252 Thomas Henry Huxley 



" But the question is uot here of a lofty poem, or a skilfully 

 coustructed narrative ; it is whether natural science, in the 

 patient exercise of its high calling to examine facts, finds that 

 the works of God cry out against what we have fondly believed 

 to be His word and tell another tale ; or whether, in this nine- 

 teenth century of Christian progress, it substantially echoes 

 back the majestic sound, which, before it existed as a pursuit, 

 went forth into all lands. 



First, looking largely at the latter portion of the narrative, 

 which describes the creation of living organisms, and waiving 

 details, on some of which (as in v. 24) the Septuagint seems to 

 vary from the Hebrew, there is a grand fourfold division, set 

 forth in an orderly succession of times as follows : on the fifth 

 day 



1. The water-population. 



2. The air-population, 

 aud, on the sixth day, 



3. The land-population of animals. 



4. The land-populatiou consummated in man. 



Now this same fourfold order is understood to have been so 

 affirmed in our time by natural science, that it may be taken 

 as a demonstrated conclusion and established fact." 



The defence itself shewed that already a large part 

 of the original position had been abandoned. The 

 literal meaning and belief in detailed accuracy were 

 given up and Mr. Gladstone sought to establish only a 

 general correspondence between the Biblical narrative 

 and the results of science. But even in that form 

 Huxley shewed the defence to be untenable. 



*' I can meet the statement in the last paragraph of the 

 above citation," he replied, " with nothing but a direct nega- 

 tive. If I know anything at all about the results attained by 

 the natural science of our time, it is a ' demonstrated conclu- 

 sion and established fact ' that the fourfold order given by Mr. 

 Gladstone is not that in which the evidence at our disposal 

 tends to shew that the water, air, and land populations of our 

 globe made their appearance." 



