LITERARY NOTICES. 



705 



or lines of conduct which, howsoever much 

 opposed to self-preservation, are not in- 

 tended to destroy life. The questions relat- 

 ing to it are partly social, partly medical. 

 It presupposes two necessary conditions : 1. 

 Moral and physical impressions derived 

 from without ; and, 2. On the part of the 

 recipient of these impressions, a nervous 

 impressibility, which not only magnifies 

 and distorts them, but which gives them a 

 dangerous power to affect his happiness. 

 Hence the causes of suicide naturally fall 

 under two main divisions the external or 

 social, and the internal or personal. The 

 general external causes exist everywhere 

 and under all circumstances, and have their 

 sources in extravagant religious and moral 

 beliefs. Special external causes comprise 

 all thoe various circumstances and acci- 

 dents which result from the relations of in- 

 dividuals to each other in society. The in- 

 ternal or personal causes include ill health, 

 insanity, and temperament. All these in- 

 fluences are set forth in the present volume. 

 For the prevention of suicide, the author 

 proposes legal measures, religious and moral 

 training, and medical advice and treatment. 



The Nature and Function of Art, more 

 especially of architecture. by leo- 

 POLD Eidlitz, Architect. New York : 

 A. C. Armstrong & Son. Pp. 493. Price, 

 -$-1. 



Mr. Eidlitz is an architect whose works 

 attest his accomplishments and his compe- 

 tency to discuss the subject. He believes 

 that, while all other branches of art are alive 

 and advancing, something is wrong' in the 

 condition of that branch to which he is de- 

 voted ; that, while the mechanic art of build- 

 ing never stood higher than now, architect- 

 ure itself, alone of the arts, is silent, or 

 rather has ceased to speak of living ideas. 

 To inquire into the causes of this condition, 

 and to define the nature and function of art 

 in general and of architecture in particular, 

 so as to show how it may again become a 

 living and creative art, is the object of this 

 volume. Mr. Eidlitz combats the idea that 

 taste is the quality which enables men to 

 produce works of art, or even to judge them, 

 or that common sense alone is a safe guide. 

 In all other branches of knowledge, study 

 and acquaintance with technical principles 

 are considered essential to even a fair de- 

 vol. xx. 45 



gree of proficiency. So it is with architect- 

 ure. The evil effects of too great reliance 

 en taste, and too little attention to training, 

 are illustrated in the ill-adapted buildings 

 that we meet everywhere and that are still 

 growing up around us, the multiplicity of 

 which gives point to the author's remarks 

 respecting the present condition of the art, 

 that " it appears to be the accepted opinion 

 that the sole function of architecture as an 

 art is to make monuments pleasant to be- 

 hold ; that this may be done in any way 

 which to the author of the monument may 

 promise good results ; that it is useless to 

 seek for a clew to all this in the organism of 

 the monument itself, or in the nature of 

 the idea which has called it into existence, 

 or to seek to establish an organic relation 

 between the ornament and the structure. 

 That such a looseness of definition of the 

 nature of architecture," he adds, " must lead 

 to false conceptions and to other illogical 

 reasoning must be apparent." Mr. Eidlitz's 

 own view is, that it is the province of archi- 

 tecture to express ideas by structures a 

 principle that may be illustrated by showing 

 that " if a man tries to build a house which 

 shall be as good as he can afford to make 

 it ; if he does nothing for show, and every- 

 thing for structural integrity ; if he builds 

 it so that it may serve his purpose then 

 his house will be a monument to his pur- 

 pose." In order to create a monument 

 it is necessary that its author should be 

 conscientious, and that he should respect 

 the thing he is doing. He should not resort 

 to mechanical expedients, no matter how 

 sound in themselves, because they are de- 

 sirable only on economical grounds, if they 

 are lacking in, or detrimental to, clear art 

 expression. Self-denial should be exercised 

 in refraining from unmeaning display for 

 the sake of show ; there is no beauty but 

 that which results from a forcible, clear, and 

 successful expression of the idea in matter, 

 and this must depend on the amount of 

 character in various features of the struct- 

 ure. And, finally, " in creating a monu- 

 ment, the problem is mainly to give expres- 

 sion to the acts performed within its walls, 

 which is done by giving the structure a form 

 which will correspond with the groups per- 

 forming those acts, and to its parts such 

 masses, modeling, carved and color decora- 



