It has lately been complained that Catholic publicity in England lies in the hands of middle-aged adolescents; our continental brethren, on the other hand, seem to grow in youthful generosity as they come to maturity. At least that is true of the authors contributing to the Christe Heute series edited by Hans Urs von Balthasar and admirably produced by Johannes Verlag, Einsiedeln. Perhaps the most salutary of the new volumes for English readers—who so readily equate the Faith with medievalism—is Das Experiment Europas by the Viennese historian Friedrich Heer. Heer courses over European history like a spring gale, blowing aside Catholic, Protestant and Liberal prejudices in order to reveal the diversity of gifts and beliefs in the rich European tradition; he says, for instance: ‘without the Enlightenment our scientific sobriety, freedom of conscience and civic rights would be inconceivable’. That is but one instance of the refreshing judgments which one encounters on every page. A similar élan characterises Balthasar’s Schleifung der Bastionen, the crumbling bastions are, of course, those of the medieval city, and Balthasar sees their fall as providential, the impetus towards the catholic mission. His reflections on ‘tradition’ are particularly interesting and valuable, as showing that it means almost the opposite in the Christian tradition from what conservative social theorists mean by it. And it is in the light of this principle that he ventures to assert: ‘The future of the Church depends on whether lay people are to be found who are prepared to live directly from the Gospel teachings and transform the world in the light of them’. One layman who seems to be prepared to do this is Francois Mauriac, whose Der Stein des Anstosses also appears in this series. Although this collection of discursive observations has little shape, it leaves us feeling that we know Mauriac personally—and, more important, says many things which are always being mentioned in conversation amongst Catholics but are scarcely ever breathed in public. It is for the health of the Catholic community that these opinions should be expressed, since our very salvation depends on our not meriting the taunt of André Gide: ‘Catholics do not love the truth’. (Two other recent volumes in the Christe Heute series are Hugo Rahner’s Der spielende Mensch—a revised version of his Eranos lecture—and a collection of de Lubac’s essays on the spiritual sense of Scripture.)