The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 22, 1903, Page 6

6 THE SUNDAY CALL. MONG Str.king FPhilosophy. “The true progress in human life con- sists in the ellmination of the dishar- monies of human nature and in the cul- tivation of physiological old age followed by matural death. “But to modify the human constitu- tion, it will be necessayy first to frame an ideal and thereafter to set to work with all of the resources of sciemce. If there can be formed no ideal able to unite men in & kind of religion of the future, the ideal must be founded on sci- entific principles. And if it be true, a8 has been asserted so often, that man cannot live by faith slome, the faith must be in the power of science. “The ncrmal end, coming after the ap- pearance of the instinct of death, may be regarded as the ultimate goal of human existence. shculd be based mot on hu- :&y be in the fut Tt is absurd to expect anything to but absoclute annihilation.” fields rew as a y scholars. But ysophy Buddha of when s scheme £ At ens apes; perfection 1 that he at his body new note, - is Dhijos al in conception and physiologically the many ff. From “dish re phenor eath one of That sleep— ture—must nies in his learn trusting purpose, of death, the simple according e prepara- e does not us here on its years. u’s life the most noble of his whole exist- Council of the An- erpart in the which Man would ession of his the instinct of death would him like the instinct of sleep, he would lay him down to the ther striking note in Metch- y which must be under- any attempt is made to fol- tive reasoning by which he seeks to establish his theory of old age This is his tude toward man in the grand scheme of the universe. Most phi- losophers and sclentists are prone to make n nature the culminative point in the of things created and with human point to work down d in other forms of life. Not so Metchnikoff. Human nature 4s for the apex In the ascending of organisms; not & point of depart- t the point of highest water mark 2 the great life tide. For what distin- e man from the starfish? Sen- clousness, immortality, says an. But Metchnikoff demon- t the microscopical phagocytes in the blood fluld have & consciousness of their existence and demcnstrate both that and & sense of feeling by their actions. t the smaliest infusoria by ihelr constant reproduction by fission ex- hibit the only form of immortality which can be demonstrated by science. Man is the mear brother to the tree, to the jelly fish on the geashore, in that with them he possesses common characteristics. In common with the works of the great Eng scientists Metchnikoff's book will come under the ban of dogmatic religion- ists, For, ltke Huxley, Tyndal and Spen- cer, Metchnikoff accepts nothing which cannot be proven by science. There is no set of tissues in the body which are the seat of & soul, hence there is ho soul. There is nothing to prove that immortal- ity exists, hence immortality is & myth jured up by all sorts and conditions of men in all ages as a solace for the flls of the body and the troubles of the mind. In his introduction the author endeavors to t that philosophy and religion ve arisen from the disharmonies of hu existence, being in themselves Iy attempts to reconclle our imperfect d blighted physical well be- the general conception of a be- nign nature Metchnikoff then launches into the ab- sorbing subject of harmonies and dishar- monies in lower creations and in man- kind. It is on this topic that he takes exception to some of the tenets of Dar- win. The great English sclentist held that the evolution of species was a pro- gressive process of the gradual per- fection of the organism through natural BY 1d the inheritance of acquired tics. After showing the ex- of the mammoth through inabil- to the altered climatic on ity to 2 nditions of his habitat and citing nu- merous other instances of a like nature Metchnikoff s These facts do not bear testimony to the prevalent idea that there exists in nature a law of universal progress tend- ing to the production of organisms more and more perfect from the point of view of complex.ty of structure. It is incon- testable that forms higher in the scale of life have developed only after the appear- ance of lower forms. But it does not fol- low that development always takes a pro- gressive march. Man 1s one of the later species that have appeared upon the earth, but there are others of still more recent date. It is among