Primitive Man. By Dr. Moriz Hoernes. Translated by James H.
Loewe. (J. M. Dent and Co. Is. net.)—This is one of the series of " Temple Primers." It would, we are inclined to think, have been the better if the earlier part had been omitted. Dr. Hoernes dogmatises on matters where dogmatism is wholly inadmissible. " Our own planet originally detached itself from
the sun in the form of a loose gas-ball it became incandescent, hurled its satellites into space, and gradually cooled
down Seas formed, and after an inconceivable lapse of time the seeds of a new, differently conditioned life germinated in their depths." All cosmogonies or theories which imply a Creator are contemptuously dismissed, unless, indeed, we fail to under- stand our author as he is here presented to us. Apart from this, the book with its account of the various stages of human history is valuable. There is, as our readers are aware, an unsettled con- troversy about the earliest appearance of man. Leaving this question out of consideration, Dr. Hoernes will be found a well- informed and intelligent guide to the subject.
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