LITERARY NOTICES. 



70s 



may be added that he is no partisan and no 

 extremist, but writes with care, moderation, 

 and Judicial fairness, taking impartial ad- 

 vantage of the best that has been gained by 

 the various schools of investigation. Recog- 

 nizing the importance of introspection as an 

 instrument of psychological observation and 

 analysis, he supplements it by the physio- 

 logical study of the nervous conditions and 

 concomitants of mind. His general point 

 of view is that of evolution, and his capaci- 

 ty of handling his subject by this method 

 may be inferred from the fact that he was 

 chosen in conjunction with Professor Hux- 

 ley to write the elaborate article on " Evolu- 

 tion " for the present edition of the " Ency- 

 clopaedia Britannica." It may be added that 

 his book is one of great clearness, and will 

 prove of unusual interest to the general 

 reader, while as a text-book of mental sci- 

 ence it undoubtedly has merits superior to 

 any other treatise now before the pubhc. 



We pointed out editorially, not long ago, 

 in an article entitled " The Progress of Men- 

 tal Science," the important results that have 

 flowed from the widening of the method in 

 mental studies by which metaphysical spec- 

 ulation has been supplemented by the 

 knowledge of mind, as physiologically con- 

 ditioned, and we showed that the benefits of 

 this change are conspicuous in the practical 

 results obtained. The time has come when 

 the validity of the science of mind is to 

 be largely tested by such practical applica- 

 tions, and we have noted with gratification 

 that Mr. Sully accepts this view, and has 

 constructed his treatise with reference to 

 it. While the work is, of course, mainly 

 a strict and systematic treatise on psycho- 

 logical science, presenting its elements in 

 their due proportions, yet the author 

 throughout has developed its practical bear- 

 ings upon the art of education. In regard 

 to this feature of his work, the author 

 makes the following remarks in his intro- 

 duction : 



Finally, I have sought to give a practical turn 

 to the exposition, by bringing out the bearings of 

 the subject on the conduct and cultivation of the 

 mind. With this object I have ventured to en- 

 croach here and there on the territory of logic* 

 esthetics, and ethics— that is to say, the practical 

 sciences which aim at the regulation of the mental 

 processes. Further, I have added special sections 

 in a separate type, dealing with the bearing of the 

 science of education. 

 VOL. XXV. — 45 



I would fain think that these practical applica- 

 tions will not be without interest to all classes of 

 readers ; for everybody is at least called on to edu- 

 cate his own mind, and most people have something 

 to do with educating the minds of others as well. 

 "With respect more especially to professional teach- 

 ers, I trust that these portions of my volume may 

 serve to establish the proposition that mental sci- 

 ence is capable of supplying those truths which are 

 needed for an intelligent and reflective carrying out 

 of educational work. I may, perhaps, assume that 

 modern pedagogics has adopted the idea that edu- 

 cation is concerned not simply with instruction or 

 communicating knowledge, but with the training 

 of faculty. And it seems a necessary corollary from 

 this enlarged view of education that it should di- 

 rectly connect itself with the science which exam- 

 ines into the faculties, determines the manner and 

 the conditions of their working, and lastly traces 

 the order of their development. 



This characteristic of Mr. Sully's work 

 we hold to be of especial importance; 

 for, although no great amount of space is 

 given to the subject of education, yet the 

 whole course of the exposition is so tribu- 

 tary to it that what is stated has a high 

 and peculiar value. The lessons for the 

 teacher are derived immediately from the 

 latest and broadest views on the subject of 

 mind. The time has gone by when the old 

 modes of studying this subject are satis- 

 factory. That a teacher has read up a lot 

 of metaphysical treatises and become famil- 

 iar with their subtile dialectics and old ter- 

 minology is no evidence whatever of com- 

 petency to guide the processes of mental 

 development. Rather is it a disqualification, 

 for a mind saturated with the antiquated 

 mental philosophy is certain to be preju- 

 diced against the new and better methods. 

 It is indisputable that there has been a radi- 

 cal change and a vast improvement in the 

 study of mind, within recent years, and the 

 teacher who has not benefited by that im- 

 provement is fundamentally deficient in the 

 preparation for his work. The author of 

 this treatise has therefore done a most im- 

 portant service in dealing with the subject 

 of education, in connection with his broad 

 presentation of the present state of knowl- 

 edge upon the siibject of psychological sci- 



The True Theory oir the Sun. By Thomas 

 Bassnett. New York : G. P. Putnam's 

 Sons. Pp. 264, with Plate. Price, $3. 



Mr. Bassnett is the author of the " Out- 

 lines of a Mechanical Theory of Storms * 



