The Amores, by Publius Ovidius Naso, will leave your loins on fire and your heart as cold as ice. Coming from a time of Roman warriors and Greek gods, Publius Ovidius Naso, better known as Ovid, set the world and its many women on fire. With his mentions of charm and perfect bodies, he captures his audiences' hormones, as well as their imaginations. In The Amores, Ovid expresses sexual reminiscences of a woman named Corrina who may just as well be fictional. He tells us of her beautiful long hair and the body she possesses that is nothing short of perfect. Ovid shares with us his analysis of love as well as life.

Review: Ovid's Amores
The three books of Ovid's Amores depict a mockery of the values held during the first century of the Christian era. Ovid attempts to show the world the lack of importance in the great virtues presented in many of the major epics of the time. Amores uses satire to describe the author's wooing of women to waging war. It suggests that Ovid's efforts to romance his lovers are much more essential to life than the battles that are taking place during the time period. In that, he proposes that one should live for the day. Duty and valor are all pointless in the end. These ideas were of course very unpopular with the emperor Augustus. After the writing of one of his works the emperor banished Ovid from Rome.
Ovid was a Roman elegist who expressed a carpe diem attitude during a time where duty and honor were more valuable than life itself. He was born Publius Ovidus Naso in the town of Sulmo (now called Sulmona), near Rome in the year 43 BC. He was a highly educated man, originally skilled in the art of law. However, his passion was for literature and he spent a great deal of his time writing his own works rather than studying the past. His poetry of love probably stems from his own relationships, for by the age of 30 he had married three times and was divorced twice, with rumors of affairs. He lived an extravagant life and was well-it respected by the people of Rome. This high profile Roman life lasted until approached the age of 50 when he was banished from Rome by Augustus. The reasons behind the banishment are unclear. Some say it is a result of a disapproval by Augustus of Ovid's work while others say that Ovid knew too much of a scandal that involved the emperor's daughter Julia. He was exiled to Tomi, in the Roman province of Dacia, and although he never lost his citizenship, he never returned to Rome and died in Tomi in the 17 AD.
Ovid's works can be categorized into three periods: his early works, his middle works, and the works written after his exile from Rome. His works, in contrast to popular works of the time such as Vergil's Aenied, are sharp in contrast. Although his ideas ran contrary to the beliefs of the time, Ovid was extremely popular in Rome. Amores was written in his early period, when the focus of his writings was on love. His middle works concentrate more on mythology and creationism, while his latter works, those written after his exile, have a depressing and bitter tone. He is said to have influence many English writers, including William Shakespeare and John Milton, and was one of the Roman poets with a tremendous impact on the writers of both the Middle Age and Renaissance periods.
During this time period in Rome the emperor Augustus favored and promoted the ideas of honor and duty. Those loyal to Rome were expected to embrace these values without question. Because of this writers such as Vergil gained much approval with the emperor. Their writings embraced these ideas and even portrayed them as being greater than love. Ovid's style and theme in Amores as with most of his writings favors a less dutiful attitude toward life.
Ovid's Amores also known as The Erotic Poems describes the poet's love affair with a woman named Corinna. In a series of three books Ovid depicts the phases of his relationship. He starts buy telling us how he came to write about love, and his encounter with cupid. (...)Corinna becomes the target of Ovid's love. During an afternoon he tells us of a rendezvous experienced with his new found love and spares little detail. As Ovid goes through his tale of love with Corinna he describes many experiences with her that begin to change from beginning to end. Ovid begins comparing his love affair and love in general to the efforts of war. (...) Here we see his analogy of war with love. When Carinna locks Ovid out during the writing of an epic he explains the unimportance of his work. (...)Ovid explains how his words are more effective then the strongest weapons. Poetry can open the doors of any young girl. Ovid's message is clear throughout Amores. Things such as duty and honor should not be worried about. One must live for the moment.

(...)

