advance upon two or three treatises already familiar. Nor does the part of the book on debate, though interesting and well written, seem to us to offer sufficient ground for exercise and practice to those who may use it.

We cannot think that either of the books mentioned gives a sufficient treatment of the subject. We believe that it is perfectly possible for two sides in a debate to argue a question, each side being wholly sound by the text-book, and yet leave the audience in utter doubt as to which side had prevailed. We do not think that this should be the case; we think that, given correct analysis and argument, except for considerable ignorance of the facts, the result should be, if not indubitable, at least fairly clear. That such is notoriously not the case in intercollegiate debates shows a weakness in the system. It is too much like Korax vs. Tisias, in which each was so clever that the judges turned both out of court. We think a better treatment is possible: one more scientific, we should say; but we readily admit that it is not among college debaters alone that such a discipline is a desideratum.

If one is not to proceed by logic, law, rhetoric, or science, there is yet another way of learning to debate, which we may describe as the literary way. There are found to-day, even in American colleges, those who think that if you take two men and let one study rhetoric with text-book and essay-writing, and let the other read Shakespeare and write or not, as he choose, the latter will come out ahead in ability to express himself. In like manner, it may be urged that the best training in debate (next to practice) is the study of classical examples. Those who think so will turn with pleasure to Professor Bouton's edition of the Lincoln and Douglas debates. These debates are in many respects different from the intercollegiate contests of the day, but they are better, in one respect, at least, namely, that they were real debates. Reality is a great advantage in speaking and writing, and it is well worth a student's while to analyse these speeches and rejoinders, and find out if he can, with Professor Bouton's help, the means whereby they accomplished such great results as they

did. The book is well edited and gives a good idea of the matter.

Intercollegiate debating is an excellent occupation. The subjects are usually political (except for the moment, when they diverge to football, which may ere the printing of this have become politics by a place in the President's message), and we therefore have a sort of public manifestation that the American student is a citizen as well as a scholar. That is a point worth impressing even at a woman's college, where intercollegiate debating arouses often more interest than with the men: Wellesley and Vassar sometimes send a couple of hundred students to support their team in an argument on a public topic. If, as has been hinted, we have not yet discovered the truly scientific way of settling these matters, it is not so very different from the way things will go with the student when he or she becomes a citizen in earnest. E. E. H., Jr.

MATHER'S CESAR AND BURTON'S LIVY.*

These books, which form part of the series edited by Professors Morris and Morgan, are alike in giving selections from Cæsar and Livy, instead of the first four books of the former, and Books I., II., XXI. and XXII. of the latter. These two writers seem to have established their position as the first to be read in the secondary schools and in college, in spite of some good reasons which have been given against this choice. The recommendation of the Committee of Ten that Nepos be substituted for Cæsar has not been adopted, and the various books of selections for first-year reading, though popular for a time, have had for the most part an ephemeral life. Most teachers, too, seem inclined to hold fast to the traditional books, and it will be interesting to see whether these excellent editions will lead to a change in this respect.

The plan has much to commend it. There are many passages, for example, in the first book of Livy, giving the details of the making of treaties, declarations of war, and

*Cæsar, Episodes from the Gallic? and Civil Wars with an Introduction, Notes, and Vocabulary, by Maurice W. Mather, Ph.D., formerly Instructor in Latin in Harvard University; Selections from Livv, edited, with Notes and Introduction, by Harry Edwin Burton, Ph.D., Professor of Latin in Dartmouth College. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: The American Book Company, 1905.

the like, which, though of great interest, are difficult for freshmen, and may be omitted without losing the thread of the narrative. This is less true of Cæsar, but there are many interesting passages in the Civil War and in the later books of Livy which are inaccessible to most students, unless presented in this way. Such books, too, make the use of translations more difficult, though, unfortunately, it may be doubted whether this will increase their popularity. On the other hand, few teachers would agree in their list of selections, and some will look in vain in these books for favourite passages.

Both editors have shown good judgment in the chapters which they have chosen, avoiding "scrappiness" by the use of passages of some length, and following a consistent plan, that of presenting a series of important historical episodes. The Livy contains selections from almost all the extant books, while in the Cæsar only the first book of the Civil War is wholly omitted.

Both books are provided with excellent maps and plans, and are attractively and carefully printed.

