Humanly Speaking

Confident theories have trouble keeping pace with human behavior in these essays by Samuel McChord Crothers. The opening piece asks how nations survive problems that appear certain to overwhelm them, then considers how people can recognize danger and still hope for improvement. Crothers draws on theology, Jeremiah's purchase of land, and Horace Walpole's explanation of serendipity. Trains, property deeds, and accidental discoveries give concrete shape to his reflections on judgment and possibility.

The contents include essays on American temperament, travel, Dickens, and realism. A passage on political courtesy examines what happens when established class relations come under pressure. Familiar good manners become harder to maintain when people question inherited authority and the assumptions behind it. Readers interested in public argument will find a writer who tests tidy explanations against everyday conduct, using comparisons and a conversational voice to consider both social change and the limits of certainty.