Reports that the 'ACADEMYAcademy
(1869–1900+)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >> was set on foot in answer to a widely felt and constantly expressed dissatisfaction with the existing organs of literary and scientific criticism', and that it has largely succeeded in its role as 'a journal which should systematically survey the European literary and scientific movement as a whole, and pass judgement upon books not from an insular, still less from a partisan, but from a cosmopolitan point of view'. It has also succeeded as a 'critical journal [...] on which the general reader might rely for guidance through the waste of superficial and ephemeral literature by which he is surrounded and through which he has neither the time nor perhaps the ability to guide himself'. While the circulation figures have 'exceeded our most sanguine expectations', the necessity of 'transfer[ring] the publication of the ACADEMY to a new firm' has 'grown out of our theological position'. Explains that 'Mr. MurrayMurray, John
(1808–92)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> [...] did not call in question the fact of our theological impartiality, but disapproved of it', and that he has thus 'offered to resign all his interest in the copyright of the Journal'. Notes that while certain sections will be increased in size, 'the purely scientific portion of the ACADEMY [is] now completely organized' and will remain the same as before, although with the addition of 'some branches of Natural Science which from want of space have been hitherto neglected'. (1)
Section: General Literature and Art
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 5–6.
[Review of Alpine Flowers for English Gardens and The Wild Garden, by William Robinson]
Complains that none of the events discussed in John Stoughton'sStoughton, John
(1807–97)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> book are 'brought within the scope of the great European progress. No law of development is discernible in his pages. History under such treatment is a succession of casualties, and science and philosophy are what people happen to be thinking' (10).
Anthropology, Human Species, Evolution, Progress, Darwinism, Superstition, Class
Noting that 'the material points of fact and of inference' on which John LubbockLubbock, Sir John, 4th Baronet and 1st Baron
Avebury
(1834–1913)
DSB
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> and Edward B TylorTylor, Sir Edward Burnett
(1832–1917)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> differ 'are of but infinitesimal moment', Rolleston examines their equally resolute opposition to the 'doctrines which Mr. Tylor has styled "degenerationist"'. Both of them, he argues, 'alike regard civilization as the result of a long series of slowly accumulating improvements', and, as such, there is a 'curious correspondence [...] which Sir John Lubbock certainly and Mr. Tylor probably will be slow to repudiate [...] between their speculations and the lines of argument which Mr. DarwinDarwin, Charles Robert
(1809–82)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> has used in his Origin of SpeciesDarwin, Charles
Robert 1859. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection; or, The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life,
London: John Murray
CloseView the register entry >>'. (11) Although both 'authors recognize, and indeed dwell upon the facts of the retention still amongst us of customs which can only be explained as being rudiments and reminiscences of the rites and practices of savagery', Rolleston complains that 'neither of them has [...] drawn sufficient attention to the fact [...] that these rudimentary indications are by no means to be sought or found in one stratum or level of society alone'. In fact, he goes on, 'in those numerically small spheres of society which are largely endowed with this world's goods, modes of thought, and even actual practices, which can be legitimately affiliated to those of savagery, may be proportionately as rife as they are in the secluded and pauperized villages of agricultural and mountainous districts'. (12)
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 12–14.
[Review of Lay Sermons, Addresses, and Reviews, by Thomas H Huxley, and On the Scientific Use of the Imagination, by John Tyndall]
Human Species, Anthropology, Race, Comparative Philology, Nomenclature
Observes that 'Not only was the Indo-European race proved to be One by comparative philology, but the same conclusion was arrived at by a comparison of popular fables (the proper name of the science has not yet been invented)', although 'as the investigation has extended, this conclusion has become uncertain; for some of the popular tales are found to be widely spread among other races not belonging to the Indo-European stock'. The question as to whether 'such stories [have] been borrowed, or [...] date from a still earlier age, and point to a still higher unity of races [....] is not yet settled, and much previous sifting of the evidence will be required'. (29)
Anthropology, Human Species, Ethnography, Fieldwork, Specialization, Disciplinarity, Race, Morality, Evolution, Utilitarianism, Progress, Darwinism, Superstition, Class
Although pointing out 'certain fallacies' amongst the 'enormous array' of facts gathered by John LubbockLubbock, Sir John, 4th Baronet and 1st Baron
Avebury
(1834–1913)
DSB
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> and Edward B TylorTylor, Sir Edward Burnett
(1832–1917)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, Rolleston insists that he must not be 'suspected of hinting that if some of these facts should be set aside on examination the whole argument must be looked upon as thereby vitiated'. He warns that the ethnographer must remain cautious as to the value of the testimony of primitive peoples and of the influence of their own position as an observer: 'It is only a little less difficult to judge of the feelings and views of a savage without being a savage one's self, than it is to judge of the mental processes of one of the lower animals, without being received into its sensorium, and yet escaping identification with it'. Also notes that a 'savage has as little to do with his time as Sir John Chester is represented as having in Barnaby RudgeDickens,
Charles 1841. Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty,
London: Chapman and Hall
CloseView the register entry >>'. (38) Insists on 'the absolute necessity of combining linguistic with other physical science' in ethnographic fieldwork, and comments on the 'ill-informed class who hold that every natural historian must necessarily confine his attention to the material and overlook the moral conditions in any problem which he may enquire into'. Although it is 'of course, neither unnatural nor unlikely that any expert should have a tendency to specialism', it is important that 'a real anthropologist [...] come safely out of this temptation'. Lubbock, for example, is 'inclined to account by reference to the unfortunate (moral and social) circumstances in which half-breeds are generally placed, for the abject or other repulsive characteristics which so often have been attributed to or observed in them'. Complains that Lubbock's 'method of accounting for the genesis of the notions of right and wrong, like that of all other utilitarians, actually presupposes their existence!' (39), and notes that on this point 'the dialecticians for once [have] a real victory over the Natural Historian' (40).
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 40–42.
[Review of The Gulf Stream, by August Petermann, and 'Ocean Currents', by James Croll]
Discusses various theories of the 'influence of ocean currents on the climatic conditions of the globe in distributing the heat received from the sun', and reports James Croll'sCroll, James
(1821–90)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> claims that 'without ocean currents the earth would not be habitable' (42).
