THE WORLD DECISION. By Robert Herrick. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. $1.25 net.

Mr. Herrick was in Italy for some months previous to her declaration of war against Austria. Italy, he maintains, was moved by a worthier motive than the mere acquisition of territory. Her very life as a nation was at stake; and if she had not answered the call to self-defence, she would have become a nation of innkeepers and her country a museum. Mr. Herrick writes with deep sympathy for the Italians; passage after passage is winged with patriotic and poetic fancy, and he has, as goes, presented Italy's case in its best light. generally appeared to have been willing to stay out of the war if she had secured her price; but Mr. Herrick thinks not, and the reader may come to his own conclusion.

far as our knowledge To Americans she has

But if the author is enthusiastic about Italy, his enthusiasm waxes almost stronger than words when he speaks of France, wherein he spent some time on his return from Italy. He is amazed at the complete unity of the nation, its thorough organization and self-sacrifice, and the revival of its faith in itself since the Battle of the Marne. He pays testimony to the revival of religious faith also. France is the nation which he believes has shown the greatest self-denial and made the fullest self-sacrifice in this war. He blames England for her apathy, and the disedifying discord that mark her people and her counsels.

It is needless to say that the author is thoroughly partisan and pro-Ally in sympathy. His thesis is that the Latin civilization, the Latin ideals are once again to lead the world; that America is more French in her aims and temperament than Anglo-Saxon. It is easy, of course, to present general theses. But it is surely worth while to note the renewed respect for Latin civilization and the principles which created it, now being shown by many who but a few years ago would have scoffed at them.

A PRIMER OF PEACE AND WAR. By Charles Plater, S.J. New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons. 80 cents.

In the large output of anti-Christian arguments, based upon the present war, the plea of total incompatibility between Christian profession and military service has been advanced frequently and plausibly, reducing to silence many whose instincts warned them of the speciousness of the statement, but did not supply counterarguments. Catholics who have been thus oppressed will find

means of reasonable and effective defence in this Primer. The subject is considered under four divisions: International Morality; Morality and War; Efforts Towards Peace; The Historical Development of the Catholic Doctrine of War. The authors-for Sections II. and IV. are by the Rev. J. Keating, S.J., and the Rev. V. Moncel, respectively-have treated these themes with a thoroughness that leaves no point untouched. The writings and teachings of the leading intellects of the Church of both ancient and modern times are quoted. We find militarism and “jingoism" explicitly condemned, and the distinction clearly defined between them and the spirit of Christian warfare. The appendices deal with the mediations of the Papacy, from the earliest days of the Church to the efforts of the Holy Father to-day.

This timely publication provides the average reader with sufficient reassurance and equipment; bibliography, however, supplies guidance for any who wish to follow the subject further.

LEHRBUCH DER EXPERIMENTELLEN PSYCHOLOGIE FÜR

HÖHERE SCHULEN UND ZUM SELBSTUNTERRICHT.

By Joseph Fröbes, S.J. Erster Band. Erste Abtheilung. St.

Louis: B. Herder.

Father Fröbes, Professor of Philosophy at the Jesuit house of studies in Valkenburg, has just published the first part of a textbook of experimental psychology. The present volume deals with the purpose and methods of psychology, sensations in general, sensations of sight, hearing, smell, taste, the dermal sensations, kinæsthetic and static sensations, organic sensations, and the simple sensory feelings. Father Fröbes is well equipped to handle these problems, having devoted himself to the study of experimental psychology for years. This he did not merely by reading textbooks, but also by actual laboratory work. He studied in Göttingen under G. E. Müller, and also at Leipzig under Wundt. Besides, he did valuable experimental research work. In the preparation of the present work he has kept in mind the ideal of Tigerstedt's textbook of physiology. That is to say, he wishes to present his readers with a digest of the experimental work that has been done in psychology. To do this completely would, of course, involve many volumes. The author, therefore, has been forced to make a selection of problems and the literature bearing upon them. This he has done wisely, and apparently with an excellent insight into psychological litera

ture.

The present volume deals mainly with the psychology of sensation. In the remaining part of the work the author promises to treat association, the pathology of association, the higher representative processes, the emotions, will, and finally mental aberrations.

The reviewer is particularly pleased with the chapter on the simple sensory feeling in this volume. Father Fröbes has there placed in order the data on this subject more clearly and succinctly than it is elsewhere to be found.

The work is well worth the perusal of anyone interested in psychology, and it is to be hoped that an English translation will open it to those who do not read German. The German text, however, is not hard reading, because the author thinks clearly and writes as he thinks.

