voluit.' Data autem extensione quam recurrens vindicat, illud incongruum sequeretur, quod, ex mente testatoris, eodem exstante redditu, ubi in singulis casibus maior exigitur expensa, ut certe est in subsidio donandis pauperibus convalescentibus aut pauperrimis domi aegrotantibus, longe plures casus supponerentur (nempe quotquot universum municipium Apuanum suppeditaret) quam ubi longe minores sumptus faciendi essent, videlicet in praemiis pro christiana puerorum catechesi acquirendis, quam liberalitatem testator explicite coarctatam voluit ad quatuor loca eiusdem municipii dumtaxat.

Sed praeter haec interpretationis adminicula, gravius argumentum emergit ex verbis ipsis testatoris, qui, in tertia ordinanda subrogata institutione, de qua agitur, postquam statuisset eam esse in favorem 'dei poveri convalescenti, . . . o dei poverissimi malati fuori dello spedale,' statim subdit: 'I parroci ne informeranno il Vescovo ; ma si guardino dal rilasciare certificati scritti ai postulanti, per non dover certificare come forzati od attirarsi odiosità.' Porro in propatulo esse videtur hos qui ita enunciantur, i parroci,' eosdem omnino esse, qui in dispositione praevia, omnes et singulas institutiones-ut diximusafficiente, designantur: nempe quinque eos civitatis parochis, qui una cum Episcopo efformant Consilium administrativum. At vero hi referri valent et testificari de suis subditis (atque horum dumtaxat invidiam vel odium formidare possunt), de his in civitate nempe exstantibus, non de alienis, exstantibus et dispersis in 24 ceteris paroeciis municipii Apuani; ergo ad hos tantum subditos, seu ad pauperes civitatenses, ex mente satis manifesta testatoris, eius pia dispositio porrigitur. Quod argumentum adeo fortiter recurrens praesensisse videtur, ut non aliud effugium invenerit, nisi in praetenso sibi iure partes habendi in ipso Consilio administrativo; in qua praetensione tamen contra explicitam testatoris voluntatem impingit.

Sed concedatur demum haec omnia argumenta ad certitudinem non attingere, et ideo adhuc dubiam testatoris voluntatem manere. Omnem penitus dubitationem dispellit subsequuta usque ad recurrentis impugnationem, pacifica observantia. Etenim, ut saepius declaravit S. R. Rota: Observantia declarat verba testatoris, quatenus essent dubia' (Recanaten., Manutentionis, coram Cerro, dec. 120, n. 8, t. IX, p. 1, rec.) Ex observantia subsequuta satis remanet interpretata mens fundatoris' (Aquilana, Iurispatr., coram Meltio, dec. 374 n. 21, t. XI, rec.)- Observantia magni facienda est pro interpretanda voluntate testatoris; quod maxime procedit quando idem observatum fuit cum eademmet persona, quae successionem praetendit' (Ariminen., Secundogeniturae, coram Bichio, dec. 337, n. 44, t. XI, rec.), etc. At quidem, in casu, adeo aperte constat de huiusmodi observantia, ut ne unus quidem contrarius casus, ab a. 1867 ad praesentem diem, allegari valuerit: inde enim ab initio administrativum Consilium restrictivam interpretationem in praxim deduxit eamque immo in statutis organicis et in regulis pro disciplina interna pii Operis, a. 1867 conditis, tamquam fundamentum supposuit; neque exsequutores testamentarii, quorum unus fuit etiam parochus Ssmae Annunciationis, nec ceteri parochi, neque Episcopus,

neque quotquot alii cognoscere debuerunt testatoris mentem, aut in negotium interesse habuerunt, hanc restrictivam praxim ullo modo impugnarunt. Idque recurrens fateri cogitur, qui tamen excipit, quoad exsequutores testamentarios, probandum esse, testatorem eisdem dum viveret mentem suam aperuisse; quo vero ad ceteros parochos aut incolas interesse habentes, eos vel ipsum testamentum ignorasse; quae exceptiones futiles esse videntur, quum, posita tam diuturna observantia et possessione iuris in civitatensibus Apuanis, quaecumque eis favorabilior praesumptio amplectenda sit; ac demum in praxi saltem illud sequatur periculosum omnino esse adeo gravem innovationem in rem iam constabilitam inducere.

