Franciscan Studies

324 FRANCISCAN STUDIES The author is less than fair to the manualists when he expresses surprise at their scanty treatment of pietas ergo, patriam (p. xxxi). A man may mani­ fest his patriotism in the form of pietas when he cherishes love for his father­ land as the source of his being and cultural heritage, but as soon as a man begins to work for his country he is working for the common good which, as St. Thomas points out in II, Ilae, q. 101, art. 3, ad 3, is the object of legal justice — a more important virtue than piety and one whose demands cannot be said to be neglected by the manuals of moral theology. The bibliography is quite lengthy and includes important English, French, and Italian works on the subject of patriotism. The references to periodical literature are scanty; and at least four important German works on the subject, those of Grober, Grentrup, Schilling, and Schlund, apparently were not con­ sulted. Moreover, the bibliography, while adequate, has a journalistic rather than a theological tinge; for instance, it seems strange to find a dissertation in moral theology which lists in its bibliography the names of but two standard manualists, Prummer and Vermeersch, and only one classic writer, St. Thomas Aquinas. The fine index adds considerably to the usefulness of the book. The index, for instance, contains references to at least fourteen saints whom the popes have praised for their patriotism. Besides references to St. Anthony of Padua and St. Elizabeth of Hungary, there are eight references to St. Francis of Assisi drawn from the encyclicals, Auspicato of Leo XIII and Rite Expiatis of Pius XI. St. Francis is praised as a true patriot and the glory of Italy, patriae lux; at the same time the popes declare that he belongs to the whole world. A n sca r Pa r so n s, O. F. M. Ca p . St. Anthony Friary, Marathon, Wis. Is Modern Culture Doomed? By Andrew J. Krzesinski, Ph. D., S. T. D. Foreword by Msgr. G. Barry O’Toole, Ph. D., S. T. D. (New York: The Devin-Adair Co. Pp. xiv+158. $2.00.) In the space of one hundred and fifty pages, Father Krzesinski has made a more valuable contribution to the philosophy of history than Oswald Spengler made in two ponderous volumes. Before attempting to answer the question which gives the work its title, the author clearly explains the exact meaning of culture and civilization and makes the distinction between the two concepts so frequently confused even by the learned. He then carefully analyzes the culture and civilization of the western world and finds that there is a duality to be reckoned with — the traditional Christian culture and civilization, and an anti-traditional, antiChristian , materialistic culture and civilization. The former, inviolable in its ideology, continues to develop in spite of handicaps; the latter is in a truly precarious condition. He shows that modern materialistic culture, based on commercialism, love of money and sensual indulgence, has brought civilization to its present perilous state. In discussing the characteristics and tragedy of modern culture, Father Krzesinski tells us some very unpleasant but whole­ some truths about ourselves and the world in which we live. The third and BOOK REVIEWS 325 fourth chapters of the book are as perfect an X-ray picture of the diseased organism as can be found anywhere. But while fully appreciating the serious­ ness of the situation, he refuses to be pessimistic — the darkness is that of the hour before dawn. For in the crisis itself, he sees the factors that make for restoration and true progress — a spiritual renaissance. "In the first place, Christian culture is inviolable in its ideology and magnificently vital in its inexhaustible dynamism. In the second place, far from obstructing the vic­ tory of Christian culture, materialistic culture itself is paving the way for it.” The book is "must” reading for all those who would understand the times and who are interested in seeing the world move forward to a brighter day. V ictor M il l s , O. F. M. St. Bonaventure College, St. Bonaventure, N. Y. Ten Decades of Alms. By Theodore Roemer...