312 EVOLUTION AND DOGMA. 



sciences, coerced into the service of a universal philos- 

 ophy, and so turned into instruments of mischief and 

 distortion. That ' we can know but phenomena ; ' that 

 ' causation is simply constant priority ; ' that ' men are 

 governed invariably by their interests ; ' are examples 

 of rules allowable as dominant hypotheses in physics 

 or political economy, but exercising a desolating tyr- 

 anny when thrust onto the throne of universal em- 

 pire. He who seizes upon these and similar maxims 

 and carries them in triumph on his banner, may 

 boast of his escape from the uncertainties of meta- 

 physics, but is himself, all the while, the unconscious 

 victim of their very vulgarest deception." 



Evolution and Catholic Teaching. 



From the foregoing pages, then, it is clear that 

 far from being opposed to faith, theistic Evolution is, 

 on the contrary, supported both by the declarations 

 of Genesis and by the most venerable philosophical 

 and theological authorities of the Church. I have 

 mentioned specially St. Augustine and St. Thomas, 

 because of their exalted position as saints and Doc- 

 tors, but it were an easy matter to adduce the testi- 

 mony of others scarcely less renowned for their 

 philosophical acumen and for their proved and un- 

 questioned orthodoxy ; but this is unnecessary. 1 Of 

 course no one would think of maintaining that any 

 of the Fathers or Doctors of the Church taught 

 Evolution in the sense in which it is now under- 



'Cf., in this connection, chap, xu, of the "Genesis of 

 Species;" and chap, xiv, of "Lessons from Nature," by St. 

 George Mivart, where the subject, Theology and Evolution, is 

 very cleverly treated. 



