2 58 



NA TURE 



[January 23, 1902 



the Darwinian theory is alluded to, and the word " fitness " 

 (Zweckmiissigkeit) is defined, with regard to life, as that 

 which increases its duration. And "fitness" consists in 

 the organism being provided with means for spreading, 

 by multiplication, over a wide area, and in its possessing 

 a large store of energy. These conditions ate fully 

 discussed in a most suggestive manner. Passing on to 

 the nerves and their functions, it is noticed that the 

 transfer of energy through a nerve is not dependent 

 on the nature of the stimulus which is applied ; thus 

 a mechanical, electrical or chemical stimulus, that 

 is, the expenditure of any one of these varieties of 

 energy, is equally effective in causing a flow of energy 

 through a nerve. Ostwald therefore throws out the sug- 

 gestion that a special form of energy must be associated 

 with all nerve-processes, which he terms "nerve-energy." 

 He regards it as probable that the passage of energy in 

 a nerve is due to the presence of catalysers, which are 

 brought into action by the nerve-energy ; these are 

 partly destroyed by their action, so that the nerve fails 

 to respond after it has undergone e.xcess of stimulation. 

 But with rest the catalysers are replaced in even greater 

 amount than originally, and the nerve gains power by 

 use. Organisms, in general, store energy in a chemical 

 form, and their chief function is the conversion of this 

 chemical energy into other forms. As a means of 

 effecting this change they employ catalysers in order to 

 accelerate useful changes and to retard those which are 

 baneful. Closely connected with this idea is memory, 

 which, according to E. Hering, may be defined as that 

 property of living substance by means of which processes 

 which take place in them leave effects which are favour- 

 able to the repetition of such processes. Without in- 

 sisting on the justice of his suggestions, Ostwald adduces 

 a number of chemical processes in which repetition 

 renders the chemical change easier and more rapid. 



Passing next to the consideration of the life of the 

 soul or intellect (das geistige Leben), Ostwald takes the 

 view that in all intellectual processes another kind of 

 energy takes part, which he terms "spiritual" (geistige) 

 energy. He is disposed to regard this as identical with 

 nerve-energy, and consciousness is a property of this 

 form of energy when its seat is the brain. Again he 

 illustrates by an analogy ; extension in space is a sign of 

 mechanical energy and duration in time of energy of 

 motion. Indeed, he surmises that as the processes of 

 consciousness are themselves associated with a special 

 kind of energy, our views of external nature are therefore 

 legitimately energetic. One is reminded, however, of Dr. 

 Johnson's dictum, " Who drives fat o-xen must himself 

 be fat " ; at all events the idea is an ingenious one. 

 Consciousness need not always, however, be associated 

 with the occurrence of a process involving nerve-energy ; 

 while we have conscious impressions, conscious thoughts 

 and conscious acts, these may also occur unconsciously. 

 It must be admitted that some explanation is required of 

 unconscious thought ; anyhow, the author makes out a 

 fair case for the belief. 



To follow the author in his discussion of personality, 

 of will and its freedom, of pleasure and pain, of art, of 

 music and of goodness would occupy much space. I 

 hope that even the very imperfect sketch which has been 

 attempted will prove sufficient to induce students both of 

 NO. 1682, VOL. 65] 



science and of philosophy to read for themselves this in- 

 teresting work, and to examine, without prejudice, 

 Ostwald's interpretation of the facts of Nature. 



W. R. 



THE CIVIL! S A TIONS OF THE OLD AND NEW 

 WORLDS. 



The Fundamental Principles of the Old and New World 

 Civilisations. By Zelia Nuttall. Being the second 

 volume of the Arcltaeological and Ethnological Papers 

 of the Peabody Museum. Pp. i-f6o2. (Cambridge, 

 Mass.; London : Quaritch ; Leipzig : Hiersemann, 1901.) 



THE interesting volume before us is, we believe, the 

 first which any writer has devoted to a careful study 

 of the common principles which underlie the civilisations of 

 Egypt, Babylonia, Mexico and Europe, and as such it 

 merits much consideration at the hands of ethnographers 

 and anthropologists, and of students of religion in general. 

 Much is known about European civilisation, both in its 

 early and middle forms, and something is known of the 

 great civilisations of Babylonia (Sumerian) and of Egypt, 

 but Mrs. Nuttall, in bringing together the results obtained 

 from the study of these subjects during recent years, and 

 in putting them into line with a new group of results 

 obtained from an examination of the Mexican inscriptions 

 at first hand, has done a piece of good and useful work 

 which will be appreciated by all serious students of the 

 beliefsof primitive man. The books which have appeared 

 in Europe and America on early symbolism and cognate 

 subjects are many, but in most of them the writers have 

 confounded what ought to have been kept apart, and 

 owing to a want of groundwork of facts have been led 

 to make nebulous theories which have earned for their 

 authors the ridicule of the trained investigator of such 

 subjects. There is no study more fascinating than that 

 which results in the bringing together of the facts which 

 are common to all great civilisations from China to 

 Mexico, and there is probably none in which so many 

 men have gone astray ; every earnest worker knows why 

 this has happened and deplores the publication of books 

 and articles by faddists and others which will obscure 

 the true light. 



Mrs. Nuttall's work may be conveniently divided into 

 three sections, which deal with the civilisations of 

 America, Asia and Europe respectively, and these are 

 followed by a fourth section, which treats of civilisations 

 in general ; the remainder of the book contains three 

 appendices and an index. As was to be expected, nearly 

 one-half of the volume is devoted to the description of 

 American civilisation, and it is this section in which the 

 arch;eologist will probably be most interested. Origin- 

 ally the author intended to produce a short monograph 

 of forty-one pages, which treated of the origin of the 

 native swastika or cross symbols, but having actually 

 written the monograph she arrived at the conclusion that 

 the cosmical conceptions of the ancient Mexicans were 

 identical with those of the Zuiiis. It was next clear to 

 her that the same fundamental ideas were to be found in 

 Yucatan, Central America and Peru, and the natural 

 result of her investigations into them was that Mrs. 

 Nuttall's monograph of forty pages grew into one of 

 284 pages, and that then she found a course of compara- 

 tive studies would be necessary if the best use was to be 



