5 56 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



that criminals have rights, but no con- 

 ception of tlie correlative rights of the 

 criminal and of society is allowed to de- 

 termine the kind and degree of pun- 

 ishment. A criminal is one upon whom 

 vengeance is to be wreaked, and this 

 feeling barbarizes the prison overseer, 

 and brutalizes the convict so as to make 

 his existence a curse to himself, and if 

 set free he is more inveterately at feud 

 with society than he was before "jus- 

 tice" took him in hand. What but 

 the spirit of vengeance is it in society 

 which prevents the convict from hav- 

 ing all the sympathy of treatment and 

 chance of self-help and amendment that 

 are consistent with his detention in 

 prison as a measure of public security ? 

 The surviving spirit of revenge is again 

 seen in the tenacity with which society 

 clings to its brutal modes of execution, 

 turning them into shows for a select 

 company, so that the details may be 

 scattered through the land, and all may 

 enjoy the ghastly accompaniments with 

 which vengeance has been satisfied. In 

 the course of social progress the venge- 

 ful feelings have been more and more 

 constrained by the growth of humane 

 sentiments, and their modes of exercise 

 have been transformed, but there is 

 plenty of room for further salutary 

 change. 



SCIENTIFIC TEAcEiyC IN THE COL- 

 LEGES. 



The gradual acceptance of the doc- 

 trine of evolution among our theologi- 

 cal friends is causing some perturbation 

 which it is important to notice. Our 

 orthodox contemporary, the "Indepen- 

 dent," recognizing the mischief that is 

 being done by the obstinate refusal of 

 religious teachers to accept the conclu- 

 sions of science, came out strongly in 

 favor of the evolution theory. Dr. Mc- 

 Cosh had declared, in addressing the 

 Evangelical Alliance in New York : " It 

 is useless to tell the younger naturalists 

 that there is no truth in the doctrine of 



development, for they know that there 

 is truth which is not to be set aside by 

 denunciation. Religious philosophers 

 might be more profitably employed in 

 showing them the religious aspects of 

 the doctrine of development ; and some 

 would be grateful to any who would 

 help them to keep their old faith in 

 God and the Bible with 'their new faith 

 in science." The "Independent " took 

 this ground, and in its article upon the 

 subject said : " We ai'e all taught in our 

 best schools, by our scientific authori- 

 ties, almost without exception (and we 

 laymen in science are, therefore, com- 

 pelled to believe), that man was, at least 

 so far as his physical structure is con- 

 cerned, evolved from irrational animals. 

 We, therefore, can not help doubting, 

 as every thinking and scholarly young 

 man [in these schools] must and does 

 doubt, whether the story of the fall in 

 the first Adam is historical." 



The cautious and vigilant " New 

 York Observer" now took the alarm. 

 It sent this passage to nine presidents 

 of colleges, and asked them if it was 

 true that it represented the teaching in 

 their respective institutions. Dr. Por- 

 ter, of Yale, replied, "The inclosed does 

 not give a correct representation of the 

 teaching in this college by our scientific 

 authorities." Dr. McCosh, of Princeton, 

 said: "In answer to your inquiries I 

 have to state that we do not teach in 

 this college that man is ' evolved from 

 irrational animals.' I teach that man's 

 soul was made in the image of God, and 

 his body out of the dust of the ground. 

 I do not oppose development, but an 

 atheistic development." Dr. Chad- 

 bourne, of Williams, answered : " The 

 doctrine is not taught here that man, 

 even in his physical nature, was evolved 

 from one of the lower animals. Wal- 

 lace, who claims with Darwin the honor 

 of the doctrine known as 'Darwinism,' 

 admits that its principles fail when 

 applied to man." President Cattell, of 

 Lafayette, i-eplied : I have never heard 

 of any of my colleagues expressing, 



