SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
[Notice in this column does not necessarily preclude subsequent review.]
Adventures in Common Sense. By E. W. Hine. (Andrew Melrose. 5s. net.)—This book consists of little essays broken up into very short paragraphs. The writing is terse and crisp, the candour displayed is admirable, but the import contemptible. They might have been more correctly called " Essays in Common Cynicism " ; their philosophy could be summed up in the phrase " Get on or get out." Yet they are in no sense immoral. The writer believes that ordinary morality pays, and for that reason he exalts it. " Honesty is the best policy " is, he frankly admits, his gospel. " Telling a lie never hurts a man's con- science. It is the punishment that hurt•s." " Trying to live a spiritual life in a material world is the greatest folly I know anything about." " There is nothing to my system of ethics except that the better a man behaves himself, the better he gets along." All the higher side of life is put down as senti- mentality. " Martyrs, reformers, professors, poets, Christs, Buddhas, Mohammeds, writers, have finally become oppressors ; they have preached foolish propaganda until the rights of the people have been infringed." Our author is no democrat. He accepts the logical conclusion of his own premises, and regards poverty as a fault. The interest of such essays lies in their potential popularity. Is it possible that they represent the mind of any large section of the community ? We hope and believe they do not.
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