man's parasites that we must look tor the latest products of creation. After reviewing the testimony advanced to deduce the fact of the simian origin of man, Metchnikoff undertakes the unfold- ing of the main argument of his book— the disharmonies in the physiological na- ture of man and the effects of these dis- harmonies upon his mental life. This done, he introduces his theory of the pro- longation of life by scientific treatment calculated to counteract the effects of these disharmonies. In the digestive apparatus of man, Metchnikoff cites the appendix as an ex- ample of & rudimentary worgan which serves no purpose and which, as we all know, is one of the fruitful causes for dis- ease. The wisdom teeth, a large portion of the digestive tract and the complicated and often useless mechanism of the eye all come under the scientist's sweeping designation of disharmonies. In a very careful study of the physiology of repro- duction Metchnikoff finds many other in- congruities. Then, to clinch his argument, the author shows the disharmonies in the instinct of self-preservation, which, per- haps, is the strongest of our instinctive sensations. That the love of life, to which the aged cling with desperation, should increase after the best that is In life has been long since lived, is a remarkable evidence of the effect of the inharmonious elements of our nature. If we have lived our life to the utmost of its possibilities, says Metchnikoff, why shopld we fear death? Is it that we do not dare think of absolute extinction? Is it the beyond—the invisi- ble—that we fear? No, replies the scien- tist; it is because the disharmonies of our existence have so wrought upon our bodies by their concomitant diseases that we die before our time is full come—we perish before the instinct of death comes to close our eyes in a natural dissolution. it with those who die from the physicians term it—is not the love for life equally strong with them? And yet they die as the result of no seeming disease. Metchnikoff answers this with his final argument, based upon his own discovery W. AND ELie METCHNIKOFF of the action of the phagocytes in the blood, which was made by his investiga- tions at the Pasteur Institute. These uni- cellulzr orsa. fluid during the period of youth prey upon the mi- crobes in the blood, thereby preventing their harmful influence by destroying them: but with the advance of age these merciful scavengers of the blood are forced to seek the vital organs themselves for their sustenance, and thus they induce premature decay of the heart, the braln and the other life-sustaining mechanisms of the body. Science, which has done so much with e-preventive serums and anti- 1l inevitably digcover an injec- vh into the blood which will phagocytes and thus deter them from their destructive depredations on old A normal old age will be the resuit. an, who has lived a clean exist- ence, will pass into the mellow fall -of life with the buoyant spirit of Marcus Aure- lus. “Do not abuse death,” said the philoso- pher. “Do we not pass on from infancy to youth, grow up and become tall and at- tain manhood? Do not our teeth come, our beards grow and our halr turn white? If we marry do we not beget children? Are not all such events in their due sea- son and the work of nature? Death comes through the same agency. It, therefore, behooves a wise man to approach death with neither anger, repugnance nor con- .t it like any other ope- (G. B. Putnam’'s Sons, New York; {llus- trated; price $2 00.) Standard Dictionary. number of additions which are be- ing made to the English vocabulary every year. The openiog up of a new country like China, the development of the science of aeronautics, the inven- tion of new mechanical devices, the ac- ceptance into general currency of words colned by the fertile brains of newspaper and magazine writers—these are only a few examples of the numberless sources whence spring new words full-fledged into the growing category of accepted terms. At first thought one would think that there were more than enough diction- aries of the English, language, but like the crop of dragon’s teeth, new words are springing up about us so rapidly that lexicographers have hard work to keep from being swamped entirely by the new and strange sounding expressions. To fill the crying need for a revised and amplified dictionary which would be strictly abreast of the times the Funk & ‘Wagnalls Publishing Company has pre- pared a 