Leonardo Da Vinci, A Psychosexual Study of an Infantile Reminiscence. By Professor Dr. Sigmund Freud, L.L.D., of Vienna, translated by A. A. Brill, Ph.D., M.D., of New York. Moffat, Yard & Co., New York, 1916. Pp.  130.

This should be a very welcome work to the English reading psychoanalysts. It i- a work by Professor Freud applying the principles of

psychoanalytic interpretation to the analysis and understanding of a great man by an investigation and interpretation of the historical facts which can be collected regarding him, together with a study of his artistic productions.

Leonardo is one of the great men, not only of the Italian Renaissance, but one of the great men in the history of the world. While his name is usually connected only with his paintings, he was a broad-minded investigator in all departments of science. A study of his character is therefore of especial interest and importance.

The remarkable skill with which Professor Freud is able to reconstruct the character of this great man from the few fragments which are available from historic evidence is in itself a wonderful piece of work. It is perhaps still more wonderful to realize how the boy, Leonardo, handicapped in his infancy in the most serious way, still grew into the dominant personality which he became in his manhood. The book is a fascinating study of the mechanisms by which this result was brought about and as such is valuable both as a study in character and as an application of psychoanalytic principles.

White