'A naive optimist', 'a man whose vision meets a spiritual need our time', 'driven in upon himself he was forced to addopt eccent and unbalanced attitudes', 'he too often equated intelligible with necessity'. Such are the verdicts passed on Teilhard de Chardin. He was never fully open to the criticism of his contemporaries and maybe we have been deprived of the Teilhard we might have had. This collection of essays has been written in the belief that the time has come to stand back and view Teilhard dispassionately; to make a cool assessment of his vision and its daunting implications. The first six essays look at those areas where Teilhard has undergone fiercest criticism and the last two tackle the difficult task of placing him in the context of modern christian thinking.