744 



NATURE 



[August ii, 192 i 



l^eiso Studies of a Great Inheritance : Being Lec- 

 tures on the Modern Worth of Some Ancient 

 Writers. By Prof, R. S. Conway. Pp. viii + 

 241. (London: John Murray, 1921.) 7s. 6d. 

 net. 

 Prof. Conway's "Great Inheritance" is classical 

 — in this instance Latin — literature, and the 

 authors with whom he is chiefly concerned are 

 Cicero, Vergil, Horace, and Livy. It is not 

 necessary to dwell upon the numerous instances in 

 which Prof. Conway's originality and insight are 

 brought to bear upon the interpretation of 

 doubtful or obscure passages. It is enough to 

 say that, even in dealing with comparatively tech- 

 nical points such as the authenticity of the minor 

 Vergiliaa poems, he sees and, what is more, can 

 convey to his readers their broader significance 

 as elements in the history of culture, and, in par- 

 ticular, their bearing upon the problems of modern 

 life. Most readers, we expect, will turn again 

 and again to the lecture on "Man and Nature 

 in the Augustan Poets," which, with its illuminat- 

 ing parallel between the circumstances which led 

 Vergil and Wordsworth respectively to seek con- 

 solation and inspiration in Nature, is, in a brief 

 compass, one of the best studies extant of Vergil's 

 point of view. 



In the final essay, on "Freedom and Culture," 

 which, in a sense, sums up Prof. Conway's whole 

 position, he indicates how the classical conception 

 of freedom has moulded the social and political 

 life of this country through our traditional system 

 of education. To point out that this system of 

 education is confined to one class which is ceas- 

 ing, if it has not already ceased, to be predom- 

 inant, raises the question of the comparative 

 merits of political ideals and tendencies, which it 

 would be out of place to discuss here. 



Some Investigations in the Theory of Map Pro- 

 jections. By A, E. Young, (R.G.S. Technical 

 Series, No. i.) Pp. viii-f76. (London: Royal 

 Geographical Society, 1920.) 6s. net. 

 The first of the new series of technical publica- 

 tions issued by the Royal Geographical Society 

 is an exhaustive investigation of map projections 

 based upon Airy's idea of making the mean 

 square scale error a minimum. This principle 

 was applied by Airy to zenithal projections as 

 affording a reasonable compromise between the 

 stereographic projection and the projection of 

 equal area. Mr. Young shows how the arbitrary 

 constants in Airy's solution should really be deter- 

 mined, and then proceeds to compare the mini- 

 mum error projection with others belonging to the 

 zenithal class. The conclusion reached is incor- 

 porated in a recommendation to cartographers to 

 use the equidistant projection with total area true 

 as being the best zenithal projection for all cases, 

 except when some specially desired feature neces- 

 sitates a different projection. 



Similar methods are applied to conical projec- 

 tions. It is shown that for a zone the minimum 

 error conical projection is nearly identical with 



NO. 2702, VOL. 107] 



Murdoch's third projection — a remarkably accu- 

 rate and simple process invented so far back as 

 1758, and in the opinion of the author the very 

 best of all conical projections. Later chapters deal 

 with the spheroidal shape of the earth, poly conic 

 projections, finite errors, and the convergency of 

 meridians. 



The paper is mathematical throughout. The 

 algebra is laborious, but the results are of great 

 interest. Mr. Young's paper is a valuable con- 

 tribution to the subject he deals with, and sets a 

 high standard for the series it initiates. 



Elerjientary Vector Analysis: With Application to- 

 Geometry and Physics. By Dr. C. E. Weather- 

 burn. (Bell's Mathematical Series.) Pp. xxvii-i- 

 184. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 

 125. net. 

 An excellent introduction to the subject of vector 

 analysis is provided by this book. It is admir- 

 ably clear, and a natural temptation to develop 

 so fertile a theory in excessive detail and to 

 multiply its applications has been successfully 

 resisted. It is a more elementary work than Dr. 

 Silberstein's "Vectorial Mechanics," and stiU 

 more so than Joly's "Manual of Quaternions." 

 All the ideas which are based on the differential 

 operator of Hamilton are excluded, and the 

 applications are limited to geometry and to the 

 dynamics and statics of rigid bodies. Enough 

 remains to place in a clear light the general prin- 

 ciples of the subject, and its value is less apt to 

 be obscured by the complexity of the material. 

 It is understood, however, that the author con- 

 templates a second volume, in which the higher 

 developments will doubtless be treated. Without 

 such a sequel the reader will be left unprovided 

 with some of the most characteristic and import- 

 ant notions of the calculus. 



The diversity of notation has always been, and 

 is likely to remain, a hindrance to progress. The 

 existence of Hamilton's system seems to have had 

 a centrifugal result, and Tait's controversial 

 methods probably had an effect precisely the 

 opposite of that intended. The present author 

 adopts the notation of Gibbs. At the moment 

 the wider diffusion of vectorial methods is very 

 desirable, and though the absence of a uniform 

 notation increases the difficulty of pursuing the 

 subject in different books, it is an obstacle on 

 which too much stress can easily be laid. 



The Formation of Colloids. By Prof. The 

 Svedberg. (Monographs on the Physics and 

 Chemistry of Colloids.) Pp. 127. (London: 

 J. and A. Churchill, 1921.) 75. 6d. net. 

 In this small monograph the author, whose bril- 

 liant investigations on colloids are familiar to all 

 interested in that important branch of science, 

 has given a very concise account of much recent 

 work on the formation of colloids. References to 

 the" literature are given, and the book is valuable 

 in bringing together much scattered information 

 on the subjects of which it treats. The printing 

 and illustrations are well done. 