Ovid, the young dandy none of the most beautiful women of Rome could resist, in the Amores describes his crazy love to the etera Corinna. There is one obstacle to this love. Ovid, as a young artist, lacks money and she is encharged by a rich man for long. The young and charming Ovid, though, meets her secretly. From poem to poem, the Relationship develops. Very funny scenes are to be found, when the young lovers try to avoid the control of Corinna's sponsor, e.g. as the three of them are invited at the same party, or when Ovid discovers that Corinnas erotic skills have increased and learned things that Ovid for his part has not told her. You simply enjoy the light an witty style of the poems. As to the Art of Love, Ovid uses the genre of Didactic Poetry to write a brilliant parody of Love's euphory and melancholy. The "master of love" as he calls himself, particularly teaches us not to take love that seriously- an occasion to flirting is everywhere, and "at first you shall be convinced that every woman can be conquered." The third book is written for women- I cannot say if the advises given are good- but a girl-friend of mine confesses to hate Ovid because he has discovered so many strategies which should not be made public. Also the Art is worth reading as marvellous literature anyway- one of the most funny books about love! The shorter Cures of Love and Facial Treatment for Ladies are only short Appendices, but also nice to read. With all these works Ovid proves to be a master of the art of love as well as of poetry.

Though this book retolds the famous 10-year-voyage of Odysseus,it is still adventurous and fascinating. The writing style is quitepoetic, but the phrases are simple enough for elementary school children (upper grades). The writer and the artist didn't forget the virtue to give us information about an ancient map and Immortals and Mortals. Above all, the illustrations are very intriguing. Blue, gold, and earthen colours bring readers to fantastic and imaginative new worlds of adventure. Also the cleverness of including Milon's famous statue into the illustration of the palace of King Alcinous makes me smile. My 11-year-old daughter and I love this book!

I just finished reading this wonderful book to my six-year-old son, who recently became obsessed with Greek mythology after listening to the audiotapes of the D'Aulaires' Greek Mythology. I picked this version because the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous, but I soon became equally appreciative of the writing. I needed to do a little bit of explaining to my son, but not too much. The story carried him along, and the retelling was clear enough--poetic without going overboard, with well-structured sentences that expressive oral reading could handle. I actually read the last third of the book while my son was in the emergency room, getting stitches! He didn't even realize that the doctor had begun stitching his head because he was so busy telling him about Odysseus! I highly recommend this book as a read aloud for a child with a good attention span (able to listen to chapter books) who likes adventure stories. My son spent several years obsessed (and I do mean obsessed) with Star Wars, and now he's moved on to Harry Potter--but Greek mythology and particularly this tale have caught his fancy in the same way.

My kids, 8 and 7 year old boys, and I loved this book. The illustrations are wonderful. And it is written in a style that challenged them to listen, but they could definitely understand. Great book!

The introduction and the first two chapters captured my attention, the book begins with Herod's death and comments on the internal (tragic) family matters. The author displays his impressive knowledge of archeology, ancient and biblical history to present to us a believable portrait of Herod.

In Peter Richardson's new book, 'Herod: King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans', we are given a much fuller account of the king who has graduated to being an archtype, almost mythical character who is the embodiment of evil.

'Herod the Great, as he is usually called, was much like Henry VIII, Catherine the Great, of Peter the Great: talented, vigourous, lusty, skillful, charismatic, attractive, decisive, influential--but a disaster in his personal life. Like them, Herod changed his nation's history.'

In a biographical study an author need not like the subject, but it helps if there is something to admire. Herod's personality is not attractive; had I been a contemporary I should not have wanted to spend much time with him.

This having been said, Richardson does find much of interest and intrigue in the character and the deeds of Herod the Great.

Herod was king of the Jews by virtue of his assistance to the Romans who were, during the 50-year period preceding the birth of Jesus and the beginning of the common/Christian era, consolidating power throughout much of the eastern Mediterranean lands. Herod married many times for increasing political and social purposes (a trend that would continue in the Herodian line -- John the Baptist was beheaded primarily for pointing out the marriage difficulties with a later Herod).

Herod the Great, founder of the line that would last and be an influence in Roman and Christian development for some two hundred years, died in 4 BCE, in Jericho, not long after the events that would have created the first Christian martyrs -- the slaying of the newborns of Bethlehem. The timing of his death in Jericho makes it appear to be divine justice, but independent verification of the Biblical story has never been found.

Richardson approaches the historical subject in a somewhat backwards fashion, examining the details of the death of Herod and the aftermath his will and the will of Rome in shaping his legacy to their ends. Using close sources such as Josephus, Richardson then proceeds to examine earlier, less well-documented periods in Herod's life, including his early service to Rome and his attempts at consolidation of power at different points. Shortly before key events that would bring him the favour of the Romans, Herod himself was on trial in Jerusalem for his possible usurpation of power that was not rightfully his -- this bravado, however, found favour with the Romans who followed his career with interest ever after.

