Franciscan Studies

Boo\ Reviews233 Seminarians will find this volume most convenient for study, for it is admirably designed to suit their needs. However, they will be handicapped by the lack of a general introduction to canon law (history, sources, etc.), and, regrettably, by the lack of an index. Priests will welcome this work because of its fine treatment of the more practical problems of the ministry. Canonists will welcome it, for, despite the fact that this first volume does not contain a bibliography, they will find in it a commentary that is marked by exceptional clarity, compactness and soundness—so much so as to make it rank among the best in its field. Nathaniel Sonntag, O.F.M.Cap. St. Anthony Priory Marathon, Wis. "Dominus autem Spiritus est" (H Cor. 3, iya), O DE KYRIOS TO PNEUMA ESTIN—Studium Exegeticum. By Bernardinus Schneider, O.F.M. (Romae: Officium Libri Catholici, 1951. Pp. viii-216.) A knotty and much discussed half-verse from II Cor. is the subject of this dissertation , which Fr. Bernardine wrote in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the doctorate in sacred theology. After a rapid glance at the context, both proximate and remote (Ex. 34, 29-35), the author establishes the critical text, which, as he notes, presents no particular difficulty . The terms kyrios and pneuma, especially as employed by St. Paul, are examined quite thoroughly, and the various interpretations of this text through the ages are classified. A long, though not exhaustive, list is appended of the writers who subscribed to them. Returning then to the proximate context, the author submits it to a close exegetical scrutiny, the better to elicit and understand the meaning of St. Paul in this passage. In particular he feels that in v. 16 Paul presents a typical interpretation of Ex. 34,34. Needless to say, the text in question is then quite completely examined under every aspect. One of the main problems encountered is to determine which word is the subject of the sentence, kyrios or pneuma. With sound reasons the author advances die view that it is the former, which refers back to the kyrios of the preceding verse. Thus Paul would say in effect: The Lord of whom we have been speaking is the Holy Spirit. Accordingly, since v. 16 clearly reproduces Ex. 34,34a and v. 17 elucidates v. 16, one would have to conclude that Paul identifies the spirit of Ex., at least typically, with the Holy Spirit. To a certain degree the author finds confirmation of his interpretation in Patristic thought. True, generally for doctrinal reasons, the Fathers were more concerned with proving the divinity of the Holy Spirit from this text, and so preferred to reconstruct Paul's meaning thus: The Holy Spirit is kyrios or God. Yet basically in doctrine both the author's interpretation and the Fathers' exegesis of this half-verse agree. To quote the author (p. 157), "Eorum doctrina a nostra interpretatione ope simplicis conversionis et illationis derivatur: Si hie Dominus, qui est certe divinus, est Spiritus Sanctus , ergo Spiritus Sanctus est divinus, seu Dominus." The reviewer is of the opinion that the author has made out a good case for his interpretation, particularly for his construction of kyrios as the subject of v. 17a. He cannot fail to admire the painstaking efforts to examine all available writings that shed any light on the subject. Nor can he neglect to mention the objective approach 234Book, Reviews of the author, who has set as his purpose the true meaning of Paul and proceeds without bias towards that aim. An impartial criticism of tWs work should also bring to light the following facts: i. Because of the plan followed in developing the dissertation there are a number of repetitions which appear to be needless. The reviewer feels that the work could have been abridged without affecting the skein of thought or impairing the value of the work. 2.In view of his announced purpose not to give a history of the exegesis one may wonder why the author is so meticulous in rooting out all the opinions he can find through the ages. Had his interpretation coincided with that of all the Fathers...