I2 THE MEANING OF EVOLUTION 
Aquinas. Referring especially to the authority of his 
master, St. Augustine, he says that it would be easy 
mistakenly to believe that the author of Genesis meant 
to convey the idea that on each of the six days cer- 
tain acts of creation were performed. It is quite evi- 
dent, thinks Aquinas, that in those early times God 
only created the germs of things and put into the 
earth powers which should later become active. Af- 
ter the Creator had thus endowed the earth he rested 
from the work, which proceeded to develop under 
the influence of these first germs. 
Nearly four hundred years later, when Europe had 
finally awakened out of the deep and refreshing sleep 
in which it had fortunately forgotten much of the 
past, a new era dawned and modern thought began. 
Immediately men commenced to busy their minds with 
broader problems than they had been discussing since 
the time of the Greek philosophers. The hand of 
tradition, however, was heavy on them still. They 
dreaded to run counter to authority, and did not dare 
think unrestrainedly. Descartes shows us how we can 
understand things better if we will imagine a few 
principles by which it will be easy to account for 
things as they are. Then he carefully elaborates these 
principles as they occur to him; but he has no sooner 
done so than he takes care to add, “Of course, we 
know the earth was not made in this way.” 
