LITERARY NOTICES. 



845 



a greater predominance than has usual- 

 ly obtained of late years of those that 

 are of real scientific or practical value, 

 with a corresponding absence of the 

 vagaries of such persons as President 

 Morse described as "cranks." Eetiring 

 President Newton selected meteorites 

 as the topic of his official address, which 

 we publish entire in this number of the 

 "Monthly," the subject with the in- 

 vestigation of which his fame is most 

 closely associated. With a few plain, 

 common-sense considerations which 

 everybody could comprehend, ex- 

 pressed in language intelligible to the 

 most unlearned of his possible hearers, 

 he disposed of most of the theories 

 which have been devised to account 

 for these phenomena, showing how in- 

 adequate they are, aDd then consid- 

 ered, without committing himself defi- 

 nitely to what no one knows, the only 

 one yet advanced which is plausible in 

 the present condition of science. Of 

 the vice-presidential sectional address- 

 es, that of the Hon. Horatio Hale, in 

 the Anthropological Section, presented 

 the subject of " The Origin of Lan- 

 guages and the Antiquity of Speaking 

 Man," in a somewhat different light 

 from that in which it has been regard- 

 ed by the majority of anthropologists 

 of the present generation. Professor 

 Wiley's address on the "Economical 

 Aspects of Agricultural Chemistry " is 

 of practical interest, and will probably 

 attract more general attention. Pro- 

 fessor Bracken's address in physics, 

 and Professor Bowditch's in biology, 

 are of technical interest. In geology, 

 Vice-President Chamberlain presented 

 " An Inventory of our Glacial Drift." 

 Vice-President Chanute, in the Mechan- 

 ical Section, showed how inventors are 

 indebted to science; and in the Eco- 

 nomical Section Vice-President Cum- 

 mings considered the well-worn ques- 

 tions of the improvement of the condi- 

 tion of laborers, the causes of discontent 

 among them, and their errors. The As- 

 sociation meeting so near to Niagara, the 



geological origin and character of the Ni- 

 agara Eiver and Falls naturally claimed 

 a large share of attention. A graceful 

 recognition was made of the approach- 

 ing completion of the hundredth year of 

 the veteran chemist, Chevreul. In com- 

 menting upon the meeting of the Asso- 

 ciation in Buffalo ten years ago, we 

 spoke of a seeming lack of papers and 

 discussions suited to the wants of the 

 citizens at large who attended the ses- 

 sions in expectant interest. We observe 

 in the proceedings of the present meet- 

 ing an improvement in this respect. 

 While the technical side was not over- 

 looked, and little that was unscientific 

 ; was presented,' the addresses of Presi- 

 dent Newton and Vice-President Wiley, 

 the Niagara discussion, and other pa- 

 pers to which we have referred, were, 

 both in matter and manner of presenta- 

 tion, well adapted to a popular audi- 

 ence. 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



Outlines of the History of Ethics for 

 English Readers. By Henry Sidg- 

 wick. London: Macmilian k Co. 1886. 

 Pp. 271. Price, $1.50. 



Leaving Herbert Spencer out of consid- 

 eration, no living or recent writer has made 

 an impression on ethical thought equal to 

 that of Professor Sidgwick. Whatever he 

 produces, then, might naturally be expected 

 to be of value. Our anticipations are not 

 disappointed in this little volume. As far 

 as it goes, it is, without doubt, the most 

 thoroughly admirable treatise upon the his- 

 tory of ethics extant. This praise is due 

 for its conciseness, for its impartiality, and 

 for its accuracy. It is an excellent college 

 text-book, and also full enough to give the 

 general student a better idea than he can 

 elsewhere obtain of that portion of ethical 

 history which it covers. 



This book is by no means a mere chro- 

 nology. It is full of the evidences of care- 

 ful critical study. The essential features 

 of the different ethical systems are grasped 

 with certainty and presented with remark- 

 able clearness. We get from this presen- 

 tation many new ideas, both of the tenets 



