it is, are amazingly ignorant of even its rudiments. Consequently there re avoidable and occasionally absurd errors in their work.

Mr. Winship's assumptions relating to the divisions of labor in an early sixteenth century printing establishment seem to us very tenable. The Pliny was possibly the first book which was handled in a different manner than its predecessors in Aldine's shop. It is to the matter of this innovation that Mr. Winship devotes himself. It would be an advantage to be able to consolidate the conclusions to which he comes in this column, but we cannot in this space hope to follow him through the intricacies of his bibliographical research. His brochure is recommended to the students of early typography, who will be glad to turn to any essay from the hand of Mr. Winship. An excellent and most learned article from the pen of Frederic W. Goudy is to be found in the now classic "Ars Typographica," Volume II, No. 3. This is "The Roman Alphabet, Its Origin and Esthetic Development." In this history of our most common type character its progress from its earliest sources is traced. The Latin alphabet was at first practically identical with the Greek; its eventual dominance came about through the political supremacy of Rome. The old Roman symbols reflect, too, the Roman character and energy, rough and vigorous and severely simple. There are no flourishes in it and no useless or meaningless lines.

Since the time of Christ, at least, the Roman capital has been unsurpassed among all letters for beauty and character. The Trajan Column at Rome, with its inscription cut about 114 A. D., is probably the finest of all early examples of Roman capitals still left to us.

A number of helpful illustrations add a further merit to Mr. Goudy's thoughtful and comprehensive essay, which is certainly worth the careful attention of students of typography.

In the same number of "Ars Typographica" its publisher, Douglas C. McMurtrie, contributes an account of the "First Printing in South America."

A Scottish Protestant correspondent of the Glasgow Observer in its issue of June 13th protested against the claim that the Celtic missionaries of the early Middle Ages on the Continent of Europe were Irishmen, suggested that St. Columbanus, the most famous of them all and St. Gall were Scotsmen. He was obviously misled by overlooking the somewhat elementary historical fact that, in the centuries when the Celtic missionaries were winning new lands to Catholicity and founding monasteries in Gall, Germany, and Italy, "Scotia" was a name of Ireland, and its people were described as "Scoti." He made the daring assertion that there was not one single writer of the time who asserted that either Columbanus or Gall came from Ireland. In the Observer of June 20 Dr. Clark, of Glasgow University (the author of a recently published history of the Abbey of St. Gall), replies by quoting, from the writings of men who belonged to the very time of the Celtic missions, distinct assertions that both Columbanus and Gall came "ex Hybernia"-"from Ireland."

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troversies; they are archaic; they represent a temper which no longer governs the nation's policy; to countenance them is to be mean and uncharitable."

The article continues: "Though no one in his senses would dare to give the force of law to these numerous Catholic disabilities, members of the Church of Rome are potentially at the mercy of any religious fanatic who may happen to sit on the magisterial bench. . . A Catholic regards disobedience to the civil authority as a sin. There are no stauncher adherents of authority than the Catholics."

The Fortnightly Review (St. Louis), says:

Joseph A. Lux, a German convert to the Church and a well-known author, published some time ago a volume entitled: "A thousand years of German Romanticism," which has given rise to a much controversy in Germany and Austria. His thesis is that the history of German literature was purposely falsified many years ago by Prussian Protestantism, which exaggerated the merits of the Weimar school with its exclusive attention to beauty of form, and left in the dark the merits of the romantic school which always looked first to the poetical value of the ideas expressed. Going through all epochs of German literature, Joseph A. Lux shows how Catholic principles inspired the finest works of literature, and that Catholics, even in recent times, produced many standard works which are thoroughly neglected by the popular literary histories of Berlin, which latter are often slavishly followed, even by Catholics. Catholic poets and writers are not mentioned, and for instance Grillparzer, a Catholic and an Austrian, one of the greatest men in German literature, is not at all given justice. Many do not even know his name, although they know all about Heine and other men of secondary value. Mr. Lux points out that Vienna was always and in every respect a much more important centre of German culture than Berlin, and when public opinion was forced to accept Berlin's leadership, great damage was done to Germany's cause and reputation throughout the world. Lux finally calls for a revision of the history of German literature. Lux's theory was naturally rejected by nearly all Protestant critics, and even German Catholics declared themselves against him. Now the well-known German magazine Stimmen der Zeit openly takes his part.