Dr. Mather gives in his introduction an excellent sketch of Cæsar's career, in which the chapter on Cæsar in Later Literature is especially worthy of notice. This is followed by a life of Pompey, and by an account of Cæsar's army, which, though quite adequate, is somewhat briefer than is customary in such manuals. In this connection the very pertinent question is asked in the preface why it should be considered necessary to be thoroughly posted in Roman military antiquities in order to be able to read Cæsar with appreciation and enjoyment. It is now nearly two decades since Professor Kelsey issued the first edition of Cæsar published in this country, which was provided with an illustrated introduction on military antiquities. The idea was rapidly adopted by enterprising rivals, and the experiment of making Cæsar interesting in this way may be said to have been given a fair trial. The result has not been quite what was anticipated, for a division of interests seems to have led to a less careful training in the essentials of grammar and in the ability to read Latin, a loss which has in most cases not been made good in other ways. It is interesting to note the signs of a reaction.

In the text the long vowels are marked, as is now universally customary in books intended for secondary schools. This is another ex

periment which has not had the results that were hoped for. The average schoolboy does not get such a knowledge of quantities as to be able to read accurately from an unmarked text on his entrance to college, and it may even be thought that his time may be better employed than in acquiring such a knowledge. The practice of marking the long vowels might very well be extended, at least, to the texts used in the first two years of college work. In the notes the quantities are not marked, a usage that is becoming general. This makes proofreading so much easier, that no argument against it is likely to have much weight.. An interesting feature of the notes, made necessary by the fact that five grammars are referred to, with double references to the old and the new editions of two, is the collection of the grammatical references in the form of footnotes. The notes themselves are very good, and the giving in full in the vocabulary of the principal parts of verbs and the genitives of nouns, wherever there is any chance of a misunderstanding, will commend itself to all teachers.

Professor Burton, too, has a somewhat briefer introduction than is customary. On the notes, the general criticism might, perhaps, be made that they do not give help enough to the student who has to learn during his first year in college what he has failed to learn in school, but for the better students they should be interesting and stimulating. Just which of these two classes should be provided for may be an open question. The statement made in the preface that the college undergraduate rarely looks up a reference not contained in the book he is using is unhappily true, but the editor, nevertheless, occasionally gives in his notes references to the later books of Vergil, which the average student has not read, as well as to less familiar writers.

In some other minor points criticism might be made, but it may be said in general of these two books, that if the plan of reading Cæsar and Livy in selections is not adopted, it will not be for lack of satisfactory textbooks and it is well that the opportunity should be given to those who desire it. John C. Rolfe.

COMAN'S INDUSTRIAL HISTORY.* It is undeniably true, as Miss Coman maintains, that "the history of the United States,

*Industrial History of the United States. By Katharine Coman. New York: The Macmillan Company,

1905.

All the

more than that of any Old World country, is the record of its physical achievements." (Preface, p. vii.) Yet in comparison, at least with England and Germany, the present state of our literature on economic as distinguished from general history is far from satisfactory. Monographs on special branches of industry or on particular states and periods we have in considerable number. Of original materials there is almost boundless wealth. conditions in America, an increasing public interest included, call for the labours of an enthusiastic Thorold Rogers, a cautious Ashley, a judicious Cunningham. It is no slight reproach upon our economic historical scholarship that we have no name to place with these. Considering the subject simply as a matter for school instruction, we have had, up to the appearance of Miss Coman's book, nothing that could compare with the texts on English industrial history of Cunningham, Gibbins, Warner, Price, and Cheyney-the last of whom, by the way, is an American scholar. So patent is our deficiency in this field that the Carnegie Institute has taken the matter in hand, not, indeed, with a purely pedagogic purpose, but rather with the intention of exploiting the masses of original material in a series of carefully co-ordinated monographs upon the basis of which future workers may build. The cordial support which this great scholarly enterprise has received from the economists and historians of the country goes far to demonstrate its utility and to assure its

success.

Meanwhile, however, there is an active demand in universities, colleges and commercial schools for instruction in American economic history. Only in the few institutions possessing departmental faculties large enough to enable them to assign specialists to this field has the need been met by adequate lecture courses. Miss Coman's book will doubtless supply a much-appreciated supplement to work of this sort, but it will also, and herein its greatest usefulness lies, greatly widen the scope of instruction in American economic history by contributing to its introduction and improvement in many of the smaller schools.