Hunter 1869Hunter, Joseph
1869. Hallamshire, The History and Topography of the Parish of Sheffield in
the County of York: With Historical and Descriptive Notices of the Parishes of
Ecclesfield, Hansworth, Treeton, and Whiston, and of the Chapelry of
Bradfield, a new and enlarged edn by
Alfred Gatty, London: printed for the
editor
CloseView the register entry >>
Observes that the 'invention of cast-steel in the middle of the last century by Benjamin HuntsmanHuntsman, Benjamin
(1704–76)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>' has 'led to a great expansion of the trade' of Sheffield, and notes the 'immense demand for railway-springs, buffers, and all descriptions of railway-iron, which has lately come upon Sheffield, and led to the establishment of a host of new iron-furnaces' (48).
Noting the enormous differences in the 'fresh-water and marine denudation' of geographically distant areas of the globe (66), Wallace contends that 'it is only by the study of the geology of the intertropical and glaciated regions combined, that we shall be able to obtain an adequate notion of the power of meteorological causes to mould, to furrow, and to destroy the surface of great continents'. He also suggests 'We may indeed expect, that the science of geological interpretation will be much advanced by the observations of the Indian surveyorsGeological Survey of India
CloseView the register entry >>, who have the great advantage of studying the denuding action of rain and rivers in a country where these agencies are so much more powerful than they are with us, and where they produce effects far beyond the power of the more placid meteorology of Europe'. (67)
Hartt 1870Hartt, Ch.
Fred. 1870. Scientific Results of a Journey in Brazil by Louis
Agassiz and His Travelling Companions: Geology and Physical Geography of
Brazil, Boston: Fields, Osgood; London: Trübner & Co.
CloseView the register entry >>
Points out differences in the geological practice of Europeans and North Americans like Charles F HarttHartt, Charles Frederick
(1840–78)
WBI CloseView the register entry >>. Also notes that 'Agassiz'sAgassiz, Louis (Jean Louis Rodolphe)
(1807–73)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> position as regards the surface geology of Brazil is in fact the counterpart of that which he held many years ago as regards that of Scotland. There he was the first to recognize the true glacial character of the boulder clay, and to solve satisfactorily a problem so oppressive as to have disturbed the slumbers of a leading Scottish theologian and geologist', and even the subsequent correction of some of Agassiz's details 'does not affect his fame as the discoverer of the right method of investigation' (95). Concedes that the 'difficulties attending exploratory journeys in tropical regions explain and largely excuse the want of precision in many parts' of the book (96).
Sociology, Experiment, Heredity, Breeding, Race, Christianity, Politics, Population
After describing the main events of the famous mutiny of 1789, Wallace notes that 'it is to the subsequent careers of the mutineers and their descendants—the well-known Pitcairn Islanders—that we are most attracted', as it is 'so rarely that social problems can be subjected to anything like a critical experiment, owing to the impossibility of eliminating the disturbing influence of adjacent populations'. In the condition of complete isolation formerly enjoyed by the islanders 'Many curious problems were [...] in process of solution. The little community consisted almost entirely of half-breeds; would any signs of sterility appear, or could they permanently continue the race? They necessarily soon came to marry almost wholly with blood relations; would this cause disease or deterioration? In the mixed race would the characteristics of the white or of the brown progenitors ultimately prevail, and which special features of each would maintain themselves longest?'. However, these questions cannot be answered adequately now that many of the islanders have been removed to Norfolk Island, the home of 'a missionary college for Melanesian converts'. (108) Also examines the political situation of the islanders, and concludes that there are 'many problems in physical, social, and political science which increasing population will soon force upon them' (109).
Reports that as yet 'it is impossible to form any definite idea as to the additions to our knowledge of the constitution of the sun which may result from this expedition'. The 'sketches which have been made of the corona appear to differ greatly from one another even in the case of observers at the same place, a circumstance which seems to indicate that some of the details are subjective', although with the 'sketches having a general resemblance to one another [...] it is clear that some portion of the phenomenon is objective, though the differences between the sketches made by different parties seem to point to our atmosphere as being to some and indeed to a great extent instrumental in its production'. (117)
Suggests that the essays collected in Alfred R Wallace'sWallace, Alfred Russel
(1823–1913)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> book are 'interesting not only in their relation to the great theory, but also from the light which they throw on the gradual development of a remarkable man'. Although the researches on species of Wallace and Charles R DarwinDarwin, Charles Robert
(1809–82)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> 'culminate in very divergent results—an example ready to hand of the Darwinian law of the divergence of character', it is 'also worth noting that both enquirers received their first impulse towards a successful solution of the problem from Malthus'sMalthus, Thomas Robert
(1766–1834)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> celebrated work On PopulationMalthus, Thomas
Robert 1798. An Essay on the Principle of Population, as it
Affects the Future Improvement of Society: With Remarks on the Speculations of
Mr. Godwin, M. Condorcet, and Other Writers. London: J. Johnson
CloseView the register entry >>'. Praises Wallace for having earlier taken 'a stand in the most definite manner on the basis of the theory of descent, which had been so completely stamped out since the time of LamarckLamarck, Jean Baptiste Pierre
Antoine de Monet, chevalier de
(1744–1829)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>', and notes that it 'required considerable boldness to undertake a problem, regarded at the time by almost everyone as unscientific, beneath the tropical sun of the Sunda Islands'. (138) Insists that Wallace's essay on the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original Type and Darwin's On the Origin of SpeciesDarwin, Charles
Robert 1859. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection; or, The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life,
London: John Murray
CloseView the register entry >> 'form together the one fountain-head from which the theory of natural selection has flowed, so we may recognise side by side with the mighty development of Darwin a perfectly independent position for Mr. Wallace' (138–39). Indeed, Wallace's work, particularly on instinct and birds, will 'open a new field of biology, as well for laymen as for trained enquirers'. Furthermore, Wallace in his book 'maintains with great emphasis that there are very important facts in Nature for whose explanation' the principle of natural selection 'does not suffice, and will never suffice'. (139)
Notes how in addressing the controversial issue of the 'unity or plurality of the human species', a 'question [...] which is usually discussed rather in a dogmatic than a critical spirit, and with more passion than knowledge, Alfred R WallaceWallace, Alfred Russel
(1823–1913)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> 'succeeds in steering clear of these dangers', and 'concedes the point to those who recognise a single origin for mankind' while 'furnishing a line of argument' that will at the same time 'satisfy' the opponents of this position. Wallace's main argument is that the 'endless struggle for existence gradually ceases amongst the members' of human communities, retarding 'the progress towards greater perfection in mere bodily organization', but allowing 'progress' to pass 'over gradually from the physical to the intellectual; the body remains unchanged in outward form, whilst the mind, and those organs like the brain which are essentially concerned with its activity, alone develop'. Dismisses Wallace's contentions that 'the brain of the savage has always been found too large for its intellectual functions' and that this fact is 'explicable merely on the supposition that man had from the beginning a large quantity of brain in order to enjoy the later requirements of civilisation', because they 'fly in the face of plain physiological fact' regarding the relation between brain size and intellectual capacity. Indeed, 'elephants and whales have larger brain volume (and therefore on this theory ought to have superior capacities) than CuvierCuvier, Georges
(1769–1832)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> or NapoleonNapoleon I, Emperor of France
(1769–1821)
CBD CloseView the register entry >>'. (159) Concludes that 'we hold that none of the facts hitherto mentioned are sufficiently established to justify so important a step as the introduction of a new principle of explanation' to supplement that of natural selection (160).