Der deutsche Luther im Weltkrieg und in der Gegenwart. Geschichtliche Streifzüge. Von Hartmann Grisar, S.J. Augsburg: Hass & Grabherr Verlag.

"The German Luther in the World War and in present times" as portrayed by the author in a carefully substantiated monograph is not an attractive figure. In the very beginning of the war a sort of religious peace was indeed kept up for a brief period. But soon the Protestants of Germany not only began anew their usual attacks on the Catholic Church but started a crusade of glorification of Martin Luther. In a flood of speeches and publications the Wittenberg monk was extolled as the typical German, as the great genius ruling the minds of the fatherland. The Catholic part, one third of the population and army, was ignored or insulted. Several of Luther's writings again saw the light and were spread in enormous editions at home and at the front. With rather few exceptions the men who thus eulogized the Reformer did not believe in the divinity of Christ, nor were they so sure of the existence of any positive religion. But Luther had to be the champion of Germany, and probably no man was so much written and spoken about as he. It was to his influence upon the German people that they ascribed the victories of the first years of the war.

Father Grisar, true to his conciliatory methods, grants that there were in Luther's character some attractive features. But he shows by a number of quotations that the un-German and repulsive traits were by far the more numerous, by far the most prominent and dominant. Luther for instance approved of the rebellion of German princes against their emperor, and wrote violently against the wars which at his time the aggressiveness of the Turks forced upon the empire.

The noisy Luther propaganda greatly helped to alienate from Germany the minds of friends in other lands, and furnished a pretext to the Catholics of the enemy countries to launch attacks against the whole German people, involving with singular injustice the German Catholic in the same Massa Damnata and to stamp the war a religious contest.

The defeat of Germany, and more than this, the disappearance of the monarch, perfectly disorganized the Protestant sects. But it did not put a stop to the literary warfare of these followers of Luther. However, while unusually large numbers of Protestants found their way to the Mother Church, Luther's own Church now has to fight a struggle for its very existence. The trouble is, not only that its ecclesiastical organization went to pieces, but that the leaders of the new movement do not know what creed to put up. They know they cannot dream of enforcing any creed generally even upon the members of the former state Churches. Now that the exterior state power no longer puts a check on the arbitrary interpretations of articles of Faith, the Lutheran inheritance of the principle of private explanation of the Bible is bearing its full but natural fruit. (Even new prophets and Mesiases are heard of.) Father Grisar's article in the CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW, "The Knell of German Protestantism" (1924-25, pp. 378 ff.) finds ample elucidation in this book.

The author also discusses the question what should be done to bring about a religious and with it a national revival. The Catholics he says are but too willing to cöoperate, and are already working vigorously for a renewal of their part of the population. But it will be necessary that the Protestants give up their idea of the "German Luther" and the talk of a German religion. The proclamation of a special "German God," so often repeated though by no means generally approved of, must cease. "The repulsive weapons wielded against the Catholic fellow citizens must be buried, and, as there was unity of all during the first period of the war, so now the common war cry ought to be: Unity of all against the common foe of revealed religion and Christian civilization."

FRANCIS S. BETTEN, S.J.

An Episode in the Struggle for Religious Freedom. The Sectaries of Nuremberg, 1524-1528. By Austin Patterson Evans, Ph.D. New York: Columbia University Press.

The City of Nuremberg was one of the first "Free and Imperial Cities" of Germany which threw overboard the Catholic