Richardson also explores Herod's influence in the building up of Jerusalem into a great city as well as outside projects (major fortresses, palaces, religious and cultural buildings, commercial construction and infrastructure), as well as his support of and rivalry with various religious factions in Jerusalem and surrounding Judea. Herod's relationship with the Temple and priestly elite had ramifications throughout the religious fabric of Judaism of the time, which in various factions held differing beliefs about the appropriate constitution of the priestly officials and the practices these should perform. Herod incurred the disfavour of Sadducees, Pharisees, Esssenes, Herodians, Brigands, and others at different points in turn.

In the final chapters, Richardson turns to examine the role of Herod and his descendants in Christianity. He examines in detail the likelihood of Herod ordering the death of the newborns (or even knowing of the birth of a potential rival king). He examines also the role of Herod Antipas in the death of John and Jesus. Josephus confirms John the Baptist's death at the hands of Antipas, though recounts somewhat differently from gospel accounts. The gospels relate two independent traditions regarding the relationship of Jesus and Herod Antipas.

In all, this is a fascinating history that brings up great detail and context with which to read the gospel stories, the Roman history in the Middle East, and the Dead Sea Scrolls in a new context.

Herod has long suffered from the taint of infanticide and his associations with the birth of Christ, as portrayed in the Bible. Peter Richardson's book dispells the myths that have grown up around Herod, and make him a living, breath ing, interesting character in the period of Roman rule of Palestine, and the int ertestamental period of religious history. Herod the builder, Herod the supporte r of the Jewish diaspora and the Olympian games, Herod the master politician - e ach of these aspects of his character are brought vividly to life, and make clea r his very important position in the pre-Christian life of Palestine. This book provides important insights into the life of Herod, his skills as architect and administrator, and uncanny ability to read the political situation and shift all egiance in order to remain in power. An excellent book well worth the effort to read.

Simply put, I agree with the other reviewers, in that this is a readable, good introduction to the history of England. The author did seem to have made certain assumptions about the reader's familiarity with the geography of England, i.e. place names, etc. There were a few maps that shed quite a bit of light on the location of places and peoples, but I had to search them out. A few more maps, and descriptive maps that illustrated the movement of troops, tribes or progression of battles would have added so much to this book. A good companion, from the Roman history point of view, is the Penguin Illustrated Atlas of Ancient Rome, which covers Caesar's and later Rome's experiences in England.

Peter Blair provides an understandable account of early England during the Roman occupation and subsequent Anglo-Saxon era. Early in the book Blair makes it clear historical written information about this period is quite limited, particularly after the Roman occupation. However, with sources such as Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and poems such as Beowulf, Blair paints a fairly detailed picture of England from 55 BC to AD 871. I found the book to be quite readable even for someone with limited prior knowledge of the period.

Blair is an expert in his field and covers the material of Roman Britian and Anglo-Saxon England very well. For an area of history that relatively little is known about, Blair creates a clear and full picture of life and politics of this time. Writing this book after Blair was already established in his field, "Roman Britian and Anglo-Saxon England, 55 BC to 871 AD", is easy to follow. However, a general understanding or rudementary backround of the subject is helpful. Blair is quick to state the ambiquity of the sources and evidence surviving from the time period which only increases his repute as an accomplished historian. This book is highly recommended for anyone wishing to take a serious look at Roman Britian and Anglo-Saxon England with the security of knowing it is from a trusted source.

For years Peter Kreeft has been trying to be the new C. S. Lewis. For years he has failed. He lacks the learning, the style, and the wit. He should stick to teaching philosophy at Boston University and abandon his endless series of superficial books(never acknowledged by professionals)which only serve to show how much he owes to other thinkers and how utterly unoriginal he is.