Reading, Popularization, Natural History, Sex, Genius, Human Species, Descent, Evolution, Darwinism, Morality, Utilitarianism, Gender, Language, Ornithology, Entomology, Instinct, Natural Law
Observes that Charles R Darwin'sDarwin, Charles Robert
(1809–82)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> latest book is 'one of the most remarkable works in the English language' (183) and 'will prove almost equally attractive to the naturalist and the general reader', being 'throughout written in the author's clearest style'. In addition, many of the non-specialist 'readers of this book', accustomed to 'the reticence with which the sexual relations of animals have been treated in popular works', will 'be astonished to find that a new and inner world of animal life exists, of which they had hitherto no conception', and this 'new branch of natural history is one of the most striking creations of Mr. Darwin's genius, and it is all his own'. Wallace provides a 'sketch in outline' of the book's main facts and arguments, before discussing 'certain points which seem open to criticism'. (177) Praises Darwin's views on the origin of the moral sense as an 'advance in the history of the utilitarian philosophy', although noting that on their logic 'intemperance and licentiousness are never counted as vices, because they do not immediately concern any one but the individual and his family' (178). Before beginning his criticism of Darwin's views, Wallace announces 'I am glad to have this opportunity of showing to what extent a study of his facts and arguments have modified my opinions' (180) as well as indicating where 'Mr. Darwin adopts the views of the present writer' (178). The Descent, according to Wallace, 'consists of two books mixed together' and a 'rearrangement could easily be effected in a future edition, and would have many advantages', while much of the writing is 'certainly not in accordance with our author's usual precision of language', although Darwin's imprecise use of the term 'Instinct' is 'no doubt mainly due to the poverty of our language' (180). Also questions Darwin's 'argument that the female exerts a choice, and has the power of rejecting any particular male', as 'this hardly seems to follow, for it may well be maintained that when the more active male seizes a female she cannot escape, and that she has no means of rejecting him and practically never does so' (179). Wallace's main criticisms relate to the efficacy of the principle of sexual selection in cases other than birds, as well as the evolution of the human species. Throughout all of the different orders of insects, for instance, 'there is no direct evidence whatever of sexual selection as regards colour', and instead Wallace attributes variations in insect colours to 'unknown laws'. From his researches on 'many islands of the Malay Archipelago' he suggests that there exists 'some local modifying influence which is certainly not sexual selection' but which is nevertheless 'capable of differentiating the sexes'. (182) Similarly, contends that 'the superiority of man to his nearest allies', and in particular 'the almost infinite capacities of his brain', are 'too great to be accounted for by the struggle for existence of an isolated group of apes in a limited area', and must rely on 'unknown causes which may have aided in the work' (183).
Naturalists, Animal Behaviour, Instinct, History of Science, Evolution, Heterodoxy, Religion, Natural History, Materialism, Darwinism, Heredity, Human Species
Commends the publication of some little-known letters 'written in the second half of last century' (198), and suggests that 'in publishing an English edition of the work the translator has brought a useful contribution to the history of the development of scientific thought'. Based on his observations of the behaviour of animals at 'Versailles and Marly' (199), Charles G LeroyLeroy, Charles George
(1723–89)
WBI CloseView the register entry >>, who wrote 'partly under the pseudonym of "The Naturalist of Nuremberg"', proposed that the 'faculty which is ordinarily called instinct is in reality a form of intelligence or reasoning', and is thus capable of 'improvement and of perfectibility within certain limits' (198). However, to really 'appreciate the boldness and originality' of Leroy's views, 'it is necessary to throw oneself back into the state of the development of thought in his day' (198–99), for 'Just as now the evolutionist is told that the theory of a continuously acting creative power is opposed to the teaching of Scripture, so a century ago orthodoxy required of scientific men the belief that man was the only being possessed of even the least degree of mental power'. Rejecting the doctrines of 'the French materialists', Leroy instead 'anticipated views respecting the relationship between the mental faculties of man and those of the lower animals which have not been fully developed until our own day'. Indeed, his views were in advance of 'the prevalent idea among naturalists with regard to instinct [...] within the last thirty years', and bear an interesting relation to those of 'Mr. DarwinDarwin, Charles Robert
(1809–82)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>', who 'When he published his theory that instinct is nothing but the experience of former generations inherited and constantly improved' found that 'the idea was a novel one to the greater part of the educated public' even though Leroy had made similar arguments 'Nearly a century ago'. (199)
De Morgan 1842De Morgan,
Augustus 1842. The Differential and Integral Calculus: Containing
Differentiation, Integration, Development, Series, Differential Equations,
Differences, Summation, Equations of Differences, Calculus of Variations,
Definite Integrals,—with Applications to Algebra, Plane Geometry, Solid
Geometry, and Mechanics. Also, Elementary Illustrations of the Differential and
Integral Calculus, Library of Useful Knowledge, London: R. Baldwin
CloseView the register entry >>
Complains that, unlike the sailors of the Norwegian fleets, 'since the early part of this century when the Scoresbys [William (1760–1829)Scoresby, William, Sr.
(1760–1829)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> and William (1789–1857)Scoresby, William, Jr.
(1789–1857)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>] gained their fame in arctic exploration, it does not appear that any single observation tending to advance our scanty knowledge of the geography or meteorology of these northern regions has been placed on record by any British whaler' (200).
