Book Notices

BOOK NOTICES Soul of Russia. By HELEN IswoLSKY. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1948. Pp. xiii + 200, with index. $2.75. Religion in Soviet Russia. By N. S. 1IMASHEFF. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1942. Pp. xiii + 171, with index. $2.00. To anyone who has wondered about the legitimacy of a distinction made by Pope Pius XI betw~en the Russian people and their ·atheisitic leaders, this book will bring assurance. Well and interestingly written, it surveys the spiritual history of Russia from its foundation in the 9th century to the present day. The political framework of each succeeding age is sketchily presented; the religious and spiritual forces at work in Russian life are treated more detailedly. The spirit of Russia's great saints and writers is presented with clarity and simplicity; the strangeness of Russia becomes understandable-her constant urge to abandon the middle way and wander on the brink of the precipice. Her saints have all espoused poverty of spirit in as dramatic a way as our own St. Francis; they have always loved the common people. Religion, when it :flamed forth, was evangelical, social, reforming. There is hope in this book, great hope. Russia's writers of the last hundred years forsaw the catastrophe of the Bolshevist Revolution, saw it as the crucifying prelude to 3: glorious Resurrection. Miss Iswolsky's book gives the necessary background to Mr. Timasheff's. He is concerned only with the struggle between the atheistic leaders to destroy religion and the people to preserve and pratcise it. He traces the various tactics used by the anti-religionists; this story is essential for anyone who wishes to follow intelligently the course of events in Russia. An Introduction to Modern Philosophy. By ALBUREY CASTELL. New York: Macmillan, 1943. Pp. x + 562, with index. $3.50. To introduce the student to Modern Philosophy the author has chosen six problems from the field of philosophy: theological, metaphysical, epistemological , ethical, political, historical. Each problem is presented by various modern philosophers, as much as possible in their own words. Thus the opinions of St. Thomas, Pascal, Hume; J. S. Mill, and James are presented under the theological problem. The author counsels the student not to be perturbed by the great divergencies of opinion that result from this method. Contact with these great philosophical minds is sufficient reward for mental confusion. The book is valuable insofar as it brings 132 BOOK NOTICES 133 together pertinent quotations from modern philosophers on central philosophical problems. The presentation of St. Thomas' arguments for the existence of God is quite inadequate and misleading. Humanism and Theology. By WERNER JAEGER. (The Aquinas Lecture, 1948). Milwaukee: The Marquette University Press, 19M3. Pp. 87. $1.50. Although Werner Jaeger is not a philosopher but a classical scholar he has delivered one of the finest in the series of Aquinas Lectures sponsored by the Aristotelian Society of Marquette University. Unfortunately, the amount of time allowed in such a lecture prevented him from solving all the issues he raised. He stands for the thesis that all humanism stems from classical humanism.. Aristotle is a continuator of the classical tradition (this is not too clearly established), and Thomas is linked to the tradition through Aristotle and also Plato. The fact that Thomas was a professed theologian did not prevent him from being a humanist in the best sense of the word. In fact, as Jaeger points out, he had much greater respect for the works of the ancients that he possessed than the scholars of the Renaissance. The large question left unanswered is this: did not classical humanism preserve its identity much more perfectly in the mind of St. Thomas, because he was first of all a theologian, than in the minds of the Renaissance scholars, who used it as a substitute for Christian theology? The Philosophy of Santayana. Edited, with an Introductory Essay, by IRwiN EnMAN. New York: The Modern Library, 1942. Pp. lvi + 596. This valuable and handy edition of the works of the American philosopher Santayana contains, besides a helpful introduction by Edman, " A Brief History of My Opinions," a number of poems and shorter writings as well as generous portions of his major works, " The Sense of Beauty...