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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



present condition of science, Wliy tliis 

 vigorous and comprehensive effort to 

 harmonize the already harmonious ? 

 The religious periodicals abound in dis- 

 cussions aiming to compose the alleged 

 differences and discords of religion and 

 science ; and there pours from the press 

 a continuous stream of books devoted 

 to the same end. An impending vol- 

 ume of eight hundred pages is an- 

 nounced by a correspondent of the 

 Evening Post, who gives an analysis of 

 its contents, and remarks: "The con- 

 flict between science and religion as to 

 man's origin on this planet has been so 

 ardent, and the interest which men of 

 culture the world over feel in the sub- 

 ject is so deep and growing, that I can 

 hardly be mistaken in supposing that 

 the readers of the Evening Post will 

 be pleased to receive a synopsis of Mr. 

 Southairs book, the proof-sheets of 

 which I have been kindly permitted to 

 examine. He combats the views of 

 Lyell, Lubbock, Evans, Lartet, De Mor- 

 tillet, Nillson, Worsaae, Desor, and oth- 

 ers, that man is several hundred thou- 

 sand years old, or, as Mr. Geikie and 

 Mr. Boyd Dawkins, in their recent 

 books put it, preglacial," Again : " The 

 book -will provoke a deal of criticism 

 in scientific and religious circles. Per- 

 sons far more competent than the pres- 

 ent writer to pronounce judgment upon 

 its merits, do not hesitate to say that it 

 is the most important contribution yet 

 made in America to the theological side 

 of this weighty subject." Of course, 

 " the theological side," which holds 

 that there is no such thing as " the 

 conflict between science and religion," 

 "ardent" or otherwise, will at once 

 proceed to squelch this superfluous 

 Avriter; and when they have done so, 

 and repudiated the folly and futility 

 of all other books of the same class, 

 and dried up the discussion in their 

 periodicals, it will be time to talk to 

 Dr. Draper about the illusiveness of 

 the subject-matter of his history. 

 There is something not a little ludi- 



crous in the attitude of those who are 

 lustily continuing a fight that is cen- 

 turies old, and, Avhen the history of it 

 comes to be written, suddenly turn non- 

 resistants, and protest that it is all a 

 mistake, and that there has really never 

 been any conflict at all ! Can it be that 

 it is because thej would rather not 

 have the history appear? 



But it will be said that truth can 

 never be in conflict with itself; that 

 religious truth and scientific truth must 

 harmonize, and that any apparent an- 

 tagonism is due to prejudice and im- 

 perfect knowledge. Granted ; but this 

 concedes the fact of a conflict, and only 

 proposes a theory of its cause. The 

 harmony affirmed is not a harmony 

 realized, but rather hoped for, as a 

 possibility of the future, to which pres- 

 ent broad and thorough investigation 

 is tending ; and with this we entirely 

 agree. But the hope of a state of 

 things yet to be reached cannot be 

 made a ground of denial of what is, 

 and has been. It is maintained that, 

 at bottom, there is no real conflict 

 between capital and labor, and many 

 indulge the anticipation that their re- 

 lations will be ultimately harmonized; 

 but he who denies that there is Jiow 

 any such conflict had better spend 

 a few days in the mining districts of 

 Pennsylvania, where for months this 

 conflict has threatened the peace of 

 society. It is also held that the true 

 and highest interest of nations is that 

 of concord, and many think that the 

 world will yet grow into international 

 amity and unity ; but shall we there- 

 fore deny the past existence of war, 

 and discredit as groundless all our his- 

 tories of international hostility? The 

 case of religion and science is exactly 

 parallel. However they may finally be 

 brought into accord, they certainly are 

 not in that relation now, and no antag- 

 onism of the past has been more deep 

 and unrelenting, and more defiant of all 

 efforts at adjustment, than this. The 

 conflict between rehgion and science, 



