The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13

NOIh ol TEltIEutG Ou llle tOnSllluAADAlI
 doctrine, discipline and history of the
 Catholic Church. Edited by Charles B.
 Herberman. Ph. D., IL. D. Edward A
 Pace, Ph. D., D. D., Condo B. Fallen,
 Ph. D., IL. D., assisted by
 numerous collaberators. In 15 volumes,
 of which this is number 5. Robert Ap-
 pleton & Co.,, New York. N. Y.
 Volume five of the Catholic Eneyclope- dia has just appeared and carries the work as far forward as Fathers of Mer- cy."
 The other four volumes of this ency- clopedia which have appeared from the press of Robert Appleton & Co.,, have each been reviewed by this department The work of completing the 15 (the en- tire work is expected to require quite @ bit of time as yet.
 There is little to be said about any par ticular volume which does not apply with equal force to the others. Uniformity of excellence has been from the beginning the watchword of those responsible for the encyclopedia and there is no devia- ton in the fifth volume from the high standard set at the start. But with the five massive books which represent the first third of the encyclopedia before him the man is interested in the world of thought whether Catholic or Catholic, can hardly fail to realize the immense val ue of this latest addition to the ranks of reference works and to recognize the part it Is playing and is destined to play in the furtherance of scholarship and cul- ture.
 There has long been more than a press ing need of some standard and thorough work on the Catholic Chuch in all of it's ramifications, of a work accessible to Catholic and non-Catholic alike which would trace the rise and growth of the church, expound its doctrines and dog mas, giving the meaning of its ceremo- nies and its usages, explain it's philoso phy, detail its biography and, In general, show the influence of Catholicity on the progress of the world past and present.
 The first five volumes of the Catholic Encyclopedia are convincing evidence that such a work has, at last, been produced in English and those who have felt an absence of an accredited and creditable presentation of the Catholic viewpoint and who have heretofore been obliged to put up with with works either too pro- found or too irresponsible for their pur- poses, cannot but hail it's advent with un- qualified approval, because it supplies the golden mean where the scholar and the man of affairs may meet on common grounds
 Not the least valuable feature of the Catholic Encyclopedia is the ease with which a difficult subject may be found and read. Everything is in its alphabet ical place and it Is simply the question of turning the pages to arrive at what one is seeking. And when found-the infor- nation is a model of what an encyclope die article should be, namely: Brief, con- else, interesting and particularly to the point.
 Everything about the Catholic Encyclo- pedia is in proportion and well balanced. It is religious without being sentimental; scholarly without being at all pedantic; thorough without being verbose and quite Catholic without being prejudiced.
 The success which it has achieved is threfore, not only triumph for Catholic scholarship but a triumph for liberality and fairness of treatment.
 Ever. department of knowledge of which the Encyclopedia treats is repre- sented in volume five, which opens with an article on Diocese" by A. Van Hove. D. c. L. Of philosophical contributions, Doubt" by A. B. Sharpe, M. --.; by namism," by c. A. Dubray, s. T. B., Ph. D.; and ''Conservation of Energy" by Michael Maher, s. J., Litt.., b., M. A., are especially noteworthy.
 Articles on Eucharist" by J. Phole, D. D., Ph. D.; Extreme Unction" and ''Es- chatology," by Aug Lehm Kuhl, would no doubt be selected as the most imposing articles in the realm of theology.
 Geographically speaking, Dolci' by Leigh Hunt; "Donatelli" by M. M. Hand ley; "Durer," by G. Geitman, s. J., and "Dossi' and Wan Dyck' are the great Catholic artists who find a place in vol ume five of the encyclopedia, while "Duns Scotus, by Parthenius Hinges, o. F. M, s. T. D.. Ph. D., and Dryden" by Ar thur H. Quinn, are perhaps the most noted names in the field of literature and philosophy.
 vivid and interesting article on Egypt is one of the most important geographic al contributions to volume five. It begins with a general description of the land of the Pharaohs, discusses ancient Egypt ian history, religion and literature and concludes with a consideration of the Coptic Church and civilization. There is a very interesting dissertation on the an- nual overflow of the River Nile. One of the most important questions for every educated Christian of today is, What is to be Thought of the Theory of | Evolution?" Is 1t to be rejected as un- i founded and inimical to Christianity or is it to be accepted as an established theory i compatible with Christian conception of i the universe? The Encyclopedia goes 1 thoroughly into that subject, using many 1 pages in so doing.
 Besides a scholarly dissertation on Ed ucation'' in general, this fifth volume con- tans an instructive article on the educa- ton of the blind which describes the man. ner in which knowledge Is imparted to those who cannot see. The various sys- tems of embossed types and the signs al- | phabets are described and explained and 1 the development of facilities for inform- ing the blind is considered at length. | At time when the entire civilized world Is disturbed (to a more or less ex- tenO at the astonishing proportions which | the divorce problem has assumed, the ar ticle in the Catholic Encyclopedia Is par ticularly timely.
 ] One part of the article devoted to the 1 theological aspect of divorce takes up the | question of the original indissolubility of the marriage bond and proceeds to ex- plain the attitude of the Catholic church | toward divorce. The second division of the article considers the history of di- vorce legislation from the earliest times and supplies statistics on the subject which bring home the present magnitude of the question.
 l In many ways the Catholic Encyclope- dia is essentially practical, supplying in | formation which Is useful and often nec- essary for the Catholic in the ordinary ] affairs of everyday life. Articles on the ethics of business, on the morality of l tKo