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diff --git a/old/1185-h/1185-h.htm b/old/1185-h/1185-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c63c4c1 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1185-h/1185-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,12262 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science, by John William + Draper, M. D., LL. D. + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Conflict Between Religion +and Science, by John William Draper + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science + +Author: John William Draper + + +Release Date: February, 1998 [EBook #1185] +Last Updated: January 25, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE CONFLICT *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Keller, and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + HISTORY OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN RELIGION AND SCIENCE + </h1> + <h2> + By John William Draper, M. D., LL. D. + </h2> + <h4> + PROFESSOR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, + </h4> + <h5> + AUTHOR OF A TREATISE ON HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, HISTORY OF THE INTELLECTUAL + DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPE, HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, AND OF MANY + EXPERIMENTAL MEMOIRS ON CHEMICAL AND OTHER SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS + </h5> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> <b>HISTORY OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN RELIGION + AND SCIENCE.</b> </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linktwelve"> CHAPTER XII. </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + PREFACE. + </h2> + <p> + WHOEVER has had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the mental + condition of the intelligent classes in Europe and America, must have + perceived that there is a great and rapidly-increasing departure from the + public religious faith, and that, while among the more frank this + divergence is not concealed, there is a far more extensive and far more + dangerous secession, private and unacknowledged. + </p> + <p> + So wide-spread and so powerful is this secession, that it can neither be + treated with contempt nor with punishment. It cannot be extinguished by + derision, by vituperation, or by force. The time is rapidly approaching + when it will give rise to serious political results. + </p> + <p> + Ecclesiastical spirit no longer inspires the policy of the world. Military + fervor in behalf of faith has disappeared. Its only souvenirs are the + marble effigies of crusading knights, reposing in the silent crypts of + churches on their tombs. + </p> + <p> + That a crisis is impending is shown by the attitude of the great powers + toward the papacy. The papacy represents the ideas and aspirations of + two-thirds of the population of Europe. It insists on a political + supremacy in accordance with its claims to a divine origin and mission, + and a restoration of the mediaeval order of things, loudly declaring that + it will accept no reconciliation with modern civilization. + </p> + <p> + The antagonism we thus witness between Religion and Science is the + continuation of a struggle that commenced when Christianity began to + attain political power. A divine revelation must necessarily be intolerant + of contradiction; it must repudiate all improvement in itself, and view + with disdain that arising from the progressive intellectual development of + man. But our opinions on every subject are continually liable to + modification, from the irresistible advance of human knowledge. + </p> + <p> + Can we exaggerate the importance of a contention in which every thoughtful + person must take part whether he will or not? In a matter so solemn as + that of religion, all men, whose temporal interests are not involved in + existing institutions, earnestly desire to find the truth. They seek + information as to the subjects in dispute, and as to the conduct of the + disputants. + </p> + <p> + The history of Science is not a mere record of isolated discoveries; it is + a narrative of the conflict of two contending powers, the expansive force + of the human intellect on one side, and the compression arising from + traditionary faith and human interests on the other. + </p> + <p> + No one has hitherto treated the subject from this point of view. Yet from + this point it presents itself to us as a living issue—in fact, as + the most important of all living issues. + </p> + <p> + A few years ago, it was the politic and therefore the proper course to + abstain from all allusion to this controversy, and to keep it as far as + possible in the background. The tranquillity of society depends so much on + the stability of its religious convictions, that no one can be justified + in wantonly disturbing them. But faith is in its nature unchangeable, + stationary; Science is in its nature progressive; and eventually a + divergence between them, impossible to conceal, must take place. It then + becomes the duty of those whose lives have made them familiar with both + modes of thought, to present modestly, but firmly, their views; to compare + the antagonistic pretensions calmly, impartially, philosophically. History + shows that, if this be not done, social misfortunes, disastrous and + enduring, will ensue. When the old mythological religion of Europe broke + down under the weight of its own inconsistencies, neither the Roman + emperors nor the philosophers of those times did any thing adequate for + the guidance of public opinion. They left religious affairs to take their + chance, and accordingly those affairs fell into the hands of ignorant and + infuriated ecclesiastics, parasites, eunuchs, and slaves. + </p> + <p> + The intellectual night which settled on Europe, in consequence of that + great neglect of duty, is passing away; we live in the daybreak of better + things. Society is anxiously expecting light, to see in what direction it + is drifting. It plainly discerns that the track along which the voyage of + civilization has thus far been made, has been left; and that a new + departure, on all unknown sea, has been taken. + </p> + <p> + Though deeply impressed with such thoughts, I should not have presumed to + write this book, or to intrude on the public the ideas it presents, had I + not made the facts with which it deals a subject of long and earnest + meditation. And I have gathered a strong incentive to undertake this duty + from the circumstance that a "History of the Intellectual Development of + Europe," published by me several years ago, which has passed through many + editions in America, and has been reprinted in numerous European + languages, English, French, German, Russian, Polish, Servian, etc., is + everywhere received with favor. + </p> + <p> + In collecting and arranging the materials for the volumes I published + under the title of "A History of the American Civil War," a work of very + great labor, I had become accustomed to the comparison of conflicting + statements, the adjustment of conflicting claims. The approval with which + that book has been received by the American public, a critical judge of + the events considered, has inspired me with additional confidence. I had + also devoted much attention to the experimental investigation of natural + phenomena, and had published many well-known memoirs on such subjects. And + perhaps no one can give himself to these pursuits, and spend a large part + of his life in the public teaching of science, without partaking of that + love of impartiality and truth which Philosophy incites. She inspires us + with a desire to dedicate our days to the good of our race, so that in the + fading light of life's evening we may not, on looking back, be forced to + acknowledge how unsubstantial and useless are the objects that we have + pursued. + </p> + <p> + Though I have spared no pains in the composition of this book, I am very + sensible how unequal it is to the subject, to do justice to which a + knowledge of science, history, theology, politics, is required; every page + should be alive with intelligence and glistening with facts. But then I + have remembered that this is only as it were the preface, or forerunner, + of a body of literature, which the events and wants of our times will call + forth. We have come to the brink of a great intellectual change. Much of + the frivolous reading of the present will be supplanted by a thoughtful + and austere literature, vivified by endangered interests, and made fervid + by ecclesiastical passion. + </p> + <p> + What I have sought to do is, to present a clear and impartial statement of + the views and acts of the two contending parties. In one sense I have + tried to identify myself with each, so as to comprehend thoroughly their + motives; but in another and higher sense I have endeavored to stand aloof, + and relate with impartiality their actions. + </p> + <p> + I therefore trust that those, who may be disposed to criticise this book, + will bear in mind that its object is not to advocate the views and + pretensions of either party, but to explain clearly, and without shrinking + those of both. In the management of each chapter I have usually set forth + the orthodox view first, and then followed it with that of its opponents. + </p> + <p> + In thus treating the subject it has not been necessary to pay much regard + to more moderate or intermediate opinions, for, though they may be + intrinsically of great value, in conflicts of this kind it is not with the + moderates but with the extremists that the impartial reader is mainly + concerned. Their movements determine the issue. + </p> + <p> + For this reason I have had little to say respecting the two great + Christian confessions, the Protestant and Greek Churches. As to the + latter, it has never, since the restoration of science, arrayed itself in + opposition to the advancement of knowledge. On the contrary, it has always + met it with welcome. It has observed a reverential attitude to truth, from + whatever quarter it might come. Recognizing the apparent discrepancies + between its interpretations of revealed truth and the discoveries of + science, it has always expected that satisfactory explanations and + reconciliations would ensue, and in this it has not been disappointed. It + would have been well for modern civilization if the Roman Church had done + the same. + </p> + <p> + In speaking of Christianity, reference is generally made to the Roman + Church, partly because its adherents compose the majority of Christendom, + partly because its demands are the most pretentious, and partly because it + has commonly sought to enforce those demands by the civil power. None of + the Protestant Churches has ever occupied a position so imperious—none + has ever had such wide-spread political influence. For the most part they + have been averse to constraint, and except in very few instances their + opposition has not passed beyond the exciting of theological odium. + </p> + <p> + As to Science, she has never sought to ally herself to civil power. She + has never attempted to throw odium or inflict social ruin on any human + being. She has never subjected any one to mental torment, physical + torture, least of all to death, for the purpose of upholding or promoting + her ideas. She presents herself unstained by cruelties and crimes. But in + the Vatican—we have only to recall the Inquisition—the hands + that are now raised in appeals to the Most Merciful are crimsoned. They + have been steeped in blood! + </p> + <p> + There are two modes of historical composition, the artistic and the + scientific. The former implies that men give origin to events; it + therefore selects some prominent individual, pictures him under a fanciful + form, and makes him the hero of a romance. The latter, insisting that + human affairs present an unbroken chain, in which each fact is the + offspring of some preceding fact, and the parent of some subsequent fact, + declares that men do not control events, but that events control men. The + former gives origin to compositions, which, however much they may interest + or delight us, are but a grade above novels; the latter is austere, + perhaps even repulsive, for it sternly impresses us with a conviction of + the irresistible dominion of law, and the insignificance of human + exertions. In a subject so solemn as that to which this book is devoted, + the romantic and the popular are altogether out of place. He who presumes + to treat of it must fix his eyes steadfastly on that chain of destiny + which universal history displays; he must turn with disdain from the + phantom impostures of pontiffs and statesmen and kings. + </p> + <p> + If any thing were needed to show us the untrustworthiness of artistic + historical compositions, our personal experience would furnish it. How + often do our most intimate friends fail to perceive the real motives of + our every-day actions; how frequently they misinterpret our intentions! If + this be the case in what is passing before our eyes, may we not be + satisfied that it is impossible to comprehend justly the doings of persons + who lived many years ago, and whom we have never seen. + </p> + <p> + In selecting and arranging the topics now to be presented, I have been + guided in part by "the Confession" of the late Vatican Council, and in + part by the order of events in history. Not without interest will the + reader remark that the subjects offer themselves to us now as they did to + the old philosophers of Greece. We still deal with the same questions + about which they disputed. What is God? What is the soul? What is the + world? How is it governed? Have we any standard or criterion of truth? And + the thoughtful reader will earnestly ask, "Are our solutions of these + problems any better than theirs?" + </p> + <p> + The general argument of this book, then, is as follows: + </p> + <p> + I first direct attention to the origin of modern science as distinguished + from ancient, by depending on observation, experiment, and mathematical + discussion, instead of mere speculation, and shall show that it was a + consequence of the Macedonian campaigns, which brought Asia and Europe + into contact. A brief sketch of those campaigns, and of the Museum of + Alexandria, illustrates its character. + </p> + <p> + Then with brevity I recall the well-known origin of Christianity, and show + its advance to the attainment of imperial power, the transformation it + underwent by its incorporation with paganism, the existing religion of the + Roman Empire. A clear conception of its incompatibility with science + caused it to suppress forcibly the Schools of Alexandria. It was + constrained to this by the political necessities of its position. + </p> + <p> + The parties to the conflict thus placed, I next relate the story of their + first open struggle; it is the first or Southern Reformation. The point in + dispute had respect to the nature of God. It involved the rise of + Mohammedanism. Its result was, that much of Asia and Africa, with the + historic cities Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Carthage, were wrenched from + Christendom, and the doctrine of the Unity of God established in the + larger portion of what had been the Roman Empire. + </p> + <p> + This political event was followed by the restoration of science, the + establishment of colleges, schools, libraries, throughout the dominions of + the Arabians. Those conquerors, pressing forward rapidly in their + intellectual development, rejected the anthropomorphic ideas of the nature + of God remaining in their popular belief, and accepted other more + philosophical ones, akin to those that had long previously been attained + to in India. The result of this was a second conflict, that respecting the + nature of the soul. Under the designation of Averroism, there came into + prominence the theories of Emanation and Absorption. At the close of the + middle ages the Inquisition succeeded in excluding those doctrines from + Europe, and now the Vatican Council has formally and solemnly + anathematized them. + </p> + <p> + Meantime, through the cultivation of astronomy, geography, and other + sciences, correct views had been gained as to the position and relations + of the earth, and as to the structure of the world; and since Religion, + resting itself on what was assumed to be the proper interpretation of the + Scriptures, insisted that the earth is the central and most important part + of the universe, a third conflict broke out. In this Galileo led the way + on the part of Science. Its issue was the overthrow of the Church on the + question in dispute. Subsequently a subordinate controversy arose + respecting the age of the world, the Church insisting that it is only + about six thousand years old. In this she was again overthrown The light + of history and of science had been gradually spreading over Europe. In the + sixteenth century the prestige of Roman Christianity was greatly + diminished by the intellectual reverses it had experienced, and also by + its political and moral condition. It was clearly seen by many pious men + that Religion was not accountable for the false position in which she was + found, but that the misfortune was directly traceable to the alliance she + had of old contracted with Roman paganism. The obvious remedy, therefore, + was a return to primitive purity. Thus arose the fourth conflict, known to + us as the Reformation—the second or Northern Reformation. The + special form it assumed was a contest respecting the standard or criterion + of truth, whether it is to be found in the Church or in the Bible. The + determination of this involved a settlement of the rights of reason, or + intellectual freedom. Luther, who is the conspicuous man of the epoch, + carried into effect his intention with no inconsiderable success; and at + the close of the struggle it was found that Northern Europe was lost to + Roman Christianity. + </p> + <p> + We are now in the midst of a controversy respecting the mode of government + of the world, whether it be by incessant divine intervention, or by the + operation of primordial and unchangeable law. The intellectual movement of + Christendom has reached that point which Arabism had attained to in the + tenth and eleventh centuries; and doctrines which were then discussed are + presenting themselves again for review; such are those of Evolution, + Creation, Development. + </p> + <p> + Offered under these general titles, I think it will be found that all the + essential points of this great controversy are included. By grouping under + these comprehensive heads the facts to be considered, and dealing with + each group separately, we shall doubtless acquire clear views of their + inter-connection and their historical succession. + </p> + <p> + I have treated of these conflicts as nearly as I conveniently could in + their proper chronological order, and, for the sake of completeness, have + added chapters on— + </p> + <p> + An examination of what Latin Christianity has done for modern + civilization. + </p> + <p> + A corresponding examination of what Science has done. + </p> + <p> + The attitude of Roman Christianity in the impending conflict, as defined + by the Vatican Council. + </p> + <p> + The attention of many truth-seeking persons has been so exclusively given + to the details of sectarian dissensions, that the long strife, to the + history of which these pages are devoted, is popularly but little known. + Having tried to keep steadfastly in view the determination to write this + work in an impartial spirit, to speak with respect of the contending + parties, but never to conceal the truth, I commit it to the considerate + judgment of the thoughtful reader. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + JOHN WILLIAM DRAPER +</pre> + <p> + UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK, December, 1873. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + HISTORY OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN RELIGION AND SCIENCE. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + THE ORIGIN OF SCIENCE. + + Religious condition of the Greeks in the fourth century + before Christ.—Their invasion of the Persian Empire brings + them in contact with new aspects of Nature, and familiarizes + them with new religious systems.—The military, + engineering, and scientific activity, stimulated by the + Macedonian campaigns, leads to the establishment in + Alexandria of an institute, the Museum, for the cultivation + of knowledge by experiment, observation, and mathematical + discussion.—It is the origin of Science. +</pre> + <p> + GREEK MYTHOLOGY. No spectacle can be presented to the thoughtful mind more + solemn, more mournful, than that of the dying of an ancient religion, + which in its day has given consolation to many generations of men. + </p> + <p> + Four centuries before the birth of Christ, Greece was fast outgrowing her + ancient faith. Her philosophers, in their studies of the world, had been + profoundly impressed with the contrast between the majesty of the + operations of Nature and the worthlessness of the divinities of Olympus. + Her historians, considering the orderly course of political affairs, the + manifest uniformity in the acts of men, and that there was no event + occurring before their eyes for which they could not find an obvious cause + in some preceding event, began to suspect that the miracles and celestial + interventions, with which the old annals were filled, were only fictions. + They demanded, when the age of the supernatural had ceased, why oracles + had become mute, and why there were now no more prodigies in the world. + </p> + <p> + Traditions, descending from immemorial antiquity, and formerly accepted by + pious men as unquestionable truths, had filled the islands of the + Mediterranean and the conterminous countries with supernatural wonders—enchantresses, + sorcerers, giants, ogres, harpies, gorgons, centaurs, cyclops. The azure + vault was the floor of heaven; there Zeus, surrounded by the gods with + their wives and mistresses, held his court, engaged in pursuits like those + of men, and not refraining from acts of human passion and crime. + </p> + <p> + A sea-coast broken by numerous indentations, an archipelago with some of + the most lovely islands in the world, inspired the Greeks with a taste for + maritime life, for geographical discovery, and colonization. Their ships + wandered all over the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The time-honored + wonders that had been glorified in the "Odyssey," and sacred in public + faith, were found to have no existence. As a better knowledge of Nature + was obtained, the sky was shown to be an illusion; it was discovered that + there is no Olympus, nothing above but space and stars. With the vanishing + of their habitation, the gods disappeared, both those of the Ionian type + of Homer and those of the Doric of Hesiod. + </p> + <p> + EFFECTS OF DISCOVERY AND CRITICISM. But this did not take place without + resistance. At first, the public, and particularly its religious portion, + denounced the rising doubts as atheism. They despoiled some of the + offenders of their goods, exiled others; some they put to death. They + asserted that what had been believed by pious men in the old times, and + had stood the test of ages, must necessarily be true. Then, as the + opposing evidence became irresistible, they were content to admit that + these marvels were allegories under which the wisdom of the ancients had + concealed many sacred and mysterious things. They tried to reconcile, what + now in their misgivings they feared might be myths, with their advancing + intellectual state. But their efforts were in vain, for there are + predestined phases through which on such an occasion public opinion must + pass. What it has received with veneration it begins to doubt, then it + offers new interpretations, then subsides into dissent, and ends with a + rejection of the whole as a mere fable. + </p> + <p> + In their secession the philosophers and historians were followed by the + poets. Euripides incurred the odium of heresy. Aeschylus narrowly escaped + being stoned to death for blasphemy. But the frantic efforts of those who + are interested in supporting delusions must always end in defeat. The + demoralization resistlessly extended through every branch of literature, + until at length it reached the common people. + </p> + <p> + THE PERSIAN EMPIRE. Greek philosophical criticism had lent its aid to + Greek philosophical discovery in this destruction of the national faith. + It sustained by many arguments the wide-spreading unbelief. It compared + the doctrines of the different schools with each other, and showed from + their contradictions that man has no criterion of truth; that, since his + ideas of what is good and what is evil differ according to the country in + which he lives, they can have no foundation in Nature, but must be + altogether the result of education; that right and wrong are nothing more + than fictions created by society for its own purposes. In Athens, some of + the more advanced classes had reached such a pass that they not only + denied the unseen, the supernatural, they even affirmed that the world is + only a day-dream, a phantasm, and that nothing at all exists. + </p> + <p> + The topographical configuration of Greece gave an impress to her political + condition. It divided her people into distinct communities having + conflicting interests, and made them incapable of centralization. + Incessant domestic wars between the rival states checked her advancement. + She was poor, her leading men had become corrupt. They were ever ready to + barter patriotic considerations for foreign gold, to sell themselves for + Persian bribes. Possessing a perception of the beautiful as manifested in + sculpture and architecture to a degree never attained elsewhere either + before or since, Greece had lost a practical appreciation of the Good and + the True. + </p> + <p> + While European Greece, full of ideas of liberty and independence, rejected + the sovereignty of Persia, Asiatic Greece acknowledged it without + reluctance. At that time the Persian Empire in territorial extent was + equal to half of modern Europe. It touched the waters of the + Mediterranean, the Aegean, the Black, the Caspian, the Indian, the + Persian, the Red Seas. Through its territories there flowed six of the + grandest rivers in the world—the Euphrates, the Tigris, the Indus, + the Jaxartes, the Oxus, the Nile, each more than a thousand miles in + length. Its surface reached from thirteen hundred feet below the sea-level + to twenty thousand feet above. It yielded, therefore, every agricultural + product. Its mineral wealth was boundless. It inherited the prestige of + the Median, the Babylonian, the Assyrian, the Chaldean Empires, whose + annals reached back through more than twenty centuries. + </p> + <p> + THE PERSIAN EMPIRE. Persia had always looked upon European Greece as + politically insignificant, for it had scarcely half the territorial extent + of one of her satrapies. Her expeditions for compelling its obedience had, + however, taught her the military qualities of its people. In her forces + were incorporated Greek mercenaries, esteemed the very best of her troops. + She did not hesitate sometimes to give the command of her armies to Greek + generals, of her fleets to Greek captains. In the political convulsions + through which she had passed, Greek soldiers had often been used by her + contending chiefs. These military operations were attended by a momentous + result. They revealed, to the quick eye of these warlike mercenaries, the + political weakness of the empire and the possibility of reaching its + centre. After the death of Cyrus on the battle-field of Cunaxa, it was + demonstrated, by the immortal retreat of the ten thousand under Xenophon, + that a Greek army could force its way to and from the heart of Persia. + </p> + <p> + That reverence for the military abilities of Asiatic generals, so + profoundly impressed on the Greeks by such engineering exploits as the + bridging of the Hellespont, and the cutting of the isthmus at Mount Athos + by Xerxes, had been obliterated at Salamis, Platea, Mycale. To plunder + rich Persian provinces had become an irresistible temptation. Such was the + expedition of Agesilaus, the Spartan king, whose brilliant successes were, + however, checked by the Persian government resorting to its time-proved + policy of bribing the neighbors of Sparta to attack her. "I have been + conquered by thirty thousand Persian archers," bitterly exclaimed + Agesilaus, as he re-embarked, alluding to the Persian coin, the Daric, + which was stamped with the image of an archer. + </p> + <p> + THE INVASION OF PERSIA BY GREECE. At length Philip, the King of Macedon, + projected a renewal of these attempts, under a far more formidable + organization, and with a grander object. He managed to have himself + appointed captain-general of all Greece not for the purpose of a mere + foray into the Asiatic satrapies, but for the overthrow of the Persian + dynasty in the very centre of its power. Assassinated while his + preparations were incomplete, he was succeeded by his son Alexander, then + a youth. A general assembly of Greeks at Corinth had unanimously elected + him in his father's stead. There were some disturbances in Illyria; + Alexander had to march his army as far north as the Danube to quell them. + During his absence the Thebans with some others conspired against him. On + his return he took Thebes by assault. He massacred six thousand of its + inhabitants, sold thirty thousand for slaves, and utterly demolished the + city. The military wisdom of this severity was apparent in his Asiatic + campaign. He was not troubled by any revolt in his rear. + </p> + <p> + THE MACEDONIAN CAMPAIGN. In the spring B.C. 334 Alexander crossed the + Hellespont into Asia. His army consisted of thirty-four thousand foot and + four thousand horse. He had with him only seventy talents in money. He + marched directly on the Persian army, which, vastly exceeding him in + strength, was holding the line of the Granicus. He forced the passage of + the river, routed the enemy, and the possession of all Asia Minor, with + its treasures, was the fruit of the victory. The remainder of that year he + spent in the military organization of the conquered provinces. Meantime + Darius, the Persian king, had advanced an army of six hundred thousand men + to prevent the passage of the Macedonians into Syria. In a battle that + ensued among the mountain-defiles at Issus, the Persians were again + overthrown. So great was the slaughter that Alexander, and Ptolemy, one of + his generals, crossed over a ravine choked with dead bodies. It was + estimated that the Persian loss was not less than ninety thousand foot and + ten thousand horse. The royal pavilion fell into the conqueror's hands, + and with it the wife and several of the children of Darius. Syria was thus + added to the Greek conquests. In Damascus were found many of the + concubines of Darius and his chief officers, together with a vast + treasure. + </p> + <p> + Before venturing into the plains of Mesopotamia for the final struggle, + Alexander, to secure his rear and preserve his communications with the + sea, marched southward down the Mediterranean coast, reducing the cities + in his way. In his speech before the council of war after Issus, he told + his generals that they must not pursue Darius with Tyre unsubdued, and + Persia in possession of Egypt and Cyprus, for, if Persia should regain her + seaports, she would transfer the war into Greece, and that it was + absolutely necessary for him to be sovereign at sea. With Cyprus and Egypt + in his possession he felt no solicitude about Greece. The siege of Tyre + cost him more than half a year. In revenge for this delay, he crucified, + it is said, two thousand of his prisoners. Jerusalem voluntarily + surrendered, and therefore was treated leniently: but the passage of the + Macedonian army into Egypt being obstructed at Gaza, the Persian governor + of which, Betis, made a most obstinate defense, that place, after a siege + of two months, was carried by assault, ten thousand of its men were + massacred, and the rest, with their wives and children, sold into slavery. + Betis himself was dragged alive round the city at the chariot-wheels of + the conqueror. There was now no further obstacle. The Egyptians, who + detested the Persian rule, received their invader with open arms. He + organized the country in his own interest, intrusting all its military + commands to Macedonian officers, and leaving the civil government in the + hands of native Egyptians. + </p> + <p> + CONQUEST OF EGYPT. While preparations for the final campaign were being + made, he undertook a journey to the temple of Jupiter Ammon, which was + situated in an oasis of the Libyan Desert, at a distance of two hundred + miles. The oracle declared him to be a son of that god who, under the form + of a serpent, had beguiled Olympias, his mother. Immaculate conceptions + and celestial descents were so currently received in those days, that + whoever had greatly distinguished himself in the affairs of men was + thought to be of supernatural lineage. Even in Rome, centuries later, no + one could with safety have denied that the city owed its founder, Romulus, + to an accidental meeting of the god Mars with the virgin Rhea Sylvia, as + she went with her pitcher for water to the spring. The Egyptian disciples + of Plato would have looked with anger on those who rejected the legend + that Perictione, the mother of that great philosopher, a pure virgin, had + suffered an immaculate conception through the influences of Apollo, and + that the god had declared to Ariston, to whom she was betrothed, the + parentage of the child. When Alexander issued his letters, orders, and + decrees, styling himself "King Alexander, the son of Jupiter Ammon," they + came to the inhabitants of Egypt and Syria with an authority that now can + hardly be realized. The free-thinking Greeks, however, put on such a + supernatural pedigree its proper value. Olympias, who, of course, better + than all others knew the facts of the case, used jestingly to say, that + "she wished Alexander would cease from incessantly embroiling her with + Jupiter's wife." Arrian, the historian of the Macedonian expedition, + observes, "I cannot condemn him for endeavoring to draw his subjects into + the belief of his divine origin, nor can I be induced to think it any + great crime, for it is very reasonable to imagine that he intended no more + by it than merely to procure the greater authority among his soldiers." + </p> + <p> + GREEK CONQUEST OF PERSIA. All things being thus secured in his rear, + Alexander, having returned into Syria, directed the march of his army, now + consisting of fifty thousand veterans, eastward. After crossing the + Euphrates, he kept close to the Masian hills, to avoid the intense heat of + the more southerly Mesopotamian plains; more abundant forage could also + thus be procured for the cavalry. On the left bank of the Tigris, near + Arbela, he encountered the great army of eleven hundred thousand men + brought up by Darius from Babylon. The death of the Persian monarch, which + soon followed the defeat he suffered, left the Macedonian general master + of all the countries from the Danube to the Indus. Eventually he extended + his conquest to the Ganges. The treasures he seized are almost beyond + belief. At Susa alone he found—so Arrian says—fifty thousand + talents in money. + </p> + <p> + EVENTS OF THE CAMPAIGNS. The modern military student cannot look upon + these wonderful campaigns without admiration. The passage of the + Hellespont; the forcing of the Granicus; the winter spent in a political + organization of conquered Asia Minor; the march of the right wing and + centre of the army along the Syrian Mediterranean coast; the engineering + difficulties overcome at the siege of Tyre; the storming of Gaza; the + isolation of Persia from Greece; the absolute exclusion of her navy from + the Mediterranean; the check on all her attempts at intriguing with or + bribing Athenians or Spartans, heretofore so often resorted to with + success; the submission of Egypt; another winter spent in the political + organization of that venerable country; the convergence of the whole army + from the Black and Red Seas toward the nitre-covered plains of Mesopotamia + in the ensuing spring; the passage of the Euphrates fringed with its + weeping-willows at the broken bridge of Thapsacus; the crossing of the + Tigris; the nocturnal reconnaissance before the great and memorable battle + of Arbela; the oblique movement on the field; the piercing of the enemy's + centre—a manoeuvre destined to be repeated many centuries + subsequently at Austerlitz; the energetic pursuit of the Persian monarch; + these are exploits not surpassed by any soldier of later times. + </p> + <p> + A prodigious stimulus was thus given to Greek intellectual activity. There + were men who had marched with the Macedonian army from the Danube to the + Nile, from the Nile to the Ganges. They had felt the hyperborean blasts of + the countries beyond the Black Sea, the simooms and sand-tempests of the + Egyptian deserts. They had seen the Pyramids which had already stood for + twenty centuries, the hieroglyph-covered obelisks of Luxor, avenues of + silent and mysterious sphinxes, colossi of monarchs who reigned in the + morning of the world. In the halls of Esar-haddon they had stood before + the thrones of grim old Assyrian kings, guarded by winged bulls. In + Babylon there still remained its walls, once more than sixty miles in + compass, and, after the ravages of three centuries and three conquerors, + still more than eighty feet in height; there were still the ruins of the + temple of cloud encompassed Bel, on its top was planted the observatory + wherein the weird Chaldean astronomers had held nocturnal communion with + the stars; still there were vestiges of the two palaces with their hanging + gardens in which were great trees growing in mid-air, and the wreck of the + hydraulic machinery that had supplied them with water from the river. Into + the artificial lake with its vast apparatus of aqueducts and sluices the + melted snows of the Armenian mountains found their way, and were confined + in their course through the city by the embankments of the Euphrates. Most + wonderful of all, perhaps, was the tunnel under the river-bed. + </p> + <p> + EFFECT ON THE GREEK ARMY. If Chaldea, Assyria, Babylon, presented + stupendous and venerable antiquities reaching far back into the night of + time, Persia was not without her wonders of a later date. The pillared + halls of Persepolis were filled with miracles of art—carvings, + sculptures, enamels, alabaster libraries, obelisks, sphinxes, colossal + bulls. Ecbatana, the cool summer retreat of the Persian kings, was + defended by seven encircling walls of hewn and polished blocks, the + interior ones in succession of increasing height, and of different colors, + in astrological accordance with the seven planets. The palace was roofed + with silver tiles, its beams were plated with gold. At midnight, in its + halls the sunlight was rivaled by many a row of naphtha cressets. A + paradise—that luxury of the monarchs of the East—was planted + in the midst of the city. The Persian Empire, from the Hellespont to the + Indus, was truly the garden of the world. + </p> + <p> + EFFECTS ON THE GREEK ARMY. I have devoted a few pages to the story of + these marvelous campaigns, for the military talent they fostered led to + the establishment of the mathematical and practical schools of Alexandria, + the true origin of science. We trace back all our exact knowledge to the + Macedonian campaigns. Humboldt has well observed that an introduction to + new and grand objects of Nature enlarges the human mind. The soldiers of + Alexander and the hosts of his camp-followers encountered at every march + unexpected and picturesque scenery. Of all men, the Greeks were the most + observant, the most readily and profoundly impressed. Here there were + interminable sandy plains, there mountains whose peaks were lost above the + clouds. In the deserts were mirages, on the hill-sides shadows of fleeting + clouds sweeping over the forests. They were in a land of amber-colored + date-palms and cypresses, of tamarisks, green myrtles, and oleanders. At + Arbela they had fought against Indian elephants; in the thickets of the + Caspian they had roused from his lair the lurking royal tiger. They had + seen animals which, compared with those of Europe, were not only strange, + but colossal—the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, the camel, the + crocodiles of the Nile and the Ganges. They had encountered men of many + complexions and many costumes: the swarthy Syrian, the olive-colored + Persian, the black African. Even of Alexander himself it is related that + on his death-bed he caused his admiral, Nearchus, to sit by his side, and + found consolation in listening to the adventures of that sailor—the + story of his voyage from the Indus up the Persian Gulf. The conqueror had + seen with astonishment the ebbing and flowing of the tides. He had built + ships for the exploration of the Caspian, supposing that it and the Black + Sea might be gulfs of a great ocean, such as Nearchus had discovered the + Persian and Red Seas to be. He had formed a resolution that his fleet + should attempt the circumnavigation of Africa, and come into the + Mediterranean through the Pillars of Hercules—a feat which, it was + affirmed, had once been accomplished by the Pharaohs. + </p> + <p> + INTELLECTUAL CONDITION OF PERSIA. Not only her greatest soldiers, but also + her greatest philosophers, found in the conquered empire much that might + excite the admiration of Greece. Callisthenes obtained in Babylon a series + of Chaldean astronomical observations ranging back through 1,903 years; + these he sent to Aristotle. Perhaps, since they were on burnt bricks, + duplicates of them may be recovered by modern research in the clay + libraries of the Assyrian kings. Ptolemy, the Egyptian astronomer, + possessed a Babylonian record of eclipses, going back 747 years before our + era. Long-continued and close observations were necessary, before some of + these astronomical results that have reached our times could have been + ascertained. Thus the Babylonians had fixed the length of a tropical year + within twenty-five seconds of the truth; their estimate of the sidereal + year was barely two minutes in excess. They had detected the precession of + the equinoxes. They knew the causes of eclipses, and, by the aid of their + cycle called Saros, could predict them. Their estimate of the value of + that cycle, which is more than 6,585 days, was within nineteen and a half + minutes of the truth. + </p> + <p> + INTELLECTUAL CONDITION OF PERSIA. Such facts furnish incontrovertible + proof of the patience and skill with which astronomy had been cultivated + in Mesopotamia, and that, with very inadequate instrumental means, it had + reached no inconsiderable perfection. These old observers had made a + catalogue of the stars, had divided the zodiac into twelve signs; they had + parted the day into twelve hours, the night into twelve. They had, as + Aristotle says, for a long time devoted themselves to observations of + star-occultations by the moon. They had correct views of the structure of + the solar system, and knew the order of the emplacement of the planets. + They constructed sundials, clepsydras, astrolabes, gnomons. + </p> + <p> + Not without interest do we still look on specimens of their method of + printing. Upon a revolving roller they engraved, in cuneiform letters, + their records, and, running this over plastic clay formed into blocks, + produced ineffaceable proofs. From their tile-libraries we are still to + reap a literary and historical harvest. They were not without some + knowledge of optics. The convex lens found at Nimroud shows that they were + not unacquainted with magnifying instruments. In arithmetic they had + detected the value of position in the digits, though they missed the grand + Indian invention of the cipher. + </p> + <p> + What a spectacle for the conquering Greeks, who, up to this time, had + neither experimented nor observed! They had contented themselves with mere + meditation and useless speculation. + </p> + <p> + ITS RELIGIOUS CONDITION. But Greek intellectual development, due thus in + part to a more extended view of Nature, was powerfully aided by the + knowledge then acquired of the religion of the conquered country. The + idolatry of Greece had always been a horror to Persia, who, in her + invasions, had never failed to destroy the temples and insult the fanes of + the bestial gods. The impunity with which these sacrileges had been + perpetrated had made a profound impression, and did no little to undermine + Hellenic faith. But now the worshiper of the vile Olympian divinities, + whose obscene lives must have been shocking to every pious man, was + brought in contact with a grand, a solemn, a consistent religious system + having its foundation on a philosophical basis. Persia, as is the case + with all empires of long duration, had passed through many changes of + religion. She had followed the Monotheism of Zoroaster; had then accepted + Dualism, and exchanged that for Magianism. At the time of the Macedonian + expedition, she recognized one universal Intelligence, the Creator, + Preserver, and Governor of all things, the most holy essence of truth, the + giver of all good. He was not to be represented by any image, or any + graven form. And, since, in every thing here below, we see the resultant + of two opposing forces, under him were two coequal and coeternal + principles, represented by the imagery of Light and Darkness. These + principles are in never-ending conflict. The world is their battle-ground, + man is their prize. + </p> + <p> + In the old legends of Dualism, the Evil Spirit was said to have sent a + serpent to ruin the paradise which the Good Spirit had made. These legends + became known to the Jews during their Babylonian captivity. + </p> + <p> + The existence of a principle of evil is the necessary incident of the + existence of a principle of good, as a shadow is the necessary incident of + the presence of light. In this manner could be explained the occurrence of + evil in a world, the maker and ruler of which is supremely good. Each of + the personified principles of light and darkness, Ormuzd and Ahriman, had + his subordinate angels, his counselors, his armies. It is the duty of a + good man to cultivate truth, purity, and industry. He may look forward, + when this life is over, to a life in another world, and trust to a + resurrection of the body, the immortality of the soul, and a conscious + future existence. + </p> + <p> + In the later years of the empire, the principles of Magianism had + gradually prevailed more and more over those of Zoroaster. Magianism was + essentially a worship of the elements. Of these, fire was considered as + the most worthy representative of the Supreme Being. On altars erected, + not in temples, but under the blue canopy of the sky, perpetual fires were + kept burning, and the rising sun was regarded as the noblest object of + human adoration. In the society of Asia, nothing is visible but the + monarch; in the expanse of heaven, all objects vanish in presence of the + sun. + </p> + <p> + DEATH OF ALEXANDER. Prematurely cut off in the midst of many great + projects Alexander died at Babylon before he had completed his + thirty-third year (B.C. 323). There was a suspicion that he had been + poisoned. His temper had become so unbridled, his passion so ferocious, + that his generals and even his intimate friends lived in continual dread. + Clitus, one of the latter, he in a moment of fury had stabbed to the + heart. Callisthenes, the intermedium between himself and Aristotle, he had + caused to be hanged, or, as was positively asserted by some who knew the + facts, had had him put upon the rack and then crucified. It may have been + in self-defense that the conspirators resolved on his assassination. But + surely it was a calumny to associate the name of Aristotle with this + transaction. He would have rather borne the worst that Alexander could + inflict, than have joined in the perpetration of so great a crime. + </p> + <p> + A scene of confusion and bloodshed lasting many years ensued, nor did it + cease even after the Macedonian generals had divided the empire. Among its + vicissitudes one incident mainly claims our attention. Ptolemy, who was a + son of King Philip by Arsinoe, a beautiful concubine, and who in his + boyhood had been driven into exile with Alexander, when they incurred + their father's displeasure, who had been Alexander's comrade in many of + his battles and all his campaigns, became governor and eventually king of + Egypt. + </p> + <p> + FOUNDATION OF ALEXANDER. At the siege of Rhodes, Ptolemy had been of such + signal service to its citizens that in gratitude they paid divine honors + to him, and saluted him with the title of Soter (the Savior). By that + designation—Ptolemy Soter—he is distinguished from succeeding + kings of the Macedonian dynasty in Egypt. + </p> + <p> + He established his seat of government not in any of the old capitals of + the country, but in Alexandria. At the time of the expedition to the + temple of Jupiter Ammon, the Macedonian conqueror had caused the + foundations of that city to be laid, foreseeing that it might be made the + commercial entrepot between Asia and Europe. It is to be particularly + remarked that not only did Alexander himself deport many Jews from + Palestine to people the city, and not only did Ptolemy Soter bring one + hundred thousand more after his siege of Jerusalem, but Philadelphus, his + successor, redeemed from slavery one hundred and ninety-eight thousand of + that people, paying their Egyptian owners a just money equivalent for + each. To all these Jews the same privileges were accorded as to the + Macedonians. In consequence of this considerate treatment, vast numbers of + their compatriots and many Syrians voluntarily came into Egypt. To them + the designation of Hellenistical Jews was given. In like manner, tempted + by the benign government of Soter, multitudes of Greeks sought refuge in + the country, and the invasions of Perdiccas and Antigonus showed that + Greek soldiers would desert from other Macedonian generals to join is + armies. + </p> + <p> + The population of Alexandria was therefore of three distinct + nationalities: 1. Native Egyptians 2. Greeks; 3. Jews—a fact that + has left an impress on the religious faith of modern Europe. + </p> + <p> + Greek architects and Greek engineers had made Alexandria the most + beautiful city of the ancient world. They had filled it with magnificent + palaces, temples, theatres. In its centre, at the intersection of its two + grand avenues, which crossed each other at right angles, and in the midst + of gardens, fountains, obelisks, stood the mausoleum, in which, embalmed + after the manner of the Egyptians, rested the body of Alexander. In a + funereal journey of two years it had been brought with great pomp from + Babylon. At first the coffin was of pure gold, but this having led to a + violation of the tomb, it was replaced by one of alabaster. But not these, + not even the great light-house, Pharos, built of blocks of white marble + and so high that the fire continually burning on its top could be seen + many miles off at sea—the Pharos counted as one of the seven wonders + of the world—it is not these magnificent achievements of + architecture that arrest our attention; the true, the most glorious + monument of the Macedonian kings of Egypt is the Museum. Its influences + will last when even the Pyramids have passed away. + </p> + <p> + THE ALEXANDRIAN MUSEUM. The Alexandrian Museum was commenced by Ptolemy + Soter, and was completed by his son Ptolemy Philadelphus. It was situated + in the Bruchion, the aristocratic quarter of the city, adjoining the + king's palace. Built of marble, it was surrounded with a piazza, in which + the residents might walk and converse together. Its sculptured apartments + contained the Philadelphian library, and were crowded with the choicest + statues and pictures. This library eventually comprised four hundred + thousand volumes. In the course of time, probably on account of inadequate + accommodation for so many books, an additional library was established in + the adjacent quarter Rhacotis, and placed in the Serapion or temple of + Serapis. The number of volumes in this library, which was called the + Daughter of that in the Museum, was eventually three hundred thousand. + There were, therefore, seven hundred thousand volumes in these royal + collections. + </p> + <p> + Alexandria was not merely the capital of Egypt, it was the intellectual + metropolis of the world. Here it was truly said the Genius of the East met + the Genius of the West, and this Paris of antiquity became a focus of + fashionable dissipation and universal skepticism. In the allurements of + its bewitching society even the Jews forgot their patriotism. They + abandoned the language of their forefathers, and adopted Greek. + </p> + <p> + In the establishment of the Museum, Ptolemy Soter and his son Philadelphus + had three objects in view: 1. The perpetuation of such knowledge as was + then in the world; 2. Its increase; 3. Its diffusion. + </p> + <p> + 1. For the perpetuation of knowledge. Orders were given to the chief + librarian to buy at the king's expense whatever books he could. A body of + transcribers was maintained in the Museum, whose duty it was to make + correct copies of such works as their owners were not disposed to sell. + Any books brought by foreigners into Egypt were taken at once to the + Museum, and, when correct copies had been made, the transcript was given + to the owner, and the original placed in the library. Often a very large + pecuniary indemnity was paid. Thus it is said of Ptolemy Euergetes that, + having obtained from Athens the works of Euripides, Sophocles, and + Aeschylus, he sent to their owners transcripts, together with about + fifteen thousand dollars, as an indemnity. On his return from the Syrian + expedition he carried back in triumph all the Egyptian monuments from + Ecbatana and Susa, which Cambyses and other invaders had removed from + Egypt. These he replaced in their original seats, or added as adornments + to his museums. When works were translated as well as transcribed, sums + which we should consider as almost incredible were paid, as was the case + with the Septuagint translation of the Bible, ordered by Ptolemy + Philadelphus. + </p> + <p> + 2. For the increase of knowledge. One of the chief objects of the Museum + was that of serving as the home of a body of men who devoted themselves to + study, and were lodged and maintained at the king's expense. Occasionally + he himself sat at their table. Anecdotes connected with those festive + occasions have descended to our