Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub
[ocr errors]
[blocks in formation]

SCIENTIFIC BOOKS

The Letters of William James. Edited by his son, HENRY JAMES. Two volumes, xx + 348 and xiii +382, The Atlantic Monthly Press, Boston, 1920. $10.00.

William James was one of the half dozen greatest Americans of his generation; he was also a past master of writing. Every one with intellectual interests will wish to read his letters. They will be well rewarded, whether they seek better acquaintance with a great man, or literature itself, or stimuli to reflections upon the conditions of scholarly and scientific work in America.

The most notable fact about James himself which the letters reveal and emphasize is that he was from youth a philosopher and moralist, tremendously interested in the world as a whole and in its deeper meanings. Painting, natural history and medicine, each for a brief time, and psychology for almost a score of years, restrained him from the study of fundamental questions and sweeping statements which really had his life-long allegiance. At the age of twenty-six, while studying medicine and expecting to earn his living by practising it, and while gaining considerable acquaintance with the best work of the time in physiology and psychology, he was reading Hegel and writing that Kant's "Kritik ""strikes me so far as almost the sturdiest and honestest piece of work I ever saw." In the partial list of his readings during the half year after he took his M.D. philosophy and religion outweighed science and medicine nearly ten to

one.

In respect to the actual working of James's

intellect, the letters probably do not add m to what the shrewd reader would infer f the "Principles of Psychology," the "Vari of Religious Experience," "Pragmatism" other writings. The letters show brillia the extreme fertility of mind, the recepti to facts, theories and viewpoints of all s the impulsive reaction to approve and m the best out of every man's offering, intuitive sense of causes and consequer and the perfect candor and directness. 1 do not show so well the sheer mastery in serving and organizing the facts of hu nature and behavior, the final recognition truth and value, and the persistent refusa tolerate inadequacies or imperfections which James worked his way to them.

As literature the letters have the verve, magic gift of epithet and the utter since which, writing or speaking, James n lacked. His caricature, or possibly charac ization, of the university professor will often quoted:

t

-a being whose duty is to know everything, have his own opinion about everything, conne with his Fach. . . . has the most prodigious ulty of appropriating and preserving knowle and as for opinions, he takes au grand sérieus duties there. He says of each possible sub "Here I must have an opinion. Let's What shall it be? How many possible opin are there? three four? Yes! just four! Sha take one of these? It will seem more origina take a higher position, a sort of Vermittelu ansicht between them all. That I will do, etc." So he acquires a complete assortmen opinions of his own; and, as his memory i good, he seldom forgets which they are! But is not reprehensible; it is admirable-from professorial point of view.

He tells his little daughter of a big mas

The ears and face are black, his eyes are yel his paws are magnificent, his tail keeps wag all the time, and he makes on me the impres of an angel hid in a cloud. He longs to do g

Of the subtleties in the theme and tr ment of his brother's latest novels he wri

You know how opposed your whole "third r ner" of execution is to the literary ideals w

[ocr errors]

166

animate my crude and Orson-like breast, mine
being to say a thing in one sentence as straight
and explicit as it can be made, and then to drop
it forever; yours being to avoid naming it straight,
but by dint of breathing and sighing all round
and round it, to arouse in the reader who may have
had a similar perception already (Heaven help
him if he hasn't!) the illusion of a solid object,
made (like the "ghost" at the Polytechnic)
wholly out of impalpable materials, air, and the
of light, ingeniously
prismatic interferences

focused by mirrors upon empty space. But you
do it, that's the queerness! And the complication
of innuendo and associative reference on the enor-
mous scale to which you give way to it does so
build out the matter for the reader that the result
the
is to solidify, by the mere bulk of the process,
like perception from which he has to start.
air, by dint of its volume, will weigh like a cor-
poreal body; so his own poor little initial percep-
tion, swathed in this gigantic envelopment of sug-
gestive atmosphere, grows like a germ into some-
thing vastly bigger and more substantial.

As

To this Henry James replied with unparalleled conciseness,

You shall have, after a little more patience, a
reply to your so rich and luminous reflections on
my book-a reply almost as interesting as, and
far more illuminating than, your letter itself.