RESOLUTIO. Hisce ab utraque parte in medium deductis, quum in plenariis Emorum ac Revñorum Patrum comitiis, habitis die 27 ianuarii 1917 in Palatio Apostolico Vaticano, proponerentur dubia ita concinnata : 'I. An parocho pro tempore paroeciae Ssmae Annunciationis in diocesi Apuana competat ius ut nominetur membrum Consilii administrativi pii Operis in casu:

II. An et quomodo gaudere valeant beneficiis pii Operis pauperes convalescentes enunciatae paroeciae, qui, post decubitum sex saltem dierum egressi fuerint e nosocomio Apuano in casu;

'Et, quatenus affirmative

'III. An et quomodo pauperrimi etiam aegrotantes extra nosocomium, ad praefatam paroeciam pertinentes, iisdem beneficiis gaudere possint in casu':

S. Congregatio Concilii respondendum censuit :

Ad I. Negative.

Ad II et III. Attentis omnibus, nihil innovandum.

Facta autem de praemissis relatione SSño Dño Nostro Benedicto divina Providentia Pp. XV, in audientia infrascripto Secretario, die 28 eiusdem mensis et anni concessa, Sanctitas Sua resolutiones Emorum Patrum in omnibus approbare dignata est.

I. MORI, Secretarius.

VOL. X-12

REVIEWS AND NOTES

HISTOIRE GÉNÉRALE DE L'ÉGLISE. By Fernand Mourret, Professor of History in the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice. Vol. I. Les Origines

Chrétiennes; Vol. II. Les Pères de l'Eglise. Bloud et Gay, Paris. THESE two volumes form portion of the General History of the Church (to the year 1900) in eight volumes. Each volume forms a complete whole and is sold separately.

In practically identical terms Paschal and Bossuet have defined the history of the Church as the history of truth, of the reign of truth, religious truth, which enlightens us as to our origin, our destiny, and our duties, which are 'le tout de l'homme.' By the light of history impartially studied we must regard Christianity as a 'grande paire d'ailes indispensables pour soulever l'homme au-dessus de lui-même, au-dessus de sa vie rampante et de ses horizons bornées,' and chaque fois que ces ailes défaillent ou qu'on les casse, les mœurs publiques et privées se dégradent, la cruauté et la sensualité s'étalent, la société devenant un coupe-gorge et un mauvais lieu' (Taine). Besides being an 'irrefragable witness to our faith,' as the Council of Trent says, the life of the Church has another character which, until recently, has not received its due prominence. The celebrated Protestant, Harnack, says: 'L'Église catholique posséde dans son organisation une faculté unique de s'adapter au cours historique des choses, en restant toujours l'ancienne Église.' A glance at the history of the Church will show the correctness of this remark. In the three ages through which it has run-the Greco-Roman, the Middle, and the Modern-we see 'l'organisation exterieure de l'Église s'assouplir et passer, suivant les lois des organismes vivants, par les trois phases successives de la formation, de l'apogée, et du declin; mais son dogme, sa morale, et sa hierarchie, en sont toujours sortis avec leurs caractères identiques et une vitalité rajeunie.' All the social forms that the Church has encountered in her march through the ages, all the powers that have fought against her, have had, like every earthly organism, their formation, their apogée, and their decline. The Church alone has been able to adapt herself to the historical march of things whilst always remaining the ancient Church. It is this characteristic of the Church that the author of these volumes wishes to emphasise throughout his work, it is the raison d'être of the method of division he has adopted, and of his departure from strict, absolute chronology. The Church is an organism, hence, to trace its development in its different surroundings, under the varying conditions of time and place, is more scientific and more consonant with a right

understanding of its marvellous life, its growth from its humble beginnings, and its development into a world-wide organization, whilst ever remaining the ancient Church more youthful with the march of time.

Volume I is divided into three parts, the Expansion, the Struggle, and the Constantine Peace. The first part consists of six chapters, Jesus Christ and the Church; Jerusalem, the early Church and the Jewish World (30-42); Antioch, the first contact of the early Church with the Greco-Roman world (40-62); Rome, the early Church and the Greco-Roman world (42-70); Ephesus and Alexandria, the early Church and the Eastern world (68-100); the first contact of the early Church with the barbarian nations. The second part deals with the struggle of the Church during the second and third centuries, against persecution, heresy, and schism. The third part treats of the religious policy of Constantine, the Edict of Milan, Donatism, and the pursuit of Religious Unity.

