192 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XV. No. 372 



gives most of the vowel letters their Italian sound, and proposes 

 to introduce at first five new letters, to be followed by six more 

 at a later time. But the chief peculiarity of his system is the 

 ' 'strengthening' ' of the vowels to denote their long sound. This 

 is done in printing by the use of full-face type, thus, "uphold," 

 and in writing by a heavier shading of the letter. This, as it 

 seems to us, will be an insurmountable obstacle to the adoption 

 of the system ; for who will take the trouble, in rapid writing, 

 to shade now and then a letter more heavily than the rest? 

 Moreover, we gi-avely doubt if any system can be brought into 

 use that contains new letters; and, if new letters are to be in- 

 ti'oduced, there are other systems that have quite as good a claim 

 to be adopted as Mr. Knoflach's. 



On the Relative Advantage of Tubs with Bottoms and Tubs ivith- 

 out. Printed for the author. New York, tor sale at 20 

 Cooper Union. 12°. 



This anonymous work consists of two parts, the first being in 

 the main a polemic against the views now held by many of the 

 Swedenborgian clergy, and the second a statement of the author's 

 own views. He maintains that the professed followers of 

 Swedenborg misunderstand or misintei-pret the doctrines of their 

 master, and in joarticular he condemns their pantheism, which he 

 thinks Swedenborg would have regarded with aversion. In this 

 polemic against pantheism he makes some good points. He 

 affirms also that the doctrines he criticises have no rational basis, 

 they are tubs without bottoms; while the real doctrines of 

 Swedenborg, as the author of this book understands them, have a 

 basis that is all-sufficient. He then proceeds to state some of 

 these doctrines in a simple and popular way, the leading one 

 being a mystical interpretation of the doctrine of the Trinity. 

 Every thing that exists, he tells us, consists of three elements, — 

 substance, form, and force: and of these elements he says, that, 

 though ' 'essentially different, they yet shall have a conunon 

 name, 'person,' for each is a person." He then goes on to 

 maintain that in the Divine Being substance is the Father, form 

 the Son, and force the Holy Spirit. Such, according to our au- 

 thor, is the true doctrine of the Trinity, and the highest principle 

 of religion. We greatly fear, however, that this tub also has no 

 bottom, for we can see no rational basis for such mysticism. The 

 author expresses himself well, and with gi-eater simplicity than 

 most writers on such topics, and his work will doubtless have an 

 interest for Swedenborgian readers ; but to other men it is not 

 likely to be of much use. 



The Way out of Agnosticism. By Francis Bllingwood Abbot. 

 Boston, Little, Brown, & Co. 13°. $1. 



This book consists of a series of papers based on lectures de- 

 livered at Harvard College, and originally published in the ISew 

 Ideal newspaper. They are in the main a briefer and simpler 

 statement of the views expressed in the author's "Scientific 

 Theism." The introduction is a lively attack on the agnostics 

 for maintaining a purely negative attitude, and refusing to make 

 any attempt toward a positive theoi-y of the universe. Mr. 

 Abbot justly holds that mankind can not and will not remain 

 without such a theory, and declares that the liberalism of the 

 present day, on account of its negative character, is ' 'infinitely 

 inferior to the Christian mythology which it has displaced." 

 Yet he maintains that liberalism alone can furnish the true con- 

 structive theory of the universe which is now so greatly needed, 

 and his ovsm aim is to present the outlines of such a theory. 



As his theory has already been given to the public in his 

 earlier and larger work, we need not devote much space to an 

 analysis of it. His leading doctrines are these: 1. "The uni- 

 vei^sal results of the special sciences, including the method com- 

 mon to them all, are the only possible data of philosophy or 

 universal science. " 2. ' 'The universe is known as at once infi- 

 nite machine, infinite organism, and infinite person, — as me- 

 chanical in its apparent form and action, organic in its es- 

 sential constitution, and personal in its innermost being. ' ' This 

 theory, in its identification of the deity with the universe, is 

 pantheistic, but in afih-ming the personality of the deity, it is 

 opposed to pantheism. Another of Mr. Abbot's essential doc- 



trines is his realism, which he maintains in opposition to the- 

 phenomenalism or idealism of the prevailing modem philoso- 

 phies. The book is written in a vigorous style ; and, whether 

 one agi'ees with its doctrines or not, it is interesting to read. 



