Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 39.djvu/576

560 " of their composition, and the use their writers made of the Old Testament, the author considers the very important question, What is the historical value of the Gospels if the modern critical view of them be accepted? Are the foundations of Christianity sapped when these documents are shown to be ordinary human productions, with more or less error in them? The tyro in biblical criticism can alone take this superficial view of the case. Prof. Huxley well says, "The rule of common sense is, prima facie, to trust a witness in all matters in which neither his self-interest, his passions, his prejudices, nor that love of the marvelous, which is inherent to a greater or less degree in all mankind, are concerned." Any thoughtful student of the Gospels can apply this rule in separating the chaff from the grain in these writings, and Dr. Cone does it admirably. According to him, the logia by Matthew, which probably constitute the substance of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt, v-vii) and other such aphoristic sayings of Jesus, the parables, and the greater part of Mark, form the substrata of the Gospel history, and may be fully accepted. "In the midst of all the chaotic elements which the flood of oral tradition rolled along," he says, "is clearly discernible a historical grouping of salient facts—the appearance of the Baptist, the Galilean ministry of Jesus, the healings, the teachings, the travels with the disciples, the gathering multi tudes, the conflicts, Cæsarea Philippi, the fateful journey to Jerusalem, Gethsemane, the trial and tragedy, the consternation of the little flock, and the mysterious birth of a great hope."

Criticism, therefore, "establishes the kernel of the history of Jesus in an inexpugnable position. It does not exclude God from history, but finds it no wonder that, since he has designs to work out in man, exceptional manifestations of his revealing spirit should betimes appear."

We consider this book one of the very best contributions which rational thought has made to biblical criticism. The style is clear and fluent, the arguments are cogent, the conclusions conservative, the spirit reverential, and the whole result reassuring. The radical critics may learn from it soberness, and the timid conservatives may find in it assurance and confidence. The book should have a wide reading among all those who are interested in the religious palingenesis now taking place in our midst.

special papers form the contents of this volume, some of them having popular and commercial interest, while the rest can be made use of only by zoölogists. The first paper reports the Explorations of the Fishing Grounds of Alaska, Washington Territory, and Oregon during 1888, by the United States Fish Commission steamer Albatross, and is compiled from the accounts of Lieutenant-Commander Z. L. Tanner, commanding the Albatross; Mr. C. H. Townsend, naturalist; and Mr. A. B. Alexander, fishery expert, of the expedition. The results of hydrographic work, dredgings, and trials for fish at a great many places are given. Codfish were found often in abundance, and halibut, flounders, black cod, and rock-fish were also taken, besides some useless as food. The paper contains also information in regard to facilities for taking and marketing fish on the Pacific coast. Three full-page illustrations show the method of drying salmon practiced by the Alaska Indians; two more show the kind of sod houses occupied by the natives; there is a distant view of three captured sealing-vessels and a near view of one of them, and others, besides three folded charts. This paper is followed by an account of Explorations of the Alleghany Region and Western Indiana, by Prof. David Starr Jordan, which we have noticed separately. Some practical Suggestions for improving Fishing Vessels, illustrated with plans, are contributed by J. W. Collins. There is an account of The Sturgeons and Sturgeon Industries of the Eastern Coast of the United States, including the making of caviare, by John A. Ryder, accompanied by twenty-three plates. Over a hundred pages are occupied by A Review of the Serranidæ, by David Starr Jordan and Carl H. Eigenman. The family of Serranidæ includes the various species of salt-water perch and bass, and other important food-fishes. Ten species are represented