CHAPTER VI 



THE COMING OF EVOLUTION 



The Significance of Biology Embryology Natural History Scientific 

 Exploration Organic Chemistry The Physics of Physiology 

 Microbes and Disease Geology Evolution before Darwin Darwin 

 The Fight for Evolution The Effects of Evolution. 



IN the epoch of science which began with the Re- 

 naissance, it was astronomy that produced the greatest 

 Th revolution in the thoughts of mankind. 

 Significance It so happened that when Copernicus de- 

 of Biology. throned the eart h f rom its proud position 



as the centre of the Universe, and Newton brought 

 the phenomena of the heavens under the sway of the 

 mechanical laws familiar in everyday life, they also 

 undermined the evidence on which a whole theory of 

 Divine revelation had been built up. A complete 

 change of outlook was thus brought about, although 

 many years passed by before the full effects were 

 realized, and, as we must now show, the current con- 

 ceptions were attacked in a fresh direction before it 

 was possible to begin the work of reconstruction. 



In the great advance which marked the nineteenth 

 century, it was not the vast development of physical 

 knowledge, and still less the enormous superstructure 



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