138 



NATURE 



[September 30, 1920 



living conception of world-history may mean : "A 

 sense of history as the common adventure of all 

 mankind is as necessary for peace within as it is 

 for peace between the nations." Yet we go on 

 fumbling with educational methods, if such they 

 may be called, which we know do not grip. 



As is noted in the Introduction, it is usual to 

 say that the time-table of instruction is full up, 

 and that the idea of learning world-history is 

 preposterous. 



" If an Englishman, for example, has found 

 the history of England quite enough for his 

 powers of assimilation, then it seems hopeless to 

 expect his sons and daughters to master universal 

 history, if that is to consist of the history of 

 England, plus the history of France, plus the 

 history of Russia, and so on. To which the only 

 possible answer is that universal history is at once 

 something more and something less than the 

 aggregate of the national histories to which we 

 are accustomed, that it must be approached in a 

 different spirit and dealt with in a different 

 manner. This book seeks to justify that answer. 

 It has been written primarily to show that history 

 as one whole is amenable to a more broad and 

 comprehensive handling than is the history of 

 special nations and periods, a broader handling 

 that will bring it within the normal limitations of 

 time and energy set to the reading and education 

 of an ordinary citizen. . . . History is no excep- 

 tion amongst the sciences ; as the gaps fill in, the 

 outline simplifies ; as the outlook broadens, the 

 clustering multitude of details dissolves into 

 general laws." 



We are forced to add that there would be no 

 difficulty about the time for instruction if the 

 methods employed were psychologically sound, if 

 the suggestions of " historical associations " and 

 clear-headed enthusiasts were put into practice. 

 It is certain, for instance, that the purely intel- 

 lectual presentation usually slips off the child's 

 mind like water off a duck's back, and that it 

 ought to. Moreover, in higher classes what is 

 wanted is not history plus history, but a dis- 

 cipline in the way of reading history of such a 

 kind that it will be natural to continue learning. 

 What we so often do not get are centres of 

 crystallisation — a less static metaphor than it used 

 to seem. 



There are nine books in "The Outline of His- 

 tory " — The Making of our World ; The Making 

 of Man; The Dawn of History; Judea, Greece, 

 and India ; The Rise and Collapse of the Roman 

 Empire; Christianity and Islam; The (jreat 

 Mongol Empires of the Land Ways and the New 

 Empires of the Sea Ways; The .Age of the Great 

 Powers; and then a prospect — The Next Stage in 

 NO. 2657, VOL. 106] 



History. It was said of Buffon that he took all 

 Nature for his province and was not embarrassed ; 

 but Mr. Wells has an even wider reach. It seems 

 almost superhuman — to be so well done; but the 

 author tells us frankly: "There is not a chapter 

 that has not been examined by some more compe- 

 tent person than himself and very carefully re- 

 vised. He has particularly to thank his friends Sir 

 E. Ray Lankester, Sir H. H. Johnston, Prof. 

 Gilbert Murray, and Mr. Ernest Barker for much 

 counsel." There is a long list ot authorities who 

 have helped in various ways to keep the book true 

 to the facts (their footnotes are illuminating); and 

 he has been fortunate in securing in Mr. J. F. 

 Horrabin a skilful illustrator who has put brains 

 into his drawings. 



It need scarcely be said that " The Outline " is 

 a personal document — materials had to be selected, 

 much had to be left out ; prominence is given to 

 some figures, others are in the background ; the 

 relative significance of various movements had to 

 be judged, and all this has been obviously influ- 

 enced by the author's philosophy. The difference 

 here between Mr. Wells and other historians is 

 that he is so clearly aware of the relativity of his 

 work. There is another way, of course, in which 

 the book is personal : it is written in good style — 

 clear, picturesque, and incisive — and it expresses 

 throughout the serious purpose of improving 

 things by understanding them. Another personal 

 characteristic, familiar to readers of Mr. Wells's 

 books, is the courage of his convictions. 



The First Book gives in very brief compass an 

 account of the genesis of the earth and the evolu- 

 tion of organisms. There are a few points that 

 puzzle us, such as an indication that the breast- 

 bone of Pterodactyls had no keel, but the sketch 

 is masterly. The Second Book deals with the 

 ascent of man, his Primate ancestry, the extinct 

 Neanderthal offshoot, the first true men and their 

 thoughts, the differentiation into races, with their 

 various languages. The Third Book pictures the 

 dawn of history, the primitive Aryan life, the first 

 civilisations, the early traders and travellers, the 

 beginning of writing, the emergence of priests, 

 and the establishment of classes and castes. The 

 treatment is a fine illustration of the art of leaving 

 out what obscures the main issues and of the 

 reward that comes to a man of science who has 

 insisted on seeing things clearly. It is of great 

 educational value to have this vivid and accurate 

 picture of the rock whence we were hewn and the 

 pit whence we were digged. 



What dominates the Fourth Book is the idea 



