JlNE, 1904.] 



KNOWLEDGH \- SCII-NTIFIC NEWS. 



117 



the whole of my sojourn hi London, lasting over six nioiiths, 1 

 nevor went to a place of anuisement ; nor ever road a no\ el or 

 other work of light literature." It was surely this ituapacity 

 for healthy recreation, ingrained l>y his education, that was 

 largely respousilile for the ill-health .tnd nervous strain w ,th 

 which Herbert Spencer had to coiiteud during his later years. 

 t)ne cannot read without a smile his grave aniul.ldv^■r^iolls on 

 the eoenpanions with whom he was thrown at tlie ( iigiiuering 

 oflicesat Worcester, to which he subsequeutly went. " I'nlike 

 the pupils of Mr. Charles Fo.\, quiet youths, carefully In ought up 

 (two of them being sons of dissenting iniiiisteisl. the junior 

 members of the Birmingham and Gloucester stalV belonged 

 largely to the ruling classes, and had corresponding notions 

 and habits." . . . "The superintendence was not rigid. 

 and the making of designs was intei perseil now with stoi lis not 

 of an improving kind, now with glances down on the pas.sers 

 by, especially the females, and resulting remarks; there being 

 also a continuous acconipaninient of whistling and singing, 

 chiefly of sentimental ballads." .\mong these young men 

 Herbert Spencer was, however, able to form one coiigtnial 

 intimacy, which we remark upon becau.se it instances .igain 

 that detached ijuality ofmindaUeady mentioned, tli.it liabil ot 

 appraising his fellows, even his most intimate fiiends. " lie 

 was the son of Dr. Jackson, at that time foreign Secret. iry to 

 the Bible Society. Of somewhat in)gainly build, and with an 

 intellect mechanically receptive, but without much thinking 

 power, my friend was extremely conscientious. ' . . . ".As 

 sociation with a man whose intellectual powers weie above niv 

 own would have been more advantageous," he adds. 



.About this period. Herbert Spencer notes that religious 

 belefs were slowly losing their hold, "the creed of Christen- 

 dom being evidently alien to my nature, both emotional .iiid 

 iutellectiial." "Criticism," he coiitinnts, " liad not yet shown 

 me how astonishing is tlie supposition that the Cause liiim 

 which have arisen thirty millions of .Suns, with their attendant 

 planets, took the form of a man, and made a bargain with 

 .Abraham to give him territory in return for Allegiance." " I 

 had not at that time." he continues, " repudiated the notion 

 of a deity who is pleased with the singing of his praises, and 

 angry with the infinitesimal beings he has in.ide when they 

 fail to tell him perpetually of his greatness." an extraordinary 

 crudeness of statement " of the Creed of Christendom," wliich 

 can only be accounted for by Herbert Spencer's Noiu on- 

 formist antecedents. 



In 1S41, Herbert Spencer returned home, partly to i)insue 

 a course of mathematical study, and jjirtly to carry out his 

 father's idea of an electro-magnetic engine. Neither scheme 

 was pursued. It is curious to find him continually comment- 

 ing on his "constitutional idleness," which "has t.iken the 

 form of inability to persevere in labour which has not .in 

 object at once large and distinct." The years that followed, 

 though they were apparently desultory and futile iroin the 

 point of view of material advancement, were of crucial im- 

 portance in the history of Spencer's subsequent career, .uid 

 in determining the bent of his genius. He instances, as a stc p 

 in his mental development, the letters on social ipieslions 

 contributed by him to the Xoiicuiijoniiist, an organ of th(- 

 Advanced Dissenters, letters which originated in political 

 discussions with an uncle, who introduced liini to the editor : — 

 " Had they never been written. Social Statics, which 

 originated from them, would not even have been thought 

 of. Had there been no Social Statics, those lints of 

 enquiry which led to 'The Principles of Psychology' 

 would have remained unexplored. .And without that 

 study of life in general, initiated by the wiiting of these 

 works, leading presently to the study ot the relations 

 between its phenomena and those of the inorganic 

 world, there would have been no System of Synthetic 

 Philosophy.'' 

