ANTICIPATION AND INTERPRETATION 27 



of the publication of the Origin of SjJCcics lacked 

 verification. Although for the most part devout 

 men, they were declared arch enemies of sound 

 religion, and although right in their contention 

 for the value of the inductive-deductive method 

 of thought, they were also proclaimed as the ene- 

 mies of sound scientific thinking. 



The Advance of Natural Philosophy 



The belief that the first chapter of Genesis con- 

 tained a revelation of scientific as well as of 

 spiritual and moral truth was not supported by 

 the most prominent of the early theologians, nor 

 many centuries later by Bacon. It is edifying to 

 read the appeals of the two great Christian phi- 

 losophers, Augustine and Bacon, for freedom of 

 scientific observation and reasoning, against the 

 error of searching the Scriptures for law^s of Na- 

 ture. Augustine says : 



It very often happens that there is some question 

 as to the earth or the sky, or the other elements of 

 this world . . . respecting which one who is not a 

 Christian has knowledge derived from most certain 

 reasoning or observation [that is, a scientific man], 

 and it is very disgraceful and mischievous and of all 

 things to be carefully avoided, that a Christian, 

 speaking of such matters as being according to the 

 Christian Scriptures, should be heard by an unbe- 



