298 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



man language, and manipulated hy human interest, they have a 

 common dominion over the soul of man. According to the method 

 of their government, they may then come into collision even as the 

 temporal and spiritual sovereigns of Japan occasionally did, before 

 the recent changes in that country. 



In answering the query above proposed, it will be necessary to 

 separate the essential truths of religion from tlie accessories of tradi- 

 tion, usage, and, most of all, organizations and interpretatione which 

 have in the lapse of time gathered around the primitive or revealed 

 truth. 



With the latter, the scientific man must deal exactly like other 

 men he must take it or reject it, according to his spiritual gifts; but 

 he must not, whatever be his personal views, discuss it or assail it as 

 a man of science^ for within his domain of investigation it does not 

 belong. 



With regard to the accessories of traditions, interpretations, etc., 

 our answer may be clearer when we have briefly reviewed some re- 

 cent events in what has been written about as the conflict of religion 

 and science. Some centuries ago, great theological disgust was pro- 

 duced by the announcement that the sun and not the earth was the 

 centre of the planetary system. A few decades ago profound dissat- 

 isfaction was shown that the evidence of organic life on the planet 

 was very ancient. Recently some annoyance has been exliibited be- 

 cause human remains have been found in situations where they ought 

 not to have been, according to popularly received interpretations ; 

 and yet more recently much apprehension has been felt at the pos- 

 sible derivation of man from some inferior organism ; an liypothesis 

 framed simply because, in the present condition of intellectual advance- 

 ment, no other can be suggested. 



Yet all these facts, but the last, which still is an opinion, have 

 been accepted, after more or less bitter controversy on both sides, and 

 the fountain of spiritual truth remains unclouded and undiminished. 

 New interpretations for the sacred texts supposed to be in conflict 

 with the scientific facts have been sought and found without diffi- 

 culty. These much-feared facts have, moreover, given some of the 

 strongest and most convincing illustrations to modern exhortation and 

 religious instruction. 



Thus, then, we see that the influence of science upon religion has 

 been beneficial. Scholastic interpretations founded upon imperfect 

 knowledge, or no knowledge, but mere guess, have been replaced by 

 sound criticism of the texts, and their exegesis in accordance with the 

 times and circumstances for which they w^ere written. 



It must be conceded by fair-minded men of botli sides that these 

 controversies were carried on at times with a rudeness of expression 

 and bitterness of feeling now abhorrent to our usages. The intellect- 

 ual wars of those days partook of the brutality of physical war, and 



