The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-09-19

From Ignatius TO Augustine" Ia the
range of The Eariy church. by Dean
GEORGE HODGES Of the Episcopal Theo-
logical School at Cambridge, Mass.
Houghton Mif1in). The thoroughly
modern manner in which the history
of ecclesiastic origins is told makes
the horrors OF persecution and mar
tyrdom more real than did the senti-
mentalism Of the older fashion; the de-
bates Of Montanists. Novatians and
Donatsts. Of Arians and Athanasians
more like n humanity reasonable Cor
UNREASONABLE quarrel. and monasti-
cism a more politically applicable in
s~titution. This history falls some
whore between Dean F'arrar OF the
Sunday school libraries ~ n few
decades ago and the musty volumes OF
theology hat stand on the shelves Of
superannuated country parsons who
long since learned a wisdom better
than that OF the books.
II to be popular" in dealing with
these matters is to he clear, straight
forward and natural without liter
airy or scholastic affectation. even at
the expense Of q hint of almost too
easy familiarity with church lore once
yelled in a mysticism more or less CAL
culated, then Dean Hodges's chapters
are popular. They have this n merit
which the older style possibly lacked,
that they place the early church
clearly in its relations, social and po-
litical, To the rest of the contemporary
world. That they do it from the
standpoint Of the popular life of that
day. in the vein that newspapers might
have followed had there been news
papers then. is. favorably or other
wise, according to :he variations Of
individual taste. characteristic
The last chapter, on Augustine. eX-
hibits eminently well the qualities Of
the treatment. When the author be-
gins with statement of the date and
place Of the saints birth he is quite
conventional. and he strikes no new
note in the next following statement:
"Of the two great Christian fathers
OF that ne,ghborhood," Tagaste. a
country town of Numidia. Roman
Africa, "Cyprian had been dead 100
years. and Tertullian $50" But the
w &C. 'uA ivy u Z
remembered as Whitefeld and Ed
wards are remembered in New Eng
land" make the situation much less
literary and more real, even though
possibly the present day remembrance
Of the more modern evangelists is less
popular than the intended implication
of the comparison. Augustine has
more personality than Longfellow
gave him, TO say nothing Of his theo.
logical annotators, when We know
hat lin spite Of these devout memo-
ries Carthage was still a pagan city
and that Augustine's mother was q
Christian but his father was a pagan
And:
A recent writer. in a book upon which
a very respectable English publisher pu,
his imprint. cast II up as a reproach thai
It's theology for a thousand years wa,
dominated by a black man. The idea was
that all people who lived in Africa mus
he OF African descent, 4 similar course o.
reasoning would include to-day the Eng
lish governors OF Egypt. Augustine,
name Is evidence OF his Roman ancestry
His people came from italy.
Monica, Augustine's mother, "be.
longs to the shining company Of
sanity wives and mothers who have
%contended successfully with difficult
domestic relations" Her husband and
son were no only irreligious but i'm
moral, AS for the husband, the only
thing which il set down to his credit
Is the fact hat he did not beat hi,
wife, in n time when domestic disci.
plinc was apt to involve processes o,
violence, Augustine was bad at school
n cut up at college. AT the age OF
1S he toe "A wife. without the obsery,
ance OF any Formally, either civil oi
ecclesiastical" He seemed to be goinl
to the devil, as the historian calmly
puts IL. But he had a good mind
and he was not wholly satisfied witt
his way " living. He adopted Mani,
chseism. which regards people az Chill
dren Of the devil but having within II,
a celestial spark'-so Dean Hodge,
sums easily a religion. 1t "attracte,
Augustine by its appeal to his intelli
gence. IL offered a solution of tn,
problem Of evil. II gave a rationa
explanation Of sin and pain, II Shove,
how a bad world and a good God coult
exist together
Augustine began to lecture. He wa
appointed to a professorship OF rhet
oric at Milan. He renowned Mani
chplsm. he read Aristotle. again h,
drifted without anchor. blown by tn,
shifting winds" How he heard Am
brose preach, how he was saved" h.
tells in his wonderful Confessions"
the account Is somewhat less dignifie,
in this volume,
In this first, biographical, section
we are inclined to believe, compare
lively few readers will find mucl
pleasure or profit in the popularize,
version but In the concluding section
on the Augustinian controversies wit,
the Donatists. ~protestants against "th