the science and art of teaching in America. The author indicates in his preface that he aims to reach more particularly teachers of history in elementary and secondary schools. Two reasons justify this, (1.) The needs of these teachers are greater than those of the teachers above them. (2.) Little attention has been paid to meeting their wants in the way of methods of teaching history. It is true that great teachers of history have discussed the problem of history teaching in colleges and universities, and in this way have indirectly aided the teachers below, but very few have attacked the peculiar problem of history teaching in the lower schools.

The plan by which this purpose is sought to be realized is pedagogically correct: namely, to present the general principles and doctrines of history teaching in connection with the facts of history; not to divorce principle and fact, but rather show them in their living unity. (Rightly the author finds most of his illustrations in the field of American history-for with it most of his constituency will deal.) The separation of theory from practice is a common pedagogical sin; and it is largely due to much of the talk about teaching that seems to go nowhere; seems not to take hold of practice and control it and thus make it effective.

The order of chapters does not permit the perfect realization of the plan of keeping the doctrine and its concrete embodiment in closest union. An extended analysis of historical material should have furnished the basis for conclusions in regard to the nature of history, its educational values, criteria for selecting its facts, and the principles and process of organization. In failing to do this the author has fallen short of his own ideal of keeping theory and fact together. Definitions of history are of value only as they have working power. The definition of history is a conception of the subject obtained by the teacher in order that it may be used in directing the pupil's work. Such a definition can only be grown into the mind of the teacher from an intimate acquaintance with the subject itself; he must see that it embodies the very essence of the subject. But this cannot come from telling him what history is, but may come from letting him see what it is for himself.

The same fundamental defect is found in the discussion on the educational value of history. Why do teachers of history need to know its educational value? For two reasons at least: that this knowledge may throw light on the process of teaching history and may also justify the teaching of the subject. Especially with reference to the first purpose does this chapter fall short of what we ought to expect. To make educational values go for all they are worth, this grade of teachers must be made to witness, in their own minds,

the identical processes stimulated by history. The almost infinite distance between watching the mind perform the concrete processes involved in learning history and hearing or reading an enumeration of these processes can only be appreciated by one who has been the victim of the latter and has afterward been the agent of the former. For the teacher to watch the mind in the process of working its way through the subject is to give him an intelligent basis for reaching conclusions as to the processes and powers stimulated and as to the nature of the results both on the side of mind and on the side of knowledge. Then the teacher may know for himself in what form the subject stands in the learner's mind and what changes have been wrought in his mental life. There is no contention about the truth of the author's statement of the educational value of history; it is true. But it is firmly believed that if he, as a skillful teacher and a reputable historian, had taken a series of events and had analyzed the mental processes and products involved in their mastery vastly more would have been done for his constituency than all the wise saying of all the wise men quoted in this chapter.

The attempt to apply ready-made psychology to a subject as an explanation of its educational value or of the methods of teaching it is right in its intention but wrong in its method. Every subject furnishes its own psychology-an objective psychology that gives the true solution of educational value and methods of teaching. The sooner teachers realize this fundamental truth, the sooner will the profession possess a rational pedagogy of the various subjects of study.

It must not be inferred from the above criticism that Dr. Hinsdale has not produced a work of great value, for he has, and every teacher of history, as a professional duty, ought to study it.

W. H. MACE.

Histoire générale du IVe Siècle à nos Jours, publié sous la direction de MM. E. LAVISSE et A RAMBAUD. Tome I, Les Origines 3951095. Tome II, L'Europe féodale, les Croisades 1095-1270, pp. vi, 805 and 987. Paris: Armand Colin et Cie. 1893.

There is a fascination in working with the sources of history, which is never felt by the compiler, who derives his materials from secondary books. Of course, it is impossible, without long years of study, to master the original records of more than a single epoch. Consequently, critical students usually prefer to record the results of their researches in monographs, long or short. But of those who are interested in history very few have time to read monographs. They demand that the results of this research shall be made accessible to

them in the smallest possible space. The strength of this demand is evident from the publication of two series on general history in French and English.

The plan of the two is quite different. In the French series each chapter is assigned to some scholar, who has made a special study of the subject; in the English* each volume is the work of one hand. Each method has its advantages. In the first each chapter is a monograph; in the second greater unity and continuity are possible. But let us examine the volumes of the French series.

The editors announce the purpose of including "the history of all races which have played a part in the great revolutions of humanity.” "At the periods of their importance for general history will appear the peoples and races of Northern and Southern Asia, of the extreme Orient, of America and of Africa." It will be interesting to see how well this plan can be carried out. The following volumes are announced: The English Wars, the Renaissance and the Reformation, the Religious Wars, the Age of Louis XIV., the Eighteenth Century, etc. To the volumes which have appeared seventeen scholars have contributed. For those announced many more will lend their assistance. Consequently we have in this series an unequaled opportunity to study the methods and the ability of the French historians of the day. The names of Lavisse and Rambaud are a guarantee that the workmanship will be of a high order. They hold themselves responsible for the preservation of the necessary unity. So far their work has been well done. Frequent cross references enable us to piece out the fragments and to get a complete account of any topic discussed.

The price-only twelve francs-and the general appearance of the volumes suggest merely a popular presentation. But this idea is dispelled in the first chapter by the enumeration of the prefectures in the Roman Empire, covering ten pages. Evidently the work is intended to be helpful to scholars and as such we shall criticise it.

