized reader can make sense of a section number like "V2.4.4.2.3.1," and many of these segments could have benefited from further exploration. In the translation as well, Morerod seems overly eager to display the precision of his working habits...