Evening star., 1925-07-04
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BookLover.

The American Library Association
has recently begun the publication of
a series OF booklets entitled Reading
With Purpose" The first number is
devoted to the tAenMeV Enbject of biol
ogy, which, % course, includes eVolu.
ton. DIR. Vernon Kellogg, secretary Of
the National Research Council and
writer with rare gift for making
science human, has written the book
let on Biology" 1t is a brief intro
duction to the subject written for the
purpose Of enlisting the interest of the
reader and inducing him to read the
half dozen or so books which the au-
thor commends as meeting "the re-
quirementS both of authenticity and
reliability and which have both in
formational and spiritual value, The
books which DR.. Kellogg lists and de-
scribes are: Everyday Biology" by
Prof. j. Arthur Thomson; The En-
gines of the Human Body" by Prof.
Arthur Keith; "Our Forerunners" by
Miles c. Burkitt; Men OF the Old
Stone Age" by Prof. Henry F. Os-
born; Human Origins" by Prof.
George G. MacCurdy; Social Life
Among the Insects" by DIR. w. NJ.
Wheeler, and Evolution" by DIR. Kel-
logg himself. 1t is announced that in
this series, Reading With Purpose"
the American Library Association will
soon publish other booklets on litera-
ture, history, economics. music, the
physical sciences, psychology, philos-
ophy and many other subjects.
Inasmuch as the theory of organic
evolution is fully accepted as the most
reasonable explanation of life by DR..
Kellogg in his booklet and book and
by the authors whom he commends, in
fairness it is appropriate to call atten-
ton to a recent book The Dogma of
Evolution" whose author, Prof Louis
7. More, makes reservations in his ac-
ceptance of the theory. The author is
a professor Of physics in the Univer-
sity of Cincinnati, and not a biologist.
His book is composed of lectures given
at Princeton University. The author
seems to be actuated by his fear that
modern evolutionary science is incom-
patible with ancient morality. and dog
| matte or institutional religion. His
position and purpose in writing the
book he states as follows:
Il accept the general doctrine of
! the evolution of organisms as a de-
ductive theory II is the most
satisfactory rational theory to ac-
count for those relations between
| existing fora and fauna. which un-
doubtedly exist But this is not
|
sical hypothesis which attempt to
give the cause and methods of evolu-
| tion, nor does it mean that the bio
| logical theory of evolution can be
applied with success to the problems
or mans mental and spiritual nature
:. 1t is the purpose of the
present work to trace these applica-
| tlons '. Can we use the conclu-
sions of biological evolution as a
| guide TO conduct?"
| Prof. More's book is an elaboration
! of his reasons for answering his
| question in the negative. AS The
Booklover is not qualified to speak on
| this subject he has turned to signed
J reviews of this book, some of which
are favorable and some unfavorable.
| One of the latter charges Prof. More
with Ignorance of the developments
in biology during the last 20 years.
x = X
A paradoxical character evidently
| intended by the author to represent
| the typical Russian is that of Golovan
in the novel "The Enchanted Wan
derer," by Nicolai Lyeskov, recently
translated. Golovan is originally a
serf, but becomes a freedman He
lives among the Tartars, and his life
Is full of vicissitude, but he endures
! is not bored. In his introduction to
the book Maxim Cork says: Russian
history has produced numerous men
of the sort and goes on producing
them even at the present. The traits
| OF the wanderer are to be diScerned
quite clearly in the nature and life
of the founder of Russian anarchsm,
Michael Bakunin."
X
Doctors may differ about the value
of alcoholic liquor in medicine, but
| there was little difference of opinion
among the Scotch farmers wives of
Thomas Carlyles time. David Alec
Wilson in his volume, Carlyle Till
Marriage" tells story of the serious
Ill health of Carlyles mother in 1917
and how she was cured Mrs. Carlyle's
| reason was menaced because of her
prolonged inability 10 sleep. She was
finally sent for a complete change to
the farm of her brother-in-iaw, Mr.
Grierson, near Dumfries. The first
Mrs. Grierson, Mrs. Carlyle's sister,
was dead, but the second Mrs. Grier-
son was a kind and clever woman
ready to nurse her husbands sister
in-law." Sleep still did not come to
| the patient and she continued to spend
her nights in agonies of insomnia in
spite of various drugs. The doctor
prohibited whisky, which Mrs. Grier-
son suggested, as almost any farmers
wife would have done" Finally Mrs.
Grierson took "a bold resolution, as
something must be done She gave
her whisky in spite of the doctor s
No. no, no. Mrs. Carlyle slept a
long time like a baby, and wakened
well-herself again, returning home
In a week or so apparently in perfect
health The surprising thing about
the story is that a Scotch doctor of
that period should have prohibited the
whisky
The announcement that Herbert
Quick had completed his autobio-
graphy before his recent death will be
welcome news to a wide circle of de-
voted friends and admirers. Those
VINO knew him from his novels. his
writings on economics and his contri-
buttons to magazines and newspapers
Will be glad to have more from his
pen. And still more those who knew
him personally and heard his stories.
"reminiscences. banter and his good
talk on farming, single tax and many
another subject drawn from his rich
experience are pleased to have his de-
llghtful personality perpetuated in
print. Before publication in book
form the autobiography will appear
In the Saturday Evening Post under
the title One Mans Life The first
1nstallment printed in the issue Of
June 20, reads exactly as Herbert
Quick talked-leisurely, Whimsical
sage, meaty.
q MI