LITERAR Y N TICES. 



245 



sense and intellect should balance each 

 other, and in this manner the greatest hap- 

 piness be secured. Thus, by a different 

 process of reasoning, he arrives at a result 

 similar to that reached by the Christian re- 

 ligion. Whatever may be thought of this 

 as a religious or logical system, yet, taken as 

 a whole, it is a work of the purest morality. 

 The " Ethics " is the product of the reason- 

 ing powers and not of the imagination. Its 

 general style and literary character are at 

 great variance with the smooth disquisitions 

 of modern times, but, if these mechanical 

 effects are overlooked, the thoughtful read- 

 er will find the truths as new and striking 

 as when they were first written. 



In the preface is given an outline of the 

 author's life, with the effect produced by 

 his writings. The translation has been 

 made with care and skill, and differs from 

 the English translation in being somewhat 

 more concise, while it is at the same time 

 equally clear. 



Comparative Zoology, Structural and 

 Systematic. For Use in Schools and 

 Colleges. By James Orton, A. M., Pro- 

 fessor of Natural History in Vassar Col- 

 lege ; Corresponding Member of the 

 Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadel- 

 phia, and of the Lyceum of Natural 

 History, New York ; author of " The 

 Andes and the Amazon," etc. New 

 York : Harper & Brothers, 1876. Price, 

 $3.00. 



This volume, as we are informed by 

 the author in the preface, is " designed 

 solely as a manual for instruction, and to 

 present clearly, and in a somewhat new 

 form, the established facts and principles 

 of zoology." It is claimed for it " that the 

 selection and arrangement of essential 

 principles and typical illustrations are from 

 the standpoint of the teacher. . . . and 

 that a distinctive character of the work 

 consists in treating of the whole animal 

 kingdom as a unit, and in the comparative 

 study of the development and variation of 

 organs and functions from the simplest to 

 the most complex state." 



The work is divided into two parts, the 

 first of which treats of structure, the sec- 

 ond of systematic zoology, the plan of the 

 author being to withhold from students 

 the study of the classification of animals 

 until " they have mastered those structural 



affinities upon which true classification is 

 founded." 



In both divisions of the work the syn- 

 thetic method is employed, as being the 

 most natural one, a study of simple struct- 

 ures and forms being first introduced. 



The plan of the work is comprehensive, 

 and claims to represent the latest phases 

 of the science of zoology. Comparative 

 zoology is defined as " the comparison of 

 the anatomy and physiology of all animals 

 existing and extiuct, to discover the funda- 

 mental likeness underneath the superficial 

 differences, and to trace the adaptation of 

 organs to the habits and spheres of life." 



The style is usually clear and attrac- 

 tive, and the book may be read with in- 

 terest and profit by others than teachers 

 and students. But we notice some passages 

 which are obscure from brevity, others 

 from inadvertence ; and there are several 

 inaccuracies, all of which it will be found 

 more easy to correct in a second edition 

 than it was to avoid in the first. 



One feature of the work will neither be 

 overlooked nor excused by naturalists. Of 

 about 350 illustrations, a very large num- 

 ber, probably 300, are old, and have done 

 service several times before. If some of 

 these cuts are excellent and appropriate, 

 others could have been omitted without 

 detriment, while new ones illustrating 

 American types are needed. 



The value of the work is enhanced by 

 copious notes, 220 in number, at the close 

 of the volume. 



What Young People should know. The 

 Reproductive Function in Man and the 

 Lower Animals. By Burt G. Wilder. 

 With Twenty-six Illustrations. Boston : 

 Estes & Lauriat. Pp. 212. Price, 

 $1.50. 



Prof. Wilder, being convinced that 

 there are greater evils caused by ignorance 

 of the legitimate and illegitimate uses of 

 the reproductive organs than by the per- 

 version of any other human propensity, has 

 written this book to dispel the ignorance. 

 If there were real knowledge upon such 

 subjects, he thinks there would be no ex- 

 ercise of the imagination in regard to them. 

 Few will agree with him in this idea, how- 

 ever excellent his work may be as a physio- 

 logical treatise for the young in this special 

 branch. 



