148 DARWINISM. 



opposed to that which my lecture aimed at, which was 

 to show plain folks that the subject not only could be 

 understood, but ought to be; to convince them, if pos- 

 sible, that on this subject, and perhaps a few others, 

 they were bound by all the laws of truth and honesty 

 either to learn what there was to be learned, or for the 

 future to hold their peace. Two striking examples were 

 quoted, from the lives of Columbus and Galileo, to 

 show that theologians had dragged the Holy Scriptures 

 through the dirt, by presuming to use their authority 

 for a purpose for which it was never designed, in a pro- 

 vince to which it never lays claim, namely, the trial of 

 evidence in natural science. It seems to have escaped 

 the notice of your correspondent, that geography and 

 astronomy were no more advanced in those days than 

 geology and palaeontology in our own. But will any 

 one presume to tell us that the Bible is a match for 

 struggling infant sciences, and may be quoted to contra- 

 dict, suppress, and crush them, but that when they are 

 full-grown it must in turn succumb to their dictation ? 

 That is indeed the principle on which, in the old Greek 

 comedy, the son justifies his thrashing his aged father, 

 because in bygone years, when their strength was dif- 

 ferent, his aged father had thrashed him. Only this, we 

 must remember, is the invention of an incomparable 

 satirist, meant for avoidance, not for imitation. 



It may be remarked, by the way, that in taking 

 objection to the opening sentence of the lecture, my 

 friendly opponent seems to have misconceived its pur- 

 port. Darwinism implies,' it says, ' almost throughout, 



