things, or our common words of the shop and the market, and all the familiar intercourse of life. It will indeed repay you far better than you can readily believe; I am sure, at least, that for many a young man his first discovery of the fact that words are living powers, has been like the dropping of scales from his eyes, like the acquiring of another sense, or the introduction into a new world; he is never able to cease wondering at the moral marvels that surround him on every side, and ever reveal themselves more and more to his gaze."

In five lectures, of course, Mr. Trench is only able to show generally the kind of instruction that may be gained from this study; it would require the labour of a life to elucidate the derivation of even a small part of the 60,000 words which compose our language. He has illustrated his remarks, however, by about 200 instances of instructive etymologies, which he has for the most part investigated in a very able manner.

The "Introductory Lecture" is devoted to a general explanation of the subject. In each of the succeeding lectures, it is looked upon from a particular point of view. Lecture II. is "On the Morality in Words." Mr. Trench here shows that man has indelibly stamped the impress of his fallen nature upon many of the words which he uses, and that the abundance of such words in all languages is only too true a witness to the extent of his moral degradation; that, according to the esteem or contempt in which, at different times, particular offices and qualities have been held, so the words denoting them have been gradually ennobled, or have degenerated in their significance; that there is a witness for the truth in most words, but in some, unfortunately, a pernicious glozing-over of falsehood; and that the vocabulary of any language is, therefore, a faithful indication of the moral condition of the nation speaking that language. Lecture III. is "On the History in Words;" and, after touching on the original unity in language, shows that the great changes in the political, social, and religious state of mankind have left their traces in particular words; that many are borrowed from customs which have long passed away; that many are derived from historical personages and occurrences, and others from the names of places where the things were first made or employed; that an ignorance of the origin of a word often gives rise to false spelling; that several words at present in use record old errors and superstitions long abandoned; and, that the scruples of the Society of Friends about the retention of such words are unreasonable. Lecture IV. is "On the Distinction of Words," and shows the manner in which synonymes have arisen and multiplied, their importance in the expression of nice distinctions, the value of etymology in assisting us to distinguish between them, and the influence which an acquaintance with their application has upon our style of writing, and even upon our morality. The concluding lecture, "On the Schoolmaster's Use of Words," suggests some ways in which the study may be applied to practical ends, and made to bear upon teaching. We gave an extract from this Lecture, on the "Losses by Phonetic Spelling," in the last number of the Journal.

The first thing that strikes us, in reading this book, is that, with reference to the class of men for whom the lectures were written and published, the author has exaggerated the importance of his subject.

There is no doubt that the investigation of the etymology of words is most profitable study, if rightly pursued; but it requires a more than ordinary acquaintance with the languages from which our tongue is derived, for without this, we must be continually liable to commit the most absurd inaccuracies ourselves, and to perpetuate erroneous etymologies which we must take on trust from others, who are, perhaps, not better able than ourselves to judge of their correctness. It is from the attempts of incompetent persons to trace learned etymologies that so much discredit has been thrown upon the subject. If a man with the philological attainments of Horne Tooke could not avoid falling into occasional mistakes, how can any one with no such attainments expect to escape the commission of the most gross blunders? We hope to see the day when English schoolmasters shall have received a good training in languages as a regular part of their education; but, at present, we certainly think their time may be devoted to many things that will yield more profit, both to themselves and their pupils, than the Study of Words. We do not deny that a knowledge of common etymologies in teaching is very good to keep up the interest of the children; we would only warn schoolmasters against making" a study " of what they should more properly treat as an amusement. It appears that the students at the Winchester Training School are made acquainted with a good deal more than the first rudiments of Latin; but, although this would enable them the better to understand and appreciate Mr. Trench's Lectures, it would not render them capable of undertaking the study for themselves, except to a very limited extent. Even the author himself, as it appears to us, has not been able to avoid being misled by specious etymologies, and, in some cases, we think he has brought a great deal more out of the word than it ever contained. He has adopted the current derivation of atone from at-one, which we can only regard as a curious instance of forced etymology. The pronunciation contradicts the assumption; but a much better proof that it is erroneous is, that the word was formerly written attone, and meant simply to agree or accord, from which it would appear that it is only the more correct form of attune. We are not aware, either, that there is any warrant for supposing that the word tribulation was at any time employed to convey the idea of purification or separation which Mr. Trench attributes to it. It should be remembered that the act of threshing is not that by which the corn is separated from the chaff. The word would rather seem to have been adopted as implying by analogy the bruising, crushing, or wounding of man's spirit by adversity, persecution, or distress.

