852 



TRE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



mind ? Self-education is the only true 

 education, and, if young men want a 

 liberal education of practical value, let 

 them master the synthetic philosophy 

 and be their own teachers. 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC SERIES. 

 NO. XXXIV. 



The Sun. By C. A. Young, Ph. D., LL. D. 

 With numerous Illustrations. D. Apple- 

 ton & Co. Pp. 321. Price, $2. 



The first thing we have to say about this 

 attractive and admirable little volume is, 

 that it was sorely needed. It was wanted, 

 not only because of the great interest of the 

 subject, bat because we have no work in 

 English that deals with it in any satisfac- 

 tory shape for general use. Proctor's book 

 on the sun, notwithstanding its author's as- 

 tronomical reputation, is, after all, little 

 more than the compilation of a professional 

 book-maker. He has used his copious ma- 

 terials freely, and made his book too large 

 and expensive, and too crowded with matter 

 of secondary interest, to meet the popular 

 requirement. It has, therefore, not been 

 held as even worth stealing. The great 

 treatise on the sun, of the late Father Sec- 

 chi, of Rome, though written by an emi- 

 nent astronomer who has worked at the sub- 

 ject extensively himself, is likewise too 

 voluminous, and also too scientific, for gen- 

 eral purposes, and it has accordingly not 

 been thought worth translating into Eng- 

 lish. The book of the Frenchman, Guille- 

 min, though small enough, is all too popu- 

 lar, and is so variously deficient as to have no 

 true standing. A new book, compact inform, 

 and thoroughly trustworthy for reading and 

 reference, was greatly needed, because the 

 knowledge that has grown up in recent years 

 concerning the great central body of the 

 solar system is not only of exceeding in- 

 terest, but is such as well-instructed people 

 can not afford to be without. 



But it was no easy thing to get the book 

 required. First-class scientific men are al- 

 ways pressingly occupied, and they very 

 rarely take to book-making unless for the 

 promulgation of their own views. The 



managers of the International Scientific Se- 

 ries have, therefore, been fortunate in se- 

 curing a strong book on this subject, al- 

 though they have had to wait a good 

 while for it. Yet those who have been 

 long and impatiently expecting it will now 

 be rewarded for their waiting. Professor 

 Young is an authority on " The Sun," and 

 writes from intimate knowledcre. He has 

 studied that great luminary all his life, in- 

 vented and improved instruments for ob- 

 serving it, gone to all quarters of the world 

 in search of the best places and opportuni- 

 ties to watch it, and has contributed im- 

 portant discoveries that have extended our 

 knowledge of it. The reader who glances 

 at the summary of his life-work, given in an 

 accompanying biographical sketch, will see 

 why, of all men, he was perhaps the best 

 prepared to report on the present state of 

 solar knowledge. He, at all events, had the 

 first qualification for the task, because he 

 knew whereof he affirmed. 



And he has executed the work in a 

 manner worthy of the subject, and of his 

 reputation. He has stated what is known 

 about the sun in a form excellently suited 

 for general apprehension. It would take a 

 cyclopedia to represent all that has been 

 done toward clearing up the solar mysteries. 

 Professor Young has summarized the in- 

 formation, and presented it in a form com- 

 pletely available for general readers. There 

 is no rhetoric in his book; he trusts the 

 grandeur of his theme to kindle interest 

 and impress the feelings. His statements 

 are plain, direct, clear, and condensed, 

 though ample enough for his purpose, and 

 the substance of what is generally wanted 

 will be found accurately given in his pages. 

 The key to his treatment is contained in the 

 following passage from the preface : " It is 

 my purpose, in this little book, to present 

 a general view of what is known and be- 

 lieved about the sun, in language and man- 

 ner as unprofessional as is consistent with 

 precision. I write neither for scientific 

 readers as such, nor, on the other hand, for 

 the masses, but for that large class in the 

 community who, without being themselves 

 engaged in scientific pursuits, yet have suffi- 

 cient education and intelligence to be in- 

 terested in scientific subjects when present- 

 ed in an untechnical manner ; who desire, 