times. In the original organization of the + Museum the residents were divided into four faculties—literature; + mathematics, astronomy, medicine. Minor branches were appropriately + classified under one of these general heads; thus natural history was + considered to be a branch of medicine. An officer of very great + distinction presided over the establishment, and had general charge of its + interests. Demetrius Phalareus, perhaps the most learned man of his age, + who had been governor of Athens for many years, was the first so + appointed. Under him was the librarian, an office sometimes held by men + whose names have descended to our times, as Eratosthenes, and Apollonius + Rhodius. + </p> + <p> + ORGANIZATION OF THE MUSEUM. In connection with the Museum were a botanical + and a zoological garden. These gardens, as their names import, were for + the purpose of facilitating the study of plants and animals. There was + also an astronomical observatory containing armillary spheres, globes, + solstitial and equatorial armils, astrolabes, parallactic rules, and other + apparatus then in use, the graduation on the divided instruments being + into degrees and sixths. On the floor of this observatory a meridian line + was drawn. The want of correct means of measuring time and temperature was + severely felt; the clepsydra of Ctesibius answered very imperfectly for + the former, the hydrometer floating in a cup of water for the latter; it + measured variations of temperature by variations of density. Philadelphus, + who toward the close of his life was haunted with an intolerable dread of + death, devoted much of his time to the discovery of an elixir. For such + pursuits the Museum was provided with a chemical laboratory. In spite of + the prejudices of the age, and especially in spite of Egyptian prejudices, + there was in connection with the medical department an anatomical room for + the dissection, not only of the dead, but actually of the living, who for + crimes had been condemned. + </p> + <p> + 3. For the diffusion of knowledge. In the Museum was given, by lectures, + conversation, or other appropriate methods instruction in all the various + departments of human knowledge. There flocked to this great intellectual + centre, students from all countries. It is said that at one time not fewer + than fourteen thousand were in attendance. Subsequently even the Christian + church received from it some of the most eminent of its Fathers, as + Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen, Athanasius. + </p> + <p> + The library in the Museum was burnt during the siege of Alexandria by + Julius Caesar. To make amends for this great loss, that collected by + Eumenes, King of Pergamus, was presented by Mark Antony to Queen + Cleopatra. Originally it was founded as a rival to that of the Ptolemies. + It was added to the collection in the Serapion. + </p> + <p> + SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL OF THE MUSEUM. It remains now to describe briefly the + philosophical basis of the Museum, and some of its contributions to the + stock of human knowledge. + </p> + <p> + In memory of the illustrious founder of this most noble institution—an + institution which antiquity delighted to call "The divine school of + Alexandria"—we must mention in the first rank his "History of the + Campaigns of Alexander." Great as a soldier and as a sovereign, Ptolemy + Soter added to his glory by being an author. Time, which has not been able + to destroy the memory of our obligations to him, has dealt unjustly by his + work. It is not now extant. + </p> + <p> + As might be expected from the friendship that existed between Alexander, + Ptolemy, and Aristotle, the Aristotelian philosophy was the intellectual + corner-stone on which the Museum rested. King Philip had committed the + education of Alexander to Aristotle, and during the Persian campaigns the + conqueror contributed materially, not only in money, but otherwise, toward + the "Natural History" then in preparation. + </p> + <p> + The essential principle of the Aristotelian philosophy was, to rise from + the study of particulars to a knowledge of general principles or + universals, advancing to them by induction. The induction is the more + certain as the facts on which it is based are more numerous; its + correctness is established if it should enable us to predict other facts + until then unknown. This system implies endless toil in the collection of + facts, both by experiment and observation; it implies also a close + meditation on them. It is, therefore, essentially a method of labor and of + reason, not a method of imagination. The failures that Aristotle himself + so often exhibits are no proof of its unreliability, but rather of its + trustworthiness. They are failures arising from want of a sufficiency of + facts. + </p> + <p> + ETHICAL SCHOOL OF THE MUSEUM. Some of the general results at which + Aristotle arrived are very grand. Thus, he concluded that every thing is + ready to burst into life, and that the various organic forms presented to + us by Nature are those which existing conditions permit. Should the + conditions change, the forms will also change. Hence there is an unbroken + chain from the simple element through plants and animals up to man, the + different groups merging by insensible shades into each other. + </p> + <p> + The inductive philosophy thus established by Aristotle is a method of + great power. To it all the modern advances in science are due. In its most + improved form it rises by inductions from phenomena to their causes, and + then, imitating the method of the Academy, it descends by deductions from + those causes to the detail of phenomena. + </p> + <p> + While thus the Scientific School of Alexandria was founded on the maxims + of one great Athenian philosopher, the Ethical School was founded on the + maxims of another, for Zeno, though a Cypriote or Phoenician, had for many + years been established at Athens. His disciples took the name of Stoics. + His doctrines long survived him, and, in times when there was no other + consolation for man, offered a support in the hour of trial, and an + unwavering guide in the vicissitudes of life, not only to illustrious + Greeks, but also to many of the great philosophers, statesmen, generals, + and emperors of Rome. + </p> + <p> + THE PRINCIPLES OF STOICISM. The aim of Zeno was, to furnish a guide for + the daily practice of life, to make men virtuous. He insisted that + education is the true foundation of virtue, for, if we know what is good, + we shall incline to do it. We must trust to sense, to furnish the data of + knowledge, and reason will suitably combine them. In this the affinity of + Zeno to Aristotle is plainly seen. Every appetite, lust, desire, springs + from imperfect knowledge. Our nature is imposed upon us by Fate, but we + must learn to control our passions, and live free, intelligent, virtuous, + in all things in accordance with reason. Our existence should be + intellectual, we should survey with equanimity all pleasures and all + pains. We should never forget that we are freemen, not the slaves of + society. "I possess," said the Stoic, "a treasure which not all the world + can rob me of—no one can deprive me of death." We should remember + that Nature in her operations aims at the universal, and never spares + individuals, but uses them as means for the accomplishment of her ends. It + is, therefore, for us to submit to Destiny, cultivating, as the things + necessary to virtue, knowledge, temperance, fortitude, justice. We must + remember that every thing around us is in mutation; decay follows + reproduction, and reproduction decay, and that it is useless to repine at + death in a world where every thing is dying. As a cataract shows from year + to year an invariable shape, though the water composing it is perpetually + changing, so the aspect of Nature is nothing more than a flow of matter + presenting an impermanent form. The universe, considered as a whole, is + unchangeable. Nothing is eternal but space, atoms, force. The forms of + Nature that we see are essentially transitory, they must all pass away. + </p> + <p> + STOICISM IN THE MUSEUM. We must bear in mind that the majority of men are + imperfectly educated, and hence we must not needlessly offend the + religious ideas of our age. It is enough for us ourselves to know that, + though there is a Supreme Power, there is no Supreme Being. There is an + invisible principle, but not a personal God, to whom it would be not so + much blasphemy as absurdity to impute the form, the sentiments, the + passions of man. All revelation is, necessarily, a mere fiction. That + which men call chance is only the effect of an unknown cause. Even of + chances there is a law. There is no such thing as Providence, for Nature + proceeds under irresistible laws, and in this respect the universe is only + a vast automatic engine. The vital force which pervades the world is what + the illiterate call God. The modifications through which all things are + running take place in an irresistible way, and hence it may be said that + the progress of the world is, under Destiny, like a seed, it can evolve + only in a predetermined mode. + </p> + <p> + The soul of man is a spark of the vital flame, the general vital + principle. Like heat, it passes from one to another, and is finally + reabsorbed or reunited in the universal principle from which it came. + Hence we must not expect annihilation, but reunion; and, as the tired man + looks forward to the insensibility of sleep, so the philosopher, weary of + the world, should look forward to the tranquillity of extinction. Of these + things, however, we should think doubtingly, since the mind can produce no + certain knowledge from its internal resources alone. It is unphilosophical + to inquire into first causes; we must deal only with phenomena. Above all, + we must never forget that man cannot ascertain absolute truth, and that + the final result of human inquiry into the matter is, that we are + incapable of perfect knowledge; that, even if the truth be in our + possession, we cannot be sure of it. + </p> + <p> + What, then, remains for us? Is it not this—the acquisition of + knowledge, the cultivation of virtue and of friendship, the observance of + faith and truth, an unrepining submission to whatever befalls us, a life + led in accordance with reason? + </p> + <p> + PLATONISM IN THE MUSEUM. But, though the Alexandrian Museum was especially + intended for the cultivation of the Aristotelian philosophy, it must not + be supposed that other systems were excluded. Platonism was not only + carried to its full development, but in the end it supplanted + Peripateticism, and through the New Academy left a permanent impress on + Christianity. The philosophical method of Plato was the inverse of that of + Aristotle. Its starting-point was universals, the very existence of which + was a matter of faith, and from these it descended to particulars, or + details. Aristotle, on the contrary, rose from particulars to universals, + advancing to them by inductions. + </p> + <p> + Plato, therefore, trusted to the imagination, Aristotle to reason. The + former descended from the decomposition of a primitive idea into + particulars, the latter united particulars into a general conception. + Hence the method of Plato was capable of quickly producing what seemed to + be splendid, though in reality unsubstantial results; that of Aristotle + was more tardy in its operation, but much more solid. It implied endless + labor in the collection of facts, a tedious resort to experiment and + observation, the application of demonstration. The philosophy of Plato is + a gorgeous castle in the air; that of Aristotle a solid structure, + laboriously, and with many failures, founded on the solid rock. + </p> + <p> + An appeal to the imagination is much more alluring than the employment of + reason. In the intellectual decline of Alexandria, indolent methods were + preferred to laborious observation and severe mental exercise. The schools + of Neo-Platonism were crowded with speculative mystics, such as Ammonius + Saccas and Plotinus. These took the place of the severe geometers of the + old Museum. + </p> + <p> + PHYSICAL SCIENCE IN THE MUSEUM. The Alexandrian school offers the first + example of that system which, in the hands of modern physicists, has led + to such wonderful results. It rejected imagination, and made its theories + the expression of facts obtained by experiment and observation, aided by + mathematical discussion. It enforced the principle that the true method of + studying Nature is by experimental interrogation. The researches of + Archimedes in specific gravity, and the works of Ptolemy on optics, + resemble our present investigations in experimental philosophy, and stand + in striking contrast with the speculative vagaries of the older writers. + Laplace says that the only observation which the history of astronomy + offers us, made by the Greeks before the school of Alexandria, is that of + the summer solstice of the year B.C. 432. by Meton and Euctemon. We have, + for the first time, in that school, a combined system of observations made + with instruments for the measurement of angles, and calculated by + trigonometrical methods. Astronomy then took a form which subsequent ages + could only perfect. + </p> + <p> + It does not accord with the compass or the intention of this work to give + a detailed account of the contributions of the Alexandrian Museum to the + stock of human knowledge. It is sufficient that the reader should obtain a + general impression of their character. For particulars, I may refer him to + the sixth chapter of my "History of the Intellectual Development of + Europe." + </p> + <p> + EUCLID—ARCHIMEDES. It has just been remarked that the Stoical + philosophy doubted whether the mind can ascertain absolute truth. While + Zeno was indulging in such doubts, Euclid was preparing his great work, + destined to challenge contradiction from the whole human race. After more + than twenty-two centuries it still survives, a model of accuracy, + perspicuity, and a standard of exact demonstration. This great geometer + not only wrote on other mathematical topics, such as Conic Sections and + Prisms, but there are imputed to him treatises on Harmonics and Optics, + the latter subject being discussed on the hypothesis of rays issuing from + the eye to the object. + </p> + <p> + With the Alexandrian mathematicians and physicists must be classed + Archimedes, though he eventually resided in Sicily. Among his mathematical + works were two books on the Sphere and Cylinder, in which he gave the + demonstration that the solid content of a sphere is two-thirds that of its + circumscribing cylinder. So highly did he esteem this, that he directed + the diagram to be engraved on his tombstone. He also treated of the + quadrature of the circle and of the parabola; he wrote on Conoids and + Spheroids, and on the spiral that bears his name, the genesis of which was + suggested to him by his friend Conon the Alexandrian. As a mathematician, + Europe produced no equal to him for nearly two thousand years. In physical + science he laid the foundation of hydrostatics; invented a method for the + determination of specific gravities; discussed the equilibrium of floating + bodies; discovered the true theory of the lever, and invented a screw, + which still bears his name, for raising the water of the Nile. To him also + are to be attributed the endless screw, and a peculiar form of + burning-mirror, by which, at the siege of Syracuse, it is said that he set + the Roman fleet on fire. + </p> + <p> + ERATOSTHENES—APOLLONIUS—HIPPARCHUS. Eratosthenes, who at one + time had charge of the library, was the author of many important works. + Among them may be mentioned his determination of the interval between the + tropics, and an attempt to ascertain the size of the earth. He considered + the articulation and expansion of continents, the position of + mountain-chains, the action of clouds, the geological submersion of lands, + the elevation of ancient sea-beds, the opening of the Dardanelles and the + straits of Gibraltar, and the relations of the Euxine Sea. He composed a + complete system of the earth, in three books—physical, mathematical, + historical—accompanied by a map of all the parts then known. It is + only of late years that the fragments remaining of his "Chronicles of the + Theban Kings" have been justly appreciated. For many centuries they were + thrown into discredit by the authority of our existing absurd theological + chronology. + </p> + <p> + It is unnecessary to adduce the arguments relied upon by the Alexandrians + to prove the globular form of the earth. They had correct ideas respecting + the doctrine of the sphere, its poles, axis, equator, arctic and antarctic + circles, equinoctial points, solstices, the distribution of climates, etc. + I cannot do more than merely allude to the treatises on Conic Sections and + on Maxima and Minima by Apollonius, who is said to have been the first to + introduce the words ellipse and hyperbola. In like manner I must pass the + astronomical observations of Alistyllus and Timocharis. It was to those of + the latter on Spica Virginis that Hipparchus was indebted for his great + discovery of the precession of the eqninoxes. Hipparchus also determined + the first inequality of the moon, the equation of the centre. He adopted + the theory of epicycles and eccentrics, a geometrical conception for the + purpose of resolving the apparent motions of the heavenly bodies on the + principle of circular movement. He also undertook to make a catalogue of + the stars by the method of alineations—that is, by indicating those + that are in the same apparent straight line. The number of stars so + catalogued was 1,080. If he thus attempted to depict the aspect of the + sky, he endeavored to do the same for the surface of the earth, by marking + the position of towns and other places by lines of latitude and longitude. + He was the first to construct tables of the sun and moon. + </p> + <p> + THE SYNTAXIS OF PTOLEMY. In the midst of such a brilliant constellation of + geometers, astronomers, physicists, conspicuously shines forth Ptolemy, + the author of the great work, "Syntaxis," "a Treatise on the Mathematical + Construction of the Heavens." It maintained its ground for nearly fifteen + hundred years, and indeed was only displaced by the immortal "Principia" + of Newton. It commences with the doctrine that the earth is globular and + fixed in space, it describes the construction of a table of chords, and + instruments for observing the solstices, it deduces the obliquity of the + ecliptic, it finds terrestrial latitudes by the gnomon, describes + climates, shows how ordinary may be converted into sidereal time, gives + reasons for preferring the tropical to the sidereal year, furnishes the + solar theory on the principle of the sun's orbit being a simple eccentric, + explains the equation of time, advances to the discussion of the motions + of the moon, treats of the first inequality, of her eclipses, and the + motion of her nodes. It then gives Ptolemy's own great discovery—that + which has made his name immortal—the discovery of the moon's + evection or second inequality, reducing it to the epicyclic theory. It + attempts the determination of the distances of the sun and moon from the + earth—with, however, only partial success. It considers the + precession of the equinoxes, the discovery of Hipparchus, the full period + of which is twenty-five thousand years. It gives a catalogue of 1,022 + stars, treats of the nature of the milky-way, and discusses in the most + masterly manner the motions of the planets. This point constitutes another + of Ptolemy's claims to scientific fame. His determination of the planetary + orbits was accomplished by comparing his own observations with those of + former astronomers, among them the observations of Timocharis on the + planet Venus. + </p> + <p> + INVENTION OF THE STEAM-ENGINE. In the Museum of Alexandria, Ctesibius + invented the fire-engine. His pupil, Hero, improved it by giving it two + cylinders. There, too, the first steam-engine worked. This also was the + invention of Hero, and was a reaction engine, on the principle of the + eolipile. The silence of the halls of Serapis was broken by the + water-clocks of Ctesibius and Apollonius, which drop by drop measured + time. When the Roman calendar had fallen into such confusion that it had + become absolutely necessary to rectify it, Julius Caesar brought Sosigenes + the astronomer from Alexandria. By his advice the lunar year was + abolished, the civil year regulated entirely by the sun, and the Julian + calendar introduced. + </p> + <p> + The Macedonian rulers of Egypt have been blamed for the manner in which + they dealt with the religious sentiment of their time. They prostituted it + to the purpose of state-craft, finding in it a means of governing their + lower classes. To the intelligent they gave philosophy. + </p> + <p> + POLICY OF THE PTOLEMIES. But doubtless they defended this policy by the + experience gathered in those great campaigns which had made the Greeks the + foremost nation of the world. They had seen the mythological conceptions + of their ancestral country dwindle into fables; the wonders with which the + old poets adorned the Mediterranean had been discovered to be baseless + illusions. From Olympus its divinities had disappeared; indeed, Olympus + itself had proved to be a phantom of the imagination. Hades had lost its + terrors; no place could be found for it. + </p> + <p> + From the woods and grottoes and rivers of Asia Minor the local gods and + goddesses had departed; even their devotees began to doubt whether they + had ever been there. If still the Syrian damsels lamented, in their + amorous ditties, the fate of Adonis, it was only as a recollection, not as + a reality. Again and again had Persia changed her national faith. For the + revelation of Zoroaster she had substituted Dualism; then under new + political influences she had adopted Magianism. She had worshiped fire, + and kept her altars burning on mountain-tops. She had adored the sun. When + Alexander came, she was fast falling into pantheism. + </p> + <p> + On a country to which in its political extremity the indigenous gods have + been found unable to give any protection, a change of faith is impending. + The venerable divinities of Egypt, to whose glory obelisks had been raised + and temples dedicated, had again and again submitted to the sword of a + foreign conqueror. In the land of the Pyramids, the Colossi, the Sphinx, + the images of the gods had ceased to represent living realities. They had + ceased to be objects of faith. Others of more recent birth were needful, + and Serapis confronted Osiris. In the shops and streets of Alexandria + there were thousands of Jews who had forgotten the God that had made his + habitation behind the veil of the temple. + </p> + <p> + Tradition, revelation, time, all had lost their influence. The traditions + of European mythology, the revelations of Asia, the time-consecrated + dogmas of Egypt, all had passed or were fast passing away. And the + Ptolemies recognized how ephemeral are forms of faith. + </p> + <p> + But the Ptolemies also recognized that there is something more durable + than forms of faith, which, like the organic forms of geological ages, + once gone, are clean gone forever, and have no restoration, no return. + They recognized that within this world of transient delusions and + unrealities there is a world of eternal truth. + </p> + <p> + That world is not to be discovered through the vain traditions that have + brought down to us the opinions of men who lived in the morning of + civilization, nor in the dreams of mystics who thought that they were + inspired. It is to be discovered by the investigations of geometry, and by + the practical interrogation of Nature. These confer on humanity solid, and + innumerable, and inestimable blessings. + </p> + <p> + The day will never come when any one of the propositions of Euclid will be + denied; no one henceforth will call in question the globular shape of the + earth, as recognized by Eratosthenes; the world will not permit the great + physical inventions and discoveries made in Alexandria and Syracuse to be + forgotten. The names of Hipparchus, of Apollonius, of Ptolemy, of + Archimedes, will be mentioned with reverence by men of every religious + profession, as long as there are men to speak. + </p> + <p> + THE MUSEUM AND MODERN SCIENCE. The Museum of Alexandria was thus the + birthplace of modern science. It is true that, long before its + establishment, astronomical observations had been made in China and + Mesopotamia; the mathematics also had been cultivated with a certain + degree of success in India. But in none of these countries had + investigation assumed a connected and consistent form; in none was + physical experimentation resorted to. The characteristic feature of + Alexandrian, as of modern science, is, that it did not restrict itself to + observation, but relied on a practical interrogation of Nature. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY.—ITS TRANSFORMATION ON ATTAINING + IMPERIAL POWER.—ITS RELATIONS TO SCIENCE. + + Religious condition of the Roman Republic.—The adoption of + imperialism leads to monotheism.—Christianity spreads over + the Roman Empire.—The circumstances under which it + attained imperial power make its union with Paganism a + political necessity.—Tertullian's description of its + doctrines and practices.—Debasing effect of the policy of + Constantine on it.—Its alliance with the civil power.—Its + incompatibility with science.—Destruction of the + Alexandrian Library and prohibition of philosophy.— + Exposition of the Augustinian philosophy and Patristic + science generally.—The Scriptures made the standard of + science. +</pre> + <p> + IN a political sense, Christianity is the bequest of the Roman Empire to + the world. + </p> + <p> + At the epoch of the transition of Rome from the republican to the imperial + form of government, all the independent nationalities around the + Mediterranean Sea had been brought under the control of that central + power. The conquest that had befallen them in succession had been by no + means a disaster. The perpetual wars they had maintained with each other + came to an end; the miseries their conflicts had engendered were exchanged + for universal peace. + </p> + <p> + Not only as a token of the conquest she had made but also as a + gratification to her pride, the conquering republic brought the gods of + the vanquished peoples to Rome. With disdainful toleration, she permitted + the worship of them all. That paramount authority exercised by each + divinity in his original seat disappeared at once in the crowd of gods and + goddesses among whom he had been brought. Already, as we have seen, + through geographical discoveries and philosophical criticism, faith in the + religion of the old days had been profoundly shaken. It was, by this + policy of Rome, brought to an end. + </p> + <p> + MONOTHEISM IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE. The kings of all the conquered provinces + had vanished; in their stead one emperor had come. The gods also had + disappeared. Considering the connection which in all ages has existed + between political and religious ideas, it was then not at all strange that + polytheism should manifest a tendency to pass into monotheism. + Accordingly, divine honors were paid at first to the deceased and at + length to the living emperor. + </p> + <p> + The facility with which gods were thus called into existence had a + powerful moral effect. The manufacture of a new one cast ridicule on the + origin of the old Incarnation in the East and apotheosis in the West were + fast filling Olympus with divinities. In the East, gods descended from + heaven, and were made incarnate in men; in the West, men ascended from + earth, and took their seat among the gods. It was not the importation of + Greek skepticism that made Rome skeptical. The excesses of religion itself + sapped the foundations of faith. + </p> + <p> + Not with equal rapidity did all classes of the population adopt + monotheistic views. The merchants and lawyers and soldiers, who by the + nature of their pursuits are more familiar with the vicissitudes of life, + and have larger intellectual views, were the first to be affected, the + land laborers and farmers the last. + </p> + <p> + THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY When the empire in a military and political sense + had reached its culmination, in a religious and social aspect it had + attained its height of immorality. It had become thoroughly epicurean; its + maxim was, that life should be made a feast, that virtue is only the + seasoning of pleasure, and temperance the means of prolonging it. + Dining-rooms glittering with gold and incrusted with gems, slaves in + superb apparel, the fascinations of female society where all the women + were dissolute, magnificent baths, theatres, gladiators, such were the + objects of Roman desire. The conquerors of the world had discovered that + the only thing worth worshiping is Force. By it all things might be + secured, all that toil and trade had laboriously obtained. The + confiscation of goods and lands, the taxation of provinces, were the + reward of successful warfare; and the emperor was the symbol of force. + There was a social splendor, but it was the phosphorescent corruption of + the ancient Mediterranean world. + </p> + <p> + In one of the Eastern provinces, Syria, some persons in very humble life + had associated themselves together for benevolent and religious purposes. + The doctrines they held were in harmony with that sentiment of universal + brotherhood arising from the coalescence of the conquered kingdoms. They + were doctrines inculcated by Jesus. + </p> + <p> + The Jewish people at that time entertained a belief, founded on old + traditions, that a deliverer would arise among them, who would restore + them to their ancient splendor. The disciples of Jesus regarded him as + this long-expected Messiah. But the priesthood, believing that the + doctrines he taught were prejudicial to their interests, denounced him to + the Roman governor, who, to satisfy their clamors, reluctantly delivered + him over to death. + </p> + <p> + His doctrines of benevolence and human brotherhood outlasted that event. + The disciples, instead of scattering, organized. They associated + themselves on a principle of communism, each throwing into the common + stock whatever property he possessed, and all his gains. The widows and + orphans of the community were thus supported, the poor and the sick + sustained. From this germ was developed a new, and as the events proved, + all-powerful society—the Church; new, for nothing of the kind had + existed in antiquity; powerful, for the local churches, at first isolated, + soon began to confederate for their common interest. Through this + organization Christianity achieved all her political triumphs. + </p> + <p> + As we have said, the military domination of Rome had brought about + universal peace, and had generated a sentiment of brotherhood among the + vanquished nations. Things were, therefore, propitious for the rapid + diffusion of the newly-established—the Christian—principle + throughout the empire. It spread from Syria through all Asia Minor, and + successively reached Cyprus, Greece, Italy, eventually extending westward + as far as Gaul and Britain. + </p> + <p> + Its propagation was hastened by missionaries who made it known in all + directions. None of the ancient classical philosophies had ever taken + advantage of such a means. + </p> + <p> + Political conditions determined the boundaries of the new religion. Its + limits were eventually those of the Roman Empire; Rome, doubtfully the + place of death of Peter, not Jerusalem, indisputably the place of the + death of our Savior, became the religious capital. It was better to have + possession of the imperial seven hilled city, than of Gethsemane and + Calvary with all their holy souvenirs. + </p> + <p> + IT GATHERS POLITICAL POWER. For many years Christianity manifested itself + as a system enjoining three things—toward God veneration, in + personal life purity, in social life benevolence. In its early days of + feebleness it made proselytes only by persuasion, but, as it increased in + numbers and influence, it began to exhibit political tendencies, a + disposition to form a government within the government, an empire within + the empire. These tendencies it has never since lost. They are, in truth, + the logical result of its development. The Roman emperors, discovering + that it was absolutely incompatible with the imperial system, tried to put + it down by force. This was in accordance with the spirit of their military + maxims, which had no other means but force for the establishment of + conformity. + </p> + <p> + In the winter A.D. 302-'3, the Christian soldiers in some of the legions + refused to join in the time-honored solemnities for propitiating the gods. + The mutiny spread so quickly, the emergency became so pressing, that the + Emperor Diocletian was compelled to hold a council for the purpose of + determining what should be done. The difficulty of the position may + perhaps be appreciated when it is understood that the wife and the + daughter of Diocletian himself were Christians. He was a man of great + capacity and large political views; he recognized in the opposition that + must be made to the new party a political necessity, yet he expressly + enjoined that there should be no bloodshed. But who can control an + infuriated civil commotion? The church of Nicomedia was razed to the + ground; in retaliation the imperial palace was set on fire, an edict was + openly insulted and torn down. The Christian officers in the army were + cashiered; in all directions, martyrdoms and massacres were taking place. + So resistless was the march of events, that not even the emperor himself + could stop the persecution. + </p> + <p> + THE FIRST CHRISTIAN EMPEROR. It had now become evident that the Christians + constituted a powerful party in the state, animated with indignation at + the atrocities they had suffered, and determined to endure them no longer. + After the abdication of Diocletian (A.D. 305), Constantine, one of the + competitors for the purple, perceiving the advantages that would accrue to + him from such a policy, put himself forth as the head of the Christian + party. This gave him, in every part of the empire, men and women ready to + encounter fire and sword in his behalf; it gave him unwavering adherents + in every legion of the armies. In a decisive battle, near the Milvian + bridge, victory crowned his schemes. The death of Maximin, and + subsequently that of Licinius, removed all obstacles. He ascended the + throne of the Caesars—the first Christian emperor. + </p> + <p> + Place, profit, power—these were in view of whoever now joined the + conquering sect. Crowds of worldly persons, who cared nothing about its + religious ideas, became its warmest supporters. Pagans at heart, their + influence was soon manifested in the paganization of Christianity that + forthwith ensued. The emperor, no better than they, did nothing to check + their proceedings. But he did not personally conform to the ceremonial + requirements of the Church until the close of his evil life, A.D. 337. + </p> + <p> + TERTULLIAN'S EXPOSITION OF CHRISTIANITY. That we may clearly appreciate + the modifications now impressed on Christianity—modifications which + eventually brought it in conflict with science—we must have, as a + means of comparison, a statement of what it was in its purer days. Such, + fortunately, we find in the "Apology or Defense of the Christians against + the Accusations of the Gentiles," written by Tertullian, at Rome, during + the persecution of Severus. He addressed it, not to the emperor, but to + the magistrates who sat in judgment on the accused. It is a solemn and + most earnest expostulation, setting forth all that could be said in + explanation of the subject, a representation of the belief and cause of + the Christians made in the imperial city in the face of the whole world, + not a querulous or passionate ecclesiastical appeal, but a grave + historical document. It has ever been looked upon as one of the ablest of + the early Christian works. Its date is about A.D. 200. + </p> + <p> + With no inconsiderable skill Tertullian opens his argument. He tells the + magistrates that Christianity is a stranger upon earth, and that she + expects to meet with enemies in a country which is not her own. She only + asks that she may not be condemned unheard, and that Roman magistrates + will permit her to defend herself; that the laws of the empire will gather + lustre, if judgment be passed upon her after she has been tried but not if + she is sentenced without a hearing of her cause; that it is unjust to hate + a thing of which we are ignorant, even though it may be a thing worthy of + hate; that the laws of Rome deal with actions, not with mere names; but + that, notwithstanding this, persons have been punished because they were + called Christians, and that without any accusation of crime. + </p> + <p> + He then advances to an exposition of the origin, the nature, and the + effects of Christianity, stating that it is founded on the Hebrew + Scriptures, which are the most venerable of all books. He says to the + magistrates: "The books of Moses, in which God has inclosed, as in a + treasure, all the religion of the Jews, and consequently all the Christian + religion, reach far beyond the oldest you have, even beyond all your + public monuments, the establishment of your state, the foundation of many + great cities—all that is most advanced by you in all ages of + history, and memory of times; the invention of letters, which are the + interpreters of sciences and the guardians of all excellent things. I + think I may say more—beyond your gods, your temples, your oracles + and sacrifices. The author of those books lived a thousand years before + the siege of Troy, and more than fifteen hundred before Homer." Time is + the ally of truth, and wise men believe nothing but what is certain, and + what has been verified by time. The principal authority of these + Scriptures is derived from their venerable antiquity. The most learned of + the Ptolemies, who was surnamed Philadelphus, an accomplished prince, by + the advice of Demetrius Phalareus, obtained a copy of these holy books. It + may be found at this day in his library. The divinity of these Scriptures + is proved by this, that all that is done in our days may be found + predicted in them; they contain all that has since passed in the view of + men. + </p> + <p> + Is not the accomplishment of a prophecy a testimony to its truth? Seeing + that events which are past have vindicated these prophecies, shall we be + blamed for trusting them in events that are to come? Now, as we believe + things that have been prophesied and have come to pass, so we believe + things that have been told us, but not yet come to pass, because they have + all been foretold by the same Scriptures, as well those that are verified + every day as those that still remain to be fulfilled. + </p> + <p> + These Holy Scriptures teach us that there is one God, who made the world + out of nothing, who, though daily seen, is invisible; his infiniteness is + known only to himself; his immensity conceals, but at the same time + discovers him. He has ordained for men, according to their lives, rewards + and punishments; he will raise all the dead that have ever lived from the + creation of the world, will command them to reassume their bodies, and + thereupon adjudge them to felicity that has so end, or to eternal flames. + The fires of hell are those hidden flames which the earth shuts up in her + bosom. He has in past times sent into the world preachers or prophets. The + prophets of those old times were Jews; they addressed their oracles, for + such they were, to the Jews, who have stored them up in the Scriptures. On + them, as has been said, Christianity is founded, though the Christian + differs in his ceremonies from the Jew. We are accused of worshiping a + man, and not the God of the Jews. Not so. The honor we bear to Christ does + not derogate from the honor we bear to God. + </p> + <p> + On account of the merit of these ancient patriarchs, the Jews were the + only beloved people of God; he delighted to be in communication with them + by his own mouth. By him they were raised to admirable greatness. But with + perversity they wickedly ceased to regard him; they changed his laws into + a profane worship. He warned them that he would take to himself servants + more faithful than they, and, for their crime, punished them by driving + them forth from their country. They are now spread all over the world; + they wander in all parts; they cannot enjoy the air they breathed at their + birth; they have neither man nor God for their king. As he threatened + them, so he has done. He has taken, in all nations and countries of the + earth, people more faithful than they. Through his prophets he had + declared that these should have greater favors, and that a Messiah should + come, to publish a new law among them. This Messiah was Jesus, who is also + God. For God may be derived from God, as the light of a candle may be + derived from the light of another candle. God and his Son are the + self-same God—a light is the same light as that from which it was + taken. + </p> + <p> + The Scriptures make known two comings of the Son of God; the first in + humility, the second at the day of judgment, in power. The Jews might have + known all this from the prophets, but their sins have so blinded them that + they did not recognize him at his first coming, and are still vainly + expecting him. They believed that all the miracles wrought by him were the + work of magic. The doctors of the law and the chief priests were envious + of him; they denounced him to Pilate. He was crucified, died, was buried, + and after three days rose again. For forty days he remained among his + disciples. Then he was environed in a cloud, and rose up to heaven—a + truth far more certain than any human testimonies touching the ascension + of Romulus or of any other Roman prince mounting up to the same place. + </p> + <p> + Tertullian then describes the origin and nature of devils, who, under + Satan, their prince, produce diseases, irregularities of the air, plagues, + and the blighting of the blossoms of the earth, who seduce men to offer + sacrifices, that they may have the blood of the victims, which is their + food. They are as nimble as the birds, and hence know every thing that is + passing upon earth; they live in the air, and hence can spy what is going + on in heaven; for this reason they can impose on men reigned prophecies, + and deliver oracles. Thus they announced in Rome that a victory would be + obtained over King Perseus, when in truth they knew that the battle was + already won. They falsely cure diseases; for, taking possession of the + body of a man, they produce in him a distemper, and then ordaining some + remedy to be used, they cease to afflict him, and men think that a cure + has taken place. + </p> + <p> + Though Christians deny that the emperor is a god, they nevertheless pray + for his prosperity, because the general dissolution that threatens the + universe, the conflagration of the world, is retarded so long as the + glorious majesty of the triumphant Roman Empire shall last. They desire + not to be present at the subversion of all Nature. They acknowledge only + one republic, but it is the whole world; they constitute one body, worship + one God, and all look forward to eternal happiness. Not only do they pray + for the emperor and the magistrates, but also for peace. They read the + Scriptures to nourish their faith, lift up their hope, and strengthen the + confidence they have in God. They assemble to exhort one another; they + remove sinners from their societies; they have bishops who preside over + them, approved by the suffrages of those whom they are to conduct. At the + end of each month every one contributes if he will, but no one is + constrained to give; the money gathered in this manner is the pledge of + piety; it is not consumed in eating and drinking, but in feeding the poor, + and burying them, in comforting children that are destitute of parents and + goods, in helping old men who have spent the best of their days in the + service of the faithful, in assisting those who have lost by shipwreck + what they had, and those who are condemned to the mines, or have been + banished to islands, or shut up in prisons, because they professed the + religion of the true God. There is but one thing that Christians have not + in common, and that one thing is their wives. They do not feast as if they + should die to-morrow, nor build as if they should never die. The objects + of their life are innocence, justice, patience, temperance, chastity. + </p> + <p> + To this noble exposition of Christian belief and life in his day, + Tertullian does not hesitate to add an ominous warning to the magistrates + he is addressing—ominous, for it was a forecast of a great event + soon to come to pass: "Our origin is but recent, yet already we fill all + that your power acknowledges—cities, fortresses, islands, provinces, + the assemblies of the people, the wards of Rome, the palace, the senate, + the public places, and especially the armies. We have left you nothing but + your temples. Reflect what wars we are able to undertake! With what + promptitude might we not arm ourselves were we not restrained by our + religion, which teaches us that it is better to be killed than to kill!" + </p> + <p> + Before he closes his defense, Tertullian renews an assertion which, + carried into practice, as it subsequently was, affected the intellectual + development of all Europe. He declares that the Holy Scriptures are a + treasure from which all the true wisdom in the world has been drawn; that + every philosopher and every poet is indebted to them. He labors to show + that they are the standard and measure of all truth, and that whatever is + inconsistent with them must necessarily be false. + </p> + <p> + From Tertullian's able work we see what Christianity was while it was + suffering persecution and struggling for existence. We have now to see + what it became when in possession of imperial power. Great is the + difference between Christianity under Severus and Christianity after + Constantine. Many of the doctrines which at the latter period were + preeminent, in the former were unknown. + </p> + <p> + PAGANIZATION OF CHRISTIANITY. Two causes led to the amalgamation of + Christianity with paganism: 1. The political necessities of the new + dynasty; 2. The policy adopted by the new religion to insure its spread. + </p> + <p> + 1. Though the Christian party had proved itself sufficiently strong to + give a master to the empire, it was never sufficiently strong to destroy + its antagonist, paganism. The issue of the struggle between them was an + amalgamation of the principles of both. In this, Christianity differed + from Mohammedanism, which absolutely annihilated its antagonist, and + spread its own doctrines without adulteration. + </p> + <p> + Constantine continually showed by his acts that he felt he must be the + impartial sovereign of all his people, not merely the representative of a + successful faction. Hence, if he built Christian churches, he also + restored pagan temples; if he listened to the clergy, he also consulted + the haruspices; if he summoned the Council of Nicea, he also honored the + statue of Fortune; if he accepted the rite of baptism, he also struck a + medal bearing his title of "God." His statue, on the top of the great + porphyry pillar at Constantinople, consisted of an ancient image of + Apollo, whose features were replaced by those of the emperor, and its head + surrounded by the nails feigned to have been used at the crucifixion of + Christ, arranged so as to form a crown of glory. + </p> + <p> + Feeling that there must be concessions to the defeated pagan party, in + accordance with its ideas, he looked with favor on the idolatrous + movements of his court. In fact, the leaders of these movements were + persons of his own family. + </p> + <p> + CHRISTIANITY UNDER CONSTANTINE. 