A Filosofia do Communismo by Agnelo Rossi (review)

330BOOK REVIEWS policy. Although one can respect and appreciate the desire of the editors to adhere to the principles of St. Jerome in transliterating proper names, it is difficult to agree with the perpetuation, in many instances, of the deficiencies of Latin phonetics, or the use of a consonant whose pronunciation is different in modem English from the Latin pronunciation of St. Jerome. In these instances principles are not in question. Had he had the means at his command, St. Jerome would certainly have transliterated more accurately. The reviewer has in mind particularly the transliteration of the Hebrew shin, qof and kaf. These sounds can be represented in English by a consonant more closely approximating the pronunciation of the original. In particular, the rendition of qof by 'C* and kaf by "Ch" lead to an entirely erroneous pronunciation in many cases. The English "C* often has the pronunciation of "S". Thus in Gen. 15:19 (to select at random) we read "Cinites"; the ordinary English pronunciation of which would be "Sinites". "Ch" is most frequently pronounced as in "chair", not as in "echo*, which the transliteration often presupposes. This sort of transliteration could lead to the almost absurd rendering of the name of Saul's father as "Cis", the English pronunciation of which is "Sis". St. Jerome at least approximated the correct pronunciation, since for him the "C" was pronounced "K*. We can correctly render.it "Kish*. Why not do so? Hence the reviewer would respectfully suggest to the editorial board that in editing the other books of the Old Testament they attempt a more correct transliteration of proper names where this does not conflict with the principles of St. Jerome. The footnotes, while brief and to the point, have been excellently done. They convey the maximum of necessary information in a minimum of space. And the critical notes which have been wisely relegated to the rear of the volume, are a model of conciseness and scholarship. GERON FOURNELLE, O.F.M. Su Joseph Seminary, Teutopolis, Illinois. A Filosofía do Communismo. By Agnelo Rossi. Rio de Janeiro; Editora Vozes, 1947. Pp. 127. A brief summary of the history and doctrine of communism, in its BOOK REVIEWS331 original Marxian form and its later developments, with a critical analysis of Dialectical and Historical Materialism, of the economic conceptions and the attitude in regard to religion. Three appendixes deal with: Philosophy and Communism, Religion in Soviet Russia, Communism in Brazil. Obviously written for the general reader, this slender volume summarizes ably the problems and states impressively the objections against communism. The sbort bibliography lists only publications in Portuguese. RUDOLF ALLERS Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. The National Catholic Almanac. Compiled by the Franciscan Clerics of Holy Name College, Washington, D.C. Paterson, N.J.: St. Anthony Guild Press, 1949. Pp. 832. $1.50. The National Catholic Almanac compiled by the Franciscan clerics of Holy Name College, Washington, D.C. has become a fixture among Catholic publications in the United States. Any book that is published yearly for forty-three years must have undoubted merits. If you have ever consulted the Almanac you will know that the sentence on the cover "A Complete Catholic Library in One Volume" is not hyperbole. For both Catholic and non-Catholic citizens there is a wealth of information on topics of current and enduring interest, e.g., Church doctrine, practice, history and organization; religious orders; missions; recent developments in the field of religion; government matters and statistics; scientific information; sports records; general statistics; information on books and periodicals, etc. There is an especially wellwritten and concise digest of the events—secular and religious—of the past year. Perhaps among the most distinctive features of the Almanac are the short historical sketches on subjects such as "The Church- In Latin America". This reviewer happens to know, through personal contact with former editors of the Almanac how much painstaking work goes into these historical articles in an effort to keep them concisely correct. There is a section called "Catholic Ready Reference," however, which ...