226 ESSAYS OF A BIOLOGIST 



and a revaluation of the facts subsumed without 

 full analysis into the symbolism of theology, the 

 inevitable result has been for the two to find each 

 other in constant antagonism. But be it noted that 

 it is not science and religion which are in conflict, 

 but science and a particular brand of religion. 

 ^'^The essence of science is free inquiry combined 

 with experimental testing. The result is a body of 

 knowledge, of fact, and explanatory theory, which 

 can properly be regarded as established. By estab- 

 lished^ however, we do not mean that it is absolute 

 or immutable — we expect addition and modification. 

 But we also expect that, in the future as in the past, 

 the additions and alterations will not involve the 

 scrapping and rebuilding of the whole edifice, but 

 that it will continue to be harmonious with itself, 

 and to undergo a gradual evolution. This has been 

 so even with such marked changes as the discovery 

 of radioactivity, the new outlook in psychology, or 

 the rediscovery of Mendelism — the new, after apparent 

 contradiction, has been or is being harmoniously in- 

 corporated and organized with the old. 



This in its turn implies that toleration should 

 ever be encouraged by the scientist. Humility cannot 

 be genuine if combined with unsupported dogmatic 

 assertion : and the recognition that the ideas of 

 revelation and divine personality are such dogmatic 

 assertions brings a whole new outlook into being. 



Putting matters in a nutshell, we can say that a 



