NA TURE 



20I 



THURSDAY, MAY lo, 1917. 



ED UCA TIONAL WEALS. 



(i) German and English Education: A Compara- 

 tive Study. By Dr. Fr. De Hovre. Pp. 108. 

 (London: Constable and Co., Ltd., 1917.) 

 Price 25. 6d. net. 



(2) The Permanent Values in Education. By 

 Kenneth Richmond, with an Introduction by 

 A. -Clutton Brock. Pp. xxiii+136. (London: 

 Constable and Co., Ltd., 1917-) Price 35. 6c?. 

 net. 



(ij T^HE first of the above volumes, by Dr. De 

 -■■ Hovre, of the Higher Institute of Philo- 

 sophy of the University of Lou vain, is a lucid 

 statement of what he believes to be the funda- 

 mental differences between the essential aims of 

 German and of English education, and includes a 

 particularly interesting discussion as to the 

 genesis and real significance of the much debated 

 term "Kultur." He finds its basis in national- 

 ism — upon it, as the foundation-stone, the German 

 Empire has been built — in an ultra-devotion 

 to intellectualism divorced from morals, and in 

 the adoption of the formula " Education to the 

 State, for the State, by the State." "Kultur," he 

 says, is the soul of Germany, "civilisation" the 

 soul of England, and he seeks to establish his 

 thesis by reference to the fruits of the respective 

 policies and measures of the rival nations in the 

 sphere of colonial enterprise, in trade, and in 

 social and political life, to the great disadvantage 

 of Germany. "Humanism," he declares, is the 

 vital element in English education, whilst national- 

 ism, intellectualism, militarism, are the three fun- 

 damental principles of German life and education, 

 summed up in the comprehensive term "Kultur." 

 In short, the aim' of English education is to make 

 " men " through the development of character, 

 whilst that of German education is to make " Ger- 

 mans " subservient to the State in all the varied 

 activities of life, with a view to the aggrandise- 

 ment of Germany and the imposition of her learn- 

 ing, her discipline, and her organisation upon the 

 rest of the world. 



It is admitted that the English nation has not 

 a strong belief in education, that what her educa- 

 tion lacks is a wider horizon, a deepening of in- 

 tellectual culture, and a more efficient organisa- 

 tion, though it is firmly rooted on the solid basis 

 of the freedom of the individual soul and on the 

 development of character as its chief purpose. 

 To bring about these reforms constitutes a for- 

 midable task, but their accomplishment is essen- 

 tial to the well-being of the nation, and, if realised, 

 will place England in the forefront of the civilised 

 nations of the world. 



The author expresses the opinion that the 

 strength of English education lies in its funda- 

 mental principles, and its weakness in its super- 

 structure, whereas the opposite is the case with 

 Germany. It will be felt by many readers that a 

 too favourable view is taken of the actual state of 

 English education, and that German education 

 NO. 2480, VOL. 99] 



has scarcely met with the full appreciation which 

 its great achievements deserv-e. 



(2) Mr. Richmond's book is devoted to a con- 

 sideration of the ideals which have inspired the 

 minds of some of the world's greatest educators, 

 and is an eloquent exhortation to all those en- 

 gaged in the work of education to seek refresh- 

 ment in the thoughts and aspirations of the pro- 

 phets and teachers of past times, in "the wide 

 universalism of Comenius, the devoted humani- 

 tarianism of Pestalozzi, and in the practical ideal- 

 ism of Froebel," in the sure hope that they will 

 not be disappointed. It is the aim of the author 

 to consider these ideals in the light of present- 

 day conditions and needs, and to recast them for 

 its service. The Jewish and Greek ideals, the 

 Roman and Medieval, and the Renaissance, to- 

 gether with the teachings of Milton, of Locke, of 

 Rouisseau, and of Herbart, are discussed with the 

 view of bringing to light those elements which 

 appear to be of permanent value. Referring" to 

 the controversy now recrudescent between the 

 advocates of scientific and literary training, the 

 author suggests a synthesis such as Bacon, or 

 Comenius, or Herbart would have desired. 

 Science is to-day an activity of far wider and more 

 complex significance than ever it has been before, 

 and, in view of the inevitable struggle that lies 

 before us, must be accorded its rightful place 

 throughout the entire sphere of educational organ- 

 isation, nor must the teachings of a true patriot- 

 ism be neglected, so as to bring about harmony not 

 only between class and class, but between nation 

 and nation. 



GEOMETRY AND ANALYTICAL 



MECHANICS. 



(i) A Treatise on the Circle and the Sphere. By 



Dr. J. L. Coolidge. Pp. 602. (Oxford: At 



the Clarendon Press, 1916.) Price 21s. net. 



(2) Exercices et Lecons de Mecanique Analytique. 



By Prof. R. de Montessus. Pp. ii + 334. (Paris: 



Gauthier-Villars et Cie, 191 5.) Price 12 francs. 



THE first of these is a work of great signifi- 

 cance, by the author of the well-known 

 "Non-Euclidean Geometry," for which English 

 readers wiU be very grateful. Its title may per- 

 haps mislead, for it is by no means an element- 

 ary book; indeed, anyone who reads it con- 

 scientiously and follows out its manifold impli- 

 cations will have traversed wide fields of modern 

 geometry, dealing not only with circles and spheres, 

 but with line geometry, with hypergeometry, with 

 non-Euclidean geometry, and with the theory of 

 continuous groups. The specifically English reader 

 will probably find it a most interesting and stimu- 

 lating exercise to translate many of the results 

 of the latter portion of the book into the language 

 of projective geometry', with which his training may 

 have made him more familiar; and if he thinks 

 that this is the form in which the theorems should 

 be summarised, he will be no less grateful to 

 the author for his presentment- The first three 

 chapters (pp. 19-188) deal with the elementary 

 plane geometry of the circle. Apparently every- 



