LITERARY NOTICES. 



417 



hinder the promulgation of truth. The 

 doctrine of evolution will certainly sweep 

 away a large amount of old belief that has 

 hitherto been venerated by its religious asso- 

 ciations, but in various qualified forms the 

 essential truth of that doctrine is already 

 acknowledged in many pulpits where it is 

 sure, as time goes on, to yield its liberal- 

 izing fruits. 



Unity pulpit, in Boston, occupied by the 

 Rev. Minot J. Savage, has long been eman- 

 cipated from those restraints of dogma 

 which hinder the acceptance of the great 

 truths established by science. Mr. Savage 

 has met the new questions of the time with- 

 out hesitation and with a cordial welcome, 

 holding that neither will a sound morality be 

 weakened nor pure religion suffer through 

 the extensions of science and the enlarge- 

 ment of the domain of truth. lie maintains ! 

 rather that a more authoritative ethics and 

 more ennobling religious conceptions must 

 be the inevitable result of that progress of 

 thought which now finds its highest expres- 

 sion in the evolution philosophy. Unity 

 pulpit at any rate is free, and its occupant 

 is unable to perceive why in his sphere of 

 inquiry he should not have exactly the same 

 liberty of investigation that is exercised by 

 every member of the National Academy of 

 Sciences. His last sermon, now before us, is 

 devoted to Herbert Spencer, and to an esti- 

 mate of his influence on religion and moral- 

 ity. It certainly can not be said that the 

 pulpit has hitherto sinned in the way of 

 neglecting this representative thinker ; but 

 the utterance of Mr. Savage differs so 

 widely from what we have been accustomed 

 to hear from the lips of clergymen, that we 

 have pleasure in quoting its opening pas- 

 sages : 



A quiet, modest unassuming gentleman, with 

 no assumption of greatness, with no air of pre- 

 tense, with not the slightest approach to an ap- 

 pearance of patronage toward those who may he 

 considered as less noted or great than himself, 

 has been for the last two or three months seeking 

 rest and refreshment here in America. Heard in 

 public but once, seen in private only by a few, 

 the country has still felt that a great man was 

 here, a man like those to whom Emerson refers 

 when he says, " A great man is himself an occa- 

 sion." We have all felt this presence, and noted 

 some indication of it now and then. For, when 

 he has chosen to utter himself concerning the 

 impressions that have been made upon him in 

 this country, the whole nation has listened as 



vol. xxii. 27 



though something were being said that was 

 worthy of attention. The newspapers have 

 caught it up ; and all the leading organs for the 

 expression of public opinion have commented 

 on it, recognizing the (act that here at least was 

 something not to be passed by in silence. 



This man, to whom we have been so ready 

 to listen, has during the last quarter of a century 

 wrought a work that, I think I may say, without 

 exaggeration, has no parallel in the history of 

 human thought, lie has so wrought himself 

 into the very fiber, the warp and woof of this 

 modern world, that I can say of him, what can 

 be said of no other man living, and what has 

 never been said of any man who has ever lived : 

 he has made himself so vital a part of science, 

 of philosophy, of education, of the science of 

 government, of sociology, of ethics, of religion 

 he has so mastered and entered into the pos- 

 session of all these great realms of human 

 thought and human life, which in their totality 

 almost make up what is meant by life itself, that 

 to-day no serious and intelligent thinker can 

 discuss any importaut question pertaining to 

 any one of these departments without being 

 compelled to reckon with Herbert Spencer. You 

 can not discuss science, you can not discuss 

 philosophy, you can not discuss education, poli- 

 tics, society, and the laws that underlie them, 

 you can not discuss ethics, you can not touch 

 the subject of religion, without either agreeing 

 with or differing from this quiet scholar. And 

 to have wrought himself so intimately and so 

 essentially into the very life of the world this, I 

 say, is an achievement unparalleled in the history 

 of human thought. I care not in which depart- 

 ment you pick up a book to-day, you will find 

 that the writer, if he comprehends his theme, 

 is either working along the lines which Herbert 

 Spencer has laid out, or else he is telling the 

 world why he does not do so. He does not ig- 

 nore him he can not ignore him. About a 

 week ago, it was my privilege and pleasure to 

 join one or two hundred gentlemen in giving 

 Mr. Spencer a public dinner in New York, on 

 the eve of his departure. It was something 

 striking and wonderful to sec there the leading 

 men of the nation in all departments of thought 

 and culture, sitting at his feet and acknowledg- 

 ing his supremacy. 



A Practical Treatise on Hernia. By 

 Joseph H. Warren, M. D. Second and 

 revised edition. With Illustrations. 

 Boston : James R. Osgood & Co. Pp. 

 428. Price, $5. 



The author of this book is widely known 

 as a successful practitioner and writer on 

 hernia and kindred affections, and his aim 

 has been to make this a trustworthy work 

 of reference on the subject. The first edi- 

 tion was received in the most favorable 

 manner by the profession ; the present 

 new edition has been improved with all 

 the advantages that further studies and 



