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’… It is therefore a moral obligation of the man of science to be open to making mistakes and to subject himself to criticism, in order that science may always advance.’ In putting these courageous words of Ferrero's at the head of his ambitious [grossangelegten] work, as its leading theme, Jung also emboldens the critic to take his duty seriously. One could make the critical work easy and pleasant by directing attention to the numerous merits of this investigation. With enormous energy and tireless enthusiasm the author ranges over almost the whole [field] of human knowledge - natural science as well as the human sciences - and so gathers the foundation stones on which he then seeks to erect the imposing structure of a new world-view. However, not only does the abundance of knowledge dazzle the reader, but also noteworthy is the ingenious and perceptive way in which the author transforms the scientific material into buttresses of his theories. Yet all this, as well as the wholly individual style of the work, are qualities whose detailed valuation we must abandon here. The psychoanalyst, completely taken up with the power and the novelty of his own specialism, cannot take the trouble to research and inquire into all the dispersed sources from which the author has created his biological, philological, theological, mythological and philosophical arguments. This work must be left to others more qualified for it. We will judge the work exclusively from the standpoint of the psychoanalyst, and, chiefly, dwell longer on the assertions that in novel and