Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 6.djvu/27

 iis.vi.JcLY6.i9i2.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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on Uoohs.

MESSRS. JACK'S "People's Books" go on accumulating, as we are glad to see. Mr. Xevin- son's Groicth of Freedom is a fine book, touched with the writer's idealism, and mindful of the many-sidedness of human life, so that other aspects of freedom than the merely political one are duly recognized. The only unsatisfactory thing is, we think, the slightness, after the first chapter, of his treatment of authority, a prin- ciple related to psychological facts as real and profound as those concerned with freedom. Mr. Hilary Hardinge's Julius Caesar is a clever, lively, and, for popular purposes, adequate presentment of the most fascinating career of the Western world. The point being to render something of the personality of Caesar and to define his achievement, the slurring over -of diffmilties and the reduction of technicalities to a minimum were perfectly legitimate, even though they will strike the classical scholar as amateurish. Seeing how much has hinged on imperium and imperator, the exact meaning of these words to a Roman of Caesar's day should surely have been brought out more carefully. The "omission is typical. The Foundations of Science, by Mr. Whetham, is a masterly piece of work one of the best we have seen in the whole series. He gives us a history of the progress, and states the present situation, of the physical, biological, and psychological sciences with a singularly happy judgment in his selection from the vast mass of material at his hand. In our desire that the book should be widely read, we reeret the frequent use of unexplained technical terms and " long words," which to the very readers for whom this elementary survey of science would be the greatest boon may prove a little too puzzling.

Prof. Baly's Inorganic Chemistry possesses all the advantages which flow from a knack of easy, lucid writing, almost as good as speech ; its "method of presentation betrays at once the practised teacher. Those who, lacking oppor- tunities for mastering the elements of chemistry in the ideal way, i.e., by means of direct instruction and experiment, nevertheless feel the need of some knowledge of the subject, could hardly do better than master the contents of this book, which is sufficiently detailed to constitute a body of real information, yet does not offer a task beyond the powers of any one who properly knows how to read.

A considerably stiffer exercise in imaginative thought is provided by Dr. Phillips's Radiation, a subject in which, so far as science goes, the possibility of acquiring real knowledge by mere reading is perhaps reduced to its very minimum. Yet the reader who, coming more or less ignorant to the subject, refuses to " bolt " these pages and waits to read a following chapter till he has digested the one before it, will not go unrewarded for his pains.

We confess ourselves unable to discover the purpose which the Dictionary of Synonyms, by Mr. Austin K. Gray, was intended to serve. The essay at the beginning can only be of use to persons whose realization of what constitutes a language is extremely imperfect ; and the writer starts out

with telling them, very truly, that " synonyms are words that express different shades of a common meaning. No two words in the English language express identically the same meaning."" Then, in the body of the work, he offers them articles like this, taken at random :

" Care, O.E. cearu. ; O. Sax. kara = so rrow.

"1. Bitterness, want, need, burden, load, fret r hardship, misgiving, mistrust, fear, dread, watch, watchfulness, heed, needfulness, forethought,. thrift, husbandry, keep, yearning, longing.

"2. Anxiety, trouble, distress, affliction, irrita- tion, apprehension, solicitude, scruple, devotion,, alarm, vigilance, attention, circumspection, pru- dence, precaution, minuteness, frugality, economy,. duty, concern, charge, custody, ward, pressure,, diffidence."

Many of these words are, of course, not in any true sense synonyms of " care " at all, while to- lling them all in a heap before the presumably unlearned reader to whom the Preface is directed is actually to promote that depraving of words by the obliteration of their finer distinctions which every lover of a language deplores and resists.

In England in the Middle Ages Mrs. E. O'Neilfi gives in brief but interesting form the history of the period from the Norman settlement to "the- break up of the Middle Ages.

Francis Bacon, by Prof. Skemp, records Bacon's ' Days of Preparation,' ' Days of Struggle.' ' Days of Prosperity,' and ' The Days of Ad- versity,' and tells how his life ended in " humble- and faithful service." Two chapters treat of his- Philosophy, and of the ' New Atlantis ' and ' Essays.' In reference to style Prof. Skemp says r " In Bacon's greatness as an orator lies the secret of his characteristic greatness as a writer. All his work directly addresses an audience. Bead aloud any passage from the English philo- sophical works, and you hear the splendid and sonorous harmonies of great speech ; read aloud the essays, and you hear the rattle *and crack of quick debate."

In his account of Lord Kelvin's Life and Work Dr. A. Kussell states that he "has attempted to describe the scientific work in simple language,, but, owing to the very advanced and abstruse nature of much of Kelvin's work, he is conscious- that some of it will remain obscure to the general reader. He will be happy, however, if anything he has written induces the reader to make a- further study of the subject in Kelvin's original memoirs." We feel sure that many of Dr. Russell's readers will do as he suggests, for the- memoir is a most attractive one, in which we- failed to find obscurity.

Huxley, by Gerald Leigh ton, forms the subject of another delightful memoir. Prof. Leighton has- " indicated in a general way the main directions of Huxley's activity," and he advises those who. want more complete details to read " the pathetic biography of him written by his wife." The chapters ' How Others Saw Him ' and ' The Place- of Huxley ' are all that can be desired.

One never tires of reading about The Bronte's, and Miss Flora Masson has written an attractive sketch, which should please and instruct many readers. At the close reference is made to the changes in Haworth since the Bronte days, when, as we remember, the nearest railway station was Keighley, and one had to take a steep stony walk of four miles to reach Haworth.