to drag vice from its lowest depths in order that the innocent and pure inay see how it looks. Be this as it may, it cannot be denied that "Ten Years of a Lifetime" is an interesting story, one that can hardly be thrown aside after the first ten pages have been read, even by the most fastidious. The book is neatly and clearly printed, and tastefully bound in muslin; the publisher having done his part creditably in every particular.

Superstition and Force. Essays on the Wager of Law-the Wager of Battle-the Ordeal-Torture-By HENRY C. LEA. Svo., pp. 407. Philadelphia: Henry C. Lea. 1866.

There is a good deal that is curious and interesting in this volume. It exhibits an amount of research of which few publishers are capable; indeed, there are not many of our professional authors who could produce so instructive a book. Mr. Lea makes no important statements which he does not substantiate by citations, generally from the original sources. In this respect he pursues the course of writers like Bayle, Montaigue, Coleridge, Southey, &c., whose notes and quotations from authors who write in different languages are often the most valuable parts of their works. The value of the work before us is much enhanced by its copious and well-arranged alphabetical index.

The Thoughts of the Emperor M. Aurelius Antoninus. Translated by GEORGE LONG. 16mo., pp. 310. Boston: Tickner & Fields.

In looking over our shelf for a new book worth noticing, this volume fell into our hands for the first time in its present form. It is of such a character that we deem it a privilege to recommend it to our friends as full of true wisdom. Even the most fastidious and critical of American publishers have rarely published a more valuable book than this. The Emperor was learned in all the lore of the ancients-in that of the Hindoos and Egyptians as well as of the Greeks-and he presents us the essence of all in this volume in an exceedingly attractive form. In short, it is worth a gross of modern "works." We hope it will be extensively read.

Rescued from Egypt. By A. L. O. E. 16mo, pp. 465. New York Protestant Episcopal S. S. Union, 1866.

We never receive a book from the press of this society which we cannot cheerfully and heartily commend for various degrees and kinds of merit; and that now before us is one of its best publications. The author, far from being pretentious, is very modest, but is familiarly acquainted with the Scriptures and a master of the English language, which is more than can be said of three fourths of those who undertake to write religious books.

The chapters on the infant Moses, the decision of Moses, desert wanderings, &c., are worth the price of the whole volume. The account given of the conflicting passions of the Jews when they found

themselves hemmed in with the Red Sea on one side, and the mountain and desert on the other, while the pillar of fire directed them towards the sea, is very graphic and replete with interest. To this we need hardly add that the book is worthy of a place in the most select family library.

INSURANCE.

Insurance Reports and other Documents for the Quarter, August 31, 1866.

LIFE Insurance is assuming immense magnitude in this country; if only properly managed it is destined to transcend all other kinds of business both as a means of securing wealth and influence for those engaged in it and of benefiting the public at large. But it cannot be too strongly impressed on all concerned that a considerable amount of knowledge is essential to success. The ignorant may sometimes succeed so far as to accumulate millions; but they do so the same as the quack doctor,. who knows nothing of the human system, occasionally makes more money than the most learned and experienced physician. It were easy to point out examples of this kind among Insurance companies; but these are exceptions. Nor must it be forgotten that, in proportion as the principles of insurance are well understood, it becomes more and more difficult for the mere pretender to gain his point.

Another fact to be borne in mind is, that to attain a certain amount of success by chicanery or other illegitimate means is a very different thing from maintaining that saccess against enlightened and vigorous competition. It is true that there are some who, although ignorant and illiterate themselves, have cunning enough to avail themselves of the knowledge and intelligence of others. This saves them from falling back to their proper level from whatever height they may have soared to before they had to encounter enlightened competition. Thus, consider the case under any point of view we will, it is equally plain that the great lever of success is knowledge.

In all European countries this fact is so universally recognized that there is no respectable Life company which has not a man of talent and learning connected with it. The mathematician must not merely be able to solve certain problems in algebra or the calculus, however difficult those problems may be; he must understand the philosophy of them; he must interrogate them and avail himself of what they teach. This is what Laplace did; had he not thus reflected on the nature of equations and proportions he could never have given the world his Philosophical Essay on Probabilities,* which forms the ground work of the present system of Insurance calculations.

Essai Philosophique sur les Probabilités. 8vo. Paris.

In estimating the value and power of knowledge, our underwriters should bear in mind that the greatest impediment to success in their profession is the still prevalent opinion that, at best, insurance is but a game of chance. Those who regard it in this light must necessarily think it is illegitimate. If the chances go against the Insurance Company, they say, it must fail, and then we or our heirs lose all. We can assure the insurance fraternity that a large portion of the public reason on the subject in this way. And what is done, in general, to refute their erroneous theories? How many of our actuaries deem it necessary to do anything more by way of enlightening the public than to quote what this or that great man or great woman has said in favor of insurance ? They should remember that this sort of argument has influence only with the narrowest class of minds. One who thinks for himself will not accept the dictum of any person without some proof of its correctness; if Franklin or Bacon is quoted to him, he may ask, Did Franklin or Bacon ever err? Who could deny that both erred? or that any other philosopher erred?

