octogenario maior, suaque orbatus operum consorte et socia laborum, alacriter tamen uberrimam pergebat metiri caritatis segetem, donec dierum et meritorum plenus, ipse pariter hanc mortalem posuit vitam eamque cum caelesti patria commutavit, eodem recurrente anno, mense septembri, die vero mensis septima ac vigesima. Interim, quod minime est praetereundum, peculiari immo sedulaque est notatione dignum, per illos sex circiter menses, quibus sanctus Vincentius praeclarae suae discipulae superstes exstiterat vitaeque spiritualis filiae, de eadem, ut pronum profecto erat maximeque proclive est intelligere, passim loquebatur, cum novae Societatis, cuius ambo fuerant institutores, praesertim Alumnis, quarum spirituali prospiciens bono, ipsis sub aspectum ponere satagebat defunctae Matris, prouti Sanctorum est, exercitas virtutes. Nihilominus, ut acri erat instructus sanctus vir probatissimoque iudicio, apposite eas cauteque admonendas sibi religioni duxit, quanta de Famulae Dei Ludovicae sanctitate foret hominum opinio, nullam tamen erga ipsam publici et ecclesiastici cultus exhiberi posse significationem. Uti par erat, Patris monitis Ecclesiaeque legibus plane obsequentes usque sese praebuerunt a Caritate Puellae; cumque benemeritissimam suam Parentem publice venerari se posse, uti Beatos decet, sibi in animum induxerunt, eum in finem, hanc supplices a diverunt Apostolicam Sedem, a qua, cunctis servatis, quae e vetustissimo ipsius Sedis Apostolicae more institutoque Romanorum Pontificum rite servanda erant, iam, quod proposuerant sibi, se esse assecutas iure meritoque laetantur. Verumtamen quum pro indole probationum, quibus haec fulciebatur causa, duplicari necesse fuerit miraculorum numerum, ut quod humano deerat, divino compensaretur iudicio: quumque de tribus tantum miraculis constare non ita pridem fuerit pronuntiatum, hoc unum, quod supererat, obstaculum e medio auferre est dignatus Sanctissimus Dominus noster Benedictus Papa XV. Exempla quippe Decessorum suorum sequutus, qui eadem usi sunt indulgentia in causis religiosorum Ordinum seu Familiarum conditorum, dispensationem a quarto miraculo fuit elargitus. Nec novus parvi faciendus insignis honoris titulus, de quo in apostolico, quod hac eadem faustissima die promulgatur, Decreto conspicua non minus quam diserta mentio occurrit; quandoquidem quatuor a Caritate Puellae, e legiferae Matris disciplina profectae eiusque spiritu eruditae, tamquam verae Christi martyres agnoscuntur et celebrantur. Quod sane intrinseco accedens praeclaro causae merito, causae ipsius dignitatem atque praestantiam illustrat et commendat; reique illud etiam argumento est, quod in generalibus sacrae huius Congregationis comitiis, quae, die decima septima nuper elapsi mensis iunii, coram sanctissimo Domino nostro habita sunt, proposito per Reverendissimum Cardinalem Vincentium Vannutelli, causae Relatorem, Dubio: An, stante approbatione virtutum et trium miraculorum, tuto procedi possit ad solemnem venerabilis Servae Dei Ludovicae de Marillac Beatificationem? cuncti, qui aderant, quum Reverendissimi Cardinales tum Patres Consultores, latis suffragiis, tuto procedi posse affirmaverint. Attamen de unanimi hac suffragatione apostolicum denunciare iudicium distulit Beatissimus Pater, enixius interea postulaturus a Domino, ut sibi in gravissimo decernendo negotio propitius adesset. Tandem hodiernam elegit diem Dominicam IV post Pentecosten; eaque idcirco adveniente, quum prius rei sacrae devotissime fuisset operatus, ad Vaticanas Aedes advocari voluit Reverendissimos Cardinales Antonium Vico, Episcopum Portuensem et S. Rufinae, sacrae rituum Congregationi Praefectum, et Vincentium Vannutelli, Episcopum Ostiensem et Praenestinum, Sacri Collegii Decanum causaeque Relatorem, una cum R. P. Angelo Mariani, Fidei Promotore generali, meque insimul infrascripto Secretario, eisdemque adstantibus, rite decrevit: Tuto procedi posse ad solemnem venerabilis Ancillae Dei Ludovicae de Marillac Beatificationem. Eiusmodi autem Decretum in vulgus edi, in acta sacrae rituum Congregationis referri litterasque apostolicas in forma Brevis de Beatificationis solemnibus, ubi primum licuerit, in Basilica Vaticana celebrandis expediri iussit, pridie nones iulias anno MCMXIX. A. CARD. VICO, Ep. Portuen. et S. Rufinae, L. S. REVIEWS AND NOTES M. MINUCII FELICIS OCTAVIUS. With Introduction and Notes by Rev. T. Fahy, M.A., B.D. In this instance the first duty of a reviewer is to congratulate