April 24, 1891.J 



SCIENCE. 



235 



resting, the power of repose. The prevailing; disease of our mod- 

 ern steam civilization, so accentuated in our country as to receive 

 the name of " Americanitis," is the result of this constant nervous 

 tension, this restlessness, this craving for mental excitement, this 

 emotional prodigality, this over absorption in business cares, this 

 over-hurrying and over-worrying which in a thousand forms is 

 exemplified in the lives among which we live. It is certainly 

 timely and proper to call a halt in this mad rush, to make haste 

 more slowly and more wisely for a while, to gain time for a sur- 

 vey of our surroundings and a searching for the best means of 

 adapting ourselves to them, — of getting the most and the best of 

 life, if you will, but without losing the power to enjoy in the 

 very strife for those things by which our pleasure is to be gained. 

 It is also well to recognize, as the present volume clearly does, 

 that this problem is to be solved by mental and moral discipline 

 quite as much as by physical ; or, rather, that the two are in so 

 many respects one. Control over the body is mental control. 

 Right use of body comes through mental health. The modern 

 view of the relation between body and mind finds its support 

 quite as plentifully in the field of disease as in that of normal ac- 

 tion. The necessity of treating the two together in order to gain 

 an insight into the nature of the activities whereby we live and 

 move and have our being, is jio more cogent than it is in the 

 study of diseased function. It is the psycho-physical organism 

 that we educate, it is the psycho-physical organism that we cure. 

 But the ways and means of avoiding this mental break-down, 

 this nervous prostration, — what of these ? As to the efficacy 

 of the author's answer to this practical question, there will be 

 many opinions. Tlie treatment is elaborately though not always 

 clearly described; but the essence of it is to bring into conscious- 

 ness the motor evidences of our mental strain, the little nervous 

 twitchings and habits that have so deep a hold on all of us. We 

 must learn to be passive, to utilize the many opportunities of rest 

 that occur. When we sit in a chair, we must sink into it, trust in 

 it, and let it hold us. In riding, we must not worry about how 

 fast we are going: we must relax all the muscles, and gain power 

 through repose. Our position in sleep must be as unconstrained 

 as that of a child. When called upon to endure pain, we must 

 yield to it and have it over, not restrain and check with the risk 

 ' of a disastrous explosion later. If we have so far strayed from 

 the path of physical rectitude as to be oblivious of our erring- 

 state, we have a course of special exercises prescribed for restoring 

 the consciousness of our faults, and all this applies as well to 

 mental as to bodily habits. 



While agreeing with the desirability of the end to be secured, 

 and in certain cases the utility of the steps prescribed, we cannot 

 but question whether our author is not mistaking a symptom for 

 a cause, and is treating but one factor of a much more complex 

 ailment; whether, too, her enthusiasm does not overestimate 

 what can be done by will alone. This is not, however, a "fad- 

 dist " work (although Delsarte is mentioned more than once) : it is 

 a serious statement of a serious problem. The remedy, however 

 suggestive, is certainly incomplete. There are many whom the 

 reading of this work and the obedience to its advice will greatly 

 benefit, and it goes out upon its mission with the well-wishes of 

 all interested in securing and maintaining mental and physical 

 health. 



Worterbvch des Buna Simi, oder der Keshua Sprache. Von Dr. 

 E. W. MiDDENDORF. Leipzig, 1890. 8°. 



Das Buna Simi oder die Keshua Sprache, wie sie gegenwdrtig in 

 der Proving von Gusco gesprochen wird. Von Dr. E. W. Mid- 

 DENDOKT. Leipzig, 1890. 



Ollanta, ein Drama der Keshua-Sprache. Uebersetzt von Dr. E. 

 W. JMiDDENDORF. Leipzig, 1890. 



Dramatische und Lyrische DieJitungen der Keshua-Sprache. Ge- 

 sammelt und uebersetzt von Dr. E. W. Middendoep. Leip- 

 zig, 1891. 



It is, we believe, without precedent to find nearly two thousand 

 pages, printed within one year, devoted fo the literature of a single 

 American language. This is the extraordinary task which Dr. 



