The herald., 1893-02-12
ABOUT BOOKS AND BOOKM||AKERS,
A Very Important New Work
on Theology.
Lost Illusions of Balzac Issued Suita-
bly, in English.
fk6 Great French Novelist In tho Hand
Of . Capable Translator - Some
Recent PubIications-More
Book Chat.
1BY L. BEHYMER.1


very comprehensive volume entitled q
Guide to the knowledge of God; a story
of the chief Theodicies; by A. Gratry,
professor of moral theology at the Sor-
bonne. The translation is by Abby
Lsngdon Algeer. and the introduction
by William Rounsville Alger. 1t is one
of the few works that have secured the
distinction and reward of merit by being
crowned by the French academy. In it's
original language the work passed
through many editions, and attained the
rank of an authoritative classic. 1t is
characterized by such comprehensive
ness of scope, such force and beauty OF
style, such amplitude Of learning, such
ripeness and precision OF thought, such
depth of experience, and such catholici-
ty Of spirit that no one can fitly read it
without being instructed, stimulated and
edited. The author sweeps with the ease
of consummate master through the
wisdom Of 25 centuries, gathers up the
chief treasures deposited there by the
kings of insight, and presents them con-
structed into one harmonious whole.
The question with which he grapples as
Htrenuously as any one ever has done, is
whether the human mind ia able to at
tain to real knowledge of God. To
the examination of this sublime theme
he brings both an intense earnestness
and an unfailing sobriety; while adding
to these high qualities all that historic
erudition and training can yield from
without, or personal acumen and conse-
Grafton furnish from within. The result,
90 embodied in this work, is one with
which, in point of attractiveness and
solid value, no book on the same subject
within the entire compass of English
comparison. Gratry answers the ques-
tion, "Can man know God?" in the
most effective way possible by set
ting forth, in systematic outline,
and with approproriate detail, the
experimental and critical conclusions at
which q large number of the most il
lustrious thinkers of our race, from
Plato and Aristotle to FeneIon and
Leibnitz, have actually arrived at on the
subject. He lays bare the methods they
the difficulties they encoun-
tered, the arguments they constructed,
the aids they received, the results they
and their fundamental
agreement through all. It is true, as we
pass on from name to name, such illus
trious writers being included as Plato.
Aristotle, Descartes. Bossuet, Thomas
sin, Saint Anselm, Pascal and Leibnitz,
there seems to be good deal of repeti-
ton. But there is ever variety in the
sameness, progressive growth in the
exposition, q cumulative gain through
the repetitions, which fully reward the
reader, As he goes over, in theodicy
after theodicy, what appear to be qnite
identical statements, he will more and
more nnd doubts dissolved, objections
aAswered, obscurities illuminated, peace
assurance and satisfaction
breaking in. There are are very few,
even among professional students of
philosophy, who will not find them
selves abundantly repaid for patient
perusal of all the repetitions in these
freighted pages-Ho momentous are the
themes treated, and so mastery is the
treatment. One of the central traits of
this work ia the appeal the author makes
for the action of human nature in it's in
tegrity az regulated by the sovereign
unity of the rational principle. He
protests against the division of the soul
into collection of abstracting faculties
which operate separately and breed all
sorts of error, fiction and confusion. He
quotes approvingly the bold remark of
Fenelon, "Reason is even more want
ing on earth than religion" Hav-
ing also cited the great saying
OF Saint Thomas, SIN the moral
order, crimes against nature are worse
than sacrilege," he adds, $50 in the in
tellectual order that crime against ma
ture which attacks reason is worse than
the sacrilege which attacks faith; for to
ruin reason is to prostrate the religious
edifice by undermining the ground"
The vindication of the powers and rights
of reason are nobly illustrated in the
whole body of the work. Few works
can compare with this one by Professor
Gratry as an exhibition of the compass
of human reason and of what Saint
Thomas Aquinas calls "the much mis-
appreciated power Of reasoning" He
clearly shows the truth of the assertion
of Descartes and Leibnitz, repeated by
Cardinal Gerdil, that the existence of
God and his infinite perfections may be
as vigorously proved as the solution of
any mathematical problem. He shows
this with the most brilliant
originality, by proving that the
demonstration of the existence of God is
the supreme achievement of general
process of the reason, of which the in
fnitesimal methods of geometry are but
the special application. Great attention
should particularly be given to the pages
which contains the exposition of this as
sertion. 1t is no less fruitful and illum-
mating in its consequences than it ia
stsrtlingly original in itself. The character
and life Of the illustrious author of this
work were in full keeping with his at
tainments and fame. He was not mere
ly scholar and philosopher, but like.
wise philanthropist and saint, who
thoroughly lived the doctrines he taught.
In his spiritual will were found, after
his death, these touching words: 81
leave to every human being whom
/ have ever greeted or blessed,
or to whom I have ever
spoken any word OF esteem or affection,
the assurance that l love and bless him
twice and thrice as much as l said.
entreat all such to pray for me, that !
may attain to the kingdom of love
whittier will draw him, too, through
the infinite goodness of our Father p
This 10 wonderful work, mastery
written article of great value in its posi-
tive exposition, which unveils a mine
of matchless wealth, hidden for the
most part from the Protestant world by
ignorance and prejudice. The centra
part Of the divine wisdom of the Catho
lie church, the speculative insight cumu
1axlvniv davalonad in a hroadeninO or n