NEW CHAPTERS IN THE WARFARE OF SCIENCE. 455 



of the most important bishoprics in the English Church, is of 

 great importance : " What can be a grosser superstition than the 

 theory of literal inspiration ? But because that has a regular 

 footing, it is to be treated as a good man's mistake ; while the 

 courage to speak the truth about the first chapter of Genesis is a 

 wanton piece of wickedness." 



The storm howled on. In the Convocation of Canterbury it 

 was especially violent. In the Lower House Archdeacon Denison 

 insisted on the greatest severity, as he said, " for the sake of the 

 young who are tainted, and corrupted, and thrust almost to hell 

 by the action of this book." At another time the same eminent 

 churchman declared : " Of all books in any language which I ever 

 laid my hands on, this is incomparably the worst ; it contains all 

 the poison which is to be found in Tom Paine's Age of Reason, 

 while it has the additional disadvantage of having been written 

 by clergymen." 



Hysterical as all this was, the Upper House was little more 

 self-contained. Both Tait and Thirlwall, trying to make some 

 headway against the swelling tide, were for a time beaten back 

 by Wilberforce, who insisted on the duty of the Church to clear 

 itself publicly from complicity with men who, as he said, "gave up 

 God's word, creation, redemption, and the work of the Holy Ghost." 



But the matter was brought to a curious issue by two prosecu- 

 tions one against the Rev. Dr. Williams by the Bishop of Salis- 

 bury; the other against the Rev. Mr. Wilson by one of his 

 clerical brethren. The first result was that both these authors 

 were sentenced to suspension from their offices for a year. At 

 this the two condemned clergymen appealed to the Queen in Coun- 

 cil. Upon the Judicial Committee to try the case in last resort sat 

 the Lord Chancellor, the two Archbishops, and the Bishop of 

 London. One occurrence now brought into especial relief the 

 power of the older theological reasoning and ecclesiastical zeal to 

 close the minds of the best of men to the simplest principles of 

 right and justice. Among the men of his time most deservedly 

 honored for lofty character, thorough scholarship, and keen per- 

 ception of right and justice was Dr. Pusey. No one doubted 

 then, and no one doubts now, that he would have gone to the 

 stake sooner than knowingly countenance wrong or injustice ; and 

 yet we find him at this time writing a series of long and earnest 

 letters to the Bishop of London, who, as a judge, was hearing this 

 case, which involved the livelihood and even the good name of 

 the men on trial, pointing out to the bishop the evil consequences 

 which must follow should the authors of Essays and Reviews be 

 acquitted, and virtually beseeching the judges, on grounds of 

 expediency, to convict them. Happily, Bishop Tait was too just 

 a man to be thrown off his bearings by appeals such as this. 