2. To the emperor—a mere worldling—a + man without any religious convictions, doubtless it appeared best for + himself, best for the empire, and best for the contending parties, + Christian and pagan, to promote their union or amalgamation as much as + possible. Even sincere Christians do not seem to have been averse to this; + perhaps they believed that the new doctrines would diffuse most thoroughly + by incorporating in themselves ideas borrowed from the old, that Truth + would assert her self in the end, and the impurity be cast off. In + accomplishing this amalgamation, Helena, the empress-mother, aided by the + court ladies, led the way. For her gratification there were discovered, in + a cavern at Jerusalem, wherein they had lain buried for more than three + centuries, the Savior's cross, and those of the two thieves, the + inscription, and the nails that had been used. They were identified by + miracle. A true relic-worship set in. The superstition of the old Greek + times reappeared; the times when the tools with which the Trojan horse was + made might still be seen at Metapontum, the sceptre of Pelops at + Chaeroneia, the spear of Achilles at Phaselis, the sword of Memnon at + Nicomedia, when the Tegeates could show the hide of the Calydonian boar + and very many cities boasted their possession of the true palladium of + Troy; when there were statues of Minerva that could brandish spears, + paintings that could blush, images that could sweat, and endless shrines + and sanctuaries at which miracle-cures could be performed. + </p> + <p> + As years passed on, the faith described by Tertullian was transmuted into + one more fashionable and more debased. It was incorporated with the old + Greek mythology. Olympus was restored, but the divinities passed under + other names. The more powerful provinces insisted on the adoption of their + time-honored conceptions. Views of the Trinity, in accordance with + Egyptian traditions, were established. Not only was the adoration of Isis + under a new name restored, but even her image, standing on the crescent + moon, reappeared. The well-known effigy of that goddess, with the infant + Horus in her arms, has descended to our days in the beautiful, artistic + creations of the Madonna and Child. Such restorations of old conceptions + under novel forms were everywhere received with delight. When it was + announced to the Ephesians that the Council of that place, headed by + Cyril, had decreed that the Virgin should be called "the Mother of God," + with tears of joy they embraced the knees of their bishop; it was the old + instinct peeping out; their ancestors would have done the same for Diana. + </p> + <p> + This attempt to conciliate worldly converts, by adopting their ideas and + practices, did not pass without remonstrance from those whose intelligence + discerned the motive. "You have," says Faustus to Augustine, "substituted + your agapae for the sacrifices of the pagans; for their idols your + martyrs, whom you serve with the very same honors. You appease the shades + of the dead with wine and feasts; you celebrate the solemn festivities of + the Gentiles, their calends, and their solstices; and, as to their + manners, those you have retained without any alteration. Nothing + distinguishes you from the pagans, except that you hold your assemblies + apart from them." Pagan observances were everywhere introduced. At + weddings it was the custom to sing hymns to Venus. + </p> + <p> + INTRODUCTION OF ROMAN RITES. Let us pause here a moment, and see, in + anticipation, to what a depth of intellectual degradation this policy of + paganization eventually led. Heathen rites were adopted, a pompous and + splendid ritual, gorgeous robes, mitres, tiaras, wax-tapers, processional + services, lustrations, gold and silver vases, were introduced. The Roman + lituus, the chief ensign of the augurs, became the crozier. Churches were + built over the tombs of martyrs, and consecrated with rites borrowed from + the ancient laws of the Roman pontiffs. Festivals and commemorations of + martyrs multiplied with the numberless fictitious discoveries of their + remains. Fasting became the grand means of repelling the devil and + appeasing God; celibacy the greatest of the virtues. Pilgrimages were made + to Palestine and the tombs of the martyrs. Quantities of dust and earth + were brought from the Holy Land and sold at enormous prices, as antidotes + against devils. The virtues of consecrated water were upheld. Images and + relics were introduced into the churches, and worshiped after the fashion + of the heathen gods. It was given out that prodigies and miracles were to + be seen in certain places, as in the heathen times. The happy souls of + departed Christians were invoked; it was believed that they were wandering + about the world, or haunting their graves. There was a multiplication of + temples, altars, and penitential garments. The festival of the + purification of the Virgin was invented to remove the uneasiness of + heathen converts on account of the loss of their Lupercalia, or feasts of + Pan. The worship of images, of fragments of the cross, or bones, nails, + and other relics, a true fetich worship, was cultivated. Two arguments + were relied on for the authenticity of these objects—the authority + of the Church, and the working of miracles. Even the worn-out clothing of + the saints and the earth of their graves were venerated. From Palestine + were brought what were affirmed to be the skeletons of St. Mark and St. + James, and other ancient worthies. The apotheosis of the old Roman times + was replaced by canonization; tutelary saints succeed to local + mythological divinities. Then came the mystery of transubstantiation, or + the conversion of bread and wine by the priest into the flesh and blood of + Christ. As centuries passed, the paganization became more and more + complete. Festivals sacred to the memory of the lance with which the + Savior's side was pierced, the nails that fastened him to the cross, and + the crown of thorns, were instituted. Though there were several abbeys + that possessed this last peerless relic, no one dared to say that it was + impossible they could all be authentic. + </p> + <p> + We may read with advantage the remarks made by Bishop Newton on this + paganization of Christianity. He asks: "Is not the worship of saints and + angels now in all respects the same that the worship of demons was in + former times? The name only is different, the thing is identically the + same,... the deified men of the Christians are substituted for the deified + men of the heathens. The promoters of this worship were sensible that it + was the same, and that the one succeeded to the other; and, as the worship + is the same, so likewise it is performed with the same ceremonies. The + burning of incense or perfumes on several altars at one and the same time; + the sprinkling of holy water, or a mixture of salt and common water, at + going into and coming out of places of public worship; the lighting up of + a great number of lamps and wax-candles in broad daylight before altars + and statues of these deities; the hanging up of votive offerings and rich + presents as attestations of so many miraculous cures and deliverances from + diseases and dangers; the canonization or deification of deceased + worthies; the assigning of distinct provinces or prefectures to departed + heroes and saints; the worshiping and adoring of the dead in their + sepulchres, shrines, and relics; the consecrating and bowing down to + images; the attributing of miraculous powers and virtues to idols; the + setting up of little oratories, altars, and statues in the streets and + highways, and on the tops of mountains; the carrying of images and relics + in pompous procession, with numerous lights and with music and singing; + flagellations at solemn seasons under the notion of penance; a great + variety of religious orders and fraternities of priests; the shaving of + priests, or the tonsure as it is called, on the crown of their heads; the + imposing of celibacy and vows of chastity on the religious of both sexes—all + these and many more rites and ceremonies are equally parts of pagan and + popish superstition. Nay, the very same temples, the very same images, + which were once consecrated to Jupiter and the other demons, are now + consecrated to the Virgin Mary and the other saints. The very same rites + and inscriptions are ascribed to both, the very same prodigies and + miracles are related of these as of those. In short, almost the whole of + paganism is converted and applied to popery; the one is manifestly formed + upon the same plan and principles as the other; so that there is not only + a conformity, but even a uniformity, in the worship of ancient and modern, + of heathen and Christian Rome." + </p> + <p> + DEBASEMENT OF CHRISTIANITY. Thus far Bishop Newton; but to return to the + times of Constantine: though these concessions to old and popular ideas + were permitted and even encouraged, the dominant religious party never for + a moment hesitated to enforce its decisions by the aid of the civil power—an + aid which was freely given. Constantine thus carried into effect the acts + of the Council of Nicea. In the affair of Arius, he even ordered that + whoever should find a book of that heretic, and not burn it, should be put + to death. In like manner Nestor was by Theodosius the Younger banished to + an Egyptian oasis. + </p> + <p> + The pagan party included many of the old aristocratic families of the + empire; it counted among its adherents all the disciples of the old + philosophical schools. It looked down on its antagonist with contempt. It + asserted that knowledge is to be obtained only by the laborious exercise + of human observation and human reason. + </p> + <p> + The Christian party asserted that all knowledge is to be found in the + Scriptures and in the traditions of the Church; that, in the written + revelation, God had not only given a criterion of truth, but had furnished + us all that he intended us to know. The Scriptures, therefore, contain the + sum, the end of all knowledge. The clergy, with the emperor at their back, + would endure no intellectual competition. + </p> + <p> + Thus came into prominence what were termed sacred and profane knowledge; + thus came into presence of each other two opposing parties, one relying on + human reason as its guide, the other on revelation. Paganism leaned for + support on the learning of its philosophers, Christianity on the + inspiration of its Fathers. + </p> + <p> + The Church thus set herself forth as the depository and arbiter of + knowledge; she was ever ready to resort to the civil power to compel + obedience to her decisions. She thus took a course which determined her + whole future career: she became a stumbling-block in the intellectual + advancement of Europe for more than a thousand years. + </p> + <p> + The reign of Constantine marks the epoch of the transformation of + Christianity from a religion into a political system; and though, in one + sense, that system was degraded into an idolatry, in another it had risen + into a development of the old Greek mythology. The maxim holds good in the + social as well as in the mechanical world, that, when two bodies strike, + the form of both is changed. Paganism was modified by Christianity; + Christianity by Paganism. + </p> + <p> + THE TRINITARIAN DISPUTE. In the Trinitarian controversy, which first broke + out in Egypt—Egypt, the land of Trinities—the chief point in + discussion was to define the position of "the Son." There lived in + Alexandria a presbyter of the name of Arius, a disappointed candidate for + the office of bishop. He took the ground that there was a time when, from + the very nature of sonship, the Son did not exist, and a time at which he + commenced to be, asserting that it is the necessary condition of the + filial relation that a father must be older than his son. But this + assertion evidently denied the coeternity of the three persons of the + Trinity; it suggested a subordination or inequality among them, and indeed + implied a time when the Trinity did not exist. Hereupon, the bishop, who + had been the successful competitor against Arius, displayed his rhetorical + powers in public debates on the question, and, the strife spreading, the + Jews and pagans, who formed a very large portion of the population of + Alexandria, amused themselves with theatrical representations of the + contest on the stage—the point of their burlesques being the + equality of age of the Father and his Son. + </p> + <p> + Such was the violence the controversy at length assumed, that the matter + had to be referred to the emperor. At first he looked upon the dispute as + altogether frivolous, and perhaps in truth inclined to the assertion of + Arius, that in the very nature of the thing a father must be older than + his son. So great, however, was the pressure laid upon him, that he was + eventually compelled to summon the Council of Nicea, which, to dispose of + the conflict, set forth a formulary or creed, and attached to it this + anathema: "The Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes those who + say that there was a time when the Son of God was not, and that, before he + was begotten, he was not, and that he was made out of nothing, or out of + another substance or essence, and is created, or changeable, or + alterable." Constantine at once enforced the decision of the council by + the civil power. + </p> + <p> + A few years subsequently the Emperor Theodosius prohibited sacrifices, + made the inspection of the entrails of animals a capital offense, and + forbade any one entering a temple. He instituted Inquisitors of Faith, and + ordained that all who did not accord with the belief of Damasus, the + Bishop of Rome, and Peter, the Bishop of Alexandria, should be driven into + exile, and deprived of civil rights. Those who presumed to celebrate + Easter on the same day as the Jews, he condemned to death. The Greek + language was now ceasing to be known in the West, and true learning was + becoming extinct. + </p> + <p> + At this time the bishopric of Alexandria was held by one Theophilus. An + ancient temple of Osiris having been given to the Christians of the city + for the site of a church, it happened that, in digging the foundation for + the new edifice, the obscene symbols of the former worship chanced to be + found. These, with more zeal than modesty, Theophilus exhibited in the + market-place to public derision. With less forbearance than the Christian + party showed when it was insulted in the theatre during the Trinitarian + dispute, the pagans resorted to violence, and a riot ensued. They held the + Serapion as their headquarters. Such were the disorder and bloodshed that + the emperor had to interfere. He dispatched a rescript to Alexandria, + enjoining the bishop, Theophilus, to destroy the Serapion; and the great + library, which had been collected by the Ptolemies, and had escaped the + fire of Julius Caesar, was by that fanatic dispersed. + </p> + <p> + THE MURDER OF HYPATIA. The bishopric thus held by Theophilus was in due + time occupied by his nephew St. Cyril, who had commended himself to the + approval of the Alexandrian congregations as a successful and fashionable + preacher. It was he who had so much to do with the introduction of the + worship of the Virgin Mary. His hold upon the audiences of the giddy city + was, however, much weakened by Hypatia, the daughter of Theon, the + mathematician, who not only distinguished herself by her expositions of + the doctrines of Plato and Aristotle, but also by her comments on the + writings of Apollonius and other geometers. Each day before her academy + stood a long train of chariots; her lecture-room was crowded with the + wealth and fashion of Alexandria. They came to listen to her discourses on + those questions which man in all ages has asked, but which never yet have + been answered: "What am I? Where am I? What can I know?" + </p> + <p> + Hypatia and Cyril! Philosophy and bigotry. They cannot exist together. So + Cyril felt, and on that feeling he acted. As Hypatia repaired to her + academy, she was assaulted by Cyril's mob—a mob of many monks. + Stripped naked in the street, she was dragged into a church, and there + killed by the club of Peter the Reader. The corpse was cut to pieces, the + flesh was scraped from the bones with shells, and the remnants cast into a + fire. For this frightful crime Cyril was never called to account. It + seemed to be admitted that the end sanctified the means. + </p> + <p> + So ended Greek philosophy in Alexandria, so came to an untimely close the + learning that the Ptolemies had done so much to promote. The "Daughter + Library," that of the Serapion, had been dispersed. The fate of Hypatia + was a warning to all who would cultivate profane knowledge. Henceforth + there was to be no freedom for human thought. Every one must think as the + ecclesiastical authority ordered him, A.D. 414. In Athens itself + philosophy awaited its doom. Justinian at length prohibited its teaching, + and caused all its schools in that city to be closed. + </p> + <p> + PELAGIUS. While these events were transpiring in the Eastern provinces of + the Roman Empire, the spirit that had produced them was displaying itself + in the West. A British monk, who had assumed the name of Pelagius, passed + through Western Europe and Northern Africa, teaching that death was not + introduced into the world by the sin of Adam; that on the contrary he was + necessarily and by nature mortal, and had he not sinned he would + nevertheless have died; that the consequences of his sins were confined to + himself, and did not affect his posterity. From these premises Pelagius + drew certain important theological conclusions. + </p> + <p> + At Rome, Pelagius had been received with favor; at Carthage, at the + instigation of St. Augustine, he was denounced. By a synod, held at + Diospolis, he was acquitted of heresy, but, on referring the matter to the + Bishop of Rome, Innocent I., he was, on the contrary, condemned. It + happened that at this moment Innocent died, and his successor, Zosimus, + annulled his judgment and declared the opinions of Pelagius to be + orthodox. These contradictory decisions are still often referred to by the + opponents of papal infallibility. Things were in this state of confusion, + when the wily African bishops, through the influence of Count Valerius, + procured from the emperor an edict denouncing Pelagins as a heretic; he + and his accomplices were condemned to exile and the forfeiture of their + goods. To affirm that death was in the world before the fall of Adam, was + a state crime. + </p> + <p> + CONDEMNATION OF PELAGIUS. It is very instructive to consider the + principles on which this strange decision was founded. Since the question + was purely philosophical, one might suppose that it would have been + discussed on natural principles; instead of that, theological + considerations alone were adduced. The attentive reader will have + remarked, in Tertullian's statement of the principles of Christianity, a + complete absence of the doctrines of original sin, total depravity, + predestination, grace, and atonement. The intention of Christianity, as + set forth by him, has nothing in common with the plan of salvation upheld + two centuries subsequently. It is to St. Augustine, a Carthaginian, that + we are indebted for the precision of our views on these important points. + </p> + <p> + In deciding whether death had been in the world before the fall of Adam, + or whether it was the penalty inflicted on the world for his sin, the + course taken was to ascertain whether the views of Pelagius were accordant + or discordant not with Nature but with the theological doctrines of St. + Augustine. And the result has been such as might be expected. The doctrine + declared to be orthodox by ecclesiastical authority is overthrown by the + unquestionable discoveries of modern science. Long before a human being + had appeared upon earth, millions of individuals—nay, more, + thousands of species and even genera—had died; those which remain + with us are an insignificant fraction of the vast hosts that have passed + away. + </p> + <p> + A consequence of great importance issued from the decision of the Pelagian + controversy. The book of Genesis had been made the basis of Christianity. + If, in a theological point of view, to its account of the sin in the + garden of Eden, and the transgression and punishment of Adam, so much + weight had been attached, it also in a philosophical point of view became + the grand authority of Patristic science. Astronomy, geology, geography, + anthropology, chronology, and indeed all the various departments of human + knowledge, were made to conform to it. + </p> + <p> + ST. AUGUSTINE. As the doctrines of St. Augustine have had the effect of + thus placing theology in antagonism with science, it may be interesting to + examine briefly some of the more purely philosophical views of that great + man. For this purpose, we may appropriately select portions of his study + of the first chapter of Genesis, as contained in the eleventh, twelfth, + and thirteenth books of his "Confessions." + </p> + <p> + These consist of philosophical discussions, largely interspersed with + rhapsodies. He prays that God will give him to understand the Scriptures, + and will open their meaning to him; he declares that in them there is + nothing superfluous, but that the words have a manifold meaning. + </p> + <p> + The face of creation testifies that there has been a Creator; but at once + arises the question, "How and when did he make heaven and earth? They + could not have been made IN heaven and earth, the world could not have + been made IN the world, nor could they have been made when there was + nothing to make them of." The solution of this fundamental inquiry St. + Augustine finds in saying, "Thou spakest, and they were made." + </p> + <p> + But the difficulty does not end here. St. Augustine goes on to remark that + the syllables thus uttered by God came forth in succession, and there must + have been some created thing to express the words. This created thing + must, therefore, have existed before heaven and earth, and yet there could + have been no corporeal thing before heaven and earth. It must have been a + creature, because the words passed away and came to an end but we know + that "the word of the Lord endureth forever." + </p> + <p> + Moreover, it is plain that the words thus spoken could not have been + spoken successively, but simultaneously, else there would have been time + and change—succession in its nature implying time; whereas there was + then nothing but eternity and immortality. God knows and says eternally + what takes place in time. + </p> + <p> + CRITICISM OF ST. AUGUSTINE. St. Augustine then defines, not without much + mysticism, what is meant by the opening words of Genesis: "In the + beginning." He is guided to his conclusion by another scriptural passage: + "How wonderful are thy works, O Lord! in wisdom hast thou made them all." + This "wisdom" is "the beginning," and in that beginning the Lord created + the heaven and the earth. + </p> + <p> + "But," he adds, "some one may ask, 'What was God doing before he made the + heaven and the earth? for, if at any particular moment he began to employ + himself, that means time, not eternity. In eternity nothing transpires—the + whole is present.'" In answering this question, he cannot forbear one of + those touches of rhetoric for which he was so celebrated: "I will not + answer this question by saying that he was preparing hell for priers into + his mysteries. I say that, before God made heaven and earth, he did not + make any thing, for no creature could be made before any creature was + made. Time itself is a creature, and hence it could not possibly exist + before creation. + </p> + <p> + "What, then, is time? The past is not, the future is not, the present—who + can tell what it is, unless it be that which has no duration between two + nonentities? There is no such thing as 'a long time,' or 'a short time,' + for there are no such things as the past and the future. They have no + existence, except in the soul." + </p> + <p> + The style in which St. Augustine conveyed his ideas is that of a + rhapsodical conversation with God. His works are an incoherent dream. That + the reader may appreciate this remark, I might copy almost at random any + of his paragraphs. The following is from the twelfth book: + </p> + <p> + "This then, is what I conceive, O my God, when I hear thy Scripture + saying, In the beginning God made heaven and earth: and the earth was + invisible and without form, and darkness was upon the deep, and not + mentioning what day thou createdst them; this is what I conceive, that + because of the heaven of heavens—that intellectual heaven, whose + intelligences know all at once, not in part, not darkly, not through a + glass, but as a whole, in manifestation, face to face; not this thing now, + and that thing anon; but (as I said) know all at once, without any + succession of times; and because of the earth, invisible and without form, + without any succession of times, which succession presents 'this thing + now, that thing anon;' because, where there is no form, there is no + distinction of things; it is, then, on account of these two, a primitive + formed, and a primitive formless; the one, heaven, but the heaven of + heavens; the other, earth, but the earth movable and without form; because + of these two do I conceive, did thy Scripture say without mention of days, + In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. For, forthwith it + subjoined what earth it spake of; and also in that the firmament is + recorded to be created the second day, and called heaven, it conveys to us + of which heaven he before spake, without mention of days. + </p> + <p> + "Wondrous depth of thy words! whose surface behold! is before us, inviting + to little ones; yet are they a wondrous depth, O my God, a wondrous depth! + It is awful to look therein; an awfulness of honor, and a trembling of + love. The enemies thereof I hate vehemently; O that thou wouldst slay them + with thy two-edged sword, that they might no longer be enemies to it: for + so do I love to have them slain unto themselves, that they may live unto + thee." + </p> + <p> + As an example of the hermeneutical manner in which St. Augustine unfolded + the concealed facts of the Scriptures, I may cite the following from the + thirteenth book of the "Confessions;" his object is to show that the + doctrine of the Trinity is contained in the Mosaic narrative of the + creation: + </p> + <p> + "Lo, now the Trinity appears unto me in a glass darkly, which is thou my + God, because thou, O Father, in him who is the beginning of our wisdom, + which is thy wisdom, born of thyself, equal unto thee and coeternal, that + is, in thy Son, createdst heaven and earth. Much now have we said of the + heaven of heavens, and of the earth invisible and without form, and of the + darksome deep, in reference to the wandering instability of its spiritual + deformity, unless it had been converted unto him, from whom it had its + then degree of life, and by his enlightening became a beauteous life, and + the heaven of that heaven, which was afterward set between water and + water. And under the name of God, I now held the Father, who made these + things; and under the name of the beginning, the Son, in whom he made + these things; and believing, as I did, my God as the Trinity, I searched + further in his holy words, and lo! thy Spirit moved upon the waters. + Behold the Trinity, my God!—Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost Creator + of all creation." + </p> + <p> + That I might convey to my reader a just impression of the character of St. + Augustine's philosophical writings, I have, in the two quotations here + given, substituted for my own translation that of the Rev. Dr. Pusey, as + contained in Vol. I. of the "Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic + Church," published at Oxford, 1840. + </p> + <p> + Considering the eminent authority which has been attributed to the + writings of St. Augustine by the religious world for nearly fifteen + centuries, it is proper to speak of them with respect. And indeed it is + not necessary to do otherwise. The paragraphs here quoted criticise + themselves. No one did more than this Father to bring science and religion + into antagonism; it was mainly he who diverted the Bible from its true + office—a guide to purity of life—and placed it in the perilous + position of being the arbiter of human knowledge, an audacious tyranny + over the mind of man. The example once set, there was no want of + followers; the works of the great Greek philosophers were stigmatized as + profane; the transcendently glorious achievements of the Museum of + Alexandria were hidden from sight by a cloud of ignorance, mysticism, and + unintelligible jargon, out of which there too often flashed the destroying + lightnings of ecclesiastical vengeance. + </p> + <p> + A divine revelation of science admits of no improvement, no change, no + advance. It discourages as needless, and indeed as presumptuous, all new + discovery, considering it as an unlawful prying into things which it was + the intention of God to conceal. + </p> + <p> + What, then, is that sacred, that revealed science, declared by the Fathers + to be the sum of all knowledge? + </p> + <p> + It likened all phenomena, natural and spiritual, to human acts. It saw in + the Almighty, the Eternal, only a gigantic man. + </p> + <p> + THE PATRISTIC PHILOSOPHY. As to the earth, it affirmed that it is a flat + surface, over which the sky is spread like a dome, or, as St. Augustine + tells us, is stretched like a skin. In this the sun and moon and stars + move, so that they may give light by day and by night to man. The earth + was made of matter created by God out of nothing, and, with all the tribes + of animals and plants inhabiting it, was finished in six days. Above the + sky or firmament is heaven; in the dark and fiery space beneath the earth + is hell. The earth is the central and most important body of the universe, + all other things being intended for and subservient to it. + </p> + <p> + As to man, he was made out of the dust of the earth. At first he was + alone, but subsequently woman was formed from one of his ribs. He is the + greatest and choicest of the works of God. He was placed in a paradise + near the banks of the Euphrates, and was very wise and very pure; but, + having tasted of the forbidden fruit, and thereby broken the commandment + given to him, he was condemned to labor and to death. + </p> + <p> + The descendants of the first man, undeterred by his punishment, pursued + such a career of wickedness that it became necessary to destroy them. A + deluge, therefore, flooded the face of the earth, and rose over the tops + of the mountains. Having accomplished its purpose, the water was dried up + by a wind. + </p> + <p> + From this catastrophe Noah and his three sons, with their wives, were + saved in an ark. Of these sons, Shem remained in Asia and repeopled it. + Ham peopled Africa; Japhet, Europe. As the Fathers were not acquainted + with the existence of America, they did not provide an ancestor for its + people. + </p> + <p> + Let us listen to what some of these authorities say in support of their + assertions. Thus Lactantius, referring to the heretical doctrine of the + globular form of the earth, remarks: "Is it possible that men can be so + absurd as to believe that the crops and the trees on the other side of the + earth hang downward, and that men have their feet higher than their heads? + If you ask them how they defend these monstrosities, how things do not + fall away from the earth on that side, they reply that the nature of + things is such that heavy bodies tend toward the centre, like the spokes + of a wheel, while light bodies, as clouds, smoke, fire, tend from the + centre to the heavens on all sides. Now, I am really at a loss what to say + of those who, when they have once gone wrong, steadily persevere in their + folly, and defend one absurd opinion by another." On the question of the + antipodes, St. Augustine asserts that "it is impossible there should be + inhabitants on the opposite side of the earth, since no such race is + recorded by Scripture among the descendants of Adam." Perhaps, however, + the most unanswerable argument against the sphericity of the earth was + this, that "in the day of judgment, men on the other side of a globe could + not see the Lord descending through the air." + </p> + <p> + It is unnecessary for me to say any thing respecting the introduction of + death into the world, the continual interventions of spiritual agencies in + the course of events, the offices of angels and devils, the expected + conflagration of the earth, the tower of Babel, the confusion of tongues, + the dispersion of mankind, the interpretation of natural phenomena, as + eclipses, the rainbow, etc. Above all, I abstain from commenting on the + Patristic conceptions of the Almighty; they are too anthropomorphic, and + wanting in sublimity. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps, however, I may quote from Cosmas Indicopleustes the views that + were entertained in the sixth century. He wrote a work entitled "Christian + Topography," the chief intent of which was to confute the heretical + opinion of the globular form of the earth, and the pagan assertion that + there is a temperate zone on the southern side of the torrid. He affirms + that, according to the true orthodox system of geography, the earth is a + quadrangular plane, extending four hundred days' journey east and west, + and exactly half as much north and south; that it is inclosed by + mountains, on which the sky rests; that one on the north side, huger than + the others, by intercepting the rays of the sun, produces night; and that + the plane of the earth is not set exactly horizontally, but with a little + inclination from the north: hence the Euphrates, Tigris, and other rivers, + running southward, are rapid; but the Nile, having to run up-hill, has + necessarily a very slow current. + </p> + <p> + The Venerable Bede, writing in the seventh century, tells us that "the + creation was accomplished in six days, and that the earth is its centre + and its primary object. The heaven is of a fiery and subtile nature, + round, and equidistant in every part, as a canopy from the centre of the + earth. It turns round every day with ineffable rapidity, only moderated by + the resistance of the seven planets, three above the sun—Saturn, + Jupiter, Mars—then the sun; three below—Venus, Mercury, the + moon. The stars go round in their fixed courses, the northern perform the + shortest circle. The highest heaven has its proper limit; it contains the + angelic virtues who descend upon earth, assume ethereal bodies, perform + human functions, and return. The heaven is tempered with glacial waters, + lest it should be set on fire. The inferior heaven is called the + firmament, because it separates the superincumbent waters from the waters + below. The firmamental waters are lower than the spiritual heaven, higher + than all corporeal beings, reserved, some say, for a second deluge; + others, more truly, to temper the fire of the fixed stars." + </p> + <p> + Was it for this preposterous scheme—this product of ignorance and + audacity—that the works of the Greek philosophers were to be given + up? It was none too soon that the great critics who appeared at the + Reformation, by comparing the works of these writers with one another, + brought them to their proper level, and taught us to look upon them all + with contempt. + </p> + <p> + Of this presumptuous system, the strangest part was its logic, the nature + of its proofs. It relied upon miracle-evidence. A fact was supposed to be + demonstrated by an astounding illustration of something else! An Arabian + writer, referring to this, says: "If a conjurer should say to me, 'Three + are more than ten, and in proof of it I will change this stick into a + serpent,' I might be surprised at his legerdemain, but I certainly should + not admit his assertion." Yet, for more than a thousand years, such was + the accepted logic, and all over Europe propositions equally absurd were + accepted on equally ridiculous proof. + </p> + <p> + Since the party that had become dominant in the empire could not furnish + works capable of intellectual competition with those of the great pagan + authors, and since it was impossible for it to accept a position of + inferiority, there arose a political necessity for the discouragement, and + even persecution, of profane learning. The persecution of the Platonists + under Valentinian was due to that necessity. They were accused of magic, + and many of them were put to death. The profession of philosophy had + become dangerous—it was a state crime. In its stead there arose a + passion for the marvelous, a spirit of superstition. Egypt exchanged the + great men, who had made her Museum immortal, for bands of solitary monks + and sequestered virgins, with which she was overrun. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + CONFLICT RESPECTING THE DOCTRINE OF THE UNITY OF GOD.—THE + FIRST OR SOUTHERN REFORMATION. + + The Egyptians insist on the introduction of the worship of + the Virgin Mary—They are resisted by Nestor, the Patriarch + of Constantinople, but eventually, through their influence + with the emperor, cause Nestor's exile and the dispersion of + his followers. + + Prelude to the Southern Reformation—The Persian attack; its + moral effects. + + The Arabian Reformation.—Mohammed is brought in contact + with the Nestorians—He adopts and extends their principles, + rejecting the worship of the Virgin, the doctrine of the + Trinity, and every thing in opposition to the unity of God.— + He extinguishes idolatry in Arabia, by force, and prepares + to make war on the Roman Empire.—His successors conquer + Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor, North Africa, Spain, and invade + France. + + As the result of this conflict, the doctrine of the unity of + God was established in the greater part of the Roman Empire— + The cultivation of science was restored, and Christendom + lost many of her most illustrious capitals, as Alexandria, + Carthage, and, above all, Jerusalem. +</pre> + <p> + THE policy of the Byzantine court had given to primitive Christianity a + paganized form, which it had spread over all the idolatrous populations + constituting the empire. There had been an amalgamation of the two + parties. Christianity had modified paganism, paganism had modified + Christianity. The limits of this adulterated religion were the confines of + the Roman Empire. With this great extension there had come to the + Christian party political influence and wealth. No insignificant portion + of the vast public revenues found their way into the treasuries of the + Church. As under such circumstances must ever be the case, there were many + competitors for the spoils—men who, under the mask of zeal for the + predominant faith, sought only the enjoyment of its emoluments. + </p> + <p> + ECCLESIASTICAL DISPUTES. Under the early emperors, conquest had reached + its culmination; the empire was completed; there remained no adequate + objects for military life; the days of war-peculation, and the plundering + of provinces, were over. For the ambitious, however, another path was + open; other objects presented. A successful career in the Church led to + results not unworthy of comparison with those that in former days had been + attained by a successful career in the army. + </p> + <p> + The ecclesiastical, and indeed, it may be said, much of the political + history of that time, turns on the struggles of the bishops of the three + great metropolitan cities—Constantinople, Alexandria, Rome—for + supremacy: Constantinople based her claims on the fact that she was the + existing imperial city; Alexandria pointed to her commercial and literary + position; Rome, to her souvenirs. But the Patriarch of Constantinople + labored under the disadvantage that he was too closely under the eye, and, + as he found to his cost, too often under the hand, of the emperor. + Distance gave security to the episcopates of Alexandria and Rome. + </p> + <p> + ECCLESIASTICAL DISPUTES. Religious disputations in the East have generally + turned on diversities of opinion respecting the nature and attributes of + God; in the West, on the relations and life of man. This peculiarity has + been strikingly manifested in the transformations that Christianity has + undergone in Asia and Europe respectively. Accordingly, at the time of + which we are speaking, all the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire + exhibited an intellectual anarchy. There were fierce quarrels respecting + the Trinity, the essence of God, the position of the Son, the nature of + the Holy Spirit, the influences of the Virgin Mary. The triumphant clamor + first of one then of another sect was confirmed, sometimes by + miracle-proof, sometimes by bloodshed. No attempt was ever made to submit + the rival opinions to logical examination. All parties, however, agreed in + this, that the imposture of the old classical pagan forms of faith was + demonstrated by the facility with which they had been overthrown. The + triumphant ecclesiastics proclaimed that the images of the gods had failed + to defend themselves when the time of trial came. + </p> + <p> + Polytheistic ideas have always been held in repute by the southern + European races, the Semitic have maintained the unity of God. Perhaps this + is due to the fact, as a recent author has suggested, that a diversified + landscape of mountains and valleys, islands, and rivers, and gulfs, + predisposes man to a belief in a multitude of divinities. A vast sandy + desert, the illimitable ocean, impresses him with an idea of the oneness + of God. + </p> + <p> + Political reasons had led the emperors to look with favor on the admixture + of Christianity and paganism, and doubtless by this means the bitterness + of the rivalry between those antagonists was somewhat abated. The heaven + of the popular, the fashionable Christianity was the old Olympus, from + which the venerable Greek divinities had been removed. There, on a great + white throne, sat God the Father, on his right the Son, and then the + blessed Virgin, clad in a golden robe, and "covered with various female + adornments;" on the left sat God the Holy Ghost. Surrounding these thrones + were hosts of angels with their harps. The vast expanse beyond was filled + with tables, seated at which the happy spirits of the just enjoyed a + perpetual banquet. + </p> + <p> + If, satisfied with this picture of happiness, illiterate persons never + inquired how the details of such a heaven were carried out, or how much + pleasure there could be in the ennui of such an eternally unchanging, + unmoving scene, it was not so with the intelligent. As we are soon to see, + there were among the higher ecclesiastics those who rejected with + sentiments of horror these carnal, these materialistic conceptions, and + raised their protesting voices in vindication of the attributes of the + Omnipresent, the Almighty God. + </p> + <p> + EGYPTIAN DOCTRINES. In the paganization of religion, now in all directions + taking place, it became the interest of every bishop to procure an + adoption of the ideas which, time out of mind, had been current in the + community under his charge. The Egyptians had already thus forced on the + Church their peculiar Trinitarian views; and now they were resolved that, + under the form of the adoration of the Virgin Mary, the worship of Isis + should be restored. + </p> + <p> + THE NESTORIANS. It so happened that Nestor, the Bishop of Antioch, who + entertained the philosophical views of Theodore of Mopsuestia, had been + called by the Emperor Theodosius the Younger to the Episcopate of + Constantinople (A.D. 427). Nestor rejected the base popular + anthropomorphism, looking upon it as little better than blasphemous, and + pictured to himself an awful eternal Divinity, who pervaded the universe, + and had none of the aspects or attributes of man. Nestor was deeply imbued + with the doctrines of Aristotle, and attempted to coordinate them with + what he considered to be orthodox Christian tenets. Between him and Cyril, + the Bishop or Patriarch of Alexandria, a quarrel accordingly arose. Cyril + represented the paganizing, Nestor the philosophizing party of the Church. + This was that Cyril who had murdered Hypatia. Cyril was determined that + the worship of the Virgin as the Mother of God should be recognized, + Nestor was determined that it should not. In a sermon delivered in the + metropolitan church at Constantinople, he vindicated the attributes of the + Eternal, the Almighty God. "And can this God have a mother?" he exclaimed. + In other sermons and writings, he set forth with more precision his ideas + that the Virgin should be considered not as the Mother of God, but as the + mother of the human portion of Christ, that portion being as essentially + distinct from the divine as is a temple from its contained deity. + </p> + <p> + PERSECUTION AND DEATH OF NESTOR. Instigated by the monks of Alexandria, + the monks of Constantinople took up arms in behalf of "the Mother of God." + The quarrel rose to such a pitch that the emperor was constrained to + summon a council to meet at Ephesus. In the mean time Cyril had given a + bribe of many pounds of gold to the chief eunuch of the imperial court, + and had thereby obtained the influence of the emperor's sister. "The holy + virgin of the court of heaven thus found an ally of her own sex in the + holy virgin of the emperor's court." Cyril hastened to the council, + attended by a mob of men and women of the baser sort. He at once assumed + the presidency, and in the midst of a tumult had the emperor's rescript + read before the Syrian bishops could arrive. A single day served to + complete his triumph. All offers of accommodation on the part of Nestor + were refused, his explanations were not read, he was condemned unheard. On + the arrival of the Syrian ecclesiastics, a meeting of protest was held by + them. A riot, with much bloodshed, ensued in the cathedral of St. John. + Nestor was abandoned by the court, and eventually exiled to an Egyptian + oasis. His persecutors tormented him as long as he lived, by every means + in their power, and at his death gave out that "his blasphemous tongue had + been devoured by worms, and that from the heats of an Egyptian desert he + had escaped only into the hotter torments of hell!" + </p> + <p> + The overthrow and punishment of Nestor, however, by no means destroyed his + opinions. He and his followers, insisting on the plain inference of the + last verse of the first chapter of St. Matthew, together with the + fifty-fifth and fifty-sixth verses of the thirteenth of the same gospel, + could never be brought to an acknowledgment of the perpetual virginity of + the new queen of heaven. Their philosophical tendencies were soon + indicated by their actions. While their leader was tormented in an African + oasis, many of them emigrated to the Euphrates, and established the + Chaldean Church. Under their auspices the college of Edessa was founded. + From the college of Nisibis issued those doctors who spread Nestor's + tenets through Syria, Arabia, India, Tartary, China, Egypt. The + Nestorians, of course, adopted the philosophy of Aristotle, and translated + the works of that great writer into Syriac and Persian. They also made + similar translations of later works, such as those of Pliny. In connection + with the Jews they founded the medical college of Djondesabour. Their + missionaries disseminated the Nestorian form of Christianity to such an + extent over Asia, that its worshipers eventually outnumbered all the + European Christians of the Greek and Roman Churches combined. It may be + particularly remarked that in Arabia they had a bishop. + </p> + <p> + THE PERSIAN CAMPAIGN. The dissensions between Constantinople and + Alexandria had thus filled all Western Asia with sectaries, ferocious in + their contests with each other, and many of them burning with hatred + against the imperial power for the persecutions it had inflicted on them. + A religious revolution, the consequences of which are felt in our own + times, was the result. It affected the whole world. + </p> + <p> + We shall gain a clear view of this great event, if we consider separately + the two acts into which it may be decomposed: 1. The temporary overthrow + of Asiatic Christianity by the Persians; 2. The decisive and final + reformation under the Arabians. + </p> + <p> + 1. It happened (A.D. 590) that, by one of those revolutions so frequent in + Oriental courts, Chosroes, the lawful heir to the Persian throne, was + compelled to seek refuge in the Byzantine Empire, and implore the aid of + the Emperor Maurice. That aid was cheerfully given. A brief and successful + campaign restored Chosroes to the throne of his ancestors. + </p> + <p> + But the glories of this generous campaign could not preserve Maurice + himself. A mutiny broke out in the Roman army, headed by Phocas, a + centurion. The statues of the emperor were overthrown. The Patriarch of + Constantinople, having declared that he had assured himself of the + orthodoxy of Phocas, consecrated him emperor. The unfortunate Maurice was + dragged from a sanctuary, in which he had sought refuge; his five sons + were beheaded before his eyes, and then he was put to death. His empress + was inveigled from the church of St. Sophia, tortured, and with her three + young daughters beheaded. The adherents of the massacred family were + pursued with ferocious vindictiveness; of some the eyes were blinded, of + others the tongues were torn out, or the feet and hands cut off, some were + whipped to death, others were burnt. + </p> + <p> + When the news reached Rome, Pope Gregory received it with exultation, + praying that the hands of Phocas might be strengthened against all his + enemies. As an equivalent for this subserviency, he was greeted with the + title of "Universal Bishop." The cause of his action, as well as of that + of the Patriarch of Constantinople, was doubtless the fact that Maurice + was suspected of Magrian tendencies, into which he had been lured by the + Persians. The mob of Constantinople had hooted after him in the streets, + branding him as a Marcionite, a sect which believed in the Magian doctrine + of two conflicting principles. + </p> + <p> + With very different sentiments Chosroes heard of the murder of his friend. + Phocas had sent him the heads of Maurice and his sons. The Persian king + turned from the ghastly spectacle with horror, and at once made ready to + avenge the wrongs of his benefactor by war. + </p> + <p> + THE EXPEDITION OF HERACLIUS. The Exarch of Africa, Heraclius, one of the + chief officers of the state, also received the shocking tidings with + indignation. He was determined that the imperial purple should not be + usurped by an obscure centurion of disgusting aspect. "The person of this + Phocas was diminutive and deformed; the closeness of his shaggy eyebrows, + his red hair, his beardless chin, were in keeping with his cheek, + disfigured and discolored by a formidable scar. Ignorant of letters, of + laws, and even of arms, he indulged in an ample privilege of lust and + drunkenness." At first Heraclius refused tribute and obedience to him; + then, admonished by age and infirmities, he committed the dangerous + enterprise of resistance to his son of the same name. A prosperous voyage + from Carthage soon brought the younger Heraclius in front of + Constantinople. The inconstant clergy, senate, and people of the city + joined him, the usurper was seized in his palace and beheaded. + </p> + <p> + INVASION OF CHOSROES. But the revolution that had taken place in + Constantinople did not arrest the movements of the Persian king. His + Magian priests had warned him to act independently of the Greeks, whose + superstition, they declared, was devoid of all truth and justice. + Chosroes, therefore, crossed the Euphrates; his army was received with + transport by the Syrian sectaries, insurrections in his favor everywhere + breaking out. In succession, Antioch, Caesarea, Damascus fell; Jerusalem + itself was taken by storm; the sepulchre of Christ, the churches of + Constantine and of Helena were given to the flames; the Savior's cross was + sent as a trophy to Persia; the churches were rifled of their riches; the + sacred relics, collected by superstition, were dispersed. Egypt was + invaded, conquered, and annexed to the Persian Empire; the Patriarch of + Alexandria escaped by flight to Cyprus; the African coast to Tripoli was + seized. On the north, Asia Minor was subdued, and for ten years the + Persian forces encamped on the shores of the Bosporus, in front of + Constantinople. + </p> + <p> + In his extremity Heraclius begged for peace. "I will never give peace to + the Emperor of Rome," replied the proud Persian, "till he has abjured his + crucified God, and embraced the worship of the sun." After a long delay + terms were, however, secured, and the Roman Empire was ransomed at the + price of "a thousand talents of gold, a thousand talents of silver, a + thousand silk robes, a thousand horses, and a thousand virgins." + </p> + <p> + But Heraclius submitted only for a moment. He found means not only to + restore his affairs but to retaliate on the Persian Empire. The operations + by which he achieved this result were worthy of the most brilliant days of + Rome. + </p> + <p> + INVASION OF CHOSROES Though her military renown was thus recovered, though + her territory was regained, there was something that the Roman Empire had + irrecoverably lost. Religious faith could never be restored. In face of + the world Magianism had insulted Christianity, by profaning her most + sacred places—Bethlehem, Gethsemane, Calvary—by burning the + sepulchre of Christ, by rifling and destroying the churches, by scattering + to the winds priceless relics, by carrying off, with shouts of laughter, + the cross. + </p> + <p> + Miracles had once abounded in Syria, in Egypt, in Asia Minor; there was + not a church which had not its long catalogue of them. Very often they + were displayed on unimportant occasions and in insignificant cases. In + this supreme moment, when such aid was most urgently demanded, not a + miracle was worked. + </p> + <p> + Amazement filled the Christian populations of the East when they witnessed + these Persian sacrileges perpetrated with impunity. The heavens should + have rolled asunder, the earth should have opened her abysses, the sword + of the Almighty should have flashed in the sky, the fate of Sennacherib + should have been repeated. But it was not so. In the land of miracles, + amazement was followed by consternation—consternation died out in + disbelief. + </p> + <p> + 2. But, dreadful as it was, the Persian conquest was but a prelude to the + great event, the story of which we have now to relate—the Southern + revolt against Christianity. Its issue was the loss of nine-tenths of her + geographical possessions—Asia, Africa, and part of Europe. + </p> + <p> + MOHAMMED. In the summer of 581 of the Christian era, there came to Bozrah, + a town on the confines of Syria, south of Damascus, a caravan of camels. + It was from Mecca, and was laden with the costly products of South Arabia—Arabia + the Happy. The conductor of the caravan, one Abou Taleb, and his nephew, a + lad of twelve years, were hospitably received and entertained at the + Nestorian convent of the town. + </p> + <p> + The monks of this convent soon found that their young visitor, Halibi or + Mohammed, was the nephew of the guardian of the Caaba, the sacred temple + of the Arabs. One of them, by name Bahira, spared no pains to secure his + conversion from the idolatry in which he had been brought up. He found the + boy not only precociously intelligent, but eagerly desirous of + information, especially on matters relating to religion. + </p> + <p> + In Mohammed's own country the chief object of Meccan worship was a black + meteoric stone, kept in the Caaba, with three hundred and sixty + subordinate idols, representing the days of the year, as the year was then + counted. + </p> + <p> + At this time, as we have seen, the Christian Church, through the ambition + and wickedness of its clergy, had been brought into a condition of + anarchy. Councils had been held on various pretenses, while the real + motives were concealed. Too often they were scenes of violence, bribery, + corruption. In the West, such were the temptations of riches, luxury, and + power, presented by the episcopates, that the election of a bishop was + often disgraced by frightful murders. In the East, in consequence of the + policy of the court of Constantinople, the Church had been torn in pieces + by contentions and schisms. Among a countless host of disputants may be + mentioned Arians, Basilidians, Carpocratians, Collyridians, Eutychians, + Gnostics, Jacobites, Marcionites, Marionites, Nestorians, Sabellians, + Valentinians. Of these, the Marionites regarded the Trinity as consisting + of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Virgin Mary; the Collyridians + worshiped the Virgin as a divinity, offering her sacrifices of cakes; the + Nestorians, as we have seen, denied that God had "a mother." They prided + themselves on being the inheritors, the possessors of the science of old + Greece. + </p> + <p> + But, though they were irreconcilable in matters of faith, there was one + point in which all these sects agreed—ferocious hatred and + persecution of each other. Arabia, an unconquered land of liberty, + stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Desert of Syria, gave them all, as + the tide of fortune successively turned, a refuge. It had been so from the + old times. Thither, after the Roman conquest of Palestine, vast numbers of + Jews escaped; thither, immediately after his conversion, St. Paul tells + the Galatians that he retired. The deserts were now filled with Christian + anchorites, and among the chief tribes of the Arabs many proselytes had + been made. Here and there churches had been built. The Christian princes + of Abyssinia, who were Nestorians, held the southern province of Arabia—Yemen—in + possession. + </p> + <p> + By the monk Bahira, in the convent at Bozrah, Mohammed was taught the + tenets of the Nestorians; from them the young Arab learned the story of + their persecutions. It was these interviews which engendered in him a + hatred of the idolatrous practices of the Eastern Church, and indeed of + all idolatry; that taught him, in his wonderful career, never to speak of + Jesus as the Son of God, but always as "Jesus, the son of Mary." His + untutored but active mind could not fail to be profoundly impressed not + only with the religious but also with the philosophical ideas of his + instructors, who gloried in being the living representatives of + Aristotelian science. His subsequent career shows how completely their + religious thoughts had taken possession of him, and repeated acts manifest + his affectionate regard for them. His own life was devoted to the + expansion and extension of their theological doctrine, and, that once + effectually established, his successors energetically adopted and diffused + their scientific, their Aristotelian opinions. + </p> + <p> + As Mohammed grew to manhood, he made other expeditions to Syria. Perhaps, + we may suppose, that on these occasions the convent and its hospitable in + mates were not forgotten. He had a mysterious reverence for that country. + A wealthy Meccan widow Chadizah, had intrusted him with the care of her + Syrian trade. She was charmed with his capacity and fidelity, and (since + he is said to have been characterized by the possession of singular manly + beauty and a most courteous demeanor) charmed with his person. The female + heart in all ages and countries is the same. She caused a slave to + intimate to him what was passing in her mind, and, for the remaining + twenty-four years of her life, Mohammed was her faithful husband. In a + land of polygamy, he never insulted her by the presence of a rival. Many + years subsequently, in the height of his power, Ayesha, who was one of the + most beautiful women in Arabia, said to him: "Was she not old? Did not God + give you in me a better wife in her place?" "No, by God!" exclaimed + Mohammed, and with a burst of honest gratitude, "there never can be a + better. She believed in me when men despised me, she relieved me when I + was poor and persecuted by the world." + </p> + <p> + His marriage with Chadizah placed him in circumstances of ease, and gave + him an opportunity of indulging his inclination to religious meditation. + It so happened that her cousin Waraka, who was a Jew, had turned + Christian. He was the first to translate the Bible into Arabic. By his + conversation Mohammed's detestation of idolatry was confirmed. + </p> + <p> + After the example of the Christian anchorites in their hermitages in the + desert, Mohammed retired to a grotto in Mount Hera, a few miles from + Mecca, giving himself up to meditation and prayer. In this seclusion, + contemplating the awful attributes of the Omnipotent and Eternal God, he + addressed to his conscience the solemn inquiry, whether he could adopt the + dogmas then held in Asiatic Christendom respecting the Trinity, the + sonship of Jesus as begotten by the Almighty, the character of Mary as at + once a virgin, a mother, and the queen of heaven, without incurring the + guilt and the peril of blasphemy. + </p> + <p> + By his solitary meditations in the grotto Mohammed was drawn to the + conclusion that, through the cloud of dogmas and