August i6, 1900] 



NATURE 



363 



HUXLEY'S PHYSIOLOGY. 



Lessons in Elementary Physiology. By Thomas H. 

 Huxley, LL.D., F.R.S. Enlarged and revised edition. 

 Pp. xxiv + 611. (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 

 1900.) 



HUXLEY'S "Lessons in Elementary Physiology" 

 was probably the best book of its kind which 

 has ever been written. It set forth the elements of 

 human anatomy and physiology in so clear and concise 

 a form, and the little volume formed so complete a com- 

 pendium of the essential facts which had accumulated 

 in the science with which it dealt, that it was at once 

 welcomed as supplying a want which had long been felt 

 — that of a popular and, at the same time, an authorita- 

 tive exposition of the subject. Its success was enormous. 

 Edition after edition was sold in rapid succession, and 

 the booklet — for it was nothing more — was not only 

 adopted in schools throughout this country as the text- 

 book with which the teaching of physiology was to be 

 begun, but it was soon translated into every civilised 

 language, and even, it is said, into more than one 

 barbaric tongue. 



The secret of its success lies on the surface. It was 

 written in the English which was characteristic of the 

 Master : its-language trenchant, flowing, and well chosen, 

 its similes apposite, its facts duly marshalled and leading 

 up to their logical conclusion. And the book was what 

 it was intended to be — a popular account, which, while 

 retaining scientific accuracy, should not be burthened by 

 unnecessary details, nor by theories which might or 

 might not ultimately prove correct. Moreover, the ground 

 was clear — where there are now a dozen similar treatises, 

 there was then not one. But it is safe to assert that 

 *' Huxley" would in any case have taken the first place. 



An entirely new edition of the "Lessons" — the first 

 since the lamented death of the original author— has 

 now made its appearance under the auspices of Sir 

 Michael Foster and Dr. Sheridan Lea. Michael Foster 

 has been associated with the book throughout its whole 

 career. Sheridan Lea's name appears now for the first 

 time in connection with it ; but although the responsi- 

 bility is joint, the labours of preparation have fallen 

 chiefly upon Dr. Lea's shoulders. We may be sure that 

 the work has been a labour of love to the editors. The 

 intimate friendship which existed between them and 

 Huxley, their veneration for his memory, their desire to 

 maintain the high standard and reputation of the work, 

 must have caused them to put forth their best efforts to 

 ensure its continued success. 



In surveying the changes which have been introduced, 

 the point of chief interest appears to be to notice 

 whether the introduction of these changes has tended in 



ny way to modify the original character of the work. 

 A'e have already seen that this character was that of a 

 popular exposition of the science suitable especially for 

 schools, and the questions naturally arise, is the book 

 still of this nature? Has it been modified to suit it to 

 other purposes than that for which its author originally 

 wrote it .'^ It must be conceded that the book retains 

 in a measure its character as a popular expositor. This 

 is largely owing to the fact that the editors have 



' " The following ' Lessons in Elementary Physiology ' are primarijy 

 itended to serve the puiposes of a text-book for teachers and learners in 

 . ys' and girls' schools." — Extract from Pre/ace to the First Edition, 1866. 



preserved "as far as possible the original author's own 

 form of exposition and indeed his own words." But it 

 must also be admitted that its character in this respect 

 has been modified by changes and additions. The 

 purport of these appears to have been to adapt the book 

 for use by students of medicine, a design which may be 

 laudable but cannot fail to affect the general tone of the 

 work. Students of medicine require to learn anatomy 

 and physiology with a minuteness of detail not necessary 

 in a work which is intended to be of a popular nature. 

 Not only is it important that the unquestioned facts of 

 the science should be set before them, but they require 

 also to be made cognizant of statements which, however 

 probable, are not universally accepted as facts, and of 

 theories which may or may not ultimately prove to be 

 correct. And herein it appears to me lies the difference 

 between the new "Huxley" and the old. That the 

 change tends, as the editors claim, to increase the 

 sphere of usefulness of the work, may be perfectly true, 

 but the essential character and original aim of the work 

 has been thereby affected. If there is a gain on the 

 one side there is a loss on the other, and it is impossible 

 that it should not be so ; it is a question of opinion 

 whether the gain counterbalances the loss. For my own 

 part, while recognising the able manner in which the 

 new material is worked up and incorporated with the 

 old and the increased value which is thereby imparted to 

 the work as a text-book preliminary to the study of 

 physiology, I must frankly confess that I regret the 

 change. Students of medicine have already more than 

 one elementary text-book in which the facts and chief 

 theories of physiology are set forth with all the clearness 

 that could be desired, and in one instance at least with 

 a wealth of illustration which cannot be surpassed or 

 even approached in a book of so small a size as 

 " Huxley." On the other hand, the amount of detail 

 which has been introduced into this edition, while 

 valuable for the medical student, is unnecessary or 

 unsuitable for the school boy. Perhaps it was impossible 

 to avoid this change, perhaps it was desirable to make 

 it ; at any rate it has been made, and as years go on 

 the development of the book must proceed along the 

 lines which have been now laid down. That it will be 

 as successful on these lines as it has been upon the old 

 ones may be confidently assumed so long as it remains 

 under the management of the present editors, but I 

 believe that my regret that the change has been intro- 

 duced will be shared by most of those who remember 

 the appearance of the original book in the late sixties 

 and the enthusiasm with which it was then received. 



E. A. SCHAFER. 



THE GLUCOSIDES, 

 Die Glykoside. By Dr. J. J. I. van Rijn. Pp. xvi -1-511. 

 (Berlin : Gebr. Borntraeger, 1900.) 



THE student of chemistry or botany, who may have 

 attempted to grope his way through the tangle 

 of chemical facts relating to plant products, will be 

 grateful to the author of this e.xhaustive monograph on 

 the glucosides, or glykosides as he prefers to spell it, 

 where the latest information, with all the necessary 

 references, is easily found. 



NO, 1607, VOL. 62] 



