The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-10-31
Literary Lighfs and ShadOAvs
BY s. MAYS BALL

the Encyclopedia shall be- as it pro- fesses. work of international scholar ship, as well as a credit to tho century which Is producing it.
 While the generality of people are fairly conversant with the unfortunate results of the anti-clerical legislation in France, few are aware of the exact nature or know its precise purport. In the splendid article on the history of France in volume of the Catholic Encyclopedia the author con siders recent events at great length.
 How many of those who throng to listen to "Parsifal" or who read the 'Vision of Sir Launfar' or the Arthurian legions know what the Holy Grail was, or where or whence the stories that clus- ter about it had their origin? This sub ject Is very ably considered in the Cath ollie Encyclopedia.
 Among the many curious and interest ing customs which the Catholic Encyclo- pedia has brought to light in it's con- spectus of Catholicity is that of the Feast of Fools.
 The austeritles practiced by some Of the religious orders have excited the comments of various writers. and been the occasion of wonder to those who did not understand their motives. But what or an organized movement among both clergy and laity covering nearly the whole of the southern half of Europe whose chief characteristic was self-fag- citation? Such a movement is described m the Catholic Encyclopedias article on ''Flagellants"
 Among the many ways in which the pope may honor those who have signally distinguished themselves in the service Of the church is the comforting of the Golden Rose. What this Is and what it signifies is told in the article under that heading in e<Catholic Encyclopedia.
 The working of the primitive mind in matters of religion is a matter which is daily receiving more attention. In the recently Issued volume of the Catholic Encyclopedia a striking contribution to the subject Is to be found in the article "Fetishism"
 Chief among the arguments of those who maintain that the Catholic church has opposed itself to the progress of science has been the treatment Calico received at it's hands. The real merits Of the matter are brought out in the article on 'Galileo'' in the Catholic En- clopedia
 With the exception of the didactic liter ature, there is no book in the Bible which to greater or less extent does not contain mention of or allusion to the geography or topography of the Holy Land, and for this reason anything which tends to throw light on these mattesr is of great impor-
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia handles this sub- Jeot in a masterly manner
 speaking of Free Will" the Encyclope- dia has this to say: Among the early fathers of the church, St. Augustine stands pre-eminent in his handling of this subject He clearly teaches the freedom of the will against Manicheans. put insists against the Semipelagians .pn the necessity or grace, as a foundation pr merit. Will is rational appe- tite. Man necessarily desires beatitude, but he can freely choose between differ ent forms of it. Free will Is simply his elective power Definite good is not wis., ible to the intellect in this life. There are always some drawbacks and deficiencies In every good presented to us None of them exhausts our intellectual capacity Of conceiving the good. Consequently, in deliberate volitiony not one of them completely satiates or irresistibly entices the will. But God possesses an fnfallible knowledge of mans future actions. How Is this provision possible If mans future acts are not necessary? God does not exist in time. The future and tho past are alike ever present to the eternal mind. As man gazing down from a lofty mountain takes in at one momen- tary glance all the objects which can be comprehended only in lengthy series ot successive experiences by travellers alona
  the winding road beneath, is somewhat similar to the intuitive vision of God what is future to us and all 1t contains" Thomism and Molinist Theories-Tht Dominican or Thomist solution. as it is called. teaches in brief that God pre- moves each man in all his acts to the line of conduct which he subsequently adopts. It argues that as God possesses infinite power He can infallibly premove man-Who Is by nature a free cause-tc choose particular course freely, while He premoves the lower animals in har- mony with their natures to adopt partic- ular courses by necessity. The premotive decree is thus prior in order of thought to the Divine cognition of mans future actions. Theologians and philosophers of tho Jesuit school frequently styled Molinists, though they do not accept the whole of Molina's teaching and generally prefer Suarez's exposition of the theory. deem the above solution unsatisfactory.