author's intention is to write stinging criticism of our social order rather than to pillory a human type. Interest in Mahmoud flags somewhat when one perceives in him the modern captain of industry, and the captain of industry escapes rather lightly in our minds because Mr. Belloc, influenced no doubt by the subtle Oriental atmosphere which he has effectively breathed into his story, and by the unmoral connotations of the whole fable, has written not after the fashion of scathing and unescapable satire, but rather in the mood of jovial cynicism. Such, at least, is the effect produced by this ingenious fiction.

WATCHERS OF THE SKY. By Alfred Noyes. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company.

The undoubtedly poetic nature of the theme makes it difficult to reconcile oneself to Mr. Noyes's comparative failure in the series of poems in which he essays to celebrate the triumphs of great astronomers. Certainly the story of the transmission of knowledge in any field has the appeal of heroism and that of mystery. Elevation we might expect to find, and this without the metaphysical element which commonly enters as a somewhat disturbing factor into the effect of poetic grandeur. The one thing upon which men, almost without exception, are nowadays agreed is the value and dignity of science and the inestimable debt that we owe to the pioneers in this field. But Mr. Noyes, inspired versifier as he often is, does not seem to be the poet sent in answer to McAndrew's prayer for a man "like Bobbie Burns" to sing of the real things of life.

Though his opulence of phraseology and his very considerable colorfulness and vigor have not deserted him, Mr. Noyes seems far from fully realizing the larger values of his subject. The thought of patient research and noble self-devotion is indeed repeatedly expressed, yet it scarcely seems to inform the whole poem. Especially does one note a lack of that ability, so conspicuous in Browning, to keep the reader in a state of excitement over the dramatic developments of thought and over the discovery of its essential unity. Even the author's remarkable skill in narrative verse appears to be here a snare in that it leads to dilution. The metre, moreover, and to some extent the manner, are Wordsworthian, and seem not so well suited to the record of scientific achievements as to a poet's philosophizing.

But the real failure is the absence of anything like an epic effect. Apparently the abundant opportunities for atmosphere, for description, and for incident, have led the poet unduly to sentimentalize his theme. As a case in point one may advert to the weak poetizing about Tycho Brahe's dwarf, Jeppe-a piece of business faintly reminiscent of Scott!

In consideration of Mr. Noyes's real gift, it is somewhat painful to have to conclude that the whole work is of the nature of household poetry, pleasantly thrilling, mildly instructive and elevating, but far from great.

THE MINDS AND MANNERS OF WILD ANIMALS. By William T. Hornaday, Sc.D., A.M. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

On the whole, one is disposed to think that no naturalist has written a more interesting book about wild animals than has Mr. Hornaday. As one would expect, the extent and the minuteness of the observations recorded are remarkable; there is scarcely a variety of bird, beast or reptile that does not come in for comment. But what fascinates one is the point of view: Mr. Hornaday has written not about the animals as specimens, but really about their minds and manners. Many a reader will perhaps learn to his surprise that the animals have minds and manners worthy of serious study; that their temperaments are as classifiable, their individualities as distinct, as those of human beings. There are crime and virtue among animals; there are philosophical contentment and hysterics; there is speech, though of a limited sort. While this, book, of course, contains no romancing, and for that matter no mere sportsman's narration,-it may be said of it that, with all its accurate and authoritative detail, it recreates in the mature mind something of that intense interest in the animal world which children feel at the age when the idea that animals talk and act like humans is really credible. Thus, in a very specific sense, this matter-of-fact treatise is as interesting as a fairy tale. Those who remember their childhood will not think this a weak or unworthy commendation even of a work which makes a very considerable contribution to serious knowledge.

Tros Tyriusque mihi nullo discrimine agetur

NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW

SEPTEMBER, 1922

WHAT AILS THE WORLD?

BY REV. MARTIN J. SCOTT, S. J.

[This is the second article to appear in the series on World Restoration. The first, "Judaism and World Restoration," by the eminent rabbi, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Silverman, was published in the August issue. In October the Rev. S. Parkes Cadman will write on "Protestantism and the World's Necessities." -The Editors.]

