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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



upon the subject, and prepare for the 

 more systematic consideration of its 

 principles. The result was those able 

 articles on "The Study of Sociology," 

 by Herbert Spencer, which appeared in 

 our pages, and which, collected in a 

 volume, have been subsequently trans- 

 lated into nearly all the languages of 

 Europe. The subject is one of rapidly- 

 increasing interest, to which this book 

 has in no small measure contributed ; 

 and we have now the pleasure of an- 

 nouncing another arrangement with the 

 same author, of equal significance and 

 promise, in the popular exposition of 

 social science. 



Of Mr. Spencer's present unrivaled 

 position as the elucidator of the laws of 

 man's social progress there is no longer 

 a question. He was the first to grasp 

 the subject in its full breadth, the first 

 to trace out the completeness of its de- 

 pendence upon the sciences, and the 

 first to carry his system of thought into 

 practical execution. AVhen he began to 

 publish methodically upon this topic 

 seventeen years ago, his project was 

 regarded as a hopeless chimera; but 

 the work has steadily gained upon pub- 

 lic confidence, until its successive vol- 

 umes have been all reproduced in the 

 leading civilized countries. The inter- 

 est in the subject is, indeed, now so 

 strong and so general that Mr. Spencer 

 has been urgently called upon to pub- 

 lish in future in such a manner as to 

 bring his views more promptly and 

 generally before the reading world. To 

 this he has so far consented that we 

 shall be able, jointly with the English 

 and Continental periodicals, to repre- 

 sent for a considerable time the ad- 

 vancement of his sociological work. 



The volume of "The Principles of 

 Sociology," just published, deals with 

 the primordial conditions of the sub- 

 ject, and with the genesis of those 

 early ideas and feelings which give 

 origin to primary social cohesions and 

 groupings. The next volume is to treat 

 of the evolution of the various forms 

 of government by which society is 



ruled Ceremonial, Political, Ecclesias- 

 tical. We shall publish next month 

 the introductory essay on Ceremonial 

 Government, its nature, extent, and 

 relation to other forms of control. 

 This will be followed by papers deal- 

 ing with the various elements and di- 

 visions of the subject, such as " Tro- 

 phies," " Mutilations," " Presents," 

 " Obeisances," " Forms of Address," 

 "Titles," "Badges and Costumes," 

 "Further Class Distinctions," "Fash- 

 ion," and the "Past and Future of 

 Ceremony." 



It need hardly be said that these 

 articles will be in a high degree original 

 and instructive, and will throw an im- 

 portant light upon the historic unfold- 

 ing of one of the largest divisions of 

 social regulation. They will be invalu- 

 able to all who care to understand the 

 agencies by which human conduct is 

 controlled, and the modifications which 

 those agencies undergo in social devel- 

 opment. "We ask our readers to bear in 

 mind that The Populak Science Month- 

 ly is the only magazine in the United 

 States which tries to keep its patrons 

 informed of the advances in this great 

 field of thought ; and we earnestly ap- 

 peal to them to do their share in help- 

 ing us, by forming clubs among their 

 friends and in their neighborhoods that 

 shall extend the circulation of the 

 Monthly. We are trying to do a work 

 of education which our colleges and 

 our periodicals grossly neglect; and 

 our power of accomplishment must de- 

 pend upon the vigor and liberality with 

 which we are sustained by those who 

 appreciate the importance of the labor. 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



The Methods of Ethics. By Henry Sipg- 

 wick, M. A. Second edition. Macmillan 

 & Co., London. Pp. 469. Price, $4. 



This work, which upon its first appear- 

 ance made a strong impression upon philo- 

 sophical minds, has passed to a second edi- 

 tion, with numerous alterations and addi- 

 tions ; the main part of which, as the author 



