Religion : its Origin and Forms, by J. A. Macculloch
(1s. net), is one of the "Temple Primers" (J. M. Dent and Co.), and a very useful little book, with a great amount of well-digested know- ledge set forth in its hundred and seventy pages. Judaism and Christianity do not come within the author's scope, nor does he regularly undertake the task of a comparative appreciation of the various forms of belief which he describes. It is not difficult, however, to see that Buddhism ranks high in his estimates, and that he does not share the curious admiration for Islam which is shown by some writers on the subject. "More than any other religion," he writes, "Islam has shown itself unable to develop from within and to adapt itself to the varying needs of successive ages." A valuable part of the book is the bibliography, a moderate and practicable list of books. Miss Harrison's "Prole- gomena to the Study of Greek Religion" does not appear among them ; doubtless the last had been made up before the publication of this most suggestive volume. The chapter on the "Religion of Greece" is not unsatisfactory, but it would probably have been influenced for good by this great work.
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