116 THE PROBLEM OF EVOLUTION 



department of research, viz. the inquilines of the 

 ants and termites ; but as soon as he touches on 

 problems which the Church claims to have solved, 

 he suddenly adopts a totally different method. 

 The ground for this difference is undoubtedly his 

 voluntary or involuntary dependence upon the Church ; 

 to him is lacking the first condition essential to a true 

 scientist, viz. freedom to think and to draw conclusions. 

 Although I gratefully recognise the fact that Father 

 Wasmann, a Catholic priest, accepts in principle 

 the doctrine of evolution, I am constrained to 

 declare him to be no true student of nature and no 

 genuine scientist.'' 



In order to prove the truth of his closing state- 

 ment, the speaker ought at least to have shown 

 that / had arrived at scientifically false results, in 

 consequence of the dogmatic servitude with which 

 he reproaches me. In the whole course of his 

 speech he has not succeeded in doing this. It 

 is probable that many members of his scientific 

 audience, on hearing his last words, felt inclined 

 to ask why he allowed his name to stand on the 

 programme of Father Wasmann' s lectures, if 

 he did not regard the latter as a true student 

 of nature and a genuine scientist. 



A Protestant reporter, Dr. M. Senff, in the 

 Harzer Kurier of April 27th and 28th, criticised 

 Plate's speech rather sharply. He remarks 

 that it contains ' a touch of something not quite 



