Page:Mind (Old Series) Volume 12.djvu/491

 478 NEW BOOKS. Skakespeare-Litteratur here appears in a separate form. Its contention is that the Novum Organum is the work of an unknown writer " edited " and interpolated by Bacon ; this writer being a free-thinker and opponent of scholasticism, arid a seeker of knowledge for the sake of "light " not " fruit," while Bacon himself was a scholastic theologian and a utilitarian in matters of science, Die Naturwissenschaftlichen Grundlagen der Poesie. Prolegomena einer realistichen ^Esthetik. Von WILHELM BOLSCHE. Leipzig: C. Heissner, 1887. Pp. iv., 93. "The natural sciences form the basis of our whole modern thinking. We cease daily more to regard the world and men from metaphysical points of view." Science, then, must transform poetry ; and for it to do this, the construction of a sound realistic aesthetics is necessary. On pain of elimi- nation in the struggle for existence, poets will have to adapt themselves to " the new results of research ". They usually commit the error of trying to get at the results of science by studying philosophical systems ; or, if they study science directly, like the " naturalist " school, then, since scientific psychology and physiology are chiefly founded on study of the organism in a state of disease (p. 11), they are disposed to give too much attention to pathological phenomena. It is better to commit this error than the first, because the study of diseased organisms known to be diseased is less dangerous than the glamour of " sentimentality " and " metaphysics " which the older poets and romancers diffused over life. They must be taught, however, to avoid this error also ; and in order to put them in a right position for understanding the results of science on the most important questions relating to normal phenomena, the author has written chapters that are to give the outcome of scientific research, entirely unmixed with metaphysics, on "Free- will" (c. ii., pp. 15-36), "Immortality" (c. Hi., pp. 37-47), and " Love " (c. iv., pp. 48-67). Two more chapters treat of " The Realistic Ideal" (c. v., pp. 68-74) and "Darwin in Poetry" (c. vi., pp. 75-87). Then the volume is brought to a close with some considerations on the future of realistic art in Germany (c. vii., pp. 88-93). "The premisses of the poetic experiment : that, in a word, is everything." " The realistic poet shall paint life as it is." He must display the naturalistic ideal " the tendency to health and happiness " like a teacher drawing the attention of his class to one aspect of an experiment, yet without falsifying it (pp. 73-4). And this ideal had better be represented too weakly " than that one should profane it in the manner of the old meta- physical ideal by artistic re-colouring" (p. 74). From the moment that science has proved that ghosts do not exist, it is no longer permitted to poets, if they do not wish to be ridiculous, to introduce a ghost making any kind of revelation (p. 4) ; but the realistic poet may find it useful to study experiments on hypnotism (p. 22). Zur Moral der literarischen Kritik. Eine moralphilosophische Streitschrift. Von WILHELM WUNDT. Leipzig : W. Engelmann, 1887. Pp. 77. In this Streitschrift Prof. Wundt replies at considerable length to a criticism on his Ethik by H. Sommer, published in the March number of the Preussische Jahrbiicher. He contends that he has been misrepresented ; protesting especially against its being supposed that in consequence of his "evolutionism" he underrates the ethical value of the individual life. The controversy is made the occasion of some remarks on the morality of literary criticism, and its present condition in Germany.