Although I am a Protestant, I have come to appreciate every thing Peter Kreeft writes. I bought his Handbook of Apologetics and could not put it down. Now these essays are feeding both mind a soul. Kreeft's way with words must be inspiration. His idea that faith, hope and charity together are the tripod that holds Christianity together is wonderful. In just one paragrpah he shows how you can't have one without the other two. Together they keep Christianity from becoming cold, cruel and wishful thinking.Each chapter is short and every word wothy of thought. My copy of the book is well marked and each page written on.
Just one example of Kreeft's powerful imagery is his picture of Christianity as a flower: Faith is the root, hope the stem, and charity the flower. "The flower is the fairest, the stem does the growing, but the root must come first" (p.170)
I expect to return to this book time and again. For anyone who wants to know what Christians believe (including Christians), this is essential reading. The last section on the unity of the Church in which Kreeft lists the things both Protestants and Catholics would have to surrender to become one again is worth the price of the book. Kreeft calls his vision of a united Church "The Evangelical Catholic Church" and perhaps his ideas could serve as a starting point for meaningful conversation. I also enjoy his list of questions concerning orthodoxy that can unify all Christians.

I first ran across this book ten years ago and have found myself continually buying copies for friends. Having just purchased it and reread it, yet again, I am convinced that, of Kreeft's many works, and among Christian apologetics generally, this one continues to stand out as foundational. By starting with the very "fundamentals lf the faith" in the first part of the book, Kreeft enables those with little or no understanding of Christianity to embrace it. He moves on to some of the tougher issues of the faith, and without flinching, presents a defense that is both philosophically and theologically sound. Finally, he turns to a series of essays on the Lord's Prayer that has continued to revitalize my prayer life. Overall, what makes this book such a winner for me is his clear, articulate prose -- and the fact that the book is presented in short essays that are ideal for an evening's consumption... if, in fact, you can resist the temptation to plough through the whole thing in a sitting.

Peter Nockles's THE OXFORD MOVEMENT IN CONTEXT is far
too scholarly, richly detailed and subtly nuanced to be the first
book about John Henry Newman or the Oxford Movement that a
novice in 19th Century British history will feel up to. The
beginner might well first read Newman's two novels CALLISTA
and LOSS AND GAIN and then slowly and deliberately spiral
outward and upward into the huge specialized literature about
the Church of England (CoE) in the first half of the 19th Century.

With that caveat, a more advanced reader will not want to pass
Nockles by. For this distinguished scholar brings to life the late
18th and early 19th Century Church of England and also its
embattled on-the-defensive sisters in Scotland and Ireland. That
Church is seen as it battles Parliament to remain "established,"
that is, the popular religion of England and a kind of partner to
Crown and Government. The Oxford Movement appeared after
the Reformers, the Puritans and the Methodists as yet another
effort to return an increasingly worldly, secularizing CoE to
Christian religious fervor.

Inevitably, John Henry Newman takes center stage. His early
conversion to Evangelical Christianity within the CoE also
introduced him to patristics and the Christianity of the first five
centuries. He and his associates in the reforming Oxford
Movement, Richard Hurrell Froude, John Keble and Edward
Pusey, as Nockles demonstrates, did not come from nowhere.
They built more than they were willing to admit on often
underestimated predecessors of the previous fifty years,
especially among the old "high and dry" Anglican high
churchmen.

There was a nation-wide struggle for the religious heart of John
Bull among Anglicans across the board, Evangelicals,
Methodists, Roman Catholics, secularizers and the "middle way"
Oxford Movement. Newman and colleagues moved boldly with
their 90 Tracts for the Times to vindicate the apostolic and
"catholic" claims of the national church. They challenged often
wealthy, worldly bishops to stand up to an interfering
Parliament--even to the point of martyrdom. The Oxford
Movement also sought to restore pre-Reformation beliefs and
practices to a church officially, albeit weakly, Protestant.

Even as the CoE establishment beat back Newman and the
Movement, it eventually absorbed many of their ideas on liturgy,
reading of history, prophetical religion, celibacy, invocation of
saints, auricular confession, the Eucharist, Baptism and on and
on.

In short, the Oxford Movement, like predecessor waves of
reform throughout English history, left the national church an
organization much more dedicated than before both to individual
holiness and to ways of life inducive to collective sanctity.
Ironically, as Peter Nockles concludes (p. 320) "...the Oxford
Movement caused the Church of England to become
theologically more tolerant when, in fact, its aim had been to
make it more dogmatic."