Within the very modest scope of about three hundred and fifty pages, the author has chosen so wisely and arranged her materials so well that all essential facts find a place from the discovery and peopling of the New World and the business aspects of colonisation to the most

recent developments of tariff, trust, railroad, currency and labour problems. On all moot questions in our economic history, whether resulting from political differences or purely academic in character, she has shown an eminent degree of fairness, as, e. g., in discussing tariff, currency and slavery matters, or the effect of the old British colonial system. Particularly worthy of commendation are the marginal references to literature, which in connection with a fourteen-page bibliography afford excellent guidance for more detailed study. The statistical maps and diagrams are well designed, but unfortunately in some cases are so poorly executed as regards colours and distinctive markings as to be of little service. Compression is necessarily the order of a text book dealing with so large a field, but Miss Coman has not sacrificed interest to space. Her own pages abundantly illustrate her conviction that "business methods are more fa miliar than military tactics, and a mechanical invention is more readily comprehended than a constitutional revision."

Robert C. Brooks.

SELIGMAN'S ECONOMICS*

Two years ago the choice of a suitable text for instruction in economics was all but impossible. With the growth of the science a number of older books had lost their usefulness. Bullock and Hadley represented the only later efforts that were even approximately available, and these, although excellent in their way, by no means met the diverse needs of teachers. Since 1904, however, the situation has materially improved. Besides the new and revised editions of Gide and Ely, which appeared in that year, Professors Fetter of Cornell and Seager of Columbia published texts, which have found wide favour. To these very excellent recent accessions to the teaching literature of economics must now be added Professor Seligman's Principles of Economics. Unfortunately, the appearance of the latter was delayed so long that it will hardly be available for instruction before the beginning of the next college year. So great

are the solid merits of the new book, however, that there can be no doubt of its ultimate success and wide adoption.

Professor Seligman's text is most sharply differentiated from the works of his immediate

*Principles of Economics. By Edwin R. A. Seligman. New York: Longmans, Green and Company. (American Citizen Series.) 613 pp.

predecessors by the vastly greater number of facts which he has contrived to pack into the same number of pages. This appears even with regard to the many very excellent diagrams he has employed. Not one of them is of the type so dear to the heart of the average economist-namely, pure geometrical structures designed to illustrate pure economic reasoning. All are based upon statistics obtained from the latest and most reliable sources. Besides the diagrams and cartograms numerous tables are included in the text. In the discussion of such matters as density, concentration and distribution of population Professor Seligman also evinces a tendency to go into the statistical field somewhat beyond the usual treatment of population in economic treatises. A separate chapter on insurance (Chapter XXXII.) represents another innovation, the timeliness of which can hardly be questioned.

In dealing with matters of theory, the new text-book may be described as at once conservative and eclectic. The statement of the law of population (pages 60-65) will serve as an example, the author's apparent purpose be

ing to formulate and reconcile all divergent opinions from Malthus to the present time. Another example may be found in the various discussions of land and rent, capital and interest. At first, Professor Seligman goes so far with the more recent critics of the old theories on these subjects (pages 15, 204), that his final insistence upon the original categories (pages 371, 392) is rather surprising. The elaborate and not easily comprehensible system of division and subdivision of the text results in a rather disjointed treatment of many topics, as in the case of those just mentioned. Nevertheless, Professor Seligman's clearness and conciseness of style has enabled him to handle his great store of materials with conspicuous effect. Particularly noteworthy in this way are his discussions of even such hackneyed topics as the modern [economic] problems of America (page 106), division of labour (page 290), justification of land rent (page 388), protection and free trade (page 505) and luxury (page 580).

