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The priesthood has been comprehensibly loth to relinquish its hold over the various branches of science, medicine in particular, of which they were once the guardian, and it has long been evident that the last stand, and perhaps the most stubborn, would be made in the domain of psychology and psychological medicine. The author of this book, a learned Jesuit, defends this desperate position. He ranges over the whole field of clinica psychology and lays down the law on any vexed question with the most approved ex cathedra manner. He gravely debates the rival claims of neurasthenia being regarded as an actual neurosis or as a psychoneurosis and tells us which it really is; he judicially estimates the value of the d'Arsonval high-frequency treatment, and instructs us about when and how the investigation of dreams should be used for therapeutic purposes. The certainty with which such matters can be decided and the air of high authority that pervades the whole book are fully intelligible when we remember that the author is in possession of an infallible vade mecum to truth: he has only to ask himself which solution of a problem is most in harmony with the teachings of the Catholic Fathers and all doubt is removed. Where it is convenient he quotes medical reasons in support of his conclusions; where it is not, he invokes the thunders of the Church and inveighs loudly against the immorality of those who may differ from him. In short, his path is an easy one.
We are bound, however, to call attention to one flaw in this apparently unassailable position. Authorities who make such lofty pretensions in the direction of scientific, and especially of ethical, omniscience also assume thereby certain responsibilities. If, for instance, it becomes clear that their scientific, and especially their ethical, standards are visibly lower than those they profess, then they must be prepared to find that the plain man will no longer accept their pretensions without further credential