SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
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In his essay upon Political Ideals: their Nature and Development (Humphrey Milford, 2s. 6d. net), Mr. C. Delisle Burns has made an interesting contribution to the theoretical study of politics. He discusses in turn the ideals which form the bases of the different schools of contemporary political opinion, and, for their better comprehension, discusses them historically. Thus, his first chapter deals with the conception of " Liberty" in special relation to the growth of that con- ception at Athens ; his second chapter treats in the same way of the idea of " Order " which found its fullest expression in Rome; and so he proceeds in a series of chapters on such subjects as "Renaissance Sovereignty," "Revolutionary Rights," and, finally, upon the modern ideals of Nationalism and of Imperialism, of Socialism and of Individualism. Though we do not always find ourselves in agreement with Mr. Burns's conclusions, yet his work has great merits. He is always scrupulously fair in his exposition of each of the successive ideals which he describes, and he is no lees impar- tial in the criticism to which he subjects them. But the philosophic detachment which gives so much value to Mr. Burn's reflections does not prevent them from holding our interest. This is partly because he writes excellently in a straightforward and sometimes in a trenchant style, and partly because in all his abstract reasoning he keeps in mind the practical and contemporary bearings of his subject.
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