LITERARY NOTICES. 



1 11 



revolutionary machine, which is so in- 

 timately interwoven with the develop- 

 ment of civilization, is itself a part of 

 that development, and as much a prod- 

 uct of evolution as an oak a thousand 

 years old. The interesting story of its 

 unfolding from early germs, through 

 long and laborious experiments, to the 

 complete integration of the mechanism, 

 will be told by Prof. Thurston in suc- 

 cessive papers, which will be freely and 

 elegantly illustrated. The accompany- 

 ing "portrait-gallery" of the great in- 

 ventors who have contributed to this 

 grand mechanical achievement will be 

 the finest and fullest afforded by the 

 historic literature of the subject. 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



The Holy Roman Empire. By James 

 Bryce, D. C. L., Regius Professor of 

 Civil Law in the University of Oxford. 

 12mo. Pp. 4*79. Few York : Macmil- 

 lan & Co. 1877. Price, $2. 



The Holy Roman Empire dates from the 

 year 800 a. d, when a king of the Franks 

 was crowned Emperor of the Romans by 

 Leo III. ; and it is on the inner nature of 

 this empire, as the most signal instance of 

 the fusion of Roman and Teutonic elements 

 in modern civilization, that the author 

 dwells, treating of the influence which it 

 exercised over the minds of men, and the 

 causes that gave it power ; speaking less of 

 events than of principles, and describing 

 the empire, not as a state, but as an insti- 

 tution created by and embodying a won- 

 derful system of ideas. The forms which 

 the empire took, in the several stages of its 

 growth, are briefly sketched. A glance is 

 taken at the condition of the Roman world 

 in the third and fourth centuries, in order 

 to make clear out of what elements the im- 

 perial system was formed. 



Expiring antiquity had bequeathed to 

 the ages that followed two great ideas a 

 world-monarchy and a world-religion. The 

 Roman dominion, giving to many nations a 

 common speech and law, broke down the 

 differences of race and nationality when 

 foreigner and enemy were synonymous 

 terms and made citizens of them irrespec- 



tive of their religious beliefs, which were 

 purely local and national. For these, Chris- 

 tianity substituted the belief in one God, 

 and the doctrine of the unity of God en- 

 forced the unity of man ; and there was 

 thus formed a community of the faithful 

 a holy empire designed to gather all men 

 into its bosom. Thus the Holy Roman 

 Church and the Holy Roman Empire were 

 one and the same thing in two aspects. 

 As divine and eternal, its head was the 

 pope, to whom souls were intrusted ; as hu- 

 man and temporal, the emperor, commis- 

 sioned to rule over men's bodies and acts. 



Chapters are devoted to the subjects " Im- 

 perial Titles and Pretensions ; " " Changes 

 in the Germanic Constitution ; " " The Em- 

 pire as an International Power ; " " The 

 City of Rome in the Middle Ages ; " " Effects 

 of the Renaissance and Reformation on the 

 Empire;" its last phases and end in 1806 

 by the abdication of Francis II., 1,006 years 

 after Leo the pope had crowned the Frank- 

 ish king. A supplementary chapter is 

 added on " The New Germanic Empire," and 

 an appendix of notes on " Imperial Titles 

 and Ceremonies." To the whole is prefixed 

 a " Chronological Table of Emperors and 

 Popes," and " Dates of Important Events 

 in the History of the Empire." 



The treatment and style of the work are 

 judicial and scholarly, and the book will 

 doubtless be a standard one on the subjects 

 of which it speaks. It has been remarkably 

 well received on all sides, having already 

 passed through seven editions. 



The Physiology of Mixd. Being the First 

 Part of a Third Edition, revised, en- 

 larged, and in great part rewritten, of 

 " The Physiology and Pathology of 

 Mind." By Henry Maudsley, M. D. 

 Pp. 547. New York : D. Appleton & Co. 

 1877. Price, $2. 



Ten years ago, Dr. Maudsley issued a 

 large, well-elaborated volume under the 

 title of "The Physiology and Pathology of 

 Mind." It was well received, and a second 

 edition was called for, which has been now 

 for some time out of print. After several 

 years' further study of the subject, and 

 availing himself of the great activity of 

 investigation in this branch during the last 

 decade, Dr. Maudsley has revised his work, 

 and so extended it that it became desirable 



