Charles J. Zinn, A.B., LL.B., LL.M., S.J.D.

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A Man Born Again: Saint Thomas More

St. John's University School of Law

The Catholic Lawyer Volume 1 Number 1 Volume 1, January 1955, Number 1 Article 10 March 2016 A Man Born Again: Saint Thomas More Charles J. Zinn, A.B., LL.B., LL.M., S.J.D. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/tcl  Part of the Catholic Studies Commons, Law and Philosophy Commons, and the Religion Law Commons Recommended Citation Charles J. Zinn, A.B., LL.B., LL.M., S.J.D. (1955) "A Man Born Again: Saint Thomas More," The Catholic Lawyer: Vol. 1 : No. 1 , Article 10. Available at: https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/tcl/vol1/iss1/10 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Catholic Lawyer by an authorized editor of St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact selbyc@stjohns.edu. BOOK REVIEWA MAN BORN AGAIN: SAINT THOMAS MORE, by John E. Beahn, 208 pp., The BrucePublishing Company, Milwaukee, 1954, $3.00.Reviewed byCHARLES J. ZINN, A.B., LL.B., LL.M., S.J.D.*It is a truism that the lives of the saints arerarely dull. Contrary to the misconception inthe minds of some who have never takenadvantage of the abundant opportunities tofamiliarize themselves with the trials and tor-ments that are usually the prelude to sanctity,saints are, first of all, human beings.With the ever-increasing literature con-cerning Saint Thomas More, there is at handa wide choice for the reader who wants tolearn something of the life of the patron saintof lawyers. These books range from the firstauthoritative biography by More's son-in-law, William Roper, through fictionalizedstories based upon authentic historical inci-dents, to the present apocryphal "autobiog-raphy," A Man Born Again, by EdwardBeahn.In another medium the title, taken fromthe opening verses of the third chapter of theGospel according to St. John, would serve asthe text for a sermon, and in this readableaccount of More's life it presages the lessonthat More had to learn before acquiring sanc-tity.The principal facts in More's life are gen-erally well-known and any controversy out-side the Church regarding his martyrdomcan be considered well settled by Lord Camp-bell's statement in his Lives of the ChiefJustices:No one can deny that Lord Chief JusticeFitzJames was an accessory to this atro-cious murder.The form chosen by Beahn, though verg-ing on fiction, is admirably suited to a "sub-jective" study of More's pursuit of sanctity.Written in the first person it affords manyopportunities to express the thoughts thatmight very well have been occupying him;',Member of the New York Bar.throughout the various stages of his life.Although there is slight authentic recordof Thomas More's childhood, Beahn pre-sents a readable account of his time spentas a page in the residence of ArchbishopMorton, Lord Chancellor of England. Thereare, in this book, numerous suggestions of acold relationship between Thomas and hisfather, which seems unfortunate to this re-viewer, unless they are intended to emphasizeThomas' spiritual rebirth. Roper makes spe-cific reference to humility and the respectdisplayed toward his father.With respect to More's indecision betweenfollowing a priestly or a lawyer's life, theauthor has Father Paul asking him, "Whichis better, Master More, to be a learned lay-man of great holiness or a learned priest oflittle holiness?"According to this account More had agreat deal to overcome in his attitude towardshis father and in his pride. The authorattributes the beginning of More's spiritualrebirth in large part to his father's reactionwhen More had him released from the Towerthrough the payment of funds that Morehad begged from his father's friends.Concerned, as this book is, with "the innerthoughts, feelings, motives, and goals, of asaint," it could have been merely a pious ac-count of the struggle for sanctity. Instead theauthor has given us an interesting story un-marred by lengthy soliloquies or soul-search-ings. Although it does not pretend to be adefinitive, documented biography it does ful-fill its author's purpose in an entertaining andinformative manner. It is particularly recom-mended to those who prefer a lighter treat-ment of the lives of the saints and it need notbe overlooked by the more serious student.

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A Man Born Again: Saint Thomas More

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