Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 66.djvu/467

Rh those that suggest the abnormal, that which when magnified becomes disease, and most of all that which harks back and suggests the psychic mode of action of our primitive ancestors, merit chief consideration; such, apart from the specific applications to the physical and mental hygiene of adolescence, are the conclusions and argument that have guided the author in years of labor, compilation and record.

The effect of so comprehensive and many sided a work as this inevitably depends in no small measure upon the manner of its presentation. This is uneven in the several chapters and rises to the point of complete satisfaction in few. To many the style will be distinctly unattractive, as it suggests a somewhat Teutonic attempt to carry more luggage than the journey warrants. Some will find it a loss to their special purposes to have the special presentation of facts so closely interwoven with the enunciation of principles. More will object to the cumbersome sentences, elaborated paragraphs and detailed summaries. It must be confessed that these frequently suggest the mode of progress of the burdened stage-coach rather than the directness of the pony-express. But as some traverse the ground with the interest of prospective settlers, and others with that of tourists only, it would be difficult in any event to satisfy both needs. Yet in this respect the work falls short of that pedagogical effectiveness upon which the author himself lays emphasis. Indeed, he must not be surprised to find the charge which he makes against other systems of philosophy, namely, that they open large vistas, but that the view enjoyed therefrom is distant and hazy, will be applied against himself. Yet one must hasten to record that the practical issues are nowhere lost sight of, though the path followed in bringing them to light is often needlessly detailed and circuitous.

That equal exception will be taken alike to the main positions of the work and to the detailed applications therein is not unexpected. Dr. Hall distinctly appreciates the imperfection of his own efforts; but these efforts represent the convictions of as long a stretch of teaching and of as close study of a wide range of data, as is the case with any representative of his craft. In a more distinctive way than any other student of mind in America, Dr. Hall has canvassed the field both on its practical and theoretical sides, and has bided his time for many years, eventually placing on record this issue of his encyclopedic labor, his varied experience, his wide observation of men and things. Quite irrespective of the degree to which his views will find ready acceptance among his colleagues and the public at large, the importance of the problems discussed and the originality contributed to their discussions, as well as the encyclopedic comprehension of what is thus put together, make these volumes a distinctly notable achievement in the field of psychology and education.

The objective account thus rendered of the comprehensive