1903 edition of their “Standard Dictionary,” which meets every demand of the remarkably prolific character of our tongue. The board of editors, numbering 247 in- dividuals, have prepared this new edition FEW people realize the remarkable lic speech. THE AUTHORS AN R OBERT RITCHIE . i | 2 £ of the “Standard” with a view of regis- tering every word extant in the Kugush language, whether it is archalc ur very freshly colloquial. ' They ve acted un the very sound theory that the business of a dictionary is not to make a languuse but to record usage. To undertuse tw dictate what words the people should use would be an impertineuce. But the “Standard” editors have wisely cnarac- terized obsolets or slang words as such, and thus while they recognize Lheir pres- ence in the language, they act at the same time as wise censors of the pub- Dr. Isaack Funk, editor-in- chief of the new work, thus characterizes the éfforts of the board of editors in this respect: “In my experience the great strain is to keep words out of the dictionary, not in compassing sea and land to find words to make It larger. While making it, the increasing size of our dictionary was a source of constant apxiety. The limit which commercial requirements had fixed was 2100 quarto pages. If we ever had ‘a heated enthusiasm for bigness’ the fever quickly subsided. There was no necessity to catch words hot from the bat, so alarmingly abundant — super- abundant—are those that have had time to cool. The constant instruction to the editors of the various departments was to exclude every word that could be omitted without injury. Take this fact: there were on our vocabulary cards over 500,- 000 terms, every one having been ‘located’ in some book or reputable periodical. We threw out neck and crop over 200,000 of these by the rigid application of the fol- lowing rule of exclusion: Omit all words that would not be inquired after by a considerable number of people.” Practicability is the prime excellence ot the new “Standard.” To define a word merely by some synonym leaves the in- quirer after the truth as much at sea as in the beginning. The average man goes to a dictionary ,to find one or more of three things about a word—its correct spelling, its correct pronunciation, its most common present meaning. The busy man does not wish to read first the root of the word, then its historical tracing through Sanskrit, Greek and Latin and finally its modern meaning. “The Stand- ard” adopts the eminently common-sense method of giving the latest current mean- ing of the term directly after the word it- self and then following with Ats history. As was to be expected from the terri- torial expansion of the United States, the language followed the flag and as- similated a number of words of Spanish- American, Cuban, Porto Rican and Phil- ippine origin. Interspersed throughout these pages one notes occasional foreign words for which there are no English equivalents, and which therefore are often found in the periodical press, or are current in English books, so must of course be given place in an English dic- tionary. Among these terms are: Aca- bala, aldeament, alpargata, barrio, bolo, calesin, carabao, cogon, Igorrote, Jura- mentado, kris, mestizo, reconcentrado, zumbador, ete. But this process of as- similation has not alone followed the American flag; Anglo-African literature has contributed also a number of terms, and among them are many from Afri- cander-English that have sprung into prominence through the recent Boer war, as boschveld, commando, indaba, Induna, nek, Onderland, schanzes, Uit- lander, etc., and other words as dumdum, hinterland, lyddite, pompom, etc. There are only a few examples of the many new words which find a place in the latest eaidon of The Standard. By these examples, culled at random from pages of the volume, it is seen that the modern reader need have no excuse to pass over as impossible of definition any strange appearing group- ing of letters which he may encounter in his reading. He must recognize such as words in the Engltsh language and registered such by the authority of 247 men who can speak authoritatively. To the special features of the diction- Ary generous approbation is also due. There are nearly 5000 illustrations to the text. It is well supplied with maps, necrological tables, census statistics and valuable cyclopedic information. The typographical work and arrangement of AUTHOR OF NATURE: OF HIS RENOWNED TEACHER _ " the volume