disputations around him, + one great truth might be discerned—the unity of God. Leaning against + the stem of a palm-tree, he unfolded his views on this subject to his + neighbors and friends, and announced to them that he should dedicate his + life to the preaching of that truth. Again and again, in his sermons and + in the Koran, he declared: "I am nothing but a public preacher.... I + preach the oneness of God." Such was his own conception of his so-called + apostleship. Henceforth, to the day of his death, he wore on his finger a + seal-ring on which was engraved, "Mohammed, the messenger of God." + </p> + <p> + VICTORIES OF MOHAMMED. It is well known among physicians that prolonged + fasting and mental anxiety inevitably give rise to hallucination. Perhaps + there never has been any religious system introduced by self-denying, + earnest men that did not offer examples of supernatural temptations and + supernatural commands. Mysterious voices encouraged the Arabian preacher + to persist in his determination; shadows of strange forms passed before + him. He heard sounds in the air like those of a distant bell. In a + nocturnal dream he was carried by Gabriel from Mecca to Jerusalem, and + thence in succession through the six heavens. Into the seventh the angel + feared to intrude and Mohammed alone passed into the dread cloud that + forever enshrouds the Almighty. "A shiver thrilled his heart as he felt + upon his shoulder the touch of the cold hand of God." + </p> + <p> + His public ministrations met with much resistance and little success at + first. Expelled from Mecca by the upholders of the prevalent idolatry, he + sought refuge in Medina, a town in which there were many Jews and + Nestorians; the latter at once became proselytes to his faith. He had + already been compelled to send his daughter and others of his disciples to + Abyssinia, the king of which was a Nestorian Christian. At the end of six + years he had made only fifteen hundred converts. But in three little + skirmishes, magnified in subsequent times by the designation of the + battles of Beder, of Ohud, and of the Nations, Mohammed discovered that + his most convincing argument was his sword. Afterward, with Oriental + eloquence, he said, "Paradise will be found in the shadow of the crossing + of swords." By a series of well-conducted military operations, his enemies + were completely overthrown. Arabian idolatry was absolutely exterminated; + the doctrine he proclaimed, that "there is but one God," was universally + adopted by his countrymen, and his own apostleship accepted. + </p> + <p> + DEATH OF MOHAMMED. Let us pass over his stormy life, and hear what he says + when, on the pinnacle of earthly power and glory, he was approaching its + close. + </p> + <p> + Steadfast in his declaration of the unity of God, he departed from Medina + on his last pilgrimage to Mecca, at the head of one hundred and fourteen + thousand devotees, with camels decorated with garlands of flowers and + fluttering streamers. When he approached the holy city, he uttered the + solemn invocation: "Here am I in thy service, O God! Thou hast no + companion. To thee alone belongeth worship. Thine alone is the kingdom. + There is none to share it with thee." + </p> + <p> + With his own hand he offered up the camels in sacrifice. He considered + that primeval institution to be equally sacred as prayer, and that no + reason can be alleged in support of the one which is not equally strong in + support of the other. + </p> + <p> + From the pulpit of the Caaba he reiterated, "O my hearers, I am only a man + like yourselves." They remembered that he had once said to one who + approached him with timid steps: "Of what dost thou stand in awe? I am no + king. I am nothing but the son of an Arab woman, who ate flesh dried in + the sun." + </p> + <p> + He returned to Medina to die. In his farewell to his congregation, he + said: "Every thing happens according to the will of God, and has its + appointed time, which can neither be hastened nor avoided. I return to him + who sent me, and my last command to you is, that ye love, honor, and + uphold each other, that ye exhort each other to faith and constancy in + belief, and to the performance of pious deeds. My life has been for your + good, and so will be my death." + </p> + <p> + In his dying agony, his head was reclined on the lap of Ayesha. From time + to time he had dipped his hand in a vase of water, and moistened his face. + At last he ceased, and, gazing steadfastly upward, said, in broken + accents: "O God—forgive my sins—be it so. I come." + </p> + <p> + Shall we speak of this man with disrespect? His precepts are, at this day, + the religious guide of one-third of the human race. + </p> + <p> + DOCTRINES OF MOHAMMED. In Mohammed, who had already broken away from the + ancient idolatrous worship of his native country, preparation had been + made for the rejection of those tenets which his Nestorian teachers had + communicated to him, inconsistent with reason and conscience. And, though, + in the first pages of the Koran, he declares his belief in what was + delivered to Moses and Jesus, and his reverence for them personally, his + veneration for the Almighty is perpetually displayed. He is + horror-stricken at the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus, the Worship of + Mary as the mother of God, the adoration of images and paintings, in his + eyes a base idolatry. He absolutely rejects the Trinity, of which he seems + to have entertained the idea that it could not be interpreted otherwise + than as presenting three distinct Gods. + </p> + <p> + His first and ruling idea was simply religious reform—to overthrow + Arabian idolatry, and put an end to the wild sectarianism of Christianity. + That he proposed to set up a new religion was a calumny invented against + him in Constantinople, where he was looked upon with detestation, like + that with which in after ages Luther was regarded in Rome. + </p> + <p> + But, though he rejected with indignation whatever might seem to disparage + the doctrine of the unity of God, he was not able to emancipate himself + from anthropomorphic conceptions. The God of the Koran is altogether + human, both corporeally and mentally, if such expressions may with + propriety be used. Very soon, however, the followers of Mohammed divested + themselves of these base ideas and rose to nobler ones. + </p> + <p> + The view here presented of the primitive character of Mohammedanism has + long been adopted by many competent authorities. Sir William Jones, + following Locke, regards the main point in the divergence of Mohammedanism + from Christianity to consist "in denying vehemently the character of our + Savior as the Son, and his equality as God with the Father, of whose unity + and attributes the Mohammedans entertain and express the most awful + ideas." This opinion has been largely entertained in Italy. Dante regarded + Mohammed only as the author of a schism, and saw in Islamism only an Arian + sect. In England, Whately views it as a corruption of Christianity. It was + an offshoot of Nestorianism, and not until it had overthrown Greek + Christianity in many great battles, was spreading rapidly over Asia and + Africa, and had become intoxicated with its wonderful successes, did it + repudiate its primitive limited intentions, and assert itself to be + founded on a separate and distinct revelation. + </p> + <p> + THE FIRST KHALIF. Mohammed's life had been almost entirely consumed in the + conversion or conquest of his native country. Toward its close, however, + he felt himself strong enough to threaten the invasion of Syria and + Persia. He had made no provision for the perpetuation of his own dominion, + and hence it was not without a struggle that a successor was appointed. At + length Abubeker, the father of Ayesha, was selected. He was proclaimed the + first khalif, or successor of the Prophet. + </p> + <p> + There is a very important difference between the spread of Mohammedanism + and the spread of Christianity. The latter was never sufficiently strong + to over throw and extirpate idolatry in the Roman Empire. As it advanced, + there was an amalgamation, a union. The old forms of the one were vivified + by the new spirit of the other, and that paganization to which reference + has already been made was the result. + </p> + <p> + THE MOHAMMEDAN HEAVEN. But, in Arabia, Mohammed overthrew and absolutely + annihilated the old idolatry. No trace of it is found in the doctrines + preached by him and his successors. The black stone that had fallen from + heaven—the meteorite of the Caaba—and its encircling idols, + passed totally out of view. The essential dogma of the new faith—"There + is but one God"—spread without any adulteration. Military successes + had, in a worldly sense made the religion of the Koran profitable; and, no + matter what dogmas may be, when that is the case, there will be plenty of + converts. + </p> + <p> + As to the popular doctrines of Mohammedanism, I shall here have nothing to + say. The reader who is interested in that matter will find an account of + them in a review of the Koran in the eleventh chapter of my "History of + the Intellectual Development of Europe." It is enough now to remark that + their heaven was arranged in seven stories, and was only a palace of + Oriental carnal delight. It was filled with black-eyed concubines and + servants. The form of God was, perhaps, more awful than that of paganized + Christianity. Anthropomorphism will, however, never be obliterated from + the ideas of the unintellectual. Their God, at the best, will never be any + thing more than the gigantic shadow of a man—a vast phantom of + humanity—like one of those Alpine spectres seen in the midst of the + clouds by him who turns his back on the sun. + </p> + <p> + Abubeker had scarcely seated himself in the khalifate, when he put forth + the following proclamation: + </p> + <p> + In the name of the most merciful God! Abubeker to the rest of the true + believers, health and happiness. The mercy and blessing of God be upon + you. I praise the most high God. I pray for his prophet Mohammed. + </p> + <p> + INVASION OF SYRIA. "This is to inform you that I intend to send the true + believers into Syria, to take it out of the hands of the infidels. And I + would have you know that the fighting for religion is an act of obedience + to God." + </p> + <p> + On the first encounter, Khaled, the Saracen general, hard pressed, lifted + up his hands in the midst of his army and said: "O God! these vile + wretches pray with idolatrous expressions and take to themselves another + God besides thee, but we acknowledge thy unity and affirm that there is no + other God but thee alone. Help us, we beseech thee, for the sake of thy + prophet Mohammed, against these idolaters." On the part of the Saracens + the conquest of Syria was conducted with ferocious piety. The belief of + the Syrian Christians aroused in their antagonists sentiments of horror + and indignation. "I will cleave the skull of any blaspheming idolater who + says that the Most Holy God, the Almighty and Eternal, has begotten a + son." The Khalif Omar, who took Jerusalem, commences a letter to + Heraclius, the Roman emperor: "In the name of the most merciful God! + Praise be to God, the Lord of this and of the other world, who has neither + female consort nor son." The Saracens nicknamed the Christians + "Associators," because they joined Mary and Jesus as partners with the + Almighty and Most Holy God. + </p> + <p> + It was not the intention of the khalif to command his army; that duty was + devolved on Abou Obeidah nominally, on Khaled in reality. In a parting + review the khalif enjoined on his troops justice, mercy, and the + observance of fidelity in their engagements he commanded them to abstain + from all frivolous conversation and from wine, and rigorously to observe + the hours of prayer; to be kind to the common people among whom they + passed, but to show no mercy to their priests. + </p> + <p> + FALL OF BOZRAH. Eastward of the river Jordan is Bozrah, a strong town + where Mohammed had first met his Nestorian Christian instructors. It was + one of the Roman forts with which the country was dotted over. Before this + place the Saracen army encamped. The garrison was strong, the ramparts + were covered with holy crosses and consecrated banners. It might have made + a long defense. But its governor, Romanus, betrayed his trust, and + stealthily opened its gates to the besiegers. His conduct shows to what a + deplorable condition the population of Syria had come. After the + surrender, in a speech he made to the people he had betrayed, he said: "I + renounce your society, both in this world and that to come. And I deny him + that was crucified, and whosoever worships him. And I choose God for my + Lord, Islam for my faith, Mecca for my temple, the Moslems for my + brethren, Mohammed for my prophet, who was sent to lead us in the right + way, and to exalt the true religion in spite of those who join partners + with God." Since the Persian invasion, Asia Minor, Syria, and even + Palestine, were full of traitors and apostates, ready to join the + Saracens. Romanus was but one of many thousands who had fallen into + disbelief through the victories of the Persians. + </p> + <p> + FALL OF DAMASCUS. From Bozrah it was only seventy miles northward to + Damascus, the capital of Syria. Thither, without delay, the Saracen army + marched. The city was at once summoned to take its option—conversion, + tribute, or the sword. In his palace at Antioch, barely one hundred and + fifty miles still farther north, the Emperor Heraclius received tidings of + the alarming advance of his assailants. He at once dispatched an army of + seventy thousand men. The Saracens were compelled to raise the siege. A + battle took place in the plains of Aiznadin, the Roman army was overthrown + and dispersed. Khaled reappeared before Damascus with his standard of the + black eagle, and after a renewed investment of seventy days Damascus + surrendered. + </p> + <p> + From the Arabian historians of these events we may gather that thus far + the Saracen armies were little better than a fanatic mob. Many of the men + fought naked. It was not unusual for a warrior to stand forth in front and + challenge an antagonist to mortal duel. Nay, more, even the women engaged + in the combats. Picturesque narratives have been handed down to us + relating the gallant manner in which they acquitted themselves. + </p> + <p> + FALL OF JERUSALEM. From Damascus the Saracen army advanced northward, + guided by the snow-clad peaks of Libanus and the beautiful river Orontes. + It captured on its way Baalbec, the capital of the Syrian valley, and + Emesa, the chief city of the eastern plain. To resist its further + progress, Heraclius collected an army of one hundred and forty thousand + men. A battle took place at Yermuck; the right wing of the Saracens was + broken, but the soldiers were driven back to the field by the fanatic + expostulations of their women. The conflict ended in the complete + overthrow of the Roman army. Forty thousand were taken prisoners, and a + vast number killed. The whole country now lay open to the victors. The + advance of their army had been east of the Jordan. It was clear that, + before Asia Minor could be touched, the strong and important cities of + Palestine, which was now in their rear, must be secured. There was a + difference of opinion among the generals in the field as to whether + Caesarea or Jerusalem should be assailed first. The matter was referred to + the khalif, who, rightly preferring the moral advantages of the capture of + Jerusalem to the military advantages of the capture of Caesarea, ordered + the Holy City to be taken, and that at any cost. Close siege was therefore + laid to it. The inhabitants, remembering the atrocities inflicted by the + Persians, and the indignities that had been offered to the Savior's + sepulchre, prepared now for a vigorous defense. But, after an investment + of four months, the Patriarch Sophronius appeared on the wall, asking + terms of capitulation. There had been misunderstandings among the generals + at the capture of Damascus, followed by a massacre of the fleeing + inhabitants. Sophronius, therefore, stipulated that the surrender of + Jerusalem should take place in presence of the khalif himself Accordingly, + Omar, the khalif, came from Medina for that purpose. He journeyed on a red + camel, carrying a bag of corn and one of dates, a wooden dish, and a + leathern water-bottle. The Arab conqueror entered the Holy City riding by + the side of the Christian patriarch and the transference of the capital of + Christianity to the representative of Mohammedanism was effected without + tumult or outrage. Having ordered that a mosque should be built on the + site of the temple of Solomon, the khalif returned to the tomb of the + Prophet at Medina. + </p> + <p> + Heraclius saw plainly that the disasters which were fast settling on + Christianity were due to the dissensions of its conflicting sects; and + hence, while he endeavored to defend the empire with his armies, he + sedulously tried to compose those differences. With this view he pressed + for acceptance the Monothelite doctrine of the nature of Christ. But it + was now too late. Aleppo and Antioch were taken. Nothing could prevent the + Saracens from overrunning Asia Minor. Heraclius himself had to seek safety + in flight. Syria, which had been added by Pompey the Great, the rival of + Caesar, to the provinces of Rome, seven hundred years previously—Syria, + the birthplace of Christianity, the scene of its most sacred and precious + souvenirs, the land from which Heraclius himself had once expelled the + Persian intruder—was irretrievably lost. Apostates and traitors had + wrought this calamity. We are told that, as the ship which bore him to + Constantinople parted from the shore, Heraclius gazed intently on the + receding hills, and in the bitterness of anguish exclaimed, "Farewell, + Syria, forever farewell!" + </p> + <p> + It is needless to dwell on the remaining details of the Saracen conquest: + how Tripoli and Tyre were betrayed; how Caesarea was captured; how with + the trees of Libanus and the sailors of Phoenicia a Saracen fleet was + equipped, which drove the Roman navy into the Hellespont; how Cyprus, + Rhodes, and the Cyclades, were ravaged, and the Colossus, which was + counted as one of the wonders of the world, sold to a Jew, who loaded nine + hundred camels with its brass; how the armies of the khalif advanced to + the Black Sea, and even lay in front of Constantinople—all this was + as nothing after the fall of Jerusalem. + </p> + <p> + OVERTHROW OF THE PERSIANS. The fall of Jerusalem! the loss of the + metropolis of Christianity! In the ideas of that age the two antagonistic + forms of faith had submitted themselves to the ordeal of the judgment of + God. Victory had awarded the prize of battle, Jerusalem, to the + Mohammedan; and, notwithstanding the temporary successes of the Crusaders, + after much more than a thousand years in his hands it remains to this day. + The Byzantine historians are not without excuse for the course they are + condemned for taking: "They have wholly neglected the great topic of the + ruin of the Eastern Church." And as for the Western Church, even the + debased popes of the middle ages—the ages of the Crusades—could + not see without indignation that they were compelled to rest the claims of + Rome as the metropolis of Christendom on a false legendary story of a + visit of St. Peter to that city; while the true metropolis, the grand, the + sacred place of the birth, the life, the death of Christ himself, was in + the hands of the infidels! It has not been the Byzantine historians alone + who have tried to conceal this great catastrophe. The Christian writers of + Europe on all manner of subjects, whether of history, religion, or + science, have followed a similar course against their conquering + antagonists. It has been their constant practice to hide what they could + not depreciate, and depreciate what they could not hide. + </p> + <p> + INVASION OF EGYPT. I have not space, nor indeed does it comport with the + intention of this work, to relate, in such detail as I have given to the + fall of Jerusalem, other conquests of the Saracens—conquests which + eventually established a Mohammedan empire far exceeding in geographical + extent that of Alexander, and even that of Rome. But, devoting a few words + to this subject, it may be said that Magianism received a worse blow than + that which had been inflicted on Christianity; The fate of Persia was + settled at the battle of Cadesia. At the sack of Ctesiphon, the treasury, + the royal arms, and an unlimited spoil, fell into the hands of the + Saracens. Not without reason do they call the battle of Nehavend the + "victory of victories." In one direction they advanced to the Caspian, in + the other southward along the Tigris to Persepolis. The Persian king fled + for his life over the great Salt Desert, from the columns and statues of + that city which had lain in ruins since the night of the riotous banquet + of Alexander. One division of the Arabian army forced the Persian monarch + over the Oxus. He was assassinated by the Turks. His son was driven into + China, and became a captain in the Chinese emperor's guards. The country + beyond the Oxus was reduced. It paid a tribute of two million pieces of + gold. While the emperor at Peking was demanding the friendship of the + khalif at Medina, the standard of the Prophet was displayed on the banks + of the Indus. + </p> + <p> + Among the generals who had greatly distinguished themselves in the Syrian + wars was Amrou, destined to be the conqueror of Egypt; for the khalifs, + not content with their victories on the North and East, now turned their + eyes to the West, and prepared for the annexation of Africa. As in the + former cases, so in this, sectarian treason assisted them. The Saracen + army was hailed as the deliverer of the Jacobite Church; the Monophysite + Christians of Egypt, that is, they who, in the language of the Athanasian + Creed, confounded the substance of the Son, proclaimed, through their + leader, Mokaukas, that they desired no communion with the Greeks, either + in this world or the next, that they abjured forever the Byzantine tyrant + and his synod of Chalcedon. They hastened to pay tribute to the khalif, to + repair the roads and bridges, and to supply provisions and intelligence to + the invading army. + </p> + <p> + FALL OF ALEXANDRIA. Memphis, one of the old Pharaonic capitals, soon fell, + and Alexandria was invested. The open sea behind gave opportunity to + Heraclius to reenforce the garrison continually. On his part, Omar, who + was now khalif sent to the succor of the besieging army the veteran troops + of Syria. There were many assaults and many sallies. In one Amrou himself + was taken prisoner by the besieged, but, through the dexterity of a slave, + made his escape. After a siege of fourteen months, and a loss of + twenty-three thousand men, the Saracens captured the city. In his dispatch + to the Khalif, Amrou enumerated the splendors of the great city of the + West "its four thousand palaces, four thousand baths, four hundred + theatres, twelve thousand shops for the sale of vegetable food, and forty + thousand tributary Jews." + </p> + <p> + So fell the second great city of Christendom—the fate of Jerusalem + had fallen on Alexandria, the city of Athanasius, and Arius, and Cyril; + the city that had imposed Trinitarian ideas and Mariolatry on the Church. + In his palace at Constantinople Heraclius received the fatal tidings. He + was overwhelmed with grief. It seemed as if his reign was to be disgraced + by the downfall of Christianity. He lived scarcely a month after the loss + of the town. + </p> + <p> + But if Alexandria had been essential to Constantinople in the supply of + orthodox faith, she was also essential in the supply of daily food. Egypt + was the granary of the Byzantines. For this reason two attempts were made + by powerful fleets and armies for the recovery of the place, and twice had + Amrou to renew his conquest. He saw with what facility these attacks could + be made, the place being open to the sea; he saw that there was but one + and that a fatal remedy. "By the living God, if this thing be repeated a + third time I will make Alexandria as open to anybody as is the house of a + prostitute!" He was better than his word, for he forthwith dismantled its + fortifications, and made it an untenable place. + </p> + <p> + FALL OF CARTHAGE. It was not the intention of the khalifs to limit their + conquest to Egypt. Othman contemplated the annexation of the entire + North-African coast. His general, Abdallah, set out from Memphis with + forty thousand men, passed through the desert of Barca, and besieged + Tripoli. But, the plague breaking out in his army, he was compelled to + retreat to Egypt. + </p> + <p> + All attempts were now suspended for more than twenty years. Then Akbah + forced his way from the Nile to the Atlantic Ocean. In front of the Canary + Islands he rode his horse into the sea, exclaiming: "Great God! if my + course were not stopped by this sea, I would still go on to the unknown + kingdoms of the West, preaching the unity of thy holy name, and putting to + the sword the rebellious nations who worship any other gods than thee." + </p> + <p> + These Saracen expeditions had been through the interior of the country, + for the Byzantine emperors, controlling for the time the Mediterranean, + had retained possession of the cities on the coast. The Khalif Abdalmalek + at length resolved on the reduction of Carthage, the most important of + those cities, and indeed the capital of North Africa. His general, Hassan, + carried it by escalade; but reenforcements from Constantinople, aided by + some Sicilian and Gothic troops, compelled him to retreat. The relief was, + however, only temporary. Hassan, in the course of a few months renewed his + attack. It proved successful, and he delivered Carthage to the flames. + </p> + <p> + Jerusalem, Alexandria, Carthage, three out of the five great Christian + capitals, were lost. The fall of Constantinople was only a question of + time. After its fall, Rome alone remained. + </p> + <p> + In the development of Christianity, Carthage had played no insignificant + part. It had given to Europe its Latin form of faith, and some of its + greatest theologians. It was the home of St. Augustine. + </p> + <p> + Never in the history of the world had there been so rapid and extensive a + propagation of any religion as Mohammedanism. It was now dominating from + the Altai Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, from the centre of Asia to the + western verge of Africa. + </p> + <p> + CONQUEST OF SPAIN. The Khalif Alwalid next authorized the invasion of + Europe, the conquest of Andalusia, or the Region of the Evening. Musa, his + general, found, as had so often been the case elsewhere, two effective + allies sectarianism and treason—the Archbishop of Toledo and Count + Julian the Gothic general. Under their lead, in the very crisis of the + battle of Xeres, a large portion of the army went over to the invaders; + the Spanish king was compelled to flee from the field, and in the pursuit + he was drowned in the waters of the Guadalquivir. + </p> + <p> + With great rapidity Tarik, the lieutenant of Musa, pushed forward from the + battle-field to Toledo, and thence northward. On the arrival of Musa the + reduction of the Spanish peninsula was completed, and the wreck of the + Gothic army driven beyond the Pyrenees into France. Considering the + conquest of Spain as only the first step in his victories, he announced + his intention of forcing his way into Italy, and preaching the unity of + God in the Vatican. Thence he would march to Constantinople, and, having + put all end to the Roman Empire and Christianity, would pass into Asia and + lay his victorious sword on the footstool of the khalif at Damascus. + </p> + <p> + But this was not to be. Musa, envious of his lieutenant, Tarik, had + treated him with great indignity. The friends of Tarik at the court of the + khalif found means of retaliation. An envoy from Damascus arrested Musa in + his camp; he was carried before his sovereign, disgraced by a public + whipping, and died of a broken heart. + </p> + <p> + INVASION OF FRANCE. Under other leaders, however, the Saracen conquest of + France was attempted. In a preliminary campaign the country from the mouth + of the Garonne to that of the Loire was secured. Then Abderahman, the + Saracen commander, dividing his forces into two columns, with one on the + east passed the Rhone, and laid siege to Arles. A Christian army, + attempting the relief of the place, was defeated with heavy loss. His + western column, equally successful, passed the Dordogne, defeated another + Christian army, inflicting on it such dreadful loss that, according to its + own fugitives, "God alone could number the slain." All Central France was + now overrun; the banks of the Loire were reached; the churches and + monasteries were despoiled of their treasures; and the tutelar saints, who + had worked so many miracles when there was no necessity, were found to + want the requisite power when it was so greatly needed. + </p> + <p> + The progress of the invaders was at length stopped by Charles Martel (A.D. + 732). Between Tours and Poictiers, a great battle, which lasted seven + days, was fought. Abderahman was killed, the Saracens retreated, and soon + afterward were compelled to recross the Pyrenees. + </p> + <p> + The banks of the Loire, therefore, mark the boundary of the Mohammedan + advance in Western Europe. Gibbon, in his narrative of these great events, + makes this remark: "A victorious line of march had been prolonged above a + thousand miles from the rock of Gibraltar to the banks of the Loire—a + repetition of an equal space would have carried the Saracens to the + confines of Poland and the Highlands of Scotland." + </p> + <p> + INSULT TO ROME. It is not necessary for me to add to this sketch of the + military diffusion of Mohammedanism, the operations of the Saracens on the + Mediterranean Sea, their conquest of Crete and Sicily, their insult to + Rome. It will be found, however, that their presence in Sicily and the + south of Italy exerted a marked influence on the intellectual development + of Europe. + </p> + <p> + Their insult to Rome! What could be more humiliating than the + circumstances under which it took place (A.D. 846)? An insignificant + Saracen expedition entered the Tiber and appeared before the walls of the + city. Too weak to force an entrance, it insulted and plundered the + precincts, sacrilegiously violating the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul. + Had the city itself been sacked, the moral effect could not have been + greater. From the church of St. Peter its altar of silver was torn away + and sent to Africa—St. Peter's altar, the very emblem of Roman + Christianity! + </p> + <p> + Constantinople had already been besieged by the Saracens more than once; + its fall was predestined, and only postponed. Rome had received the direst + insult, the greatest loss that could be inflicted upon it; the venerable + churches of Asia Minor had passed out of existence; no Christian could set + his foot in Jerusalem without permission; the Mosque of Omar stood on the + site of the Temple of Solomon. Among the ruins of Alexandria the Mosque of + Mercy marked the spot where a Saracen general, satiated with massacre, + had, in contemptuous compassion, spared the fugitive relics of the enemies + of Mohammed; nothing remained of Carthage but her blackened ruins. The + most powerful religious empire that the world had ever seen had suddenly + come into existence. It stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Chinese + Wall, from the shores of the Caspian to those of the Indian Ocean, and + yet, in one sense, it had not reached its culmination. The day was to come + when it was to expel the successors of the Caesars from their capital, and + hold the peninsula of Greece in subjection, to dispute with Christianity + the empire of Europe in the very centre of that continent, and in Africa + to extend its dogmas and faith across burning deserts and through + pestilential forests from the Mediterranean to regions southward far + beyond the equinoctial line. + </p> + <p> + DISSENSIONS OF THE ARABS. But, though Mohammedanism had not reached its + culmination, the dominion of the khalifs had. Not the sword of Charles + Martel, but the internal dissension of the vast Arabian Empire, was the + salvation of Europe. Though the Ommiade Khalifs were popular in Syria, + elsewhere they were looked upon as intruders or usurpers; the kindred of + the apostle was considered to be the rightful representative of his faith. + Three parties, distinguished by their colors, tore the khalifate asunder + with their disputes, and disgraced it by their atrocities. The color of + the Ommiades was white, that of the Fatimites green, that of the Abassides + black; the last represented the party of Abbas, the uncle of Mohammed. The + result of these discords was a tripartite division of the Mohammedan + Empire in the tenth century into the khalifates of Bagdad, of Cairoan, and + of Cordova. Unity in Mohammedan political action was at an end, and + Christendom found its safeguard, not in supernatural help, but in the + quarrels of the rival potentates. To internal animosities foreign + pressures were eventually added and Arabism, which had done so much for + the intellectual advancement of the world, came to an end when the Turks + and the Berbers attained to power. + </p> + <p> + The Saracens had become totally regardless of European opposition—they + were wholly taken up with their domestic quarrels. Ockley says with truth, + in his history: "The Saracens had scarce a deputy lieutenant or general + that would not have thought it the greatest affront, and such as ought to + stigmatize him with indelible disgrace, if he should have suffered himself + to have been insulted by the united forces of all Europe. And if any one + asks why the Greeks did not exert themselves more, in order to the + extirpation of these insolent invaders, it is a sufficient answer to any + person that is acquainted with the characters of those men to say that + Amrou kept his residence at Alexandria, and Moawyah at Damascus." + </p> + <p> + As to their contempt, this instance may suffice: Nicephorus, the Roman + emperor, had sent to the Khalif Haroun-al-Raschid a threatening letter, + and this was the reply: "In the name of the most merciful God, + Haroun-al-Raschid, commander of the faithful, to Nicephorus, the Roman + dog! I have read thy letter, O thou son of an unbelieving mother. Thou + shalt not hear, thou shalt behold my reply!" It was written in letters of + blood and fire on the plains of Phrygia. + </p> + <p> + POLITICAL EFFECT OF POLYGAMY. A nation may recover the confiscation of its + provinces, the confiscation of its wealth; it may survive the imposition + of enormous war-fines; but it never can recover from that most frightful + of all war-acts, the confiscation of its women. When Abou Obeidah sent to + Omar news of his capture of Antioch, Omar gently upbraided him that he had + not let the troops have the women. "If they want to marry in Syria, let + them; and let them have as many female slaves as they have occasion for." + It was the institution of polygamy, based upon the confiscation of the + women in the vanquished countries, that secured forever the Mohammedan + rule. The children of these unions gloried in their descent from their + conquering fathers. No better proof can be given of the efficacy of this + policy than that which is furnished by North Africa. The irresistible + effect of polygamy in consolidating the new order of things was very + striking. In little more than a single generation, the Khalif was informed + by his officers that the tribute must cease, for all the children born in + that region were Mohammedans, and all spoke Arabic. + </p> + <p> + MOHAMMEDANISM. Mohammedanism, as left by its founder, was an + anthropomorphic religion. Its God was only a gigantic man, its heaven a + mansion of carnal pleasures. From these imperfect ideas its more + intelligent classes very soon freed themselves, substituting for them + others more philosophical, more correct. Eventually they attained to an + accordance with those that have been pronounced in our own times by the + Vatican Council as orthodox. Thus Al-Gazzali says: "A knowledge of God + cannot be obtained by means of the knowledge a man has of himself, or of + his own soul. The attributes of God cannot be determined from the + attributes of man. His sovereignty and government can neither be compared + nor measured." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + THE RESTORATION OF SCIENCE IN THE SOUTH. + + By the influence of the Nestorians and Jews, the Arabians + are turned to the cultivation of Science.—They modify + their views as to the destiny of man, and obtain true + conceptions respecting the structure of the world.—They + ascertain the size of the earth, and determine its shape.— + Their khalifs collect great libraries, patronize every + department of science and literature, establish astronomical + observatories.—They develop the mathematical sciences, + invent algebra, and improve geometry and trigonometry.—They + collect and translate the old Greek mathematical and + astronomical works, and adopt the inductive method of + Aristotle.—They establish many colleges, and, with the aid + of the Nestorians, organize a public-school system.—They + introduce the Arabic numerals and arithmetic, and catalogue + and give names to the stars.—They lay the foundation of + modern astronomy, chemistry, and physics, and introduce + great improvements in agriculture and manufactures. +</pre> + <p> + "IN the course of my long life," said the Khalif Ali, "I have often + observed that men are more like the times they live in than they are like + their fathers." This profoundly philosophical remark of the son-in-law of + Mohammed is strictly true; for, though the personal, the bodily lineaments + of a man may indicate his parentage, the constitution of his mind, and + therefore the direction of his thoughts, is determined by the environment + in which he lives. + </p> + <p> + When Amrou, the lieutenant of the Khalif Omar, conquered Egypt, and + annexed it to the Saracenic Empire, he found in Alexandria a Greek + grammarian, John surnamed Philoponus, or the Labor-lover. Presuming on the + friendship which had arisen between them, the Greek solicited as a gift + the remnant of the great library—a remnant which war and time and + bigotry had spared. Amrou, therefore, sent to the khalif to ascertain his + pleasure. "If," replied the khalif, "the books agree with the Koran, the + Word of God, they are useless, and need not be preserved; if they disagree + with it, they are pernicious. Let them be destroyed." Accordingly, they + were distributed among the baths of Alexandria, and it is said that six + months were barely sufficient to consume them. + </p> + <p> + Although the fact has been denied, there can be little doubt that Omar + gave this order. The khalif was an illiterate man; his environment was an + environment of fanaticism and ignorance. Omar's act was an illustration of + Ali's remark. + </p> + <p> + THE ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY BURNT. But it must not be supposed that the books + which John the Labor-lover coveted were those which constituted the great + library of the Ptolemies, and that of Eumenes, King of Pergamus. Nearly a + thousand years had elapsed since Philadelphus began his collection. Julius + Caesar had burnt more than half; the Patriarchs of Alexandria had not only + permitted but superintended the dispersion of almost all the rest. Orosius + expressly states that he saw the empty cases or shelves of the library + twenty years after Theophilus, the uncle of St. Cyril, had procured from + the Emperor Theodosius a rescript for its destruction. Even had this once + noble collection never endured such acts of violence, the mere wear and + tear, and perhaps, I may add, the pilfering of a thousand years, would + have diminished it sadly. Though John, as the surname he received + indicates, might rejoice in a superfluity of occupation, we may be certain + that the care of a library of half a million books would transcend even + his well-tried powers; and the cost of preserving and supporting it, that + had demanded the ample resources of the Ptolemies and the Caesars, was + beyond the means of a grammarian. Nor is the time required for its + combustion or destruction any indication of the extent of the collection. + Of all articles of fuel, parchment is, perhaps, the most wretched. Paper + and papyrus do excellently well as kindling-materials, but we may be sure + that the bath-men of Alexandria did not resort to parchment so long as + they could find any thing else, and of parchment a very large portion of + these books was composed. + </p> + <p> + There can, then, be no more doubt that Omar did order the destruction of + this library, under an impression of its uselessness or its irreligious + tendency, than that the Crusaders burnt the library of Tripoli, fancifully + said to have consisted of three million volumes. The first apartment + entered being found to contain nothing but the Koran, all the other books + were supposed to be the works of the Arabian impostor, and were + consequently committed to the flames. In both cases the story contains + some truth and much exaggeration. Bigotry, however, has often + distinguished itself by such exploits. The Spaniards burnt in Mexico vast + piles of American picture-writings, an irretrievable loss; and Cardinal + Ximenes delivered to the flames, in the squares of Granada, eighty + thousand Arabic manuscripts, many of them translations of classical + authors. + </p> + <p> + We have seen how engineering talent, stimulated by Alexander's Persian + campaign, led to a wonderful development of pure science under the + Ptolemies; a similar effect may be noted as the result of the Saracenic + military operations. + </p> + <p> + The friendship contracted by Amrou, the conqueror of Egypt, with John the + Grammarian, indicates how much the Arabian mind was predisposed to liberal + ideas. Its step from the idolatry of the Caaba to the monotheism of + Mohammed prepared it to expatiate in the wide and pleasing fields of + literature and philosophy. There were two influences to which it was + continually exposed. They conspired in determining its path. These were—1. + That of the Nestorians in Syria; 2. That of the Jews in Egypt. + </p> + <p> + INFLUENCE OF THE NESTORIANS AND JEWS. In the last chapter I have briefly + related the persecution of Nestor and his disciples. They bore testimony + to the oneness of God, through many sufferings and martyrdoms. They + utterly repudiated an Olympus filled with gods and goddesses. "Away from + us a queen of heaven!" + </p> + <p> + Such being their special views, the Nestorians found no difficulty in + affiliating with their Saracen conquerors, by whom they were treated not + only with the highest respect, but intrusted with some of the most + important offices of the state. Mohammed, in the strongest manner, + prohibited his followers from committing any injuries against them. + Jesuiabbas, their pontiff, concluded treaties both with the Prophet and + with Omar, and subsequently the Khalif Haroun-al-Raschid placed all his + public schools under the superintendence of John Masue, a Nestorian. + </p> + <p> + To the influence of the Nestorians that of the Jews was added. When + Christianity displayed a tendency to unite itself with paganism, the + conversion of the Jews was arrested; it totally ceased when Trinitarian + ideas were introduced. The cities of Syria and Egypt were full of Jews. In + Alexandria alone, at the time of its capture by Amrou, there were forty + thousand who paid tribute. Centuries of misfortune and persecution had + served only to confirm them in their monotheism, and to strengthen that + implacable hatred of idolatry which they had cherished ever since the + Babylonian captivity. Associated with the Nestorians, they translated into + Syriac many Greek and Latin philosophical works, which were retranslated + into Arabic. While the Nestorian was occupied with the education of the + children of the great Mohammedan families, the Jew found his way into them + in the character of a physician. + </p> + <p> + FATALISM OF THE ARABIANS. Under these influences the ferocious fanaticism + of the Saracens abated, their manners were polished, their thoughts + elevated. They overran the realms of Philosophy and Science as quickly as + they had overrun the provinces of the Roman Empire. They abandoned the + fallacies of vulgar Mohammedanism, accepting in their stead scientific + truth. + </p> + <p> + In a world devoted to idolatry, the sword of the Saracen had vindicated + the majesty of God. The doctrine of fatalism, inculcated by the Koran, had + powerfully contributed to that result. "No man can anticipate or postpone + his predetermined end. Death will overtake us even in lofty towers. From + the beginning God hath settled the place in which each man shall die." In + his figurative language the Arab said: "No man can by flight escape his + fate. The Destinies ride their horses by night.... Whether asleep in bed + or in the storm of battle, the angel of death will find thee." "I am + convinced," said Ali, to whose wisdom we have already referred—"I am + convinced that the affairs of men go by divine decree, and not by our + administration." The Mussulmen are those who submissively resign + themselves to the will of God. They reconciled fate and free-will by + saying, "The outline is given us, we color the picture of life as we + will." They said that, if we would overcome the laws of Nature, we must + not resist, we must balance them against each other. + </p> + <p> + This dark doctrine prepared its devotees for the accomplishment of great + things—things such as the Saracens did accomplish. It converted + despair into resignation, and taught men to disdain hope. There was a + proverb among them that "Despair is a freeman, Hope is a slave." + </p> + <p> + But many of the incidents of war showed plainly that medicines may assuage + pain, that skill may close wounds, that those who are incontestably dying + may be snatched from the grave. The Jewish physician became a living, an + accepted protest against the fatalism of the Koran. By degrees the + sternness of predestination was mitigated, and it was admitted that in + individual life there is an effect due to free-will; that by his voluntary + acts man may within certain limits determine his own course. But, so far + as nations are concerned, since they can yield no personal accountability + to God, they are placed under the control of immutable law. + </p> + <p> + In this respect the contrast between the Christian and the Mohammedan + nations was very striking: The Christian was convinced of incessant + providential interventions; he believed that there was no such thing as + law in the government of the world. By prayers and entreaties he might + prevail with God to change the current of affairs, or, if that failed, he + might succeed with Christ, or perhaps with the Virgin Mary, or through the + intercession of the saints, or by the influence of their relics or bones. + If his own supplications were unavailing, he might obtain his desire + through the intervention of his priest, or through that of the holy men of + the Church, and especially if oblations or gifts of money were added. + Christendom believed that she could change the course of affairs by + influencing the conduct of superior beings. Islam rested in a pious + resignation to the unchangeable will of God. The prayer of the Christian + was mainly an earnest intercession for benefits hoped for, that of the + Saracen a devout expression of gratitude for the past. Both substituted + prayer for the ecstatic meditation of India. To the Christian the progress + of the world was an exhibition of disconnected impulses, of sudden + surprises. To the Mohammedan that progress presented a very different + aspect. Every corporeal motion was due to some preceding motion; every + thought to some preceding thought; every historical event was the + offspring of some preceding event; every human action was the result of + some foregone and accomplished action. In the long annals of our race, + nothing has ever been abruptly introduced. There has been an orderly, an + inevitable sequence from event to event. There is an iron chain of + destiny, of which the links are facts; each stands in its preordained + place—not one has ever been disturbed, not one has ever been + removed. Every man came into the world without his own knowledge, he is to + depart from it perhaps against his own wishes. Then let him calmly fold + his hands, and expect the issues of fate. + </p> + <p> + Coincidently with this change of opinion as to the government of + individual life, there came a change as respects the mechanical + construction of the world. According to the Koran, the earth is a square + plane, edged with vast mountains, which serve the double purpose of + balancing it in its seat, and of sustaining the dome of the sky. Our + devout admiration of the power and wisdom of God should be excited by the + spectacle of this vast crystalline brittle expanse, which has been safely + set in its position without so much as a crack or any other injury. Above + the sky, and resting on it, is heaven, built in seven stories, the + uppermost being the habitation of God, who, under the form of a gigantic + man, sits on a throne, having on either side winged bulls, like those in + the palaces of old Assyrian kings. + </p> + <p> + THEY MEASURE THE EARTH. These ideas, which indeed are not peculiar to + Mohammedanism, but are entertained by all men in a certain stage of their + intellectual development as religious revelations, were very quickly + exchanged by the more advanced Mohammedans for others scientifically + correct. Yet, as has been the case in Christian countries, the advance was + not made without resistance on the part of the defenders of revealed + truth. Thus when Al-Mamun, having become acquainted with the globular form + of the earth, gave orders to his mathematicians and astronomers to measure + a degree of a great circle upon it, Takyuddin, one of the most celebrated + doctors of divinity of that time, denounced the wicked khalif, declaring + that God would assuredly punish him for presumptuously interrupting the + devotions of the faithful by encouraging and diffusing a false and + atheistical philosophy among them. Al-Mamun, however, persisted. On the + shores of the Red Sea, in the plains of Shinar, by the aid of an + astrolabe, the elevation of the pole above the horizon was determined at + two stations on the same meridian, exactly one degree apart. The distance + between the two stations was then measured, and found to be two hundred + thousand Hashemite cubits; this gave for the entire circumference of the + earth about twenty-four thousand of our miles, a determination not far + from the truth. But, since the spherical form could not be positively + asserted from one such measurement, the khalif caused another to be made + near Cufa in Mesopotamia. His astronomers divided themselves into two + parties, and, starting from a given point, each party measured an arc of + one degree, the one northward, the other southward. Their result is given + in cubits. If the cubit employed was that known as the royal cubit, the + length of a degree was ascertained within one-third of a mile of its true + value. From these measures the khalif concluded that the globular form was + established. + </p> + <p> + THEIR PASSION FOR SCIENCE. It is remarkable how quickly the ferocious + fanaticism of the Saracens was transformed into a passion for intellectual + pursuits. At first the Koran was an obstacle to literature and science. + Mohammed had extolled it as the grandest of all compositions, and had + adduced its unapproachable excellence as a proof of his divine mission. + But, in little more than twenty years after his death, the experience that + had been acquired in Syria, Persia, Asia Minor, Egypt, had produced a + striking effect, and Ali the khalif reigning at that time, avowedly + encouraged all kinds of literary pursuits. Moawyah, the founder of the + Ommiade dynasty, who followed in 661, revolutionized the government. It + had been elective, he made it hereditary. He removed its seat from Medina + to a more central position at Damascus, and entered on a career of luxury + and magnificence. He broke the bonds of a stern fanaticism, and put + himself forth as a cultivator and patron of letters. Thirty years had + wrought a wonderful change. A Persian satrap who had occasion to pay + homage to Omar, the second khalif, found him asleep among the beggars on + the steps of the Mosque of Medina; but foreign envoys who had occasion to + seek Moawyah, the sixth khalif, were presented to him in a magnificent + palace, decorated with exquisite arabesques, and adorned with + flower-gardens and fountains. + </p> + <p> + THEIR LITERATURE. In less than a century after the death of Mohammed, + translations of the chief Greek philosophical authors had been made into + Arabic; poems such as the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey," being considered to + have an irreligious tendency from their mythological allusions, were + rendered into Syriac, to gratify the curiosity of the learned. Almansor, + during his khalifate (A.D. 753-775), transferred the seat of government to + Bagdad, which he converted into a splendid metropolis; he gave much of his + time to the study and promotion of astronomy, and established schools of + medicine and law. His grandson, Haroun-al-Raschid (A.D. 786), followed his + example, and ordered that to every mosque in his dominions a school should + be attached. But the Augustan age of Asiatic learning was during the + khalifate of Al-Mamun (A.D. 813-832). He made Bagdad the centre of + science, collected great libraries, and surrounded himself with learned + men. + </p> + <p> + The elevated taste thus cultivated continued after the division of the + Saracen Empire by internal dissensions into three parts. The Abasside + dynasty in Asia, the Fatimite in Egypt, and the Ommiade in Spain, became + rivals not merely in politics, but also in letters and science. + </p> + <p> + THEY ORIGINATE CHEMISTRY. In letters the Saracens embraced every topic + that can amuse or edify the mind. In later times, it was their boast that + they had produced more poets than all other nations combined. In science + their great merit consists in this, that they cultivated it after the + manner of the Alexandrian Greeks, not after the manner of the European + Greeks. They perceived that it can never be advanced by mere speculation; + its only sure progress is by the practical interrogation of Nature. The + essential characteristics