February 13. 1919] 



NATURE 



46: 



Pp. xi\ .'v s r- (Boston and New York : 

 Houghton Mifflin Co.; London: Constable 

 .hhI Co., Ltd., [918.) Price 10s. 6d. net. 



T11K only motive for grouping together three 

 such varied hooks, each important, is thai 

 thej all in a marked way exhibit an interest which 

 Connects them with the special circumstances oi 

 the present profound change in the old world- 

 irder. This remark may seem to have little 

 significa regard to (i) Mr. Whittaker's 



valuable stud) ol the Neo-Platonists. It is not 

 implied, however, that the interest, because cir- 

 cumstantial, is therefore ephemeral. His book 

 appeared seventeen years ago, but the present 



issue of a new and expanded edition is onl) one 

 instance of the extraordinary interest which the 

 . losing era of the ancient philosophy is arousing' 

 to-day. It certainly is not idle curiosity or the 

 impulse towards an eclectic historical research 

 which is drawing so man\ of our profoundest 

 philosophers td study anew with living interest 

 thai last efforl ol the ancienl world. Philosophy 

 is seeking new expression; the old formulae are 

 unsatisfactory ; si ience has given us a new world- 



\ iew . 



(2) Mr, Frederic Harrison's volume "On 



:\ " is a Collection Of lectures and addresses 

 none ol recent dale or new. It is in another sens, 

 that their interest is circumstantial. They are 

 offered us now in literary form because the) have 

 served their purpose as propaganda. They are 

 the record of a sustained effort, throughout a long 

 life still capable of vigorous expression, to give 

 humanity a new religious ideal. 



Prof. J.istmw's sluch is called forth by the 



special circumstances which drew America into the 

 world-war. lie lias sought to estimate the forces 

 igii .mil psychology which combined to bring 

 about tins great event. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 



Who Giveth Us the Victory. By Arthur Mee. 



Pp. 191. (London: George Allen and Unwin, 



Ltd., 1918.) Price 55. net. 



I ins little book is a vivid expression of optimistic 



theism. It has a strong note personnel and an 



interesting individuality. It is keenly evolutionist 



and as keenly religious, seeing in all the lone 



sses "I" becoming the working out of an 



increasing purpose. It uses Prof. L. J. Hender- 



son's " litness of the Environment " in a modern- 



argument for design. The building stones 



■ world were all thought out. Water reveals 



a ideological secret. "Man came into the world 



to find bis house already furnished, his environ- 

 ment exactly what it should lie, the necessities <il 

 his existence finding their unfailing response in 

 the conditions established through countless ages 

 past." Evolution is ncit a chapter of accidents, 

 but the unfolding of a great thought. 



Mr. Mee has been particularly successful in 

 his picturesque presentation c,i some of the 

 ■wonders of the world the intricacy, the flux, the 

 2572, VOL. I02] 



adaptiveness, and the gradual emergence of mind 

 which was implicit from the beginning. 



The great steps in human evolution are poeti- 

 cally described, and man is regarded as fellow- 

 labourer with the Absolute m continuing the task 

 oi Evolution. The kingdom of man as striven for 

 by the wisest and here tin author is nothing if 

 not patriotic — is what St. Augustine discerned. 

 Much wasle land has to be reclaimed, many 

 marshes have to be drained, there are still many 

 dragons in England; and part of the noble pur- 

 pose ol the book is to show how the lessons of 

 the- war may at once enlighten and encourage man 

 in his great endeavour after a fuller embodiment 

 of bis highest and most lasting values. 



Mr. Mee says in simple words and with some 

 passion what many great thinkers have said 

 learnedly and with more restraint. His book is 

 timely and cm the side of the angels, and though 

 we spell some of the words differently we heartily 

 wish it good speed. 



Eastern Exploration, Past ■ mil Future: Lectures 

 at the Royal Institution. By Prof. "\Y. M. 

 blinders Petrie. Pp. vi+118. (London: 

 ('unstable and Co., Ltd., 191.8.) Price 

 IS. int. net. 



lilts collection of lectures forms a useful and 

 timely book. Prof. Flinders Petrie directs atten- 

 tion to the possibilities of archaeological investiga- 

 tion under the new conditions which now prevail 

 in Palestine and in Mesopotamia. His experience 

 urges him to utter a much-needed warning against 

 tin- system which has already led to much loss 

 of valuable material in Egypt and in Cyprus. He 

 ibes in a lucid way the problems on which 

 excavation is certain to throw new light, and 

 be marks out the sites which deserve special atten- 

 tion. Beginning with the later historical period, 

 he describes the beautiful remains of the Christian 

 period in Syria, and the painted tombs of 

 Mareshah, which represent Greek art. Going 

 much further back, the great Scythian migration, 

 which made its centre at Beth Shean, in the valley 

 of Jezreel, deserves special investigation. Jeru- 

 salem must not be allowed to become a modern 

 commercial town; a new suburb must be built, 

 ami the sacred sites protected and laid open to 

 s\ stematic examination. 



Prof. Flinders Petrie- gives a lucid sketch of 

 Mesopotamian culture, and he pleads the neces- 

 sii\ oi a special inquiry into ancient Elamite art. 

 Hul the main burden of his discourse is to empha- 

 sise tin- urgent need 1l1.1t all future excavation 

 shall be- restricted to qualified archaeologists, work- 

 ing under rigidly scientific rules, and that it shall 

 not !"■ permitted in the ease of enthusiastic, but 

 ignoi ml, amateurs. Traffic in antiquities, which 

 leads to unauthorised digging by natives, should 

 be sternly prohibited. It may be hoped that the 

 administration soon to be established in Palestine 

 and Mesopotamia will take heed of his advice. 

 which will receive the concurrence of all scientific 

 antiquaries. 