But there are laws whlch do not err, and which are as immutable as the Divine mind which conceived and established them. Now, we maintain that the principle of insurance, as intelligently understood, is founded on these laws, and that underwriters who know their business can calculate their profits and losses with as near an approach to accuracy as the dry goods merchant, the grocer, or the farmer. This is particularly true of Life underwriters; nor can its application be denied to those who write what are called accident risks. Whether an individual or a number of individuals will die, or be maimed, within a particular number of years, is indeed uncertain; no human science can determine the exact facts before the given period is expired. But calculations based on the statistics of whole communities, whose history is known, make an approach to the truth which would seem incredible, if not impossible, to those who pay but little attention to general principles and the nature of proportion, and only consider final results so far as they relate to their personal interest.

What actuaries should take most pains to do in their intercourse with the public is, to show that there is really no such thing as chance; that there is no effect without a cause; that what seems to the ordinary observer as a mere accident is as much the result of an immutable law as the eclipse of the sun or moon, or the accelerated motion of a disengaged piece of gold towards the earth. It has been well said by a modern philosopher that if man could derange the destiny of a single fly there would be no possible reason why men should not control the destiny of all other flies, of all other animals, of all men, of all nature.

This is no new doctrine; it is one held by the wisest men in all ages, and by the most pious Christians as well as the most impious Pagans. It

is not necessary that one may accept it, however, in order to understand that men and women die at a certain ratio in a given time, in a particular community-nay, that a certain number of persons are killed or maimed in a given time.

That this knowledge can be deduced from carefully prepared statistics so as to make a very near approach to the actual truth is beyond question; there is, therefore, no reason why the intelligent life underwriter should not receive a premium of insurance with as honest a feeling and intention as the banker receives the deposit on which he pays interest; and there is quite as little reason why the person who pays his policy should not have as much confidence in his contract as the person who deposits his money in the bank. It is true, that if the insurance company is one of doubtful character, it may fail; but do not banks sometimes fail, too?

The discussion of all these topics comes within the province of the actuary; it is his duty to attend to them; he neglects his duty if he neglects them. But what are the facts? What sort of knowledge do we receive, for example, from the actuary of the United States Life, the North America Life, the Security Life, or the Washington Life-if, indeed, any of those corporations has any such functionary connected with it? Is it not very much like the knowledge we get from the similar" books" of the quack doctors? Let us suppose that such companies sometimes employ intelligent men to perform the duties of actuaries, can it be expected that they will do a thousand dollars' worth of work for a hundred dollars?

While reflecting on the harm which a certain class of underwriters do, both to themselves and the public, by not encouraging competent men to perform the scientific part of their calculations, we are glad to learn from a well informed and reliable source that the subject of the formation of a "National Institute of Actuaries" is receiving much attention from several of the leading Life Insurance Companies of the country. Prof. Elizur Wright, who stands at the very head of the actuarial profession, has given the plan his hearty support, and in an elaborate and highly interesting paper, soon to be published, has set forth his views most vigorously. The details of the formation of such an institution cannot be at once decided upon, but we believe enough has been done to develop the idea and show the feasibility of the plan. No one is better calculated than Prof. Wright to give an impetus to so valuable a project, as he has the entire confidence of the Insurance world.

It is well known that the Institute of Actuaries of London is composed of the best practical and scientific minds to be found in Great Britain; why, should there not be some institution of a like character here, around or in which, as a nucleus, could be gathered those possessed of mathematical skill and practical ability in the profession? Such an institution would confer signal benefit upon the community.

The adherents of Life insurance are already counted by hundreds of thousands, and its pecuniary interests by hundreds of millions of dollars; and yet so little is known by the general public that many unscrupulous men succeed in entrapping the unwary and inexperienced inquirer into companies, the slightest investigation into the merits of which would create alarm rather than confidence. Why is it that the shrewd business man, with a surplus to invest, will take days and even weeks, to consider what he shall do with it, and yet, when called upon to insure his life, will rush headlong into a company without knowing anything of its standing and condition, its extravagance or economy of management?

There are thirty one life companies transacting business in Massachusetts. Of these thirty-one* twenty-three only stand above par, viewing them all in the light of strictly mutual companies; that is to say, eight of the whole number, or more than twenty-five per cent., have not a sufficiency of assets to discharge their liabilities according to the valuation adopted by Professor Wright in his calculations for the Massachusetts Legislature. Nothing but the guarantee funds of these eight companies saves them from the charge of insolvency. Surely, if a company is not solvent without the aid of a subscribed capital the public, as well as the holders of the guarantee funds, are interested to know it. A company doing the business of life insurance should be self-sustaining, which we hold is not the case of the eight above referred to. Extravagant management, over-solicitation of agents, aud exorbitant commissions will, in time, place some of the best companies where eight of the whole number now are. Thesubject of agents, commissions, and the collection of vital statis tics should at once receive the attention of the really solvent companies, and the best way of reaching the result will be through the medium of a National Institute of Actuaries.

The experience of France leads to the same conclusions; and, be it observed, that there has scarcely one year elapsed since 1787 without new calculations on the subject of Life Insurance having been made by the French Academy of Sciences, Perhaps no French writer of the present day knows more about insurancethan M. Nicolet, who for several years has occupied an official position similar to that of our insurance superinM. Nicolet, who is both a mathetendents and commissioners. matician and a political economist of eminence, insists on the absolute necessity of scientific knowledge to an insurance company as a guarantee of success. Referring to the idea which the underwriter ought to have of the character of his risks, he says: "Il n'y a que les théoriés mathematiques qui puissent conduire à la solution de cette question." He then proceeds to show that those theories must be based on numerous carefully based facts.

* See Prof. Wright's Eleventh Annual Report, p. 11.

† Comb. Experience Table of Mortality, 4 per cent. interest.