Suggests that although John MorleyMorley, John, Viscount Morley of Blackburn
(1838–1923)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> is 'a very independent adherent' of the tenets of Auguste ComteComte, Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier
(Auguste)
(1798–1857)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>, the 'primary importance of these full and thoughtful essays is that they are applications of a doctrine which the majority of educated men regard, perhaps with better reason, with something of the angry contempt with which Marcus Aurelius regarded Christianity, and which in spite of their contempt is making progress which they ought to find alarming' (213). Also details Morley's views on 'the healing effects of science approached in the positive spirit' (215).
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 215–16.
[Review of The Earthward Pilgrimage, by Moncure D Conway]
Explains that Moncure D ConwayConway, Moncure Daniel
(1832–1907)
CBD CloseView the register entry >> believes that 'we may infer from the love and thought within us analogous facts throughout the universe; their relation however to the universe we cannot ascertain. However, the laws of the universe are great and good, and by sympathy with these we ourselves become good and strong'. In the 'new terrestrial Jerusalem [...] dimly sketched' by Conway there will be 'as few laws as possible, except laws of Nature', and Sidgwick notes that this 'democratic Eden is a curious contrast to Comte'sComte, Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier
(Auguste)
(1798–1857)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> ordered Utopia'. (216)
Subsection: Literary Notes
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 217.
[English Publication of First Part of Hippolyte A Taine's De l'Intelligence]
Evolution, Progress, Sociology, Anthropology, Darwinism, Descent, Human Species
Asserts that the 'movement of progressive society becomes one (to use Mr. Maine'sMaine, Sir Henry James Sumner
(1822–88)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> own formula) from status to contract; a formula, we may observe, for the legal side of the great movement which Herbert SpencerSpencer, Herbert
(1820–1903)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> formulates as a movement from the homogeneous to the heterogeneous. It is evident that this evolution of individuality from the patriarchal family is no more incompatible with Mr. McLennan'sMcLennan, John Ferguson
(1827–81)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> theory that there are stages of savage existence anterior to the patriarchal family, than with Darwin'sDarwin, Charles Robert
(1809–82)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> theory of the descent of man from an inferior race of animals' (248).
Explains that the peculiar position of the Azores in relation to Europe and America gives them 'especial interest for the naturalist since Mr. DarwinDarwin, Charles Robert
(1809–82)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> has shown how valuable is the evidence such islands afford for the derivative origin of species'. Indeed, what is 'most striking' about the Azores is 'the wonderful amount of similarity between the productions of these remote islands and those of Europe' and the enormous divergence of their animal and plant life from American species. Rather than supporting 'the theory of a former continental extension uniting these islands to Europe', the 'enormous preponderance of European species' can instead be explained by the fact that 'the Azores lie in a region of storms from all points of the compass; and that every year these storms bring numbers of birds from Europe, and no doubt also numbers of insects'. (266) The 'curious and difficult problem' posed by the existence of a 'considerable number of 'wingless beetles' on the islands which could not have been transported across the ocean is removed if we 'suppose that these wingless Atlantic groups are the descendants of very remote winged ancestors, who were among the earliest immigrants to all these islands; and these, being subjected to similar conditions, all became apterous' (266–67). Praises Frederick D C GodmanGodman, Frederick du Cane
(1834–1919)
WBI CloseView the register entry >> for 'a book which should form a part of every naturalist's library', and commends the publisher for the 'useful innovation of issuing it with cut edges' (267).
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 267–68.
[Review of History and Literature of Lichenology, by August von Krempelhuber]
Expresses amazement at 'one of the most marvellous examples of German industry which has ever issued from the press', which addresses '1392 pages' to 'a subject which is of very limited interest even to botanists'. Also notes that in August von Krempelhuber'sKrempelhuber, August von
(1813–82)
RLIN CloseView the register entry >> massive tome 'what is not always the case with continental writers, English sources [...] have been carefully explored and registered' (267), although it is 'curious that the one which has met with the least justice is that which is due to the author of this notice' (267n.). Protests that 'Excessive subdivision is one of the greatest evils which can befall any branch of natural history, and indisposes many to the study who might otherwise be useful labourers, especially as it has a tendency to draw off attention from those general views which are after all of main importance' (267).
Ritter 1822–59Ritter, Carl
1822–59. Die Erdkunde im Verhaltniss zur Natur und zur Geschichte des
Menschen: oder allgemeine vergleichende Geographie, als sichere Grundlage des
Studiums und Unterrichts in physikalischen und historischen Wissenschaften,
21 vols, Berlin: G. Reimer
CloseView the register entry >>
Suggests that 'just as comparison in anatomy leads the way to arguments on the origin of species, as philology aids in proving the unity of the great branches of the human family', so the researches of Oskar F PeschelPeschel, Oskar Ferdinand
(1826–75)
WBI CloseView the register entry >> seek 'to show how the form of each particular portion of the outer world, each landscape, bears in itself a record of the contests and changes which it has suffered, and how, from a survey of the distribution of resembling forms, some light may be thrown upon the causes by which these have been originated' (286). Reports that, as Carl G C BischofBischof, Carl Gustav Christoph
(1792–1870)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> has demonstrated, 'Chemistry reveals a more probable cause' than 'the force of earthquakes or volcanic power' for the production of 'a power adequate to produce the phenomena of mountain elevation for which comparative geography seeks to find an explanation' (286–87). Contends that in the past 'Speculation on the causes of the varied features of the landscape, drawn from the study of one region or of one continent alone, could at best have been guesses at truth', and that now the 'comparative method' in geography is 'progressively increasing in value [...] as the exploration of the globe proceeds year by year' (287).
Asserts that 'All sciences of recent foundation, such as American archæology is, have always some surprise in store for the man who will try them cautiously and conscientiously'. Although they might at first seem 'dry and unfruitful [...] after a while they disclose suddenly unknown treasures, and reward their students with unexpected discoveries'. (291)
Section: Philology
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 294–96.
