In Memoriam by Santiago Ramírez, O. P. (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 575 Middle Ages; but there are two lOth century manuscripts which contain portions of the Institutio. There is a great number of typographical errors in the text, especially in spellings, such as Bodlein, and in citing French works. None of these, however, obscures the sense. Many times this reader would have been tempted to emend the Latin text, especially in the quotations from Horace. Surely Geoffrey would not have been so ignorant of Horatian metre! Or again, for example, (p. 73) "He is desirous of money, sparing of yours, extravagant of some one elses." The Latin text reads parcus tuae, when surely the sense requires sparing of his own. The translation, despite the foregoing criticisms, will be of service to those who cannot read Latin, and does, indeed, contain Geoffrey's essential doctrine. Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies Toronto, Canada J. REGINALD O'DoNNELL Santiago Ramirez, 0. P. 1891-1967. In Memoriam. Salamanca: Convento de San Esteban, 1968. Pp. 95. Near one of the corners of the Claustra de los Reyes, in the monastery of San Esteban in Salamanca, the door leading to a small backyard bears a rather shocking inscription: "Cemetery of the Theologians." As the visitor inquires for the reason of such a name he is told that a good number of great Spanish Dominican theologians are buried there. Some of them are well-known throughout the world, e. g., Francisco de Vitoria, Domingo de Soto. Ever since December 19, 1967 the name of another famous theologian, Santiago Ramirez, comes to the mind whenever the visitor or the passer-by notices the inscription on the lintel of the door. For on that date Fr. Ramirez was buried in the place reserved for the great theologians. Fr. Ramirez's name is not unknown to readers of The Thomist. Two of his articles were published in this quarterly, The Authority of St. Thomas Aquinas (15 [195~] pp. 1-109) and The Impact of Theology (17 [1954] pp. 558-569). However, in spite of the fact that he was a well-known theologian and a highly praised one, especially by his disciples, an appraisal of his work is a rather difficult task. He was a Scholastic theologian who wrote most of his works in Latin, who clung tenaciously during his whole life to the solutions of traditional theology and who made no concessions whatsoever to what we would call " modern " approaches in theology and philosophy. According to the common standards of today he was not among the leading writers who determine the mood of the average reader, 576 BOOK BEVIEWS and he did not write best-sellers, even though some of his books were widely controverted and went out of circulation soon after their publication. Although he traveled through several countries and taught in different places, he was not a lecturer of world-wide fame. And though his teaching was impressive in many ways, his statements were not of the sort that thrill audiences and deliberately shake the foundations of the traditional stands. He was a calm, hard-working and demanding teacher and scholar. He was also somewhat shy, silent, absent-minded and rather difficult to talk to. Nonetheless, he found himself involved in some highly publicized controversies, especially that which concerned the philosophy of his compatriot , Ortega y Gasset, arguments which, to be sure, he did not look for. I remember the familiar figure of Fr. Ramirez working day and night in his poor room of San Esteban. Although already retired and very sick, it was marvellous the way he used to work. He looked so completely devoted to his work that nothing else could distract him. One could imagine how he hated the noisy controversies in which he was involved. He never liked any kind of publicity and always claimed for his work the freedom of a timeless silence. Yet, he was always ready to do his best for those who sought his help. In the summer of 1966 I happened to be working on the philosophy of Ortega y Gasset for one of the courses I was taking at the University of Madrid. Whenever I asked for his help, I witnessed the promptitude and generosity with...