Welsh Journals

Thomas Jones Wheldon. Gan D. D. Williams, Llyfrfa'r Cyfundeb. This is a full-dress biography of the well-known minister; and it appears just at the right moment, soon enough for the memory of its subject to be fresh in the minds of most of us, but at the same time after a sufficient lapse of time for some sort of estimate of Mr. Wheldon's place in history to be possible. The book is, on the whole, a very good one. It avoids adulation on the one hand, while it brings out clearly the many great qualities of which Mr. Wheldon was possessed. Occasionally it uses the conventional language of religious biography, but it is only at rare intervals that a sanctimonious flavour can be detected. That is only right and fitting, for there never lived a man who so hated shams and sanctimoniousness as Wheldon. The picture which we get in this book is of an intensely virile man, believing in himself and in certain great causes, a tremendous worker, a born leader, often rough but always just and merciful, full of faith in God, and believing that God had great purposes in mind for Wales and for the Calvinistic Methodist Body. The record which this volume contains is an inspiring one; and it is that which gives it its peculiar value. The devotion to duty, the complete absence of self- seeking, and the enthusiastic pursuit of the welfare of the people which Wheldon always displayed gives us an example of which we are badly in need at the present day. Mr. Wheldon was never a popular preacher, for he disdained to cultivate the art of pleasing the crowd. He never flattered, but on the contrary conceived it to be the preacher's duty to awaken the conscience of his listeners. Mr. Wheldon touched public life at many points, and at every point he left an abiding impression. In addition to much and constant work in connection with his own denomination, he laboured incessantly in the cause of Welsh education, and for the furtherance of Liberal politics. Mr. Williams has done wisely not to confine himself too closely to the facts of Mr. Wheldon's life, but to supply a sufficiently broad background for their right comprehension. In some respects the most interesting part of the book is the chapter which Major Wheldon has written about his father's domestic life. It is a singularly beautiful picture which we get. Paul of Tarsus. By T. R. Glover. Student Christian Movement. 9s. The author of The Jesus of History has conferred a great boon upon us by writing this book. Paul was one of the most human and interesting of men; but in the hands of the commentators he was rapidly becoming the most lifeless and dull of symbols. From such a fate Mr. Glover has most triumphantly rescued him. This book pulsates with life, and it is a living Paul which emerges. The old theological tags have dis- appeared, though we have, of course, a full discussion of Paul's contributions to Christology. Here we see the great missionary as it were in his every-day clothes, hardly a,saint at all in the mediaeval sense of the term, but a man with like passions to ourselves, who fre- quently changed his mind, who was hot-tempered, who grumbled, and was angry. It is not necessary to say that Paul loses nothing by such treatment. On the contrary, his real and supreme greatness comes fully to light.. Mr. Glover has much to tell us about the early church, and about life in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. Here we see the great classical scholar at work, and realise almost with a start that Mr. Glover is, first and foremost, a classical historian, and not a professional theologian. It is this unprofessional, and unconventional, attitude, combined with profound learning, which gives such value to all Mr. Glover's writings on religious topics. The work is a study rather than a biography, though the little that is known about Paul's life is told, and that with imaginative insight. Of Mr. Glover's style, and his general ability as a writer, it is hardly necessary to speak: suffice it to say that never have those qualities been more in evidence than in the present work. This is a book which every person interested in Christian origins will read and re-read with profit and pleasure. My Brother's Face. By Dhan Ghopal Mukerji. Thornton Butterworth, Ltd. 10s. 6d. net. An Anthology of Indian Tales. By C. A. Kincaid, C.V.O. Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press. Is. 3d. net. The second of these two books,-the Anthology, deals with the India of long ago when god-like men and man-like gods performed worthy and wonderful deeds. The first deals with the seething discontent of the India of to-day. The author after a sojourn of many years in the West returned to India to see his brother's face and to be informed about the new conditions. He frankly admits that he looks at India through Indian eyes, but that is by no means a weakness. He re- produces conversations he had with typical Indians who are dreaming about the future of that great region and working to realise their hopes. The reader is impressed by the earnest conviction of the narrative and the felicities of phrase in which it is clothed. The relation between the two books is more than superficial; the India of to-day looks back to the India of yesterday and draws comparisons unfavourable to Western civilisation. The first tale in the Anthology" is the tale of Satyavan and Savitri, a version of the Love conquers Death theme. When Mr. Mukerji after his return went to the European theatre in Bombay he found it full of western crudities, but in the theatre of the mill-hands he found the old story of Savitri'a great love told with a purity and grace very little impaired. The author of "My Brother's Face" sums up the cause of the present unrest in these words,­" To-day there are two powerful forces in India: rich men and Ghandi-men, modern industrialism and the spirituality of mediaeval India. The two have come to grips. No one can foretell the outcome." It is the fight of an ancient faith and culture against Western civilisation which is often presented in its most worthless aspects; it is a reaction against efficiency devoted to material ends. In this conflict confusion is bound to arise; it is therefore the duty of lovers of progress to take an impartial view of the conditions. To that end Mr. Mukerji's book by its sympathetic insight and even temper is a very worthy contribution. T. H. J. St. Deiniol'S, Hawarden. By Mary Drew. Oxford Press. Price, 6d. Interest is still sufficiently alive in the greatest of all Christian statesmen for this reprint of an article which appeared some years ago in the Nineteenth Century to be welcome. There is the further justification that Gladstone's Library is now an institution doing admirable work among students, more especially among clergy and teachers. The original intention of its founder was that it should have a definitely Anglican atmosphere, and that it should subserve divine learning." But there is nothing narrow in the way in which the institution is now run. Serious students, of every religious persuasion, are cordially welcomed, and many a tired parson and teacher has found, among its richly-stored shelves, and in the beautiful park close by, so full of memories of the G.O.M., refreshment and inspiration. This little pamphlet contains, in addition to -Mrs Drew's article, a note by the present Warden, giving full particulars for the use of intending students.