SCIENCE. 
362 
fessor Sumner’s little book, the absence of 
duties, between social classes ; the problems of 
charity, temperance, and all the varied aspects. 
of moral reform. Now, between these practi- 
cal applications of ethics and the books on 
ethical theory there lies an unbridged chasm. 
The maxim of Kant gets ample illustration: 
‘‘ Tdeas without content are empty; observa- 
tion without ideas is blind.’?* When sociolo- 
gists approach any theory of morals, they 
exhibit an almost ludicrous ignorance, as when 
Professor Sumner interprets sympathy in the 
spirit of unconscious Hobbism. When, on 
the other hand, a student of the metaphysics 
of morals approaches a problem of practical 
conduct, he is apt to find his law unmeaning. 
Here, then, it would seem, is an opportunity 
for what may be fairly called inductive ethics. 
It is not the method which commonly claims 
this name, and which simply means the exclu- 
sion of any evolution of personality; it is 
the construction of a theory of ethics from an 
examination of the facts of social life, the 
data of philanthropy, the testimony of ideal 
aims, the characteristics of moral personalities. 
This would be a method of ethics which would 
be constantly close to life, and which would 
gather up the real issues of conduct into their 
higher significance and tendency. 
Francis G. PEABODY. 
BA CTRE TA. 
Bacteria. By Dr. ANTOINE MAGNIN and GEORGE 
M. STERNBERG, M.D., F.R.M.S. New York, 
Wood, 1883. 19+11+4494 p., 12 pl., illustr. 8°. 
Tuts portly and handsome volume will be 
read with interest by all who have followed the 
painstaking and thorough work of Dr. Stern- 
berg during the last three or four years. To 
him belongs the credit not only of having trans- 
lated and published, in 1880, Magnin’s useful 
book on the bacteria, but of having applied 
himself with tireless devotion and very consid- 
erable success to the actual work of laborious 
researches, often made under discouraging cir- 
cumstances, and with little genuine sympathy 
from his fellow-countrymen. Dr. Sternberg is 
at the head of the American school of working 
bacteriologists, if, indeed, he is not its only 
member; so that any work coming from his 
practised hand should meet with a hearty wel- 
come. 
The present volume, which might well be 
called a handbook of bacteriology, is made 
up partly of Magnin’s older treatise referred 
to above, and partly of new material supplied 
I Kritik der reinen vernunft, s. 81, ed. Hartenstein. 
- investigator. 
by Dr. Sternberg. Magnin’s account of the 
morphology and the physiology of the bacte- 
ria, covering one hundred and fifty-two pages, 
is preserved intact. The rest of the older 
book is omitted; and in its place we have 
four ‘ parts’ written by Dr. Sternberg, and dis- 
cussing respectively, ‘Technology,’ ‘Germi- 
cides and antiseptics,’ ‘Bacteria in infectious 
diseases,’ and ‘ Bacteria in surgical lesions.’ 
These, taken together, make up more than one- 
half the book. 
Of Magnin’s work it is not needful to speak. 
His book is familiar. We may turn, then, to 
the parts prepared expressly by the American 
author. Under ‘Technology’ we have a suc- 
cinct but clear account of the various methods 
of collection, of cultivation, of staining and 
of photographing the bacteria, and of the at- 
tenuation of virus. Of most of them the author 
speaks from experience ; and this chapter will 
be of the utmost value to the student and the 
Of course, in a subject like this, 
intricate and refined to the last degree, actual 
personal guidance is essential, or, at least, 
highly desirable; and we believe that Dr. 
Sternberg has given enough of the technology 
to help, but not enough to harm, the student. 
Under the head of ‘ Photography’ (p. 194) 
the author says, — ; 
“Tt is but fair to say that satisfactory results can 
only be obtained by the expenditure of a considerable 
amount of time and money, as the work must be done 
with high powers, and the technical difficulties to be 
overcome are by no means inconsiderable. The illus- 
trations in the present volume may be taken as fair 
samples of what may be accomplished, and it will be 
found easier to criticise these than to improve upon 
them.”’ ' 
The plates are, indeed, of an unusually high 
order; the heliotypes of human (yellow-fever) 
blood being something remarkable, and not 
likely to be improved upon at present. 
Under the head of ‘ Germicides and antisep- 
tics’ we observe at the outset (p. 210) the fol- 
lowing conspicuous finger-post : — 
‘Tf it were proven that the infectious character of 
every kind of infective material depended upon the 
presence of a specific living germ, as has been shown 
to be true in the case of certain kinds of infective 
material, germicide and disinfectant would be synony- 
mous terms. Although this has not been proved, it 
is a significant fact that all of the disinfectants of 
established value have been shown by laboratory 
experiments to be potent germicides.”’ 
Numerous original experiments are here re- 
corded ; and the author agrees with the other 
authorities in giving little germicide value to 
most common disinfectants, and in. pointing 
out the extraordinary efficacy of mercuric bi- 
chloride. 
