560 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



subject, the philosophical side having, in 

 his opinion, been satisfactorily treated by 

 Matter ("Histoirc critique du Gnosticisme," 

 1827), to whom the reader is referred. The 

 histoi-y and origin of the system, its rela- 

 tions with other systems from which it was 

 derived or has borrowed its rituals and its 

 emblems, come under his purview. lie be- 

 gins by reviewing the great religious sys- 

 tems of the East, which were flourishing at 

 the time of the promulgation of Christian- 

 ity in those regions, with the influence of 

 those systems upon the modes of thought 

 and expression of both the missionaries of 

 the new creed and their exponents. He 

 cites from the words of St. Paul evidence 

 of the previous existence of the germs of 

 Gnosticism in the cities that were the scenes 

 of his most important labors. Proof is 

 brought forward that the seeds of Gnosti- 

 cism were originally of Indian growth and 

 were carried westward by the movement of 

 Buddhism, which was planted in the do- 

 minions of the Seleucidae and the Ptolemies 

 " at least as early as the times of the gen- 

 eration following the establishment of those 

 dynasties." Next, are considered the con- 

 tributions of Egypt, which are discriminated 

 from the real Gnostic productions, and have 

 their distinctive characters pointed out ; 

 Mithraicism, with explanations of its alliance 

 with Occidental Christianity ; the religion of 

 Serapis, the last of the heathen forms to 

 fall before the power of Christianity ; 

 "Abraxas, Abraxaster, and Abraxoid 

 gems," and their meaning ; the relations of 

 astrology, the Tcmplar.=!, the Rosicrucians, 

 and the Freemasons ; with observations 

 about the origin of Mason's marks, and tal- 

 ismans, and amulets, which are related by 

 their nature to this religion ; " for Gnostic 

 symbols and Gnostic formulae gave their vir- 

 tue to many of the class, being borrowed 

 directly from the Gnosis or from the older 

 creeds out of which the latter was con- 

 structed. Their employment, and the no- 

 tions generating them, have been here de- 

 scribed, showing the derivation of many of 

 the media;val examples from the Gnostic 

 class ; and by following out the same prin- 

 ciple, it has been attempted to find a key to 

 their cabalistic legends which may fit them 

 better than any hitherto oTered by their in- 

 terpreters." The illustrations are drawn en- 



tirely from engraved stones, for the Gnostic 

 societies erected no monuments to attract 

 public attention. They include various types 

 of the god Abraxas, Cnuphic and Scrapie 

 emblems, Egyptian types, Mithraic subjects, 

 talismans, Hindoo symbols, and Mason's 

 marks. The book promises to be of great 

 value to the student, but can hardly be com- 

 prehended without some previous knowledge 

 of the subject. 



Elementary Psychology and Education. 

 I3y Joseph Baldwin, cf Texas. Inter- 

 national Education Scries. New York : 

 D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 287. Price, 

 $1.50 



This work is intended expressly for ele- 

 mentary classes. The author says: "Our 

 literature is rich in psychologies adapted to 

 colleges and senior classes in our normal 

 schools, but is destitute of a text-book suit- 

 able for our high schools and for the lower 

 classes in our normal schools. The want 

 of such a text-book is widely felt. The 

 author has given the best years of his life 

 to the effort to prepare such a text-book 

 and thus meet the want. Each lesson here 

 submitted has been given scores of times 

 to large classes with highly satisfactory re- 

 sults. Short sentences in plain Anglo- 

 Saxon is the rule. Object-lessons, bold 

 type, outlines, study-hints, examples to work 

 out, original analysis, original definitions, 

 original applications, and helpful illustra- 

 tions, are called into constant requisition." 



The plan of the work is to deal in In- 

 troductory Lessons with Attention, Instinct, 

 and Sensation; in Part II with the Percep- 

 tive Powers; in Part III with the Repre- 

 sentative Powers ; in Part IV with the 

 Thought Powers ; in Part V with the Feel- 

 ings ; and in Part VI with the Will Powers. 

 Diagrams for the purposes of illustration 

 are abundant. Topical analyses are made 

 at the close of each chapter, together with 

 Suggestive Study-Hints. The typography 

 of the book is excellent. 



Boston School-Kitchen Text-Book. By 

 Mrs. D. A. Lincoln. Boston : Roberts 

 Brothers. Pp. 27 -f 237. Price, $1. 



The purpose of this manual is a very 

 important one, for it aims to supply what 

 many young women undertake the manage- 

 ment of a home without — namely, a knowl- 



