an irish utopiaby john h. edge

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Irish Church Quarterly An Irish Utopia by John H. Edge Review by: H. H. H. The Irish Church Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 18 (Apr., 1912), pp. 178-179 Published by: Irish Church Quarterly Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30067236 . Accessed: 18/06/2014 13:51 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Irish Church Quarterly is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Irish Church Quarterly. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 62.122.73.226 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 13:51:32 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

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Irish Church Quarterly

An Irish Utopia by John H. EdgeReview by: H. H. H.The Irish Church Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 18 (Apr., 1912), pp. 178-179Published by: Irish Church QuarterlyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30067236 .

Accessed: 18/06/2014 13:51

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Irish Church Quarterly is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The IrishChurch Quarterly.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 62.122.73.226 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 13:51:32 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

178 NOTICES.

Where Dr. Robinson touches on controversial subjects, such as Private Confession, Absolution, Fasting, etc., his treatment is marked by deep insight into human nature, sanity and modera- tion. We do not think there is a sentence in the book with which churchmen of any school of thought would quarrel. It is in the best sense of the words Catholic, Liberal, and Evangelical.

In conclusion we quote some of its epigrammatic phrases: "Of all kinds of absolution, self-absolution is the most common

and the most dangerous." (p. 67.) "In these days we prefer thrill to drill." (p. 86.) "Discipleship is impossible in the absence of discipline."

(p. 89.) J. R. D.

THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING OF COIN ATOTTOES. By Rev. W. Allan, D.D. (with Supplementary Chapter on "Religious Character of Ancient Coins," by Rev. J. Zimmerman. D.D.. LL.D.). (S.P.C.K.). Price as. 6d.

No one who has not studied this fascinating subject can realize the extent to which ancient and mediaeval, as well as more modern, coins have helped to propagate the Christian Faith. The authors trace Christian symbolism from Constantine the Great's coinage downward, dealing thoroughly with different examples of Theistic, then of distinctively Christian mottoes. Where all is interesting, those parts that deal with British Christian coinage interest us most, such as, that the first known example is King Egfrith's Penny, A.D. 670, with radiated Cross and "LUX." We find that the 14th and xI5ti centuries were the most fertile period for coin legends, one of which (a Litany Petition), "Per Crucem Tuam Salva Nos Christe Redemptor," lasted for 450 years. Some of the mottoes were most beautiful, especially that of Elizabeth, "Scutum Fidei Proteget," and that of Mary, Queen of Scots, "Justus ex Fide Vivit"-strange for so strong a Romanist-while some were questionable enough, for instance, that of the Commonwealth half-crown, "guarded with angels !" Indeed the Commonwealth was the beginning of the end, for though Christian mottoes reappeared at the Restoration, they practically disappeared with the Revolution, and the D.G. on our coins is now the only relic of that numismatic piety, so common in by-gone ages. It first began to be used by William II., but originated in France about 844.

The concluding essay, on the "Religious Character of Ancient Coins," is most interesting, and the illustrations add greatly to the charm, as does also an exhaustive index. A. W. M.

AN IRISH UTOPIA. By John H. Edge, K.C. Third Edition. (Combridge and Co.). 6d. net.

While practically the whole of the English countryside has been laid under contribution for the topographical novel, Ireland is

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NOTICES. 179

seldom chosen by writers of fiction in search of local colour; and, as a consequence, Irish scenery is not haunted by the imaginary creations of the novelist's brain to anything like the same extent as in England. In George Eliot's works, peaceful, unromantic Warwickshire becomes permeated with the sorrows and joys of human beings. Such considerations as these prepare a welcome for the third edition of An Irish Utopia, an Irish novel for which Mr. John H. Edge, K.C., is responsible. In its pages Irish counties take the place of English; while Merrion Square ousts Harley Street, and the Four Courts the London haunts of law- yers. The Vale of Clara, Rathdrum, and Glendalough, figure in this novel, which is enriched by a long and full introduction on the Round Towers of Ireland. Read rapidly, the story is likely to flag; but if taken in a leisurely fashion, this quiet, discursive tale, pointed by occasional asides of a shrewd and kindly nature, gains on the reader, like the course of a placid stream through a gently undulating country. The plot, a commonplace one, affords the author the opportunity of introducing the great trial at the Wicklow Assizes, and of sketching legal luminaries and their little ways. The toleration in religious matters which the writer desires to enforce is, besides more direct teaching, subtly indi- cated by the life-long friendship between the parish priest, Father O'Toole, and the Protestant Bishop of Ballinasloe. Like Scott's Ivanhoe, the novel boasts of two charming heroines, who afford the most elaborate attempts at portraiture in the book. For the rest, the story is tinged with a gentle pensiveness, caught, per- haps, from the hills and valleys which form the setting of this Irish novel by an Irish author.

MISSIONARY LITERATURE. The Future of Africa. By Donald Fraser. (C.M.S.) 2s.

This is one of the series of text books issued conjointly by the leading missionary societies in Great Britain for the use of study circles. Mr. Fraser is a missionary of the United Free Church of Scotland in Nyasaland, who is in touch with the problems and difficulties of mission work in pagan Africa. He does not deal with the problem of Islam in Africa, but in eight chapters he gives a most interesting account of the inception, present posi- tion and future prospects of missions in Central and South Africa. It is attractively written, and will appeal strongly to all interested in the Church's work.

Uganda: A Chosen Vessel. By Rev. H. T. C. Weatherhead, C.M.S., Uganda. (C.M.S.). 6d. This is a smaller and cheaper text book for study circles, and is suitable for more junior classes and those whose members cannot afford the more expensive volumes. It is wonderful value for the money, and gives a very adequate account of the progress of Christianity in Uganda.

Doctor Aleo's Son. By Irene Barnes. (C.M.S.). Is. 6d. An attractively-produced story for boys.

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