286 LANDSCAPE 



When at last man's affection for his home prevailed over 

 the figments of scholastic theology, humanism attempted to 

 fill up the void of nature by reintroducing the personalities of 

 classical mythology. These having lost their hold upon the 

 faith of men, were ineffectual mere chim&ra bombycinantes 

 in vacuo, monsters of the fancy spinning cocoons in the abyss 

 of nothing. The Infinite remained a yawning gulf, requiring 

 to be tenanted. With every year, nature became more and 

 more a problem for curiosity, a tantalising complex of facts 

 which had to be accounted for. 



The force which was growing while theology declined, and 

 which was destined to control the future, attracted slight 

 attention and roused comparatively feeble jealousy. Bruno 

 indeed suffered martyrdom for attempting to connect God 

 vitally with nature. Galileo was gagged for a different kind 

 of indiscretion. Spinoza, after his harmless life and obscure 

 death, won the reputation of a venomous atheist. Still the 

 reconstructive energy of modern thought moved onwards, 

 acting most effectively where it was least articulate. Theology 

 slighted nature from the outset, and continued to regard the 

 material universe as a field in which the curiosity of man 

 might be allowed to range. She failed to perceive that the 

 Infinite, brought into paramount importance by herself, would 

 eventually have to be identified with nature. Science, mean- 

 while, the real and rising force, waxed in obscurity, wisely 

 refraining from hostile contact with waning orthodoxy, until 

 it became a giant which might not be withstood. Like the 

 gourd of Jonah's vision, it grew and overspread the heavens. 

 Silently, imperceptibly, science asserted its right and power 

 to solve the problem of Infinity, and filled the void of nature 

 with a living spirit. God was re-discovered in the universe. 

 That whole, of which man forms a part, appeared the 

 manifestation of Deity. 



While this process in the groundwork of thought was 

 unfolding, various causes contributed to the decay of 

 mediaeval Christian mythology. The principal of these 

 may be enumerated : first, criticism applied to documents 

 and historical testimony ; second, the politico -religious move- 