Father Fahy on his choice of subject. It was a happy inspiration that led him to give us an up-to-date critical edition of the Octavius, probably the first work on Christian Apologetics written in the Latin language. It will always remain a work of absorbing interest owing to its striking treatment of its theme, and, although for many years it has fallen into ill-deserved oblivion in this country and in England, it still continues to attract the labours of Continental scholars. For some, like Norden, its appeal lies mainly in its style; while others, like Waltzing, find its chief charm in its subject-matter. Our neglect of it is strange, and is due principally to the narrow limits set by our educational curriculum. A certain few of the Ancient Classics have become consecrated to use in our schools and universities, and either want of enterprise, or a false respect for traditional usage prevents us from extending the frontiers, even when there is question of one of the masterpieces of Christian Apologetics,' as the Octavius has been styled. The work is written in the form of a dialogue, though it is a dialogue that quickly develops into a formal debate. Father Fahy sets forth its aim in an admirable introduction, from which it will be seen that it is a document of capital importance for all who are interested in the early struggles of Christianity, and who wish to realize the atmosphere of suspicion and hostility which surrounded its adherents. With Minucius himself as arbiter, Caecilius pleads the cause of Paganism, while Octavius, a recent convert to Christianity, acts as champion of the new Faith. In Caecilius we have revealed the standpoint of a Pagan before the idealism of Christian teaching, his contempt for, and antipathy to Christian asceticism, the beauty and significance of which he is unable to comprehend. He is, moreover, made the mouthpiece of the many calumnies directed by contemporary Paganism against Christian practice and belief. When he is faced with the problem of the nature and attributes of God, he can do nothing but take refuge in a barren scepticism, though he labours to defend Roman Polytheism on the grounds of its supposed connexion with the greatness of the Roman Empire. As Father Fahy points out, the defence of Octavius is limited in scope. Its appeal is addressed to a Pagan nurtured in the old traditions of Roman religion. Its aim is not to set forth every phase of Christian teaching, but to prove that Christianity has a rational basis, and is in harmony with the best Pagan philosophical thought. Octavius borrows some of his most formidable weapons from the armoury of the Pagans themselves. Naturally, in a discussion of the Octavius, many problems arise, and of these one of the most important is to determine the date of its composition. Harnack inclines to place it in the third century. So careful a scholar as Zielinski suspends judgment on this question, though his bias is manifestly towards an earlier date. Father Fahy discusses the question with great clearness and thoroughness, and, having weighed the evidence fully, is in favour of assigning it to the second half of the second century, thus giving it priority to Tertullian's Apologeticus, to which in many points it bears a close resemblance. The style of the treatise will always prove an attraction for students of the Octavius. It is never dull, while in its vigorous invective against the old Pagan regime it vibrates with a passionate energy. Minucius is essentially a Ciceronian, though he may seem to some to have learnt Cicero's lesson too thoroughly, and to show more of the rhetorician than the orator. Lovers of a chaster and simpler style will find him too highly coloured and artificial, with his carefully balanced antitheses, his predilection for poetical words, for asyndeton and other devices of the rhetorical school. Though he has been classed as a representative of what is sometimes called ‘African Latin,' it is probable that the characteristics he displays were common to most of the Roman provinces of the period. What will interest us particularly is that in Minucius many classical words are found as the bearers of a new content in the service of Christian dogma. Father Fahy, in his introduction, treats very fully the various features of his style, and discusses the chief models that helped to fashion the prose of the Octavius. I am especially glad to see that he devotes a section to the discussion