"The need for a substantial and satisfactory treatment of the Renaissance and Reformation, embodying the very latest scholarship, has been felt for some time. Professor Lucas has filled the gap.

Quainton, C. E.

English

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The appearance of this book is an occasion for thankfulnessamong all serious students of our cultural heritage. The need for aThe Renaissance and the Reformation. By HENRY STEPHEN LUCAS.(New York: Harper Brothers, 1934. Pp. 765. $4.00.)very skyscrapers and railroad trains of our mechanical age. AndRobert Nathan's One More Spring found comedy, gaiety, and ro-mance in the depression itself.Another difficulty is that only rarely, as in Sir Walter Scott, forexample, are the artist and the scholar united. Perhaps that is whyScott is the greatest of all British novelists. Artists as a class arenotoriously an ignorant lot, and scholars, as we all know, are dry asdust. Mr. Sperlin's plunge into imaginative writing has, however,been in large measure successful. He has a sense of drama, a flairfor character, and distinctly a sense of style. I would urge, however,that if he goes on to write more books in this field-as I hope hemay-his style ought to be made more simple. He has used Indianwords so freely that many passages are nearly if not quite unintel-ligible without reference to the glossary, and this makes his book un-commonly hard reading.I should add that Mr. Sperlin has learned from the Indianssome of the secrets that reveal themselves to love alone. Their lifewas different from ours. If they were weak where we are strong,they were also strong where we are weak, and those who have beenreared on dime novels and movie serials will hardly be prepared forwhat they find here. There are passages in The Heart of the Skyloowhich remind me of the late Mary Austin, whose experience withthe Indians of the Southwest was so illuminating. There was a timein her life when Mrs. Austin was cut from all close contact with theculture of her own people in the east. Instead of allowing her intel-lectual life to stagnate, as nine people out of ten would have done,she seized this opportunity to learn to know the Indians. Fromthem she learned many valuable secrets, secrets which white menhave forgotten and which they need desperately to learn.Mr. Sperlin has designed The Heart of the Skyloo as a tributeto his wife, the late Grace Smith Sperlin-"Hire spirit chaungedhous"-during her long residence in Washington so useful and sokindly a citizen. As a piece of bookmaking, it is the best thing I haveseen so far from the Metropolitan Press.EDWARD WAGENKNECHTBook Reviews66C. E. QUAINTONThe White Headed Eagle. By RICHARD G. MONTGEMERY. (NewYork: The Macmillan Company, 1934. Pp. 324. $3.50.)Richard Gill Montgomery, the author of this new book on Dr.John McLoughlin, should be well equipped for the task. He is agreat-grandson of W. H. Willson of the Methodist Missionary re-67The Renwissance and the Reformationsubstantial and satisfactory treatment of the Renaissance and Refor-mation, embodying the very latest scholarship, has been felt forsome time. Professor Lucas has filled the gap. This book is aremarkable piece of skillful synthesis and penetrating analysis.The author's basic ideas show how far historical scholarship hasmoved since the days of the giants Burckhardt and Symonds. Pure-ly political explanations are discussed; art is no longer discussed asthough in a vacuum bearing no relation to anything else. Simpleformulae are everywhere avoided. In fine the fundamental idea ofthe author is that those remarkable achievements which make up theage of the Renaissance and Reformation are based on the complexsocial and economic foundations of the time. In a word, we are con-sidering cultural phenomena that are essentially urban and bour-geois, made possible by the remarkable economic progress in Europeafter 1000 A. D. Professor Lucas is particularly effective in show-ing how the crudities of chivalry and the asceticism of medievalideals failed in the end to satisfy the growing secularism of thebourgeoisie.The second half of this book is devoted to the Reformation. Itis gratifying to note that, while this movement is firmly and clearlyset in the context of social and economic forces, it is nevertheless·treated as a religious revolt. It is not easy to write about the six-teenth century with impartiality, but the author has succeeded in do-ing so. Lutherans, Catholics, Calvinists, Anglicans, etc., have allbeen given fair and impartial discussion. Particularly interesting isthe chapter devoted to the Anabaptists who generally have receivedniggardly treatment. Professor Lucas is to be congratulated alsofor giving proper weight to the influence of the Sacramentarians.The soundness of the author's scholarship and the broad scopeof his reading are apparent on every page of this book. ProfessorLucas has done a signal service to students of history and in sodoing has enhanced his own reputation and given the University ofWashington cause for legitimate pride.

The Renaissance and the Reformation

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The Renaissance and the Reformation

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