CHAP. XIV.] A POSTSCEIPT. 445 



to condemn heresy in the public expressions of any of her 

 children, and certain to detect it ; the question as to such views 

 as evolution being tenable solvitur ambulando. The Professor 

 congratulates himself prematurely on the &quot; spontaneous retreat 

 of the enemy from nine-tenths of the territory which lie 

 occupied ten years ago.&quot; Not one step backwards has 

 been taken by the enemy Professor Huxley seems to detest 

 above all. In proof of this I can refer to the Eambler 

 of March 1860, wherein a position was at once taken up, 

 which is substantially identical with that which I maintain 

 now. 



Christians owe a debt of gratitude to Professor Huxley for 

 calling forth more clearly the certainty that their Christianlty 

 religion has nothing to fear from the doctrine of andReason: 

 evolution. It is, however, Catholic Christians who are pre 

 eminently beholden to him for occasioning a fresh demon 

 stration of the wonderful way in which their greatest teachers 

 of bygone centuries, though imbued with the notions and 

 possessing only the rudimentary physical knowledge of their 

 days, have yet been led to emit fruitful principles by which 

 the Church is prepared to assimilate and harmonize even the 

 most advanced teachings of physical science. 



Professor Huxley indulges in rhetorical declamation as to 

 a &quot; blind acceptance of authority ;&quot; but such acceptance is 

 as much repudiated by me as by Professor Huxley. The 

 Church, in addressing unbelievers, appeals to &quot; reason &quot; and 

 &quot; conscience &quot; alone for the establishment of that Theistic 

 foundation on which she reposes, and no acceptance of 

 authority can be called &quot; blind &quot; which results from a clear 

 perception both of its rational foundation and of the harmony 

 of its dogmas and precepts with those highest faculties of our 

 nature, reason and conscience. 



I confess myself weary of these tedious declamations as to 

 the incompatibility of science with Christianity on the one 

 side, as also of timid deprecations on the other. The true 

 position of these two powers justifies neither such hopes nor 

 such fears; for, in truth, no possible development of physical 