With these reservations, we cordially recommend the book to the attention of our readers. It contains a large amount of valuable and interesting information, and may be read with profit by any one. The Lecture on the Synonymes is particularly useful; and that on the History in Words particularly interesting; and either would in itself repay the cost of the book. Although we do not advise teachers to attempt to carry out etymological inquiries to any extent for themselves, still there can be no doubt as to the value of accurate information obtained as the results of such inquiries; and as the greater part of Mr. Trench's derivations may be relied upon, the book will

prove particularly useful to them in this point of view. Besides, there are a great number of words which only require a little reflection to enable us to perceive their connection with other words; and Mr. Trench's remarks under this head will set teachers on the right track for discovering such connections. The book is further written in so simple and elegant a style, and many of the reflections are so beautiful and interesting, that we would gladly see it in the hands of all engaged in ́ the business of education. We are sure that it will make them feel a fresh interest in their work. It will lead them to regard the vehicle of teaching in a new and more serious light than they have been accustomed to do, and thus bring them to "weigh their words," and, as Mr. Trench observes, discover a deeper meaning in the Saviour's declaration-" For every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."

LOGIC FOR THE MILLION, A FAMILIAR EXPOSITION OF THE ART OF

REASONING. BY A FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 12mo. 380 pp. (Longman and Co.)

SPEAKING of the intellectual part of the education of young people, a writer, for whose opinions we have the highest respect, and to whom we have heretofore been indebted, thus briefly sketches the outline of the process that ought to be followed :-"There is the absolute knowledge to be acquired; and the ways of acquiring knowledge to be gained. The latter, of course, form the most important branch. They can in some measure be taught. Give children little to do; make much of its being accurately done. This will give accuracy. Insist upon speed in learning, with careful reference to the original powers of the pupil. This speed gives the habit of concentrating attention, one of the most valuable of mental habits. Then cultivate logic. Logic is not the hard matter that is fancied. A young person, especially after a little geometrical training, may soon be taught to perceive where a fallacy exists, and whether an argument is well sustained. It is not, however, sufficient for him to be able to examine sharply, and to pull to pieces. He must learn how to build. This is done by method."

Agreeing with the recommendations contained in this passage, we beg to call the attention of our readers to the work at the head of this notice, which fully and entirely fills up a hiatus that has long been felt in our educational literature. Except what can be gathered from the words, "By a Fellow of the Royal Society," the publication is anonymous; the writer remarking in his preface-" Though not unknown as an author, I am not known as a writer on logic; and I am unwilling that the present work should receive either advantage or disadvantage from any reputation I may have acquired by other publications." We wish he had determined otherwise. A work of this kind would have derived advantage from a well-known name on the titlepage, and his readers, too, from knowing with whom they had to do. Another drawback, we think, it has in the title. The attribute "for the million," has become of late so intimately associated with quack medicines and books of mere amusement, or even worse, that very many well-meaning peeple will be apt to class "Logic for the Million" with Comic Grammars, and Comic Blackstones, and the thousand and one things that are advertised of sovereign use to all that

use them. And yet this is, in fact, a serious book on a serious subject, well-written, well-thought, and well-arranged, and if it be carefully read can scarcely fail to be well-digested. The title is no misnomer. The author has brought a subject hard only in appearancean appearance which, up to this time, has been kept up by overlaying treatises on logic with an unnecessary number of technical terms and lifeless forms-into the common stock; and has presented us with a work, which we, at least, have found to be most fascinating and instructive. The author himself seems to have been well aware what an amount of prejudice he had to remove, and how unpopular a subject he had been employing himself upon. He says:

"Let no one commence the reading of this book under the impression that he is about to engage in an exercise that is dry, toilsome, or difficult. He will not find it so. Here are no intricate theories in which the reader may become 'bewildered-no knotty questions by which he may be embarrassed— no hard words which he cannot understand-no ill-natured censure of preceding writers to awaken his resentment, and no gloomy reflections to render him either sulky or morose. The road before him is a wide and easy path, in which he may walk pleasantly along, gathering amusement and instruction by the way; and now and then he will be invited to repose that he may look around him and indulge in feelings of useful merriment."