THE world is an invalid to-day more than ever. What ails it? World specialists are prescribing various remedies for its cure. In vain. They neither diagnose its disease nor are capable of prescribing for it. Physicians have a phrase which illustrates the remedies and efforts of various governments to heal the world of its present illness. They call a prescription used by certain doctors a shot-gun prescription; it is hoped that some of the many ingredients may hit the mark. There are other physicians who, instead of attacking the cause of an illness, prescribe for its various symptoms.

It is not advisable ordinarily for a physician to prescribe for himself. It is also inadvisable for him to prescribe for one of his own family who is seriously ill, for the reason that, being overinterested in the patient, he is apt to regard conditions too favorably or too unfavorably. The great difficulty with the world to-day is that it is prescribing for its own illness. It is a truism to say that mankind is selfish, and that nations are as selfish as the individuals who compose them. If selfish governments meet in council, they will most likely prescribe a shot-gun remedy.

Copyright, 1922, by North American Review Corporation. All rights reserved.
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VOL. CCXVI.-NO. 802

They may temporize and compromise, but they are not apt to remedy an evil the root of which is selfishness. The Hague is proof. Never was more done, humanly speaking, to assure peace than at The Hague. And never in the history of mankind did such a flood of war rush over the world as after The Hague. The reason is that selfish humanity refuses to prescribe or take the remedy for selfishness.

Man wants justice; yes. But generally he wants it for himself. Justice requires that man or nation subordinate personal or national advantages to right and truth. That means frequently the sacrifice of personal or national interests. And "there's the rub". In the councils of nations, each government is inclined to seek its own interests. Hence, only a partial or temporary agreement may be effected. But compromise never cures. It simply covers. What will cure? Justice. And how is justice to be attained? By rising above interested and selfish aims. And what will enable governments to rise above such aims? Nothing which mere worldly policy will offer, because the world is selfish. The power so to rise must come from above. Human nature cannot rise above its own level unaided.

Justice among individuals is maintained by laws. How is it to be maintained among nations? Either by force or law. By force means war, the very thing we seek to avoid. By law means by an authority which can legislate for nations as government does for individuals. Where is that authority? No merely human authority exists for such legislation. Nations may combine and make a pact, and create an authority, but such authority rests on selfish agreement, and its foundation is sand.

Is there no hope, then? There is. The Author of human nature, knowing its limitations, has provided. In the Old Law the voice of God proclaimed from Sinai the law which makes for individual and national peace. In the New Law Christ supplemented the divine authority of Jehovah by His message of peace to men of good will. He came the Prince of Peace. His laws will bring peace among people and among nations. He is the Great Physician of mankind. He prescribes for welfare here and hereafter. He is the World Ruler. His is the only supergovernment.

In proportion as God and His justice are acknowledged and respected by governments, will the world have peace. What government is to people, that, and a great deal more, God is to the governments themselves. If people do not respect government, anarchy results. And because governments do not respect God and His justice, wars result. Governments will be selfish to the end of the world, and wars will continue to the end. One power alone is capable of restraining that selfishness. But it calls for good will on man's part. That power is the World Ruler, God. If His rule, which is justice, is acknowledged by the nations, they will have peace, not otherwise. But expediency, not justice, is the policy of governments. Hence, God is ruled out of the councils of nations. Therefore, the world after Versailles was upside down and remains so. God was excluded from that gathering of governments. And peace was excluded, too.

Witness the world to-day. Whatever semblance of peace exists is merely exhaustion. The nations for the most part are champing for revenge or for aggrandizement. The worldly view sees only present advantages and sanctions. God bids us regard life as a pilgrimage to eternity, which will be happy or miserable in accordance as we live by justice or expediency. He tells us that people and governments must answer to Him for their conduct, and that on it depends everlasting welfare. Conduct based on justice is His command and His panacea. But governments whose outlook is bounded by the horizon of this life, and who close their eyes to justice, will not bring about peace worthy of the name, as we see in effect to-day, when the so-called peace is but a period of recuperation for war.

Is there no remedy, therefore? That depends. Must wars go on? Unless man respects a power above. And because mankind is not seeking first God and His justice, wars abound and will abound. The efforts of man may mitigate war and make it less frequent, but will never abolish it. Life is a warfare. But this is certain that in proportion as justice dominates people and governments, will strife and war cease, and there is nothing in the world so efficacious to make justice supreme among mankind as Christianity. Religion has been banished from governments of late, and in consequence the world has been afflicted by the