New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-04-27

op. ,bo sea OF aocietes large deliberately oreaniKod
I,cs Of Central America once contained great popula-
tous carving various Industries and arts tncre e
csses like those which produced these retrogressions
have at work during the whole period OF huas ,,
changes going on which, beterng some hahitats have
made others worse always There na pe ethey
escape OF the defeated iuto localities mint Tor suon a
vanced SOCIAL IRE a. % with externally there
have been those decays and dssoutOns which compe,o
Inv and Trusting into corners such Inferior
not exterminated, which " now golug on so actsy
times must have been ever going on. And the mplca
tion Is that remnants Of inferior races taking refuge
incleinent barren otherwise unfit regions have retro
Thus, them the tribes known as lowest must ex,
hbt some social phenomena which are DUE not 20 CAUSES
operating but to causes that operated during ph'
social states higher than the present ms pr.Or con-
cuson harnonizes with the facts and indeed u ss-
gested by facss that otherwise ineKpicable Iakei
for example, some furnished by the Ausra.,ns Dvldca
into tribes wandering over VIDE area these hiNhecs
have Notwithstanding their antiSonisns complex sy
rage which could not possibly been framed by pny
agreement among them they now exist; but whlch rc
comprehensive having survived from state IN which
these tribes were more closely united, and subordinate
TO some rule such, also, - the I'M
ingout OF teeth, which we find among them, as
among other races In the lowest stages For when
come hereafter 10 deal with bodily MUTATIONS We
they all imply Standardization, political or
ecclesiastical or both, such as these races do mol no"
Hence then, difficulty in sscertaining inductvoy
forming each Of the most rlimentry soeienes,
there doubtless some which have descended ny u%
ton higher state These have to be dscrnnn9'eu
from truly primitive ideas 70 that simple induction uoes
not suHee. . A., - .,.,oa ~, ooo,her
kind but equally great Comprehension 81 tho uOughte
generated in the primitive man ny his converse wlth te
surrounding world, be had only Ny lookl ~ tle
surrounding world from his s,anapS i , ihe l
during education, must bc suppressed; aud We mus
dvest OF conceptions which, partly by nhcr
lance and partly by individual culture have been tei
dercd necessary. Nonp can do this completely ana e"
| can do II even partially
1t needs but TO observe what unfit methods are adopted
by educators, be convinced that even among the d
cPlned the pOwot to frame thoughts which are widely
unlike their is extremely small When Wc see tle
Juvenile mind piled with g,neIaities while 1t las yet
mathematics introduced under the purely rational
FORM instead Of under that empirical form with when
by the race-when subject SO abstract as gram
mar put among the first instead OF among the last, and
have ample evidence OF the prevailing inability to con
coiye the ideas OF undevelcped minds. AMI IT. though
they have been children themselves men ma IL nara 10
rothnk the thoughts OF tine child stu harder must tey
tnd 1t to rcnk tne thoughts o. e sSS1 TO
look ut things with the eyes OF absolute ieornc ana
Oserve how their attributes and actions originally
grouped themselves in the mind, implies sefsupres-
sion that is impracticabc.
Nevertheless must here do our best TO conceive the
surrounding world as IL appeared to the primitive man
that may he able the bter to interpret deducti'ely
the evidence available for induction And though we ace
incapable OF reaching the conception by direct process
Guided by the doctrine of evolution in general aud by
the special doctrine OF menl evolution, we may
must be tue Characters those ideas. Sian be ia,
| thon 10 discern them AZ actually existing.
| In regard to the literary execution of this work
| something may properly be said objections have
lattery been made TO Mr. Spencers style of writing,
as being too technical and difficult for ordinary
! readers There has undoubtedly been some ground
for this criticism but the explanation of the case IS
by no means that SIR. Spencer has lost his power Of
writing in "A popular style. Those who are familiar
with his miscellaneous essays know that he is mas
ter Of lucid exposition, and is not wanting in the
| capacity of ADAPTING himself to common readers
But the readableness of book is by no means ell
tirely dependent upon the writer's art il depends
also upon the subiect-the contents of thought, and
the readers preparation for them In his later works
| on Biology" and "PsyclIoogyD Mr.. Spencer has
been presenting views of great originality, relating
to an order of facts aud ideas that to consider
| able degree unfamiliar to ordinary minds and tho
| difficulties complained of chiefly due to this
cause. Mr.. Spencer has had to write with precision
of things which people generally know little about,
and of little about, that strange scien
tific terms abound, and they often not ex
planned the general statements involving them are
only readily intelligbe to special students of the
sciences. But while this has hitherto been
| avoidable difficulty, IL disappears as Mr. Spencer
passes 70 the subject Of sociology He here again
enters a field in which tho conceptions belong to the
! common stock of thought. The general results of
! the former volumes are assumed in the sociology
cal discussion and are easily enough apprchende,
though those who require the evidence which
they rest will have To refer to the previous volumes
| of the series. The Principles of Sociology" may
| be nteligently read by all persons of moderate
intellectual cultivation, whose minds have not been
dobiiated by indulgence III superficial literature so
that they cannot relish "a little closeness of expos
| ton. But the work s designed for instruction
and not for amusement, Its trains of thought will
keep the reader seriously occupied he form of
| publication however, i'll quarterly installments, will
be favorable to delib crate and careful pcrusal
the contents of each part be well digested before
| the next appears.
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