The Christological Content of the Sermones of St. Anthony By Juniper M. Cummings, O. F. M. Conv. (review)

90FRANCISCAN STUDIES The rules followed for the redaction of the critical apparatus are the same as in the first two volumes. However, for the edition of the texts a new system was adopted. In the other volumes, the additions of E, for instance, were constantly printed under the main text. In this third volume, for each distinction , we first read the text of redaction A with the corresponding passages of redaction E; in second place, but in smaller letters comes redaction L; thirdly, in the same smaller print, the additions of redaction E; on one occasion a long marginal note of codex A, written by a later hand, is printed after the additions of codex E. To make a comparison of the redactions easier, a great number of cross-references have been added, frequently at the end of the paragraphs. This new system, one feels, was the best solution to the problem of the Editors. Still, one regrets that the system has been changed in the middle of the edition of the Gloss, and that it is not fully carried out in the present volume: a number of additions of codex E are still in footnotes. E. M. Buytaert, O. F. M. Cummings, Juniper M., O.F.M. Conv., The Christological Content of the Sermones of St. Anthony, (S. Antonio Dottore, 4), Padua, 1953; X—8*—143 pp. This study is based upon the sermons of St. Anthony, the only writings of the Evangelical Doctor which are generally believed to be authentic. St. Anthony constructed his sermons on the liturgy, i. e. he arranged them around the Gospel, Epistle, first (or second) nocturn lessons1 and the Introit of a Sunday or feast day. This method of writing sermons implies that one finds nowhere a systematic christology; Cummings had to pick the various ideas from different sermons, and order them under different headings. He did it very well, more thoroughly than D. Scaramuzzi in his celebrated La figura intellectuale di S. Antonio di Padova (Rome, 1934). The ideas of St. Anthony are grouped under the following headings: Christocentrism of St. Anthony , the hypostatic union, the terrestrial life of Christ, redemption, Christ and our spiritual Ufe; Christ as judge, Christ and our beatitude. The christological doctrine of St. Anthony appears to be very rich, and mostly quite traditional. Among his more personal ideas one may mention St. Anthony's attribution to Christ of creation in general, and Christ's central place in the creation, governing, an even beatitude of the Angels. However, Cummings does not believe that St. Anthony could be considered to be a fore-runner of the Scotistic doctrine on motive for the Incarnation. To a certain extent St. Anthony seems to come close to some newer tendencies of recent Theology, in that he expresses his doctrine in sermons and appeals constantly to the liturgy and Sacred Scripture; still, in particular, his scholastic tendency to systematize makes him fully a member of the Thirteenth Century community. 1 Cummings sometimes says "the first nocturn lessons" (p. 4 and 5), sometimes "the second nocturn lessons" (p. 136). Book Reviews91 With every respect for the study as such, one must confess that the system of referring to the sermons of St. Anthony and other literature as adopted by Fr. Cummings is far from ideal. The sermons are quoted under the abbreviations from A (1) till A (84), other literature has the abbreviations B (1) tillB (76).Butnobodycouldrememberbyheartthemeaningoftheseone hundred and sixty abbreviations; consequently, if a reader wants to know the meaning of a footnote, he always has to torn back to the bibliographical list, and even there he has to go sometimes from one abbreviations to another (e. g. from B 76 to B 4, from B 73 to B 52) before he finds what he wants. It is regretful that such a fine study has been made so difficult to read and to use, just for the benefit of shorter footnotes. E. M. Buytaert, O. F. M. Spargo, Sister Emma Jane Marie, The Category of the Aesthetic in the Philosophy of Saint Bonaventure, (Franciscan Institute Publications, Philosophy Series, 5), St. Bonaventure, N.Y., 1953; XI—162 pp. A seldom-noted aspect of the...