[Review of On Early English Pronunciation, by Alexander J Ellis]
Ellis 1869Ellis, Alexander
John 1869. On Early English Pronunciation: With Especial
Reference to Shakspere and Chaucer, Containing an Investigation of Writing with
Speech in England from the Anglosaxon Period to the Present Day, 2 parts,
Early English Text Society Series, London: Asher & Co. and Trubner
CloseView the register entry >>
Subjects:
Comparative Philology, Physiology, Sound
Describes the 'Two methods of remedying the evil' of the want of a 'definite system of notation' for 'speech-sounds', 'which we may distinguish as the traditional and the physiological' (294). Commends the use of 'a physiological alphabet such as the "Visible Speech"Bell, Alexander
Melville 1867. Visible Speech: The Science of Universal
Alphabetics; or, Self-Interpreting Physiological Letters, for the Writing of
All Languages in One Alphabet, London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co.
CloseView the register entry >> of Mr. BellBell, Alexander Melville
(1819–1905)
WBI CloseView the register entry >>', in which 'the traditional letters are entirely rejected, and a regular system of symbolizing the physiological formation of each sound is employed; the reader only has to follow the directions given by the shape of the letter itself, and he will accurately reproduce the sound, even if it be one he has never heard before' (294–95). Concludes that 'We have little doubt that the real alphabet of the future is Mr. Bell's "Visible Speech"', and even 'the want of means for printing it' is 'a difficulty which is a temporary one, and could soon be remedied' (296).
Boyle 1661Boyle, Robert
1661. The Sceptical Chymist; or, Chymico-Physical Doubts & Paradoxes,
Touching the Spagyrist's Principles Commonly Call'd Hypostatical, as They are
Wont to be Propos'd and Defended by the Generality of Alchymists: Whereunto is
Praemis'd Part of Another Discourse Relating to the Same Subject, London:
J. Crooke
CloseView the register entry >>
Claims that ethnology is 'at present in that critical stage of transition through which all the inductive sciences, some earlier, some later, have passed in modern times', and suggests that its current position is 'analogous' to that of chemistry in the early seventeenth century. The 'indispensable necessity of all sciences' is not classification, but 'observation of, and insight into, law'. At present, however, 'Ethnology still awaits its JussieuJussieu, Antoine-Laurent de
(1748–1836)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> to replace its artificial classifications by a natural one', although just as 'systematic botany gave place to vegetable physiology, so, in like manner, ethnology will have to look upon its classification of race—with which the school-books hitherto have been almost exclusively occupied—as merely a preliminary step towards a physiology of mankind, and to a science of the laws which govern its spiritual growth'. The people of India present 'a problem of extreme difficulty' in 'the helpless condition of modern ethnology—deprived of its old principles before being able to create new ones', but at least 'the EthnologicalEthnological Society of London
CloseView the register entry >> and AnthropologicalAnthropological Society of London
CloseView the register entry >> Societies of London (for to them the credit belongs)' have drawn attention to 'the inexhaustible storehouse for ethnological research' that exists in the subcontinent. (314) Notes that 'the claims of anthropology pure and simple, which require the body to be undraped, have been sacrificed in these photographs to ethnological considerations which require the dress to be represented', and suggests that when there are two photographs 'one full-face, and one in exact profile [....] it is even possible to take measurements from them, and when opportunity is afforded for the employment of Lambert's method of measurement, or Huxley'sHuxley, Thomas Henry
(1825–95)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> more simple mode, it should never be lost' (315).
Observes that the 'main Kantian principles have in Germany become the tacit assumptions of all classes of scientific inquirers, whereas in England they have not yet worked their way to anything like general recognition' (335).
Section: Philosophy and Science
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 336–37.
[Review of Notes of a Naturalist in the Nile Valley and Malta, by Andrew L Adams]
Adams 1870Adams, Andrew
Leith 1870. Notes of a Naturalist in the Nile Valley and Malta: A
Narrative of Exploration and Research in Connection with the Natural History,
Geology, and Archaeology of the Lower Nile and Maltese Islands, Edinburgh:
Edmonston and Douglas
CloseView the register entry >>
Expresses disappointment that the 'valuable materials' of 'so enthusiastic a naturalist' as Andrew L AdamsAdams, Andrew Leith
(1827–82)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> are 'presented to us in a form so much like that in which they must have existed in his original note-books', and suggests that the resulting volume 'will not prove very attractive to the general reader' (336–37). Commends the 'full account of the caverns and superficial deposits which yielded to Captain SprattSpratt, Thomas Abel Brimage
(1811–88)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> and the author those wonderful relics of a by-gone age—the pigmy elephants, the hippopotamus, the great extinct swan and fresh-water turtle, and the great dormouse'. This 'assemblage of animals points unmistakably to the connection of what is now Malta with Africa', and the remains of 'undoubtedly adult' elephants that 'would have stood about 7 feet high' offer 'a very striking exception to the rule of extinct being larger than existing species'. (337)
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 337.
