New-York tribune., 1911-04-08

himself with saying: This Is hardly the
place for discussion OF So intricate
orestion. We therefore limit ourselves
10 stating the position of Catholic schol-
arshjp on this point. This Is clearly set
out I'm the decision issued by the Pom
tifcal Biblical Commission on June ~
1g0S" The prophet jeremiah is held re-
sronsibIe for the lamentations bearing
his name. and the patriarch Job Is ac-
cepted as an historical parsonage. The
Book OF Job, however. may be said 10
have a kernel of fact with which nave
Teen united many elements not
strictly historical. After a free discus
sion OF opposing opinions about the au-
thorship OF the Fourth Gospel, DR.. Leo
pold Fonck concludes that we may NAM
tain with the utmost certainty thae
John the Apostle, the favorite disciple OF
Jesus, was really the author
OF the Church fathers Iren@us, Jerome
and Justin are accorded place. Pro-
fessor Lebreton supplies useful digest
of the martyrs teachings and recalls
how as a pagan philosopher Justin was
won 20 Christianity through discovering
;ts moral beauty and its truth. Inc
righteousness Of papal biographies
there are toward sixty-is due to the al
phabet's being what II Is and TO the
fact that so many pontihs bore the
name Innocent or John or Leo. The
o1ondam Catholic, Martin Luther. mas
forty columns. save one, from the pen
OF Mr.. Henry c. Ganss, Mus. d., VINO
writes also the brief sketch OF F'ranz
List. For impartial temper the article
on Luther is worthy Of place alongside
Merle d'Aubigne's History of the Ref
ormation." Several legends, such as
that of Luther's vision when climbing
the Scala Santa, are disposed OF on the
authority Of Protestant and Catholic MS
torians alike. Light on the motives for
translating the New Testament into Ger
man Is offered by DR.. Ganss in the fact
/ that, to Luther, the vernacular Biple De-
came a necessary adjunct, an lndispen-
sable necessity. The refOrmer's subVer-
sion of the spiritual order, abolition or
ecclesiastical science. rejection or the
sacraments. suppression Of ceremonies
degradation Of Christian art, demanded
substitute: and a more available one
than the "undefled Word of God" IN
association with evangelical preach-
ing" could hardly be found. With re-
/ gard to the early disagreements between
the Augustinian monk and the authori-
ties DIR. Ganss sees that the affair or the
induleences was an ignoble business. a
financial transaction unworthy or both
Pope and Archbishop Luther's sanction
Of Philip of Hesse's bigamous marriage
is not overlooked. though no notice IS
taken of the consideration that Melanch-
thon and Butter feared that Phlilp,
foled of his purpose Of obtaining from
the reformers a quasi sane
ton for his pluralism. would have turned
IN the rejgning Pope However much ne
NAV admire his hero, Or. Ganss keeps
clear OF blind idolatry, for along with
his mastery grasp OF historical material
he cherishes respect for the intuitions'
About the famous meeting OF Luther
with the papal legate. Cajetan, at Augs-
burg. for example, he is sure that fiction
and myth nave woven so ineXtricable a
| web OF obscurity over II that we must
follow either the highly colored nara
tive Of Luther and his friends or be
guided by the more trustworthy crite-
rion of logical conjecture.
While the Modernist movement re-
mains to be more fully dealt with In
later volumes "The Catholic Encyclo-
media" gives no uncertain sound on the
issues involved. Under Liberalism space
is found TO describe the more theological
and religious form of liberal Catholicism
as aiming at certain reforms in doctrine
and discipline In accordance with the
anti-ecclesiastical liberal Protestant
theory and atheistical science and en-
lightenment" prevailing at the time
Jansenism, carefully outlined In Its
origin. its phases and Its decline, IS "dis
tinguished among heresies for craft!
urorcedings. chicane and lack OF frank
ness on the part Of its adherents. espe
cially their pretencc Of remaining Cath
olics without renounclng their errors, o.
staying In the Church despite the Churci
itself" The story Of the inquisition !:
retold In thorough fashion and witt
frank admissions. but 1t is pointed on
that the dogmatic teaching OF th'
Church is in no way affected by th'
question rs to whether the inquisitior
was justified in its scope or wise In IL
methods or extreme in It's practice.
Erroneous impressions encouraged II
Mr.. F.. s. Purcell's life Of Manning arr
brought to book In Father kents ac
count of the Cardinals career. The let
ters to Mr.. Gladstone which Mr.. Purcell
wrongly supposed to be destroyed are II
safe keeping, and Father Kent promise
: soon to publish life OF Cardinal Man
ming In which the letters with other val
liable matters will for the first time b
given TO the public. The minor biogra
phies. and especially those belonging t
> seventeenth century England. are at
tractively written, as usual unde
latitudinarians the reader is referred I
Low Church and sent on vain quest
since there is virtually no mention o
the men OF latitude to whom Bisho
Burnets phrase properly applied. TIL
writer observes that evangelicalism Il
the Church Of England is by no mean
> diving out. The annual income OF 1t
missionary society has Of late fallen lit
tie short of 100000, which Is more tha
double that Of the society which come