646 



NA'i CKh: 



[November 3, 1923 



1 1.1- ' ' 



Unit' I 

 sense 1 



ncvcrilRl' 

 if leu of thi 



In, U illi il Kl )> 



iipmcnt o( planetary theorv ic 



tks throujjh KcpltT to Gjh 



■ Hint roinrilcff , am niorc l' 



' siu<icin >!ii>ulu liiiNf a ( Icar 

 fern and of the acttial strps 



tiMii di till. \.\>\ \\A> piiiii.ii'i 



1 wli|l|ii!<(| lirlll.lIHl III! I )r. ]■ 1 



til lr uilcricd Imm il> rraj)]n ,; 



i!i. Ultli tin 

 Mil.; . u hii li \- 



Medieval Science. 



( nUil Si!( )!('!■ dioiiiii 



l>,i. I! 

 Ma. i;:il 



Tol. 

 \iil. 2. 

 Ill (n. ; 

 J \ul.S., 



A lltstoy (>l Miii^ir ini,/ / 

 ///<■ /•'//.'./ T/iirlidi Cfir. 

 I.\ nil 'I'liiiMiilikc. \ 111. I . I 'p. 

 Pp. vi -f- io^(). ( Nt u Ndrk : I'll 

 London: Mai inillaii and Co.. l.ti 

 10 dollars. 425. net. 



TTTK \vy\ important work rcccntlv issued liv Prof. 

 riiorndikc- is a inonninrnt ot UarniiiL' s( ifntific- 

 all\- marshalled. It marks a jxriod in thr liistory of 

 mcdii'val studies, which it will inlUuiK c in mmvu what 

 the same wa\- that anthro])oloL;\' has Ihtii aftected l)\' 

 "TheGold(i! r.";;L'li," a houl; with which it has inan\- 

 parallels. Prol. iliorndike lia> ])ro(hiced a work whiili 

 in e\ery sense is wortli\- of tiie name of " scientific."' 

 He carries on the exploration of magical idea.s Ir yond 

 the level of civilisation at which anthropolojjisis are 

 accustomed to stop, and he demonstrates the same 

 ideas current in the highly sophisticated atmosphere 

 of the scholastic Middle Ages. 



From the title over the introduction to the work, 

 namely, " A History of Magic and Experimental 

 Science and their Relation to Christian Thought," etc., 

 the reader might be led to expect a polemical exposi- 

 tion of a definite point of view towards some of the 

 great [)roblems of human existence. Prof. Thorndike, 

 liow( \er. presents us with an immense collection of 

 facts with the object of adding to our kno\\ledi:e of 

 the history of thought, rather than of pro\ing any 

 previously formulated thesis. " Magic," " Experi- 

 mental Science," " Christian Thought " are rather 

 chosen as headings to help the student towards 

 evolving .some order in the mass of material. The 

 conceptions expressed by each of these modern lerni.s 

 can in turn throw a further Jiuht on tiie history of 

 thought, for it is ideas ratlier than tlie practices to 

 which they lead on w hich Prof. Thorndike has focussed 

 his discussion. " M.iL,ic represented a way of looking at 

 the world. In the case of primiti\e men and sa\ aces it 

 is possible that little thought accompanied their action." 

 NO. 28 I 8, VOL. T 12] 



' I Hi li 1^ \ 1 i>' 11 111^ I )l t 1' ' 



in one age Prof. Thorndi 



more luliv i\- 



.., ,,!,, ,n. ,,,,, 



\Mtii liie tu.hUi 



a nil ml- n.lh ii , ti' 



But until such thought develops a purposive and rational 



I nan cannot I)c di.stinguished as either 



■ or mauHcal. I-lvrn m.e.'ir implic; 



■ lll^^or\ 

 ' «• a rcla; 



itions oi mental lilt- 

 " --'-ation. Thus 

 ' (»nc*'ptions 

 ;.d 

 .,.. .......Mb 



work deals 

 ut the 

 period 

 utcome 

 ol t.nik. l.aiin. and i arlv ('hri-ilian ihtjught. 



Tin- broad >ur\<\- ot the l)ook enable> us to consider 

 human thouLiht throuLilmui tin >nsidered as 



something like an organic whoh 'n- 



tinuity and intcrrrlatinnshir) i t. 



" It seems to i; 



presei "! n>earcli into and knouieOge oi our 



subj( ' ■ r I (inclusions and even more novel nn* - 



can be drawn li\- a w idr 1 > ■ 



a minutelx' intcn>i\( and txi.a; ir.' -i:<: , ' i • :• : .;■] 

 or of a few \ear>." It 'amiiM hr a !;M-tak'-. however, 

 to think that no in; ; 'repara- 



tion of tlicsc \-(iliiii,i -. i mine of 



ermhtion. and will be mdi . cnce by 



all whn l,a\r til ■ iile or thought. 



'rhe\' lireseiit a w\,y , >. ■; ^ 



. known as ♦"> •' 



li\es and wdrks of an immense number of \' 

 w rittTS u]) to tlie fourteenth century, and an invaluable 

 record of the whereabout.^ "t TMii.h unpublished 

 material >'at'ared throughout • ' libraries of 



Europe. Nor is the study li well-known 



names. Thus, the rr\i. w^r Ik; n interested 



in an obscure tex he 



" Secreta Philosophorum. wlii.li cumbmes m iiclero- 

 gencous faslnnn tccbni<-;il and chemical recipes, con- 

 juring ti: and musical 

 lore, and a^iroiinni). 1 iii> iniei i.;i:.i:!_ work, though 

 it enjo>ed con<ider:;Mi- popiila'-it\- in fourteenth- and 

 fifteenth-cent r been o\er- 

 looked by mniUN.ni 1 -. 1. u 1 escaped the 

 vigilance of Prof. Thorndike. w! n interesting 

 and succinct account of its contt-nis. and has observed 

 that it embodiis a com]i. -'■"'•" '■"■ •' ■ ''aVr,.,.iith-r,ntun' 

 Italian writer. Peter li nd 

 its u- ! iie [Hiint i.-. oi ^omc importance, 



as PlU; . > . ^.- 'ht fir^t \>,rii( r on the mariner'.s 



compass wlu>-e w. irk> I ^ 



This strav example could no doubt be parailcied by 

 the experience of many students who will find in Prof. 



