800 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY
discussion. If the members only hear the words of the teacher the seminar fails to fulfill its mission.
In Freiburg, as I am privately informed, Herr Grosse reads partly on sociology in general, and partly on special sociolog- ical problems, such as "The Origin of the Family," "The Soci- ology of Art," "The Forms of Ethical Conception," etc. In addition he conducts seminar studies in ethnology. The attend- ance is considerable, in proportion to the total number at the University.
Herr Earth, in Leipsic, understands by sociology, as he kindly informs me in a private letter, the philosophy of history. This is the "dynamics" of which "statics" is only a special case. He reads there before a moderate number of hearers, on the philosophy of history, but conducts no seminar.
How the case may be in the two last mentioned universities, I cannot say, because I am not directly acquainted with them. In Berlin, however, I have observed a continual growth of inter- est in sociology among the students. Three or four years ago a sociological course was attended by four or five students. Today about one hundred attend the sociological lectures. It appears, then, that it rests with the lecture and the lecturer to rouse in students an interest in any science. 1
DR. O. THON.
BERLIN, GERMANY.
1 Translated by ALBION W. SMALL.
