LITERARY NOTICES. 



849 



theistic belief, and especially by Christianity, 

 is discredited ; and the intention is announced 

 to consider the other solutions offered in 

 their theoretical and practical aspects, and 

 to inquire whether Theism in general, and 

 the Christian religion in particular, are so 

 utterly untenable as is very generally con- 

 tended. The two answers, besides Theism, 

 to the great enigma are atheism and agnos- 

 ticism. Atheism is described as teaching 

 that the answer to the great enigma is not 

 moral but material ; that faith in the Divine 

 must be put aside as a senseless and servile 

 superstition ; that the rule of right and 

 wrong is to be found in self-interest ; that 

 ethics is only a regulation of police ; that 

 physical fatality must be acquiesced in ; and 

 as holding out the practice of a " brutal ego- 

 ism." Of that kind of agnosticism which is 

 merely critical and negative, and is content 

 with professing nescience of God, M. Renan's 

 career and writings are held up as a type. 

 His criticism, after examination, is pro- 

 nounced inadequate to support the vast edi- 

 fice of doubt which he reared upon it. The 

 other kind of agnosticism, scientific or af- 

 firmative, which asserts the existence of God 

 but denies that he can be known, is considered 

 best represented by the philosophy of Herbert 

 Spencer — " Mr. Spencer's portentous generali- 

 ties." This is examined in detail, criticised 

 unsparingly, and is declared to leave the 

 mystery of " the immeasurable world " pre- 

 cisely where it found it. The inquiry is 

 next made whether Theism is, in fact, so 

 hopelessly discredited as is frequently and 

 confidently alleged. Mysticism, or the doc- 

 trine of the inner light, is then examined in 

 the four chief systems — Hindu, Greek, Mos- 

 lem, and Christian — in which it has been 

 clothed, and the conclusion is reached that 

 while, in the more vulgar manifestations of 

 religion, it may assume most unlovely forms, 

 it is still there, " potent in its divine virtue 

 to slake the thirst of human nature for a 

 great good transcending sense." Finally, the 

 claims of the Christian synthesis are con- 

 sidered, with the conclusion that, " while no 

 one pretends that Christianity offers us a 

 complete explanation of the scheme of 

 things, there is no more reason in the nine- 

 teenth century than there was in the first 

 why its message should not be received by 

 cultivated and intelligent men, who feel their 

 vol. xlii. — 58 



need of it, and who will carefully and can- 

 didly examine its claims for themselves." 

 We think Mr. Lilly has failed to appreciate 

 the importance of the contributions which 

 Mr. Spencer and the exponents of scientific 

 inquiry into the questions he discusses have 

 made to a clearer understanding of the sub- 

 ject. By enlarging the sources of knowledge 

 and broadening the lines of thought, they 

 have made it possible to regard the questions 

 from different sides, and thereby to take 

 more comprehensive views of them ; by more 

 plainly defining the essential points, they 

 have enabled us to discern them unencum- 

 bered by minor features and the rubbish 

 which tradition and superstition have heaped 

 around them ; and by presenting them dis- 

 tinct, in strong light, they have enabled us 

 to apprehend them undisturbed by the per- 

 plexing excrescences which made conception 

 of them difficult and embarrassed faith ; and 

 have thus augmented rather than dimin- 

 ished respect for the fundamental principles 

 of Christianity and their hold upon candid 

 minds. 



Metal Coloring and Bronzing. By Arthur 

 H. Hiorns. New York : Macmillan & 

 Co. Pp. 336. Price, $1. 



It is surprising to find that the Japanese 

 still surpass us in artistic metal coloring, not- 

 withstanding our chemical knowledge of al- 

 loys. This is acknowledged to be the case 

 by the author of this volume, who asserts that 

 even " the bloom of fruit is faithfully repro- 

 duced " by them, and inharmonious coloring 

 is unknown in their work. 



Some advance, however, may be expected 

 among us now, as we begin to realize that 

 metal is beautiful when finished as metal, and 

 not when perverted to an imitation of wood 

 or glass. 



This book is the result of experiments in 

 bronzing which have been most carefully con- 

 ducted. Many old recipes have been tested, 

 as well as methods now commonly used in 

 France. The first part of the work is de- 

 voted to the chemical and general relations 

 of the subject ; the preliminary treatment of 

 metals follows ; and the three remaining sec- 

 tions contain chemical metal coloring, electro- 

 chemical processes, and mechanical metal col- 

 oring. Some remedies to be used in case of 

 accident and suggestions for preventing ill 



