New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-08-10
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
CAUTION on HuMAN DEVELOPMENT.

GAIToN ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT.
,courR1rs MIRO HUMAN FACULTY AND ITS De
- TELoPMENT. BY FRANCIS GALLON f. RS MAC
milan Co.
II NAV NOT have been the firal purpose of Mr..
alton in this work to found new religion, but no
rnost sbsurdiy makes serious effort In that direc-
ton At the point In his book where the INQUIRIES,
which have hitherto appeared disconnected and
scattered, begin to converge toward something
i,ts = definite object, occurs an acute chapter
wherein the possibilities Of theocra.ic Intervention
ms Affecting tho value Of certain statistical con-
illusions arc discussed with proper reverence not
unmixed with humor. Then follow the well known
arguments to show that there is no reasonable
foundation for belief in the objective effective
ness of prayer, and these supplemented by some
considerations which set forth the untrustwortn-
mess of the strong subjective views OF devout per-
sons who feel that they receive holy ideas ana
affections and are inspired with noble resolves py
direct communion with higher Power. IL wouid
peem that under these conditions the religious IN
utnct would have slender opportunity for exercise
and qualification, but Mr.. Gallon suggests tnat even
II man does not possess the faculty OF com'uunlng
with an unseen Being no has the faculty OF com
mining with his own heart. "ThcIe is nothing In
any hesitation that may be felt ~ to the posslbil-
ity of receiving help and inspiration from an unseen
world TO scredit the practice that is dearly priced
by most OF u.s. Of withdrawing from the crowd ana
entering into quiet communion with our hearts
until the agltati0ns of the moment have Gained
down, and the distortng mirage OF worldly az
mvsphere has subsidized and the greater objects and
more enduring affections of our life have reappeared
ia their due proportions. We may then take CON-
fort aud find support in the sense OF our forming
part Of whatever has existed or will exist ana TINS
need be the motive of idle revere but of an act
~..<s, that IN
NAV be small but cannot be ina 3pllcabe in defining
the as vet undetermined possibilities of an endless
future It may inspire vigorous resolve to use all
the intelligence and perseverance, we can command
to fulfil our part ~ members OF one great family
that strives as whole toward fuller and
higher lfe." This method Of seeking inspiration
differs little from that employed in several other
modern religions. Nor the mysteries and mo-
tives OF Mr.. Cations religion entirely novel. The
sLorelsss ocean Of life actual and potential which
rolls about us Is bound together in space and time
az single entity. 1t Is reasonable faith when ac-
cepts as q fact the solidarity of the universe
vast system, that is. whose most distant parts are
bound together by intimate relations into one CON-
plete hole. Each man Is a citizen of this cosmic
Republic. And rs In the nation Of countless cells
which form tho human body some members are
always dying and others growing to supply their
places while the constant sequence Of these multi
tudes of little lives results IN the larger and con-
scious life of the man as a whole, so eacp human
life may have distinct relation to the entire
system of existence and @our personalities may be
the transient but essential elements of All immortal
and cosmc mind"
of the origin and purport of existence we know
little and nothing of the outcome IN the far future
of that personal life to which we each cling pas
uonately in the joyous morning OF the affections,
but which. as these and other interests RAIL- does
not seem so emnently desirable in ITSELF" Other
stars have grown dark and cold and probably the
sun will burn oct and our earth be locked in ice
before organic ifs which under present conditions
seems at its prime, shall have continued in the
future as long as 1t has fourished in the
past and the entire living world shall
have waxed and waned like an individ-
nal II g. But from the observed order Of events we
are forced to believe that ~ the whole moves
steadily on through the evolution Of new forms
which are adapted more and Ri0re to their needs
and circumstances, and i2 that the process and the
progress have besn through routine blind and ruth
less when judged by human standards of intelli-
gence and mercy. Ia this system Of rigorous caus-
st,ou the new animal man. intelligent and kindly
beyond the prehistoric races the gathered gains OF
whose lives and deaths he has inherited, finds HIM
self at last. He has already furthercd evolution
considerably. ale has cleared such vast regions
of forest that his work that way in North America
alone, during the past half century, would be VS.
ible to an observer far oil as the moon" lie has
extermlnated. domesticated and transplanted
plants and animals; he has flooded and drained
and in many ways exhibited his power IN modify
ing the surface of the globe. He has done this half
uncor sciously and for his personal advantage The
time has come when he should devote himself to the
work of assisting evolution deliberately and sys-
tematically. e. He knows how petty he Is, but he
also perceyes that he stands here on this particular
earth at this particular time the heir of untold ages
and in the van of circumstances He ought there
fore TO be less ddent than he is usually instructed
TO be- and to rise to the conception that he has
function to perform in the order OF events and that
his exertions are needed He should look upon him
self more as freeman, with power OF shaping the
course of future humanity and less as the subject
of n despotic government, in which case 1t would
be his chief merit to depend wholly upon what had
been regulated for him and to-render abect obedi-
ence.r This obligation to further the course OF
evolution is tho new and distinct moral duty i'm
posed by Mr.. Cations religion.
But granting this as the religious significance of
the doctrine of evolution how is man. after gaining
n new and controlling sense Of his moral freedom
and responsibility to order his energies for tho help
ing forward of the evolution of the human racof
He must know and the necessary knowledge Is to
be found In the science OF "Engenics" for the
new religion needs new sciencel. which takes
cognizance Of every influence tending to give the
moro suitable strains of blood better chance OF
prevailing speedily over the less suitable. 1t Is
for the purpose of gathering data for such science
that the various inquiries whose results are found
in this volume were undertaken. The book en-
braces the substance Of what Mr.. Cation has
written and published in fugitive papers during the
twelve years since his work on Hereditary Ge
niusn appeared. If some topics from their slight
bearing upon the main subject of the work appear
As.l.n n,,fo f IN,