Jan. 19, 1888] 



NA TURE 



271 



with an alternative : either the primordial matter was in 

 a state of homogeneity, and so " infinitely incapable of 

 change," or the homogeneity was disturbed by some ex- 

 ternal force. But an outside influence is not in the 

 philosophic system. " The admission of inability to 

 evolve the universe without it is an admission that the 

 mechanical philosophy fails at the outset. Nor can it 

 serve the emergency to invoke ' force.' A Divine origin 

 of the universe is usually rejected, because the Divinity 

 eludes the methods of science. But we cannot supplant 

 the Divinity by enthroning force. Science can tell us 

 what force does^ but it can no more find out what force is 

 than what an infinite mind is. Force is an irresistible 

 mental inference from matter in motion, but its ultimate 

 nature is defiantly beyond the reach of science." 



The phenomena of life, as exhibited in one of the lower 

 and more minute organisms, are then considered. These 

 are "free and self-originating action"; multiplication; 

 and cyclic change in each new organism. Tiny and 

 humble in organization as these creatures are, they differ 

 vastly from chemical compounds of any kind. The force 

 which animates them differs widely from any mode of 

 force which we call physical. So far as we at present 

 know, the break between "life and not life "is abrupt. 

 Hence, whether or not in the remote past the transition 

 from the one to the other may have been what we should 

 call continuous, our present knowledge offers no ex- 

 planation of it, and the fact is a stumbling-block in the 

 way of a purely mechanical philosophy. 



The remainder of the essay is chiefly devoted to a dis- 

 cussion of the theological aspect of the theory of evolu- 

 lution. This, as designed for the non-scientific part of 

 his audience, need not be further mentioned in these 

 pages. It will be enough to say that, as is now generally 

 admitted by the more intelligent among theologians, he 

 maintains that there is no necessary antagonism between 

 their beliefs and scientific theories. 



As might be expected from him, Dr. Dallinger is tem- 

 perate in expression and eloquent in language. Some 

 readers perhaps would have preferred a little more con- 

 ciseness in style and statement, but it must be borne in 

 mind that the discourse was delivered as a lecture to a 

 non- scientific audience, who required leading gradually 

 or even alluring, into unfamiliar paths of thought. Among 

 such persons the book cannot fail to do excellent work in 

 allaying needless fear and silencing ignorant clamour ; 

 among opponents it will serve to show that the Theist's 

 position is more defensible than they suppose, and that, 

 in their own, unsuspected difficulties lurk beside the 

 seemingly easy path of a euphonious terminology. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



The Harpur Euclid. Book I. By E. M. Langley and 

 W. S. Phillips. (Rivingtons, 1888.) 



The editors are mathematical masters of two Bedford 

 schools under the Harpur Trust ; hence the title. For 

 the work itself the title-page further informs us that it is 

 an edition of Euclid's " Elements" revised in accordance 

 with the Reports of the Cambridge Board of Mathematical 

 Studies, and the Oxford Board of the Faculty of Natural 

 Science. Extracts from these Reports are given in a 

 prefatory note : this is the only part of the work which is 

 not strictly adapted for the use of school-boys. 



We began our task with no special liking for it, but 

 had not proceeded far when we found that there were 

 new adornments which rendered our perusal of the 

 familiar lines very agreeable. We read on through 102 

 out of the 120 pages without break, and then ceased, as 

 we had come to some matters which required more careful 

 examination. The editors have kept to the usual sequence, 

 but in many cases have replaced the Simsonian demonstra- 

 tions by easier ones, and have discarded much of the 

 superfluous matter which has led anti-Euclidians to , 

 inveigh so strongly against the " Elements." 



We are glad to see that exercises come in right from 

 the outset ; these all seem to have been most carefully 

 selected, and are such as a fairly intelligent boy ought to 

 be able to solve from the previous propositions. We refer 

 here to the examples in the body of the book. Frequent 

 reference is made to that excellent, though perhaps hardly 

 sufficiently appreciated, little book of Prof. Henrici, 

 " Congruent Figures," and to the " Syllabus '' of the 

 Association for the Improvement of Geometrical Teach- 

 ing. At the end, as a kind of appendix, are some judicious 

 sections on properties of triangles, on quadrilaterals, on 

 loci, on solving geometrical problems — (i) method of 

 intersection of loci ; (2) method of intersection of sets ; 

 (3) method of analysis and synthesis. Considerable pains 

 has been bestowed on the arrangement of the text, the 

 selection of the various types, and the drawing of the 

 figures ; in fact, the little book is the beau-ideal of a 

 Euclid for boys. We wish we had had such a book in 

 the " auld lang syne," and then our first perusal would 

 not have been so painful. It is the authors' intention to 

 bring out the successive books in like form. We wish 

 them like success, and trust that their venture will find a 

 welcome in many a school. 



A Course of Otiajittalive Analysis for Students. By 



W. N. Hartley, F.R.S. (London : Macmillan and Co., 



1887.) 

 After the almost infinite number of books, mostly small, 

 "and mostly to meet certain requirements of our own 

 students" on qualitative analysis, it is a relief to meet 

 with a small book for students — beginners— on quantita- 

 tive analysis, written evidently for beginners, and in a 

 manner to really lead them up from qualitative notions, 

 not by one great bound, but by good sober practice and 

 order, to the appreciation of the care and exactitude, and 

 most important still, the "criticising" state of mind 

 necessary to make a real analytical chemist. 



As the author says in his preface : " To be a good 

 analyst does not necessitate a profound knowledge of 

 chemistry;" but any student who has worked at all 

 well through this little book will have a good platform of 

 knowledge under him, and be in a position to enlarge his 

 knowledge with infinitely greater ease, and that very 

 necessary regard for accuracy which is not possible to a 

 student who has not done any quantitative work. 



The author begins in a sensible manner by giving the 

 metric weights and measures, with English equivalents, 

 and then the dimensions of various laboratory apparatus, 

 beakers, &c., and all this is very useful. In the introduc- 

 tion, manipulation and reagents are dealt with. The author 

 might have added the use of folded or plaited .filters. 

 It is quite as safe and accurate to use them for quantitative 

 purposes as to employ a pump. 



Before proceeding to simple estimations of constituents 

 of salts, &c., we have about twenty pages of introductory 

 examples devised with the intention of enabling students 

 to realize the meaning of the atomic and equivalent 

 weights of elements; which they do not always do when put 

 on to determinations without any introduction. This is the 

 most useful and original part of the book. The following 

 exercises, "simple estimations," are fairly in order of 

 difficulty. The middle portion of the book is on volu- 

 metric analysis. It is short but workable, and is followed 



