ect in a work in which it was mentioned
only in an incidental manner, would refer to that point, and to nothing
else. Perhaps it should be added, that no author is obliged to obtain an
_imprimatur_ any more than he is compelled to seek advice on any other
point in connection with his book. "_Nihil Obstat_," says the skilled
referee: "I see no reason to suppose that there is anything in all this
which contravenes theological principles." To which the authority
appealed to adds "_imprimatur_:" "Then by all means let it be printed."
The procedure is no doubt somewhat more stately and formal than the
modern system of acknowledgments, yet in actual practice there is but
little to differentiate the two methods of ensuring, so far as is
possible, that the work is free from mistakes. That neither the
assistance of friends nor the _imprimatur_ of authorities is infallible
is proved by the facts that mistakes do creep into works of science,
however carefully examined, and that more than one book with an
_imprimatur_ has, none the less, found its way on to the _Index_. Before
leaving this branch of the subject one cannot refrain from calling
attention to another point. How often in advertisements of books do we
not see quotations from reviews in authoritative journals--a medical
work from the _Lancet_, a physical or chemical from _Nature_? Frequently
too we see "Mr. So-and-So, the well-known authority on the subject, says
of this book, etc., etc." What are all these authoritative commendations
but an _imprimatur_ up to date?

Passing from the _imprimatur_ to a closer consideration of our subject,
it is above all things necessary to take the advice of Samuel Johnson
and clear our minds of cant. Every person in this world--save perhaps a
Robinson Crusoe on an otherwise uninhabited island, and he only because
of his solitary condition--is in bondage more or less to others; that is
to say, has his freedom more or less interfered with. That this
interference is in the interests of the community and so, in the last
analysis, in the interests of the person interfered with himself, in no
way weakens the argument; it is rather a potent adjuvant to it. However
much I may dislike him and however anxious I may be to injure him, I may
not go out and set fire to my neighbour's house nor to his rick-yard,
unless I am prepared to risk the serious legal penalties which will be
my lot if I am detected in the act. I may not, if I am a small and
acti