"Bunore asp tae Fara." By H, Belloc. Constable. 17s, 6d.
Mr. Belloc's book comes at an Opportune moment. At a time when new frontiers are being erected in every direction, when peasant languages are ousting the languages of the educated and communication between Europeans is becoming every year more difficult, it is well that we should be reminded of the essential unity of Europe and the principles on which it must rest.
The reader should not be discon-carted by the swaggering introduction to the book, in which Mr. Belloe treats the man who is not a Catholic as an alien in Europe. Iv is. of course, true that a man who does not understand: what the Mass jis, and the place it has held in the hearts. of generations, cannot hope to understand the history of Europe or, for that matter, the history of Engl: but a Protestant can acquire this knowledge more easily than he can discover the principles of Buddhism, and a penny mass-book will illuminate the history of a country or a city. It is a very different thing to say, as Mr. Belloc does: "Others, not Catholics, look upon the story of Europe externally as strangers."
swagger of the introduction must, however, be forgiven, because it is followed by a brilliant and absorbing account of the rise of Christendom. There are, indeed, chapters in this book which are so valuable that we should like to see them placed within the reach of all. Mr. Belloc points to the rock from which we are hewn, and shows the heritage which we can claim as Europeans. He states, in words which fall like the blows of a hammer, what was the embodiment of European unity which we call the Roman Empire. His account of the attitude of a pagan senator to the Christian Church, then as now the only body within the Empire which had its own strict and independent laws, carries conviction and illuminates a period and his account of Alaric's. sack of Rome will revolutionize the ideas of many on that episode. one and two contain Pictures and Conversation," volume three is entitled "Myself and My Country,"" and volume four "The British World," and the complete set affords the young reader a most delightful survey of the __British Isles and the Colonies, with Their salient social, economic arid geographical features. There are a number of excellent illustrations int line and colour. Volume one is priced at 236, volumes two and three 3/6, volume four, 4/-.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.