320 BOOK REVIEWS philosophy. The discovery of the papyri of Nag Hammadi has shed an entirely new light on this development. Wolfson's book, here in its third and revised edition, forms volume I of the Philosophy of the Church Fathers. It is to be hoped that the other volumes will soon follow. Even if one does not agree with all of the author's conclusions, his book remains one of the most challenging of our times. The Catholic University of America Washington, D. C. JoHANNES QUASTEN Readings in Ancient Western Philosophy. Edited by GEORGE F. McLEAN, 0. M. I. and PATRICK J. AsPELL, 0. M. I. New York: Appleton Century Crofts, 1970. Pp. 35~. $3.50. The traditional introductory course in ancient philosophy threatens to become a true " dark night " for those who lecture undergraduates as we move into the tempestuous nineteen-seventies. Although some teachers will devise gimmicks-are Heidegger and Hesse, after all, so far removed from Hesiod and Heraclitus?-it will be difficult to do so without brooding over the fact that content has been sacrified for contemporaneity . The present anthology probably does as much as can be done to present one segment of our intellectual history for the college audience without attaching itself to a scheme which might attract attention at the expense of allowing the development of thought in the West to manifest itself. McLean and Aspell take us from the myth-like origins of philosophy to the " standard " pre-Socratics, and then through Plato, Aristotle, and the ethical philosophies of the so-called Hellenistic-Roman period, concluding with a substantial portion of Plotinus. This latter is especially welcome, since the mystical disciple of Ammonias Saccas has tended to get lost in the " intertestamental " period of Western philosophy. Besides, if gimmicks are to be shunned, the Enneads have considerable possibility for making ancient thought vivid for a generation increasingly taken up with transcendental thought and spiritualism. The editors have contoured their selections into three parts marking the origin and growth of Greek philosophy, its maturation, and the shift from metaphysical speculation to ethical concerns under the practical Roman influence. Almost half the volume, Chapters 7 and 8, are devoted to Plato and Aristotle. This procedure is defended by the editors in such wise: "The acid test of time has unveiled Aristotle's philosophy, BOOK REVIEWS 321 along with that of Plato, as. . . the two major statements of classical Greek thought." (p. 173) This observation is typical of the introductory material found thoughout the work; it is mainly factual and generalizations are so broad as to offend no one who would harbor a private thesis as to the relative significance of the ancients. The Chapters are followed by series of study questions and a " Thematic Table " enhances the volume's value for college level courses. This latter is a valuable aid in relating the historical aspect of philosophy to the main divisions, as traditionally conceived, of the subject. The themes parcel out the texts found in the anthology under eight headings such as epistemology, psychology and theodicy; it would be a useful classroom task to run both historical and theme approaches, and in this case, at least, it would be feasible. The ten chapters are firmed up with extensive bibliography, quite up-to-date, although one would like to see included some of the more adventuresome interpretations of ancient thought, such as F. Clive's two-volume " The Giants of Pre-Sophistic Greek Philosophy " (Nijhoff, 1965) . The Pennsylvania State University University Park, Penna. JoHN B. DAvis, 0. P. A History of Western Philosophy: Volume II, Philosophy from St. Augustine to Ockham. By RALPH M. MciNERNY. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1970. Pp. 401. $1~.00. To my knowledge this volume represents the latest effort of its kind in the field of Medieval philosophy; it also marks the second volume in a new series devoted to the history of Western philosophy. R. Caponigri and R. Mcinerny have joined efforts in producing a set of textbooks purposely aimed at promoting " the return of the history of philosophy to its rightful place of honor and usefulness in the academic program." (xiii) The fourth volume, Philosophy from...