Evening star., 1923-09-01
The Library Table
BY THE BOOKLOvER

son, would be classified as fiction
according to all accepted standards.
but much might be said in favor
Of its claim to be called philosophy.
Able Pierre Clement. who has been
a professor in the ancient Col
lege st. Thomas d'Aquin, near Paris,
for forty years, has retired at the
age Of sixty-fve to his native Gas
con village of Afghan, to keep his
aged father company, work in his
garden and write down his medita-
tions. The thread of love romance
which runs through the narrative, and
the abbe's association with the joys
and sorrows of village life, do not pre-
vent the meditations from being the
most delightful part of the book
These meditations are strongly int1u-
enced by the philosophy of Montaigne
who, though wording, was Gas
con, and that redeems much. Also the
material lism of the great philosopher
of the Renaissance is more than bal
anced by the unquestioning devotion
of the able to the true Church OF God
X X 4 X
"In those days (his YOUTH. says
the able, "I thought of mankind as
treading a long, long road "a road
that has no ending-urged on by the
divine yearning that is within each
and every heart; yearning that was
never meant to cease, yet which often
wearies of it's search or is deluded by
the seductive cheer of the resting g
places along the way, to think that
the search is over and that love has
found its very own at last. But
for me the road seemed to stretch on
and on, far beyond the glory of these
things, into an infinite distance,
whittier love still led, crying to me
not to tarry at these lesser shrines.
For i had learned to believe that what
the soul is really seeking is much
farther away than most men guess
much farther than any of these things
men prize so highly"
4 x X x
Many of the abbc's maxims are as
full of wisdom as those of La Roche
foucauld or Benjamin Franklin. II
sometimes think" he says, that most
of the arguments that human beings
invent against their kind are not
much more than calling one another
opprobrious names. after the fash
ion of little children" Again
kinds of provincialism. There
Is the provincialism Of outer expert
ence - and there Is what 1 call
the provincialism of the spirit.
Analysing some of his neighbors, he
says, Il have noticed that there are
two kinds of people in our world
the kind that thinks of everything
in relation to their little selves
the self-centered people. they are
and the kind that do just the other
thing. that is, relate themselves to
all the great world outside them
the afterglows are the stars: and
beyond the stars there is something
else. sometimes fancy that the
universe is much larger than We
| think. and that 1t has many doors
| The abbe is no lover of modern i'm
provements. One day he writes
THE devil has been about to enter
| our little rillage-I speak figurative'
ly-in the form of a cinema thea
| ter" He cannot understand Ameri'
planned to him by a young American
| friend who has declined a gift o1
| rare French champagne as he Is leav
ling for home. II cannot understand
it," says the able. especially since
America has no king, whose whin
seen number of Americans here IN
France, and they never refused wine
! or even cognac and liqueurs: in fact
! / have sometimes thought that they
drank more than was good fol
| them"
| After a few months of rest, Abbt
Pierre wearies of his retirement ant
seeks a parish. He writes to hi
archbishop who assigns him to par
ish of Sabazan, within walking dis
tance of his native village Of Afghan
To his American friend. he says
Now 1 begin to be anxious for SOM
labor that is of service to God an,
my fellow creatures. And what bet
ter way to such service than to b.
cure in one Of the villages near m.
native place? So my old age
it may become a strength, not
ments. and its own beauty, too,
hope"
In the "Reminiscences" OF Siegfriet
Wagner, the son of the great com
poser disclaims any need for the pit,
so often accorded him because he i
the son of a world genius. He writes
There are some who would wIlingl.
Imake me out tragic figure. They lool
upon me with pitying smiles. as nnucl
as to say, oh, you poor creature. hoy
the fame of your renowned father mus
crush you! How we pity you! And t
think that YOU have had the audacit
to make your bow likewise as an oper
composer, that you are SO naive as t
believe that you can make a success a
lit! But I don't feel the leas
bit like tragic figure. Every day | re
joice at having been so fortunate as
have had such a father.
rejoice at having for home such
pretty and pleasant town as Baireutf
whose citizens constantly give m
proof of their respect and good will
/ am proud of the confidence place
in me by those who attend tn
Wagner festival performances and tn
| artists taking part in them. Last. bu
not least, 1 rejoice that I am not er
itirely without talents of my own an
that I inherited from my parents
lavish legacy of humor."
* n y X
The so-called warfare Of science an
theology is repudiated by DR.. H. +
Lane, professor Of zoology in the Un
versity of Kansas, in a new book en
titled Evolution and Christian Faith.
This work is based on a series of lee
lures given by the author in respons
to a petition from the students of
, western university for a course settin
forth his views on the theory of evolt
| tion and its bearing on the biblical &C
count Of creation and the Christian II
ligion. Its aim is "to show more es
pecialIy that the biological doctrin
Of evolution, does not preclude fait
| in the divine power that operate
and through the universe, but rathe
enforces such a faith.
, x X x X
i. The Westminster Gazette tells a
amusing story about H. G. Wells, whic