The Classics of Western Spirituality edition of Cassian's Conferences seemed extremely appealing, but it is inevitably disappointing to read out-takes from a work as majestic as the Conferences. Admittedly, the Conferences can be daunting: the standard critical edition runs to three volumes, and the recent English translation is a hefty tome of nearly 1000 pages. But (and I say this advisedly) there is no substitute for mulling over the work as a whole. So I would suggest that instead of waiting for this edition to be reprinted, consider buying Boniface Ramsey's translation in the Ancient Christian Writer's series. If you are interested enough to read a second review, then you are probably interested enough to take on an unexpurgated version.

As with all the books I have read from "The Classics of Western Spirituality" series, John Cassian's "Conferences" is both important and insightful. Cassian is, via the value placed on his writings by St. Benedict, a major figure in the history of western monasticism.

This volume contains nine of Cassian's twenty-four conferences. The conferences cover such topics as prayer, perfection, and purity of heart. By using the device of interviewing famous Egyptian monks and hermits, Cassian deftly distills the essence of early Egyptian monastic and eremitic teachings on these and other topics.

The scholarly introduction to this volume, written by Owen Chadwick, is indispensable for those wishing to set these teachings within the context of Cassian's life and thought. Mr. Chadwick, who has written a book on Cassian is just the man for this task and he does it well.

Colm Luibheid is both the translator of this volume and the author of its skilled and entertaining preface. Cassian's devotion and humor are brought to life in this translation.

Cassian still speaks to us today, one thousand six hundred after his death; in a world foreign to the one he was writing in. How can this be? It because the message of Cassian's writings: devotion and the quest to follow God in purity, spirit and truth, lies at the core of what we as human beings were created for. There is much here to help us (by the grace of God) along that narrow path which leads to the Father.

This book is to Foxe's original work as a pocket dictionary is to a full size, complete Webster's (the kind that requires a stand).

Foxe's original work is nearly 7.000 pages in eight volumes! But the really sad thing is that this particular edition has been so carelessly edited, rewritten, and corrupted. There is even a chapter about John Calvin, whom FOXE NEVER WROTE ABOUT!

All the Catholic/Protestant quibbling about Foxe's book is pathetically stupid, especially between people who've never even laid eyes upon the complete work. Besides, the REAL church was started over two hundred fifty years before Rome laid claim to Christianity -- and the first Christian church building was erected in England within three years of the crucifixion. So true Christianity is neither Catholic (never was) NOR Protestant (having never been Catholic, there was nothing for REAL Christians to protest except the way they were treated by both groups).

The truth is that Foxe accurately chronicled Roman Catholic atrocities of his time, but he also wrote in support of the Reformed (Protestant) church which used very similar tactics. He also reached some incorrect conclusions, for which he can easily be forgiven, since they are not central to his work and he did not have the research tools we have available today.

But the real point is that THIS BOOK IS NOT FOXE'S WORK and bears almost no resemblance to it. If you are interested in obtaining a a reprint of the REAL Foxe work, contact swrb(dot)com on the world wide web -- select "Rare Bound Photocopies" then look under "F" for Foxe's work. I am not necessarily endorsing any of the other works they sell, but they are the only current source I know for the complete Foxe work.

Any Christian foolish enough to think they've read "Foxe's Book of Martyrs" after reading the Thomas Nelson edition (or most other "modern" versions) is probably unlearned enough to call himself Catholic or Protestant.

Some historians have pointed out that Foxe was biased against Catholics. Although his personal conflict against Catholicism likely drove his effort to put this book together, one has to recognize that the very abuses described in this book are a large part of WHY he was set against Catholicism in his own day in the first place. So far as I know, most or all of the stories of burning heretics, which Foxe describes, are true. All of which is a part of what Pope John Paul II has begun apologizing for at the change of the millennium.