The work is divided into five parts. The first part is called the Introduction to Reasoning, and is intended to show us the name and nature of the art; the subjects on which it is employed; its utility; the dispositions and knowledge required for its successful use. As its utility is by far the most important preliminary point to be established, we can scarcely do better than quote the author's own words :

"All men and women reason from their infancy. "Tis as natural for them to do so as it is for dogs to bark or birds to sing. And when they reason about things they understand, they generally reason well. But sometimes they reason ill; and 'tis the business of the art of reasoning to teach them how to reason well. Such an art cannot be otherwise than useful. It must be useful to know how to do well anything we have to do every day and several times a day. And when we recollect that much of our health, our success in business, our moral and religious character, our present and future happiness, our reputation in the world, and our usefulness to others, will depend upon the soundness of our reasonings, the art will appear to us of very high importance."

Again :

"The art of reasoning is useful by enabling us to defend our own principles against the attacks of opponents, and to give them currency in the world. You may have to defend your opinions against the attacks of those who hold contrary opinions. You must not hesitate to do this when the cause of truth or justice requires it. When your own character or that of your friends, or your political or religious principles are assailed, you are bound to make resistance, and it will be useful to be able to do it well. The political and religious differences that exist among mankind are by no means to be deplored as unmingled evils. They serve to awaken the nobler feelings of the soul, and to maintain attention to principles that might otherwise be forgotten. They stimulate the intellectual powers, and impart an energy to all the faculties and to all the operations of the mind. To engage in controversy does not imply that you are to vituperate the person, misrepresent the opinions, or calumniate the character of your opponents. You will be less liable to fall into these practices if you understand the art of reasoning. You will then have no occasion for these ignoble weapons."

The second and third parts of the work are devoted to explaining the principles on which reasoning depends; namely, the relation that subsists between a Subject and its Attribute, a Whole and its Parts, Genus and Species, and the various relations between Cause and Effect; and we are shown also, in a manner as novel as it is instructive, how reasoning is carried on in Parables, by Analogy, in Fables and Proverbs, and by the help of written documents generally. In the fourth part are discussed the forms, and in the fifth the applications of Logic, in clear, simple, and excellent language, with a variety of illustration and quotation, showing that the author is a thinking man, as well as a well-read scholar. He has taken, as he informs us, most of his quotations "from the Bible, from books on political economy, and from newspapers; others from books referring to the ordinary affairs of life-chiefly to health, education, and conduct."

If the reader be contemplative, he will find food for thought as well as encouragement for more active exertion, in paragraphs such as the following, which is replete with large experience, and expressed in forcible language:

"It is easy to show that there is a positive gratification resulting from the study of the sciences. If it be a pleasure to gratify curiosity-to know what we are ignorant of-to have our feelings of wonder called forth, how pure a delight of this very kind does natural science hold out to its students! Recollect some of the extraordinary discoveries of mechanical philosophy. Observe the extraordinary truths which optical science discloses. Chemistry is not behind in its wonders; and yet these are trifling when compared to the prodigies which astronomy opens to our view; the enormous masses of the heavenly bodies, their immense distances, their countless numbers, and their motions, whose swiftness mocks the uttermost efforts of the imagination. Then, if we raise our view to the structure of the heavens, we are again gratified by tracing accurate, but most unexpected, resemblances. Is it not in the highest degree interesting to find that the power which keeps the earth in its shape, and in its path wheeling round the sun, extends over all the other worlds that compose the universe, and gives to each its proper place and motion; that the same power keeps the moon in her path round the earth; that the same power causes the tides upon our earth, and the peculiar form of the earth itself;-and that, after all, it is the same power which makes a stone fall to the ground? To learn these things, and to reflect upon them, produces certain as well as pure gratification."

If instruction of the very highest kind, and on the most important subjects be required, let us listen to the unknown commentator on the Bible. The following would make an excellent lesson to any class:

"The word parable is applied in the New Testament to four different kinds of literary compositions. These are tales, comparisons, parables, strictly so called, i. e. allegories, and fables.

"A tale differs from a parable, strictly so called, in having no reference beyond itself. The above tale" (that of the rich man) "illustrates the futility and uncertainty of riches, but it has no allegorical meaning. It is not employed as a similitude or comparison to illustrate anything else. The same observation may be applied to the parables, as they are called, of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke xvi. 19); the pharisee and the publican (Luke xviii. 9); the unprofitable servant (Luke xix. 12), and the unfeeling servant (Matt