500 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. VIII., No. 199 



it now does to direct the taste and confirm the 

 habit of reading what is good rather than what is 

 l)ad." Of course, the school tries to form 'good 

 habits, if it forms any at all, both of reading and 

 of every thing else that falls within its scope, but 

 we cannot admit for an instant that the school is 

 responsible for the abuse of any power that it puts 

 in the hancls of its pupils. Moreover, while what 

 Professor Hall says about men having gotten on 

 pretty well before Gutenberg, and even before 

 Cadmus (p. 17), is all true enough, yet it; does not 

 bear on the argument. The point is, that they 

 would not get on at all now, unless they harmo- 

 nized with the nineteenth-century environment ; 

 and of that the ability to read is an important 

 part. However, we hardly think Professor Hall 

 meant to be taken seriously, but was emphasizing 

 what we all deplore, — the time wasted in reading 

 useless and often positively harmful literature. 



The remaining monograph that we have re- 

 ceived is on the study of Latin, by Professor Mor- 

 ris of Williams college.' 



It is a very good presentation of one side of the 

 subject, based on the important distinction that 

 the ' study of a language ' is ambiguous, unless we 

 know whether by it is meant the acquisition of 

 the language for reading or speaking, the study 

 of the literature written in it, the study of a 

 language with a view to using it effectually in 

 composition, or the investigation of the language 

 itself as an organic growth. 



HALL'S BIBLIOGRAPHY OF EDUCATION. 



With the rapid development of the science of 

 education there has grown up an increasingly 

 voluminous and complex mass of pedagogical 

 literature. Educational journals almost without 

 number have been founded, and histories, criti- 

 cisms, and constructive works dealing with edu- 

 cational subjects, have followed each other in 

 bewildering succession. To all this literature a 

 guide is necessary : the useful must be sifted from 

 the useless, and some classification for the purpose 

 of systematic study must be adopted. An attempt 

 has been made to do all this by Prof. Stanley Hall 

 and Mr. John M. Mansfield in the little volume 

 before us. 



The cautious wording of the title and the frank 

 confessions of the preface disarm all serious criti- 

 cism, and lead us to be thankful for what we 

 have received, instead of complaining because of 

 what we miss. It cannot be denied that the classi- 



1 The study of Latin in the preparatory course. By E. P. 

 MOKRIS. Boston, Heath, 1886. 12°. 



Hints toward a select and descriptive bibliography of edu- 

 cation. By G. Stanley Hall and John M. Mansfield. 

 Boston, Heath, 1886. 12°. 



fication adopted is superficial and provisional, — it 

 is the outgrowth of a series of topical reference- 

 lists used by Professor Hall in connection with his 

 lectures at the Johns Hopkins university, — and 

 that typographical and minor errors are very 

 numerous in the book ; but the work is so compre- 

 hensive, and the result of such painstaking labor, 

 that it will be found of great value to every 

 student and reader in the broad field of peda- 

 gogics. In fact, because of its suggestiveness 

 alone, it may fairly be said to be indispensable to 

 every pedagogical library that pretends to be com- 

 plete and abreast of the times. 



The references in some departments are much 

 fuller than those in others, — the result, we fancy, 

 of the fact that many hands have co-operated in 

 the production of the book ; and the list of educa- 

 tional periodicals, while it names the best journals, 

 is scanty. The volume will, however, give to 

 many persons an idea of the scope and complexity 

 of educational science that they have never before 

 possessed, and we trust that it may have a cordial 

 reception and an extensive use. A second edition 

 will undoubtedly remedy many of the blemishes 

 of the first, and will, we hope, afford an oppor- 

 tunity for adding to the editorial notes appended 

 to the references, which are of great value. 



PAINTERS HISTORY OF EDUCATION. 



This book calls for neither extended notice nor 

 searching criticism. It is modest, compact, and 

 satisfactory. In no sense is it an original work, but 

 it shows good sense in the selection of material, 

 and good judgment in its arrangement. We 

 could wish that it had been more original in one 

 or two particulars ; for example, in its treatment 

 of the universities. Compayre and most of the 

 German manuals of the history of education 

 touch too lightly on this great subject. We be- 

 lieve that due acknowledgment is rarely made of 

 the great intellectual stimulus the western world 

 received from the great universities. Professor 

 Painter follows in the beaten path here, and says 

 but little on the subject. Moreover, it seems fit- 

 ting that a book having a chapter entitled ' Edu- 

 cation in the nineteenth century ' should say some- 

 thing of the great movement in the direction of 

 manual training, industrial and technical educa- 

 tion, that has manifested itself in Europe and 

 America. Professor Painter has passed this by. 

 Yet the book is a useful one, and it will find many 

 readers among those educators who are striving 

 to put their work in the line of historical and logi- 

 cal development from that of the great masters 

 of education who have preceded them. 



A hist07-y of education. By F. V. N. Painter. New York, 

 Ap)pleton, 1886. 12°. 