Of a night in the Adirondacks he writes:
I was in a wakeful mood before starting, hav-
ing been awake since three, and I may have slept
a little during this night; but I was not aware of
sleeping at all. My companions, except Waldo
Adler, were all motionless. The guide had got a
magnificent provision of firewood, the sky swept
itself clear of every trace of cloud or vapor, the
wind entirely ceased, so that the fire-smoke rose
straight up to heaven. The temperature was per-
fect either inside or outside the cabin, the moon
rose and hung above the scene before midnight,
leaving only a few of the larger stars visible, and
I got into a state of spiritual alertness of the
most vital description. The influences of Nature,
the wholesomeness of the people round me, espe-
cially the good Pauline, the thought of you and
the children, dear Harry on the wave, the prob-
lem of the Edinburgh lectures, all fermented
within me till it became a regular Walpurgis
Nacht. I spent a good deal of it in the woods,
where the streaming moonlight lit up things in a

magical checkered play, and it seeme
Gods of all the nature-mythologies were
indescribable meeting in my breast wit
Gods of the inner life. . . . The int
cance of some sort, of the whole scene,
only tell the significance; the inten
remoteness of its inner life, and yet
appeal of it; its everlasting freshness
memorial antiquity and decay; its utte
ism, and every sort of patriotic sugges
you, and my relation to you part and
all, and beaten up with it, so that
sensation all whirled inexplicably toge
indeed worth coming for, and wort
year by year, if repetition could
what in its nature I suppose must
planned for and unexpected. It was
happiest lonesome nights of my exis
understand now what a poet is.

[ocr errors]

It would be unwise, within the li Letters review, to discuss the " concerning the forces which deter lectual production and moral zeal science. The readers of this jour prefer to draw their own conclusi only a few matters which might attention.

James writes apologetically of sole copy of the "Principles " $1,000 in transit! In 1896, being four, under the spell of Chicago, I tried a stenographer and typew alleviation that seemed almost miracu I shall have to go in for one some at Cambridge. It just goes "whiff eight long letters are done.

Apparently he had spent sev Europe before ever going west of dacks; and seems not to have vis Princeton or Johns Hopkins until he was fifty.

James's output seems to ha fluenced greatly by outside press for the enterprise of a publis the lecture fou existence of Gifford, Lowell and the Colun ment of Psychology, we migh gone without the "Principles," and "Pragmatism," though w course, have had something be

prime of his life, when his ability was entirely
obvious, James taught logic to beginners, extra
courses in Radcliffe, and courses in summer
schools!
EDWARD L. THORNDIKE

SPECIAL ARTICLES

NON-DISJUNCTION OF THE FOURTH
CHROMOSOME OF DROSOPHILA

IN Drosophila melanogaster the gene for "eyeless" (e) and its normal allelomorph (E) are situated in the small fourth chromosome. Normal eye is dominant.

When heterozygous Ee normal flies are crossed with eyeless ee, a ratio of 1:1 is expected. Actually this ratio is approached, although the greater viability of the normal type modifies the ratio to approximately 1.3:1.

In a single mating of this sort a count of 171 normal to 206 eyeless was obtained. Breeding tests of the descendants of this mating indicate that in all probability nondisjunction of the fourth chromosome has taken place.

If an Ee fly formed non-disjunctional gametes Ee and-, the cross with an ee individual would give rise to Eee flies. Here two doses of " eyeless" meet one of normal" eye. The opportunity is given for an upset in the balance of dominance between E and e. The excess of eyeless flies, mentioned above, suggests that such an upset has taken place. Further matings make it appear that the Eee form may be either normal or eyeless in appearance, certain individuals being extremely difficult to classify.

In the course of the breeding work several interesting results were obtained. Among these was the isolation of eyeless flies, theoretically of the formula Eee, which when crossed inter se or with other eyeless ee, gave normal eyed progeny in considerable numbers. Ratios of 8, 9, 10 or even 12 normals to 1 eyeless were also produced from matings presumably EEe X Ee. Both these conditions were expected on the hypothesis of non-disjunction.

Using the appearance of eyeless flies as a test, it seems that the mitosis of the Eee flies

is in the vast majority of cases, if not a Ee and e; while similarly that of the EE is Ee and E.

The variation in somatic appearance Eee form and the selective type of mitos ferred to above, make it difficult to demon genetically the presence of EeEe indivi If flies of this type have occurred their m is commonly Ee and Ee. One mating indicates a possible exception to this ty mitosis. This mating shows a peculiar possibly due to the presence of eee e forms.