[Review of Journeys in North China, Manchuria, and Eastern Mongolia, by Alexander Williamson]
Narcotics, Temperance, Medical Practitioners, Health, History of Science, Light, Christianity, Astronomy, Heterodoxy
Notes that from these medieval poems 'we obtain the curious notion that it was an opinion seriously entertained by the physicians of the days of Edward III.Edward III, King of England and Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine
(1312–77)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> that it was expedient for a man's general health that he should take care to get drunk once a month, because much good comes thereof'. Also observes that in one poem 'we have a lesson in science, proving that the duration of the impression of an image upon the retina for an appreciable time was perfectly understood' by the people of the Middle Ages. Indeed, it was understood that 'a spark of fire, turned about in a dark night, seems to make a circle' because 'men's sight holds the print (holdes prent) of a thing before-seen for a little short while', and from this it was argued 'that God's sight may well retain images still longer'. Adds that 'This is really an anticipation of the very remarkable argument so ably worked out in a curious anonymous publication, entitled The Stars and the Earth[Eberty, Felix]
1853. The Stars and the Earth; or, Thoughts Upon Space, Time and
Eternity, 5th edn, London: H. Bailliere
CloseView the register entry >>, which appeared in 1854'. (369)
In protesting against the neglect of the 'artistic element of national buildings' even in 'a quarter which we have been taught to look upon as the very centre of artistic design', complains that 'the new buildings of the South Kensington MuseumSouth Kensington Museum
CloseView the register entry >> itself were entrusted to a memberFowke, Francis
(1823–65)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> of the Royal EngineersRoyal Corps of Engineers
CloseView the register entry >>, a profession which is supposed to be educated in the science rather than the art of building'. Concedes, however, that 'an engineer, naturally giving full weight to utilitarian considerations, and little likely to be hampered by a superabundance of artistic resources' has produced a set of buildings with 'a certain directness of purpose—a quality which, though very essential to any high degree of success, is not usually attained in architectural works of our day'. (372)
Begins by noting that 'Even when completest, a text-book can give but a narrow view of its subject', and adds that 'abstruse or unproved theory [...] is as unwelcome in a text-book of science as the higher mathematics would be to the student who is ignorant of the multiplication table'. The success of text-books also depends 'upon the interest thrown round them by the author's sympathy both with his subject and with his reader', and the books chosen for the present review have been selected for 'their manner or authorship rather than their matter'. (374–75) Describes the recent shift in the views of Edward FranklandFrankland, Sir Edward
(1825–99)
DSB
DNODNBB CloseView the register entry >> 'from contemplation of a shifting about of atoms, incomprehensible in themselves, as the sole aim of chemistry, to a recognition of force as concerned in chemical change'. Criticises Josiah P CookeCooke, Josiah Parsons, Jr
(1827–94)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> for failing to engage properly with the wider issues of chemical philosophy, and instead merely providing 'irrelevant chemical natural history', and observes that what philosophy there is is 'purely atomistic [...] carried out to its furthest verge'. (375) By using 'atomic language' and failing to 'apprehend energy and motion', Cooke, along with the French chemist Alfred J NaquetNaquet, Alfred Joseph
(1834-1916)
WBI CloseView the register entry >>, belongs 'philosophically to the seventeenth instead of the nineteenth century'. In addition, Cooke's argument is vitiated by his confusion of 'the frequency of occurrence and commercial importance or wide distribution of a substance with its value as evidence for chemical theory'. Notes in passing that 'chemistry in a university curriculum' is largely 'unsuited or unattractive to those engaged in classical or literary studies', and that even 'if chemistry be of little use to the classical scholar, Greek and Latin are indispensable to a chemist'. (376) Draws attention to Longmans'Longmans, firm CloseView the register entry >> 'series of "Text-Books of Science", now in course of publication, which are intended for use in schools and for the self-instruction of workingmen', and suggests that a truly 'popular science book' ought 'to have good illustrations as substitutes for the objects themselves' (377).
Notes that the 'exterior' of 'the building intended for the new science schoolsSouth Kensington. science schools
CloseView the register entry >>' on the east side of Exhibition Road is now 'all but complete', and gives a critical account of the building's 'red Fareham brick' facade, with ornamental work in terracotta, and ornate cornices (395).
Section: Science and Philosophy
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 398–400.
[Review of 'Observations Made in the Pathological Institute of Jena', by Wilhelm Müller]
Applauds the recent work of Wilhelm MüllerMüller, Wilhelm
(1832–1909)
WBI CloseView the register entry >> which contains 'a singular mixture of embryology and pathology', and also 'embraces a field of comparative embryology that has hitherto remained wholly uncultivated' (398–99). Observes that Müller's conclusion that 'the chorda dorsalis [...] is very far from being a fundamental organ' of the skeleton 'corroborates and expands a view which had already been expressed by HisHis, Wilhelm
(1831–1904)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> in his History of the Development of the FowlHis, Wilhelm 1868.
Untersuchungen über die erste Anlage des Wirbelthierleibes. Die erste
Entwicklung des Hühnchens im Ei, Leipzig: F. C. W. Vogel
CloseView the register entry >>', but also notes that Müller's researches on the development of the infundibulum area of the brain are 'in opposition to Carl Ernst v. BaerBaer, Karl Ernst von
(1792–1876)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>'. Warns that no 'attention should be paid to the opposition lately made by Dr. DonitzDönitz, Friedrich Karl Wilhelm
(1838–1912)
WBI CloseView the register entry >>', because 'Dr. Donitz is evidently insufficiently acquainted with the problems of modern morphology'. (399) After reflecting on the potential of Müller's work for bringing about 'a new era within the domain of pathological anatomy' by using 'comparative anatomy and embryology [...] to assist the recognition of the nature of pathological processes and formations', suggests that there is even more importance in the way that 'the great idea of evolution is carried by Professor Müller into a region where it has been practically hitherto unknown. A bridge has thus been thrown across, connecting two long separated regions of human enquiry: and it cannot happen but that both will gain'. Indeed, the embryological 'department of science, founded by Caspar Friedrich WolffWolff, Caspar Friedrich
(1734–94)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>, and greatly expanded by Carl Ernst v. Baer, appears to be destined to play an important part in the development of the Darwinian theory'. Also complains about the 'still increasing exclusion of pure biological studies from the curriculum of medical studies on the part of the Prussian government', as well as the 'very short-sighted proceeding by which, in the year 1861, a compulsory knowledge of zoology and botany as fundamental information on the part of young medical men was discontinued at Berlin'. (400)
Mansel 1858Mansel, Henry
Longueville 1858. The Limits of Religious Thought Examined in
Eight Lectures: Preached Before the University of Oxford, in the Year
M.DCCC.LVIII, on the Foundation of the Late Rev. John Bampton, Bampton
Lectures, London: J. Murray
CloseView the register entry >>
Complains that the books of Adolf BastianBastian, Adolf
(1826–1905)
CBD CloseView the register entry >> too often have 'the air of having been written by a dilettante' and 'can scarcely be recognised as standard scientific works'. In particular, the present book gives the impression that 'the point of view which principally interests the author is not that of philology or of the science of language, but that of ethnology', but Bastian fails to recognize that 'language, if it is to have any ethnological value, must be regarded from the point of view of comparative philology'. Dismisses Bastian's 'opinion that a classification of races according to language would be just like that of flowers according to colours' as merely an old theory that was 'expressed several years ago, but in a milder form, by J. OppertOppert, Julius
(1825–1905)
WBI CloseView the register entry >> and other scholars, and was soon refuted in a style equally thorough and convincing by Professor WhitneyWhitney, William Dwight
(1827–94)
CBD CloseView the register entry >>'. (405)
History of Science, Exploration, Collecting, Amusement
Publications cited:
Polo 1818Polo, Marco 1818.