-OOO-

The Oxford Movement in Context : Anglican High Churchmanship, 1760-1857 by Peter B. Nockles is an excellent history of the Oxford Movement. This book goes into the roots of the Anglican Church, the decades prior to the publishing of the Tracts for the Times, and of course, John Henry Newman. Peter Nockles does a better job than the other authors on this topic I've read of defining the theology of each group within the Church of England. Another of my favorite aspects of this book is that although John Henry Newman is at the center of things, he is not the life and soul of the Movement as other writers place him. Nockles shows you the other men involved in the Oxford Movement throughout its history.
I recommend this book to those who have some knowledge of the topic already and are looking for a book that goes into detail. This is definately not an introduction to the topic; if you are looking for an introduction I recommend starting with a differant book and picking this one up later.

This is a book that every Christian and every Catholic needs to read. De Rosa is a Catholic himself, though the pope would probably consider him less-than-orthodox. His description of the corruption and wickedness of the "Mother of Harlots" is certainly less than flattering.

De Rosa chronicles the centuries of Roman Catholic "rule" over the "Church." It is fascinating to read the history behind the development of the "Church" as we know it, and behind some of the doctrines of Catholicism. The teaching of Purgatory, for instance, grew out of the need to raise funds. The Pope invented Purgatory so he could sell indulgences in order to allow souls out!

After reading this description of the vast wickedness of this pseudo-church, one must read the seventeenth chapter of Revelation. The Apostle John perfectly described what was to come!

I found De Rosa's history lesson captivating. If he'd stayed with history, he'd have gotten 5-stars. But he shows his ignorance several times when he talks about foundational Christian doctrines such as the Resurrection (from what I could tell, he doesn't believe Christ rose bodily), the Creation (he believes in the foolish myth of Evolution), and our Sin Nature (he needs to read again what Paul said on this).

De Rosa also errs several time in his discussion of the origins of the Bible. For instance, he says that the Johannine Commma (I John 5:7) appears in no Greek manuscript. This is not true. While it's appearance in the extant Greek manuscripts is very rare, it does yet appear. De Rosa also goes so far as to imply that Isaiah didn't write the book of Isaiah, and a few other equally foolish things.

De Rosa seemed a little difficult to follow at times, and the last few chapters seemed to drag on, as he delved into a discussion primarily regarding current Catholic views on sex, contraception, abortion, and divorce.

De Rosa is not anti-Catholic (he's a former Jesuit priest!); he seems to want genuine reform. But one must ask, "Reform to what?" If you deny the Bible, deny Christ, and deny God, as De Rosa seems to do, you're left with nothing but a relativistic man-made traditionalism that can be anything the "man of the hour" wants it to be.

I view it as a Godsend that I stumbled across a copy of "Vicars of Christ" at a Goodwill store. It's a shame it's out of print. I'm going to help spread some of its revelations on my web site http://www.LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/RCscandal where I am already sharing some of the discoveries I made about the horrendous role of Pope Pius XII in the Jewish Holocaust, when I read "Hitler's Pope" by John Cornwell, which I bought from this web site.

Like Father De Rosa, I was born and bred a devout Catholic, became a priest, became disillusioned with the Church after the old guard regained control of the Church, following the Second Vatican Council, and I left the priesthood in disgust in the very same year, 1970.

I know how terribly difficult it is for Roman Catholics to see how crazy their world is, but this quote from Pope Urban VIII to Galileo, after he had just been amazed at what he saw when peering through one of Galileo's great new scientific instruments, a microscope, for the first time is a great illustration. "You may have IRREFUTABLE PROOF of the earth's motion (around the sun). This DOES NOT PROVE the earth actually moves... God is above human reason; and what seems perfectly reasonable to men may prove folly to God." (p.226) The fact is that Urban, like most spokesman for the Catholic Church, can't seem to distinguish between GOD and "men of God". He wasn't really talking about what GOD thinks, but what CHURCHMEN think. And he was saying that so long as the Church had the power to stiffle the scientific community, the folly of churchmen would trump the IRREFUTABLE PROOF of scientists.

Now that books like these have let the light of truth into my life, I can vouch for the truth of Jesus' words,"The Truth shall make you free." To see what following Christ is really all about, go to http://www.LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/Christlike .

I can't remember when I've laughed so much! This book reads like a Stephen King thriller and ought not to be out of print. I used to think that the Borgias represented a low point in the papacy, but they don't come close to the depravity under Sergius III, John XI, John XII and the ambitious Marozia, the time around 904 to 963 AD. Much fun was also had during the great schism and al through the renaissance. It is truly a tale of scandal, intrigue and crime and makes compulsive reading. Contains a useful Chronology, List of Popes with dates, Councils of the church, a very good bibliography (of documents and books) and index. This book contains enough material for more than one TV mini-series.

