WATTS’S LITERARY GUIDE B E I N G A M O N T H L Y R E C O R D O F L I B E R A L A N D A D V A N C E D P U B L I C A T I O N S .

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N’o. 95.]

OCTOBER 15, 1893.

[P r ic e One P enny.

N E W P U B L I C A T I O N S .

Messrs. Wa it s & Co. have in the press, and will publish almost immediately, an original and really admirable work, entitled “ The Dawn of Civilisation ; or, England in the Nineteenth Century” (3s. 6d.). The book is supposed to be written in a.d. 2286, and to be pre-published by special arrangement with the author, a pre-natal elemental, who is destined to write this historical sketch of English characteristics in the nineteenth century. The subjects treated include government, politics, war, religion, science, education, marriage, wealth and wages, etc. The section on religion is written from the Agnostic standpoint, and is exceedingly meritorious.

M e ssrs. C a sse l i. & Co. are issuing a cheap popular edition of George Combe’s works. The first volume will consist of “ The Constitution of Man,” and will be followed by “ Moral Philosophy,” “ Science and Religion,” “ Discussions on Education,” etc. The price of each volume will be one shilling net.

M e ssr s . S mith, E lder, & Co. will publish this month what is announced as “ a sidelight on Voltaire.” It will consist of an account of “ Voltaire’s Visit to England during 17 2 6 - 1 7 2 9 ” (8s. 6d.), by Archibald Ballantyne.

A n e w edition of the late John Addington Symonds's “ Essays: Speculative and Suggestive ” (9s.) is ready. Mr. Symonds, although the fact was not generally known during his lifetime, was a pronounced Agnostic, and his literary eminence invests his heterodox opinions with more than ordinary significance.

Messrs. B ic k er s & Son have published the long-promised volume, entitled “ Selections from the Philosophical and Poetical Works of Constance C. W. Naden ” (3s. 6d.), compiled and arranged by the Misses Emily and Edith Hughes, of Handsworth, near Birmingham. The book is illustrated by a portrait of Miss Naden, is dedicated to Dr. Lewins, her friend and mentor, and has an Introduction by Mr. George M. McCrie, editor of “ Further Rcliqucs of Constance Naden.”

Mr. E . Douglas F awcett, who is a frequent contributor to the Agnostic J o u r n a l, has written an important work on “ The Riddle of the Universe” (14s.). It is an attempt to determine the first principles of metaphysics, considered as an inquiry into the conditions and import of consciousness.

T h e cheap edition of Mr. G. J . Holyoakc’s Autobiography, “ Sixty Years of an Agitator’s Life ” (two vols., 3s. 6d. each), will be heartily welcomed by the veteran Freethinker’s m a n y admirers. The work is deeply interesting, and should find a home in every Rationalist’s library. Ordersjnay be sent to our publishers.

j P rofessor S tokes’s Gifford Lectures, entitled “ Natural I Theology ” (3s. 6d.), and which Mr. Edward Clodd criticises ; at length in the new issue of “ The Agnostic Annual,” will be published immediately.

T he first volume of “ The Writings of Thomas Paine: Political, Sociological, Religious, and Literary,” edited by Mr. Moncure D. Conway, will be ready immediately. It will be followed by three other volumes, each of which will be issued at 12s. 6d.

M r . Border is issuing a new edition of Colonel Ingersoll’s masterly oration on “ The Gods ” (6d.).

T he forthcoming issue of “ The Liberty Annual ” (6d.) will be edited by Mr. W. S. Crawshay, and will contain papers by Josephine Butler, Wordsworth Donisthorpe, O. E. Wesslau, F. W. Read, Arthur Lynch, J . Greevz Fisher, and M. D. O’Brien. The “ Annual” will be ready early in November.

0 U R L I B R A R Y S i l E L V E S .

“ T h erefo re shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife ; and they shall be one flesh.” People who regard this Edenic legend as a veracious account of the origin of marriage will perhaps think differently after reading

“ th e evolution of marriage, and of the Family.” By Charles Letourneau. (Walter Scott; Contemporary Science Series; 1 8 9 1 ; 373 pp. ; 3s. 6d.) Mr. Letourneau has compiled a cyclopaedia of the facts. Let the enumeration of the chapter-titles testify to the carefulness and width of his research :— Biological Origin of Marriage ; Marriage and the Family among Animals ; Promiscuity ; Some Singular Forms of Sexual Association ; Polyandry; Marriage by Capture; Marriage by Purchase and by Servitude ; Primitive Polygamy ; Polygamy o f Civilised People; Prostitution and Concubinage; Primitive Monogamy ; Hebrew and Aryan Monogamy ; Adultery ; Repudiation and Divorce ; Widowhood and the Levirate ; The Familial Clan in Australia and America ; The Familial Clan and its Evolution ; The Maternal Family ; The Family in Civilised Countries ; Marriage and the Family in the Past, the Present, and the Future.

Historians and travellers are laid under ample contribution, footnote references being given in all cases. The materials are arranged in an orderly and scientific spirit, and connected by a sufficient amount of theory ; and, in spite of their exposure of all degrees of sexual barbarity and coarseness, they are entirely free from sins against good taste. The one idea which is particularly brought out is the long-enduring custom of treating women as property. Rape was robbery, adultery was theft, marriage was a purchase or a gift. How loose and unrestrained are the earlier stages of the sexual relation is seen in the Redskins, who offer their wives to guests and strangers ; in the absence