Two Allrounders

The twentieth century has brought with it an expansion of Catholic literature in English-speaking lands that still bears on, and out, our thesis that Catholicism is a mental and moral force no less enlarging and energising than conservative and constructive. An array of names be cited from almost every quarter of the globe that is bewildering - not only from numbers, but still more from the great variety of literary fields in which individuals have achieved distinction. One or other will range from poetry to metaphysics; from preaching to parody; from archaeology to fiction; from politics to mysticism. We shall prefer, then, to consider names rather than genera, but we have but little plan in our survey, and no desire to assess degrees of merit.

If the most versatility ought to claim our earliest notice, then surely Fr. Martindale and Mgr. Knox should stand in front. With the serious zeal that has marked the work of both in the pulpit and has not forsaken their printed word, with the advantages derived from high educational opportunities, they have combined creative gifts of imagination and humour. Hence the complex charm of such a production as Fr. Martindale's "Goddess of Ghosts" and Mgr. Knox's "Spiritual Aeneid". Both men are earnest in scripture study, in controversy, and in pushing social reforms.

From the Story of Catholicism in English Literature by Rev. G. O'Neill SJ, published by the Australian Catholic Truth Society