Apkil 20, 1899J 



NA TURE 



579 



Besides the physical, there is the psychical subject- 

 matter with which science has to deal ; so that, as the 

 author sums it up, the worker in science is concerned 

 with things and thoughts. 



Respecting the tools which the science workers must 

 use, there are, of course, only the senses and the intellect. 

 The intellectual weapons are those fundamental principles 

 which were laid down in the fourth chapter, and which 

 are here recapitulated. In this last chapter also there 

 are discussed some highly abstract possibilities as to the 

 structure, composition and nature of the universe — 

 whether there is anything more than an " intelligent 

 energy," whether there is only one "essential kind of 

 matter with intrinsic motion," and so forth. In fact, by 

 ringing the changes upon various possibilities and con- 



; ceivabilities, the author at this stage makes a strain upon 

 the assimilative faculty of his reader, which will leave the 



I latter in a state of hopeless bewilderment, unless his (the 

 reader's) mental digestion is in perfect working order. 

 The chief definite conclusions which are drawn are that 

 it (the universe) cannot consist of one kind of energy 



^ only, that it is impossible that intellect can have been 



' evolved from mere physical force, and that animals 

 show no signs of latent intellectuality. It is further 

 insisted 



J "that the portion of truth which we are able to attain 

 j to in our investigations of the cosmos, is but an un- 

 I imaginably small portion of the whole" (p. 317) ; 



I a statement which will, we imagine, not be seriously 



j challenged by workers in science. To the latter, viz. 



the science workers, Dr. Mivart devotes some attention 



j in the concluding pages of his book. The narrowing 



I effect of extreme specialism upon the mind is an 



j undoubted evil, as the author points out. But there is 



the opposite evil of becoming diffuse to the extent of a 



J practically useless attenuation of the mental faculties. 



Between these two extremes the active worker in 



! modern science will find it difficult to pursue his course 



if he desires to keep pace with the development of science 



generally, as well as to advance his own subject in 



, particular. 



i In a kind of summing-up the author elaborates further 

 j his ideas as to the "intelligent activity" which pervades 

 the universe. The results of this activity harmonise 

 with our reason, but yet it acts in ways different to those 

 which we should adopt in order to arrive at similar ends. 

 It is a "non-human rationality" (p. 321). There is no 

 such thing as waste in nature. Dr. Mivart does not say 

 so explicitly, but he implies that all apparent waste is 

 unseen economy. The groundwork of science is defined 

 (p. 322) as: — 



" The work of self-conscious material organisms making- 

 use of the marvellous intellectual first principles which 

 they possess in e.xploring all the physical and psychical 

 phenomena of the universe, which sense, intuition and 

 ratiocination can anyhow reveal to them as real exist- 

 ences, whether actual or only possible." 



The non-human intellect which pervades the universe 

 is finally put forward as the foundation of the ground- 

 work of science. 



We have endeavoured, as concisely as possible, to give 

 an account of the contents of this bulky volume. It is 

 NO. 1538, VOL. 59I 



by no means an easy task to act the part of a reviewer 

 towards what professes to be a kind of philosophy of 

 science, since mere dissent from the author's conclusions 

 is not in itself a legitimate ground of criticism. For the 

 philosophical student it may be fairly said that Dr. 

 Mivart has provided material for endless controversy. 

 For the worker in science he has raised many important 

 questions which are well worth pondering over. Of 

 course we agree generally that there is in reality only 

 one science, and that the various divisions are matters of 

 convenience necessitated by limited brain power. There 

 is, in fact, a real need for a science of the sciences or 

 Epistemology, but the treatment of the subject in the 

 present work appears to the writer to be disappointing. 

 There seems to be a continual working up towards some 

 great generalisation which never comes off. There is over- 

 elaboration in some parts of the treatment, and there are 

 sudden jumps in others. The use of "new departures" 

 or " breaches of continuity " as arguments for the exist- 

 ence of an external non-human intelligence appears to be 

 a relapse towards the state of knowledge which inter- 

 polated a "jguiding spirit," or an " occult principle," or 

 an "innate tendency," to explain anything we did not 

 understand. It is a dangerous principle in science to 

 attempt to hide ignorance by devices of this kind. The 

 coupling of discontinuous variations in animals and 

 plants with the production of a chemical compound 

 having different properties from its constituents as 

 examples of such "new departures" is singularly un- 

 fortunate, even from Dr. Mivart's own point of view. 



There is much in the work which will repay thoughtful 

 perusal, since any attempt to make scientific workers 

 take a philosophical view of science is to be commended. 

 But the great defect of diffusiveness, which is so con- 

 spicuous throughout the book, will, we are afraid, deter 

 many readers from following the author throughout the 

 laboured and reiterated statements which lead up to his 

 conclusions. R. Meldola. 



THE UGANDA PROTECTORATE. 

 Under the African Sun : a Description of Native Races 

 in Uganda, Sporting Adzientures, and other Ex- 

 periences. By Dr. VV. J. Ansorge. Pp. xiv -t- 355. 

 (London : Heinemann, 1899.) 



THE complaint has often been made against travellers 

 that in their books they tell us most about the sub- 

 jects of which they know least. The latest contribution 

 to the literature of the Uganda Protectorate illustrates 

 the truth of this remark. From the list of qualifications 

 after the author's name in the title-page, the book might 

 be expected to prove a valuable contribution to the know- 

 ledge of the many obscure diseases endemic in the 

 Uganda Protectorate. 



Occasional medical experiences are recorded, but they 

 deal with mere matters of minor surgery. The important 

 problems connected with tropical diseases, to which so 

 much attention is now being devoted, are passed un- 

 noticed. Most of this bulky volume is devoted to ex- 

 periences in sport, war and civil administration, such as 

 we might expect from a soldier, rather than from a man 

 with a scientific training. The main value of the book is 

 that it gives an account of the Uganda Protectorate and 



