Single Manual Research Articles

FracTunes MIDI Graphics Software for IBM PCs

tion or coloration. Like the V3, the SX could use a better manual. Although the slim (24-page) documentation provided covers the unit's basic operation, it is terse in the extreme. And, as with the V3's single manual, there is no index or MIDI implementation chart, though several pages of text are devoted to the unit's MIDI implementation. A single five-page chapter, About Sampling, barely scratches the surface of an admittedly complex topic; users who lack a basic knowledge of sampling theory and technique would be well advised to get one of the several available texts that cover the subject in depth. A SCSI interface for connecting the SX to a highcapacity storage device will be available from Peavey at a cost of $50. Peavey will also offer a utility program for Macintosh computers that will enable the computer to serve as a controller for the SX. The utility, written in Opcode Systems' Max iconic programming language, will also be priced at $50. There is little else to say about the SX. It is a no-frills, low-cost unit that does its job admirably in the most straightforward manner imaginable. Though one might want additional capabilities such as stereo sampling, it is hard to argue with the SX's $350 list price-a fraction of the cost of other samplers available today. For those with computers, sample editing software, and the skill to use them, the SX-like the V3-is a bargain-priced workhorse that combines intelligent engineering with simple operation. Both units are well worth investigating. For additional information, contact: Peavey Electronics Corporation, 711 A Street, Meridian, Mississippi 39302-2898, USA, telephone (601) 4835365.

Manual of Surgical Nutrition

In spite of commendable purpose and several worthy chapters, this manual fails to achieve its aim. It doesnotprovide a... concise and portable review of the nutritional principles and practices for the practicing surgeon. Neither is it a series of chapters carefully coordinated into single manual. Were either of these claims true, it could be heartily welcomed. How does it fail? Or, rather, supposing there is to be second edition, how should it be improved? First, reduce the size by half. This could be done without sacrifice of factual content. The chapters by Brennan and Moore, Kinney, Scott, Duke and Dudrick, and several others could be retained but condensed by deleting extraneous words and phrases. Secondly, reduce the number of authors by half. The invited contributors should be knowledgeable in their assigned subjects, or they should be willing to verify their memories by returning to the

Ethics as a Key to Aquinas’s Theology: The Significance of Specification by Object

ETIIlCS AS A KEY TO AQUINAS'S THEOLOGY THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SPECIFICATION BY OBJECT v.ARIOUS OBSTACLES BLOCK an easy access to " the most coherent work on moral theology in the ntire history of Christianity ",1 i.e., the Summa Theologiae of Thomas Aquinas. Most prominent among these obstacles are, on the one hand, the multitude of questions and articles relating to medieval topics and controversies, and, on the other, Thomas's method of" interpretation." Often the p:resentday reader, unfamiliar with that historical environment, can hardly make more sense out of a translation than out of the Latin text. He can easily be led to believe that certain formulas or a certain configuration of elements represent Thomas' opinion whereas in fact they merely reflect the state of the question in the 13th century, i.e., the stage preceding his interpretation. One of the most famous examples of this state of affairs is to be found in Thomas' analysis of good and evil. Every single manual or treatise, mainly in the Catholic tradition , contains a reference to Summa Theologiae I-II, q. 18, aa. 2-4 in order to support the contention that good and evil are determined by object, circumstances, and intent. While this may be suggested by the titles of the articles, it is quite another question exactly how Thomas proceeds to " interpret" this configuration of elements that he happens to find in the theologies of the 13th century. Only an extensive historical commentary of the Prima Secundae, particularly of qq. 6-21, will make it possible to understand the real meaning of Thomas's fundamental ethics 1 The qualification was formulated by James M. Gustafson in a paper at the annual meeting of the American Society of Christian Ethics in Washington, D. C., in January 1976. The paper will be part of a forthcoming book. 535 536 WILLIAM VANDERMARCK and of the theological questions involved in it. The present article is the introduction to such a commentary. It is a tentative first chapter concerning the introductory questions of the Secunda Parsi I-II, qq. 1-5, "On Ultimate End and Beatitude." It is also the first installment towards a long overdue debt to those who have expressed both appreciation and curiosity about many statements in my book on Christian ethics.2 1. Perspective of the treatise. When Thomas decided to open the second part of his Summa Theologiae with a treatise on ultimate end and beatitude, he introduced a new element into the study of Christian ethics. Although such a move had a precedent in the first book of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, and although a certain systematic treatment of beatitude had been developed by some of Thomas's predecessors, no comparable approach existed in the work of medieval theologians.8 The impact of this innovation has been rather limited. Until well into the 16th century Peter Lombard's Sentences remained dominant in the study of theology. The renewal of the Counterreformation, strongly influenced by Jesuit authors, led to the development of a " moral theology " greatly indebted to Thomas, in which, however , " speculative" and " theoretical" questions were eliminated . The first victim of this process was the treatise on ultimate end and beatitude. It failed to appear in the pacesetting manuals of the early 17th century, and the subsequent tradition faithfully followed the same path.4 Thomas's intro- •Toward A Christian Ethic: A Rene.wal in Moral Theology. New York: Newman Press, 1967. •The best recent study of Thomas's introductory treatise in its historical context is by Roger Guindon, Beatitude et Theologie morale chez saint Thomas d'Aquin. Origines-lnterpretations. Ottawa: Editions de l'Universite d'Ottawa, 1956. See also the classic study of Thomas's ethic, which continues to be valuable especially because of its historical data, by Michael Wittmann, Die Ethik des hl. Thomas von Aquin in ihrem systematischen Aufbau dargestellt und in ihren geschichtlichen, besonders in den antiken Quellen erforscht. Munich: Max Hueber Verlag, 1933. • A comprehensive study of this development, mainly concerning the 16th and 17th centuries, has been published by Johann Theiner, Die Entwicklung der Mmas' Theological Summa, Ia Ilae, qq. 1-54. Transl. by Patrick Cummins. St. Louis, London: Herder...