has produced a compact and handsome tone which should be put on your library shelf alongside of your full calf Shakespeare. Really, were one to read the Standard Dictlonary from cover to cover— wjich no man short of a Methuselah could do—he would say that verily sthere i8 nothing new under the sun. (Funk & Wagnalls Company, New York. Sold only on subscription.) Al o T Argonauts in Spain. EROME HART, the genial editor of J the San’Francisco Argonaut, has given us a very readable book of travel in his “Two Argonauts in Spain.” With hig letters sent from abroad to his periodical as a foundation, Hart has elab- orated upon the originals and written enough new material to make & good- sized volume, which is printed on the Ar- gonaut press, and which is brought out in excellent dress under the name of Payot, Upham & Co., the local publishers. The keynote of Mr. Hart’s work is its engaging sketchiness and breeziness of thought and diction. There is no attempt to delve into musty figures and produce Government tables of the number of An- gora goats in Andalusia, or the per capita tax in Saragossa for the last fifty years. There are no rhapsodical passages upon moonlight at the Alhambra. None of the earmarks of the time-honored books of travels are apparent in Hart's collection of thumb-nail sketches. The book is the fruit of a flying trip through the Land of To-Morrow. The author leads us over the border from France by Port Bou, the gate of the Pyrenees, through the north of Spain by way of Barcelona, Saragossa and Lerida to Madrid. Thence his narrative carries us into Andalusia, through Toledo and Cordova, to Granada, the Alhambra, and at last out of Spain by the iron gate of the Gibraltar. But it is not upon the typical “grand tour” that the author-ed- itor leads his readers: the hurry and rush of the ordinary sight-seeing tour- ist. When Hart finds something which strikes his fancy—the bell-ringers of Giralda, the make-up of & Spanish newspaper—he pauses and gets all the meat out of the subject before he leaves it to go on. A whimsical humor characterizes the Californtan tourist's work. He loves to catch the odd side of things and turn it into a smile. That a beggar should ride a-horseback and demand a largesse from the humbler wayfarer on foot tickles Hart, and he in turn passes the laugh on to his reader, reinforced by the dry hu- mor of the telling. One gains the idea from “Two Argonauts in Spain” that its genial creator was drifting easily along through Spain, always ready to see some new thing and more than willing to see some funny thing. The author very effectually tears the vell from “sunny Spain.” Those of us who have dreamt of Spain as a place where people lie under palm trees in hammocks and lazily chew pomegranate pips feel al- most as we did when we discovered who Santa Claus was upon reading what Hart has to say of the weather. “Never in my life,” says he, “have I seen such wrapping and mufiiing as I saw in Spain. The men wear very heavy cloaks—heavier than any outer garment we have in America, except fur-coats. ““They know their climate and its treach- eries better than strangers. But I Would not exchange the climate of California for that of sunny Andalusia. Still, since I have seen the Spaniards muffle themselves up, all over sunny Spain, and even In sunny Andalusia, I have concluded that one may admit the occasional necessity of an overcoat even in California. “One of the reasons for such careful muffliing is the Spanish terror of pneu- monia. Not only in Madrid, but through- out all Spain, this fear seems to be felt. It may be folly for a stranger to under- rate the danger—when traveling, it is usually wise to do as the natives do. But one cannot ignore the variable climate of Spain; the torrid sunshine and arctic winds of its great central plateau; the fickle thermometer of Madrid; and the dangerous difference there between su shine and shadow.” The book is & very creditable exhibition of the book publishing craft. It is print- ed on a high.grade, thick linen paper and 1s typographically artistic. Many illus- trations, the clear reproductions from photographs taken by the author, add to the appearance of the volume. (Payot, Upham & Co., San Francisco; {llustrated; price $2 00.) Grist for Littie Ones~ O little curly head should want for books when Santa Claus comes around this Christmas. Already the Eastern publishers have turned out baoks and more books for children. There are Indian