Mr. Fiske is not a mere compiler from Mr. Spencer's works, nor is he simply a popularizer of an abstruse theory. He works his way to the chief results of Mr. Spencer's argument with independence and self-reliance. In many places he has presented his master's doctrine in new aspects or carried it forward to new conclusions, while throughout he adds something to the original from which he draws by freshness of illustration and individuality of literary style.... It is curious to note the almost fierce persistence with which the author returns again and again to an attack on the doctrines of Comte.... The most striking part of Mr. Fiske's social speculations is the hypothesis by which he proposes to bridge over the gulf which divides the merely gregarious and sympathetic brutes from morally constituted man (Part II., chap. xxii.).—James Sully, in Examiner (London).
Mr. Fiske is a disciple who thinks for himself, and who has no hesitation, when necessary, in criticising him whom he acknowledges as master.... He is so thoroughly imbued with the philosophic spirit that his work merits a careful perusal; it has the especial attraction of being written in excellent temper and admirable English.—Daily News (London).
Mr. Fiske's work shows a complete and independent mastery of the subject in all its bearings, together with a power of lucid and vigorous exposition unexcelled in any philosophical work with which we are acquainted.—Daily Globe (Boston).
It is our best American book on the evolution philosophy, and deserves to rank with the productions of the great English thinkers.—Index (Boston).
DARWINISM AND OTHER ESSAYS. New Edition, enlarged. 12mo, pp. 283, $2.00.
Contents: Darwinism Verified; Mr. Mivart on Darwinism; Dr. Bateman on Darwinism; Dr. Büchner on Darwinism; A Crumb for the "Modern Symposium;" Chauncey Wright; What is Inspiration? Modern Witchcraft; Comte's Positive Philosophy; Mr. Buckle's Fallacies; Postscript on Mr. Buckle; The Races of the Danube; Liberal Education; University Reform; A Librarian's Work.
If ever there was a spirit thoroughly invigorated by the "joy of right understanding" it is that of the author of these pieces. Even the reader catches something of his intellectual buoyancy, and is thus carried almost lightly through discussions which would be hard and dry in the hands of a less animated writer.... No less confident and serene than his acceptance of the utmost logical results of recent scientific discovery is Mr. Fiske's assurance that the foundations of spiritual truths, so called, cannot possibly be shaken thereby.... Warm personal admiration and acute critical discernment could not well be blended in finer proportions than in the article on the lamented Mr. Wright.... The article on Mr. Buckle's Fallacies has one aspect more remarkable than all the rest. It was written and published when the "History of Civilization" was new,—that is to say, when the writer was nineteen years of age; and the years—almost nineteen more—which have elapsed since then have rather confirmed than detracted from its value as a piece of criticism. The judgment of posterity on the most ambitious book of its generation, and one of the most bewildering, was actually anticipated by a stripling, and its final rank assigned with singular fairness and precision. Scarcely even in the style is there a trace of immaturity.... The essay on the Races of the Danube forcibly suggests the idea that Mr. Fiske has qualities of mind, almost unused hitherto, which would make him an exceptionally valuable writer of history.—Atlantic Monthly.
The article on the Races of the Danube shows that Mr. Fiske has a special talent for history.—Nation (New York).
MYTHS AND MYTH-MAKERS: Old Tales and Superstitions interpreted by Comparative Mythology. 12mo, pp. 251, $2.00.