of their method are experiment and observation. + Geometry and the mathematical sciences they looked upon as instruments of + reasoning. In their numerous writings on mechanics, hydrostatics, optics, + it is interesting to remark that the solution of a problem is always + obtained by performing an experiment, or by an instrumental observation. + It was this that made them the originators of chemistry, that led them to + the invention of all kinds of apparatus for distillation, sublimation, + fusion, filtration, etc.; that in astronomy caused them to appeal to + divided instruments, as quadrants and astrolabes; in chemistry, to employ + the balance, the theory of which they were perfectly familiar with; to + construct tables of specific gravities and astronomical tables, as those + of Bagdad, Spain, Samarcand; that produced their great improvements in + geometry, trigonometry, the invention of algebra, and the adoption of the + Indian numeration in arithmetic. Such were the results of their preference + of the inductive method of Aristotle, their declining the reveries of + Plato. + </p> + <p> + THEIR GREAT LIBRARIES. For the establishment and extension of the public + libraries, books were sedulously collected. Thus the khalif Al-Mamun is + reported to have brought into Bagdad hundreds of camel-loads of + manuscripts. In a treaty he made with the Greek emperor, Michael III., he + stipulated that one of the Constantinople libraries should be given up to + him. Among the treasures he thus acquired was the treatise of Ptolemy on + the mathematical construction of the heavens. He had it forthwith + translated into Arabic, under the title of "Al-magest." The collections + thus acquired sometimes became very large; thus the Fatimite Library at + Cairo contained one hundred thousand volumes, elegantly transcribed and + bound. Among these, there were six thousand five hundred manuscripts on + astronomy and medicine alone. The rules of this library permitted the + lending out of books to students resident at Cairo. It also contained two + globes, one of massive silver and one of brass; the latter was said to + have been constructed by Ptolemy, the former cost three thousand golden + crowns. The great library of the Spanish khalifs eventually numbered six + hundred thousand volumes; its catalogue alone occupied forty-four. Besides + this, there were seventy public libraries in Andalusia. The collections in + the possession of individuals were sometimes very extensive. A private + doctor refused the invitation of a Sultan of Bokhara because the carriage + of his books would have required four hundred camels. + </p> + <p> + There was in every great library a department for the copying or + manufacture of translations. Such manufactures were also often an affair + of private enterprise. Honian, a Nestorian physician, had an establishment + of the kind at Bagdad (A.D. 850). He issued versions of Aristotle, Plato, + Hippocrates, Galen, etc. As to original works, it was the custom of the + authorities of colleges to require their professors to prepare treatises + on prescribed topics. Every khalif had his own historian. Books of + romances and tales, such as "The Thousand and One Arabian Nights' + Entertainments," bear testimony to the creative fancy of the Saracens. + Besides these, there were works on all kinds of subjects—history, + jurisprudence, politics, philosophy, biographies not only of illustrious + men, but also of celebrated horses and camels. These were issued without + any censorship or restraint, though, in later times, works on theology + required a license for publication. Books of reference abounded, + geographical, statistical, medical, historical dictionaries, and even + abridgments or condensations of them, as the "Encyclopedic Dictionary of + all the Sciences," by Mohammed Abu Abdallah. Much pride was taken in the + purity and whiteness of the paper, in the skillful intermixture of + variously-colored inks, and in the illumination of titles by gilding and + other adornments. + </p> + <p> + The Saracen Empire was dotted all over with colleges. They were + established in Mongolia, Tartary, Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, North + Africa, Morocco, Fez, Spain. At one extremity of this vast region, which + far exceeded the Roman Empire in geographical extent, were the college and + astronomical observatory of Samarcand, at the other the Giralda in Spain. + Gibbon, referring to this patronage of learning, says: "The same royal + prerogative was claimed by the independent emirs of the provinces, and + their emulation diffused the taste and the rewards of science from + Samarcand and Bokhara to Fez and Cordova. The vizier of a sultan + consecrated a sum of two hundred thousand pieces of gold to the foundation + of a college at Bagdad, which he endowed with an annual revenue of fifteen + thousand dinars. The fruits of instruction were communicated, perhaps, at + different times, to six thousand disciples of every degree, from the son + of the noble to that of the mechanic; a sufficient allowance was provided + for the indigent scholars, and the merit or industry of the professors was + repaid with adequate stipends. In every city the productions of Arabic + literature were copied and collected, by the curiosity of the studious and + the vanity of the rich." The superintendence of these schools was + committed with noble liberality sometimes to Nestorians, sometimes to + Jews. It mattered not in what country a man was born, nor what were his + religious opinions; his attainment in learning was the only thing to be + considered. The great Khalif Al-Mamun had declared that "they are the + elect of God, his best and most useful servants, whose lives are devoted + to the improvement of their rational faculties; that the teachers of + wisdom are the true luminaries and legislators of this world, which, + without their aid, would again sink into ignorance and barbarism." + </p> + <p> + After the example of the medical college of Cairo, other medical colleges + required their students to pass a rigid examination. The candidate then + received authority to enter on the practice of his profession. The first + medical college established in Europe was that founded by the Saracens at + Salerno, in Italy. The first astronomical observatory was that erected by + them at Seville, in Spain. + </p> + <p> + THE ARABIAN SCIENTIFIC MOVEMENT. It would far transcend the limits of this + book to give an adequate statement of the results of this imposing + scientific movement. The ancient sciences were greatly extended—new + ones were brought into existence. The Indian method of arithmetic was + introduced, a beautiful invention, which expresses all numbers by ten + characters, giving them an absolute value, and a value by position, and + furnishing simple rules for the easy performance of all kinds of + calculations. Algebra, or universal arithmetic—the method of + calculating indeterminate quantities, or investigating the relations that + subsist among quantities of all kinds, whether arithmetical or geometrical—was + developed from the germ that Diophantus had left. Mohammed Ben Musa + furnished the solution of quadratic equations, Omar Ben Ibra him that of + cubic equations. The Saracens also gave to trigonometry its modern form, + substituting sines for chords, which had been previously used; they + elevated it into a separate science. Musa, above mentioned, was the author + of a "Treatise on Spherical Trigonometry." Al-Baghadadi left one on + land-surveying, so excellent, that by some it has been declared to be a + copy of Euclid's lost work on that subject. + </p> + <p> + ARABIAN ASTRONOMY. In astronomy, they not only made catalogues, but maps + of the stars visible in their skies, giving to those of the larger + magnitudes the Arabic names they still bear on our celestial globes. They + ascertained, as we have seen, the size of the earth by the measurement of + a degree on her surface, determined the obliquity of the ecliptic, + published corrected tables of the sun and moon fixed the length of the + year, verified the precession of the equinoxes. The treatise of + Albategnius on "The Science of the Stars" is spoken of by Laplace with + respect; he also draws attention to an important fragment of Ibn-Junis, + the astronomer of Hakem, the Khalif of Egypt, A.D. 1000, as containing a + long series of observations from the time of Almansor, of eclipses, + equinoxes, solstices, conjunctions of planets, occultations of stars—observations + which have cast much light on the great variations of the system of the + world. The Arabian astronomers also devoted themselves to the construction + and perfection of astronomical instruments, to the measurement of time by + clocks of various kinds, by clepsydras and sun-dials. They were the first + to introduce, for this purpose, the use of the pendulum. + </p> + <p> + In the experimental sciences, they originated chemistry; they discovered + some of its most important reagents—sulphuric acid, nitric acid, + alcohol. They applied that science in the practice of medicine, being the + first to publish pharmacopoeias or dispensatories, and to include in them + mineral preparations. In mechanics, they had determined the laws of + falling bodies, had ideas, by no means indistinct, of the nature of + gravity; they were familiar with the theory of the mechanical powers. In + hydrostatics they constructed the first tables of the specific gravities + of bodies, and wrote treatises on the flotation and sinking of bodies in + water. In optics, they corrected the Greek misconception, that a ray + proceeds from the eye, and touches the object seen, introducing the + hypothesis that the ray passes from the object to the eye. They understood + the phenomena of the reflection and refraction of light. Alhazen made the + great discovery of the curvilinear path of a ray of light through the + atmosphere, and proved that we see the sun and moon before they have + risen, and after they have set. + </p> + <p> + AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURE. The effects of this scientific activity are + plainly perceived in the great improvements that took place in many of the + industrial arts. Agriculture shows it in better methods of irrigation, the + skillful employment of manures, the raising of improved breeds of cattle, + the enactment of wise codes of rural laws, the introduction of the culture + of rice, and that of sugar and coffee. The manufactures show it in the + great extension of the industries of silk, cotton, wool; in the + fabrication of cordova and morocco leather, and paper; in mining, casting, + and various metallurgic operations; in the making of Toledo blades. + </p> + <p> + Passionate lovers of poetry and music, they dedicated much of their + leisure time to those elegant pursuits. They taught Europe the game of + chess; they gave it its taste for works of fiction—romances and + novels. In the graver domains of literature they took delight: they had + many admirable compositions on such subjects as the instability of human + greatness; the consequences of irreligion; the reverses of fortune; the + origin, duration, and end of the world. Sometimes, not without surprise, + we meet with ideas which we flatter ourselves have originated in our own + times. Thus our modern doctrines of evolution and development were taught + in their schools. In fact, they carried them much farther than we are + disposed to do, extending them even to inorganic or mineral things. The + fundamental principle of alchemy was the natural process of development of + metalline bodies. "When common people," says Al-Khazini, writing in the + twelfth century, "hear from natural philosophers that gold is a body which + has attained to perfection of maturity, to the goal of completeness, they + firmly believe that it is something which has gradually come to that + perfection by passing through the forms of all other metallic bodies, so + that its gold nature was originally lead, afterward it became tin, then + brass, then silver, and finally reached the development of gold; not + knowing that the natural philosophers mean, in saying this, only something + like what they mean when they speak of man, and attribute to him a + completeness and equilibrium in nature and constitution—not that man + was once a bull, and was changed into an ass, and afterward into a horse, + and after that into an ape, and finally became a man." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + CONFLICT RESPECTING THE NATURE OF THE SOUL.—DOCTRINE OF + EMANATION AND ABSORPTION. + + European ideas respecting the soul.—It resembles the form + of the body. + + Philosophical views of the Orientals.—The Vedic theology + and Buddhism assert the doctrine of emanation and + absorption.—It is advocated by Aristotle, who is followed + by the Alexandrian school, and subsequently by the Jews and + Arabians.—It is found in the writings of Erigena. + + Connection of this doctrine with the theory of conservation + and correlation of force.—Parallel between the origin and + destiny of the body and the soul.—The necessity of founding + human on comparative psychology. + + Averroism, which is based on these facts, is brought into + Christendom through Spain and Sicily. + + History of the repression of Averroism.—Revolt of Islam + against it.—Antagonism of the Jewish synagogues.—Its + destruction undertaken by the papacy.—Institution of the + Inquisition in Spain.—Frightful persecutions and their + results.—Expulsion of the Jews and Moors.—Overthrow of + Averroism in Europe.—Decisive action of the late Vatican + Council. +</pre> + <p> + THE pagan Greeks and Romans believed that the spirit of man resembles his + bodily form, varying its appearance with his variations, and growing with + his growth. Heroes, to whom it had been permitted to descend into Hades, + had therefore without difficulty recognized their former friends. Not only + had the corporeal aspect been retained, but even the customary raiment. + </p> + <p> + THE SOUL. The primitive Christians, whose conceptions of a future life and + of heaven and hell, the abodes of the blessed and the sinful, were far + more vivid than those of their pagan predecessors, accepted and + intensified these ancient ideas. They did not doubt that in the world to + come they should meet their friends, and hold converse with them, as they + had done here upon earth—an expectation that gives consolation to + the human heart, reconciling it to the most sorrowful bereavements, and + restoring to it its dead. + </p> + <p> + In the uncertainty as to what becomes of the soul in the interval between + its separation from the body and the judgment-day, many different opinions + were held. Some thought that it hovered over the grave, some that it + wandered disconsolate through the air. In the popular belief, St. Peter + sat as a door-keeper at the gate of heaven. To him it had been given to + bind or to loose. He admitted or excluded the Spirits of men at his + pleasure. Many persons, however, were disposed to deny him this power, + since his decisions would be anticipatory of the judgment-day, which would + thus be rendered needless. After the time of Gregory the Great, the + doctrine of purgatory met with general acceptance. A resting-place was + provided for departed spirits. + </p> + <p> + That the spirits of the dead occasionally revisit the living, or haunt + their former abodes, has been in all ages, in all European countries, a + fixed belief, not confined to rustics, but participated in by the + intelligent. A pleasing terror gathers round the winter's-evening fireside + at the stories of apparitions, goblins, ghosts. In the old times the + Romans had their lares, or spirits of those who had led virtuous lives; + their larvae or lemures, the spirits of the wicked; their manes, the + spirits of those of whom the merits were doubtful. If human testimony on + such subjects can be of any value, there is a body of evidence reaching + from the remotest ages to the present time, as extensive and unimpeachable + as is to be found in support of any thing whatever, that these shades of + the dead congregate near tombstones, or take up their secret abode in the + gloomy chambers of dilapidated castles, or walk by moonlight in moody + solitude. + </p> + <p> + ASIATIC PSYCHOLOGICAL VIEWS. While these opinions have universally found + popular acceptance in Europe, others of a very different nature have + prevailed extensively in Asia, and indeed very generally in the higher + regions of thought. Ecclesiastical authority succeeded in repressing them + in the sixteenth century, but they never altogether disappeared. In our + own times so silently and extensively have they been diffused in Europe, + that it was found expedient in the papal Syllabus to draw them in a very + conspicuous manner into the open light; and the Vatican Council, agreeing + in that view of their obnoxious tendency and secret spread, has in an + equally prominent and signal manner among its first canons anathematized + all persons who hold them. "Let him be anathema who says that spiritual + things are emanations of the divine substance, or that the divine essence + by manifestation or development becomes all things." In view of this + authoritative action, it is necessary now to consider the character and + history of these opinions. + </p> + <p> + Ideas respecting the nature of God necessarily influence ideas respecting + the nature of the soul. The eastern Asiatics had adopted the conception of + an impersonal God, and, as regards the soul, its necessary consequence, + the doctrine of emanation and absorption. + </p> + <p> + EMANATION AND ABSORPTION. Thus the Vedic theology is based on the + acknowledgment of a universal spirit pervading all things. "There is in + truth but one Deity, the supreme Spirit; he is of the same nature as the + soul of man." Both the Vedas and the Institutes of Menu affirm that the + soul is an emanation of the all-pervading Intellect, and that it is + necessarily destined to be reabsorbed. They consider it to be without + form, and that visible Nature, with all its beauties and harmonies, is + only the shadow of God. + </p> + <p> + Vedaism developed itself into Buddhism, which has become the faith of a + majority of the human race. This system acknowledges that there is a + supreme Power, but denies that there is a supreme Being. It contemplates + the existence of Force, giving rise as its manifestation to matter. It + adopts the theory of emanation and absorption. In a burning taper it sees + an effigy of man—an embodiment of matter, and an evolution of force. + If we interrogate it respecting the destiny of the soul, it demands of us + what has become of the flame when it is blown out, and in what condition + it was before the taper was lighted. Was it a nonentity? Has it been + annihilated? It admits that the idea of personality which has deluded us + through life may not be instantaneously extinguished at death, but may be + lost by slow degrees. On this is founded the doctrine of transmigration. + But at length reunion with the universal Intellect takes place, Nirwana is + reached, oblivion is attained, a state that has no relation to matter, + space, or time, the state into which the departed flame of the + extinguished taper has gone, the state in which we were before we were + born. This is the end that we ought to hope for; it is reabsorption in the + universal Force—supreme bliss, eternal rest. + </p> + <p> + Through Aristotle these doctrines were first introduced into Eastern + Europe; indeed, eventually, as we shall see, he was regarded as the author + of them. They exerted a dominating influence in the later period of the + Alexandrian school. Philo, the Jew, who lived in the time of Caligula, + based his philosophy on the theory of emanation. Plotinus not only + accepted that theory as applicable to the soul of man, but as affording an + illustration of the nature of the Trinity. For, as a beam of light + emanates from the sun, and as warmth emanates from the beam when it + touches material bodies, so from the Father the Son emanates, and thence + the Holy Ghost. From these views Plotinus derived a practical religious + system, teaching the devout how to pass into a condition of ecstasy, a + foretaste of absorption into the universal mundane soul. In that condition + the soul loses its individual consciousness. In like manner Porphyry + sought absorption in or union with God. He was a Tyrian by birth, + established a school at Rome, and wrote against Christianity; his treatise + on that subject was answered by Eusebius and St. Jerome, but the Emperor + Theodosius silenced it more effectually by causing all the copies to be + burnt. Porphyry bewails his own unworthiness, saying that he had been + united to God in ecstasy but once in eighty-six years, whereas his master + Plotinus had been so united six times in sixty years. A complete system of + theology, based on the theory of emanation, was constructed by Proclus, + who speculated on the manner in which absorption takes place: whether the + soul is instantly reabsorbed and reunited in the moment of death, or + whether it retains the sentiment of personality for a time, and subsides + into complete reunion by successive steps. + </p> + <p> + ARABIC PSYCHOLOGY. From the Alexandrian Greeks these ideas passed to the + Saracen philosophers, who very soon after the capture of the great + Egyptian city abandoned to the lower orders their anthropomorphic notions + of the nature of God and the simulachral form of the spirit of man. As + Arabism developed itself into a distinct scientific system, the theories + of emanation and absorption were among its characteristic features. In + this abandonment of vulgar Mohammedanism, the example of the Jews greatly + assisted. They, too, had given up the anthropomorphism of their ancestors; + they had exchanged the God who of old lived behind the veil of the temple + for an infinite Intelligence pervading the universe, and, avowing their + inability to conceive that any thing which had on a sudden been called + into existence should be capable of immortality, they affirmed that the + soul of man is connected with a past of which there was no beginning, and + with a future to which there is no end. + </p> + <p> + In the intellectual history of Arabism the Jew and the Saracen are + continually seen together. It was the same in their political history, + whether we consider it in Syria, in Egypt, or in Spain. From them + conjointly Western Europe derived its philosophical ideas, which in the + course of time culminated in Averroism; Averroism is philosophical + Islamism. Europeans generally regarded Averroes as the author of these + heresies, and the orthodox branded him accordingly, but he was nothing + more than their collector and commentator. His works invaded Christendom + by two routes: from Spain through Southern France they reached Upper + Italy, engendering numerous heresies on their way; from Sicily they passed + to Naples and South Italy, under the auspices of Frederick II. + </p> + <p> + But, long before Europe suffered this great intellectual invasion, there + were what might, perhaps, be termed sporadic instances of Orientalism. As + an example I may quote the views of John Erigena (A.D. 800) He had adopted + and taught the philosophy of Aristotle had made a pilgrimage to the + birthplace of that philosopher, and indulged a hope of uniting philosophy + and religion in the manner proposed by the Christian ecclesiastics who + were then studying in the Mohammedan universities of Spain. He was a + native of Britain. + </p> + <p> + In a letter to Charles the Bald, Anastasius expresses his astonishment + "how such a barbarian man, coming from the very ends of the earth, and + remote from human conversation, could comprehend things so clearly, and + transfer them into another language so well." The general intention of his + writings was, as we have said, to unite philosophy with religion, but his + treatment of these subjects brought him under ecclesiastical censure, and + some of his works were adjudged to the flames. His most important book is + entitled "De Divisione Nature." + </p> + <p> + Erigena's philosophy rests upon the observed and admitted fact that every + living thing comes from something that had previously lived. The visible + world, being a world of life, has therefore emanated necessarily from some + primordial existence, and that existence is God, who is thus the + originator and conservator of all. Whatever we see maintains itself as a + visible thing through force derived from him, and, were that force + withdrawn, it must necessarily disappear. Erigena thus conceives of the + Deity as an unceasing participator in Nature, being its preserver, + maintainer, upholder, and in that respect answering to the soul of the + world of the Greeks. The particular life of individuals is therefore a + part of general existence, that is, of the mundane soul. + </p> + <p> + If ever there were a withdrawal of the maintaining power, all things must + return to the source from which they issued—that is, they must + return to God, and be absorbed in him. All visible Nature must thus pass + back into "the Intellect" at last. "The death of the flesh is the auspices + of the restitution of things, and of a return to their ancient + conservation. So sounds revert back to the air in which they were born, + and by which they were maintained, and they are heard no more; no man + knows what has become of them. In that final absorption which, after a + lapse of time, must necessarily come, God will be all in all, and nothing + exist but him alone." "I contemplate him as the beginning and cause of all + things; all things that are and those that have been, but now are not, + were created from him, and by him, and in him. I also view him as the end + and intransgressible term of all things.... There is a fourfold conception + of universal Nature—two views of divine Nature, as origin and end; + two also of framed Nature, causes and effects. There is nothing eternal + but God." + </p> + <p> + The return of the soul to the universal Intellect is designated by Erigena + as Theosis, or Deification. In that final absorption all remembrance of + its past experiences is lost. The soul reverts to the condition in which + it was before it animated the body. Necessarily, therefore, Erigena fell + under the displeasure of the Church. + </p> + <p> + It was in India that men first recognized the fact that force is + indestructible and eternal. This implies ideas more or less distinct of + that which we now term its "correlation and conservation." Considerations + connected with the stability of the universe give strength to this view, + since it is clear that, were there either an increase or a diminution, the + order of the world must cease. The definite and invariable amount of + energy in the universe must therefore be accepted as a scientific fact. + The changes we witness are in its distribution. + </p> + <p> + But, since the soul must be regarded as an active principle, to call a new + one into existence out of nothing is necessarily to add to the force + previously in the world. And, if this has been done in the case of every + individual who has been born, and is to be repeated for every individual + hereafter, the totality of force must be continually increasing. + </p> + <p> + Moreover, to many devout persons there is something very revolting in the + suggestion that the Almighty is a servitor to the caprices and lusts of + man, and that, at a certain term after its origin, it is necessary for him + to create for the embryo a soul. + </p> + <p> + Considering man as composed of two portions, a soul and a body, the + obvious relations of the latter may cast much light on the mysterious, the + obscure relations of the former. Now, the substance of which the body + consists is obtained from the general mass of matter around us, and after + death to that general mass it is restored. Has Nature, then, displayed + before our eyes in the origin, mutations, and destiny of the material + part, the body, a revelation that may guide us to a knowledge of the + origin and destiny of the companion, the spiritual part, the soul? + </p> + <p> + Let us listen for a moment to one of the most powerful of Mohammedan + writers: + </p> + <p> + "God has created the spirit of man out of a drop of his own light; its + destiny is to return to him. Do not deceive yourself with the vain + imagination that it will die when the body dies. The form you had on your + entrance into this world, and your present form, are not the same; hence + there is no necessity of your perishing, on account of the perishing of + your body. Your spirit came into this world a stranger, it is only + sojourning, in a temporary home. From the trials and tempests of this + troublesome life, our refuge is in God. In reunion with him we shall find + eternal rest—a rest without sorrow, a joy without pain, a strength + without infirmity, a knowledge without doubt, a tranquil and yet an + ecstatic vision of the source of life and light and glory, the source from + which we came." So says the Saracen philosopher, Al-Gazzali (A.D. 1010). + </p> + <p> + In a stone the material particles are in a state of stable equilibrium; it + may, therefore, endure forever. An animal is in reality only a form + through which a stream of matter is incessantly flowing. It receives its + supplies, and dismisses its wastes. In this it resembles a cataract, a + river, a flame. The particles that compose it at one instant have departed + from it the next. It depends for its continuance on exterior supplies. It + has a definite duration in time, and an inevitable moment comes in which + it must die. + </p> + <p> + In the great problem of psychology we cannot expect to reach a scientific + result, if we persist in restricting ourselves to the contemplation of one + fact. We must avail ourselves of all accessible facts. Human psychology + can never be completely resolved except through comparative psychology. + With Descartes, we must inquire whether the souls of animals be relations + of the human soul, less perfect members in the same series of development. + We must take account of what we discover in the intelligent principle of + the ant, as well as what we discern in the intelligent principle of man. + Where would human physiology be, if it were not illuminated by the bright + irradiations of comparative physiology? + </p> + <p> + Brodie, after an exhaustive consideration of the facts, affirms that the + mind of animals is essentially the same as that of man. Every one familiar + with the dog will admit that that creature knows right from wrong, and is + conscious when he has committed a fault. Many domestic animals have + reasoning powers, and employ proper means for the attainment of ends. How + numerous are the anecdotes related of the intentional actions of the + elephant and the ape! Nor is this apparent intelligence due to imitation, + to their association with man, for wild animals that have no such relation + exhibit similar properties. In different species, the capacity and + character greatly vary. Thus the dog is not only more intelligent, but has + social and moral qualities that the cat does not possess; the former loves + his master, the latter her home. + </p> + <p> + Du Bois-Reymond makes this striking remark: "With awe and wonder must the + student of Nature regard that microscopic molecule of nervous substance + which is the seat of the laborious, constructive, orderly, loyal, + dauntless soul of the ant. It has developed itself to its present state + through a countless series of generations." What an impressive inference + we may draw from the statement of Huber, who has written so well on this + subject: "If you will watch a single ant at work, you can tell what he + will next do!" He is considering the matter, and reasoning as you are + doing. Listen to one of the many anecdotes which Huber, at once truthful + and artless, relates: "On the visit of an overseer ant to the works, when + the laborers had begun the roof too soon, he examined it and had it taken + down, the wall raised to the proper height, and a new ceiling constructed + with the fragments of the old one." Surely these insects are not automata, + they show intention. They recognize their old companions, who have been + shut up from them for many months, and exhibit sentiments of joy at their + return. Their antennal language is capable of manifold expression; it + suits the interior of the nest, where all is dark. + </p> + <p> + While solitary insects do not live to raise their young, social insects + have a longer term, they exhibit moral affections and educate their + offspring. Patterns of patience and industry, some of these insignificant + creatures will work sixteen or eighteen hours a day. Few men are capable + of sustained mental application more than four or five hours. + </p> + <p> + Similarity of effects indicates similarity of causes; similarity of + actions demands similarity of organs. I would ask the reader of these + paragraphs, who is familiar with the habits of animals, and especially + with the social relations of that wonderful insect to which reference has + been made, to turn to the nineteenth chapter of my work on the + "Intellectual Development of Europe," in which he will find a description + of the social system of the Incas of Peru. Perhaps, then, in view of the + similarity of the social institutions and personal conduct of the insect, + and the social institutions and personal conduct of the civilized Indian—the + one an insignificant speck, the other a man—he will not be disposed + to disagree with me in the opinion that "from bees, and wasps, and ants, + and birds, from all that low animal life on which he looks with + supercilious contempt, man is destined one day to learn what in truth he + really is." + </p> + <p> + The views of Descartes, who regarded all insects as automata, can scarcely + be accepted without modification. Insects are automata only so far as the + action of their ventral cord, and that portion of their cephalic ganglia + which deals with contemporaneous impressions, is concerned. + </p> + <p> + It is one of the functions of vesicular-nervous material to retain traces + or relics of impressions brought to it by the organs of sense; hence, + nervous ganglia, being composed of that material, may be considered as + registering apparatus. They also introduce the element of time into the + action of the nervous mechanism. An impression, which without them might + have forthwith ended in reflex action, is delayed, and with this duration + come all those important effects arising through the interaction of many + impressions, old and new, upon each other. + </p> + <p> + There is no such thing as a spontaneous, or self-originated, thought. + Every intellectual act is the consequence of some preceding act. It comes + into existence in virtue of something that has gone before. Two minds + constituted precisely alike, and placed under the influence of precisely + the same environment, must give rise to precisely the same thought. To + such sameness of action we allude in the popular expression "common-sense"—a + term full of meaning. In the origination of a thought there are two + distinct conditions: the state of the organism as dependent on antecedent + impressions, and on the existing physical circumstances. + </p> + <p> + In the cephalic ganglia of insects are stored up the relics of impressions + that have been made upon the common peripheral nerves, and in them are + kept those which are brought in by the organs of special sense—the + visual, olfactive, auditory. The interaction of these raises insects above + mere mechanical automata, in which the reaction instantly follows the + impression. + </p> + <p> + In all cases the action of every nerve-centre, no matter what its stage of + development may be, high or low, depends upon an essential chemical + condition—oxidation. Even in man, if the supply of arterial blood be + stopped but for a moment, the nerve-mechanism loses its power; if + diminished, it correspondingly declines; if, on the contrary, it be + increased—as when nitrogen monoxide is breathed—there is more + energetic action. Hence there arises a need of repair, a necessity for + rest and sleep. + </p> + <p> + Two fundamental ideas are essentially attached to all our perceptions of + external things: they are SPACE and TIME, and for these provision is made + in the nervous mechanism while it is yet in an almost rudimentary state. + The eye is the organ of space, the ear of time; the perceptions of which + by the elaborate mechanism of these structures become infinitely more + precise than would be possible if the sense of touch alone were resorted + to. + </p> + <p> + There are some simple experiments which illustrate the vestiges of + ganglionic impressions. If on a cold, polished metal, as a new razor, any + object, such as a wafer, be laid, and the metal be then breathed upon, + and, when the moisture has had time to disappear, the wafer be thrown off, + though now the most critical inspection of the polished surface can + discover no trace of any form, if we breathe once more upon it, a spectral + image of the wafer comes plainly into view; and this may be done again and + again. Nay, more, if the polished metal be carefully put aside where + nothing can deteriorate its surface, and be so kept for many months, on + breathing again upon it the shadowy form emerges. + </p> + <p> + Such an illustration shows how trivial an impression may be thus + registered and preserved. But, if, on such an inorganic surface, an + impression may thus be indelibly marked, how much more likely in the + purposely-constructed ganglion! A shadow never falls upon a wall without + leaving thereupon a permanent trace, a trace which might be made visible + by resorting to proper processes. Photographic operations are cases in + point. The portraits of our friends, or landscape views, may be hidden on + the sensitive surface from the eye, but they are ready to make their + appearance as soon as proper developers are resorted to. A spectre is + concealed on a silver or glassy surface until, by our necromancy, we make + it come forth into the visible world. Upon the walls of our most private + apartments, where we think the eye of intrusion is altogether shut out and + our retirement can never be profaned, there exist the vestiges of all our + acts, silhouettes of whatever we have done. + </p> + <p> + If, after the eyelids have been closed for some time, as when we first + awake in the morning, we suddenly and steadfastly gaze at a + brightly-illuminated object and then quickly close the lids again, a + phantom image is perceived in the indefinite darkness beyond us. We may + satisfy ourselves that this is not a fiction, but a reality, for many + details that we had not time to identify in the momentary glance may be + contemplated at our leisure in the phantom. We may thus make out the + pattern of such an object as a lace curtain hanging in the window, or the + branches of a tree beyond. By degrees the image becomes less and less + distinct; in a minute or two it has disappeared. It seems to have a + tendency to float away in the vacancy before us. If we attempt to follow + it by moving the eyeball, it suddenly vanishes. + </p> + <p> + Such a duration of impressions on the retina proves that the effect of + external influences on nerve-vesicles is not necessarily transitory. In + this there is a correspondence to the duration, the emergence, the + extinction, of impressions on photographic preparations. Thus, I have seen + landscapes and architectural views taken in Mexico developed, as artists + say, months subsequently in New York—the images coming out, after + the long voyage, in all their proper forms and in all their proper + contrast of light and shade. The photograph had forgotten nothing. It had + equally preserved the contour of the everlasting mountains and the passing + smoke of a bandit-fire. + </p> + <p> + Are there, then, contained in the brain more permanently, as in the retina + more transiently, the vestiges of impressions that have been gathered by + the sensory organs? Is this the explanation of memory—the Mind + contemplating such pictures of past things and events as have been + committed to her custody. In her silent galleries are there hung + micrographs of the living and the dead, of scenes that we have visited, of + incidents in which we have borne a part? Are these abiding impressions + mere signal-marks, like the letters of a book, which impart ideas to the + mind? or are they actual picture-images, inconceivably smaller than those + made for us by artists, in which, by the aid of a microscope, we can see, + in a space not bigger than a pinhole, a whole family group at a glance? + </p> + <p> + The phantom images of the retina are not perceptible in the light of the + day. Those that exist in the sensorium in like manner do not attract our + attention so long as the sensory organs are in vigorous operation, and + occupied in bringing new impressions in. But, when those organs become + weary or dull, or when we experience hours of great anxiety, or are in + twilight reveries, or are asleep, the latent apparitions have their + vividness increased by the contrast, and obtrude themselves on the mind. + For the same reason they occupy us in the delirium of fevers, and + doubtless also in the solemn moments of death. During a third part of our + life, in sleep, we are withdrawn from external influences; hearing and + sight and the other senses are inactive, but the never-sleeping Mind, that + pensive, that veiled enchantress, in her mysterious retirement, looks over + the ambrotypes she has collected—ambrotypes, for they are truly + unfading impressions—and, combining them together, as they chance to + occur, constructs from them the panorama of a dream. + </p> + <p> + Nature has thus implanted in the organization of every man means which + impressively suggest to him the immortality of the soul and a future life. + Even the benighted savage thus sees in his visions the fading forms of + landscapes, which are, perhaps, connected with some of his most pleasant + recollections; and what other conclusion can be possibly extract from + those unreal pictures than that they are the foreshadowings of another + land beyond that in which his lot is cast? At intervals he is visited in + his dreams by the resemblances of those whom he has loved or hated while + they were alive; and these manifestations are to him incontrovertible + proofs of the existence and immortality of the soul. In our most refined + social conditions we are never able to shake off the impressions of these + occurrences, and are perpetually drawing from them the same conclusions + that our uncivilized ancestors did. Our more elevated condition of life in + no respect relieves us from the inevitable operation of our own + organization, any more than it relieves us from infirmities and disease. + In these respects, all over the globe men are on an equality. Savage or + civilized, we carry within us a mechanism which presents us with mementoes + of the most solemn facts with which we can be concerned. It wants only + moments of repose or sickness, when the influence of external things is + diminished, to come into full play, and these are precisely the moments + when we are best prepared for the truths it is going to suggest. That + mechanism is no respecter of persons. It neither permits the haughtiest to + be free from the monitions, nor leaves the humblest without the + consolation of a knowledge of another life. Open to no opportunities of + being tampered with by the designing or interested, requiring no + extraneous human agency for its effect, out always present with every man + wherever he may go, it marvelously extracts from vestiges of the + impressions of the past overwhelming proofs of the realities of the + future, and, gathering its power from what would seem to be a most + unlikely source, it insensibly leads us, no matter who or where we may be, + to a profound belief in the immortal and imperishable, from phantoms which + have scarcely made their appearance before they are ready to vanish away. + </p> + <p> + The insect differs from a mere automaton in this, that it is influenced by + old, by registered impressions. In the higher forms of animated life that + registration becomes more and more complete, memory becomes more perfect. + There is not any necessary resemblance between an external form and its + ganglionic impression, any more than there is between the words of a + message delivered in a telegraphic office and the signals which the + telegraph may give to the distant station; any more than there is between + the letters of a printed page and the acts or scenes they describe, but + the letters call up with clearness to the mind of the reader the events + and scenes. + </p> + <p> + An animal without any apparatus for the retention of impressions must be a + pure automaton—it cannot have memory. From insignificant and + uncertain beginnings, such an apparatus is gradually evolved, and, as its + development advances, the intellectual capacity increases. In man, this + retention or registration reaches perfection; he guides, himself by past + as well as by present impressions; he is influenced by experience; his + conduct is determined by reason. + </p> + <p> + A most important advance is made when the capability is acquired by any + animal of imparting a knowledge of the impressions stored up in its own + nerve-centres to another of the same kind. This marks the extension of + individual into social life, and indeed is essential thereto. In the + higher insects it is accomplished by antennal contacts, in man by speech. + Humanity, in its earlier, its savage stages, was limited to this: the + knowledge of one person could be transmitted to another by conversation. + The acts and thoughts of one generation could be imparted to another, and + influence its acts and thoughts. + </p> + <p> + But tradition has its limit. The faculty of speech makes society possible—nothing + more. + </p> + <p> + Not without interest do we remark the progress of development of this + function. The invention of the art of writing gave extension and + durability to the registration or record of impressions. These, which had + hitherto been stored up in the brain of one man, might now be imparted to + the whole human race, and be made to endure forever. Civilization became + possible—for civilization cannot exist without writing, or the means + of record in some shape. + </p> + <p> + From this psychological point of view we perceive the real significance of + the invention of printing—a development of writing which, by + increasing the rapidity of the diffusion of ideas, and insuring their + permanence, tends to promote civilization and to unify the human race. + </p> + <p> + In the foregoing paragraphs, relating to nervous impressions, their + registry, and the consequences, that spring from them, I have given an + abstract of views presented in my work on "Human Physiology," published in + 1856, and may, therefore, refer the reader to the chapter on "Inverse + Vision, or Cerebral Sight;" to Chapter XIV., Book I.; and to Chapter + VIII., Book II.; of that work, for other particulars. + </p> + <p> + The only path to scientific human psychology is through comparative + psychology. It is a long and wearisome path, but it leads to truth. + </p> + <p> + Is there, then, a vast spiritual existence pervading the universe, even as + there is a vast existence of matter pervading it—a spirit which, as + a great German author tells us, "sleeps in the stone, dreams in the + animal, awakes in man?" Does the soul arise from the one as the body + arises from the other? Do they in like manner return, each to the source + from which it has come? If so, we can interpret human existence, and our + ideas may still be in unison with scientific truth, and in accord with our + conception of the stability, the unchangeability of the universe. + </p> + <p> + To this spiritual existence the Saracens, following Eastern nations, gave + the designation "the Active Intellect." They believed that the soul of man + emanated from it, as a rain-drop comes from the sea, and, after a season, + returns. So arose among them the imposing doctrines of emanation and + absorption. The active intellect is God. + </p> + <p> + In one of its forms, as we have seen, this idea was developed by Chakia + Mouni, in India, in a most masterly manner, and embodied in the vast + practical system of Buddhism; in another, it was with less power presented + among the Saracens by Averroes. + </p> + <p> + But, perhaps we ought rather to say that Europeans hold Averroes as the + author of this doctrine, because they saw him isolated from his + antecedents. But Mohammedans gave him little credit for originality. He + stood to them in the light of a commentator on Aristotle, and as + presenting the opinions of the Alexandrian and other philosophical schools + up to his time. The following excerpts from the "Historical Essay on + Averroism," by M. Renan, will show how closely the Sarscenic ideas + approached those presented above: + </p> + <p> + This system supposes that, at the death of an individual, his intelligent + principle or soul no longer possesses a separate existence, but returns to + or is absorbed in the universal mind, the active intelligence, the mundane + soul, which is God; from whom, indeed, it had originally emanated or + issued forth. + </p> + <p> + The universal, or active, or objective intellect, is uncreated, + impassible, incorruptible, has neither beginning nor end; nor does it + increase as the number of individual souls increases. It is altogether + separate from matter. It is, as it were, a cosmic principle. This oneness + of the active intellect, or reason, is the essential principle of the + Averroistic theory, and is in harmony with the cardinal doctrine of + Mohammedanism—the unity of God. + </p> + <p> + The individual, or passive, or subjective intellect, is an emanation from + the universal, and constitutes what is termed the soul of man. In one + sense it is perishable and ends with the body, but in a higher sense it + endures; for, after death, it returns to or is absorbed in the universal + soul, and thus of all human souls there remains at last but one—the + aggregate of them all, life is not the property of the individual, it + belongs to Nature. The end of, man is to enter into union more and more + complete with the active intellect—reason. In that the happiness of + the soul consists. Our destiny is quietude. It was the opinion of Averroes + that the transition from the individual to the universal is instantaneous + at death, but the Buddhists maintain that human personality continues in a + declining manner for a certain term before nonentity, or Nirwana, is + attained. + </p> + <p> + Philosophy has never proposed but two hypotheses to explain the system of + the world: first, a personal God existing apart, and a human soul called + into existence or created, and thenceforth immortal; second, an impersonal + intelligence, or indeterminate God, and a soul emerging from and returning + to him. As to the origin of beings, there are two opposite opinions: + first, that they are created from nothing; second, that they come by + development from pre-existing forms. The theory of creation belongs to the + first of the above hypotheses, that of evolution to the last. + </p> + <p> + Philosophy among the Arabs thus took the same direction that it had taken + in China, in India, and indeed throughout the East. Its whole spirit + depended on the admission of the indestructibility of matter and force. It + saw an analogy between the gathering of the material of which the body of + man consists from the vast store of matter in Nature, and its final + restoration to that store, and the emanation of the spirit of man from the + universal Intellect, the Divinity, and its final reabsorption. + </p> + <p> + Having thus indicated in sufficient detail the philosophical + characteristics of the doctrine of emanation and absorption, I have in the + next place to relate its history. It was introduced into Europe by the + Spanish Arabs. Spain was the focal point from which, issuing forth, it + affected the ranks of intelligence and fashion all over Europe, and in + Spain it had a melancholy end. + </p> + <p> + The Spanish khalifs had surrounded themselves with all the luxuries of + Oriental life. They had magnificent palaces, enchanting gardens, seraglios + filled with beautiful women. Europe at the present day does not offer more + taste, more refinement, more elegance, than might have been seen, at the + epoch of which we are speaking, in the capitals of the Spanish Arabs. + Their streets were lighted and solidly paved. The houses were frescoed and + carpeted; they were warmed in winter by furnaces, and cooled in summer + with perfumed air brought by underground pipes from flower-beds. They had + baths, and libraries, and dining-halls, fountains of quicksilver and + water. City and country were full of conviviality, and of dancing to the + lute and mandolin. Instead of the drunken and gluttonous wassail orgies of + their Northern neighbors, the feasts of the Saracens were marked by + sobriety. Wine was prohibited. The enchanting moonlight evenings of + Andalusia were spent by the Moors in sequestered, fairy-like gardens or in + orange-groves, listening to the romances of the story-teller, or engaged + in philosophical discourse; consoling themselves for the disappointments + of this life by such reflections as that, if virtue were rewarded in this + world, we should be without expectations in the life to come; and + reconciling themselves to their daily toil by the expectation that rest + will be found after death—a rest never to be succeeded by labor. + </p> + <p> + In the tenth century the Khalif Hakein II. had made beautiful Andalusia + the paradise of the world. Christians, Mussulmen, Jews, mixed together + without restraint. There, among many celebrated names that have descended + to our times, was Gerbert, destined subsequently to become pope. There, + too, was Peter the Venerable, and many Christian ecclesiastics. Peter says + that he found learned men even from Britain pursuing astronomy. All + learned men, no matter from what country they came, or what their + religious views, were welcomed. The khalif had in his palace a manufactory + of books, and copyists, binders, illuminators. He kept book-buyers in all + the great cities of Asia and Africa. His library contained four hundred + thousand volumes, superbly bound and illuminated. + </p> + <p> + Throughout the Mohammedan dominions in Asia, in Africa, and in Spain, the + lower order of Mussulmen entertained a fanatical hatred against learning. + Among the more devout—those who claimed to be orthodox—there + were painful doubts as to the salvation of the great Khalif Al-Mamun—the + wicked khalif, as they called him—for he had not only disturbed the + people by introducing the writings of Aristotle and other Greek heathens, + but had even struck at the existence