Review

Author(s): Germain Marc'hadour

Review by: Germain Marc'hadour
Source: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Autumn, 1972), pp. 348-349
Published by: University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Renaissance Society of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2859023
Accessed: 07-11-2015 07:16 UTC

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348 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLY

be a semanticone, buthe seemsto favorJohnCotton'sposition,which

is essentiallyCalvinistic.
This book is not easy to review. It is somewhat heavy, involved, and
theological. Nevertheless, it is a thoughtful work which reveals a
knowledge of Scripture,theology, Greek, and Puritanism.It also indi-
cates a David who is willing to confront such PuritanGoliathsas Ed-
mund S. Morgan, LeonardTrinterud,and Perry Miller. He does not
regardthe new applicant'stestimony of spiritualexperienceas a rigor-
ous, inclusive test (Morgan). He does not think that Continentalante-
cedentsareimportantfor Puritanthought (Trinterud).And he does not
acceptMiller'scontention that 'even the minutiaeof ecclesiasticalprac-
tice had been prescribedages ago by Christhimself.'
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LelandH. Carlson

Andre Prevost. ThomasMoreet la crisede la penseeeuropeenne.

Tours:
Maine, I969. 8 pl.+4i6 pp. 40 Fr.
No doubt becauseProfessorPrevost was slow to send review copies
of his book to English-speakingcountries,assumingtoo modestly that
he had little to teachthe native usersof More's own mother tongue, his
impacthas been slow outsideofFrancophonia.But I witnessedwith my
own eyeshow eagerlythe neatvolume was sought by participantsin the
Thomas More Conference (Burnham,July I97I) and by people from
various countriesat the first Congressof Neo-Latin Studies (Louvain,
August I97I). I myself keep within reach a supply of copies so I can
hand one to any person who desiresa synopsis or synthesisof More's
doctrinaland spiritualposition, a neatly outlined and carefullyshaded
map of his mind. And the largermap also featuresErasmusand Luther
in some detail.
The book derives from a philosophy dissertation,which itself had
come in the wake of a theology thesis.While the typescriptswhich had
earnedhim a double doctoratelay unpublished,the young priest,who
had studiedin prewarGermanyaswell asin France,answeredthe call of
action, mostly in the form of teaching. He has taught in Palestine,in
Poland, and in California;he now heads the English departmentat his
alma mater. This wide experiencehas sharpenedhis awarenessof the
zeitgeist,and of the maldusiecle,and it is no mere coincidence that his
ThomasMorecame out when our times were proving beyond doubt
similarin spiritto those of the earlysixteenthcentury.
Here, then, is the decantedliquor, purged of its academicdregs, and
poured with the sweep of assurance:Prevosthad tried his brandorally

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 REVIEWS 349

on variousguestsundervariousskiesandmet the approvalof connois-

seurs.The divisionshavetextbookclarity;thestyleis freefromjargon;
the footnotes,thoughplentiful,areunobtrusive; sincetheyoftenquote
More'sEnglish,somereaderswill find the notesan aidto theirunder-
standingof the Frenchtext. The author'smasteryandmaturityenable
him to placehisheroin perspective,in thecontextof whathe calls'un
mondecasse.'Both England'sbody politicandthe MysticalBody of
Christwere,if not out of joint, rathersickly;to set themright,More
says,let eachmembertry to becomehealthyandvigorousinsteadof
accusingor assaultingthe system.
What is alreadya synthesisdefiesanalysis.Among pointsPrevost
makeswith especialfelicity,I wouldsingleout: Erasmus'influenceon
More culminatingwith the Utopia;More'svision of the Churchas
'Christ'sperpetualapostle'(andby the Churchhe alwaysmeansthe
'commonknown Catholicchurchof good andbadtogether,'laymen
andclergy;'theHoly Churcharewe');theideaof progressive revelation
throughoutChristianhistory;happinessasthegoal of humanlife,not-
withstandingthe mysteryof Christ'scross,becausepersonalhappiness
is bestachievedby a measureof voluntarysacrificeforthewelfareof the
community;andconscienceasthefinalresortin morality,it beingun-
derstoodthata Christianformsandif needbe 'reforms'his conscience
by the standardof his faith.'I neverintendto pin my soul to another
man'sback,'Morewritesto his daughter,nor doeshe expecther or
anybodyelseto do so.
Trueto the designhe avowsin big redletterson the backcover-
'L'histoireestle miroirdupresent'-Prevostseesthis'equinoctial season'
of ours, with its radicaland sometimesobstreperous'contestation,'
throughthe prismof thatearlierequinox,with its violentandsome-
timeswanton'protestation,' when'heapsof mischief,'saysMore,were
wrought'underthe pretextof reformation.' ThomasMoreis an ideal
witnessbecausehe respondedbothasa writerandasa manof actionto
all the intellectualand spiritualstirringsand challengesof his times,
evenwhenhe wasnot attunedto them.Whilesometimesquestioning
his hero'sstand,CanonPrevostseesto it thatwe nevertireof hiscom-
pany,mainlyperhapsbecauseof that'optimismefondamental... l'un
des traitsessentiels. . . du Lebensgefihl
morien'(p. 48).
Holbein'sMoregazesat you arrestinglyfrom the frontcover, and
Prevost'sMoreholdsyou no lessarrestinglyunderhis searchinggaze
throughpageafterpage of an elegantandmuscularprose.
UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE D'ANGERS GermainMarc'hadour

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