that, except for a few mumbled refer–
ences to the "Pascalian sensibility"?
What about the intrinsic message of
Silone's
And He Hid Himself?
I found
it commented on intelligently nowhere
in the American political press.
Toynbee hasn't helped things much,
I'm afraid. Much of his structure is
simply Spengler-cum-Augustine. Toyn–
bee is committed to a rather cynical,
ecclesiastical-aristocratic view of his–
tory that wouldn't find majority sup–
port among the most sensitive religious
minds, I believe-even Catholics. When–
ever the average secular American
speaks of "Christianity" today, he is
usually thinking of what Tillich would
call religious "heteronomy"; that is, an
exhausted, imposed religious legalism,
defiant of the rules of logic and his–
tory, and cynical about the values of
freedom.
But to go back to the simple ques–
tion of political analysis. Clearly, one
need not subscribe to any kind of
Christianity to understand its forma–
tive power. It's often dreadful how
sheepish, sad, and wistful Americans
become when the subject is broached.
Scenes of Sunday School flash upon
the inward eye. Among the philoso–
phers words like "obscurantism," "gran–
diose," and the like, are put into play.
Sometimes a positively comical world–
weary .finality overcomes the philoso–
pher; well, at least we've disposed of
that
nonsense, his manner implies. It
is indeed true that, in principle, we
have disposed of the particular paro–
chial kind of religious corruption he is
thinking of. Between that oppressive
American reality and the increasingly
empty platitudes of professional posi–
tivism, lies almost the whole history of
western Europe.
R. W. Flint
Cambridge, Mass.
memo to printer:
"Still Can't Think of a Title"
We cannot, of course, vouch for conditions during and after the
next
war,
but things have now settled down from the
last
war to the extent that we are able
to announce rapid and fairly certain receipt of books and periodicals from Eng–
land and France.
We now receive regularly from England nearly two dozen magazines of
literary, dance, or theatre interest, and all of the important new books in our
fields of specialization; and we can undertake to supply, with reasonable prompt–
ness, any current book, of any publisher, issued in either France or England.
We will accept subscriptions for the more established magazines and stand–
ing orders for each new issue of any or the others. Inquiries and orders for books
of French or British origin are invited.
We sell American books and magazines too. May we send you our lists
as issued?
LAWRENCE R. MAXWELL-BOOKS
45 Christopher Street, New York 14
Open 2 to 10 P.M.
WAtkins 9-3494
THEATRE-DANCE-FILM-MUSIC-EXPERIMENTAL WRITING
PSYCHIATRY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS
735