of heaven and hell by saying that the + earth is a globe, and pretending that he could measure its size. These + persons, from their numbers, constituted a political power. + </p> + <p> + Almansor, who usurped the khalifate to the prejudice of Hakem's son, + thought that his usurpation would be sustained if he put himself at the + head of the orthodox party. He therefore had the library of Hakem + searched, and all works of a scientific or philosophical nature carried + into the public places and burnt, or thrown into the cisterns of the + palace. By a similar court revolution Averroes, in his old age—he + died A.D. 1193—was expelled from Spain; the religious party had + triumphed over the philosophical. He was denounced as a traitor to + religion. An opposition to philosophy had been organized all over the + Mussulman world. There was hardly a philosopher who was not punished. Some + were put to death, and the consequence was, that Islam was full of + hypocrites. + </p> + <p> + Into Italy, Germany, England, Averroism had silently made its way. It + found favor in the eyes of the Franciscans, and a focus in the University + of Paris. By very many of the leading minds it had been accepted. But at + length the Dominicans, the rivals of the Franciscans, sounded an alarm. + They said it destroys all personality, conducts to fatalism, and renders + inexplicable the difference and progress of individual intelligences. The + declaration that there is but one intellect is an error subversive of the + merits of the saints, it is an assertion that there is no difference among + men. What! is there no difference between the holy soul of Peter and the + damned soul of Judas? are they identical? Averroes in this his blasphemous + doctrine denies creation, providence, revelation, the Trinity, the + efficacy of prayers, of alms, and of litanies; he disbelieves in the + resurrection and immortality; he places the summum bonum in mere pleasure. + </p> + <p> + So, too, among the Jews who were then the leading intellects of the world, + Averroism had been largely propagated. Their great writer Maimonides had + thoroughly accepted it; his school was spreading it in all directions. A + furious persecution arose on the part of the orthodox Jews. Of Maimonides + it had been formerly their delight to declare that he was "the Eagle of + the Doctors, the Great Sage, the Glory of the West, the Light of the East, + second only to Moses." Now, they proclaimed that he had abandoned the + faith of Abraham; had denied the possibility of creation, believed in the + eternity of the world; had given himself up to the manufacture of + atheists; had deprived God of his attributes; made a vacuum of him; had + declared him inaccessible to prayer, and a stranger to the government of + the world. The works of Maimonides were committed to the flames by the + synagogues of Montpellier, Barcelona, and Toledo. + </p> + <p> + Scarcely had the conquering arms of Ferdinand and Isabella overthrown the + Arabian dominion in Spain, when measures were taken by the papacy to + extinguish these opinions, which, it was believed, were undermining + European Christianity. + </p> + <p> + Until Innocent IV. (1243), there was no special tribunal against heretics, + distinct from those of the bishops. The Inquisition, then introduced, in + accordance with the centralization of the times, was a general and papal + tribunal, which displaced the old local ones. The bishops, therefore, + viewed the innovation with great dislike, considering it as an intrusion + on their rights. It was established in Italy, Spain, Germany, and the + southern provinces of France. + </p> + <p> + The temporal sovereigns were only too desirous to make use of this + powerful engine for their own political purposes. Against this the popes + strongly protested. They were not willing that its use should pass out of + the ecclesiastical hand. + </p> + <p> + The Inquisition, having already been tried in the south of France, had + there proved to be very effective for the suppression of heresy. It had + been introduced into Aragon. Now was assigned to it the duty of dealing + with the Jews. + </p> + <p> + In the old times under Visigothic rule these people had greatly prospered, + but the leniency that had been shown to them was succeeded by atrocious + persecution, when the Visigoths abandoned their Arianism and became + orthodox. The most inhuman ordinances were issued against them—a law + was enacted condemning them all to be slaves. It was not to be wondered at + that, when the Saracen invasion took place, the Jews did whatever they + could to promote its success. They, like the Arabs, were an Oriental + people, both traced their lineage to Abraham, their common ancestor; both + were believers in the unity of God. It was their defense of that doctrine + that had brought upon them the hatred of their Visigothic masters. + </p> + <p> + Under the Saracen rule they were treated with the highest consideration. + They became distinguished for their wealth and their learning. For the + most part they were Aristotelians. They founded many schools and colleges. + Their mercantile interests led them to travel all over the world. They + particularly studied the science of medicine. Throughout the middle ages + they were the physicians and bankers of Europe. Of all men they saw the + course of human affairs from the most elevated point of view. Among the + special sciences they became proficient in mathematics and astronomy; they + composed the tables of Alfonso, and were the cause of the voyage of De + Gama. They distinguished themselves greatly in light literature. From the + tenth to the fourteenth century their literature was the first in Europe. + They were to be found in the courts of princes as physicians, or as + treasurers managing the public finances. + </p> + <p> + The orthodox clergy in Navarre had excited popular prejudices against + them. To escape the persecutions that arose, many of them feigned to turn + Christians, and of these many apostatized to their former faith. The papal + nuncio at the court of Castile raised a cry for the establishment of the + Inquisition. The poorer Jews were accused of sacrificing Christian + children at the Passover, in mockery of the crucifixion; the richer were + denounced as Averroists. Under the influence of Torquemada, a Dominican + monk, the confessor of Queen Isabella, that princess solicited a bull from + the pope for the establishment of the Holy Office. A bull was accordingly + issued in November, 1478, for the detection and suppression of heresy. In + the first year of the operation of the Inquisition, 1481, two thousand + victims were burnt in Andalusia; besides these, many thousands were dug up + from their graves and burnt; seventeen thousand were fined or imprisoned + for life. Whoever of the persecuted race could flee, escaped for his life. + Torquemada, now appointed inquisitor-general for Castile and Leon, + illustrated his office by his ferocity. Anonymous accusations were + received, the accused was not confronted by witnesses, torture was relied + upon for conviction; it was inflicted in vaults where no one could hear + the cries of the tormented. As, in pretended mercy, it was forbidden to + inflict torture a second time, with horrible duplicity it was affirmed + that the torment had not been completed at first, but had only been + suspended out of charity until the following day! The families of the + convicted were plunged into irretrievable ruin. Llorente, the historian of + the Inquisition, computes that Torquemada and his collaborators, in the + course of eighteen years, burnt at the stake ten thousand two hundred and + twenty persons, six thousand eight hundred and sixty in effigy, and + otherwise punished ninety-seven thousand three hundred and twenty-one. + This frantic priest destroyed Hebrew Bibles wherever he could find them, + And burnt six thousand volumes of Oriental literature at Salamanca, under + an imputation that they inculcated Judaism. With unutterable disgust and + indignation, we learn that the papal government realized much money by + selling to the rich dispensations to secure them from the Inquisition. + </p> + <p> + But all these frightful atrocities proved failures. The conversions were + few. Torquemada, therefore, insisted on the immediate banishment of every + unbaptized Jew. On March 30, 1492, the edict of expulsion was signed. All + unbaptized Jews, of whatever age, sex, or condition, were ordered to leave + the realm by the end of the following July. If they revisited it, they + should suffer death. They might sell their effects and take the proceeds + in merchandise or bills of exchange, but not in gold or silver. Exiled + thus suddenly from the land of their birth, the land of their ancestors + for hundreds of years, they could not in the glutted market that arose + sell what they possessed. Nobody would purchase what could be got for + nothing after July. The Spanish clergy occupied themselves by preaching in + the public squares sermons filled with denunciations against their + victims, who, when the time for expatriation came, swarmed in the roads + and filled the air with their cries of despair. Even the Spanish onlookers + wept at the scene of agony. Torquemada, however, enforced the ordinance + that no one should afford them any help. + </p> + <p> + Of the banished persons some made their way into Africa, some into Italy; + the latter carried with them to Naples ship-fever, which destroyed not + fewer than twenty thousand in that city, and devastated that peninsula; + some reached Turkey, a few England. Thousands, especially mothers with + nursing children, infants, and old people, died by the way; many of them + in the agonies of thirst. + </p> + <p> + This action against the Jews was soon followed by one against the Moors. A + pragmatica was issued at Seville, February, 1502, setting forth the + obligations of the Castilians to drive the enemies of God from the land, + and ordering that all unbaptized Moors in the kingdoms of Castile and Leon + above the age of infancy should leave the country by the end of April. + They might sell their property, but not take away any gold or silver; they + were forbidden to emigrate to the Mohammedan dominions; the penalty of + disobedience was death. Their condition was thus worse than that of the + Jews, who had been permitted to go where they chose. Such was the fiendish + intolerance of the Spaniards, that they asserted the government would be + justified in taking the lives of all the Moors for their shameless + infidelity. + </p> + <p> + What an ungrateful return for the toleration that the Moors in their day + of power had given to the Christians! No faith was kept with the victims. + Granada had surrendered under the solemn guarantee of the full enjoyment + of civil and religious liberty. At the instigation of Cardinal Ximenes + that pledge was broken, and, after a residence of eight centuries, the + Mohammedans were driven out of the land. + </p> + <p> + The coexistence of three religions in Andalusia—the Christian, the + Mohammedan, the Mosaic—had given opportunity for the development of + Averroism or philosophical Arabism. This was a repetition of what had + occurred at Rome, when the gods of all the conquered countries were + confronted in that capital, and universal disbelief in them all ensued. + Averroes himself was accused of having been first a Mussulman, then a + Christian, then a Jew, and finally a misbeliever. It was affirmed that he + was the author of the mysterious book "De Tribus Impostoribus." + </p> + <p> + In the middle ages there were two celebrated heretical books, "The + Everlasting Gospel," and the "De Tribus Impostoribus." The latter was + variously imputed to Pope Gerbert, to Frederick II., and to Averroes. In + their unrelenting hatred the Dominicans fastened all the blasphemies + current in those times on Averroes; they never tired of recalling the + celebrated and outrageous one respecting the eucharist. His writings had + first been generally made known to Christian Europe by the translation of + Michael Scot in the beginning of the thirteenth century, but long before + his time the literature of the West, like that of Asia, was full of these + ideas. We have seen how broadly they were set forth by Erigena. The + Arabians, from their first cultivation of philosophy, had been infected by + them; they were current in all the colleges of the three khalifates. + Considered not as a mode of thought, that will spontaneously occur to all + men at a certain stage of intellectual development, but as having + originated with Aristotle, they continually found favor with men of the + highest culture. We see them in Robert Grostete, in Roger Bacon, and + eventually in Spinoza. Averroes was not their inventor, he merely gave + them clearness and expression. Among the Jews of the thirteenth century, + he had completely supplanted his imputed master. Aristotle had passed away + from their eyes; his great commentator, Averroes, stood in his place. So + numerous were the converts to the doctrine of emanation in Christendom, + that Pope Alexander IV. (1255) found it necessary to interfere. By his + order, Albertus Magnus composed a work against the "Unity of the + Intellect." Treating of the origin and nature of the soul, he attempted to + prove that the theory of "a separate intellect, enlightening man by + irradiation anterior to the individual and surviving the individual, is a + detestable error." But the most illustrious antagonist of the great + commentator was St. Thomas Aquinas, the destroyer of all such heresies as + the unity of the intellect, the denial of Providence, the impossibility of + creation; the victories of "the Angelic Doctor" were celebrated not only + in the disputations of the Dominicans, but also in the works of art of the + painters of Florence and Pisa. The indignation of that saint knew no + bounds when Christians became the disciples of an infidel, who was worse + than a Mohammedan. The wrath of the Dominicans, the order to which St. + Thomas belonged, was sharpened by the fact that their rivals, the + Franciscans, inclined to Averroistic views; and Dante, who leaned to the + Dominicans, denounced Averroes as the author of a most dangerous system. + The theological odium of all three dominant religions was put upon him; he + was pointed out as the originator of the atrocious maxim that "all + religions are false, although all are probably useful." An attempt was + made at the Council of Vienne to have his writings absolutely suppressed, + and to forbid all Christians reading them. The Dominicans, armed with the + weapons of the Inquisition, terrified Christian Europe with their + unrelenting persecutions. They imputed all the infidelity of the times to + the Arabian philosopher. But he was not without support. In Paris and in + the cities of Northern Italy the Franciscans sustained his views, and all + Christendom was agitated with these disputes. + </p> + <p> + Under the inspiration of the Dominicans, Averroes became to the Italian + painters the emblem of unbelief. Many of the Italian towns had pictures or + frescoes of the Day of Judgment and of Hell. In these Averroes not + unfrequently appears. Thus, in one at Pisa, he figures with Arius, + Mohammed, and Antichrist. In another he is represented as overthrown by + St. Thomas. He had become an essential element in the triumphs of the + great Dominican doctor. He continued thus to be familiar to the Italian + painters until the sixteenth century. His doctrines were maintained in the + University of Padua until the seventeenth. + </p> + <p> + Such is, in brief, the history of Averroism as it invaded Europe from + Spain. Under the auspices of Frederick II., it, in a less imposing manner, + issued from Sicily. That sovereign bad adopted it fully. In his "Sicilian + Questions" he had demanded light on the eternity of the world, and on the + nature of the soul, and supposed he had found it in the replies of Ibn + Sabin, an upholder of these doctrines. But in his conflict with the papacy + be was overthrown, and with him these heresies were destroyed. + </p> + <p> + In Upper Italy, Averroism long maintained its ground. It was so + fashionable in high Venetian society that every gentleman felt constrained + to profess it. At length the Church took decisive action against it. The + Lateran Council, A.D. 1512, condemned the abettors of these detestable + doctrines to be held as heretics and infidels. As we have seen, the late + Vatican Council has anathematized them. Notwithstanding that stigma, it is + to be borne in mind that these opinions are held to be true by a majority + of the human race. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + CONFLICT RESPECTING THE NATURE OF THE WORLD. + + Scriptural view of the world: the earth a flat surface; + location of heaven and hell. + + Scientific view: the earth a globe; its size determined; its + position in and relations to the solar system.—The three + great voyages.—Columbus, De Gama, Magellan.— + Circumnavigation of the earth.—Determination of its + curvature by the measurement of a degree and by the + pendulum. + + The discoveries of Copernicus.—Invention of the telescope.— + Galileo brought before the Inquisition.—His punishment.— + Victory over the Church. + + Attempts to ascertain the dimensions of the solar system.— + Determination of the sun's parallax by the transits of + Venus.—Insignificance, of the earth and man. + + Ideas respecting the dimensions of the universe.—Parallax + of the stars.—The plurality of worlds asserted by Bruno.— + He is seized and murdered by the Inquisition. +</pre> + <p> + I HAVE now to present the discussions that arose respecting the third + great philosophical problem—the nature of the world. + </p> + <p> + An uncritical observation of the aspect of Nature persuades us that the + earth is an extended level surface which sustains the dome of the sky, a + firmament dividing the waters above from the waters beneath; that the + heavenly bodies—the sun, the moon, the stars—pursue their way, + moving from east to west, their insignificant size and motion round the + motionless earth proclaiming their inferiority. Of the various organic + forms surrounding man none rival him in dignity, and hence he seems + justified in concluding that every thing has been created for his use—the + sun for the purpose of giving him light by day, the moon and stars by + night. + </p> + <p> + Comparative theology shows us that this is the conception of Nature + universally adopted in the early phase of intellectual life. It is the + belief of all nations in all parts of the world in the beginning of their + civilization: geocentric, for it makes the earth the centre of the + universe; anthropocentric, for it makes man the central object of the + earth. And not only is this the conclusion spontaneously come to from + inconsiderate glimpses of the world, it is also the philosophical basis of + various religious revelations, vouchsafed to man from time to time. These + revelations, moreover, declare to him that above the crystalline dome of + the sky is a region of eternal light and happiness—heaven—the + abode of God and the angelic hosts, perhaps also his own abode after + death; and beneath the earth a region of eternal darkness and misery, the + habitation of those that are evil. In the visible world is thus seen a + picture of the invisible. + </p> + <p> + On the basis of this view of the structure of the world great religious + systems have been founded, and hence powerful material interests have been + engaged in its support. These have resisted, sometimes by resorting to + bloodshed, attempts that have been made to correct its incontestable + errors—a resistance grounded on the suspicion that the localization + of heaven and hell and the supreme value of man in the universe might be + affected. + </p> + <p> + That such attempts would be made was inevitable. As soon as men began to + reason on the subject at all, they could not fail to discredit the + assertion that the earth is an indefinite plane. No one can doubt that the + sun we see to-day is the self-same sun that we saw yesterday. His + reappearance each morning irresistibly suggests that he has passed on the + underside of the earth. But this is incompatible with the reign of night + in those regions. It presents more or less distinctly the idea of the + globular form of the earth. + </p> + <p> + The earth cannot extend indefinitely downward; for the sun cannot go + through it, nor through any crevice or passage in it, Since he rises and + sets in different positions at different seasons of the year. The stars + also move under it in countless courses. There must, therefore, be a clear + way beneath. + </p> + <p> + To reconcile revelation with these innovating facts, schemes, such as that + of Cosmas Indicopleustes in his Christian Topography, were doubtless often + adopted. To this in particular we have had occasion on a former page to + refer. It asserted that in the northern parts of the flat earth there is + an immense mountain, behind which the sun passes, and thus produces night. + </p> + <p> + At a very remote historical period the mechanism of eclipses had been + discovered. Those of the moon demonstrated that the shadow of the earth is + always circular. The form of the earth must therefore be globular. A body + which in all positions casts a circular shadow must itself be spherical. + Other considerations, with which every one is now familiar, could not fail + to establish that such is her figure. + </p> + <p> + But the determination of the shape of the earth by no means deposed her + from her position of superiority. Apparently vastly larger than all other + things, it was fitting that she should be considered not merely as the + centre of the world, but, in truth, as—the world. All other objects + in their aggregate seemed utterly unimportant in comparison with her. + </p> + <p> + Though the consequences flowing from an admission of the globular figure + of the earth affected very profoundly existing theological ideas, they + were of much less moment than those depending on a determination of her + size. It needed but an elementary knowledge of geometry to perceive that + correct ideas on this point could be readily obtained by measuring a + degree on her surface. Probably there were early attempts to accomplish + this object, the results of which have been lost. But Eratosthenes + executed one between Syene and Alexandria, in Egypt, Syene being supposed + to be exactly under the tropic of Cancer. The two places are, however, not + on the same meridian, and the distance between them was estimated, not + measured. Two centuries later, Posidonius made another attempt between + Alexandria and Rhodes; the bright star Canopus just grazed the horizon at + the latter place, at Alexandria it rose 7 1/2 degrees. In this instance, + also, since the direction lay across the sea, the distance was estimated, + not measured. Finally, as we have already related, the Khalif Al-Mamun + made two sets of measures, one on the shore of the Red Sea, the other near + Cufa, in Mesopotamia. The general result of these various observations + gave for the earth's diameter between seven and eight thousand miles. + </p> + <p> + This approximate determination of the size of the earth tended to depose + her from her dominating position, and gave rise to very serious + theological results. In this the ancient investigations of Aristarchus of + Samos, one of the Alexandrian school, 280 B.C., powerfully aided. In his + treatise on the magnitudes and distances of the sun and moon, he explains + the ingenious though imperfect method to which he had resorted for the + solution of that problem. Many ages previously a speculation had been + brought from India to Europe by Pythagoras. It presented the sun as the + centre of the system. Around him the planets revolved in circular orbits, + their order of position being Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, + Saturn, each of them being supposed to rotate on its axis as it revolved + round the sun. According to Cicero, Nicetas suggested that, if it were + admitted that the earth revolves on her axis, the difficulty presented by + the inconceivable velocity of the heavens would be avoided. + </p> + <p> + There is reason to believe that the works of Aristarchus, in the + Alexandrian Library, were burnt at the time of the fire of Caesar. The + only treatise of his that has come down to us is that above mentioned, on + the size and distance of the sun and moon. + </p> + <p> + Aristarchus adopted the Pythagorean system as representing the actual + facts. This was the result of a recognition of the sun's amazing distance, + and therefore of his enormous size. The heliocentric system, thus + regarding the sun as the central orb, degraded the earth to a very + subordinate rank, making her only one of a company of six revolving + bodies. + </p> + <p> + But this is not the only contribution conferred on astronomy by + Aristarchus, for, considering that the movement of the earth does not + sensibly affect the apparent position of the stars, he inferred that they + are incomparably more distant from us than the sun. He, therefore, of all + the ancients, as Laplace remarks, had the most correct ideas of the + grandeur of the universe. He saw that the earth is of absolutely + insignificant size, when compared with the stellar distances. He saw, too, + that there is nothing above us but space and stars. + </p> + <p> + But the views of Aristarchus, as respects the emplacement of the planetary + bodies, were not accepted by antiquity; the system proposed by Ptolemy, + and incorporated in his "Syntaxis," was universally preferred. The + physical philosophy of those times was very imperfect—one of + Ptolemy's objections to the Pythagorean system being that, if the earth + were in motion, it would leave the air and other light bodies behind it. + He therefore placed the earth in the central position, and in succession + revolved round her the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, + Saturn; beyond the orbit of Saturn came the firmament of the fixed stars. + As to the solid crystalline spheres, one moving from east to west, the + other from north to south, these were a fancy of Eudoxus, to which Ptolemy + does not allude. + </p> + <p> + The Ptolemaic system is, therefore, essentially a geocentric system. It + left the earth in her position of superiority, and hence gave no cause of + umbrage to religious opinions, Christian or Mohammedan. The immense + reputation of its author, the signal ability of his great work on the + mechanism of the heavens, sustained it for almost fourteen hundred years—that + is, from the second to the sixteenth century. + </p> + <p> + In Christendom, the greater part of this long period was consumed in + disputes respecting the nature of God, and in struggles for ecclesiastical + power. The authority of the Fathers, and the prevailing belief that the + Scriptures contain the sum, of all knowledge, discouraged any + investigation of Nature. If by chance a passing interest was taken in some + astronomical question, it was at once settled by a reference to such + authorities as the writings of Augustine or Lactantius, not by an appeal + to the phenomena of the heavens. So great was the preference given to + sacred over profane learning that Christianity had been in existence + fifteen hundred years, and had not produced a single astronomer. + </p> + <p> + The Mohammedan nations did much better. Their cultivation of science dates + from the capture of Alexandria, A.D. 638. This was only six years after + the death of the Prophet. In less than two centuries they had not only + become acquainted with, but correctly appreciated, the Greek scientific + writers. As we have already mentioned, by his treaty with Michael III., + the khalif Al-Mamun had obtained a copy of the "Syntaxis" of Ptolemy. He + had it forthwith translated into Arabic. It became at once the great + authority of Saracen astronomy. From this basis the Saracens had advanced + to the solution of some of the most important scientific problems. They + had ascertained the dimensions of the earth; they had registered or + catalogued all the stars visible in their heavens, giving to those of the + larger magnitudes the names they still bear on our maps and globes; they + determined the true length of the year, discovered astronomical + refraction, invented the pendulum-clock, improved the photometry of the + stars, ascertained the curvilinear path of a ray of light through the air, + explained the phenomena of the horizontal sun and moon, and why we see + those bodies before they have risen and after they have set; measured the + height of the atmosphere, determining it to be fifty-eight miles; given + the true theory of the twilight, and of the twinkling of the stars. They + had built the first observatory in Europe. So accurate were they in their + observations, that the ablest modern mathematicians have made use of their + results. Thus Laplace, in his "Systeme du Monde," adduces the observations + of Al-Batagni as affording incontestable proof of the diminution of the + eccentricity of the earth's orbit. He uses those of Ibn-Junis in his + discussion of the obliquity of the ecliptic, and also in the case of the + problems of the greater inequalities of Jupiter and Saturn. + </p> + <p> + These represent but a part, and indeed but a small part, of the services + rendered by the Arabian astronomers, in the solution of the problem of the + nature of the world. Meanwhile, such was the benighted condition of + Christendom, such its deplorable ignorance, that it cared nothing about + the matter. Its attention was engrossed by image-worship, + transubstantiation, the merits of the saints, miracles, shrine-cures. + </p> + <p> + This indifference continued until the close of the fifteenth century. Even + then there was no scientific inducement. The inciting motives were + altogether of a different kind. They originated in commercial rivalries, + and the question of the shape of the earth was finally settled by three + sailors, Columbus, De Gama, and, above all, by Ferdinand Magellan. + </p> + <p> + The trade of Eastern Asia has always been a source of immense wealth to + the Western nations who in succession have obtained it. In the middle ages + it had centred in Upper Italy. It was conducted along two lines—a + northern, by way of the Black and Caspian Seas, and camel-caravans beyond—the + headquarters of this were at Genoa; and a southern, through the Syrian and + Egyptian ports, and by the Arabian Sea, the headquarters of this being at + Venice. The merchants engaged in the latter traffic had also made great + gains in the transport service of the Crusade-wars. + </p> + <p> + The Venetians had managed to maintain amicable relations with the + Mohammedan powers of Syria and Egypt; they were permitted to have + consulates at Alexandria and Damascus, and, notwithstanding the military + commotions of which those countries had been the scene, the trade was + still maintained in a comparatively flourishing condition. But the + northern or Genoese line had been completely broken up by the irruptions + of the Tartars and the Turks, and the military and political disturbances + of the countries through which it passed. The Eastern trade of Genoa was + not merely in a precarious condition—it was on the brink of + destruction. + </p> + <p> + The circular visible horizon and its dip at sea, the gradual appearance + and disappearance of ships in the offing, cannot fail to incline + intelligent sailors to a belief in the globular figure of the earth. The + writings of the Mohammedan astronomers and philosophers had given currency + to that doctrine throughout Western Europe, but, as might be expected, it + was received with disfavor by theologians. When Genoa was thus on the very + brink of ruin, it occurred to some of her mariners that, if this view were + correct, her affairs might be re-established. A ship sailing through the + straits of Gibraltar westward, across the Atlantic, would not fail to + reach the East Indies. There were apparently other great advantages. Heavy + cargoes might be transported without tedious and expensive land-carriage, + and without breaking bulk. + </p> + <p> + Among the Genoese sailors who entertained these views was Christopher + Columbus. + </p> + <p> + He tells us that his attention was drawn to this subject by the writings + of Averroes, but among his friends he numbered Toscanelli, a Florentine, + who had turned his attention to astronomy, and had become a strong + advocate of the globular form. In Genoa itself Columbus met with but + little encouragement. He then spent many years in trying to interest + different princes in his proposed attempt. Its irreligious tendency was + pointed out by the Spanish ecclesiastics, and condemned by the Council of + Salamanca; its orthodoxy was confuted from the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the + Prophecies, the Gospels, the Epistles, and the writings of the Fathers—St. + Chrysostom, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Gregory, St. Basil, St Ambrose. + </p> + <p> + At length, however, encouraged by the Spanish Queen Isabella, and + substantially aided by a wealthy seafaring family, the Pinzons of Palos, + some of whom joined him personally, he sailed on August 3, 1492, with + three small ships, from Palos, carrying with him a letter from King + Ferdinand to the Grand-Khan of Tartary, and also a chart, or map, + constructed on the basis of that of Toscanelli. A little before midnight, + October 11, 1492, he saw from the forecastle of his ship a moving light at + a distance. Two hours subsequently a signal-gun from another of the ships + announced that they had descried land. At sunrise Columbus landed in the + New World. + </p> + <p> + On his return to Europe it was universally supposed that he had reached + the eastern parts of Asia, and that therefore his voyage had been + theoretically successful. Columbus himself died in that belief. But + numerous voyages which were soon undertaken made known the general contour + of the American coast-line, and the discovery of the Great South Sea by + Balboa revealed at length the true facts of the case, and the mistake into + which both Toscanelli and Columbus had fallen, that in a voyage to the + West the distance from Europe to Asia could not exceed the distance passed + over in a voyage from Italy to the Gulf of Guinea—a voyage that + Columbus had repeatedly made. + </p> + <p> + In his first voyage, at nightfall on September 13, 1492, being then two + and a half degrees east of Corvo, one of the Azores, Columbus observed + that the compass needles of the ships no longer pointed a little to the + east of north, but were varying to the west. The deviation became more and + more marked as the expedition advanced. He was not the first to detect the + fact of variation, but he was incontestably the first to discover the line + of no variation. On the return-voyage the reverse was observed; the + variation westward diminished until the meridian in question was reached, + when the needles again pointed due north. Thence, as the coast of Europe + was approached, the variation was to the east. Columbus, therefore, came + to the conclusion that the line of no variation was a fixed geographical + line, or boundary, between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. In the + bull of May, 1493, Pope Alexander VI. accordingly adopted this line as the + perpetual boundary between the possessions of Spain and Portugal, in his + settlement of the disputes of those nations. Subsequently, however, it was + discovered that the line was moving eastward. It coincided with the + meridian of London in 1662. + </p> + <p> + By the papal bull the Portuguese possessions were limited to the east of + the line of no variation. Information derived from certain Egyptian Jews + had reached that government, that it was possible to sail round the + continent of Africa, there being at its extreme south a cape which could + be easily doubled. An expedition of three ships under Vasco de Gama set + sail, July 9, 1497; it doubled the cape on November 20th, and reached + Calicut, on the coast of India, May 19, 1498. Under the bull, this voyage + to the East gave to the Portuguese the right to the India trade. + </p> + <p> + Until the cape was doubled, the course of De Gama's ships was in a general + manner southward. Very soon, it was noticed that the elevation of the + pole-star above the horizon was diminishing, and, soon after the equator + was reached, that star had ceased to be visible. Meantime other stars, + some of them forming magnificent constellations, had come into view—the + stars of the Southern Hemisphere. All this was in conformity to + theoretical expectations founded on the admission of the globular form of + the earth. + </p> + <p> + The political consequences that at once ensued placed the Papal Government + in a position of great embarrassment. Its traditions and policy forbade it + to admit any other than the flat figure of the earth, as revealed in the + Scriptures. Concealment of the facts was impossible, sophistry was + unavailing. Commercial prosperity now left Venice as well as Genoa. The + front of Europe was changed. Maritime power had departed from the + Mediterranean countries, and passed to those upon the Atlantic coast. + </p> + <p> + But the Spanish Government did not submit to the advantage thus gained by + its commercial rival without an effort. It listened to the representations + of one Ferdinand Magellan, that India and the Spice Islands could be + reached by sailing to the west, if only a strait or passage through what + had now been recognized as "the American Continent" could be discovered; + and, if this should be accomplished, Spain, under the papal bull, would + have as good a right to the India trade as Portugal. Under the command of + Magellan, an expedition of five ships, carrying two hundred and + thirty-seven men, was dispatched from Seville, August 10, 1519. + </p> + <p> + Magellan at once struck boldly for the South American coast, hoping to + find some cleft or passage through the continent by which he might reach + the great South Sea. For seventy days he was becalmed on the line; his + sailors were appalled by the apprehension that they had drifted into a + region where the winds never blew, and that it was impossible for them to + escape. Calms, tempests, mutiny, desertion, could not shake his + resolution. After more than a year he discovered the strait which now + bears his name, and, as Pigafetti, an Italian, who was with him, relates, + he shed fears of joy when he found that it had pleased God at length to + bring him where he might grapple with the unknown dangers of the South + Sea, "the Great and Pacific Ocean." + </p> + <p> + Driven by famine to eat scraps of skin and leather with which his rigging + was here and there bound, to drink water that had gone putrid, his crew + dying of hunger and scurvy, this man, firm in his belief of the globular + figure of the earth, steered steadily to the northwest, and for nearly + four months never saw inhabited land. He estimated that he had sailed over + the Pacific not less than twelve thousand miles. He crossed the equator, + saw once more the pole-star, and at length made land—the Ladrones. + Here he met with adventurers from Sumatra. Among these islands he was + killed, either by the savages or by his own men. His lieutenant, Sebastian + d'Elcano, now took command of the ship, directing her course for the Cape + of Good Hope, and encountering frightful hardships. He doubled the cape at + last, and then for the fourth time crossed the equator. On September 7, + 1522, after a voyage of more than three years, he brought his ship, the + San Vittoria, to anchor in the port of St. Lucar, near Seville. She had + accomplished the greatest achievement in the history of the human race. + She had circumnavigated the earth. + </p> + <p> + The San Vittoria, sailing westward, had come back to her starting-point. + Henceforth the theological doctrine of the flatness of the earth was + irretrievably overthrown. + </p> + <p> + Five years after the completion of the voyage of Magellan, was made the + first attempt in Christendom to ascertain the size of the earth. This was + by Fernel, a French physician, who, having observed the height of the pole + at Paris, went thence northward until he came to a place where the height + of the pole was exactly one degree more than at that city. He measured the + distance between the two stations by the number of revolutions of one of + the wheels of his carriage, to which a proper indicator bad been attached, + and came to the conclusion that the earth's circumference is about + twenty-four thousand four hundred and eighty Italian miles. + </p> + <p> + Measures executed more and more carefully were made in many countries: by + Snell in Holland; by Norwood between London and York in England; by + Picard, under the auspices of the French Academy of Sciences, in France. + Picard's plan was to connect two points by a series of triangles, and, + thus ascertaining the length of the arc of a meridian intercepted between + them, to compare it with the difference of latitudes found from celestial + observations. The stations were Malvoisine in the vicinity of Paris, and + Sourdon near Amiens. The difference of latitudes was determined by + observing the zenith-distances, of delta Cassiopeia. There are two points + of interest connected with Picard's operation: it was the first in which + instruments furnished with telescopes were employed; and its result, as we + shall shortly see, was to Newton the first confirmation of the theory of + universal gravitation. + </p> + <p> + At this time it had become clear from mechanical considerations, more + especially such as had been deduced by Newton, that, since the earth is a + rotating body, her form cannot be that of a perfect sphere, but must be + that of a spheroid, oblate or flattened at the poles. It would follow, + from this, that the length of a degree must be greater near the poles than + at the equator. + </p> + <p> + The French Academy resolved to extend Picard's operation, by prolonging + the measures in each direction, and making the result the basis of a more + accurate map of France. Delays, however, took place, and it was not until + 1718 that the measures, from Dunkirk on the north to the southern + extremity of France, were completed. A discussion arose as to the + interpretation of these measures, some affirming that they indicated a + prolate, others an oblate spheroid; the former figure may be popularly + represented by a lemon, the latter by an orange. To settle this, the + French Government, aided by the Academy, sent out two expeditions to + measure degrees of the meridian—one under the equator, the other as + far north as possible; the former went to Peru, the latter to Swedish + Lapland. Very great difficulties were encountered by both parties. The + Lapland commission, however, completed its observations long before the + Peruvian, which consumed not less than nine years. The results of the + measures thus obtained confirmed the theoretical expectation of the oblate + form. Since that time many extensive and exact repetitions of the + observation have been made, among which may be mentioned those of the + English in England and in India, and particularly that of the French on + the occasion of the introduction of the metric system of weights and + measures. It was begun by Delambre and Mechain, from Dunkirk to Barcelona, + and thence extended, by Biot and Arago, to the island of Formentera near + Minorea. Its length was nearly twelve and a half degrees. + </p> + <p> + Besides this method of direct measurement, the figure of the earth may be + determined from the observed number of oscillations made by a pendulum of + invariable length in different latitudes. These, though they confirm the + foregoing results, give a somewhat greater ellipticity to the earth than + that found by the measurement of degrees. Pendulums vibrate more slowly + the nearer they are to the equator. It follows, therefore, that they are + there farther from the centre of the earth. + </p> + <p> + From the most reliable measures that have been made, the dimensions of the + earth may be thus stated: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + Greater or equatorial diameter..............7,925 miles. + Less or polar diameter......................7,899 " + Difference or polar compression............. 26 " +</pre> + <p> + Such was the result of the discussion respecting the figure and size of + the earth. While it was yet undetermined, another controversy arose, + fraught with even more serious consequences. This was the conflict + respecting the earth's position with regard to the sun and the planetary + bodies. + </p> + <p> + Copernicus, a Prussian, about the year 1507, had completed a book "On the + Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies." He had journeyed to Italy in his + youth, had devoted his attention to astronomy, and had taught mathematics + at Rome. From a profound study of the Ptolemaic and Pythagorean systems, + he had come to a conclusion in favor of the latter, the object of his book + being to sustain it. Aware that his doctrines were totally opposed to + revealed truth, and foreseeing that they would bring upon him the + punishments of the Church, he expressed himself in a cautious and + apologetic manner, saying that he had only taken the liberty of trying + whether, on the supposition of the earth's motion, it was possible to find + better explanations than the ancient ones of the revolutions of the + celestial orbs; that in doing this he had only taken the privilege that + had been allowed to others, of feigning what hypothesis they chose. The + preface was addressed to Pope Paul III. + </p> + <p> + Full of misgivings as to what might be the result, he refrained from + publishing his book for thirty-six years, thinking that "perhaps it might + be better to follow the examples of the Pythagoreans and others, who + delivered their doctrine only by tradition and to friends." At the + entreaty of Cardinal Schomberg he at length published it in 1543. A copy + of it was brought to him on his death-bed. Its fate was such as he had + anticipated. The Inquisition condemned it as heretical. In their decree, + prohibiting it, the Congregation of the Index denounced his system as + "that false Pythagorean doctrine utterly contrary to the Holy Scriptures." + </p> + <p> + Astronomers justly affirm that the book of Copernicus, "De + Revolutionibus," changed the face of their science. It incontestably + established the heliocentric theory. It showed that the distance of the + fixed stars is infinitely great, and that the earth is a mere point in the + heavens. Anticipating Newton, Copernicus imputed gravity to the sun, the + moon, and heavenly bodies, but he was led astray by assuming that the + celestial motions must be circular. Observations on the orbit of Mars, and + his different diameters at different times, had led Copernicus to his + theory. + </p> + <p> + In thus denouncing the Copernican system as being in contradiction to + revelation, the ecclesiastical authorities were doubtless deeply moved by + inferential considerations. To dethrone the earth from her central + dominating position, to give her many equals and not a few superiors, + seemed to diminish her claims upon the Divine regard. If each of the + countless myriads of stars was a sun, surrounded by revolving globes, + peopled with responsible beings like ourselves, if we had fallen so easily + and had been redeemed at so stupendous a price as the death of the Son of + God, how was it with them? Of them were there none who had fallen or might + fall like us? Where, then, for them could a Savior be found? + </p> + <p> + During the year 1608 one Lippershey, a Hollander, discovered that, by + looking through two glass lenses, combined in a certain manner together, + distant objects were magnified and rendered very plain. He had invented + the telescope. In the following year Galileo, a Florentine, greatly + distinguished by his mathematical and scientific writings, hearing of the + circumstance, but without knowing the particulars of the construction, + invented a form of the instrument for himself. Improving it gradually, he + succeeded in making one that could magnify thirty times. Examining the + moon, he found that she had valleys like those of the earth, and mountains + casting shadows. It had been said in the old times that in the Pleiades + there were formerly seven stars, but a legend related that one of them had + mysteriously disappeared. On turning his telescope toward them, Galileo + found that he could easily count not fewer than forty. In whatever + direction he looked, he discovered stars that were totally invisible to + the naked eye. + </p> + <p> + On the night of January 7, 1610, he perceived three small stars in a + straight line, adjacent to the planet Jupiter, and, a few evenings later, + a fourth. He found that these were revolving in orbits round the body of + the planet, and, with transport, recognized that they presented a + miniature representation of the Copernican system. + </p> + <p> + The announcement of these wonders at once attracted universal attention. + The spiritual authorities were not slow to detect their tendency, as + endangering the doctrine that the universe was made for man. In the + creation of myriads of stars, hitherto invisible, there must surely have + been some other motive than that of illuminating the nights for him. + </p> + <p> + It had been objected to the Copernican theory that, if the planets Mercury + and Venus move round the sun in orbits interior to that of the earth, they + ought to show phases like those of the moon; and that in the case of + Venus, which is so brilliant and conspicuous, these phases should be very + obvious. Copernicus himself had admitted the force of the objection, and + had vainly tried to find an explanation. Galileo, on turning his telescope + to the planet, discovered that the expected phases actually exist; now she + was a crescent, then half-moon, then gibbous, then full. Previously to + Copernicus, it was supposed that the planets shine by their own light, but + the phases of Venus and Mars proved that their light is reflected. The + Aristotelian notion, that celestial differ from terrestrial bodies in + being incorruptible, received a rude shock from the discoveries of + Galileo, that there are mountains and valleys in the moon like those of + the earth, that the sun is not perfect, but has spots on his face, and + that he turns on his axis instead of being in a state of majestic rest. + The apparition of new stars had already thrown serious doubts on this + theory of incorruptibility. + </p> + <p> + These and many other beautiful telescopic discoveries tended to the + establishment of the truth of the Copernican theory and gave unbounded + alarm to the Church. By the low and ignorant ecclesiastics they were + denounced as deceptions or frauds. Some affirmed that the telescope might + be relied on well enough for terrestrial objects, but with the heavenly + bodies it was altogether a different affair. Others declared that its + invention was a mere application of Aristotle's remark that stars could be + seen in the daytime from the bottom of a deep well. Galileo was accused of + imposture, heresy, blasphemy, atheism. With a view of defending himself, + he addressed a letter to the Abbe Castelli, suggesting that the Scriptures + were never intended to be a scientific authority, but only a moral guide. + This made matters worse. He was summoned before the Holy Inquisition, + under an accusation of having taught that the earth moves round the sun, a + doctrine "utterly contrary to the Scriptures." He was ordered to renounce + that heresy, on pain of being imprisoned. He was directed to desist from + teaching and advocating the Copernican theory, and pledge himself that he + would neither publish nor defend it for the future. Knowing well that + Truth has no need of martyrs, he assented to the required recantation, and + gave the promise demanded. + </p> + <p> + For sixteen years the Church had rest. But in 1632 Galileo ventured on the + publication of his work entitled "The System of the World," its object + being the vindication of the Copernican doctrine. He was again summoned + before the Inquisition at Rome, accused of having asserted that the earth + moves round the sun. He was declared to have brought upon himself the + penalties of heresy. On his knees, with his hand on the Bible, he was + compelled to abjure and curse the doctrine of the movement of the earth. + What a spectacle! This venerable man, the most illustrious of his age, + forced by the threat of death to deny facts which his judges as well as + himself knew to be true! He was then committed to prison, treated with + remorseless severity during the remaining ten years of his life, and was + denied burial in consecrated ground. Must not that be false which requires + for its support so much imposture, so much barbarity? The opinions thus + defended by the Inquisition are now objects of derision to the whole + civilized world. + </p> + <p> + One of the greatest of modern mathematicians, referring to this subject, + says that the point here contested was one which is for mankind of the + highest interest, because of the rank it assigns to the globe that we + inhabit. If the earth be immovable in the midst of the universe, man has a + right to regard himself as the principal object of the care of Nature. But + if the earth be only one of the planets revolving round the sun, an + insignificant body in the solar system, she will disappear entirely in the + immensity of the heavens, in which this system, vast as it may appear to + us, is nothing but an insensible point. + </p> + <p> + The triumphant establishment of the Copernican doctrine dates from the + invention of the telescope. Soon there was not to be found in all Europe + an astronomer who had not accepted the heliocentric theory with its + essential postulate, the double motion of the earth—movement of + rotation on her axis, and a movement of revolution round the sun. If + additional proof of the latter were needed, it was furnished by Bradley's + great discovery of the aberration of the fixed stars, an aberration + depending partly on the progressive motion of light, and partly on the + revolution of the earth. Bradley's discovery ranked in importance with + that of the precession of the equinoxes. Roemer's discovery of the + progressive motion of light, though denounced by Fontenelle as a seductive + error, and not admitted by Cassini, at length forced its way to universal + acceptance. + </p> + <p> + Next it was necessary to obtain correct ideas of the dimensions of the + solar system, or, putting the problem under a more limited form, to + determine the distance of the earth from the sun. + </p> + <p> + In the time of Copernicus it was supposed that the sun's distance could + not exceed five million miles, and indeed there were many