LITERARY NOTICES. 



373 



oration of those subjects. It was like the 

 Brooklyn Bridge : the two piers have to be 

 sunk deep and raised high before the useful 

 roadway can be placed. A science of so- 

 ciety is impossible, except upon the basis 

 of a science of life and a science of mind 

 which can furnish principles for the inter- 

 pretation of social facts. Having developed 

 and stated these principles, Mr. Spencer 

 can now use them, and has only to refer his 

 readers back to the places where they have 

 been fully expounded. Because there has 

 been neither a biology nor a psychology 

 that was available, nor any systematic col- 

 lection of social facts as data for reasoning, 

 there has hitherto been no proper science 

 of sociology ; but, having secured these im- 

 perative prerequisites with a fullness never 

 before even attempted, Mr. Spencer enters 

 upon the present stage of his philosophical 

 enterprise with a preparation that gives 

 promise of the most valuable results. 



We published, some time ago, from ad- 

 vanced sheets, an installment of Mr. Spen- 

 cer's opening argument on what he terms 

 the original external factors of social phe- 

 nomena. The first forty pages of the pres- 

 ent number are devoted to an enumeration 

 of the social factors of all orders, original 

 and derivative, which enter into the con- 

 stitution of human societies and influence 

 their development. These are extrinsic, or 

 those which pertain to the conditions of ex- 

 ternal nature, and intrinsic, or those which 

 pertain to the constitution of man, the 

 social unit. The passages that we have 

 already published are from the former por- 

 tion of the argument, which considers the 

 climatic conditions favorable to social un- 

 folding. There has formerly been much 

 said about the influence of the aspects 

 and conditions of Nature in determining 

 the character of social life ; but, while this 

 is an element of the case of much impor- 

 tance, and not to be neglected, it is still of 

 minor moment as regards evolution, when 

 compared with the interna! factors which 

 belong to human nature itself. In Chapter 

 IV., Mr. Spencer passes to the considera- 

 tion of these internal factors, and devotes 

 Chapter V. to the primitive man in his 

 physical characteristics. Chapter VI. deals 

 with the emotional natures of primitive 

 men as affecting their social relations and 



possibilities of progress. We publish, in 

 the present number of The Monthly, a 

 few passages from this chapter, which may 

 serve to illustrate the indispensableness of 

 psychology to any thorough scientific treat- 

 ment of the subject. 



We recommend all interested in the 

 study of social questions to subscribe for 

 this work. The terms are so moderate as 

 to be hardly burdensome to any ; while the 

 discussion from the foremost thinker of the 

 age, who has devoted his life to this great 

 subject, will give the ripest results of sci- 

 entific investigation upon problems which 

 are becoming every day of deeper interest 

 to all thoughtful persons. 



The Common Frog. By St. George Mi- 

 vart, F. R. S. London : Macmillan & Co. 

 1874. 12mo, 158 pp. Price $1.00. 



This is one of Macmillan's " Nature Se- 

 ries," and an excellent little book it is. The 

 author opens with the question, " What is 

 a frog ? " and by way of answer gives us 

 not only a clear and instructive account of 

 the structure, varieties, and distribution of 

 that animal, but in defining its position in 

 the animal world tells us a good deal about 

 its near relations, and about zoology gener- 

 ally. Though to many an uninteresting and 

 repulsive creature, the frog is really enti- 

 tled to great consideration on account of its 

 services to science. Says Mivart : " The frog 

 is the never-failing resource for the physio- 

 logical experimenter. It would take long, 

 indeed, to tell the sufferings of much-endur- 

 ing frogs in the cause of science ! What 

 frogs can do without their heads? What 

 their legs can do without their bodies ? 

 What their arms can do without their head 

 or trunk ? What is the effect of the re- 

 moval of their brains ? How they can man- 

 age without their eyes and without their 

 ears ? What effects result from all kinds 

 of local irritations, from chokings, from 

 poisonings, from mutilations the most va- 

 ried? These are the questions again and 

 again addressed to the little animal which, 

 perhaps more than any other, deserves the 

 title of the ' Martyr of Science.' " The book 

 abounds with interesting facts concerning 

 the habits of frogs and nearly-related forms ; 

 and the whole is written with a clearness 

 and simplicity of style which, without im- 