R. C. B.

AMERICAN COMMONWEALTHS*

Two volumes have recently been added to this series. These are not simply historical narratives, but the author of each has seized upon some underlying principle which explains the origin and development of the respective commonwealth, and their significance in our national life. With the volume on Rhode Island, by Irving B. Richman, the explanatory principle is the tendency towards separation. Through religious separation the colony had its origin; the extreme individualistic character of the people explains its commercial, industrial, social, educational, religious and political development and distinguishes the inhabitants of this little colony from those of its more powerful neighbours. Such. of course, was the feature of the Revolutionary and the Dorr Rebellion period, and such, according to the author. is the explanation of the more recent political life of the State. In the case of Louisiana, by Albert Phelps, the key of exposition is expansion. The acquisition and development of the territory from *Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston.

which his unique commonwealth has grown is treated as the climax of the long struggle between the Anglo-Saxon and the Latin races for the mastery of the continent. The Civil War constitutes a struggle for economic and social expansion, while the Reconstruction period forms but an obstacle to the natural expansion which should have come after a cheerful acceptance of the result of that struggle-an expansion which is just now being attained. The lamentable errors of the postrebellion period are handled in no mincing words, and the present-day social, racial and political problems, so far as distinctive, receive treatment. The volume is among the most scholarly of the extensive literature called forth by the recent centennial anniversary of the acquisition of this vast territory.

forth not only the origin, nature, organisation and operative processes of American courts, but discusses as well such topics as the law's delays, the character of the bench and bar, and the relation of the people towards the judiciary.

THE BUSINESS OF LIFE INSURANCE.*

The Business of Life Insurance, by Miles M. Dawson, is an excellent book on a timely subject. Among the illusions dissipated by the current legislative examination of the insurance. business is that of the occult power of the actuary. Yet the very committee conducting the investigation has an official actuary-who is the author of this book. And the service performed in this clear exposition of the business of life insurance is a worthy one. At any other time this volume could hardly be included under educational works, but at present the entire people is going to school on this subject, and is being educated and enlightened very rapidly. So there is a need of text-books: many are being produced. This is one of the best. Any person intending to take out a policy who fails to read this or some similar work is certainly very shortsighted.

BUSINESS LAW†

Business Law. by Ernest W. Huffcut, Dean of the Cornell College of Law, is a text-book for commercial courses in high schools and colleges that follows the regular text-book method of exposition rather than the case method, which would hardly be possible in a brief course.

Each point, however, is abundantly illustrated by examples, which in most instances consist in cases decided in court. The text covers the entire scope of business law, including law pertaining to general industrial conditions, though provision is made for the omission of certain portions for briefer courses.

tional rather than an analytical or merely logical presentation of the subject. Of this type, one each in grammar, rhetoric and literature. come to hand this month. The first is A Brief English Grammar,* by Professor F. N. Scott and Miss Gertrude Buck. The text designs, in giving the structure of the native tongue, to emphasise the meaning of the form, to make these forms vital and living to the child by connecting the word on the page with the thought which is expressed and the experience that created it. Language form throughout is presented through language function. In the Rhetoric in Practice.t by Professors A. T. Newcomer and S. S. Seward of Leland Stanford. the same working conception is adopted. The text in rhetoric becomes but a guide to the creative task of giving forceful and effective expression to one's thought, not the discretion of lifeless material to suit certain formal classificatory norms. The English Literature, also by Professor Newcomer, applies the same general conception again to the study of literature. From this point of view the purpose of the teaching of literature is to develop an æsthetic appreciation for literature, while the more rational analytical element is desirable only as a necessary basis for the cultivation of this æsthetic sense. In the text, then, biographical and historical material throughout is given a wholly subordinate place, and logical analysis and criticism but a means to the ultimate end.

A wholly different kind of text is Professor J. H. Gilmore's Outlines of English and American Literature. In reality but a syllabus of a course of lectures, it aims merely to give the essential facts, biographical and historical. This it does in a most excellent fashion, with discriminating analysis, brevity and scholarly acumen. A Short History of England's Literature.§ by Eva March Tappan, is a high-school text, which again emphasises literary appreciation rather than information or even scholarship as the object of study, but seeks as its chief means to develop this. to arouse the interest of the pupil by a rather extensive use of biographical, social and his torical material, and even technical criticism

Another book which aims to give at the same time knowledge of the facts of English literature and an appreciation of the artistic qualities of great authors. is the First View of English Literature.¶ by W. V. Moody and R. M. Lovett. Besides the text, there are illustrations superior to those commonly found, tables of reference, a reading guide to each chapter and questions for review. Reference may be made to it later in this department.

ETHICAL GAINS THROUGH LEGISLATION**

Because of the facts presented, the situations discussed, the arguments advanced, and *Scott, Forseman and Company, Chicago. +Henry Holt and Company, New York. tScranton, Wetmore and Company, Rochester. $Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.

**The Macmillan Company, New York.