who thought that + estimate very extravagant. From a review of the observations of Tycho + Brahe, Kepler, however, concluded that the error was actually in the + opposite direction, and that the estimate must be raised to at least + thirteen million. In 1670 Cassini showed that these numbers were + altogether inconsistent with the facts, and gave as his conclusion + eighty-five million. + </p> + <p> + The transit of Venus over the face of the sun, June 3, 1769, had been + foreseen, and its great value in the solution of this fundamental problem + in astronomy appreciated. With commendable alacrity various governments + contributed their assistance in making observations, so that in Europe + there were fifty stations, in Asia six, in America seventeen. It was for + this purpose that the English Government dispatched Captain Cook on his + celebrated first voyage. He went to Otaheite. His voyage was crowned with + success. The sun rose without a cloud, and the sky continued equally clear + throughout the day. The transit at Cook's station lasted from about + half-past nine in the morning until about half-past three in the + afternoon, and all the observations were made in a satisfactory manner. + </p> + <p> + But, on the discussion of the observations made at the different stations, + it was found that there was not the accordance that could have been + desired—the result varying from eighty-eight to one hundred and nine + million. The celebrated mathematician, Encke, therefore reviewed them in + 1822-'24, and came to the conclusion that the sun's horizontal parallax, + that is, the angle under which the semi-diameter of the earth is seen from + the sun, is 8 576/1000 seconds; this gave as the distance 95,274,000 + miles. Subsequently the observations were reconsidered by Hansen, who gave + as their result 91,659,000 miles. Still later, Leverrier made it + 91,759,000. Airy and Stone, by another method, made it 91,400,000; Stone + alone, by a revision of the old observations, 91,730,000; and finally, + Foucault and Fizeau, from physical experiments, determining the velocity + of light, and therefore in their nature altogether differing from transit + observations, 91,400,000. Until the results of the transit of next year + (1874) are ascertained, it must therefore be admitted that the distance of + the earth from the sun is somewhat less than ninety-two million miles. + </p> + <p> + This distance once determined, the dimensions of the solar system may be + ascertained with ease and precision. It is enough to mention that the + distance of Neptune from the sun, the most remote of the planets at + present known, is about thirty times that of the earth. + </p> + <p> + By the aid of these numbers we may begin to gain a just appreciation of + the doctrine of the human destiny of the universe—the doctrine that + all things were made for man. Seen from the sun, the earth dwindles away + to a mere speck, a mere dust-mote glistening in his beams. If the reader + wishes a more precise valuation, let him hold a page of this book a couple + of feet from his eye; then let him consider one of its dots or full stops; + that dot is several hundred times larger in surface than is the earth as + seen from the sun! + </p> + <p> + Of what consequence, then, can such an almost imperceptible particle be? + One might think that it could be removed or even annihilated, and yet + never be missed. Of what consequence is one of those human monads, of whom + more than a thousand millions swarm on the surface of this all but + invisible speck, and of a million of whom scarcely one will leave a trace + that he has ever existed? Of what consequence is man, his pleasures or his + pains? + </p> + <p> + Among the arguments brought forward against the Copernican system at the + time of its promulgation, was one by the great Danish astronomer, Tycho + Brahe, originally urged by Aristarchus against the Pythagorean system, to + the effect that, if, as was alleged, the earth moves round the sun, there + ought to be a change of the direction in which the fixed stars appear. At + one time we are nearer to a particular region of the heavens by a distance + equal to the whole diameter of the earth's orbit than we were six months + previously, and hence there ought to be a change in the relative position + of the stars; they should seem to separate as we approach them, and to + close together as we recede from them; or, to use the astronomical + expression, these stars should have a yearly parallax. + </p> + <p> + The parallax of a star is the angle contained between two lines drawn from + it—one to the sun, the other to the earth. + </p> + <p> + At that time, the earth's distance from the sun was greatly + under-estimated. Had it been known, as it is now, that that distance + exceeds ninety million miles, or that the diameter of the orbit is more + than one hundred and eighty million, that argument would doubtless have + had very great weight. + </p> + <p> + In reply to Tycho, it was said that, since the parallax of a body + diminishes as its distance increases, a star may be so far off that its + parallax may be imperceptible. This answer proved to be correct. The + detection of the parallax of the stars depended on the improvement of + instruments for the measurement of angles. + </p> + <p> + The parallax of alpha Centauri, a fine double star of the Southern + Hemisphere, at present considered to be the nearest of the fixed stars, + was first determined by Henderson and Maclear at the Cape of Good Hope in + 1832-'33. It is about nine-tenths of a second. Hence this star is almost + two hundred and thirty thousand times as far from us as the sun. Seen from + it, if the sun were even large enough to fill the whole orbit of the + earth, or one hundred and eighty million miles in diameter, he would be a + mere point. With its companion, it revolves round their common centre of + gravity in eighty-one years, and hence it would seem that their conjoint + mass is less than that of the sun. + </p> + <p> + The star 61 Cygni is of the sixth magnitude. Its parallax was first found + by Bessel in 1838, and is about one-third of a second. The distance from + us is, therefore, much more than five hundred thousand times that of the + sun. With its companion, it revolves round their common centre of gravity + in five hundred and twenty years. Their conjoint weight is about one-third + that of the sun. + </p> + <p> + There is reason to believe that the great star Sirius, the brightest in + the heavens, is about six times as far off as alpha Centauri. His probable + diameter is twelve million miles, and the light he emits two hundred times + more brilliant than that of the sun. Yet, even through the telescope, he + has no measurable diameter; he looks merely like a very bright spark. + </p> + <p> + The stars, then, differ not merely in visible magnitude, but also in + actual size. As the spectroscope shows, they differ greatly in chemical + and physical constitution. That instrument is also revealing to us the + duration of the life of a star, through changes in the refrangibility of + the emitted light. Though, as we have seen, the nearest to us is at an + enormous and all but immeasurable distance, this is but the first step—there + are others the rays of which have taken thousands, perhaps millions, of + years to reach us! The limits of our own system are far beyond the range + of our greatest telescopes; what, then, shall we say of other systems + beyond? Worlds are scattered like dust in the abysses in space. + </p> + <p> + Have these gigantic bodies—myriads of which are placed at so vast a + distance that our unassisted eyes cannot perceive them—have these no + other purpose than that assigned by theologians, to give light to us? Does + not their enormous size demonstrate that, as they are centres of force, so + they must be centres of motion—suns for other systems of worlds? + </p> + <p> + While yet these facts were very imperfectly known—indeed, were + rather speculations than facts—Giordano Bruno, an Italian, born + seven years after the death of Copernicus, published a work on the + "Infinity of the Universe and of Worlds;" he was also the author of + "Evening Conversations on Ash-Wednesday," an apology for the Copernican + system, and of "The One Sole Cause of Things." To these may be added an + allegory published in 1584, "The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast." He + had also collected, for the use of future astronomers, all the + observations he could find respecting the new star that suddenly appeared + in Cassiopeia, A.D. 1572, and increased in brilliancy, until it surpassed + all the other stars. It could be plainly seen in the daytime. On a sudden, + November 11th, it was as bright as Venus at her brightest. In the + following March it was of the first magnitude. It exhibited various hues + of color in a few months, and disappeared in March, 1574. + </p> + <p> + The star that suddenly appeared in Serpentarius, in Kepler's time (1604), + was at first brighter than Venus. It lasted more than a year, and, passing + through various tints of purple, yellow, red, became extinguished. + </p> + <p> + Originally, Bruno was intended for the Church. He had become a Dominican, + but was led into doubt by his meditations on the subjects of + transubstantiation and the immaculate conception. Not caring to conceal + his opinions, he soon fell under the censure of the spiritual authorities, + and found it necessary to seek refuge successively in Switzerland, France, + England, Germany. The cold-scented sleuth-hounds of the Inquisition + followed his track remorselessly, and eventually hunted him back to Italy. + He was arrested in Venice, and confined in the Piombi for six years, + without books, or paper, or friends. + </p> + <p> + In England he had given lectures on the plurality of worlds, and in that + country had written, in Italian, his most important works. It added not a + little to the exasperation against him, that he was perpetually declaiming + against the insincerity; the impostures, of his persecutors—that + wherever he went he found skepticism varnished over and concealed by + hypocrisy; and that it was not against the belief of men, but against + their pretended belief, that he was fighting; that he was struggling with + an orthodoxy that had neither morality nor faith. + </p> + <p> + In his "Evening Conversations" he had insisted that the Scriptures were + never intended to teach science, but morals only; and that they cannot be + received as of any authority on astronomical and physical subjects. + Especially must we reject the view they reveal to us of the constitution + of the world, that the earth is a flat surface, supported on pillars; that + the sky is a firmament—the floor of heaven. On the contrary, we must + believe that the universe is infinite, and that it is filled with + self-luminous and opaque worlds, many of them inhabited; that there is + nothing above and around us but space and stars. His meditations on these + subjects had brought him to the conclusion that the views of Averroes are + not far from the truth—that there is an Intellect which animates the + universe, and of this Intellect the visible world is only an emanation or + manifestation, originated and sustained by force derived from it, and, + were that force withdrawn, all things would disappear. This ever-present, + all-pervading Intellect is God, who lives in all things, even such as seem + not to live; that every thing is ready to become organized, to burst into + life. God is, therefore, "the One Sole Cause of Things," "the All in All." + </p> + <p> + Bruno may hence be considered among philosophical writers as intermediate + between Averroes and Spinoza. The latter held that God and the Universe + are the same, that all events happen by an immutable law of Nature, by an + unconquerable necessity; that God is the Universe, producing a series of + necessary movements or acts, in consequence of intrinsic, unchangeable, + and irresistible energy. + </p> + <p> + On the demand of the spiritual authorities, Bruno was removed from Venice + to Rome, and confined in the prison of the Inquisition, accused not only + of being a heretic, but also a heresiarch, who had written things unseemly + concerning religion; the special charge against him being that he had + taught the plurality of worlds, a doctrine repugnant to the whole tenor of + Scripture and inimical to revealed religion, especially as regards the + plan of salvation. After an imprisonment of two years he was brought + before his judges, declared guilty of the acts alleged, excommunicated, + and, on his nobly refusing to recant, was delivered over to the secular + authorities to be punished "as mercifully as possible, and without the + shedding of his blood," the horrible formula for burning a prisoner at the + stake. Knowing well that though his tormentors might destroy his body, his + thoughts would still live among men, he said to his judges, "Perhaps it is + with greater fear that you pass the sentence upon me than I receive it." + The sentence was carried into effect, and he was burnt at Rome, February + 16th, A.D. 1600. + </p> + <p> + No one can recall without sentiments of pity the sufferings of those + countless martyrs, who first by one party, and then by another, have been + brought for their religious opinions to the stake. But each of these had + in his supreme moment a powerful and unfailing support. The passage from + this life to the next, though through a hard trial, was the passage from a + transient trouble to eternal happiness, an escape from the cruelty of + earth to the charity of heaven. On his way through the dark valley the + martyr believed that there was an invisible hand that would lead him, a + friend that would guide him all the more gently and firmly because of the + terrors of the flames. For Bruno there was no such support. The + philosophical opinions, for the sake of which he surrendered his life, + could give him no consolation. He must fight the last fight alone. Is + there not something very grand in the attitude of this solitary man, + something which human nature cannot help admiring, as he stands in the + gloomy hall before his inexorable judges? No accuser, no witness, no + advocate is present, but the familiars of the Holy Office, clad in black, + are stealthily moving about. The tormentors and the rack are in the vaults + below. He is simply told that he has brought upon himself strong + suspicions of heresy, since he has said that there are other worlds than + ours. He is asked if he will recant and abjure his error. He cannot and + will not deny what he knows to be true, and perhaps—for he had often + done so before—he tells his judges that they, too, in their hearts + are of the same belief. What a contrast between this scene of manly honor, + of unshaken firmness, of inflexible adherence to the truth, and that other + scene which took place more than fifteen centuries previously by the + fireside in the hall of Caiaphas the high-priest, when the cock crew, and + "the Lord turned and looked upon Peter" (Luke xxii. 61)! And yet it is + upon Peter that the Church has grounded her right to act as she did to + Bruno. But perhaps the day approaches when posterity will offer an + expiation for this great ecclesiastical crime, and a statue of Bruno be + unveiled under the dome of St. Peter's at Rome. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + CONTROVERSY RESPECTING THE AGE OF THE EARTH. + + Scriptural view that the Earth is only six thousand years + old, and that it was made in a week.—Patristic chronology + founded on the ages of the patriarchs.—Difficulties arising + from different estimates in different versions of the Bible. + + Legend of the Deluge.—The repeopling.—The Tower of Babel; + the confusion of tongues.—The primitive language. + + Discovery by Cassini of the oblateness of the planet + Jupiter.—Discovery by Newton of the oblateness of the + Earth.—Deduction that she has been modeled by mechanical + causes.—Confirmation of this by geological discoveries + respecting aqueous rocks; corroboration by organic remains.— + The necessity of admitting enormously long periods of + time.—Displacement of the doctrine of Creation by that of + Evolution—Discoveries respecting the Antiquity of Man. + + The time-scale and space-scale of the world are infinite.— + Moderation with which the discussion of the Age of the World + has been conducted. +</pre> + <p> + THE true position of the earth in the universe was established only after + a long and severe conflict. The Church used whatever power she had, even + to the infliction of death, for sustaining her ideas. But it was in vain. + The evidence in behalf of the Copernican theory became irresistible. It + was at length universally admitted that the sun is the central, the ruling + body of our system; the earth only one, and by no means the largest, of a + family of encircling planets. Taught by the issue of that dispute, when + the question of the age of the world presented itself for consideration, + the Church did not exhibit the active resistance she had displayed on the + former occasion. For, though her traditions were again put in jeopardy, + they were not, in her judgment, so vitally assailed. To dethrone the Earth + from her dominating position was, so the spiritual authorities declared, + to undermine the very foundation of revealed truth; but discussions + respecting the date of creation might within certain limits be permitted. + Those limits were, however, very quickly overpassed, and thus the + controversy became as dangerous as the former one had been. + </p> + <p> + It was not possible to adopt the advice given by Plato in his "Timaeus," + when treating of this subject—the origin of the universe: "It is + proper that both I who speak and you who judge should remember that we are + but men, and therefore, receiving the probable mythological tradition, it + is meet that we inquire no further into it." Since the time of St. + Augustine the Scriptures had been made the great and final authority in + all matters of science, and theologians had deduced from them schemes of + chronology and cosmogony which had proved to be stumbling-blocks to the + advance of real knowledge. + </p> + <p> + It is not necessary for us to do more than to allude to some of the + leading features of these schemes; their peculiarities will be easily + discerned with sufficient clearness. Thus, from the six days of creation + and the Sabbath-day of rest, since we are told that a day is with the Lord + as a thousand years, it was inferred that the duration of the world will + be through six thousand years of suffering, and an additional thousand, a + millennium of rest. It was generally admitted that the earth was about + four thousand years old at the birth of Christ, but, so careless had + Europe been in the study of its annals, that not Until A.D. 627 had it a + proper chronology of its own. A Roman abbot, Dionysius Exiguus, or Dennis + the Less, then fixed the vulgar era, and gave Europe its present Christian + chronology. + </p> + <p> + The method followed in obtaining the earliest chronological dates was by + computations, mainly founded on the lives of the patriarchs. Much + difficulty was encountered in reconciling numerical discrepancies. Even + if, as was taken for granted in those uncritical ages, Moses was the + author of the books imputed to him, due weight was not given to the fact + that he related events, many of which took place more than two thousand + years before he was born. It scarcely seemed necessary to regard the + Pentateuch as of plenary inspiration, since no means had been provided to + perpetuate its correctness. The different copies which had escaped the + chances of time varied very much; thus the Samaritan made thirteen hundred + and seven years from the Creation to the Deluge, the Hebrew sixteen + hundred and fifty-six, the Septuagint twenty-two hundred and sixty-three. + The Septuagint counted fifteen hundred years more from the Creation to + Abraham than the Hebrew. In general, however, there was an inclination to + the supposition that the Deluge took place about two thousand years after + the Creation, and, after another interval of two thousand years, Christ + was born. Persons who had given much attention to the subject affirmed + that there were not less than one hundred and thirty-two different + opinions as to the year in which the Messiah appeared, and hence they + declared that it was inexpedient to press for acceptance the Scriptural + numbers too closely, since it was plain, from the great differences in + different copies, that there had been no providential intervention to + perpetuate a correct reading, nor was there any mark by which men could be + guided to the only authentic version. Even those held in the highest + esteem contained undeniable errors. Thus the Septuagint made Methuselah + live until after the Deluge. + </p> + <p> + It was thought that, in the antediluvian world, the year consisted of + three hundred and sixty days. Some even affirmed that this was the origin + of the division of the circle into three hundred and sixty degrees. At the + time of the Deluge, so many theologians declared, the motion of the sun + was altered, and the year became five days and six hours longer. There was + a prevalent opinion that that stupendous event occurred on November 2d, in + the year of the world 1656. Dr. Whiston, however, disposed to greater + precision, inclined to postpone it to November 28th. Some thought that the + rainbow was not seen until after the flood; others, apparently with better + reason, inferred that it was then first established as a sign. On coming + forth from the ark, men received permission to use flesh as food, the + antediluvians having been herbivorous! It would seem that the Deluge had + not occasioned any great geographical changes, for Noah, relying on his + antediluvian knowledge, proceeded to divide the earth among his three + sons, giving to Japhet Europe, to Shem Asia, to Ham Africa. No provision + was made for America, as he did not know of its existence. These + patriarchs, undeterred by the terrible solitudes to which they were going, + by the undrained swamps and untracked forests, journeyed to their allotted + possessions, and commenced the settlement of the continents. + </p> + <p> + In seventy years the Asiatic family had increased to several hundred. They + had found their way to the plains of Mesopotamia, and there, for some + motive that we cannot divine, began building a tower "whose top might + reach to heaven." Eusebius informs us that the work continued for forty + years. They did not abandon it until a miraculous confusion of their + language took place and dispersed them all over the earth. St. Ambrose + shows that this confusion could not have been brought about by men. Origen + believes that not even the angels accomplished it. + </p> + <p> + The confusion of tongues has given rise to many curious speculations among + divines as to the primitive speech of man. Some have thought that the + language of Adam consisted altogether of nouns, that they were + monosyllables, and that the confusion was occasioned by the introduction + of polysyllables. But these learned men must surely have overlooked the + numerous conversations reported in Genesis, such as those between the + Almighty and Adam, the serpent and Eve, etc. In these all the various + parts of speech occur. There was, however, a coincidence of opinion that + the primitive language was Hebrew. On the general principles of + patristicism, it was fitting that this should be the case. + </p> + <p> + The Greek Fathers computed that, at the time of the dispersion, + seventy-two nations were formed, and in this conclusion St. Augustine + coincides. But difficulties seem to have been recognized in these + computations; thus the learned Dr. Shuckford, who has treated very + elaborately on all the foregoing points in his excellent work "On the + Sacred and Profane History of the World connected," demonstrates that + there could not have been more than twenty-one or twenty-two men, women, + and children, in each of those kingdoms. + </p> + <p> + A very vital point in this system of chronological computation, based upon + the ages of the patriarchs, was the great length of life to which those + worthies attained. It was generally supposed that before the Flood "there + was a perpetual equinox," and no vicissitudes in Nature. After that event + the standard of life diminished one-half, and in the time of the Psalmist + it had sunk to seventy years, at which it still remains. Austerities of + climate were affirmed to have arisen through the shifting of the earth's + axis at the Flood, and to this ill effect were added the noxious + influences of that universal catastrophe, which, "converting the surface + of the earth into a vast swamp, gave rise to fermentations of the blood + and a weakening of the fibres." + </p> + <p> + With a view of avoiding difficulties arising from the extraordinary length + of the patriarchal lives, certain divines suggested that the years spoken + of by the sacred penman were not ordinary but lunar years. This, though it + might bring the age of those venerable men within the recent term of life, + introduced, however, another insuperable difficulty, since it made them + have children when only five or six years old. + </p> + <p> + Sacred science, as interpreted by the Fathers of the Church, demonstrated + these facts: 1. That the date of Creation was comparatively recent, not + more than four or five thousand years before Christ; 2. That the act of + Creation occupied the space of six ordinary days; 3. That the Deluge was + universal, and that the animals which survived it were preserved in an + ark; 4. That Adam was created perfect in morality and intelligence, that + he fell, and that his descendants have shared in his sin and his fall. + </p> + <p> + Of these points and others that might be mentioned there were two on which + ecclesiastical authority felt that it must insist. These were: 1. The + recent date of Creation; for, the remoter that event, the more urgent the + necessity of vindicating the justice of God, who apparently had left the + majority of our race to its fate, and had reserved salvation for the few + who were living in the closing ages of the world; 2. The perfect condition + of Adam at his creation, since this was necessary to the theory of the + fall, and the plan of salvation. + </p> + <p> + Theological authorities were therefore constrained to look with disfavor + on any attempt to carry back the origin of the earth, to an epoch + indefinitely remote, and on the Mohammedan theory of the evolution of man + from lower forms, or his gradual development to his present condition in + the long lapse of time. + </p> + <p> + From the puerilities, absurdities, and contradictions of the foregoing + statement, we may gather how very unsatisfactory this so-called sacred + science was. And perhaps we may be brought to the conclusion to which Dr. + Shuckford, above quoted, was constrained to come, after his wearisome and + unavailing attempt to coordinate its various parts: "As to the Fathers of + the first ages of the Church, they were good men, but not men of universal + learning." + </p> + <p> + Sacred cosmogony regards the formation and modeling of the earth as the + direct act of God; it rejects the intervention of secondary causes in + those events. + </p> + <p> + Scientific cosmogony dates from the telescopic discovery made by Cassini—an + Italian astronomer, under whose care Louis XIV. placed the Observatory of + Paris—that the planet Jupiter is not a sphere, but an oblate + spheroid, flattened at the poles. Mechanical philosophy demonstrated that + such a figure is the necessary result of the rotation of a yielding mass, + and that the more rapid the rotation the greater the flattening, or, what + comes to the same thing, the greater the equatorial bulging must be. + </p> + <p> + From considerations—purely of a mechanical kind—Newton had + foreseen that such likewise, though to a less striking extent, must be the + figure of the earth. To the protuberant mass is due the precession of the + equinoxes, which requires twenty-five thousand eight hundred and + sixty-eight years for its completion, and also the nutation of the earth's + axis, discovered by Bradley. We have already had occasion to remark that + the earth's equatorial diameter exceeds the polar by about twenty-six + miles. + </p> + <p> + Two facts are revealed by the oblateness of the earth: 1. That she has + formerly been in a yielding or plastic condition; 2. That she has been + modeled by a mechanical and therefore a secondary cause. + </p> + <p> + But this influence of mechanical causes is manifested not only in the + exterior configuration of the globe of the earth as a spheroid of + revolution, it also plainly appears on an examination of the arrangement + of her substance. + </p> + <p> + If we consider the aqueous rocks, their aggregate is many miles in + thickness; yet they undeniably have been of slow deposit. The material of + which they consist has been obtained by the disintegration of ancient + lands; it has found its way into the water-courses, and by them been + distributed anew. Effects of this kind, taking place before our eyes, + require a very considerable lapse of time to produce a well-marked result—a + water deposit may in this manner measure in thickness a few inches in a + century—what, then, shall we say as to the time consumed in the + formation of deposits of many thousand yards? + </p> + <p> + The position of the coast-line of Egypt has been known for much more than + two thousand years. In that time it has made, by reason of the detritus + brought down by the Nile, a distinctly-marked encroachment on the + Mediterranean. But all Lower Egypt has had a similar origin. The + coast-line near the mouth of the Mississippi has been well known for three + hundred years, and during that time has scarcely made a perceptible + advance on the Gulf of Mexico; but there was a time when the delta of that + river was at St. Louis, more than seven hundred miles from its present + position. In Egypt and in America—in fact, in all countries—the + rivers have been inch by inch prolonging the land into the sea; the + slowness of their work and the vastness of its extent satisfy us that we + must concede for the operation enormous periods of time. + </p> + <p> + To the same conclusion we are brought if we consider the filling of lakes, + the deposit of travertines, the denudation of hills, the cutting action of + the sea on its shores, the undermining of cliffs, the weathering of rocks + by atmospheric water and carbonic acid. + </p> + <p> + Sedimentary strata must have been originally deposited in planes nearly + horizontal. Vast numbers of them have been forced, either by paroxysms at + intervals or by gradual movement, into all manner of angular inclinations. + Whatever explanations we may offer of these innumerable and immense tilts + and fractures, they would seem to demand for their completion an + inconceivable length of time. + </p> + <p> + The coal-bearing strata in Wales, by their gradual submergence, have + attained a thickness of 12,000 feet; in Nova Scotia of 14,570 feet. So + slow and so steady was this submergence, that erect trees stand one above + another on successive levels; seventeen such repetitions may be counted in + a thickness of 4,515 feet. The age of the trees is proved by their size, + some being four feet in diameter. Round them, as they gradually went down + with the subsiding soil, calamites grew, at one level after another. In + the Sydney coal-field fifty-nine fossil forests occur in superposition. + </p> + <p> + Marine shells, found on mountain-tops far in the interior of continents, + were regarded by theological writers as an indisputable illustration of + the Deluge. But when, as geological studies became more exact, it was + proved that in the crust of the earth vast fresh-water formations are + repeatedly intercalated with vast marine ones, like the leaves of a book, + it became evident that no single cataclysm was sufficient to account for + such results; that the same region, through gradual variations of its + level and changes in its topographical surroundings, had sometimes been + dry land, sometimes covered with fresh and sometimes with sea water. It + became evident also that, for the completion of these changes, tens of + thousands of years were required. + </p> + <p> + To this evidence of a remote origin of the earth, derived from the vast + superficial extent, the enormous thickness, and the varied characters of + its strata, was added an imposing body of proof depending on its fossil + remains. The relative ages of formations having been ascertained, it was + shown that there has been an advancing physiological progression of + organic forms, both vegetable and animal, from the oldest to the most + recent; that those which inhabit the surface in our times are but an + insignificant fraction of the prodigious multitude that have inhabited it + heretofore; that for each species now living there are thousands that have + become extinct. Though special formations are so strikingly characterized + by some predominating type of life as to justify such expressions as the + age of mollusks, the age of reptiles, the age of mammals, the introduction + of the new-comers did not take place abruptly. as by sudden creation. They + gradually emerged in an antecedent age, reached their culmination in the + one which they characterize, and then gradually died out in a succeeding. + There is no such thing as a sudden creation, a sudden strange appearance—but + there is a slow metamorphosis, a slow development from a preexisting form. + Here again we encounter the necessity of admitting for such results long + periods of time. Within the range of history no well-marked instance of + such development has been witnessed, and we speak with hesitation of + doubtful instances of extinction. Yet in geological times myriads of + evolutions and extinctions have occurred. + </p> + <p> + Since thus, within the experience of man, no case of metamorphosis or + development has been observed, some have been disposed to deny its + possibility altogether, affirming that all the different species have come + into existence by separate creative acts. But surely it is less + unphilosophical to suppose that each species has been evolved from a + predecessor by a modification of its parts, than that it has suddenly + started into existence out of nothing. Nor is there much weight in the + remark that no man has ever witnessed such a transformation taking place. + Let it be remembered that no man has ever witnessed an act of creation, + the sudden appearance of an organic form, without any progenitor. + </p> + <p> + Abrupt, arbitrary, disconnected creative acts may serve to illustrate the + Divine power; but that continuous unbroken chain of organisms which + extends from palaeozoic formations to the formations of recent times, a + chain in which each link hangs on a preceding and sustains a succeeding + one, demonstrates to us not only that the production of animated beings is + governed by law, but that it is by law that has undergone no change. In + its operation, through myriads of ages, there has been no variation, no + suspension. + </p> + <p> + The foregoing paragraphs may serve to indicate the character of a portion + of the evidence with which we must deal in considering the problem of the + age of the earth. Through the unintermitting labors of geologists, so + immense a mass has been accumulated, that many volumes would be required + to contain the details. It is drawn from the phenomena presented by all + kinds of rocks, aqueous, igneous, metamorphic. Of aqueous rocks it + investigates the thickness, the inclined positions, and how they rest + unconformably on one another; how those that are of fresh-water origin are + intercalated with those that are marine; how vast masses of material have + been removed by slow-acting causes of denudation, and extensive + geographical surfaces have been remodeled; how continents have undergone + movements of elevation and depression, their shores sunk under the ocean, + or sea-beaches and sea-cliffs carried far into the interior. It considers + the zoological and botanical facts, the fauna and flora of the successive + ages, and how in an orderly manner the chain of organic forms, plants, and + animals, has been extended, from its dim and doubtful beginnings to our + own times. From facts presented by the deposits of coal-coal which, in all + its varieties, has originated from the decay of plants—it not only + demon strates the changes that have taken place in the earth's atmosphere, + but also universal changes of climate. From other facts it proves that + there have been oscillations of temperature, periods in which the mean + heat has risen, and periods in which the polar ices and snows have covered + large portions of the existing continents—glacial periods, as they + are termed. + </p> + <p> + One school of geologists, resting its argument on very imposing evidence, + teaches that the whole mass of the earth, from being in a molten, or + perhaps a vaporous condition, has cooled by radiation in the lapse of + millions of ages, until it has reached its present equilibrium of + temperature. Astronomical observations give great weight to this + interpretation, especially so far as the planetary bodies of the solar + system are concerned. It is also supported by such facts as the small mean + density of the earth, the increasing temperature at increasing depths, the + phenomena of volcanoes and injected veins, and those of igneous and + metamorphic rocks. To satisfy the physical changes which this school of + geologists contemplates, myriads of centuries are required. + </p> + <p> + But, with the views that the adoption of the Copernican system has given + us, it is plain that we cannot consider the origin and biography of the + earth in an isolated way; we must include with her all the other members + of the system or family to which she belongs. Nay, more, we cannot + restrict ourselves to the solar system; we must embrace in our discussions + the starry worlds. And, since we have become familiarized with their + almost immeasurable distances from one another, we are prepared to accept + for their origin an immeasurably remote time. There are stars so far off + that their light, fast as it travels, has taken thousands of years to + reach us, and hence they must have been in existence many thousands of + years ago. + </p> + <p> + Geologists having unanimously agreed—for perhaps there is not a + single dissenting voice—that the chronology of the earth must be + greatly extended, attempts have been made to give precision to it. Some of + these have been based on astronomical, some on physical principles. Thus + calculations founded on the known changes of the eccentricity of the + earth's orbit, with a view of determining the lapse of time since the + beginning of the last glacial period, have given two hundred and forty + thousand years. Though the general postulate of the immensity of + geological times may be conceded, such calculations are on too uncertain a + theoretical basis to furnish incontestable results. + </p> + <p> + But, considering the whole subject from the present scientific + stand-point, it is very clear that the views presented by theological + writers, as derived from the Mosaic record, cannot be admitted. Attempts + have been repeatedly made to reconcile the revealed with the discovered + facts, but they have proved to be unsatisfactory. The Mosaic time is too + short, the order of creation incorrect, the divine interventions too + anthropomorphic; and, though the presentment of the subject is in harmony + with the ideas that men have entertained, when first their minds were + turned to the acquisition of natural knowledge, it is not in accordance + with their present conceptions of the insignificance of the earth and the + grandeur of the universe. + </p> + <p> + Among late geological discoveries is one of special interest; it is the + detection of human remains and human works in formations which, though + geologically recent, are historically very remote. + </p> + <p> + The fossil remains of men, with rude implements of rough or chipped flint, + of polished stone, of bone, of bronze, are found in Europe in caves, in + drifts, in peat-beds. They indicate a savage life, spent in hunting and + fishing. Recent researches give reason to believe that, under low and base + grades, the existence of man can be traced back into the tertiary times. + He was contemporary with the southern elephant, the rhinoceros + leptorhinus, the great hippopotamus, perhaps even in the miocene + contemporary with the mastodon. + </p> + <p> + At the close of the Tertiary period, from causes not yet determined, the + Northern Hemisphere underwent a great depression of temperature. From a + torrid it passed to a glacial condition. After a period of prodigious + length, the temperature again rose, and the glaciers that had so + extensively covered the surface receded. Once more there was a decline in + the heat, and the glaciers again advanced, but this time not so far as + formerly. This ushered in the Quaternary period, during which very slowly + the temperature came to its present degree. The water deposits that were + being made required thousands of centuries for their completion. At the + beginning of the Quaternary period there were alive the cave-bear, the + cave-lion, the amphibious hippopotamus, the rhinoceros with chambered + nostrils, the mammoth. In fact, the mammoth swarmed. He delighted in a + boreal climate. By degrees the reindeer, the horse, the ox, the bison, + multiplied, and disputed with him his food. Partly for this reason, and + partly because of the increasing heat, he became extinct. From middle + Europe, also, the reindeer retired. His departure marks the end of the + Quaternary period. + </p> + <p> + Since the advent of man on the earth, we have, therefore, to deal with + periods of incalculable length. Vast changes in the climate and fauna were + produced by the slow operation of causes such as are in action at the + present day. Figures cannot enable us to appreciate these enormous lapses + of time. + </p> + <p> + It seems to be satisfactorily established, that a race allied to the + Basques may be traced back to the Neolithic age. At that time the British + Islands were undergoing a change of level, like that at present occurring + in the Scandinavian Peninsula. Scotland was rising, England was sinking. + In the Pleistocene age there existed in Central Europe a rude race of + hunters and fishers closely allied to the Esquimaux. + </p> + <p> + In the old glacial drift of Scotland the relics of man are found along + with those of the fossil elephant. This carries us back to that time above + referred to, when a large portion of Europe was covered with ice, which + had edged down from the polar regions to southerly latitudes, and, as + glaciers, descended from the summits of the mountain-chains into the + plains. Countless species of animals perished in this cataclysm of ice and + snow, but man survived. + </p> + <p> + In his primitive savage condition, living for the most part on fruits, + roots, shell-fish, man was in possession of a fact which was certain + eventually to insure his civilization. He knew how to make a fire. In + peat-beds, under the remains of trees that in those localities have long + ago become extinct, his relics are still found, the implements that + accompany him indicating a distinct chronological order. Near the surface + are those of bronze, lower down those of bone or horn, still lower those + of polished stone, and beneath all those of chipped or rough stone. The + date of the origin of some of these beds cannot be estimated at less than + forty or fifty thousand years. + </p> + <p> + The caves that have been examined in France and elsewhere have furnished + for the Stone age axes, knives, lance and arrow points, scrapers, hammers. + The change from what may be termed the chipped to the polished stone + period is very gradual. It coincides with the domestication of the dog, an + epoch in hunting-life. It embraces thousands of centuries. The appearance + of arrow-heads indicates the invention of the bow, and the rise of man + from a defensive to an offensive mode of life. The introduction of barbed + arrows shows how inventive talent was displaying itself; bone and horn + tips, that the huntsman was including smaller animals, and perhaps birds, + in his chase; bone whistles, his companionship with other huntsmen or with + his dog. The scraping-knives of flint indicate the use of skin for + clothing, and rude bodkins and needles its manufacture. Shells perforated + for bracelets and necklaces prove how soon a taste for personal adornment + was acquired; the implements necessary for the preparation of pigments + suggest the painting of the body, and perhaps tattooing; and batons of + rank bear witness to the beginning of a social organization. + </p> + <p> + With the utmost interest we look upon the first germs of art among these + primitive men. They have left its rude sketches on pieces of ivory and + flakes of bone, and carvings, of the animals contemporary with them. In + these prehistoric delineations, sometimes not without spirit, we have + mammoths, combats of reindeer. One presents us with a man harpooning a + fish, another a hunting-scene of naked men armed with the dart. Man is the + only animal who has the propensity of depicting external forms, and of + availing himself of the use of fire. + </p> + <p> + Shell-mounds, consisting of bones and shells, some of which may be justly + described as of vast extent, and of a date anterior to the Bronze age, and + full of stone implements, bear in all their parts indications of the use + of fire. These are often adjacent to the existing coasts sometimes, + however, they are far inland, in certain instances as far as fifty miles. + Their contents and position indicate for them a date posterior to that of + the great extinct mammals, but prior to the domesticated. Some of these, + it is said, cannot be less than one hundred thousand years old. + </p> + <p> + The lake-dwellings in Switzerland—huts built on piles or logs, + wattled with boughs—were, as may be inferred from the accompanying + implements, begun in the Stone age, and continued into that of Bronze. In + the latter period the evidences become numerous of the adoption of an + agricultural life. + </p> + <p> + It must not be supposed that the periods into which geologists have found + it convenient to divide the progress of man in civilization are abrupt + epochs, which hold good simultaneously for the whole human race. Thus the + wandering Indians of America are only at the present moment emerging from + the Stone age. They are still to be seen in many places armed with arrows, + tipped with flakes of flint. It is but as yesterday that some have + obtained, from the white man, iron, fire-arms, and the horse. + </p> + <p> + So far as investigations have gone, they indisputably refer the existence + of man to a date remote from us by many hundreds of thousands of years. It + must be borne in mind that these investigations are quite recent, and + confined to a very limited geographical space. No researches have yet been + made in those regions which might reasonably be regarded as the primitive + habitat of man. + </p> + <p> + We are thus carried back immeasurably beyond the six thousand years of + Patristic chronology. It is difficult to assign a shorter date for the + last glaciation of Europe than a quarter of a million of years, and human + existence antedates that. But not only is it this grand fact that + confronts us, we have to admit also a primitive animalized state, and a + slow, a gradual development. But this forlorn, this savage condition of + humanity is in strong contrast to the paradisiacal happiness of the garden + of Eden, and, what is far more serious, it is inconsistent with the theory + of the Fall. + </p> + <p> + I have been induced to place the subject of this chapter out of its proper + chronological order, for the sake of presenting what I had to say + respecting the nature of the world more completely by itself. The + discussions that arose as to the age of the earth were long after the + conflict as to the criterion of truth—that is, after the + Reformation; indeed, they were substantially included in the present + century. They have been conducted with so much moderation as to justify + the term I have used in the title of this chapter, "Controversy," rather + than "Conflict." Geology has not had to encounter the vindictive + opposition with which astronomy was assailed, and, though, on her part, + she has insisted on a concession of great antiquity for the earth, she has + herself pointed out the unreliability of all numerical estimates thus far + offered. The attentive reader of this chapter cannot have failed to + observe inconsistencies in the numbers quoted. Though wanting the merit of + exactness, those numbers, however, justify the claim of vast antiquity, + and draw us to the conclusion that the time-scale of the world answers to + the space-scale in magnitude. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + CONFLICT RESPECTING THE CRITERION OF TRUTH. + + Ancient philosophy declares that man has no means of + ascertaining the truth. + + Differences of belief arise among the early Christians—An + ineffectual attempt is made to remedy them by Councils.— + Miracle and ordeal proof introduced. + + The papacy resorts to auricular confession and the + Inquisition.—It perpetrates frightful atrocities for the + suppression of differences of opinion. + + Effect of the discovery of the Pandects of Justinian and + development of the canon law on the nature of evidence.—It + becomes more scientific. + + The Reformation establishes the rights of individual + reason.—Catholicism asserts that the criterion of truth is + in the Church. It restrains the reading of books by the + Index Expurgatorius, and combats dissent by such means as + the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve. + + Examination of the authenticity of the Pentateuch as the + Protestant criterion.—Spurious character of those books. + + For Science the criterion of truth is to be found in the + revelations of Nature: for the Protestant, it is in the + Scriptures; for the Catholic, in an infallible Pope. +</pre> + <p> + "WHAT is truth?" was the passionate demand of a Roman procurator on one of + the most momentous occasions in history. And the Divine Person who stood + before him, to whom the interrogation was addressed, made no reply—unless, + indeed, silence contained the reply. + </p> + <p> + Often and vainly had that demand been made before—often and vainly + has it been made since. No one has yet given a satisfactory answer. + </p> + <p> + When, at the dawn of science in Greece, the ancient religion was + disappearing like a mist at sunrise, the pious and thoughtful men of that + country were thrown into a condition of intellectual despair. Anaxagoras + plaintively exclaims, "Nothing can be known, nothing can be learned, + nothing can be certain, sense is limited, intellect is weak, life is + short." Xenophanes tells us that it is impossible for us to be certain + even when we utter the truth. Parmenides declares that the very + constitution of man prevents him from ascertaining absolute truth. + Empedocles affirms that all philosophical and religious systems must be + unreliable, because we have no criterion by which to test them. Democritus + asserts that even things that are true cannot impart certainty to us; that + the final result of human inquiry is the discovery that man is incapable + of absolute knowledge; that, even if the truth be in his possession, he + cannot be certain of it. Pyrrho bids us reflect on the necessity of + suspending our judgment of things, since we have no criterion of truth; so + deep a distrust did he impart to his followers, that they were in the + habit of saying, "We assert nothing; no, not even that we assert nothing." + Epicurus taught his disciples that truth can never be determined by + reason. Arcesilaus, denying both intellectual and sensuous knowledge, + publicly avowed that he knew nothing, not even his own ignorance! The + general conclusion to which Greek philosophy came was this—that, in + view of the contradiction of the evidence of the senses, we cannot + distinguish the true from the false; and such is the imperfection of + reason, that we cannot affirm the correctness of any philosophical + deduction. + </p> + <p> + It might be supposed that a revelation from God to man would come with + such force and clearness as to settle all uncertainties and overwhelm all + opposition. A Greek philosopher, less despairing than others, had ventured + to affirm that the coexistence of two forms of faith, both claiming to be + revealed by the omnipotent God, proves that neither of them is true. But + let us remember that it is difficult for men to come to the same + conclusion as regards even material and visible things, unless they stand + at the same point of view. If discord and distrust were the condition of + philosophy three hundred years before the birth of Christ, discord and + distrust were the condition of religion three hundred years after his + death. This is what Hilary, the Bishop of Poictiers, in his well-known + passage written about the time of the Nicene Council, says: + </p> + <p> + "It is a thing equally deplorable and dangerous that there are, as many + creeds as opinions among men, as many doctrines as inclinations, and as + many sources of blasphemy as there are faults among us, because we make + creeds arbitrarily and explain them as arbitrarily. Every year, nay, every + moon, we make new creeds to describe invisible mysteries; we repent of + what we have done; we defend those who repent; we anathematize those whom + we defend; we condemn either the doctrines of others in ourselves, or our + own in that of others; and, reciprocally tearing each other to pieces, we + have been the cause of each other's ruin." + </p> + <p> + These are not mere words; but the import of this self-accusation can be + realized fully only by such as are familiar with the ecclesiastical + history of those times. As soon as the first fervor of Christianity as a + system of benevolence had declined, dissensions appeared. Ecclesiastical + historians assert that "as early as the second century began the contest + between faith and reason, religion and philosophy, piety and genius." To + compose these dissensions, to obtain some authoritative expression, some + criterion of truth, assemblies for consultation were resorted to, which + eventually took the form of councils. For a long time they had nothing + more than an advisory authority; but, when, in the fourth century, + Christianity had attained to imperial rule, their dictates became + compulsory, being enforced by the civil power. By this the whole face of + the Church was changed. Oecumenical councils—parliaments of + Christianity—consisting of delegates from all the churches in the + world, were summoned by the authority of the emperor; he presided either + personally or nominally in them—composed all differences, and was, + in fact, the Pope of Christendom. Mosheim, the historian, to whom I have + more particularly referred above, speaking of these times, remarks that + "there was nothing to exclude the ignorant from ecclesiastical preferment; + the savage and illiterate party, who looked on all kinds of learning, + particularly philosophy, as pernicious to piety, was increasing;" and, + accordingly, "the disputes carried on in the Council of Nicea offered a + remarkable example of the greatest ignorance and utter confusion of ideas, + particularly in the language and explanations of those who approved of the + decisions of that council." Vast as its influence has been, "the ancient + critics are neither agreed concerning the time nor place in which it was + assembled, the number of those who sat in it, nor the bishop who presided. + No authentic acts of its famous sentence have been committed to writing, + or, at least, none have been transmitted to our times." The Church had now + become what, in the language of modern politicians, would be called "a + confederated republic." The will of the council was determined by a + majority vote, and, to secure that, all manner of intrigues and + impositions were resorted to; the influence of court females, bribery, and + violence, were not spared. The Council of Nicea had scarcely adjourned,—when + it was plain to all impartial men that, as a method of establishing a + criterion of truth in religious matters, such councils were a total + failure. The minority had no rights which the majority need respect. The + protest of many good men, that a mere majority vote given by delegates, + whose right to vote had never been examined and authorized, could not be + received as ascertaining absolute truth, was passed over with contempt, + and the consequence was, that council was assembled against council, and + their jarring and contradictory decrees spread perplexity and confusion + throughout the Christian world. In the fourth century alone there were + thirteen councils adverse to Arius, fifteen in his favor, and seventeen + for the semi-Arians—in all, forty-five. Minorities were perpetually + attempting to use the weapon which majorities had abused. + </p> + <p> + The impartial ecclesiastical historian above quoted, moreover, says that + "two monstrous and calamitous errors were adopted in this fourth century: + 1. That it was an act of virtue to deceive and lie when, by that means, + the interests of the Church might be promoted. 