Sune 11, 1885] 
NATURE 
[25 
to the Inconsequent or the Ridiculous. And one who 
tries to imitate him successfully must possess not only his 
nerve, but also his wonderful agility and resource of 
every kind. We shall therefore say no more on the sub- 
ject of the Editor’s additions to the volume, than that his 
daring has met with comparative immunity from the more 
obvious dangers of his course. 
The original title of the work was, we are told, Zhe 
First Principles of the Mathematical Sctences Explained 
to the Non-Mathematical. There can be no doubt that 
the new title is much to be preferred. We do woz believe 
that the Mathematical Sciences, even in their first 
principles, can be explained to the Non-Mathematical. 
Whosoever understands the explanation has, to that 
extent at least, Zecome Mathematical in the very act of 
understanding. But this observation is made on the 
assumption that Non-Mathematical means “ uninstructed 
in mathematics.” ‘There is another sense which the term 
may bear:—viz. “incapable of understanding mathe- 
matics.” Among mankind there are none who more 
persistently claim the almost exclusive possession of 
the highest grade of human intelligence than do the 
(so-called) Metaphysicians. How many of these self- 
accredited possessors of all but superhuman acuteness 
have been able to cross the Pows Astnorum 2 How many 
have been able to understand even the odjects (not the 
Processes) of mathematical investigation? When the 
answer comes (it probably will not come, as it caz not come 
in a favourable form) it will be time to comment on it. 
The chief good of this book, and in many respects it is 
very good, lies in the fact that the versatility of its gifted 
author has enabled him to present to his readers many 
trite things, simple as well as complex, from so novel a 
point of view that they acquire a perfectly fresh and un- 
expected interest in the eyes of those to whom they had 
become commonplace. Surely this was an object worthy 
of attainment! But it is altogether thrown away on the 
non-mathematical, to whom neither new nor old points of 
view are accessible. 
Considering the circumstances under which the book 
has been produced, it would be unfair to comment on the 
smaller errors. But there are a few very awkward state- 
ments, and one or two grave errors, which ought not to 
have escaped correction. We give an example of each 
class. Thus, p. 16, the following statement is quite un- 
necessarily puzzling :— 
“Tf we can fill a box with cubes whose height, length, 
and breadth are all equal to one another, the shape of the 
box will be itself a cube.” 
This out-germans German itself in the displacement of 
the words from their natural position in English ; and, at 
first sight, seems to be nonsense. Read it, however, 
thus :— 
“Tf we can fill with cubes a box whose height, &c... + 
the shape of the box itself will be a cube,” 
and the absurdity, suggested by the collocation, dis- 
appears. 
Again, p. 66, what are we to make of the following, 
Standing, as it does, without comment or explanation of 
any kind ?>— 
“The statement that a thing can be moved about with- 
out altering its shape may be shown to amount only to 
this, that two angles which fit in one place will fit also in | 
another, no matter how they have been brought from the 
one place to the other.” 
Several most serious qualifications must be imposed upon 
this statement before it can possibly be accepted as true. 
The chapter on JZo¢éon properly forms a part of this 
work, so far at least as kinematics is concerned. But it 
seems to be a mistake to conclude it with a few editorial 
sentences on the Laws of Motion. For here we have a 
perfectly new subject, and one which would require at 
least a full chapter to itself. It is probable enough that, 
at some period of his life, Clifford imagined that it might 
be possible to get rid of the idea of matter as well as of 
that of force, and so to reduce Dynamics to mere Kine- 
matics. He never so expressed himself to me. But 
purely physical subjects were, properly speaking, beyond 
his sphere ; his ideas about them were always more or 
less vague, because always of a somewhat transitional 
character, and were much modified at times by the 
momentary turn of his philosophical speculations. We 
are told in a foot-note to the first page of the Preface that 
Clifford left his A¢z#etic (a companion volume to his 
Kinematic) 7z a completed state. Surely, keeping this in 
view, the introduction of Laws of Motion into the present 
work was superfluous. 
This foot-note unfortunately strikes a jarring chord at 
the very first opening of the book. We are told that 
“more serious delay seems likely to attend the publica- 
tion” of Clifford’s completed MS.; this is followed by a 
mysterious species of protest or remonstrance. Clifford 
could never have written in this vein. He would either 
have kept silence, or have blurted out the whole truth. 
Mystery and insinuation were not weapons of his, and 
should not be employed in connection with his name.' 
PG. GAs 
OUR BOOK SHELF 
New Commercial Plants and Drugs. No.8. By Thos. 
Chiisty, F.L.S., &c. (London: Christy and Co., 155, 
Fenchurch Street, 1885.) 
THE eighth number of Mr. Thos. Christy’s ‘‘ New Com- 
mercial Plants and Drugs” has recently appeared, and 
the contents are of a similar character to those that have 
preceded it, the most recently introduced commercial 
products derived from the vegetable kingdom being enu- 
merated and what has been written about them brought 
together. The first plant referred to in the book is of 
course the Kola nut (Cola acuminata), as being one of 
the most important, or at least one that has attracted a 
very large share of attention during the past year. This 
article is illustrated by a coloured plate of the fruit and 
seeds of this species, as well as of the Guttiferous plant 
known as the Bitter Kola. Besides having the property 
of cleansing or purifying and thus rendering wholesome 
stagnant or foul water, it has also been used for clarifying 
beer and spirits. One of its most remarkable properties 
is in restoring the senses after partaking to excess of 
intoxicating drinks. The most recent application of the 
Kola nut, however, is in the preparation of a paste for 
mixing with cocoa or chocolate, which it is said to im- 
prove “both in strength and flavour to an astonishing 
degree.” It is considerably more nutritious and strength- 
ening ; so much so indeed “that a workman can, on a 
single cup taken at breakfast time, go on with his work 
through the day without feeling fatigued.” 
In consequence of this and many other medicinal 
™ In Nature, vol. xxxii. p. 4, Mr. Tucker intimated that Messrs. 
Macmillan and Co, would publish the remaining mathematical papers of the 
late Prof. Clifford.—Ep. 
