Solar Fictions. By A. Freeman. (Seeley.)—This is a clever little
book, which bears something of a resemblance to Archbishop Whateley's famous "Historic Doubts about the Existence of Napoleon Buonaparte." Mr. Freeman attacks received astronomical doctrines concerning the sun, about its antiquity, constitution, magnitude, utility, and so forth, shows how a plausible case may be made out against them in each case,. and then explains himself in an appendix, through the intervention of an imaginary friend, to have been imitating the objections frequently alleged against revelation. On the whole, it is amusing and clever, but the mask is not kept on as it should be. The irony ought to be so subtle that a moderately intelligent reader should be in doubt almost to the end. The argument is mostly fair enough. Beyond all question, the sceptical argument is often pressed unfairly, because belief would be so very distasteful and inconvenient.
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