The Travels of Marco Polo, a Venetian, in the Thirteenth Century: Being a
Description, by that Early Traveller, of Remarkable Places and Things, in the
Eastern Parts of the World, trans. by
William Marsden, London: printed
for the author [i.e. translator]
CloseView the register entry >>
Explains that 'it was not till 1818 that the example was first set, by MarsdenMarsden, William
(1754–1836)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, of applying serious and scientific treatment to the mass of curious and veracious facts which Marco PoloPolo, Marco
(1254–1324)
CBD CloseView the register entry >> had collected during twenty-seven years of his active life, and which for a long time had been looked upon as so much amusing fiction' (422).
Points out that on the 'nature of chemical attraction' and 'the laws of combination by weight [...] rests the chemical system', and yet these subjects 'in English text-books are very often slurred over altogether, or deduced from the atomic hypothesis'. Insists that 'the student' of chemistry must 'be made first of all acquainted with the laws themselves' before moving on to the 'atomic hypothesis'. Notes the 'increase in knowledge' in physiological chemistry since the 1850s, and suggests that 'While some few things remain unchanged, the whole subject has been remodelled' and that 'the darkness which hung over many zoochemical problems has been to a slight extent dispelled'. In particular, 'Zoochemical analysis is now rapidly becoming one of the chief helps in constructing scientific physiology and in the scientific treatment of disease', and the time 'is not very far off' when 'it will form an essential part of the training and equipment of every medical student'. (439) In discussing the various divisions of chemical research, observes that Eugen F F von Gorup-BesanezGorup-Besanez, Eugen Franz Frhr. von
(1817–78)
WBI CloseView the register entry >> has 'a clearly segregative mind, which is able to survey the whole subject as a dissected map' (440). Concludes by noting that fine woodcuts 'form one of the features of the scientific publications from Vieweg'sVieweg (Friedrich) und Sohn, Braunschweig CloseView the register entry >> establishment', and that 'In this respect they are as unlike as possible to English scientific books, in which the woodcuts, even when not inaccurate, are coarse, or blurred, or in some way disagreeable to the eye', although 'the New Sydenham Society'sNew Sydenham Society
CloseView the register entry >> version of Neubauer's bookNeubauer, Karl Theodor
Ludwig and
Vogel, Julius 1863. A Guide to the
Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of the Urine: Designed Especially for the
Use of Medical Men, trans. by
William O. Markham, 4th edn,
London: New Sydenham Society
CloseView the register entry >>' is 'excellently illustrated, far above what is usually seen in this country' (440–41).
Suggests that there is 'yet another, perhaps very limited, section of readers to whom M. de Cihac'sCihac, Alexandru de
(1825–87)
RLIN CloseView the register entry >> book may prove useful—students of Natural Science. We can hardly turn over a page without finding the equivalent in Wallachian of some Linnæan animal or vegetable' (447).
Bemoans the fact that 'there is no generally recognised standard work in English on Chemical Analysis', and that while 'Other nations can quote FreseniusFresenius, Carl Remigius
(1818–97)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> either in the original or in a translation [...] English chemists [...] have but a Barmecide feast of it, in the author's name without his book'. Observes that the 'advantage of Fresenius' Qualitative AnalysisFresenius, Carl
Remigius 1841. Anleitung zur qualitativen chemischen Analyse;
oder Die Lehre von den Operationen, von den Reagentien und von dem Verhalten
der bekannteren Körper zu Reagentien, Braunschweig: Verlag von
Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn
CloseView the register entry >> lay in its completeness and method', and recommends that it is 'advisable to retranslate the thirteenth editionFresenius, Carl
Remigius 1870. Anleitung zur qualitativen chemischen Analyse;
oder Die Lehre von den Operationen, von den Reagentien und von dem Verhalten
der bekannteren Körper zu Reagentien, 13th edn, Braunschweig: Verlag
von Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn
CloseView the register entry >> of the original'. In the mean time, however, 'Mr. Valentin'sValentin, William George
(1829–79)
WBI CloseView the register entry >> work goes part of the way to supplying the want'. (455) Valentin's book, though, is 'not a mere guide to qualitative analysis, but to the practical course in the College of ChemistryRoyal College of Chemistry
CloseView the register entry >>', and it is 'written from the point of view of the teacher, rather than of the mere chemist, and is addressed to teachers' (456). Praises William CrookesCrookes, Sir William
(1832–1919)
DSB ODNB CloseView the register entry >> as 'almost the only one at present who, by translation and original writing, tries to keep English chemical literature from falling completely behind the times', and notes that his present book, 'a very full collection' of myriad pieces from 'the Chemical NewsChemical News
(1859–1900+)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >> and other journals', is full of 'critical remarks' and is 'not intended [...] for tyros' (457).
Physical Geography, Mapping, Navigation, Ancient Authorities, History of Science
Explains that a 'specially prominent place among Arabian sciences belongs to geography. Besides the Greeks, and a few Roman authors, the only students of this branch of knowledge till quite modern times have been Arabic writers'. Indeed, at 'a time when, late in the middle ages, the geographical works of European nations were still based ultimately on the statements of PlinyPliny (Gaius Plinius Secundus)
(c. 23–79)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>, the subject had already been handled in the East by a series of accurate and original writers'. (460)
Admits that 'we all know how Dr. TyndallTyndall, John
(1820–93)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> has made the glaciers his laboratory, and has contributed more than any living man to our knowledge of their phenomena', but finds nevertheless that Tyndall's 'emotional relation [...] to the mountains' is 'less genuine and spontaneous' than that of a less scientifically-minded climber like Leslie StephenStephen, Sir Leslie
(1832–1904)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> (469). In fact, 'Dr. Tyndall's mind, saturated as it is with scientific ideas, refuses to accept others, so that even the expression of emotion naturally takes a scientific form' (469–70). For him 'science seems to do duty for emotion' and also 'seems to take the place of humour' (470).
Section: Science and Philosophy
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 478–80.
