4Q2 . . Recent Literature. [June, 



them. It is to be doubted whether this field for the increase of 

 happiness is as much as suspected by very many persons. One 

 of the first conditions of the stability and harmony of society is 

 the correct working of the double-headed system on which it has 

 been created. It cannot be denied that the greater the amount of 

 interest invested in this system, the more secure it must become. 

 The stimulus which intelligent people bring to bear on each 

 other is very great, and where this comes from a person in whom 

 the affections are deeply interested, the force is greatly multiplied. 

 It is self-evident that the effects of this force must be seen in the 

 race, and that it is one powerful agent in progressive evolution. 

 • It acts especially in times of prosperity, when the pressure of the 

 struggle for physical existence is diminished. It assumes espe- 

 cial importance when the impetus derived from the latter source 

 diminishes, and is the best guarantee of future progress at such a 

 time. Any agency, therefore, which effects the development of 

 one sex, is a blessing to the other. 



Is the present constitution of Christian society the best for the 

 maintenance and development of the highest qualities of the 

 mind? It is evident that the monogamic system will be pre- 

 ferred in proportion as the mental constitution of the sexes adapts 

 them best to each other's needs. The rational education of wo- 

 men is not in the interest of polygamy ; and the development of 

 the higher affections of men is equally in the direction of monog- 

 amy. Monogamy in a community is doubtless in direct propor- 

 tion to the development of its members in rational and sympa- 

 thetic qualities. But sexual selection has but imperfect opportu- 

 nities where there is little to choose from in the poorer classes ; 

 and where there are conventional standards of excellence in the 

 richer classes. The problem is, how to secure a just regard for 

 the far-reaching law of sexual selection, consistently with a main- 

 tenance of the monogamic relation. General culture will do 

 much towards placing the solution in the hands of everyone, 

 and toward producing any modification of existing customs which 

 may be necessary.— C. 



RECENT LITERATURE. 

 Volcanoes. 1 — The recent activity in the study of volcanisni, 

 with the erection on Mt. Vesuvius and Mt. Etna of observatories 

 for the observation of volcanic phenomena, and of eruptive 

 rocks by new methods of research, has called for a popular work 

 treating of this subject in a simple and yet comprehensive way. 

 These conditions have been met by the author, who is a friend 

 and disciple of the late Mr. Poulett Scrope. The volume pre- 



• The International Scientific Series. Volcanoes : What they are and «****g 

 teach. ByJoHNW.JuDD, F.R.S. With 96 illustrations. New York. D.Apple 