In the biographical notice of the works consulted and quoted we see the names of the most expert and modern writers, specialists in the various branches of Church history-Hergenrother, Rohrbacher, Funk, Brassac, Batiffol, Duchesne, Jacquier, Allard, etc. The authorities quoted are always given at the bottom of the page. If any controversy arises with regard to the text it is fully and impartially dealt with in copious footnotes. The text, then, free from controversy, keeps to the historical theme. The narrative flows onward easily and harmoniously in graceful, peaceful style, with all simplicity and clarity. A very useful synopsis of each paragraph is given in the margin, thus enabling the reader to follow at a glance the sequence of the narration. In the first part, with the aid of profane history and the Epistles of the Apostles, the author evolves a truly fascinating and realistic historical narrative that is illumined and confirmed by modern researches on the Christian monuments. The conditions of time and place are depicted in all cases neatly and effectively by the hand of a master.

Père Mourret is a psychologist as well as a historian, and gives us some exquisite sketches of historical characters that colour and enliven the historical narrative. We need only quote a beautiful one on St. Paul:

Le monde n'a peut-être pas vu d'âme plus ardente. Son incroyable ardeur s'est déjâ depensée à défendre, avec un acharnement et une persévérance inlassables, les plus pures traditions pharisaï ques. Né dans un centre helléniste, à Tarse de Cilicie, d'un père citoyen romain, il avait peu subi l'influence de la Grèce et de Rome.... Caractère tout d'une pièce, incapable de se donner à demi, il avait tout accepté de ce réseau de prescriptions minutieuses et de traditions compliquées, qui faisaient de la vie du pharisien une véritable servitude. Et quiconque lui avait paru vouloir briser ce réseau, attenuer ces traditions, avait été pour lui un ennemi à combattre. C'est dans la synagogue des Ciliciens qu'il avait dû entendre pour la première fois l'exposition de la doctrine du Christ et défendre la cause du Temple et de la Loi avec cette dialectique subtile, qu'il tenait de son maître Gamaliel, dans cette langue vive, heurtée, entraînante, incorrecte et singulièrement puissante, qu'il ne tenait

d'aucune étude, qu'il semblait avoir prise dans la vie plus que dans les livres, dans son âme plus que dans les influences d'une école ou l'ambiance d'un pays.

One of the most interesting parts of the book deals with the Didachè (or The Doctrine of the Twelve Apostles, written between 70 and 100 A.D., perhaps earlier) which embodies all the traditions anterior to these dates. According to some writers, it was written at Antioch by a Jewish Christian who was witness of the Church evangelized by Paul and Barnabas at Antioch. The full text of the Didachè is given in the Appendix. This precious document was refound and published in 1883 by Philomeus Bryennios, Metropolitan of Nicomedia, from a manuscript. in the library of the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem. No document gives us more authentic and more precise revelations on the life, manners, customs, and constitutions of early Christianity. Other important documents given in the Appendix are the Letter of the Churches of Lyons and Vienna to the Churches of Asia and Phrygia, written in 177, one of the most cherished documents of Christian antiquity, the Edict of Milan, and the Primitive Canon of the Mass. What was the primitive Canon of the Mass? Was there an essential primary formulary whence all the liturgies were derived? That problem remained unsolved until recent years. The discovery of some precious documents and the patient labours of the Benedictine monk of Solesmes, Dom Paul Cagin, on them seem to have procured a solution. On comparing five of the documents, in particular the Canonum Reliquiae, Latin palimpsest fragments of Verona, and the Testament of the Lord, a Syriac manuscript published for the first time in 1899 by Mgr. Radmani, Patriarch of the United Syrians, Dom Pagin has come to the conclusion that the original piece, of which the four others were mere modifications, is the manuscript of Verona. The result of his researches is the primitive canon given in the Appendix to this volume. It is a kind of Preface, but contains the principal elements of the Canon of the Mass in all the liturgies. It is at the same time a Preface and a Mass, an embryonic Mass, a Eucharist in all the force of the term. The learned Benedictine does not hesitate to attribute it to the Apostolic period. It contains a distinct reference to the Charismata which were given only in the first century. We read, for example, 'Eos qui sunt in charismatibus . . . sustine . . . qui habent virtutem linguarum robora,' etc. Cette question des charismes,' concludes Dom Cagin, est, pour un texte qui en est, pour ainsi dire, saturé, l'équivalent d'un acte de naissance.'

In the 500 pages of the first volume Père Mourret gives us an exhaustive, scholarly treatise of the early Christian Church, in all its phases, in a simple, graceful style that attracts the reader and makes the study of history a pleasure instead of a wearisome plodding through cold facts, dates, and names.

Volume II. deals with the Fathers of the Church in the fourth and fifth centuries. Although not all the great men to whom Christians have given this glorious title lived in this period, as the series goes back to Clement of Rome and forward to St. Bernard, yet the group of