[Review of A Memoir on the Indian Surveys, by Clements R Markham]
Details the various naval and land surveys of India since the 1760s, emphasizing the 'unflagging zeal and energy' of the surveyors and highlighting their 'life of constant exposure to sun and malaria, undermining and cutting off in the prime of life the assistants employed' (480). Explains that 'Major LambtonLambton, William
([1753–69]–1823)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, of H. M. 33rd Regiment, was the originator of a rigorous system of triangulation' (479) which has been used in all subsequent surveys, although there has been a 'never ceasing extension of the great system of triangulation, with the revision of some of the earlier work of Lambton, imperative and due to the very great improvement in all instrumental equipment since his day' (480). Also reports that Lambton's '3-foot theodolite, by Cary, was captured at sea by the French frigate Piémontaise, and taken to the Mauritius; but science was respected and honoured by the chivalrous French governor de Caen, who forwarded it on to Madras with a complimentary letter to the governor', and acknowledges that the French were the 'first to recognise' the 'important labours' of Lambton, who in Britain was still 'called upon, from time to time, to demonstrate the utility of his work'. Goes on to describe the work of George EverestEverest, Sir George
(1790–1866)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, who 'inherited the zeal of the old chief Lambton' and 'was the designer of the "gridiron system"' of measurement which allowed the great meridional arc of India to be fixed. This heroic achievement was given a proper monument when Everest's successor Andrew S WaughWaugh, Sir Andrew Scott
(1810–78)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> named the 'highest peak' of the north-eastern Himalayan series 'after his old chief, "Mount Everest"'. (479) Notes that more recently the 'process of photozincography was introduced for the first time in India, and has since proved of immense value, in the rapid execution of cartography' (480).
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 481.
[Review of Life Theories and Their Influence on Religious Thought, by Lionel S Beale]
Although Charles R DarwinDarwin, Charles Robert
(1809–82)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> himself has perhaps paid too little attention to the subject, there 'can not be the least hesitation in saying' that the 'great amount of embryological work' in recent years is 'in great part due to the Darwinian theory of evolution' (496). Most importantly, the work of Fritz MüllerMüller, Fritz (Johann Friedrich Theodor)
(1822–97)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> and Ernst H P A HaeckelHaeckel, Ernst Heinrich Philipp August
(1834–1919)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> has established the law that 'ontogenetical development is the short and compressed recapitulation of the phylogenetical development', a law which 'laid open to the students of biology [...] an immense field of problems' but also 'a field which promised extraordinary rewards for strenuous and judiciously made investigation' (496–97). In Germany and Russia 'embryology became the favourite study' and soon elicited 'great excitement'. Indeed, Aleksandr O Kovalevsky'sKovalevsky, Aleksandr Onufrievich
(1840–1901)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> work on the development of the Ascidia and Amphioxus established 'a close genealogical union [...] connecting the Vertebrates with a lower type' and 'fairly bridged over' that 'great gulf, which separated the highest class of animals, including at its very top Man himself, from all the others'. Inevitably, this 'was like an earthquake, shaking the well-established truths of former times, and menacing their complete overthrow and ruin', and it was made worse by Carl GegenbaurGegenbaur, Carl
(1826–1903)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> scrapping 'a great deal of the old doctrines' in the second edition of his Grundzüge der vergleichenden AnatomieGegenbaur,
Carl 1870. Grundzüge der vergleichenden Anatomie,
Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann
CloseView the register entry >> which has become 'the text-book and base of modern Morphology'. (497) Now in the 'rather unknown field' of the embryology of worms Kovalevsky is seeking to refute the arguments of Mitrofan GaninGanin, Mitrofan
(fl. 1869)
RLIN CloseView the register entry >> and demonstrate the 'genealogical union' of vertebrates, arthropods, and Vermes (497–98). After noting certain points on which 'the mode of demonstration which Kovalevski has taken cannot lead to a successful end', the review concludes that the 'great question of the unity of the organic composition—"l'unité de composition organique" of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire,
Étienne
(1772–1844)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>—as opposed to the discrimination of types in the CuvierianCuvier, Georges
(1769–1832)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> sense, remains therefore still open, though we are inclined to consider Kovalevski's work [...] as a decided step towards a final solution of this great problem' (498).
Compares the 'religious life', which is 'independent in itself of the process of thought which analyses its forms', with the work of a 'chemist who analyses water and air into their elements' but 'drinks and breathes them in the same form as the ignorant multitude'. Furthermore, 'as the chemist's power of analysis enables him to discover and eliminate noxious elements, where they exist, in water and air, so the forms of religious intuition are criticized and progressively spiritualized by the action of reason'. (518)
Section: Science and Philosophy
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 519–21.
[Review of The History of Philosophy From Thales to Comte, by George H Lewes]
Remarks that from 'the hostile eminence of Positivism' George H LewesLewes, George Henry
(1817–78)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> 'makes, as it were, daring and successful raids into the metaphysical regions: but does not seem to seize the citadels and conquer the country' (520).
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 521–22.
[Review of Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Several Matters Relating to Coal in the United Kingdom]
Report of the Coal CommissionersReport of the Coal Commissioners: Report of
the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Several Matters Relating to
Coal in the United Kingdom, House of Commons Parliamentary Papers, Session
1871, [C.435], 18, 1–174
CloseView the register entry >>
Subjects:
Endeavour, Mining, Economic Geology, Stratigraphy, Government, National Efficiency
Observes that 'we have in the British Isles an available amount of coal equal to 146,480 millions of tons, and from careful estimates of the increasing consumption of coal as proved during the last fourteen years, it is calculated that we have a store that will last about 276 years'. This is 'sufficiently alarming', and means that the 'great question of the existence of coal in the south-east of England' must be 'settled' at last as a matter of urgency'. (522)
Remarks that the 'necessity of an accurate and complete knowledge of the physical geography of the sea [...] not only as an aid to navigation but as a preliminary to study of the distribution of marine life, is now so far recognised that systematic observations tending towards this end have become a part of the regular duty in British and American government vessels' (536).
Academy, 2 (1870–71), 538.
[Review of A Synonymic Catalogue of Diurnal Lepidoptera, by William F Kirby]
[Geikie 1875]Geikie,
Archibald 1875. Life of Sir Roderick I. Murchison: Based on His
Journals and Letters with Notices of his Scientific Contemporaries and a Sketch
of the Rise and Growth of Palaeozoic Geology in Britain, 2 vols, London: J.
Murray
CloseView the register entry >>
Explains that 'Owing to my absence from England I was not able to follow the discussion on Latin pronunciation carried on chiefly in the pages of the Academy', and offers a belated contribution to that debate (565). Although avoiding 'purely physiological refinements', Müller accepts Ernst W von Brücke'sBrücke, Ernst Wilhelm von
(1819–92)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> arguments and favours 'a dento-labial v', giving as the 'best proof of this [...] the fact that, though I have lived in England for a quarter of a century, I still am unable, as the best phonologists tell me, to pronounce the pure English w' (566).