Brief Notices

BRIEF NOTICES A Chronological Harmony of the Gospels. By STEPHEN J. HARTDEGEN, 0. F. M., S. S. L., Paterson, N.J.: St. Anthony Guild Press, 194~. Pp. xxv +~~0, with two maps, a plan of the Temple, and an index. $~.50. Fr. Hartdegen's "Harmony" is the second book of its kind to feature the recently revised text of the Challoner-Rheims version of the New Testament . The author has stressed the chronological factors of the life of Christ, and has accordingly arr.anged the text to cover Christ's public life in a little more than two years. This position is shared by many of the most competent and recognized Catholic scholars, such as Lagrange, Hopfl, Grandmaison, and others, and is therefore anything but a rash challenge thrown into the teeth of tradition. On the contrary, it enables us to form a more accurate picture of the life of the Savior; and scientific scholarship, in doing this, has achieved a notable triumph. The text is arranged in the familiar sequence: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; but it is the fourth gospel which is the guide. Chapter six precedes chapter five; a change which many reptuable authors consider as most probable, for it unquestionably injects a satisfactory order into the text, and has a foundation in an ancient tradition. There does not, however, appear to be any necessity to identify the two feasts mentioned in 5, 1 and 6, 4 as one Pasch, nor to distinguish them so as to make two Paschs (which is an argument for the three-year ministry of Christ); the feast in 5, 1 may well be Perltecost. The manuscript tradition would seem to rule out the possibility of this feast being the Pasch. Another noteworthy problem in a chronological arrangement of Christ's life is that of the cleansing (s) of the Temple. Fr. Hartdegen holds for two of them, one at the beginning, and the other at the end of Christ's life. Here again, as in the problem mentioned above, the final solution is still to be found; in the meantime we find excellent authorities for either position. In this handy little volume, sections of the text are numbered consecutively . This is a very sensible arrangement which greatly facilitates reference work. Instead of grouping the debatable points into a single introductory section, introductory notes are strategically placed where questions concerning them would naturally occur to the reader. Thus, heading the chapter "Annunciations" is a discussion of the time of Christ's birth (c. 7 B. C.) and the genealogies. Two other like sections deal with the extent of the public ministry and with the date of Christ's death (SO A. D.). These remarks are well written, clear, and very much to the 128 BRIEF NOTICES 129 point. They are followed by a brief but reliable bibliography. Complementing these notes are others which appear throughout the book as footnotes , and they maintain the same high standard. The author deserves congratulations for a fine piece of work. Le maUre et l'eleve. (Les methodes scientifiques dans !'education: Troisieme Congres annuel, £4-£7 juin 194£) Ottawa: Les Editions de Levrier, 194£. Pp. 201. · Regards sur les sciences experimentales. (Les methodes scientifiques dans !'education) Ottawa: Les Editions du Levrier, 1942. Pp. 187. The first of these, a report of the third annual Congress on Les methodes scientifiques dans l'education measures up to and in some respects surpasses previous volumes in this series. It contains the following papers: "La genese du savoir," by Edmond Gaudron, 0. F. M.; "Les dispositifs cerebraux et la fonction de l'apprentissage," by Dr. Antonio Barbeau; "Les lois de I'acquisition du savoir," by NoelMailloux, O.P.; "Improvement in Learning and Its Permanence," by R. E. Brennan, 0. P.; "La transfert dans l'apprentissage," by Charles Bilodeau; "La mesure dans l'apprentissage," by L. T. Dayhaw; "L'ecole et la communication du savoir-Une visite a Winnetka," by Irenee Lussier; " The Role of Reason in the Formation of Character with Special Reference to Adolescent Minds," by Rudolf Allers. The second volume appears under the same auspices and is concerned with an analysis of the techniques of research and teaching in...