Detailed references to authorities or sources are omitted except in a very few cases. This is unfortunate. Specialists ought to consider it their duty to enable other scholars to verify and control their statements. M. Berthelot is the only one who has given any exact references and he has done so only in the first chapter. The bulk and cost of the work would not have been increased materially by such critical apparatus. But in these volumes the scattered references are indefinite and inexact. Vol. II, p. 161, "a German chronicler" is quoted; p. 141, "a chronicler of the time;" p. 134, "a contemporary Italian writer; " etc. It would have been as easy to give the name. Vol.

"Periods of European History." General Editor ARTHUR HASSALL, M. A. Period I, A. D. 476-918, by C. W. C. Oman. Macmillan & Co. 1893.

I, p. 92 and p. 473, Procopius is cited as an authority without a word of warning about his inaccuracies. Vol. II, p. 149, Otto of Freising is quoted for Frederic I's expedition in 1166; Otto died 1158. Vol. I, p. 308, we are cautioned against believing the monk of St. Gall; on p. 323 he is cited as an authority. Vol. II, p. 163, “an important passage of the chronicler Alberic" is quoted. Alberic's patchwork composition is of such a character that we can trust it only after careful examination, and anyone unfamiliar with the chronicle will surely waste much time, poring over its voluminous records in search of this passage. A little more care would have remedied these annoying defects. The bibliographies are excellent. But in some the number of volumes in a work is given; in others omitted. Vol. II, p. 65, we are warned against Flach's books; on p. 477 they are given among the authorities. Villemain is treated in a similar manner. A reference to the 221 (sic) volumes of Migne's Patrologia (Vol. I, p. 46), for the "ecclesiastical writers" is rather unsatisfactory. It is especially noticeable how frequently the statement occurs, "There is no satisfactory work in French on this period." It would be equally true of English books.

Of the thirty-one chapters in the two volumes MM. Baget and Berthelot have each contributed six. M. Rambaud has written a single chapter on Southeastern Europe during the Crusades. He is particularly able to discuss this subject, and the treatise is full of interest and instruction. M. Lavisse also contributes a single chapter, discussing the formation of the papal power, etc., and the propaganda among the barbarians, 395-756. This discussion is even better than his articles on the same subject in the Revue des deux Mondes, 1885-87.

In general, the subjects are carefully handled; and the styles of the different authors, although varying greatly, are clear and attractive. In such an extensive work errors are almost unavoidable. Vol. II, p. 55, the number of days included in the Truce of God is stated much too small. Vol. II, p. 161, at the election of Lothair, 1125, there were forty electors-ten from each of the dominant races-not ten in all. Vol. II, p. 565, Henry III. did not proclaim a Truce of God, but a "Landfriede." Vol. II, p. 310, it is stated that Raymond of Toulouse already had Tripoli; on p. 313 there is an account of his obtaining it later. Vol. II, p. 327, Urban is described as very active after the capture of Jerusalem in promoting a new Crusade. He died within forty-eight hours after hearing of the fall of the holy city. The account of the Children's Crusade (Vol. II, p. 333, note 3), is very unsatisfactory. There is some exaggeration in the statement (Vol. II, p. 346), that the Crusaders "went to the East by millions."

A reader will be at loss to understand the course of the events described in Vol. I, p. 521, unless he already knows that Zwentibold was an illegitimate son. The proof-reading is carelessly done in places, Vol. I, p. 454, 114 is correct, not 116; p. 483, Sale, not Salle; Vol. II, p. 310, 1100, not 1110, etc. Mistakes similar to the above are too frequent. Occasionally an open question is decided in a dogmatic manner; e. g., the date of the introduction into Europe of Arabic numerals, Vol. II, p. 193.

But these volumes are valuable, and we wish that they could be reproduced in English at the same price. It is because of the excellence of the whole that we have called attention to the faults in detail. The topics treated are well chosen, the illustrations are apt, and a due proportion is observed in the correlation of the parts. No specialist is allowed to ride his favorite hobby. The usefulness of the work is lessened, however, by the absence of maps and indexes. Genealogical tables are furnished. A very large portion of the volumes is devoted to "Kulturgeschichte." Many important questions of the later period have necessarily been relegated to the third volume. This will probably be of even greater value than those already published for the questions which concerned the life of the people.

University of Pennsylvania.

D. C. MUNRO.

Il malthusismo e i problemi sociale. By VITTORIO LEBRECHT, Torini: Loescher, 1893.

This interesting work proposes to examine by the light of scientific criticism the theory of Malthus and the principal objections that have been brought against it. The author turns his attention, first, to pointing out the irrefutability of the biological tendency as Malthus has shown it, and the necessity which devolves upon political economy to recognize it as a fundamental law. Lebrecht does not ignore the objections raised by various writers against this tendency; on the contrary he estimates them with praiseworthy impartiality; yet after careful examination he believes that they are not destructive of the theory, and indeed he is hardly disposed to grant that they exert even a modifying influence. He does not deny that the coefficient of procreation is essentially economic and that poverty is one of its potent factors; yet he affirms that the prolific action of poverty can be remedied by moral influences, which shall check the increment of procreation and adapt it to the sum of subsistence. Lebrecht affirms that the statement of Malthus that population left to itself is doubled in twenty-five years, seems to be confirmed by the example of the United States. Nor,