In writing this book, Catholic apologist David Hess has brought forth some fascinating information regarding the papacy. I read it with interest and found it most helpful in understanding Catholic teaching on the pope. However, I was disappointed in the poor layout design, which made things hard to follow. Although the content was good, the physical presentation of the material was disjointed and amateurish (no doubt the publisher's fault, not the author's). But in spite of the technical ineptitude of the publisher and whoever "edited" the work, Hess and his co-authors should be credited with presenting an interesting and challenging case. I hope he writes more.

. . .with a few presentation flaws that prevent a fifth star.

This is an outstanding example of excellence in Catholic apologetics. It is also a compelling argument against those Protestants who believe, for some reason, that Catholic scholars can't, don't, or won't use Scripture.

The book provides a remarkable Scriptural exegesis for the Office of Peter, and supports that exegesis through citations from the Church Fathers (both East and West), from Reformation era Protestants, and even from Eastern Orthodox theologians.

I personally know two of the men who reviewed this book. One, a highly skilled professor of New Testament and Church History has since become a Catholic. (Please see my review of "Mighty in Word and Deed" by James Shelton).

I, myself, used this volume as a secondary source in the preparation of my Master's Thesis.

The minor downsides to this book are that the presentation is sometimes choppy. It's a difficult volume to actually sit and read through -- and this is something which could easily be changed, and that a few of the citations would have greatly benefited from some context.

Other than these minor items, I found this book extremely valuable.

I highly recommed this work.

Well...lightweight pseudo-scholars like James White and Robert Zins will have their hands full for years with this one. This book is one of the best Catholic apologetics around right now. It was reviewed by three hundred and fifty Protestant professors for four years before it was published. Since its publication, forty-two Protestant seminary professors from various traditions have converted to the Catholic faith. I predict that this trend will continue. This easy to follow guide is a must read for Catholics and Protestants; for Catholics to strengthen their faith and to give them ammunition against Protestants, and for Protestants to educate them on what scripture and early Christians really say about the papacy.

Matthew 16:18 has long been one of the most disputed verses in Scripture between Catholics and Protestants. From the Catholic perspective, this verse points to the office of the Pope where Jesus grants divine authority to Peter and his successors. Obviously, this interpretation does not sit well for Protestants who deny this authority. But do Protestants correctly interpret this verse as well as other verses regarding the Papacy? The answer is no and this book will explain why. The office of the Pope will come alive for you as the author takes you through the Old and New Testaments as well as the writings of the earliest Christians outside of biblical times. The author left no STONE unturned (pardon the pun) as he methodically destroys any attempt to disprove the Papacy in Scripture. An insightful book and a must read for both Protestants and Catholics. Reviewed by Gospel Truth.

I highly recommend this book because it's full of histirical proof for what the Catholic Church teaches about Saint Peter and about the Papacy. I have checked some of Mr. Ray's sources, too, and the checked quotations were accurate.

Ray often quotes Protestant scholars, who agree with some Catholic teachings, and others who disagree with them. That helps a lot, too, because some Catholic books about apologetics seem not to quote Protestant sources that confirm Catholic beliefs.

"Upon This Rock" includes an extensive bibliography, too.

But for me, the book has an annoying feature. Often, a footnote will fill most of a page. So after you read a paragraph or two of bigger print, you need to get most of the page's detail from the small print in the footnote. The book would have been much longer without the footnotes, but I would prefer much normal size print to much tiny print.

Buy this book. It will prove that the Catholic Church is right about Peter and about the papacy.

Stephen K. Ray does an excellent job of presenting the scriptural and historical case for the papacy. He writes clearly and well. I would like to make a point about a book mentioned in the review by the Eastern Orthodox gentleman, namely Brian Tierney's "The Origins of Papal Infallibility". Moved by that review I read Tierney's book. Brian Tierney, though a good scholar, has an axe to grind, specifically a liberal Catholic axe. I am surprised that an Eastern Orthodox person would commend the arguments of Tierney, since Tierney obviously is against not just PAPAL infallibility, but ALL infallibility, including the infallibility of Ecumenical Councils and the infallibility of the Church herself, both of which doctrines are believed in by the Eastern Orthodox. Tierney, as a liberal, does not believe that the Church can definitively commit herself to truths. In other words, he rejects the possibility of dogma. Essentially his position is that of Hans Kung.

