430 LESSONS FROM NATUEE. [CHAP. XIV. 



I altogether decline to allow the issue to be thus limited. 

 I decline it because neither did I intend such limitation, nor 

 do any words of mine justify such a construction of my pur 

 pose. I took up, and I take up, only the ground common to 

 me and to all who hold the Christian religion as expressed 

 in the Apostles Creed, or who maintain the inspiration of 

 &quot;Scripture. The better to make sure of my position I made 

 use of an extreme case, knowing that if I could maintain 

 even that, then all within that extreme term could not cer 

 tainly be questioned. Purposely then I set out to show, and 

 I did show, that the strictest Ultramontane Catholics are 

 perfectly free to hold the doctrine of evolution, thereby 

 making evident that with regard to Christians in general 

 there could not be a doubt as to their freedom in the matter. 

 For this end I expressly selected just such persons as would 

 commonly be supposed not to be those from whom (in Pro 

 fessor Huxley s words) &quot; modern science was likely to receive 

 a warm welcome,&quot; and amongst others the Spanish Jesuit, 

 Father Suarez, precisely because, as Professor Huxley says, 

 &quot; the popular repute of that learned theologian and subtle 

 casuist was not such as to make his works a likely place of 

 refuge for liberality of thought.&quot; 



My critic shows how he misapprehends my aim and inten- 

 A misappre- tion when he speaks of &quot; Mr. Mivart citing Father 

 Suarez as his chief witness in favour of the scientific 

 freedom enjoyed by Catholics.&quot; Had he been such a witness 

 I should not for one moment have thought of citing him ; it 

 was precisely as one of the most rigid theologians, and of 

 &quot; unspotted orthodoxy&quot; (as Professor Huxley justly remarks), 

 that I called him into court, where he testifies so completely 

 to my satisfaction. 



The success of my mode of procedure is, I confess, gratify- 

 His astonish- g to me. Not only was my argument &quot; most in 

 teresting &quot; to Professor Huxley, but he tells us his 

 &quot; astonishment reached its climax,&quot; and that he shall &quot; look 

 anxiously &quot; for additional references &quot; in the third edition of 

 the Genesis of Species. &quot; Fortunately I have no need to 



