LITERARY NOTICES. 



271 



any rate, Mr. Yignoli has the science of the 

 world and probably the truth of the case on 

 his side. But, if man was developed from 

 the lower animals, he has derived his psy- 

 chical faculties, as well as his bodily organ- 

 ism, from his inferior ancestors; and, al- 

 though he has left them by a wide gap, they 

 are still parts of a series with so much re- 

 maining in common that the higher can only 

 be interpreted in derivative connection with 

 the lower. On this view the mythical ele- 

 ment, as considered by our author, begins 

 with the lower animals, and comparative psy- 

 chology is appealed to, with many special 

 experiments, to show that animals endow 

 the objects around them with a conscious- 

 ness like their own. Man, in his early stages, 

 does a similar thing by " animating " the 

 forces and objects of nature, and filling the 

 world with mythical personalities. This 

 process goes on, according to Mr. Yignoli, 

 with the advance of intelligence, so that sci- 

 ence, instead of ending myths, only modifies 

 them. Man " personifies all phenomena, first 

 vaguely projecting himself into them, and 

 then exercising a distinct purpose of anthro- 

 pomorphism until, in this way, he has grad- 

 ually modified the world according to his 

 own image." 



In his opening chapter on the ideas and 

 sources of myths, Mr. Yignoli thus presents 

 the point of view from which he considers 

 the subject : 



We do not propose to consider in this trea- 

 tise the myths peculiar to one people nor to one 

 race ; we do not seek to estimate the intrinsic 

 value of myths at the time when they were al- 

 ready developed among various peoples and con- 

 stituted into an. Olympus or special religion; we 

 do not wish to determine the special and histor- 

 ical cause of their manifestations in the life of 

 any one people, since we now refrain from enter- 

 ing on the field of comparative mythology. It is 

 the scope and object of our modest researches 

 to trace the strictly primitive origin of the hu- 

 man myths as a whole ; to reach the ultimate 

 fact, and the causes of this fact, whence myth in 

 its necessary and universal form is evolved and 

 has its origin. 



We must, therefore, seek to discover whether, 

 in addition to the various causes assigned for 

 myth in earlier ages, and still more in modern 

 times, by our great philologists, ethnologists, 

 and philosophers of every school causes which 

 are for the most part extrinsic there be not a 

 reason more deeply seated in our nature, which 

 is first manifested as a necessary and spontane- 

 ous function of the intelligence, and which is, 

 therefore, intrinsic and inevitable. 



In this case myth will appear to us, not as an 

 accident in the life of primitive peoples varying 

 in intensity and extent, not as a vague concep- 

 tion of things due to the erroneous interpreta- 

 tion of words and phrases, nor again as the fan- 

 ciful creation of ignorant minds; but it will ap- 

 pear to be a special faculty of the human mind, 

 inspired by emotions Which accompany and ani- 

 mate its products. Since this innate faculty of 

 myth is indigenous and common to all men, it 

 will not only be the portion of all peoples, but of 

 each individual in every age, in every race, what- 

 ever may be their respective condition. 



Myth, therefore, will not be resolved by us 

 into a manifestation of an obsolete age, or of 

 peoples still in a barbarous and savage state, 

 nor as part of the cycle through which nationa 

 and individuals have respectively passed or have 

 nearly passed; but it remains to this day; in 

 spite of the prevailing civilization which has 

 greatly increased and is still increasing, it still 

 persists as a mcde of physical and intellectual 

 force in the organic elements which constitute it. 



Easy Lessons in Science. Edited by Pro- 

 fessor W. F. Barrett. Light. By 

 Mrs. W. Awdry. Pp 114. Heat. By 

 C. W. Martineau. Pp. 136. Macmil- 

 lan & Co. 



Yerily, verily, if the children of this 

 generation do not grow wise in science, it 

 will not be for lack of elementary books 

 for the purpose. " Rudimentary Lessons," 

 " Elementary Lessons," " Simple Lessons," 

 " Easy Lessons," and " Primers " innumera- 

 ble, separate and in groups, edited by one 

 book-maker and written by others, are already 

 multiplied on every hand, and are increasing 

 more rapidly than ever. They must be pur- 

 chased, or they would not continue to be 

 made ; and, if purchased, they are probably 

 read and used so that, on the whole, we 

 may assume that the result is good. But 

 one thing is certain the excellence of these 

 books is in no relation to their numbers, nor 

 is it easy to discern much if any improve- 

 ment in the successive series. They are all 

 lesson-books with abundant pictures to be 

 learned in the old-fashioned way in the 

 school-room. There is some effort at cheap- 

 ening the means of experiment for scientific 

 illustration, and, in so far as this promotes 

 demonstration, the effect is undoubtedly 

 beneficial. But these little manuals gener- 

 ally display but a very limited acquaintance 

 with the minds of the young, and they are 

 all conformed to the common type of books 

 of information to be obtained by the regular 

 old process of reading and lesson-learning. 



