DISCOVERY 



119 



wrong letter. It is useless to assert in reply that 

 something in me made me strike the c instead of the 

 V, because I find that as often as I strike c for v I 

 strike b , wliich is the letter on the other side of v ; and 

 as that gives a meaningless word when I try to type 

 " previous," I conclude that my mistake is purely 

 accidental, and not in the least deUberate. 



An extreme case — it is not given in this book — is that 

 of the billposter who fell off his ladder into a bucket of 

 whitewash. If we assert that this was not accidental, 

 we are led to beUeve that the billposter had a secret 

 desire either (a) to end his hfe, or (6) to whitewash 

 himself or his character. Now, the billposter fell 

 because the rung of the ladder broke, and we need 

 not assert that something in the hidden consciousness 

 of the man knew this, and made him stand on the 

 weakened rung. 



On the other hand, many a far-fetched explanation 

 may be a true one. Only this morning a friend, in 

 describing Mr. Maynard Keynes' book on the Eco- 

 tiotnics of the Peace, said : " It is very good, but it 

 has one or two ships." He meant slips. Now, Freud 

 would say there is a real explanation for this, and 

 explanation there is. For this friend of mine, when 

 speaking of the book, was thinking of the author's 

 position, which is Fellow of King's, and kings was 

 closely associated in his mind uith ships by those Unes 

 of Lewis Carroll (quoted by him erroneously) : 



" Shoes and ships and sealing-wax 

 And cabbages and kings." 



It may seem a long way roimd, but it is neverthe- 

 less, as my friend agrees, the correct solution of the 

 difficulty. 



So what we say of this book is that it is very stimu- 

 lating and very interesting. A reader need not 

 swallow Freud's theories whole. But there is a lot 

 in them, and a good deal of it is great fun. 



P. K. Forbes. 



The Idolatry of Science' 



Mr. Coleridge has written a very amusing book; 

 indeed, since Mr. Stephen Leacock attacked the 

 Classics in his comic article on " Homer and Hum- 

 bug " we have rarely read so amusing an " attack." 

 Mr. Coleridge's general thesis is that, on the whole, 

 science has had a bad influence on the world, and 

 that reallj- it is high time that some responsible per- 

 son or body of men protested against the bhnd wor- 

 ship which it receives everywhere. It simply isn't 

 > The Idolatry of Science. By the Hon. Stephen Coleridge- 

 (John Lane, 3s. 6d. net.) 



[Continued on p. z20 



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