418 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



or less open to these objections, do they 

 really stand against the English school of 

 to-day, and has the German school met 

 them in any adequate or systematic way ? 

 History is, of course, important ; but schol- 

 ars may dig in history to the end of time 

 to no purpose if they can not reduce their 

 results to organized knowledge. We have 

 the living facts all before us and all around 

 us, open to immediate observation, to be 

 directly studied in their actual relations, 

 and, until the positive and palpable realities 

 of experience are first mastered and reduced 

 to valid method, it is useless to go back into 

 distant ages to study these same phenomena 

 in the vague representations of a history 

 written in utter ignorance of the bare fact 

 of the existence of such a subject as politi- 

 cal economy. As well turn the anatomist 

 away from his actual dissections to get help 

 from history by the study of old Arabian 

 treatises, or cutting up Egyptian mummies. 

 History is important ; but it is of very sub- 

 ordinate importance, and must be preceded 

 by the scientific investigation of actual facts 

 and laws wherever these are accessible to 

 study. German erudition may add to the 

 rubbish-heaps of chaotic lore regarding the 

 economic life of ancient peoples; but the 

 question remains how German scholars are 

 grappling with the problems of present eco- 

 nomic experience. We fail to find evidence 

 that they are making much headway in this 

 direction. Can it be that they have fled to 

 history, " in order to ally themselves with 

 the great reformers in politics, in jurispru- 

 dence, and in theology," because of incom- 

 petence to deal with this vast subject as it 

 stands in our modern civilization by the 

 strictly scientific method ? Whatever view 

 we may take of the extent of the law of evo- 

 lution, it is at any rate the key of human 

 progress and of social history. Has the 

 historical school recognized it? On the 

 contrary, we must look to England for the 

 thinkers who have made this vast step 

 in the advance of historical method. The 

 monumental work, which complies with all 

 Dr. Ely's requirements, which consists whol- 

 ly of systematized data and abstains entirely 

 from theory, which considers economical 

 facts in connection with all the other ele- 

 ments of society,, which classifies the com- 

 prehensive results of investigation with the 



simple view of drawing scientific conclu- 

 sions, and which is, moreover, grounded 

 upon the principle of historical development, 

 is an English enterprise — a system of de- 

 scriptive sociology representing the elements 

 of society in seventy-two communities, past 

 and present, civilized and uncivilized, and 

 treating of civilizations extinct, decayed, and 

 still flourishing. But this valuable con- 

 tribution to comparative sociology, though 

 prepared with immense labor from his own 

 point of view, and making an epoch in the 

 progress of social science, is not even re- 

 ferred to in Dr. Ely's monograph. 



Practical Essays. By Alexander Bain, 

 LL. D. New York : D. Appleton & Co. 

 Pp. 338. Price, $1.50. 



Those who are famiUar with the intel- 

 lectual individuality of Professor Bain and 

 the range of his studies will be prepared 

 to form some idea of the scope and char- 

 acter of this volume of essays, which is in 

 great part a reprint of articles first contrib- 

 uted to reviews. But the title of the vol- 

 ume indicates a characteristic which might 

 not readily be inferred from the quality of 

 Professor Bain's previous works, many of 

 which are scientific and speculative, while 

 the papers which make up this book are of 

 an eminently practical kind. There is much 

 novelty and originality in many of the sug- 

 gestions made, but the topics selected, and 

 their mode of treatment, will be found use- 

 ful and helpful to a large number of readers. 

 The first two essays, on " Common Errors 

 of the Mind," are especially of this practi- 

 cal character, and derive interest from the 

 thorough psychological preparation of the 

 writer. The next two essays have an edu- 

 cational bearing ; the one on " Competitive 

 Examinations," and the other on the " Clas- 

 sical Controversy." The fifth article is of 

 particular practical interest to students as 

 delineating the mode of treating philosophi- 

 cal questions in debating societies. Dr. Bain 

 considers " The University Ideal " in his 

 sixth article ; and the seventh, which is per- 

 haps the most interesting of all, is a chap- 

 ter omitted from the author's " Science of 

 Education," and is mainly devoted to the 

 methods of self-education by means of 

 books. This essay abounds in instructive 

 suggestions. The eighth article is on '* Secta- 

 rian Creeds and Subscription to Articles." 