 Meanwhile, he was besides variously occupi d journalisti- 

 cally and otherwise, and in 1S50 appear(;d his first book, 

 " Social Statics ; orlhe Conditions Essential to lliiman Happi- 

 ness Specified." "Assuming happiness as the end to l)e 

 achieved, it regarded achievement of it as dependent on 

 fulfilment of conditions, conformity to which constitutes 

 morality." 



After the appearance in 1S55 of his second book " The Prin- 

 ciples of Psychology," he suffered from a serious breakdown 

 in health which enforced a long period of idleness. To these 

 two books Mr. Spencer appends with characteristic aloofness 



of mind two hypothetical reviews, criticising his own .ugu 

 mcnts .iiul suinmaiising his doctrims. .-Xs soon as his he;illh 

 w.is sullicii'iitly recovered, he set to woik upon his " .System ol 

 Synthetic Philosophy." He describes himself at this time as 

 "a nervous inv.did " " h.iving only iirecarious resources," and 

 his undertaking, so inonuinental .a task, necessitated ;i heroic 

 struggle with physical weakness. Aftii the public. ition of the 

 first e.irly part of the work he found hiinseU obliged to decide 

 upon the abaiulonmtnl of his design. His parents wer(^ in 

 need of his support, and he had already trenched considerably 

 upon his small capital. The proposal iinniediatelv called 

 forth the following generous response fioin J. S. Mill: 



" It is right that you should be indeinnilied by the readers 

 and puicha.sers of the series for the loss you have inciured l>y 

 it. 1 should be glad to contribute my part, and should like to 

 know at how niucli yon estimate the loss, and wlu-tlu-r you 

 will allow me to speak of it to Iriends.uid obl.iin ^>ubscriptions 

 lor the remainder." 



The propos.il was (■ventually declined. The de.ith of the 

 elder Spencer lessi^ned his son's responsibilities, and .American 

 .admirers placed 7000 dollars to his credit in public securities. 

 01 Herbert Spencer's rel.itions with his contemporaries we 

 have hardly space to jpeak. One instance must hulTue ol the 

 shrewd but inercilets clear-sightediu ss with which lie esli 

 mated the mental .and moral calibre of his ac(|uaintances. ( )f 

 Cailyle lit- .says: " He has, strange to say, been elas.sed as a 

 philosopher! Considering that he either could not or would 

 not think coherently — never set out from premises ;inil 

 reasoned his way to conclusions, but hal>itually ihalt in intui- 

 tions and dogmatic as.sertions, he lacked the trait which, perhaps 

 more than anv other, distinguishes the philosopher properly so 

 called. He Licked :ilso a further trait. Instead of thinking 

 calmly, as the philosopher above all others does, he thought 

 in ;i |)assion. It would take much seeking to'find one whose 

 intellect was perturbed by emotion in the same degree." 



Photography, 



Pvire a-rvd Applied. 



]jy ClIAIMAN JnxKS, I'.I.C, I'.C.S. 



In introduciii.L,' the first of the Photographic sections to 

 the readers of " Know 1 1 ik.i ," it is lit that I shoulil s:iy 

 soniethin;^ as to llu- geiitial character of the matter that 

 they may i xpcct to liiul in this part of the jomiial. 

 li\ci)oiie may now lie considered to lake a practical 

 interest in photography, just as everyone knows how to 

 write his own language intelligibly. Therefore it will be 

 my endea\oiir to deal with matters connected with the 

 practice of tlu- ait :is ojjpoi tunity seems suitable. A few 

 perhaps lake an iiiteresl in photography for its own sake; 

 and as the pure science of to day may be regarded as the 

 ap|)lied science of tomorrow, I shall hope to draw the 

 attention of readers to notable items of progress in photo- 

 graphy, even though their immediate application may 

 not be very obvious. Hut in all cases it will be my 

 endeavour as far as possible to meet the needs of all who 

 take the trouble to read these notes, and to enable me to 

 do this 1 shall welcome any suggestions or questions of 

 general interest, anil the account of any photographic 

 experiences, whether in connection with scienlilic work 

 or the general practice of the art. 



'I'lic Rcmicriii'^ of Colony. — It is a notable sign of the 

 times that the only films now made by the Kodak Com- 

 pany are colour sensitised or isochromatic. .Although 