AlIONG THE PUBLISHERS. 



W. A. Ldtn's article on "Co-operative Home-Wimiing, " 

 through building associations, will appear in the May Scribner^ 



— Henry Holt & Co. will publish soon ' 'Introduction to Sys- 

 tematic Botany," by Charles E. Bessey, professor in the Uni- 

 versity of Nebraska, and author of Bessey' s "Botanies" in the- 

 American Science Series. 



— The last issue of Garden and Forest presents a complete 

 list of the works treating of landscape-gardening which have 

 been published in English, French, German, and Italian since 

 1625, the date of Lord Bacon's famous essay. It includes not 

 only all books and pamphlets, but all articles and reviews on the- 

 subject, and covers nearly five closely printed pages. To make 

 room for this list, which is a work of permanent value, the paper 

 has been enlarged, and contains, besides an illusti'ation of Cler- 

 mont on the Hudson, with a description by Charles Eliot, its 

 usual amount of matter in the various fields of horticulture and 

 foi'estry. 



— Frederick W. Whitridge, the well-kno-mi New York lawyer, 

 who conti-ibutes an article to the April Scribner on ' 'The Citizen's 

 Eights as a Householder, ' ' tells the following story : ' 'The series, 

 of papers upon the rights of citizens, of which this is the first, 

 happened lately to be mentioned before a person of ripe and 

 sound judgment, who has seen much of the world, but who is 

 not a native of this Monte Cristo of nations ; and this person, il- 

 luminated by the knowledge of many cities and men, thereupon 

 exclaimed, 'Eights of citizens! You Americans haven't got any^ 

 rights ; or, if you have, you are all so afraid of each other, you 

 dai'e not assert them. ' ' ' 



— A curious phenomenon, in virtue of which electric cars are- 

 aided in ascending heavy grades, is alluded to by Joseph Wetzler- 

 in his article on ' ' The Electric Eailway' ' in the April Scribner. 

 This phenomenon, which was probably first observed by LeO' 

 Daft, at his works in Greenville, N.J. , in 1882, is, that, when 

 the current passes from the car-wheel to the track, it causes am, 

 increased friction or resistance to sliding between them, the re- 

 sult of which is that slipping is to a large degree prevented, and 

 heavier grades can be attempted. The explanation of this phe- 

 nomenon, though not completely established, seems to lie in the- 

 direction of a slight welding action which takes place between, 

 the wheel and the rail, caused by the heat generated by the cur- 

 rent. 



— Messrs. Griggs & Co. of Chicago have published "Semitic- 

 Philosophy, ' ' by Philip C. Friese ; and a singular book it is. 

 The author professes to have the only true interijretation of 

 Christ's doctrine of tJie kingdom of God, claiming that it is- 

 known '-instinctively;" and he here gives a statement of the 

 doctrine and its practical applications. He presents to us "so- 

 much of the unwritten, instinctive, rational, ideal, or natural 

 constitution of the kingdom of God, or universal society of the: 

 races of mankind, as may, when universally assented to and 

 adopted by tacit or express general agreement, be established as- 

 such in writing. " It is drawn up in articles and sections like 

 the Constitution of the United States, and provides for a I'epublia 

 of letters, a republic of the Church, a republic of industiy, a re- 

 public of charity, and a republic of government, the organization 

 and functions of each of which are duly set forth. What it all 

 amounts to, we are unable to see. The book is a curious com- 

 pound of crude social projects and hazy metaphysics, and that is 

 all we can say for it. 



— The opening article of The Chautauquan for April is by 

 Professor James A. HaiTison, Ph.D., LL.D., of Washington and 

 Lee University, on "The Archaeological Club in Italy;" "Life- 

 in Modern Italy, ' ' by Bella Stillman, follows ; the eminent phil- 

 ologist, Professor Federico Garlanda, of the University of Eome„ 