But Foxe also spends an equal amount of time retelling the stories of Christians who were killed for their faith during the days of ancient Rome. As a result, I don't think the book builds Roman Catholic resentment in most readers. Instead, it reveals the real fabric of Christian faith. Those who like only a rosey picture of the Church are no different than those who like only a rosey picture of the real world we live in. This book describes the dark times in Christian history, but the light is never lost in that darkness. And that is what this book is really about--the inability of the darkness to snuff out the light of true faith--whether it is an internal darkness within the Church or an external darkness that tries to engulf the Church.

This book should be read by everyone who calls themselves "Christian."Anytime I get to feeling life is too tough,and I start feeling like God isn't close,this book and the book of Job are the books to get me back to reality.When you read the book of martyrs and you read the horrible ways these Christians were tortured and killed you realize you have no reason to complain and every reason to be thankful.Thankful not only to Jesus Christ and the apostles, but to the Christians all over the world who are being killed every day for the Gospel.If you have ever wondered how the apostles died, this book tells you.Incidentally, John was the only apostle who died of old age.Humbling and educational

Lord Acton (1834-1902), usually regarded as one of the most eminent Victorians, has largely eluded thorough analysis because of the formidable problems facing the biographer. Any definitive study must involve examination of the vast pile of Acton miscellany gathered at the Cambridge University Library, travel to several European archives (and concomitant facility in French, German and Italian) and an understanding of some fairly arcane problems of 19th century Catholic dogma. Roland Hill contends successfully with all these factors in this excellent study.

Still, students of Church history, or of 19th century Britain may well wonder if Hill's efforts were justified. Acton was born into the English Catholic aristocracy; he had all the advantages of social standing, money (for most of his life), connections and education. Yet, he failed to capitalize on any of these factors to leave a lasting mark on his age.

As a Catholic polemicist, Acton mounted campaigns against the temporal power of the Pope and the doctrine of Papal Infallibility, topics of little interest during the last 150 years. A man of undeniable erudition and learning, Acton assembled an immense private library and conducted research in dozens of Continental archives, but never published a book. A member of Parliament, Acton spoke only three times in the House in more than six years. Although appointed Regius Professor of History at Cambridge (1895), he neither started nor influenced any school of historians and his participation in the "Cambridge Modern History" was too short-lived to have had any effect. As a fairly close friend of Gladstone, Acton might have had some influence on the policies of the great Prime Minister, but if he did, even Hill's assiduous research has failed to disclose any direct link between Acton's ideas and Gladstone's actions.

Even after a careful and charitable reading, it is difficult to agree with Hill's assessment that "it is not paradoxical to admire [Acton] for books he never wrote or for what he tried to do rather than for what he succeeded in achieving." (p. 410). One can, though, admire Hill's thorough, careful and thoughtful study, and still conclude that his talents as a biographer would have been better expended on a more suitable subject.

This is the first major biography of Lord Acton since mid-century. This remarkable historian, Catholic dissident, and philosopher of freedom was in many ways the very epitome of the erudite Victorian scholar. That is, he was _so_ learned, that the present-day reader should distrust any reviewer, including the present one, who presumes to encapsulate and classify him in a few easy paragraphs.

There's little danger of that from me. This book tells the story of Acton's life and career, and I must admit that, so far as judging the work of author and subject, my hat's simply off to them. It is interesting reading about things like Acton's near-excommunication from the Catholic Church, because of his opposition in 1870 to the new doctrine of papal infallibility, and then his continued devotion to the Church. His private correspondence with contemporaries, debating the great issues of the day, particulary freedom, make for bracing reading.

His ideas in private circulation, rather than his parliamentary career or written output, carry his fame today. His magnum opus, _History of Liberty_, was never written. The only bits of it that made it to completion were two lectures, "The History of Freedom in Antiquity", and "The History of Freedom in Christianity." Disappointingly, these and a couple of other short writings are only excerpted here--they are brief enough to have been put in an appendix of this big book. Fortunately, they can be read at the Acton Institute's website.

By the way, it was Acton who coined the phrase, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

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This is my required text for hydraulics. There's not a lot of examples or practice problems. Also difficult to follow what ther're trying to convey. I'm going to have to buy another book to get through this class.