THE PROGRESS OF GEOLOGY 65 



There would appear now, after the lapse of more 

 than half a century, no doubt that Darwin, through 

 his supporters, was left master of the field. But in 

 reality, on this occasion, the battle was no better 

 than drawn. Two years later, at the meeting in 

 Cambridge (1862), the issue was rejoined, and 

 although Owen was again discounting the theory of 

 natural selection in connexion with a study of the 

 characters of the aye-aye, the consolidation of 

 Darwin's triumph was much more clearly fore- 

 shadowed. The Rev. W. N. Molesworth stood up 

 to support the necessity for theories such as Darwin's 

 (without committing himself to supporting Darwin's 

 own), in order to ' let us push our investigation of 

 the Creator's works in every direction, without the 

 slightest fear that scientific truth can ever clash with 

 moral and religious truths. ' Clerical attacks continued, 

 nevertheless, for some years, but gradually died 

 down ; and it may fairly be hoped that any such 

 feeling as was generated at that period upon religious 

 grounds need never recur. The common aims of 

 science and religion, to which the elucidation of 

 individual details must always, in reality, be subor- 

 dinate as parts to the whole, were set forth by Canon 

 E. W. Barnes, F.R.S., 1 in 1920 on the occasion of the 

 Association's meeting at Cardiff, in a sermon which 

 clearly impressed those who were privileged to listen 

 to it far more than those who read the published 

 summaries. 



THE PROGRESS OF GEOLOGY 



Reverting to the subject of geology, we find that 

 its very name is little more than half a century older 



1 Of Westminster. 