A further detailed report of the work shortly be published. I am greatly ind to Dr. E. G. Anderson for helpful sugges and discussion and to the Misses E. E. J and D. M. Newman for assistance in laboratory.

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N. Y.,
January 6, 1921

C. C. LITT

F

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION
THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENC
REPORT OF THE TREASURER FOR 1920
IN conformity with Article 2, Section 6, of
By-Laws and by direction of the Council,
Treasurer has the honor to submit the follow
report for the period December 20, 1919, to
cember 23, 1920.

The total cash receipts during the period question is $13,096.05. These include $4,381 from the W. Hudson Stephens estate; $1,850 fr 32 Life Membership commutations, and $5,707 from interest on securities of the association.

The total disbursements made during the peri in question amount to $10,272.56. These inclu an aggregate of $4,500 for 19 grants authoriz by the council, and $4,431.31 paid for $4,500 fa value Victory Loan 41% bonds.

The total amount of funds of the associatio consisting of cost value of securities purchase appraised value of securities received from the Co burn Estate, and cash in banks, is $125,723.59.

A balance sheet, showing assets and liabilitie
and tables showing details of receipts and dis
bursements, are appended hereto.
(Signed)

ROBERT S. WOODWARD,
Treasurer

Dated December 23,

1920

168

SCIENCE

BALANCE SHEET-DECEMBER 23, 1920

S. I. Kornhauser

[blocks in formation]

Assets

P. W. Whiting

200.00

Investments:

Donald Reddick, Chr....

500.00

Securities (Exhibit "A")

$119,242.41

Irving W. Bailey

500.00

Cash in Banks

6,481.18

Daniel W. La Rue

200.00

$125,723.59

Margaret F. Washburn

200.00

Jos. Peterson

200.00

[blocks in formation]

200.00

. Funds:

Life Memberships:

345 at $50

Theo Hough

100.00

......

.$17,250

Carl J. Wiggers

150.00

5 at $100

500 $17,750.00

Ferdinand Canu

250.00

Jane M. Smith Fund

W. Hudson Stephens Fund

Colburn Fund

Accumulated Investments

Unappropriated Interest

5,000.00

Interest on Life Membership

4,381.21

350 members at $3

1,050.00

77,755.74

14,355.46

2 members (Jane M. Smith Fund)............

200.00

6,481.18

Cash in Banks

$125,723.59

Fifth Avenue Bank...... U. S. Trust Company....

5,271.26

1,209.92

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

AT the autumn meeting of the e mittee of the council, held in New tober 17, 1920, the following report and ordered to be printed in SCIEN only a portion of the fiscal year on fact that the records of the Permane office were turned over to the new P retary on April 1, 1920. The form Secretary, Dr. L. O. Howard, prese nation at the St. Louis meeting, at elected president for 1920 and 1921 Permanent Secretary, Dr. Burton did not assume his duties until Feb and did not actually take charge o until April 1, 1920. During the int ard continued to care for the affai ciation, and he has given much valu assistance to the new Permanent

SCHEDULE OF SECURITIES
Securities Purchased

10,000 Great Northern Railway Co. first and refunding mortgage 4.25 per cent. bonds, due 1961

Par Value

Purchase Value

$10,000 Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co. general mortgage 4 per cent. bonds, due 1987

10,000 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. general mortgage 4 per cent. bonds, due 1995

$9,425.00

9,287.50

10,050.00

10,000 Pennsylvania Railroad Co. consolidated mortgage 4.5 per cent. bonds, due 1960

10,487.50

10,000 Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. general mortgage 4 per cent. bonds, due 1958

9,350.00

10,000 Union Pacific Railroad Co. first lien and refunding mortgage 4 per cent. bonds, due 2008

9,012.50

10,000 Northern Pacific Railway Co. prior lien railway and land grant 4 per cent. bonds, due 1997

9,187.50

10,000 New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Co. 3.5 per cent.

bonds, due 1997

8,237.50

[blocks in formation]

20,000 Acker, Merrall and Condit Co. debenture 6 per cent. bonds 7,000 Buffalo City Gas Co. First mortgage 5 per cent. bonds

$13,600.00

1,540.00

8,000 Park and Tilford Co. sinking fund debenture 6 per cent, bonds
42,000 Pittsburgh, Shawmut & Northern Railioad first mortgage 4 per cent.
bonds, due February 1, 1952

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]
« iepriekšējāTurpināt »