140 Contemporary Evolution. 



logical conception had in its favour alike the convictions 

 of the majority of the learned, the language of books 

 revered as sacred, and the enormous force of a habit of 

 mind unbroken for untold ages. Yet the result of the 

 universal acceptance of the new astronomy, so far from 

 destroying the Christian Church (as it is asserted it would 

 have destroyed Hindooism), has been to show that it 

 was in fact prepared beforehand for the greatest change 

 of cosmological conception which the world has yet 

 seen. 



The second instance is that of the apparent conflict 

 between evolutionary biology and Christian dogma, and 

 indeed, no better test question as to the effect of scientific 

 progress on Christianity could well be devised. The 

 general acceptance, till modern times, of one special view 

 of creative action, together with the unhesitating consent 

 of almost all men of science as to the indefinite durability 

 of specific characters, made it in the highest degree un- 

 likely that authoritative Christian teaching, in early 

 mediaeval times, should have laid down principles render- 

 ing the assimilation of evolutionary natural history by 



Holy See apparently evaded the question, not indeed siding with the 

 Irish philosopher, which would have been going out of its place, but 

 passing over in a manner not revealed a philosophical opinion" 

 (Lectures on University Subjects, p. 279). With how much even 

 greater force do not these remarks apply to the Church's action 

 respecting belief as to the mode of creation of animal and vegetable 

 forms. 



