Dialogue on the Two Natures in Christ.

For several reasons, this combination critical edition and translation of Martyr's last work should be most welcome to theologians, historians of the reformation as a whole, and historians of the English reformation in particular. Generally, Martyr himself was an important Protestant theologian of the second generation and an outstanding spokesman for Reformed Eucharistic thinking; this edition makes much of Martyr's thought available to scholars.

The Dialogue itself is the result of two events: immediately, of the breakdown in negotiations at the Colloquy of Poissy of 1561 (at which Martyr was the prominent Protestant representative with Theodore Beza), and broadly, over the key and long-standing controversial question concerning the presence of the actual body and blood of Christ in the sacrament. Moreover as if this were not enough - the translation of the Dialogue is important because Martyr was one of the few continental reformers to come to England (during the reign of Edward VI). His Oxford lectures brought the central issue of controversy to a head in England (ca. 1549), and his own thinking was clearly influential on the key English theologians Thomas Cranmer and John Jewel. Subsequently, his influence on both the Edwardian Forty-Two Articles and the Elizabethan Thirty-Nine Articles, both key doctrinal statements, is noteworthy.

Of course, the "supper dispute" or the way that Christ was present in the Eucharist - is the most important issue. Although Martyr tended to stay clear of the controversy in the early stages, the publication in 1555 of Johann Timann's Farrago sententiarum, a work largely devoted to the "idea that Christ's body was everywhere as a result of the hypostatic union of the divine and human natures in Christ" (xv), focused his thoughts while Johannes Brenz's De personali unione duarum naturarum in Christ of 1561 forced his hand. The Dialogue then is immediately an attack on Brenz, and generally on the theory itself.

The work is divided into nine topics, each dealing with a specific issue arising over the controversy of "ubiquity" - the central thesis being whether the human nature of Christ could be everywhere. Martyr, under the guise of Orothetes (boundaries), takes the negative view to Pantachus's (everywhere) positive view. The topirs covered include the humanity of Christ; the property of the natures; ubiquity; ascension of Christ into Heaven; the place of Christ's body in Heaven; the presence of Christ's body; Melanchthon's position; analogical arguments for ubiquity; and, ubiquity as a source of spiritual comfort. Martyr's examination of these topics is, to his credit, fairly representative of the major points of both sides. His own position is very closely argued and rather lengthy as such polemics tend to be; clearly, he is preaching to the converted. The reading is hard and challenging, but perseverance on the part of the reader pays off. The arguments range widely from theology and humanism to logic and sophistry; the evidence equally ranges from Scripture, church fathers, and Aristotle to Luther and Melanchthon. Particularly useful are Donnelly's biographical sketches of less well-known figures. Donnelly's translation - the first available to the non-Latin reading scholar - is clear, concise, and very accessible; his introduction is useful indeed; and his achievement notable. This is a handsome package of a necessary resource and is highly recommended.

ANDREW A. CHIBI University of Southampton