The New York herald., 1922-05-21

N view of the sudden and wide
spread eclipse of Prof. Num-
sterberg's popularity during
the closing months of his life, under
shadow of the world war, this newly
published life history is probably the
most effective and disarming form
in which to recall to mind his many
very real services to human prog
ress. A more special study of his
achievements in psychology by a
fellow scientist, whether in a eulo-
CYSTIC or argumentative spirit, would
even yet tend to reawaSen racial an
tagonism that would merely befog
the question of his real achieve
ments The present book contents
itself with narrating with orderly
directness the salient facts of his
comparatively brief career. 1t may
best be described as a simple and
dignified monument. erected by filial
piety, with no ornate establishment,
but with the unmistakable touch of
intimate knowledge and conscious
pride. Its only weakness is that of
omission. 1t tends to maintain si-
lence or to gloss over whatever
might detract from the authors high
conception of her subject-a fault in
herent in biography of the monu-
mental type: 'De mortuis nihil nisi
bonus"
The opening chapters record the
childhood and student years of Hugo
Munsterberg in a series of carefully
drawn and vivid pictures, that are
not without their charm despite a
certain Teutonic flavor in their lei
surely amplitude. He was born in
Danzig, the Venice of the North
in 1868, and was next to the young
est of four brothers, who despite
wide divergence of interests, and
long separation. kept up loyal de-
votion to the end of their several
lives Hugo's serious schooling un-
der the drastic discipline of the Ger
man Gymnasium" began at the
age of nine. Some idea of the stern
mental training demanded is given
by the mention that the boys in
Hugo's Greek class were given pass
ages from Schiller's "Maid of Or
leans" to translate into Greek hex
ameter. But we are told that such
was Hugos natural aptitude for all
the prescribed branches that far
from finding them n burden he had
leisure to cultivate many outside in
terests besides. producing a consid
cradle amount of precocious poetry
and fiction, editing q college maya
zine and at the age of fifteen COM
piling a Lexicon of Foreign Words
Used in German" Even at this
early age he manifested that same
instinct for experimental psychology
which later brought him fame, by
testing out in various ways his own
natural bent He learned, for in
stance, to read the Koran in the orig
inal Arabic, and with a friend ex-
plored the mysteries of Sanskrit.
With similar enthusiasm he dipped
into archaeology. and his final thesis
before leaving the Gymnasium was
on "West Prussia in Prehistoric
Times
Entering the university at the age
of 10 Munsterberg devoted his first
summer semester to learning French,
and so strongly did the literature of
that language seize hold upon him
that he translated into German sew
eral long narrative poems by Fran
co.'s Coppee and Sully-Prud'homme.
In the university. just as earlier in
the Gymnasium, he shows the same
tendency to experiment and fiuctuate
i'm his studies We find him first
planning to devote himself to social
psychology; then he changes his
mind in favor of medicine, and in
1883 swings back again to his first
choice. under the influence of Will
helm Wundt, the father of modern
psychology. Eventually he remained
true to both predictions, and acv
complished the rare feat of taking
two degrees almost simultaneously.
his Phi. D. at Freiburg in July. 1887,