DISCUSSION 117 



straightforward.' (Cf. the extract from his 

 critique in the supplement to this work.) 

 Professor Plate seems not to have been aware 

 that throughout his speech, but especially at 

 the end, which was by no means to the point, 

 he spoke as an adherent of monism, either 

 voluntarily or involuntarily. For this reason we 

 cannot regard him as free from prejudice or 

 partisan feeling in the matter. 



II. DR. BOLSCHE'S SPEECH. 



Dr. Bolsche began by saying that, owing to the 

 short time assigned to him, he proposed, in answer 

 to Father Wasmann, merely to state what he per- 

 sonally believed to be the truth regarding the 

 facts collectively. He continued : ' Father Was- 

 mann has to a certain extent accepted the doc- 

 trine of evolution as applicable to the organic 

 world ; but, with regard to its application to man, 

 he nevertheless insists upon the fact that we have 

 as yet no satisfactory evidence of the descent of 

 man from beasts. Then with a salto mortale he 

 arrives at this assertion : " See, ladies and gentle- 

 men, Christianity will stand firm as a rock towering 

 above all these waves." This was the point which 

 Dr. Bolsche wished to discuss. He said that if any 

 one had advanced so far as to acknowledge the 