stories for the boys, stories of meadows and cowslips for little girls and books of jingles with bright pictures enough to delight the hearts of all the toddlers. Probably one of the best books for boys—and grown-ups too, mind you—!s Stewart Edward White's “Magic For- est” This author can make more things come out of the woods and be revealed to the reader than any present- day writer about nature save possibly Henry Van Dyke. He knows the story of the birch trees; he tells the every- day life of the fox and the beaver; he gives one little glimpses into the homes of the forest birds. In this, his latest book, there is just enough about Indians and thrilling canoe rides to keep young Johnny or Teddy on the jump until he has closed the covers on the little story. Some excellent {llustrations add to the value of the tale. (Macmillan Company, New York. Illus- trated; price, $1 50.) There is another book which is gen- erally supposed to be for grown-ups but which 1in reality is best suitéd for boys; that is Cyrus Townsend Brady's “Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer.” Brady might have thought that the elders would take his book seriously and read it as a romance, but really there is too niuch of the cut and thrust in it for the average mature reader and enough of pirates and black flags to catch the youngster and hold him to the tale. Brady should have designated the fact that he had written a boys’' book when “Sir Henry Morgan” came from the presses. (G. W. Dillingham Co, New York Illustrated; price, $1 50.) Again for the boys is George Ade's “Circus Day,” illustrated by John T. Me- Cutcheon. Since that old story, “Ten Weeks With a Circus” (was it called?) there has been no circus story for the little fellows and this book is sure to win its way to the juvenile heart. It is really not a story—not much of & plot to it or anything like that—but it tells how Joe Wallace and Shaver Thompson saw the world's greatest hippodrome and refined menagerie just like any other boy would see thel and that is what the boy likes. He wishes he was there. Perhaps the boy's father will read the book also and wish he was a barefoot youngster going to the circus again himself. (Saalfield Publishing Company. Price, 50 cents.) And now for the girls; there are plen- ty of fine books for them. First there is the “Outlook Fairy Book,” by Laura Winnington. All of the old stories about the brave tin soldler, the magic tinder box and goldlocks are herein re- told for the little folks. The stilted language of the old German and Hans Christian Andersen books is softened so that the little one doesn’t have to i- terrupt her mother with, “What does that word mean?’ Besides the stories of hobgoblins and beautiful princesses there are several little ballads and some trans- lations*from the French and German folk stories which make the “Outlook Falry Book” a complete library of de- lightful stories. (The Outlook Company, New York. I- lustrated; price, $1 20.) Under the titles of “More Five Minute Storfes” and “The Green Satin Gown, Laura E. Richards, the popular girls writer, has given Bome score or more of short stories to her young admirers. By her numerous short stories, notably “Cap- tain January” and “Melody,” Miss Rich- ards has come to occupy to a very large extent the great place in girls’ hearts which Louisa M. Alcott filled fifteen years ago. And like the author of “Joe's Boys,” Miss Richards writes tales which are read all the way around the family lamp from the little miss in frocks up to father himself. (Dana Estes & Co., Boston; illustrat- ed; prices, §1 and 75 cents respectively.) Now comes Margaret Sidney with an- other “Little Peppers” book. Some one has sald of these delightful children’s books: “No one can put into words the sentiment with which we older ones, as well as our children, hang over the old, thumbed coples of the adventures of the Pepper family In their little brown house. We have done it for years, and we shall WORKS continue to do it. every decade making those blessed children perennially fr . Of all the fascinating adventures and ex- perlences of the “Peppers,” in which the young reader so delights none will sur- pass those contained in this latest vol- ume, telling of their school days, which was written in response to nUMerous re- quests from children in all parts of the “wjve Little Peppers at *"will fill every child’s heart with glee (Lothrop Publishing Company, Boston; fllustrated; price, $1 