Saint Bonaventure's De reductione artium ad theologiam A Commentary with an Introduction and Translation by Sister Emma Thérèse Healy, C.S.J. (review)

3o6Book Reviews than Burgundio's, the Cerbanus translation is only a fraction of the whole (III, 1—8). Everything about the edition stamps it as the product of an expert. Drawing on his own wide experience in the field, Father Eligius anticipates every imaginable demand of the Medievalist: the three standard divisions of the text are clearly marked to facilitate cross-reference; the critical apparatus at the bottom of each page is clear; abbreviations are not so abbreviated as to become problems for the cryptographer; and four indices aid the student to trace sources, biblical quotes, and names. The editor modestly says that he "only wanted to help editors of scholastic texts and other Medievalists" (p. V), but he has done more. Like the other volumes of this series, this one can well serve as a model for other editors of medieval texts to imitate with profit ------- both for themselves and for scholars alike ! Berard Marthaler, 0. F. M. Conv. Assumption Seminary, Chaska, Minnesota Saint Bonaventure's De reductione artium ad theologiam, A Commentary with an Introduction and Translation by Sister Emma Thérèse HEALY, C.S.J. (Works of Saint Bonaventure, Latin-English, vol. I), St. Bonaventure, N. Y., 1955, pp. 158. Under the title of Works of Saint Bonaventure, a new series of translations of St. Bonaventure's works have made their initial appearence. In volume I, the skillful translation of the De reductione artium ad theologiam is rendered by Sister Emma Thérèse Healy; the second volume, which will be discussed later, contains the Itinerarium mentis in Deum, With an Introduction, Translation and Commentary by the late Philotheus Boehner, O.F.M. (Saint Bonaventure, N. Y., 1956, 132 pp.). In volume I the Latin text of the De reductione, accompanying the English translation, is prefaced by an introduction and followed by a commentary . This volume is divided into four parts: Introduction, Text with Translation and Graph, Commentary on the Four Lights, and the "Lumen Exterius, Inferius et Interius" in the light of the "Lumen Superius." The Introduction in Part One elucidates the occasion and the inspiration of the work, assuming some of its possible sources. An explanation of the terms of the title follows in a concise and clear epitome. In Part Two, the Book Reviews307 translation evidences scholarly precision in declaring the Seraphic Doctor's doctrine. Part Three analyzes the "Lumen" according to the mind of St. Bonaventure. Part Four culminates the thesis, which intends to "prove that the arts or all secular studies must be grouped under theology." This is shown in the three chapters: the Relation of Philosophy to Theology, the Theory of the "reductio" and the "reductio" proper. The present reviewer enthusiastically received and perused this delightful volume. Nor was he disappointed·— either in the pleasant appearance of the cover or the careful and attentive presentation of Bonaventurian doctrine. May others derive similar pleasure in accepting this new volume of the Works of Saint Bonaventure. Edward M. Wilson Cannon College, Erie, Pa. Van Roo, Wm., S.J., Grace and Original Justice according to St. Thomas. Analecta Gregoriana, Vol. LXXV, (Rome, 1955), pp. 211. This doctoral dissertation proposes a compromise solution to the 40year -old controversy on St. Thomas' concept of original justice. Both parties to the debate allowed that original justice and sanctifying grace are really distinct,but they could not agree on what kind of a real distinction. Martin, Bittremieux, and Kors, who first raised the question, held that the Angelic Doctor distinguished the two gifts by a real, adequate distinction, such as is used to describe the relationship between an efficient cause and its effect. Others defended the more traditional interpretation, which posits a real but inadequate distinction, such as exists between a formal cause and the subject it informs. Although many think with Cyril Vollert, S. J., (whose work, The Doctrine of Hervaeus Natalis on Primitive Justice and Original Sin (Rome, 1947) offers the best historical introduction to the controversy) that the weight of the arguments favored the real, inadequate distinction, Father Van Roo does not feel that the debate resulted in a satisfactory solution. Basing his solution on "a wider study of the texts of St. Thomas...