Middendorf set before him, and which he has admirably accom- 

 plished. 



The Kechua, known locally as the runa simi (or " language of 

 the people"), is that spoken by the distinctively Peruvian stock, 

 and, next to the NahuatI of Mexico and the Maya of Central 

 America, offers the most extensive literary remains of any Ameri- 

 can tongue. During a residence of five and twenty years in Peru, 

 Dr. Middendorf pursued its study with zeal, and collected aU the 

 fragments of its literature which he learned about. These, to- 

 gether with a grammar and dictionary, both well prepared, are 

 included in the volumes before us. 



First among these fragments should be placed the Ollanta drama, 

 which had already been edited and translated into German by Von 

 Tschudi, into English by Markham, into French by Pacheco 

 Zegarra, and into Spanish by several authors. All these have 

 leaned to the opinion that it was a native composition dating from 

 before the conquest; but Middendorf gives various reasons for re- 

 garding it as a much later production, though probably based 

 on an authentic aboriginal play. He also gives the full text, 

 with translations, of two Kechua sacred dramas, — "The Lost 

 Son," and "Usca Paukar," — ^ written undoubtedly by natives, 

 and therefore correct specimens of the language, though, of 

 course, later than the conquest. To these he adds a number of 

 poems and prose writings, thus furnishing a very satisfactory mass 

 of material for the study of the tongue in both its ancient and 

 modern form. 



While we have nothing but praise for these features of his work, 

 we must lower the note in speaking of his remarks on the laws, 

 customs, and culture of the ancient Peruvians. It is clear that on 

 these branches he has not studied the best authorii;ies, and is far 

 from understanding accurately the state system of the Incas. No 

 one has analyzed this so well as our fellow-countryman. Dr. Gus- 

 tav Briihl of Cincinnati, and it is to be regretted that Dr. Midden- 

 dorf did not acquaint himself with the writings of that able Ameri- 

 canist. 



The works we have named at the outset ai-e but a part of the 

 praiseworthy plan which Dr. Middendorf has announced. He 

 intends to foUow them in rapid succession with as complete an 

 exposition of the languages and literatures of the Aymaras and 

 the Yuncas (or Chimus), the two other semi-civilized nationalities 

 of ancient Peru. We congratulate him on his enthusiasm and 

 enlightened devotion to this neglected branch of human learning, 

 and hope that his efforts will meet with liberal encouragement in 

 this and other countries. 



The Historic Note-Booh. By E. CobhajVI Brewer. Philadel- 

 phia, Lippincott. 8". 



Mr. Brewer, who had previously given to the public several 

 small cyclopaedias, now offers another of a sometvhat different 

 character. It is not a dictionary of dates, nor is it an alphabetical 

 list of the main events of history: on the contrary, the main 

 events are for the most part ignored or lightly treated. It is, as 

 the author himself says, "not an historic dictionary, but a dic- 

 tionary of historic terms and phrases, jottings of odds and ends 

 of history, which historians leave in the cold or only incidentally 

 mention:" hence it contains a great many items that would be 

 hard to find in the ordinary histories or cyclopaedias. Some of 

 these items are political, others religious and ecclesiastical, while 

 others still relate to literature, art, commerce, and various other 

 topics. Kings and other prominent personages also claim a share 

 of attention, and the book contains many interesting and amusing 

 anecdotes. Sometimes, as in the articles on "Council." "Consti- 

 tution and Massacre," a good deal of useful information is con- 

 veyed ; and there is an appendix containing a list of the more 

 important battles. We noticed, as we looked the book over, some 

 inaccuracies ; as, for instance, the statement that Harvard Col- 

 lege was founded by John Harvard, and the statement in the 

 article on " Languages " that German is spoken bv a hundred 

 million people. Some of the author's remarks on political matters 

 are not in good taste, being too strongly tinged with partisanship; 

 but the book will be useful to students of history and literature. 

 and will give them a good deal of information not readily acces- 

 sible elsewhere. 



