Cogitations and Conclusions. By 0. F. Routh. (Elliott Stock.) —"
A Commonplace-Book of Passing Thoughts " is not a work that easily admits of criticism. A writer who announces con- clusions in the somewhat peremptory fashion rendered necessary by the form of this book, can but lay himself open to the charge of dogmatism. One does not know how much time and thought he has given to the forming of them, and how far he is qualified to think. We read, for instance :—" The evidence against every alcoholic as a safe and salutary drink is accumulating so fast that decent people, from pure shame of indulging an old appetite
must refuse to have it on their table." Is it "accumu- lating so fast" ? We had thought otherwise. On the other hand, we agree when he writes :—" Things are turned upside-down when the M.P. comes, cap in hand, to his constituents." On the whole, there are to be found in Cogitations and Conclusions what probably might be found in most minds were their contents honestly transcribed,—both wisdom and folly. Possibly the wisdom predominates ; but a cynic might urge that there is to be counted on the other side the unwisdom of publishing.
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