482 



NATURE 



[March 24, 1898 



The later years of H^irvey's life were passed in peaceful 

 retirement. The civil troubles of the time had broken 

 up his household and scattered his patients, but had left 

 his private fortune unimpaired. At the age of sixty- 

 eight he relinquished his appointments and practice, and 

 went to reside with one or other of his brothers, who 

 were wealthy London merchants. He still continued the 

 studies he loved so well — for he had an enduring passion 

 for original research — and maintained his interest in the 

 College of Physicians, to which he was a large 

 benefactor. 



Sir George Ent gives us a touching glimpse of him as 

 he appeared in his seventy-third year at the house of his 

 brother Daniel, at Combe. 



" I found him, Democritus like, busy with the study of 

 natural things, his countenance cheerful, his mind serene, 

 embracing all within its sphere. I forthwith saluted him 

 and asked if all were well with him ? ' How can it,' said 

 he, ' whilst the Commonwealth is full of distraction and 

 I myself am still in the open sea? And truly did I not 

 find solace in my studies and a balm for my spirit in the 

 memory of my observations of former years, I should 

 feel little desire for longer life. But so it has been, that 

 this life of obscurity, this vacation from public business, 

 which causes tedium and disgust to so many, has proved 

 a sovereign remedy to me.' " 



Harvey had the satisfaction of living to see his great 

 discovery generally accepted as true. In his old age he 

 was known and honoured throughout the learned world. 

 The College of Physicians erected a statue in his honour. 

 In his seventy-sixth year he was elected president of the 

 College, but declined the honour on the plea of the in. 

 firmities of age. Harvey made a peaceful ending in his 

 seventy-ninth year, and was buried in what is now called 

 the " Harvey Chapel " in the parish church of Hempstead 

 in Essex. 



Mr. Power has produced a work of permanent value, 

 which is not likely to be superseded. The book is in- 

 vitingly got up, and is eminently readable. It should 

 attract a large circle of readers both inside and outside 

 the professional pale. W, R. 



THE NOTIONS OF CLASSICAL WRITERS 

 ON GEOGRAPHY. 



A History of Ancient Geography. By H. F. Tozer. 

 Pp. xvii -f 387. (Cambridge University Press, 1897.) 



THE want of a short, popular history of classical 

 geography is one which has been long felt, and 

 there is no doubt that the little volume before us will 

 help to fill it. The great work by the late Sir Henry 

 Bunbury, from which Mr. Tozer has so largely drawn, 

 is hardly fitted for a text-book, even for advanced 

 students, for the subject of ancient geography is treated 

 therein in such an exhaustive manner, that no ordinary 

 student who has other subjects to master can ever hope 

 to have sufficient time to study it in the way in which it 

 should be studied. It is somewhat a matter of doubt if 

 Mr. Tozer's, with its three hundred and seventy pages of 

 closely-printed matter, is not too long when the absolute 

 needs of the student are taken into consideration ; still 

 the reader will soon see how to pick out the important 

 facts from this pleasantly written treatise, and how to 

 NO. 1482, VOL. 57] 



let alone the generalisations and discussions of theories 

 which though interesting enough are not essentials. 



The first thing that strikes the reader is the fact that 

 Mr. Tozer has described his work inaccurately ; it is not 

 a " History of Ancient Geography," but a " History of 

 Ancient Classical Geography." In days gone by when 

 Oriental studies had not attracted the attention of 

 workers, and the works of Greek and Latin writers were 

 believed to contain all the history of the nations that are 

 past and gone, the title which Mr. Tozer has given to 

 the work would have been well enough ; in these days, 

 however, it is misleading. On p. 3 Mr. Tozer says : 



" The natural starting-point for such a history must be 

 the shores of the Mediterranean, because the peoples 

 that dwelt in the neighbourhood of that sea first culti- 

 vated the science of geography on an extended scale, 

 and it was from that quarter that the information was 

 originally derived which furnished the material for such 

 a study." 



Very true as far as it goes^ but Egypt and Syria both 

 form part of the Mediterranean coast on the south and 

 east, and yet Mr. Tozer's book tells us next to nothing 

 about either, although so much is now known of both 

 countries, and of the ancient intercourse which existed 

 between them in very old times. Hieroglyphic in- 

 scriptions are extant which describe military and other 

 expeditions to the heart of Africa and to the coasts 

 of Arabia from the period of the sixth to the eighteenth 

 dynasty, and several long historical texts which describe 

 the progress of Egyptian arms in Western Asia are so 

 well known as to make it difficult to see why Mr. Tozer 

 has not made use of them. The Tell el-Amarna tablets, 

 which have now been translated into English, French, 

 and German, form a most valuable mine of information 

 for the student of ancient geography, and yet they are 

 not mentioned in Mr. Tozer's work. It is not yet 

 possible to identify all the places the names of which are 

 given in these remarkable documents, but it is quite easy to 

 sketch the main trade and military routes between Egypt 

 and Northern Syria, Western Mesopotamia, &c. About 

 the fifteenth century before our era a certain Egyptian 

 gentleman set out on a journey to Syria and, fortunately 

 for us, he wrote an account of his experience to a friend 

 wherein he detailed the events of the way, the names of 

 the places at which he stayed, and several matters of 

 considerable interest to the geographical student. M. 

 Chabas' edition of the text and translation have been so 

 long before the public that the Mohar's "itinerary" 

 might well have been described by-Mr. Tozer. Passing 

 from Egypt to Babylonia and Assyria we think that 

 enough of the early geography of these countries might 

 have been gleaned from the cuneiform inscriptions to 

 make two valuable chapters at least, as well as a tolerably 

 full map. 



Speaking of the pygmies (p. 30), Mr. Tozer says : 



" We may conclude therefore that the Pygmies of 

 Homer were a real people. . . . The Egyptians might 

 easily have heard of them, and through them the story 

 might have found its way into Greece." 



A little searching of Egyptian records would have 

 shown him that the Egyptians knew a great deal about 

 the pygmies, and that King Assa, about B.C. 3300, kept 



