LITERARY NOTICES, 



375 



we step naturally and certainly to the ob- 

 servation, perception, and classification, of 

 principles which constitute the highest ex- 

 ercise of thought. Drawing, therefore, 

 should be cultivated primarily as a means 

 of developing the mind ; secondarily, as an 

 ^accomplishment or a profession. Instruc- 

 tion in it should begin in early childhood, 

 and continue until education is accom- 

 plished ; and, instead of being given to a 

 few, it should be given to all. 



The work before us appears preemi- 

 nently adapted to produce natural and 

 rational mental development. The pupil 

 has his attention directed first to straight 

 lines, and, being shown the difference be- 

 tween horizontal, perpendicular, and ob- 

 lique, he is required to invent forms that 

 can be represented by the combination of 

 two lines. In order to give direction to his 

 efforts, he is furnished with a book con- 

 taining representations of a few such com- 

 binations, but he is not allowed to confine 

 himself to the imitation of these ; he is 

 taught to observe in things around him 

 suggestions for other forms. In like man- 

 ner he is taught to combine three, four, 

 and as many as eight lines. Next, he is 

 led through the same process in the com- 

 bination of two or more right, acute, and 

 obtuse angles, squares, oblongs, rhombs, 

 etc. Being thoroughly versed in rectilinear 

 forms, he is introduced to curved lines, 

 circles, etc., and taught to combine them 

 in the same manner that he followed with 

 straight lines. As the pupil is herein taught 

 to construct forms from simple Unes, it is 

 called the Synthetic Series. And, in order 

 to give the development of his mind a scien- 

 tific turn, the examples given in the vari- 

 ous combinations lead with straight lines 

 to the construction of crystalline forms, and 

 with curved lines to the simpler vegetable 

 and animal forms. 



The Analytic Series, which is the next 

 above, begins like the other, with straight 

 lines, the difference being that, instead of 

 constructing forms as in that case, the 

 pupil is here required to pull them to 

 pieces. He is first shown how to bisect 

 and trisect a single line, and then to treat 

 similarly the various sections thus fonned. 

 He is next given a square, and required to 

 form designs on the bisection of it ; next, 



on the trisection, and so on, until he be- 

 comes perfectly familiar with the innumer- 

 able forms that can be produced on the 

 basis of a square, an octagon, or a hexagon. 

 And he is led to observe on which of these 

 bases the objects around him can be repre- 

 sented. He is instructed in the same man- 

 ner with regard to the circles and ellipses. 

 Thus, by an easy and interesting process, 

 the pupil is brought to perceive and under- 

 stand what is indispensable alike to draw- 

 ing and to scientific thinking, the relation 

 of parts to the whole. The examples in 

 this series lead to landscape-gardening, 

 architecture, and descriptive anatomy. 



A Perspective and Geometric Series, 

 based on the same plan as the two pub- 

 lished series, will follow, to complete the 

 system. 



The Doctrine of Evolution : Its Data, its 

 Principles, its Speculations, and its The- 

 istic Bearings. By Alexander Win- 

 CHELL, LL. D. 148 pages. Price, $1. 

 Harper & Bros. 



Within the compass of this little vol- 

 ume, Chancellor Winchell has summed up 

 with great fairness, although, of course, with 

 brevity, the leading arguments that are of- 

 fered both for and against the theory of 

 evolution. He has certainly not failed to 

 do justice to its objectors ; and his book is 

 especially valuable as presenting very fully 

 certain arguments against Darwinism that 

 are not readily accessible. As to his own 

 position upon the subject he says : " Should 

 the reader demand categorically whether 

 the author holds to the doctrine of evolu- 

 tion or not, he replies that this seems clear- 

 ly the law of universal intelligence under 

 which complex results are brought into ex- 

 istence. The existence and universality of 

 a law operating upon materials so various, 

 and under circumstances so diverse, but al- 

 ways evolving a succession of terms having 

 the same values relatively to each other, is 

 a fact which, to the ear of reason, proclaims 

 intelligence more loudly than any possible 

 array of isolated phenomena. But the di- 

 versity of the materials with which the law 

 has to deal, brings out a variety of special 

 values for the general terms of the evolu- 

 tionary series. Mechanical force acts with 

 uniformity, symmetry, and always in one 



