The Love of God and the Cross of Jesus by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O. P., The Three Ages of the Interior Life by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O. P. (review)

280 BOOK REVIEWS Q6£-264. This summary, moreover, allows us to understand why Kant has been accused, not without reason, of being fundamentally an empiricist in his ethics, though that is obviously not the view of Prof. Paton. There are many other points of doctrine in this book on which the Thomist differs from both Kant and Prof. Paton which cannot be touched on here; but there can be little difference of opinion on the value of this book as a presentation, explanation, and defense of Kant's basic moral position. Prof. Paton is always clear, learned, and thought-provoking, and brings to Kantian studies a freshness and a common sense that are very much absent in so many commentators. His commentary will be of great service to all, be they Kantians or not, who are concerned with establishing and defending the foundations of morality and who regard this task as one of the most pressing duties of our day. Collegio Angelicum, Rome, Ituly. A. McNicHoLL, 0. P. The Love of God and the Cross of Jesus. By REGINALD GARRIGOULAGRANGE , 0. P. Translated by Sister Jeanne Marie, 0. P. Vol. I. St. Louis: Herder, 1947. Pp. 399. $4.00. The Three Ages of the Interior Life. By REGINALD GARRIGOU-LAGRANGE, 0. P. Translated by Sister M. Timothea Doyle, 0. P. Vol. H. St. Louis: Herder, 1948. Pp. 657, with index. $7.50. In the early pages of The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena it becomes immediately evident that God wanted this energetic mystic to learn two basic lessons. Those lessons were summed up in a pair of definitions inexhaustibly profound-" I am He Who is; thou art she who is not." Father Garrigou-Lagrange has a predilection for these pages of the Dialogue. He refers to them in both the volumes being reviewed. And understandably so. For this great Thomist's theological writings are constantly reaffirming the utter gratuity of God's grace, the far-reaching efficacy of divine causality, the sheer supernaturality of the life of faith, and the inevitable necessity of passive purgations before the Christian soul can have that humble self-knowledge which is a prerequisite for the savory contemplation of God. Intent upon disclosing the full significance of the traditional formula," grace is the seed of glory," the learned Dominican sees the Christian life as a prelude to the beatific vision and, while the goal of the interior life is the perfection of charity, the goal can never be gained without an ever more searching knowledge of God and an ever more revealing knowledge of self. This twofold knowledge comes to the Christian soul through the revelation of faith and the contemplation of the BOOK REVIEWS ~81 mysteries of God, as Our Lord Himself indicated when He said to His .Father on the night before He died, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3). The first volume of The Love of God and the Cross of Jesus aims at giving us a deeper insight into the nature of God's love for us and the role of the cross in our return of love. Inasmuch ·as God's love for us was most perfectly manifested in the redemptive death of His Incarnate Son and is increasingly communicated to us through the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity in the souls of the just, Father Garrigou-Lagrange offers provocative chapters on the mystery of the cross and on the divine indwelling. Then mindful of his initial contention that " it is only by the royal road of the cross that the Christian soul truly enters into supernatural contemplation of the mysteries of faith and lives lovingly and deeply by them," he investigates the need for active purification, or mortification , and lays the groundwork for a better grasp of the traditional thesis that only passive trials can complete the purging of egoism which remains in the wounded nature of man even after Baptism. If humility is the foundation of the Christian's spiritual edifice, as St. Augustine has so forcefully reminded us, it could hardly have a better safeguard than the mysterious...