The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-24

To be completed in To volumes, loui NOi-
 umes so far issued. An international
 work of reference on the constitution
 doctrine, discipline and history of the
 Catholic church. Edited by Charles c..
 Herbermann Ph. D., LL D., chief; Ed ward A. Pace, Ph. D., D. D., Conoe b.
 Fallen, Ph. D., LL. D., Thomas J. sha-
 han, D. D., John J. Wynne, 5. J.' as
 sisted by numerous collaborators' Noi-
 ume f. "A full-page illustrations, three
 full-page colored plates and six tull-
 page eolored maps 799 pages Published
 by Robert Appleton & Co.,, 59 west
 Thirty-eighth street, New York;
 This is the fourth volume of that great work undertaken by the Catholic church Readers of this department will recall the reviews heretofore made on the first, sec ond and third volume, issued during lSy' and 1908 There are to be 15 volumes In the complete set of the encyclopedia. Ihe fourth volume discusses subjects included in the alphabetical scope of "Clanu 10 Diocesan"
 There have not been many undertak- ings that will equal the great labor ln- ,y,lved In the preparation of this Catho- lie E;ncyclopedia- The five editors were assisted in preparing the fourth volume here discussed by over 300 outside con- tributoIs. In every case the best author- ity on every subject taken up was em- ployed, TO matter what denomination ne belonged volumes so far issued show a free rom bias discussion of all subjects
 A volume of 799 pages is not easy 10 discuss within the necessarily prescrlpeu limits Of a newspaper review. There are so many notable subjects in this fourth volume, many of which would interest any reader. For instance, most readers would care to know much of Clement l, the 1lrst of the successors of St. Peter the nrst of the Apostolic Fathers" cloisters, hls- tory and rule of male and female clolsters' coliseum at Rome, Christopher Columpus' The history and meaning or ConcoIuals' particularly that one of 1SOl; the ehurch in the Congo, Constantine the Great to whom Christianity in general ana the Catholic church in particular, owes much; Copernicus, H. Cortes The history ana discussion of creation, viewed from the standpoint of higher criticism, scleh- tifically and by the Catholic and Protes- tant churches. What the Cathonc churcn thinks of cremation in contradistlnctlon to burial; discussion of higher criticism, and what it means in the Carollc church. The history of crosses, the crusades ana of Cuba. The origin and early mention of dancing An able discussion or Dante and his immortal poem; King DaVlu' Deism the Diety, the deluge, the deVll' demonology and so on. .,.,oz
 There are a great many notable arucles
 
 Encyclopedia, all written py the pes' "u thorities obtainable.
 The article on the Coliseum written py Maurice M. Hassett is very 1nterestins to the lay reader; that Is one or the charms of this encyclopedia, so lar as the four volumes now issued are con cerned the fact that it appeals to the rnan-of-the-s as well as the church- man. ., ,u,or
 The Coliseum, known as the Flavlan Amnhitheatre commenced in A. D. Iz py Vespasan, the first of the Flavian em- nerors. was dedicated by Titus A. D. SO. The great structure rises four stories, each story exhibiting different oroer or architecture; the first Doric, the second Ionic, the third Corinthian, the fourth composite The material is the famous trayertine. The site was originally marshy hollow bounded by the Caelian, the Oppian, the Velan and the Palatfne Hills which Nero had transformed into a f1sh-pond of his Golden House. Its form is that of an ellipse, .79o feet in cir conference, It's length 620, its width 52o and it's height 157 feet The arena in which took place the gladiatorial combats Qudi gladiatoriD and fights with the wild beasts for which the Coliseum was erect ed was of wood covered with sand. Sur rounding the arena was a low wall, sur mounted by railing high enough to pro- tect the audience from danger of invasion by the furious, non-human contestants. As an additional security against this peril, guards patrolled the passageway between this wall and the podium or mar ble terrace on which were the seats of the senators, the members of the sacred colleges and other privileged spectators. From the southern side of the podium projected the suggestum or imperial gal lery for the accommodation of the em- peror and his attendants. Next to these sat the Vestals. Back of the podium 20 tiers of seats were reserved for the three divisions of the equestrian order; the up- per tiers of seats were occupied by the ordinary citizens. Last of all was a Co., rinthian colonnade in which the lower orders were accommodated with standing room only. The Coliseum according to the "Chronographia'' of 354 could contain S7000 spectators. Professor Huelsen Quoted by LanciannD, however, has cal culated that 1t will not seat more than 45,00O people. From the external cor nice projected a circle of pine masts from which awnings could be readily sus- pended over parts of the audience for the moment exposed to the suns rays; the imperial gallery was covered with a special canopy. The arena was never shaded. Nothing Is known as to the arch itect of the Coliseum, although an in- scription afterwards shown to be a for gerry attributed its design to a Christian. O discussion follows: The Coliseum in the middle ages: The Coliseum and the Martyrs; MT. Hassett from a study of the authorities on the subject being of the opinion that there Is very little his- torical ground for associating Christian martyrdom much with the Coliseum, as has been done.
 A full discussion of Concordats what they are and mean, how they originated and why. is given in this 4th volume. The discussion of the Concordat of 1901. the French, made with Napoleon will be found very interesting by all readers, connected as it is with the present so- called strife between the Catholic church at Rome and the present French repub- lie. MT. Georges Goyau traces the his- tory of this Concordat; of the first ad- vances made to Rome by Napoleon on the very day after the latters victory of Marengo. Then follow the three phases of the negotiations by which Nanolaon wished to make Plus VII a present of 30,0O0000 French Catholics by a restora- tion of the church In France. The stinu- lations of the Concordat of 1901. tha re- suit of it and it's fate under the Frencb. law of December g, 1905 on the separation of the church and state in France against whic, Plus x protested in his allocrtion of December Il, 1905. That law heinz based, this writer says. on the princinla that the state of France could no longer recognize the Catholic church, but onIv distinct associations cultuelles., that is associations formed in each parish for the purpose of worship fin accordance with