October 12, 1883.] 



SCIENCE. 



497 



first known to Enropeans, and iloubtless for centu- 

 ries before that time, were in a social stage at least 

 as far advanced as that of our German ancestors in 

 the days of Tacitus. We Icnow that these barbarians, 

 if we choose so to style them, liad evolved a regular 

 system of government, combining very ingeniously 

 the methods of democracy and aristocracy, and com- 

 prising the germs of the English constitution. On 

 this point the often-cited passage of Montesiiuieu will 

 bear to be requoted and emphasized. " In perusing," 

 writes the great legist, '" the admirable treatise of 

 Tacilus ' On the customs of the Germans,' we find it 

 is from that nation the English Iiave borrowed the 

 idea of their political go\ ernment. This beautiful 

 system was invented first in the lO'iods." Will any 

 one reply that the German barbarians, being of the 

 Aryan stock, must be supposed capable of intellectual 

 achievements which barbarians of the Indian race 

 could not be expected to compass ? I think the able 

 and lilieral-miniied reviewer will agree with me, that 

 reasoning of this ' high priori ' sort, which assumes 

 the very point in (luestion, would be any thing but 

 logical or satisfactory. 



The reviewer is kind enough to say that many of 

 the chapters in my volume " indicate immense re- 

 search, and are of great value both ethnologically 

 and philologically." I can assure him that equal 

 diligence was exercised in preparing the chapters on 

 the league and its founders, and I know of no reason 

 why they should be deemed less accurate or less valu- 

 able. In these, moreover, as well as for the other 

 portions of (he work, I have been careful to indicate 

 the sources of my information. Xothiiig will be easier 

 than for any one who has doubts as to its correctness 

 to repeat my in(iuiries, and to satisfy himself on that 

 point. But I am happy to say that the communica- 

 tions which reach me from many quarters seem to 

 show that no such doubts are likely to be entertained ; 

 at least, by any wellinforTued persons. Writers of 

 the highest authority on American and Indian his- 

 tory receive the statements of the book as entirely 

 authentic, and speak of it in terms too flattering for 

 me to repeat. 



Let me conclude by expressing the pleasure with 

 which I have learned from this review that the valu- 

 able work of the excellent and indefatigable mission- 

 ary-linguist, the late Father Marcoux, on the Iroquois 

 language, is about to be published by the Bureau of 

 ethnology. The itiioms of the Hurou-Iroquois group 

 stand, perhaps, at the head of the liest-known Indian 

 languages as subjects of philosophical study. It is 

 doubtful if even the Quichuaor the Aztec equals them 

 in comprehensive force, or in subtlety of distinctions. 

 More than two centuries ago the learneil missionary 

 Urebeuf was struck with the resemblance of the 

 Huron to the Greek ; and in our own day I'rofessor 

 Max MiiUer, after a careful study of the Mohawk 

 tongue, has expressed the opinion that the people 

 who wrought out such a language ' were powerful 

 reasoners and accurate classifiers.' The works of 

 M. Marcoux, in conjunction with those of his dis- 

 tinguished pupil and successor, M. Cuoq, will afford 

 ample means for the study of one, and perhaps the 

 finest, of this remarkable group of languages. 



In connection with this subject, it is proper to refer 

 to the doubt expressed by the reviewer as to the 

 correctness of the linguistic works of the French 

 missionaries. It is suggested that they have made 

 mistakes in grammar, and in particular that they 

 have not been able to distinguish between the femi- 

 nine and the imleterminate intlections. Now, it must 

 be remembered that the intelligent and well-educated 

 missionaries, whose competency is thus iiuestioned, 



have for many years spoken and written the Iroquois 

 language almost as familiarly as their native speech, 

 and have published many books in that language for 

 the use of their converts. Their preilecessors. whose 

 I'xperience they have inherited, had been engiiged in 

 iIk^ same work for more than two hundred years. To 

 suppose them so grossly ignorant of the grammar of 

 the language as is now suggested is much the same 

 as supposing a professor of Latin in an English or 

 .Vmerican college to be unable to distinguish between 

 the genitive and the accusative ciisei in that language. 

 If the work of Marcou.t is so erroneous, it is clearly 

 unfit to be published in a national scries like that of 

 the Ethnological bureau. In justice both to the mis- 

 sionaries and the bureau, I am glad to be able to show, 

 by the best possible evidence, that the suspected 

 errors do not exist. The Irocjuois must be supposed 

 to know their own language. The text of their Book 

 (•f rites, fortunately, presents a test which is conclu- 

 sive. In preparing the translation of this text, with 

 the aid of the best native interpreters, I had occa- 

 sion, as the appended glossary shows, to make con- 

 stant use of the publications of >I. Cuoq on the 

 Iroquois tongue, and found them invariably correct. 

 In particular, I may mention, the indeterminate 

 form frequently occurs, employed precisely as indi- 

 rated by him. The bureau may tlu'refore safely 

 add the work of JI. Marcoux to the other valuable 

 publications which have done so much credit to the 

 scholarship of their authors and to the liberality of 

 the government. H. H.\i,k. 



THOMSON AND T AIT'S NATfRAL 

 ■ PHILOSOPHY. —1. 



A treatise on milural philo.top/u/. By Sir Willia.m 

 TuoMso.v LL.D., D.C.L,' F.Il.S., and P. G. 

 Tait, M.A. Vol. i., partii , new edition. Cam- 

 bridge, f/niVersiV// /)res.«, 1883. 25-1- 527 p. 8°. 



The first edition of vol. i. (2."i-|-7i'7 p.) of 

 this work was publishi^d by the delegates of the 

 Cl.ireiidoii press at 0.\fofd, 1SG7. The authors 

 then intended, as api)eais from thi-ir preface, 

 to complete the work in four volumes. The 

 remaining tliree volinnes have, liowever. never 

 a()pearcd, iiuich to the rcgivt of all students of 

 mathematical physics ; and the authors state 

 tiiat tlie '• intention of proceeding wltii the 

 other volumes is now definitely abandoned." 



In 1871* a iie\v and enlaigod edition was 

 iniblished of a portion of vol. i., entitled part 

 i. (17-|-.')08 p.), including that part of the 

 first edition contained in the first 3."]G pages ; 

 and now we have the remainder of vol. i., en- 

 litled part ii., which litis been enlarged by im- 

 portant additions from '■>'.){) to ■y27 pages. 



At p. 22 will be found a schedule of the , 

 alterations and additions in part i.. and, at 

 !>. 21, those of part ii. "'The most important 

 part of the labor of editing part ii. has been 

 borne by Mr. (i. H. Darwin," whose remark- 

 able papers in the Philosophical transactions 

 upon the mathematical physics of the earth, 