THE NEW AMERICAN GOVernment anD ITS WORK. By James T. Young. New York: The Macmillan Co. $2.25. As an introduction to the internal political problems of the United States at the present day, this work by Professor Young of the University of Pennsylvania is the most valuable with which we are acquainted. The changes which government, Federal and State, is undergoing in this country, are many and far-reaching: to the old-fashioned individualist, who regards all government as a necessary evil and judges that government best which governs least, these changes will also be very startling. There is everywhere at work in this country at present a tendency to invoke the aid of government for the furtherance of all schemes for public welfare; politics touches our interests in many ways undreamed of twentyfive years ago. Consequently, a connected study of the control and influence of government over our daily concerns is imperative, for one who in forming his judgment of current political events and tendencies should be guided by principles and a wide knowledge of facts. This survey is made in a masterly manner by Professor Young. It is not only the business man who needs this initiation. It is equally necessary for the churchman, the priest, the educator and the charity worker. We commend to all these particularly the two chapters entitled "The State and Education" and "Health, Charities and Correction." They contain much food for reflection. All activities are coming more and more under the influence of the State, and it is well for us to be awake to this fact before it is too late. Such subjects as the growing power of the President,

never so great as at the present moment, the regulation of commerce, the Sherman Act, the trade commission, the war power, national conservation, labor, coöperation, etc., are treated in a very clear, untechnical manner. Professor Young is, himself, in hearty sympathy with the general trend: we ourselves recognize the inevitableness of it and its general beneficence thus far, but it requires little knowledge of governments or of human nature to teach us that majorities must be watched as narrowly as any tyrant.

A NEW RUBAIYAT FROM A SOUTHERN GARDEN. By George Frederick Viett. New York: Sturgis & Walton Co. 75 cents net.

A firm faith in God and immortality and a triumphant hope form the theme of this new Rubaiyat, written in defiance of the old, with its "Soul-soothing melodies that banish Hell, But leave us reft of Heaven." In view of the author's impassioned devoutness, it would be pleasant to record full adequacy of his work to meet the comparison which it challenges by close imitation of manner. In truth, however, the verses, although sometimes felicitously phrased, seldom exhibit the original and imaginative quality which can find full expression only in poetic guise. One feels that Mr. Viett, by adhering to the languid metre of Omar, has lost effectiveness which his reply might have had if given in a more spirited rhythm.

WRECKAGE.

By J. Hartley Manners. New York: Dodd, Mead

& Co. $1.00 net.

The author of that delightful drama, Peg O' My Heart, J. Hartley Manners, has just written a problem play, Wreckage. Its theme is the drug habit, which is daily ruining thousands of American men and women. The writer brings out clearly the utter degradation caused by the excessive use of drugs, and suggests how an effective cure may be obtained even in the most hopeless cases. The rôle of the modern physician in freeing the people from crime is a little overdone at times, and most people would find Dr. Lanfair's speeches too long and too technical.

THE FRINGES OF THE FLEET. By Rudyard Kipling. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co. 50 cents net.

Mr. Kipling's contribution is to that library of little books, such as The Bowmen and Aunt Sarah and the War, which form so interesting a part of the war literature. He tells us of the

trawler and auxiliary fleet, composed of all sorts of craft, mostly fishing vessels, and now existing "for the benefit of the traffic and the annoyance of the enemy," its achievements invaluable, its casualties many and unnoted; of submarines and the "veiled life" aboard them, with its dauntless philosophy of self-devotion; of the patrols that protect the coast, holding the enemy's fleet at bay less than a day's run eastward. It is material full of richness to a mind. so quick to see as Mr. Kipling's, and he has seized upon it with characteristic vigor. The verses that are interspersed add little attraction to the book, and will not increase the prestige of the author, who is scarcely discernible in them; but in the main content appear once more the swift, sharp impressions, the vivid descriptions, the ingenious and illuminating similes that are the Kipling hallmarks.

PARIS REBORN. By Herbert Gibbons. New York: The Century Co. $2.00 net.

Mr. Gibbons, formerly Professor of History at Robert College, Constantinople, has just published the diary he kept in Paris during the first five months of the Great War. His entertaining pages give us a most vivid picture of Paris and the Parisians in the panic of the early days of mobilization. The writer's sympathies are entirely French, although he does not hesitate to criticize the French Government for its inefficient mail service, its stupid censorship, and its poor medical service which caused the death of many a wounded soldier. He also denounces the introduction of African troops on European soil, the new Kulturkampf which foolishly sets at naught all German scholarship, and the official red tape which results in untold suffering to the mothers and wives and children of the French soldiers.

THE MECHANISM OF DISCOURSES. By Rev. Mark Moeslein, C.P. Chicago: D. B. Hansen & Sons.

Father Moeslein has published in a small volume a summary of instructions imparted, in the course of his teaching office, to students who were being trained for public speaking. He aims to help speakers in the art of handling their material by making them familiar with the methods used by the great masters of the art; and he has brought out in plain relief the underlying principles which must govern the structure of a well-made discourse. Naturally there are laws which operate in oratory, just as truly as in philology or in architecture; and knowledge of them ought certainly