The theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, whose genius is now generally recognized, has its origins in his early investigations of philosophy and the arts, which this book lays out in full for the first time. This book will enable English-speaking readers for the first time to come to terms with Balthasar's relation to European - especially German - philosophy and literature. It is the only way readers can gain a comprehensive overview of a huge and complex output crucial to his later work. Aidan Nichols is a Dominican of Blackfriars Cambridge who has published some thirty books in various areas of historical and dogmatic theology.