10 JANUARY 1880, Page 23

The Rights of an Animal : a Law Essay in

Ethics. By Edward Byron Nicholson, MA. (C. Kogan Paul and Co.)—The public is lunch indebted to Mr. Nicholson for this able and manly essay. He goes back to first principles, treats the whole question with thorough- ness and candour, and puts it, we think, on a satisfactory basis. We -commend especially the passage on vivisection, a subject on which it is very difficult to keep calm, in the face of horrible facts, and the cynical cruelty with which they are excused, but which is not to be settled by any " total " measures in either direction. Mr. Nicholson adds to the value of his book by reprinting some of the writings of -John Lawrence, a philosopher born before his time, who wrote about -" The Rights; of Beasts" and other kindred subjects, about the begin- ning of this century.