EDITOR'S TABLE. 



553 



" Give strong drink to him that is ready 

 to perish ; " but do not cast any reflec- 

 tions upon bread because, at such a mo- 

 ment, it might rather choke than aid the 

 sufferer. 



The volume which Mr. Spencer has 

 just given to the world is one of great 

 value and interest. In our book notices 

 will be found a summary of its contents ; 

 but we desire here to add our commen- 

 dation of it as an eminently practical 

 treatise on the two important themes of 

 Justice and Beneficence. The portion 

 dealing with Justice was published sep- 

 arately two years ago, and was noticed 

 in these columns at the time. Much of 

 the matter which it contains is, how- 

 ever, of such urgent importance in the 

 present day that we hope the publica- 

 tion of the complete volume will have 

 the effect of calling attention anew to 

 its analysis of rights and its trenchant 

 discussion of the nature and functions 

 of the state. The portions dealing with 

 Beneficence under the two heads of 

 Negative and Positive bring out in a 

 striking manner the large element of 

 sympathy in the writer's disposition. 

 Careless critics have heretofore been in 

 the habit of asserting that the evolution 

 philosophy, as expounded by Mr. Spen- 

 cer, enjoined pure selfishness. There 

 was quite sufficient in earlier portions 

 of Mr. Spencer's writings particularly 

 in the Data of Ethics, published in 1879 

 to disprove this assertion; but not 

 even a careless critic could make it after 

 reading, however cursorily, the volume 

 before us. Here is a noble passage from 

 the chapter on Succor to the HI - used 

 and the Endangered: "Doubtless it is 

 well for humanity at large to maintain 

 the tradition of heroism. One whose 

 altruistic promptings are so strong that 

 he loses his own life in an almost hope- 

 less effort to save another's life, affords 

 an example of nobility which in a meas- 

 ure redeems the innumerable cruelties, 

 brutalities, and meannesses prevailing 

 among men, and serves to keep alive 



hope of a higher humanity hereafter. 

 The good done in occasionally putting 

 egoism to the blush may be counted as 

 a set-off against the loss of one whose 

 altruistic nature should have been trans- 

 mitted." 



Mr. Spencer has himself anticipated 

 the criticism that much of what he says 

 in regard to beneficence will not seem 

 to have any very clear connection with 

 the doctrine of evolution; and so far 

 he professes himself disappointed in the 

 outcome of the work. We do not feel 

 called upon to share in his disappoint- 

 ment. The doctrine of evolution has 

 served in the earlier volumes to inter- 

 pret the world for us, to enable us to 

 understand our environment, and know 

 both how it has come to be what it is, 

 and how we have come to be what we 

 are. That it should also serve as a guide 

 through the complexities of human ac- 

 tion is more than we ever expected. 

 Knowing ourselves and our environ- 

 ment, the conduct we ought to pursue 

 as being likely to result in the greatest 

 amount of happiness to ourselves and 

 others may be arrived at by reflection 

 and experience. Mr. Spencer, in the 

 last two sections of the present volume, 

 analyzes the principal situations in which 

 individuals are liable to find themselves, 

 and shows in an instructive manner the 

 conduct, negative and positive, appro- 

 priate to each. We do not see how 

 much fault can be found with any of 

 his conclusions. To us it appears that 

 he lays down many of the most impor- 

 tant principles of correct and useful 

 social behavior, and that his treatise as 

 a whole, but particularly the sections 

 dealing with beneficence, would make 

 the best kind of household reading for 

 a large class of families. Philosophy 

 here puts on a homely garb and walks 

 hand in hand with the wisdom that 

 every day's experience teaches. Un- 

 til Philosophy does this, her work is 

 not finished. Mr. Spencer's last words 

 seem to us his best. 