of prose rhythm in Minucius, though I wish that his treatment of it had been even more extended. It is a question that in recent years has much engaged the attention of students of prose, whether in the classical or modern languages. Various systems for dctermining the rhythm of the 'clausula' in Latin have been advocated, leading, as one would expect, to divergent results. Cicero's theory of the rhythms best suited to Latin prose seems clear and definite enough, but when it comes to deciding how far practice squares with theory, present-day investigators are by no means in accord. One is, moreover, always faced with the difficulty of judging how far a writer is a conscious artist in the use of prose rhythm. Still, in spite of these drawbacks, it is a question of prime importance not only from the point of view of style, but as a help in textual criticism. Of this second use of it in particular, Father Fahy gives us many interesting illustrations. From what I have said, it will be seen that this edition is well abreast of modern scholarship. The notes will be found full and illuminating. No difficulty of text or subject-matter is shirked, so that I can confidently recommend it as the best English edition that has yet appeared. J. F. D'ALTON. THE CEREMONIES OF THE ROMA RITE DESCRIBED. By Adrian Fortescue. Second and Revised Edition. London: Burns and Oates. 1919. WHEN the first edition of Dr. Fortescue's Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described appeared we reviewed it in the I. E. RECORD of October, 1918, and while believing that the work undertaken by Dr. Fortescue -to give to the clergy of England a Manual of Ceremonies possessing a claim to accuracy and completeness--had not been as well executed as it might, with a little more care, have been, we welcomed his book very heartily and warmly commended it to the clergy. We regretted that an incompleteness in parts-which was by no means inevitable—and, above all, a rather striking want of accuracy manifested itself to a careful reader of The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described, yet, realizing the magnitude of the task involved in dealing with such a vast amount of very detailed matter, we believed that a reasonable excuse could be offered for these defects, and we ventured to hope that they would be remedied in a second edition. Our hopes have not been realized; and while wishing to make every allowance for such imperfections as we know from experience even the most minute care cannot fully eliminate, we have no toleration for defects which are the outcome of either indifference or gross carelessness. The present edition of Dr. Fortescue's book introduces itself as 'Second and Revised Edition,' and the author tells us, in an addendum to his original preface, that he will always be grateful for corrections or suggestions.' We must say that we cannot find much evidence of either any very thorough revision (some corrections have, certainly, been made, but there is ample room for many more), or of the author's gratitude for corrections and suggestions, unless his gratitude takes the form of ignoring the help which he professes to desire. In our notice of the first edition we offered some suggestions for securing greater fullness of treatment of certain points of practical importance. Not one of these suggestions has been adopted. With this we find no fault. Suggestions are suggestions, and it must always remain the prerogative of an author to adopt or reject them, as he sees fit. But, surely, the same toleration cannot be extended to Dr. Fortescue's failure to correct very patent inaccuracies, which, in our previous review, we took the trouble to point out in great detail and with a full statement of the grounds of our criticisms. Of a large number of such inaccuracies only two (one concerning the rules of bination, the other the use of the singular form of the Misereatur, etc., after the Confiteor in the administration of Holy Viaticum) have been corrected; and so careless has the revision been that while the correction regarding the Misereatur has been made on page 412 in connexion with Holy Viaticum, the uncorrected text is reproduced just two pages later (p. 414) in dealing with Extreme Unction. To take one more example of a glaring error which, though indicated in our previous review, appears once more with a renewed lease of life, can Dr. Fortescue offer any reason why, in face of |