LITERARY NOTICES. 



7°5 



works is indispensable, not only for scholar- 

 ship's sake but also to secure a proper men- 

 tal equilibrium in forming a theory of knowl- 

 edge, on the part of those especially who 

 hare been educated to rely on a posteriori 

 methods. For the reason just given the sci- 

 entific student can least of all afford to 

 neglect Kant, and if he has a contempt for 

 this philosopher he may be assured that 

 there is still opportunity for creditable 

 achievement in the way of refuting the au- 

 thor of the "Kritik" on many important 

 points still left for the ambitious contro- 

 versialist. 



The two works above mentioned are ex- 

 cellent, each in its own way, for the purpose 

 of making the student acquainted with Kant- 

 ian philosophy.* Prof. Watson's idea is to 

 present to a class of more advanced students 

 a series of carefully selected extracts from 

 the chief treatises of Kant, "The Critique 

 of Pure Eeason," "The Metaphysic of Mo- 

 rality," " The Critique of Practical Reason," 

 and " The Critique of Judgment " ; theD to 

 aid these students by the discussions of the 

 % class-room, using the extracts as a text-book. 

 It must be borne in mind that, except pos- 

 sibly where a student is devoting himself 

 exclusively to philosophy, never could he 

 hope to go over the whole of the four works 

 just named under the teacher's class instruc- 

 tion. The advantage, then, of a work like 

 PProf . Watson's is very apparent, if the selec- 

 tions have been so judiciously made as to pre- 

 sent connectedly the most important parts 

 of the treatises. In accomplishing this the 

 editor has been very successful. He has 

 made good his claim that the volume " con- 

 tains all the main ideas of Kant in their sys- 

 tematic connection," and he has produced a 

 very useful book for those who have not the 

 time to devote to Kant's works in full, and 

 also an excellent preparatory course for 

 those who intend to go further in studying 

 that philosopher. 



Prof. Mahaffy's book is a good one for 

 the student to read in connection with a 

 text-book like Prof. Watson's. It is exposi- 

 tory and critical ; we regret to say it is also 

 polemical, the latter quality constituting its 

 chief weakness. In a somewhat extravagant 

 preface Prof. Mahaffy expresses his convic- 

 tion that Kant is " certainly the greatest " 

 of all metaphysicians, " and perhaps the 

 vol. xxxv. — 45 



most imperfectly understood." We do not 

 think the writers of this volume have added 

 anything to Kant's greatness, whatever it 

 may be, but we do consider that they have 

 contributed something to a better under- 

 standing of him. For the most part they 

 have correctly apprehended their master's 

 meaning, and have clearly interpreted him 

 in a style of diction which is very agreeable 

 and well calculated to hold the student's at- 

 tention. This volume is to be followed by 

 a second, containing the " Prolegomena " of 

 Kant. 



State of New York. Twenty-second An- 

 nual Report of the State Board of 

 Charities, 1888. Charles S. Hoyt, 

 Secretary. Pp. 608. 



The visitorial powers of this board ex- 

 tend to all charitable, correctional, and elee- 

 mosynary institutions, excepting State pris- 

 ons, supported wholly or in part by the 

 State, or by cities, counties, incorporated 

 benevolent associations, or otherwise. Its 

 executive duties are the supervision of the 

 support, care, and removal of State paupers ; 

 the examination and removal of alien pau- 

 pers to their homes in different countries of 

 Europe ; watch of the care of the insane ; 

 the approval and certification of incorpora- 

 tions for the custody and care of dependent 

 children ; and the oversight and control of 

 insane Indians on the several reservations 

 of the State. It has also authority to require 

 reports from the various institutions subject 

 to its visitation. The institutions included 

 within this jurisdiction have in all $54,310,- 

 658 of property; return as the year's re- 

 ceipts, $14,591,817, and $13,315,698 ex- 

 pended ; and care for 64,322 persons. The 

 report gives a picture of their general con- 

 dition and operations. 



" War with Crime." Being a Selection of 

 Reprinted Papers on Crime, Reformato- 

 ries, etc. By the late T. Barwick LI. Bar- 

 ker, Esq. Edited by Herbert Philips 

 and Edmund Verney. London and New 

 York: Longmans, Green & Co. Pp. 299. 

 Price, $4. 



Mr. Barker, who died in December, 1886, 

 is described as having been a man of diligent 

 thought, who sought out the principles that 

 underlie the practical side of every question. 

 "A country squire of moderate wealth, he 

 studied the duties incumbent on him in that 