The mistake that this Eastern Orthodox reviewer makes illustrates a basic problem with attempts to interpret the historical evidence in an Eastern Orthodox or Anglican way: these via media are self-destructive, as Newman realized. The Orthodox accept the hierarchical authority of bishops and the infallibility of Ecumenical Councils. But the scriptural evidence and the evidence from the ante-Nicene Fathers is stronger for the papacy than for the authority of Ecumenical Councils. One can pick holes in the evidence for the papacy, but only by using arguments that ultimately can be used even more effectively against other doctrines that the Orthodox would wish to uphold. Protestants have the same problem: the same arguments that are used against the papacy can be turned even more effectively against the New Testament. To return to Ray's book, I recommend it very highly.

This book is good if you are new to studying Aquinas, but considering in the inreoduction Kreft suggest not skipping the objections and reading the "on the contrary" and the "I answer that" first, he certainly edits many of the articles this way. It is my opinion that Kreeft cut out too much text.

Summa of the Summa (hereafter SS) is a simply wonderful abridgment of Aquinas' Summa Theologica (hereafter ST). Professor Kreeft has done a superlative job of assembling those parts of ST that will be of most interest to readers new to Aquinas' thought. The text is drawn from the Dominican Benzinger Brothers translation of ST, still the most faithful to Aquinas original language and still the most widely available complete edition of ST in English. Kreeft includes a fine glossary of technical terms in ST likely to be unfamiliar to most readers, and a short, readable introductory essay that gives an interesting discussion of the structure of ST. Rather than include a lengthy introductory commentary on the classic text as do many editors, Kreeft includes his comments in footnotes, which appear frequently and are quite extensive. To give one example, to accompany Aquinas' famous "five ways" to prove the existence of God on pp. 57-70, Kreeft provides approximately eight pages worth of footnotes. The footnotes that discuss Aquinas only are nearly always illuminating, and will prove invaluable to readers as they study the primary text. I believe readers of SS will be able to progress more smoothly to the complete ST if they so choose than they could with any other abridgment of ST or other anthology of Aquinas' writings now in print. At the same time, SS is a fine, self-contained introduction to Aquinas' thought.

The only disappointing aspect of SS is its discussion of philosophical positions that are at variance with Aquinas. Like many philosophers working in Roman Catholic institutions, Kreeft has a tendency to present false straw-man interpretations of philosophers whose conclusions he disagrees with, and then to "refute" these philosophers by kicking down the straw men. (For the record, I am Roman Catholic.) For instance, on a footnote on p. 522, Kreeft erroneously attributes to Hobbes the view that people are naturally vicious and to Hume the view that knowledge is nothing other than the passive reception and ordering of sense impressions. Kreeft strongly hints to the reader here that Aquinas' own positions are more cogent than those of Hume and Hobbes, but this is misleading since the footnote presents a "straw-man Hobbes" and a "straw man Hume". Kreeft's tendency to misinterpret and then unfairly dismiss certain important philosophical doctrines even leads him to occasionally misrepresent Aquinas. For instance, in a footnote on pp. 430-431 Kreeft claims that Aquinas' example on these pages refutes utilitarianism. In fact, the classical doctrine of utilitarianism as John Stuart Mill and Henry Sidgwick formulated it is designed to show that the very example Aquinas gives is a CONSEQUENCE of utilitarianism.

In summation, readers can profit immensely from a careful study of the classic text and supplementary materials in SS, but they should take care not to trust anything said here about philosophers who disagree with Aquinas at face value.

Dr. Kreeft provides an excellent introduction here in this anthology of of Aquinas' work. The way it is laid out works very well - Aquinas' writings appear first - then Dr. Kreeft's helpful remarks on the text are footnoted at the bottom of the page. No page flipping is necessary to get his comments - and they dont get in the way with reading the primary text either.

The book begins with a glossary of terms needed to comprehend Aquinas' thought. Unless you are familiar with these terms, you should really take the time to learn them before embarking on the rest of the book.

This book is a very good introduction and reference for Aqunias' thought. For absolute beginners with no background at all in Aristotelian philosophy however, you will probably want to first read Mortimer J. Adler's "Aristotle for Everybody" before tackling this book.