in Mr. Spencer's writings, many of the numerous obiter dicta are as inconclusive as they are entertaining. There is a substance of sound wisdom in the book which entitles it to the careful attention of all.
2. Small and Vincent, Introduction to the Study of Society. Books II-V inclusive.
This manual also is a preparation for sociology, and distinctly disclaims the intention of offering a system of sociology. It is a laboratory guide to observation of social facts in some of their most obvious—even if not most commonly observed—relations. The habit of observation and explanation of concrete facts which the manual is designed to form, must be the constant means of getting the material of sociology, unless one is to be contented with book science rather than objective science. Before there is primary fitness for dealing with sociology proper the practice of observing, analyzing and correlating concrete social facts must have become fixed habit.
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It would be well if students would devote the time assigned to study of society for a year to observation of their own community, and to arrangement of results, after the method illustrated in the parts of the manual indicated, before venturing into the field of systematic sociology. Assuming that students have thus had an adequate introduction to a valid method of studying society—which in our opinion bears about the same relation to the science of sociology that the first ten experiments performed by beginners in the laboratory have to the science of chemistry—they may then begin to ask how men have succeeded in systematizing social facts, i. e., they are now ready for an introduction to sociology. The most available literature for that purpose, to students who have followed our advice thus far, will be:
3. Small and Vincent, Introduction. Book I. These five chapters survey the origin and scope of sociology in the most elementary and general way, and suggest some of the important questions which the sociologists have at present under discussion.
4. Professor Franklin H. Giddings, The Theory of Sociology. A brief monograph, the promise of a larger work to be issued at once. Many differences of view are apparent between 3 and 4. These simply illustrate our second preliminary remark, which amounted to the caution that sociology is in a very early stage of formative process. Study of facts and criticism of explanations is at present our business.
5. J. S. Mackenzie, Introduction to Social Philosophy. 2d ed. This
