THE NATURAL HISTORY OF ADOLESCENCE. 463 



those that suggest the abnormal, that which when magnified becomes 

 disease, and most of all that which harks back and suggests the psychic 

 mode of action of our primitive ancestors, merit chief consideration; 

 such, apart from the specific applications to the plrysical and mental 

 hygiene of adolescence, are the conclusions and argument that have 

 guided the author in years of labor, compilation and record. 



The effect of so comprehensive and many sided a work as this 

 inevitably depends in no small measure upon the manner of its 

 presentation. This is uneven in the several chapters and rises to the 

 point of complete satisfaction in few. To many the style will 

 be distinctly unattractive, as it suggests a somewhat Teutonic attempt 

 to carry more luggage than the journey warrants. Some will find it a 

 loss to their special purposes to have the special presentation of facts 

 so closely interwoven with the enunciation of principles. More will 

 object to the cumbersome sentences, elaborated paragraphs and de- 

 tailed summaries. It must be confessed that these frequently suggest 

 the mode of progress of the burdened stage-coach rather than the 

 directness of the pony-express. But as some traverse the ground with 

 the interest of prospective settlers, and others with that of tourists only, 

 it would be difficult in any event to satisfy both needs. Yet in this 

 respect the work falls short of that pedagogical effectiveness upon 

 which the author himself lays emphasis. Indeed, he must not be sur- 

 prised to find the charge which he makes against other systems of 

 philosophy, namely, that they open large vistas, but that the view 

 enjoyed therefrom is distant and hazy, will be applied against him- 

 self. Yet one must hasten to record that the practical issues are no- 

 where lost sight of, though the path followed in bringing them to 

 light is often needlessly detailed and circuitous. 



That equal exception will be taken alike to the main positions of the 

 work and to the detailed applications therein is not unexpected. Dr. 

 Hall distinctly appreciates the imperfection of his own efforts; but 

 these efforts represent the convictions of as long a stretch of teaching 

 and of as close study of a wide range of data, as is the case with any 

 representative of his craft. In a more distinctive way than any other 

 student of mind in America, Dr. Hall has canvassed the field both on 

 its practical and theoretical sides, and has bided his time for many 

 years, eventually placing on record this issue of his encyclopedic labor, 

 his varied experience, his wide observation of men and things. Quite 

 irrespective of the degree to which his views will find ready acceptance 

 among his colleagues and the public at large, the importance of the 

 problems discussed and the originality contributed to their discussions, 

 as well as the encyclopedic comprehension of what is thus put together, 

 make these volumes a distinctly notable achievement in the field of 

 psychology and education. 



The objective account thus rendered of the comprehensive under- 