25.) In “The Adventures of Dorothy” Joce- Iyn Lewis has made a winsome little story for girls who is an active, I tle girl of abor s of age, spends & long summer m, her first experi- ence of country life. She opens her in- vestigation of the farm by releasing the hens which w their chickens make great havoe in Aunt Nancy's flowerbeds. Then she discovers the brook and thers meets Peter Van ( German boy, who Dorot n a f dev nd n. She dis- tinguishes rst meeting by falling into the brook, but as is always the case, her clothes are the only things to suffer. They become Dorothy’s trtal, as Aunt Nancy's New England soul revoits at the wanton imits her to three dr n spite of this small cloud on her horizon Dorothy manages to have as good a t e and get into as much mischief as any little girl could. (The Outlook Company, New York; - lustrated; price, $1.) hatterbox,” edited by e M. A.. appears again at approach of Christmas to e children. It is es and some ates make the book & e holiflay gift for little ones. & Co., Boston; illustra~ very attrac (Dana Estes ted.) New Bosks Received. n ::arxand. Harper's, 4" rkington; Harper's, HESPER, Hamlin New York CHE New ated; price $1 5. ) LOVE AFFAIR, Paul Dodd. Mead & Co., New N, BUCCANEER, ady; G. W. Dilling- New York; illustrated; price $1 50 THE MAGIC FOREST, Stewart Ed- ward White; Macmillan Co., New York; tllustrated; A DEAI AT, Frank Norris; Doubleds New York; illus- AND OTHER SUN STORIES, Mary Hallock Foote; Hough- ton, Mifflin & Co., Boston; price $1 5. THE 5 LENCE, G. B Burgin York THE Neith Boyee; Fox, ew York; price 125 BUTTERNUT JONES, Tilden Tiiford; D. Appleton & Co., New York: {llustrated. RHYMES FROM A ROUND-UP CAMP, Wallace Coburn; G. P. Putnam’s Sons; New York: 1 ted; price $§1 50 THE ADVENTURES OF DOROTHY, Jocelyn Lewis; The Outlook Co., New York; illustrated: price §1 00. THE OUTLOOK FAIRY BOOK, Laura Winnington: The Outlook Co., New York; fllustrated; price $1 20. THE GREEN SATIN GOWN, Laura E. Richards; Dana Estes & Co., Boston; llustrated. THE CHATTERBOX, J. Erskine Clarke; Dana Estes & Co., Boston; fllus- trated. CIRCUS DAY, George Ade; Saalfield Publishing Co., Akron, Ohfo; {llustrated. REFLECTIONS OF THE MORNING AFTER, Herman Lee Meader; H. M. Caldwell Co., Boston; illustrated. HOW TO BEAT THE GAME, Garrett Brown; G. W. Dillingham Co., New York; {llustrated. THE WAY TO THE WEST, Emerson Hough; Babbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis; llustrated; $1 50. THE LITERARY GUILLOTINE, Anonymous; John Lane, New York; price $1 00. THE COMPROMISES OF LIFRE, Heary Watterson; Fox, Duffeld & Co., New York; price 31 25. STANDARD DICTIONARY, new edi- tion; Funk & Wagnalls, New York; sold on subscription. WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA, 1508-1505; A. N. Marquis & Ca., Chicago; price §3 50, THE HOME, Charlotte Perkins Gilman; McClure-Phillips Co., New York; price $1 50. A SHORT HISTORY OF MEXICO, Ar thur Howard Noll; A. C. MoClurg & Ca., Chicago. TWO ARGONAUTS IN SPAIN, Jerome Hart; Payot, Upham & Ce., San Frascis- co; {llustrated; price $3 00. WOOD-CARVING, George Jack; D. Appleton & Co., New York; Ulustrated; price §1 40. OUR COUNTRY'S PRIDE; Cupples & Leon, New York; illustrated. THE NATURE OF MAN, Ells Meteh- nikoff; G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York; llustrated; price 32 00. ADVERTISEMENTS. An admirable book which should be in the hands of every young man The Call —OF THE- Twentieth Century By David Starr Jordan, President of Leland Stanford University, author of ““The Blood of the Nation,” etc. 80 pp. 12mo. 80 cents net. Fostage § cents additional. An outline of the work which the twen- tieth century is to see accomplished, and of the character of the men Who are to sponsibilities of its tasks. rong, inspiring, manly way, as a stimulus to the ambition of young men—and, indeed, good for all who would alm wisely to do “ihe day's work.” Hand- somely printed In two colors throughou and attractively bound—a desirable ,,.,.‘1 ume for gifi-book purposes. Soclety would be done a service if this little volume, so full of wisdom and inspiration. of sane counsel and rare insight, could find its way into the minds and hearts of all Amgerican youth. THE BLOOD OF THE NATION BY THE SAME AUTHOR, 6mo. 0 “fi',:,ddm:.o?”;’ 4d cents net. Postage 4 the survival of the unfit. A pewerner i tle volume on a great and vital tople. Oraer From Your Bookseller MERICAN UNITARIAN ASSOCIATION 35 Beacon Street, Boston