20–7870
“This collection of documents is intended by the editor to comprise ‘those official statements by successive presidents and secretaries of state which, having been formally or tacitly accepted by the American people, do in effect constitute the foundation of American foreign policy.... They are the classic declarations of policy which, taken together, present a record of which the American people may well be proud.’ Naturally the selection begins with Washington’s farewell address and includes Jefferson’s statement as to entangling alliances. Then follow the various messages relating to the Monroe doctrine: Monroe’s, Polk’s, Buchanan’s, Grant’s, Cleveland’s, and Roosevelt’s. Blaine, Hay, and Root contribute their ideas as to the Monroe doctrine, that of the last named being in no sense official, as it is the well-known address as president of the American Society of international law for 1914. The instructions to and reports from the American delegates to the Hague conferences are properly included.”—Am Hist R
Am Hist R 26:141 O ’20 360w
“Readers who do not wish their history predigested for them, but on the other hand do not resent a prescribed diet, will find this little volume much to their liking.” E. S. Corwin
+ Review 3:70 Jl 21 ’20 200w
CARPENTER, EDWARD. Pagan and Christian creeds: their origin and meaning. *$3 (3c) Harcourt, Brace & Howe 290
20–5669
The author holds that the process of the evolution of religious rites and ceremonies has in its main outlines been the same all over the world and that it has proceeded in orderly phases of spontaneous growth. The object of the book is to trace the instigating cause of this great phenomenon along psychological lines. In its first inception, he claims, it was stimulated by fear and has run along three main lines: the movements of the sun and planets; the changes of the seasons; and the procreative forces. Contents: Solar myths and Christian festivals; The symbolism of the Zodiac; Totem-sacraments and eucharists; Food and vegetation magic; Magicians, kings and gods; Rites of expiation and redemption; Pagan initiations and the second birth; Myth of the golden age; The saviour-god and the virgin-mother; Ritual dancing; The sex-taboo; The genesis of Christianity; The meaning of it all; The ancient mysteries; The exodus of Christianity; Conclusion. The appendix on the teachings of the Upanishads contains two essays: Rest and The nature of the self. There is an index.