x PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 



as writing, I have been obliged to depend mainly on the 

 compilations made for me, and some years ago published 

 under the title of Descriptive Sociology, joined with mate 

 rials collected by assistants since that time. Being con- 

 scions that in the evidence thus gathered, there would in 

 evitably be a per-centage of errors, I lately took measures to 

 verify all the extracts contained in the first volume of the 

 Pr inciples of Sociology : fortunately obtaining the aid of a 

 skilled bibliographer, Mr. Tedder, the librarian of the 

 Athemeiim Club. The result was not unsatisfactory. For 

 though there were found many mistakes, literal and verbal, 

 yet out of more than 2,000 statements quoted, two only were 

 invalidated: one losing its point and the other being can 

 celled. 



AVitli this division of the work I followed what seemed a 

 better course, but not with better result. While it was 

 standing in type and before any of it was printed, I had all 

 the extracts compared with the passages from which they 

 were copied; and expected thus to insure perfect correct 

 ness. But though apparent errors were removed, two un- 

 apparent errors remained. In one case, the gentleman who 

 had made for me an extract from the Records of the Past, 

 had misunderstood a story translated from the hieroglyph 

 ics: a thing easy to do, since the meanings of the translations 

 are often not very clear. And in the other case, an extract 

 concerning the Zulus had been broken off too soon: the copy 

 ist not having, as it seems, perceived that a subsequent sen 

 tence greatly qualified the sense. Unfortunately, when giv 

 ing instructions for the verification of extracts, I did not 

 point out the need for a study of the context in every case; 

 and hence, the actual words quoted proving to be correctly 

 given, the errors of meaning passed unrectified. 



IVyoud removal of these mis-statements, two changes of 

 expression have been made for the purpose of excluding 

 perverse misinterpretations. 



Bayswater, January 21, 1886. 