2. That errors in religion, + when maintained and adhered to after proper admonition, were punishable + with civil penalties and corporal tortures." + </p> + <p> + Not without astonishment can we look back at what, in those times, were + popularly regarded as criteria of truth. Doctrines were considered as + established by the number of martyrs who had professed them, by miracles, + by the confession of demons, of lunatics, or of persons possessed of evil + spirits: thus, St. Ambrose, in his disputes with the Arians, produced men + possessed by devils, who, on the approach of the relics of certain + martyrs, acknowledged, with loud cries, that the Nicean doctrine of the + three persons of the Godhead was true. But the Arians charged him with + suborning these infernal witnesses with a weighty bribe. Already, ordeal + tribunals were making their appearance. During the following six centuries + they were held as a final resort for establishing guilt or innocence, + under the forms of trial by cold water, by duel, by the fire, by the + cross. + </p> + <p> + What an utter ignorance of the nature of evidence and its laws have we + here! An accused man sinks or swims when thrown into a pond of water; he + is burnt or escapes unharmed when he holds a piece of red-hot iron in his + hand; a champion whom he has hired is vanquished or vanquishes in single + fight; he can keep his arms outstretched like a cross, or fails to do so + longer than his accuser, and his innocence or guilt of some imputed crime + is established! Are these criteria of truth? + </p> + <p> + Is it surprising that all Europe was filled with imposture miracles during + those ages?—miracles that are a disgrace to the common-sense of man! + </p> + <p> + But the inevitable day came at length. Assertions and doctrines based upon + such preposterous evidence were involved in the discredit that fell upon + the evidence itself. As the thirteenth century is approached, we find + unbelief in all directions setting in. First, it is plainly seen among the + monastic orders, then it spreads rapidly among the common people. Books, + such as "The Everlasting Gospel," appear among the former; sects, such as + the Catharists, Waldenses, Petrobrussians, arise among the latter. They + agreed in this, "that the public and established religion was a motley + system of errors and superstitions, and that the dominion which the pope + had usurped over Christians was unlawful and tyrannical; that the claim + put forth by Rome, that the Bishop of Rome is the supreme lord of the + universe, and that neither princes nor bishops, civil governors nor + ecclesiastical rulers, have any lawful power in church or state but what + they receive from him, is utterly without foundation, and a usurpation of + the rights of man." + </p> + <p> + To withstand this flood of impiety, the papal government established two + institutions: 1. The Inquisition; 2. Auricular confession—the latter + as a means of detection, the former as a tribunal for punishment. + </p> + <p> + In general terms, the commission of the Inquisition was, to extirpate + religious dissent by terrorism, and surround heresy with the most horrible + associations; this necessarily implied the power of determining what + constitutes heresy. The criterion of truth was thus in possession of this + tribunal, which was charged "to discover and bring to judgment heretics + lurking in towns, houses, cellars, woods, caves, and fields." With such + savage alacrity did it carry out its object of protecting the interests of + religion, that between 1481 and 1808 it had punished three hundred and + forty thousand persons, and of these nearly thirty-two thousand had been + burnt! In its earlier days, when public opinion could find no means of + protesting against its atrocities, "it often put to death, without appeal, + on the very day that they were accused, nobles, clerks, monks, hermits, + and lay persons of every rank." In whatever direction thoughtful men + looked, the air was full of fearful shadows. No one could indulge in + freedom of thought without expecting punishment. So dreadful were the + proceedings of the Inquisition, that the exclamation of Pagliarici was the + exclamation of thousands: "It is hardly possible for a man to be a + Christian, and die in his bed." + </p> + <p> + The Inquisition destroyed the sectaries of Southern France in the + thirteenth century. Its unscrupulous atrocities extirpated Protestantism + in Italy and Spain. Nor did it confine itself to religious affairs; it + engaged in the suppression of political discontent. Nicolas Eymeric, who + was inquisitor-general of the kingdom of Aragon for nearly fifty years, + and who died in 1399, has left a frightful statement of its conduct and + appalling cruelties in his "Directorium Inquisitorum." + </p> + <p> + This disgrace of Christianity, and indeed of the human race, had different + constitutions in different countries. The papal Inquisition continued the + tyranny, and eventually superseded the old episcopal inquisitions. The + authority of the bishops was unceremoniously put aside by the officers of + the pope. + </p> + <p> + By the action of the fourth Lateran Council, A.D. 1215, the power of the + Inquisition was frightfully increased, the necessity of private confession + to a priest—auricular confession—being at that time formally + established. This, so far as domestic life was concerned, gave + omnipresence and omniscience to the Inquisition. Not a man was safe. In + the hands of the priest, who, at the confessional, could extract or extort + from them their most secret thoughts, his wife and his servants were + turned into spies. Summoned before the dread tribunal, he was simply + informed that he lay under strong suspicions of heresy. No accuser was + named; but the thumb-screw, the stretching-rope, the boot and wedge, or + other enginery of torture, soon supplied that defect, and, innocent or + guilty, he accused himself! + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding all this power, the Inquisition failed of its purpose. + When the heretic could no longer confront it, he evaded it. A dismal + disbelief stealthily pervaded all Europe,—a denial of Providence, of + the immortality of the soul, of human free-will, and that man can possibly + resist the absolute necessity, the destiny which envelops him. Ideas such + as these were cherished in silence by multitudes of persons driven to them + by the tyrannical acts of ecclesiasticism. In spite of persecution, the + Waldenses still survived to propagate their declaration that the Roman + Church, since Constantine, had degenerated from its purity and sanctity; + to protest against the sale of indulgences, which they said had nearly + abolished prayer, fasting, alms; to affirm that it was utterly useless to + pray for the souls of the dead, since they must already have gone either + to heaven or hell. Though it was generally believed that philosophy or + science was pernicious to the interests of Christianity or true piety, the + Mohammedan literature then prevailing in Spain was making converts among + all classes of society. We see very plainly its influence in many of the + sects that then arose; thus, "the Brethren and Sisters of the Free. + Spirit" held that "the universe came by emanation from God, and would + finally return to him by absorption; that rational souls are so many + portions of the Supreme Deity; and that the universe, considered as one + great whole, is God." These are ideas that can only be entertained in an + advanced intellectual condition. Of this sect it is said that many + suffered burning with unclouded serenity, with triumphant feelings of + cheerfulness and joy. Their orthodox enemies accused them of gratifying + their passions at midnight assemblages in darkened rooms, to which both + sexes in a condition of nudity repaired. A similar accusation, as is well + known, was brought against the primitive Christians by the fashionable + society of Rome. + </p> + <p> + The influences of the Averroistic philosophy were apparent in many of + these sects. That Mohammedan system, considered from a Christian point of + view, led to the heretical belief that the end of the precepts of + Christianity is the union of the soul with the Supreme Being; that God and + Nature have the same relations to each other as the soul and the body; + that there is but one individual intelligence; and that one soul performs + all the spiritual and rational functions in all the human race. When, + subsequently, toward the time of the Reformation, the Italian Averroists + were required by the Inquisition to give an account of themselves, they + attempted to show that there is a wide distinction between philosophical + and religious truth; that things may be philosophically true, and yet + theologically false—an exculpatory device condemned at length by the + Lateran Council in the time of Leo X. + </p> + <p> + But, in spite of auricular confession, and the Inquisition, these + heretical tendencies survived. It has been truly said that, at the epoch + of the Reformation, there lay concealed, in many parts of Europe, persons + who entertained the most virulent enmity against Christianity. In this + pernicious class were many Aristotelians, such as Pomponatius; many + philosophers and wits, such as Bodin, Rabelais, Montaigne; many Italians, + as Leo X., Bembo, Bruno. + </p> + <p> + Miracle-evidence began to fall into discredit during the eleventh and + twelfth centuries. The sarcasms of the Hispano-Moorish philosophers had + forcibly drawn the attention of many of the more enlightened ecclesiastics + to its illusory nature. The discovery of the Pandects of Justinian, at + Amalfi, in 1130, doubtless exerted a very powerful influence in promoting + the study of Roman jurisprudence, and disseminating better notions as to + the character of legal or philosophical evidence. Hallam has cast some + doubt on the well-known story of this discovery, but he admits that the + celebrated copy in the Laurentian library, at Florence, is the only one + containing the entire fifty books. Twenty years subsequently, the monk + Gratian collected together the various papal edicts, the canons of + councils, the declarations of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, in a + volume called "The Decretum," considered as the earliest authority in + canon law. In the next century Gregory IX. published five books of + Decretals, and Boniface VIII. subsequently added a sixth. To these + followed the Clementine Constitutions, a seventh book of Decretals, and "A + Book of Institutes," published together, by Gregory XIII., in 1580, under + the title of "Corpus Juris Canonici." The canon law had gradually gained + enormous power through the control it had obtained over wills, the + guardianship of orphans, marriages, and divorces. + </p> + <p> + The rejection of miracle-evidence, and the substitution of legal evidence + in its stead, accelerated the approach of the Reformation. No longer was + it possible to admit the requirement which, in former days, Anselm, the + Archbishop of Canterbury, in his treatise, "Cur Deus Homo," had enforced, + that we must first believe without examination, and may afterward endeavor + to understand what we have thus believed. When Cajetan said to Luther, + "Thou must believe that one single drop of Christ's blood is sufficient to + redeem the whole human race, and the remaining quantity that was shed in + the garden and on the cross was left as a legacy to the pope, to be a + treasure from which indulgences were to be drawn," the soul of the sturdy + German monk revolted against such a monstrous assertion, nor would he have + believed it though a thousand miracles had been worked in its support. + This shameful practice of selling indulgences for the commission of sin + originated among the bishops, who, when they had need of money for their + private pleasures, obtained it in that way. Abbots and monks, to whom this + gainful commerce was denied, raised funds by carrying about relics in + solemn procession, and charging a fee for touching them. The popes, in + their pecuniary straits, perceiving how lucrative the practice might + become, deprived the bishops of the right of making such sales, and + appropriated it to themselves, establishing agencies, chiefly among the + mendicant orders, for the traffic. Among these orders there was a sharp + competition, each boasting of the superior value of its indulgences + through its greater influence at the court of heaven, its familiar + connection with the Virgin Mary and the saints in glory. Even against + Luther himself, who had been an Augustinian monk, a calumny was circulated + that he was first alienated from the Church by a traffic of this kind + having been conferred on the Dominicans, instead of on his own order, at + the time when Leo X. was raising funds by this means for building St. + Peter's, at Rome, A.D. 1517. and there is reason to think that Leo + himself, in the earlier stages of the Reformation, attached weight to that + allegation. + </p> + <p> + Indulgences were thus the immediate inciting cause of the Reformation, but + very soon there came into light the real principle that was animating the + controversy. It lay in the question, Does the Bible owe its authenticity + to the Church? or does the Church owe her authenticity to the Bible? Where + is the criterion of truth? + </p> + <p> + It is not necessary for me here to relate the well known particulars of + that controversy, the desolating wars and scenes of blood to which it gave + rise: how Luther posted on the door of the cathedral of Wittemberg + ninety-five theses, and was summoned to Rome to answer for his offense; + how he appealed from the pope, ill-informed at the time, to the pope when + he should have been better instructed; how he was condemned as a heretic, + and thereupon appealed to a general council; how, through the disputes + about purgatory, transubstantiation, auricular confession, absolution, the + fundamental idea which lay at the bottom of the whole movement came into + relief, the right of individual judgment; how Luther was now + excommunicated, A.D. 1520, and in defiance burnt the bull of + excommunication and the volumes of the canon law, which he denounced as + aiming at the subversion of all civil government, and the exaltation of + the papacy; how by this skillful manoeuvre he brought over many of the + German princes to his views; how, summoned before the Imperial Diet at + Worms, he refused to retract, and, while he was bidden in the castle of + Wartburg, his doctrines were spreading, and a reformation under Zwingli + broke out in Switzerland; how the principle of sectarian decomposition + embedded in the movement gave rise to rivalries and dissensions between + the Germans and the Swiss, and even divided the latter among themselves + under the leadership of Zwingli and of Calvin; how the Conference of + Marburg, the Diet of Spires, and that at Augsburg, failed to compose the + troubles, and eventually the German Reformation assumed a political + organization at Smalcalde. The quarrels between the Lutherans and the + Calvinists gave hopes to Rome that she might recover her losses. + </p> + <p> + Leo was not slow to discern that the Lutheran Reformation was something + more serious than a squabble among some monks about the profits of + indulgence-sales, and the papacy set itself seriously at work to overcome + the revolters. It instigated the frightful wars that for so many years + desolated Europe, and left animosities which neither the Treaty of + Westphalia, nor the Council of Trent after eighteen years of debate, could + compose. No one can read without a shudder the attempts that were made to + extend the Inquisition in foreign countries. All Europe, Catholic and + Protestant, was horror-stricken at the Huguenot massacre of St. + Bartholomew's Eve (A.D. 1572). For perfidy and atrocity it has no equal in + the annals of the world. + </p> + <p> + The desperate attempt in which the papacy had been engaged to put down its + opponents by instigating civil wars, massacres, and assassinations, proved + to be altogether abortive. Nor had the Council of Trent any better result. + Ostensibly summoned to correct, illustrate, and fix with perspicacity the + doctrine of the Church, to restore the vigor of its discipline, and to + reform the lives of its ministers, it was so manipulated that a large + majority of its members were Italians, and under the influence of the + pope. Hence the Protestants could not possibly accept its decisions. + </p> + <p> + The issue of the Reformation was the acceptance by all the Protestant + Churches of the dogma that the Bible is a sufficient guide for every + Christian man. Tradition was rejected, and the right of private + interpretation assured. It was thought that the criterion of truth had at + length been obtained. + </p> + <p> + The authority thus imputed to the Scriptures was not restricted to matters + of a purely religious or moral kind; it extended over philosophical facts + and to the interpretation of Nature. Many went as far as in the old times + Epiphanius had done: he believed that the Bible contained a complete + system of mineralogy! The Reformers would tolerate no science that was not + in accordance with Genesis. Among them there were many who maintained that + religion and piety could never flourish unless separated from learning and + science. The fatal maxim that the Bible contained the sum and substance of + all knowledge, useful or possible to man—a maxim employed with such + pernicious effect of old by Tertullian and by St. Augustine, and which had + so often been enforced by papal authority—was still strictly + insisted upon. The leaders of the Reformation, Luther and Melanchthon, + were determined to banish philosophy from the Church. Luther declared that + the study of Aristotle is wholly useless; his vilification of that Greek + philosopher knew no bounds. He is, says Luther, "truly a devil, a horrid + calumniator, a wicked sycophant, a prince of darkness, a real Apollyon, a + beast, a most horrid impostor on mankind, one in whom there is scarcely + any philosophy, a public and professed liar, a goat, a complete epicure, + this twice execrable Aristotle." The schoolmen were, so Luther said, + "locusts, caterpillars, frogs, lice." He entertained an abhorrence for + them. These opinions, though not so emphatically expressed, were + entertained by Calvin. So far as science is concerned, nothing is owed to + the Reformation. The Procrustean bed of the Pentateuch was still before + her. + </p> + <p> + In the annals of Christianity the most ill-omened day is that in which she + separated herself from science. She compelled Origen, at that time (A.D. + 231) its chief representative and supporter in the Church, to abandon his + charge in Alexandria, and retire to Caesarea. In vain through many + subsequent centuries did her leading men spend themselves in—as the + phrase then went—"drawing forth the internal juice and marrow of the + Scriptures for the explaining of things." Universal history from the third + to the sixteenth century shows with what result. The dark ages owe their + darkness to this fatal policy. Here and there, it is true, there were + great men, such as Frederick II. and Alphonso X., who, standing at a very + elevated and general point of view, had detected the value of learning to + civilization, and, in the midst of the dreary prospect that + ecclesiasticism had created around them, had recognized that science alone + can improve the social condition of man. + </p> + <p> + The infliction of the death-punishment for difference of opinion was still + resorted to. When Calvin caused Servetus to be burnt at Geneva, it was + obvious to every one that the spirit of persecution was unimpaired. The + offense of that philosopher lay in his belief. This was, that the genuine + doctrines of Christianity had been lost even before the time of the + Council of Nicea; that the Holy Ghost animates the whole system of Nature, + like a soul of the world, and that, with the Christ, it will be absorbed, + at the end of all things, into the substance of the Deity, from which they + had emanated. For this he was roasted to death over a slow fire. Was there + any distinction between this Protestant auto-da-fe and the Catholic one of + Vanini, who was burnt at Toulouse, by the Inquisition, in 1629, for his + "Dialogues concerning Nature?" + </p> + <p> + The invention of printing, the dissemination of books, had introduced a + class of dangers which the persecution of the Inquisition could not reach. + In 1559, Pope Paul IV. instituted the Congregation of the Index + Expurgatorius. "Its duty is to examine books and manuscripts intended for + publication, and to decide whether the people may be permitted to read + them; to correct those books of which the errors are not numerous, and + which contain certain useful and salutary truths, so as to bring them into + harmony with the doctrines of the Church; to condemn those of which the + principles are heretical and pernicious; and to grant the peculiar + privilege of perusing heretical books to certain persons. This + congregation, which is sometimes held in presence of the pope, but + generally in the palace of the Cardinal-president, has a more extensive + jurisdiction than that of the Inquisition, as it not only takes cognizance + of those books that contain doctrines contrary to the Roman Catholic + faith, but of those that concern the duties of morality, the discipline of + the Church, the interests of society. Its name is derived from the + alphabetical tables or indexes of heretical books and authors composed by + its appointment." + </p> + <p> + The Index Expurgatorius of prohibited books at first indicated those works + which it was unlawful to read; but, on this being found insufficient, + whatever was not permitted was prohibited—an audacious attempt to + prevent all knowledge, except such as suited the purposes of the Church, + from reaching the people. + </p> + <p> + The two rival divisions of the Christian Church—Protestant and + Catholic—were thus in accord on one point: to tolerate no science + except such as they considered to be agreeable to the Scriptures. The + Catholic, being in possession of centralized power, could make its + decisions respected wherever its sway was acknowledged, and enforce the + monitions of the Index Expurgatorius; the Protestant, whose influence was + diffused among many foci in different nations, could not act in such a + direct and resolute manner. Its mode of procedure was, by raising a + theological odium against an offender, to put him under a social ban—a + course perhaps not less effectual than the other. + </p> + <p> + As we have seen in former chapters, an antagonism between religion and + science had existed from the earliest days of Christianity. On every + occasion permitting its display it may be detected through successive + centuries. We witness it in the downfall of the Alexandrian Museum, in the + cases of Erigena and Wiclif, in the contemptuous rejection by the heretics + of the thirteenth century of the Scriptural account of the Creation; but + it was not until the epoch of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo, that the + efforts of Science to burst from the thraldom in which she was fettered + became uncontrollable. In all countries the political power of the Church + had greatly declined; her leading men perceived that the cloudy foundation + on which she had stood was dissolving away. Repressive measures against + her antagonists, in old times resorted to with effect, could be no longer + advantageously employed. To her interests the burning of a philosopher + here and there did more harm than good. In her great conflict with + astronomy, a conflict in which Galileo stands as the central figure, she + received an utter overthrow; and, as we have seen, when the immortal work + of Newton was printed, she could offer no resistance, though Leibnitz + affirmed, in the face of Europe, that "Newton had robbed the Deity of some + of his most excellent attributes, and had sapped the foundation of natural + religion." + </p> + <p> + From the time of Newton to our own time, the divergence of science from + the dogmas of the Church has continually increased. The Church declared + that the earth is the central and most important body in the universe; + that the sun and moon and stars are tributary to it. On these points she + was worsted by astronomy. She affirmed that a universal deluge had covered + the earth; that the only surviving animals were such as had been saved in + an ark. In this her error was established by geology. She taught that + there was a first man, who, some six or eight thousand years ago, was + suddenly created or called into existence in a condition of physical and + moral perfection, and from that condition he fell. But anthropology has + shown that human beings existed far back in geological time, and in a + savage state but little better than that of the brute. + </p> + <p> + Many good and well-meaning men have attempted to reconcile the statements + of Genesis with the discoveries of science, but it is in vain. The + divergence has increased so much, that it has become an absolute + opposition. One of the antagonists must give way. + </p> + <p> + May we not, then, be permitted to examine the authenticity of this book, + which, since the second century, has been put forth as the criterion of + scientific truth? To maintain itself in a position so exalted, it must + challenge human criticism. + </p> + <p> + In the early Christian ages, many of the most eminent Fathers of the + Church had serious doubts respecting the authorship of the entire + Pentateuch. I have not space, in the limited compass of these pages, to + present in detail the facts and arguments that were then and have since + been adduced. The literature of the subject is now very extensive. I may, + however, refer the reader to the work of the pious and learned Dean + Prideaux, on "The Old and New Testament connected," a work which is one of + the literary ornaments of the last century. He will also find the subject + more recently and exhaustively discussed by Bishop Colenso. The following + paragraphs will convey a sufficiently distinct impression of the present + state of the controversy: + </p> + <p> + The Pentateuch is affirmed to have been written by Moses, under the + influence of divine inspiration. Considered thus, as a record vouchsafed + and dictated by the Almighty, it commands not only scientific but + universal consent. + </p> + <p> + But here, in the first place, it may be demanded, Who or what is it that + has put forth this great claim in its behalf? + </p> + <p> + Not the work itself. It nowhere claims the authorship of one man, or makes + the impious declaration that it is the writing of Almighty God. + </p> + <p> + Not until after the second century was there any such extravagant demand + on human credulity. It originated, not among the higher ranks of Christian + philosophers, but among the more fervid Fathers of the Church, whose own + writings prove them to have been unlearned and uncritical persons. + </p> + <p> + Every age, from the second century to our times, has offered men of great + ability, both Christian and Jewish, who have altogether repudiated these + claims. Their decision has been founded upon the intrinsic evidence of the + books themselves. These furnish plain indications of at least two distinct + authors, who have been respectively termed Elohistic and Jehovistic. + Hupfeld maintains that the Jehovistic narrative bears marks of having been + a second original record, wholly independent of the Elohistic. The two + sources from which the narratives have been derived are, in many respects, + contradictory of each other. Moreover, it is asserted that the books of + the Pentateuch are never ascribed to Moses in the inscriptions of Hebrew + manuscripts, or in printed copies of the Hebrew Bible, nor are they styled + "Books of Moses" in the Septuagint or Vulgate, but only in modern + translations. + </p> + <p> + It is clear that they cannot be imputed to the sole authorship of Moses, + since they record his death. It is clear that they were not written until + many hundred years after that event, since they contain references to + facts which did not occur until after the establishment of the government + of kings among the Jews. + </p> + <p> + No man may dare to impute them to the inspiration of Almighty God—their + inconsistencies, incongruities, contradictions, and impossibilities, as + exposed by many learned and pious moderns, both German and English, are so + great. It is the decision of these critics that Genesis is a narrative + based upon legends; that Exodus is not historically true; that the whole + Pentateuch is unhistoric and non-Mosaic; it contains the most + extraordinary contradictions and impossibilities, sufficient to involve + the credibility of the whole—imperfections so many and so + conspicuous that they would destroy the authenticity of any modern + historical work. + </p> + <p> + Hengstenberg, in his "Dissertations on the Genuineness of the Pentateuch," + says: "It is the unavoidable fate of a spurious historical work of any + length to be involved in contradictions. This must be the case to a very + great extent with the Pentateuch, if it be not genuine. If the Pentateuch + is spurious, its histories and laws have been fabricated in successive + portions, and were committed to writing in the course of many centuries by + different individuals. From such a mode of origination, a mass of + contradictions is inseparable, and the improving hand of a later editor + could never be capable of entirely obliterating them." + </p> + <p> + To the above conclusions I may add that we are expressly told by Ezra + (Esdras ii. 14) that he himself, aided by five other persons, wrote these + books in the space of forty days. He says that at the time of the + Babylonian captivity the ancient sacred writings of the Jews were burnt, + and gives a particular detail of the circumstances under which these were + composed. He sets forth that he undertook to write all that had been done + in the world since the beginning. It may be said that the books of Esdras + are apocryphal, but in return it may be demanded, Has that conclusion been + reached on evidence that will withstand modern criticism? In the early + ages of Christianity, when the story of the fall of man was not considered + as essential to the Christian system, and the doctrine of the atonement + had not attained that precision which Anselm eventually gave it, it was + very generally admitted by the Fathers of the Church that Ezra probably + did so compose the Pentateuch. Thus St. Jerome says, "Sive Mosem dicere + volueris auctorem Pentateuchi, sive Esdram ejusdem instauratorem operis, + non recuso." Clemens Alexandrinus says that when these books had been + destroyed in the captivity of Nebuchadnezzar, Esdras, having become + inspired prophetically, reproduced them. Irenaeus says the same. + </p> + <p> + The incidents contained in Genesis, from the first to the tenth chapters + inclusive (chapters which, in their bearing upon science, are of more + importance than other portions of the Pentateuch), have been obviously + compiled from short, fragmentary legends of various authorship. To the + critical eye they all, however, present peculiarities which demonstrate + that they were written on the banks of the Euphrates, and not in the + Desert of Arabia. They contain many Chaldaisms. An Egyptian would not + speak of the Mediterranean Sea as being west of him, an Assyrian would. + Their scenery and machinery, if such expressions may with propriety be + used, are altogether Assyrian, not Egyptian. They were such records as one + might expect to meet with in the cuneiform impressions of the tile + libraries of the Mesopotamian kings. It is affirmed that one such legend, + that of the Deluge, has already been exhumed, and it is not beyond the + bounds of probability that the remainder may in like manner be obtained. + </p> + <p> + From such Assyrian sources, the legends of the creation of the earth and + heaven, the garden of Eden, the making of man from clay, and of woman from + one of his ribs, the temptation by the serpent, the naming of animals, the + cherubim and flaming sword, the Deluge and the ark, the drying up of the + waters by the wind, the building of the Tower of Babel, and the confusion + of tongues, were obtained by Ezra. He commences abruptly the proper + history of the Jews in the eleventh chapter. At that point his universal + history ceases; he occupies himself with the story of one family, the + descendants of Shem. + </p> + <p> + It is of this restriction that the Duke of Argyll, in his book on + "Primeval Man," very graphically says: + </p> + <p> + In the genealogy of the family of Shem we have a list of names which are + names, and nothing more to us. It is a genealogy which neither does, nor + pretends to do, more than to trace the order of succession among a few + families only, out of the millions then already existing in the world. + Nothing but this order of succession is given, nor is it at all certain + that this order is consecutive or complete. Nothing is told us of all that + lay behind that curtain of thick darkness, in front of which these names + are made to pass; and yet there are, as it were, momentary liftings, + through which we have glimpses of great movements which were going on, and + had been long going on beyond. No shapes are distinctly seen. Even the + direction of those movements can only be guessed. But voices are heard + which are "as the voices of many waters." I agree in the opinion of + Hupfeld, that "the discovery that the Pentateuch is put together out of + various sources, or original documents, is beyond all doubt not only one + of the most important and most pregnant with consequences for the + interpretation of the historical books of the Old Testament, or rather for + the whole of theology and history, but it is also one of the most certain + discoveries which have been made in the domain of criticism and the + history of literature. Whatever the anticritical party may bring forward + to the contrary, it will maintain itself, and not retrograde again through + any thing, so long as there exists such a thing as criticism; and it will + not be easy for a reader upon the stage of culture on which we stand in + the present day, if he goes to the examination unprejudiced, and with an + uncorrupted power of appreciating the truth, to be able to ward off its + influence." + </p> + <p> + What then? shall we give up these books? Does not the admission that the + narrative of the fall in Eden is legendary carry with it the surrender of + that most solemn and sacred of Christian doctrines, the atonement? + </p> + <p> + Let us reflect on this! Christianity, in its earliest days, when it was + converting and conquering the world, knew little or nothing about that + doctrine. We have seen that, in his "Apology," Tertullian did not think it + worth his while to mention it. It originated among the Gnostic heretics. + It was not admitted by the Alexandrian theological school. It was never + prominently advanced by the Fathers. It was not brought into its present + commanding position until the time of Anselm Philo Judaeus speaks of the + story of the fall as symbolical; Origen regarded it as an allegory. + Perhaps some of the Protestant churches may, with reason, be accused of + inconsistency, since in part they consider it as mythical, in part real. + But, if, with them, we admit that the serpent is symbolical of Satan, does + not that cast an air of allegory over the whole narrative? + </p> + <p> + It is to be regretted that the Christian Church has burdened itself with + the defense of these books, and voluntarily made itself answerable for + their manifest contradictions and errors. Their vindication, if it were + possible, should have been resigned to the Jews, among whom they + originated, and by whom they have been transmitted to us. Still more, it + is to be deeply regretted that the Pentateuch, a production so imperfect + as to be unable to stand the touch of modern criticism, should be put + forth as the arbiter of science. Let it be remembered that the exposure of + the true character of these books has been made, not by captious enemies, + but by pious and learned churchmen, some of them of the highest dignity. + </p> + <p> + While thus the Protestant churches have insisted on the acknowledgment of + the Scriptures as the criterion of truth, the Catholic has, in our own + times, declared the infallibility of the pope. It may be said that this + infallibility applies only to moral or religious things; but where shall + the line of separation be drawn? Onmiscience cannot be limited to a + restricted group of questions; in its very nature it implies the knowledge + of all, and infallibility means omniscience. + </p> + <p> + Doubtless, if the fundamental principles of Italian Christianity be + admitted, their logical issue is an infallible pope. There is no need to + dwell on the unphilosophical nature of this conception; it is destroyed by + an examination of the political history of the papacy, and the biography + of the popes. The former exhibits all the errors and mistakes to which + institutions of a confessedly human character have been found liable; the + latter is only too frequently a story of sin and shame. + </p> + <p> + It was not possible that the authoritative promulgation of the dogma of + papal infallibility should meet among enlightened Catholics universal + acceptance. Serious and wide-spread dissent has been produced. A doctrine + so revolting to common-sense could not find any other result. There are + many who affirm that, if infallibility exists anywhere, it is in + oecumenical councils, and yet such councils have not always agreed with + each other. There are also many who remember that councils have deposed + popes, and have passed judgment on their clamors and contentions. Not + without reason do Protestants demand, What proof can be given that + infallibility exists in the Church at all? what proof is there that the + Church has ever been fairly or justly represented in any council? and why + should the truth be ascertained by the vote of a majority rather than by + that of a minority? How often it has happened that one man, standing at + the right point of view, has descried the truth, and, after having been + denounced and persecuted by all others, they have eventually been + constrained to adopt his declarations! Of many great discoveries, has not + this been the history? + </p> + <p> + It is not for Science to compose these contesting claims; it is not for + her to determine whether the criterion of truth for the religious man + shall be found in the Bible, or in the oecumenical council, or in the + pope. She only asks the right, which she so willingly accords to others, + of adopting a criterion of her own. If she regards unhistorical legends + with disdain; if she considers the vote of a majority in the ascertainment + of truth with supreme indifference; if she leaves the claim of + infallibility in any human being to be vindicated by the stern logic of + coming events—the cold impassiveness which in these matters she + maintains is what she displays toward her own doctrines. Without + hesitation she would give up the theories of gravitation or undulations, + if she found that they were irreconcilable with facts. For her the volume + of inspiration is the book of Nature, of which the open scroll is ever + spread forth before the eyes of every man. Confronting all, it needs no + societies for its dissemination. Infinite in extent, eternal in duration, + human ambition and human fanaticism have never been able to tamper with + it. On the earth it is illustrated by all that is magnificent and + beautiful, on the heavens its letters are suns and worlds. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + CONTROVERSY RESPECTING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNIVERSE. + + There are two conceptions of the government of the world: 1. + By Providence; 2. By Law.—The former maintained by the + priesthood.—Sketch of the introduction of the latter. + + Kepler discovers the laws that preside over the solar + system.—His works are denounced by papal authority.—The + foundations of mechanical philosophy are laid by Da Vinci.— + Galileo discovers the fundamental laws of Dynamics.—Newton + applies them to the movements of the celestial bodies, and + shows that the solar system is governed by mathematical + necessity.—Herschel extends that conclusion to the + universe.—The nebular hypothesis.—Theological exceptions + to it. + + Evidences of the control of law in the construction of the + earth, and in the development of the animal and plant + series.—They arose by Evolution, not by Creation. + + The reign of law is exhibited by the historic career of + human societies, and in the case of individual man. + + Partial adoption of this view by some of the Reformed + Churches. +</pre> + <p> + Two interpretations may be given of the mode of government of the world. + It may be by incessant divine interventions, or by the operation of + unvarying law. + </p> + <p> + To the adoption of the former a priesthood will always incline, since it + must desire to be considered as standing between the prayer of the votary + and the providential act. Its importance is magnified by the power it + claims of determining what that act shall be. In the pre Christian (Roman) + religion, the grand office of the priesthood was the discovery of future + events by oracles, omens, or an inspection of the entrails of animals, and + by the offering of sacrifices to propitiate the gods. In the later, the + Christian times, a higher power was claimed; the clergy asserting that, by + their intercessions, they could regulate the course of affairs, avert + dangers, secure benefits, work miracles, and even change the order of + Nature. + </p> + <p> + Not without reason, therefore, did they look upon the doctrine of + government by unvarying law with disfavor. It seemed to depreciate their + dignity, to lessen their importance. To them there was something shocking + in a God who cannot be swayed by human entreaty, a cold, passionless + divinity—something frightful in fatalism, destiny. + </p> + <p> + But the orderly movement of the heavens could not fail in all ages to make + a deep impression on thoughtful observers—the rising and setting of + the sun; the increasing or diminishing light of the day; the waxing and + waning of the moon; the return of the seasons in their proper courses; the + measured march of the wandering planets in the sky—what are all + these, and a thousand such, but manifestations of an orderly and + unchanging procession of events? The faith of early observers in this + interpretation may perhaps have been shaken by the occurrence of such a + phenomenon as an eclipse, a sudden and mysterious breach of the ordinary + course of natural events; but it would be resumed in tenfold strength as + soon as the discovery was made that eclipses themselves recur, and may be + predicted. + </p> + <p> + Astronomical predictions of all kinds depend upon the admission of this + fact—that there never has been and never will be any intervention in + the operation of natural laws. The scientific philosopher affirms that the + condition of the world at any given moment is the direct result of its + condition in the preceding moment, and the direct cause of its condition + in the subsequent moment. Law and chance are only different names for + mechanical necessity. + </p> + <p> + About fifty years after the death of Copernicus, John Kepler, a native of + Wurtemberg, who had adopted the heliocentric theory, and who was deeply + impressed with the belief that relationships exist in the revolutions of + the planetary bodies round the sun, and that these if correctly examined + would reveal the laws under which those movements take place, devoted + himself to the study of the distances, times, and velocities of the + planets, and the form of their orbits. His method was, to submit the + observations to which he had access, such as those of Tycho Brahe, to + computations based first on one and then on another hypothesis, rejecting + the hypothesis if he found that the calculations did not accord with the + observations. The incredible labor he had undergone (he says, "I + considered, and I computed, until I almost went mad") was at length + rewarded, and in 1609 he published his book, "On the Motions of the Planet + Mars." In this he had attempted to reconcile the movements of that planet + to the hypothesis of eccentrics and epicycles, but eventually discovered + that the orbit of a planet is not a circle but an ellipse, the sun being + in one of the foci, and that the areas swept over by a line drawn from the + planet to the sun are proportional to the times. These constitute what are + now known as the first and second laws of Kepler. Eight years + subsequently, he was rewarded by the discovery of a third law, defining + the relation between the mean distances of the planets from the sun and + the times of their revolutions; "the squares of the periodic times are + proportional to the cubes of the distances." In "An Epitome of the + Copernican System," published in 1618, he announced this law, and showed + that it holds good for the satellites of Jupiter as regards their primary. + Hence it was inferred that the laws which preside over the grand movements + of the solar system preside also over the less movements of its + constituent parts. + </p> + <p> + The conception of law which is unmistakably conveyed by Kepler's + discoveries, and the evidence they gave in support of the heliocentric as + against the geocentric theory, could not fail to incur the reprehension of + the Roman authorities. The congregation of the Index, therefore, when they + denounced the Copernican system as utterly contrary to the Holy + Scriptures, prohibited Kepler's "Epitome" of that system. It was on this + occasion that Kepler submitted his celebrated remonstrance: "Eighty years + have elapsed during which the doctrines of Copernicus regarding the + movement of the earth and the immobility of the sun have been promulgated + without hinderance, because it was deemed allowable to dispute concerning + natural things, and to elucidate the works of God, and now that new + testimony is discovered in proof of the truth of those doctrines—testimony + which was not known to the spiritual judges—ye would prohibit the + promulgation of the true system of the structure of the universe." + </p> + <p> + None of Kepler's contemporaries believed the law of the areas, nor was it + accepted until the publication of the "Principia" of Newton. In fact, no + one in those times understood the philosophical meaning of Kepler's laws. + He himself did not foresee what they must inevitably lead to. His mistakes + showed how far he was from perceiving their result. Thus he thought that + each planet is the seat of an intelligent principle, and that there is a + relation between the magnitudes of the orbits of the five principal + planets and the five regular solids of geometry. At first he inclined to + believe that the orbit of Mars is oval, nor was it until after a wearisome + study that he detected the grand truth, its elliptical form. An idea of + the incorruptibility of the celestial objects had led to the adoption of + the Aristotelian doctrine of the perfection of circular motions, and to + the belief that there were none but circular motions in the heavens. He + bitterly complains of this as having been a fatal "thief of his time." His + philosophical daring is illustrated in his breaking through this + time-honored tradition. + </p> + <p> + In some most important particulars Kepler anticipated Newton. He was the + first to give clear ideas respecting gravity. He says every particle of + matter will rest until it is disturbed by some other particle—that + the earth attracts a stone more than the stone attracts the earth, and + that bodies move to each other in proportion to their masses; that the + earth would ascend to the moon one-fifty-fourth of the distance, and the + moon would move toward the earth the other fifty-three. He affirms that + the moon's attraction causes the tides, and that the planets must impress + irregularities on the moon's motions. + </p> + <p> + The progress of astronomy is obviously divisible into three periods: + </p> + <p> + 1. The period of observation of the apparent motions of the heavenly + bodies. + </p> + <p> + 2. The period of discovery of their real motions, and particularly of the + laws of the planetary revolutions; this was signally illustrated by + Copernicus and Kepler. + </p> + <p> + 3. The period of the ascertainment of the causes of those laws. It was the + epoch of Newton. + </p> + <p> + The passage of the second into the third period depended on the + development of the Dynamical branch of mechanics, which had been in a + stagnant condition from the time of Archimedes or the Alexandrian School. + </p> + <p> + In Christian Europe there had not been a cultivator of mechanical + philosophy until Leonardo da Vinci, who was born A.D. 1452. To him, and + not to Lord Bacon, must be attributed the renaissance of science. Bacon + was not only ignorant of mathematics, but depreciated its application to + physical inquiries. He contemptuously rejected the Copernican system, + alleging absurd objections to it. While Galileo was on the brink of his + great telescopic discoveries, Bacon was publishing doubts as to the + utility of instruments in scientific investigations. To ascribe the + inductive method to him is to ignore history. His fanciful philosophical + suggestions have never been of the slightest practical use. No one has + ever thought of employing them. Except among English readers, his name is + almost unknown. + </p> + <p> + To Da Vinci I shall have occasion to allude more particularly on a + subsequent page. Of his works still remaining in manuscript, two volumes + are at Milan, and one in Paris, carried there by Napoleon. After an + interval of about seventy years, Da Vinci was followed by the Dutch + engineer, Stevinus, whose work on the principles of equilibrium was + published in 1586. Six years afterward appeared Galileo's treatise on + mechanics. + </p> + <p> + To this great Italian is due the establishment of the three fundamental + laws of dynamics, known as the Laws of Motion. + </p> + <p> + The consequences of the establishment of these laws were very important. + </p> + <p> + It had been supposed that continuous movements, such, for instance, as + those of the celestial bodies, could only be maintained by a perpetual + consumption and perpetual application of force, but the first of Galileo's + laws declared that every body will persevere in its state of rest, or of + uniform motion in a right line, until it is compelled to change that state + by disturbing forces. A clear perception of this fundamental principle is + essential to a comprehension of the elementary facts of physical + astronomy. Since all the motions that we witness taking place on the + surface of the earth soon come to an end, we are led to infer that rest is + the natural condition of things. We have made, then, a very great advance + when we have become satisfied that a body is equally indifferent to rest + as to motion, and that it equally perseveres in either state until + disturbing forces are applied. Such disturbing forces in the case of + common movements are friction and the resistance of the air. When no such + resistances exist, movement must be perpetual, as is the case with the + heavenly bodies, which are moving in a void. + </p> + <p> + Forces, no matter what their difference of magnitude may be, will exert + their full influence conjointly, each as though the other did not exist. + Thus, when a ball is suffered to drop from the mouth of a cannon, it falls + to the ground in a certain interval of time through the influence of + gravity upon it. If, then, it be fired from the cannon, though now it may + be projected some thousands of feet in a second, the effect of gravity + upon it will be precisely the same as before. In the intermingling of + forces there is no deterioration; each produces its own specific effect. + </p> + <p> + In the latter half of the seventeenth century, through the works of + Borelli, Hooke, and Huyghens, it had become plain that circular motions + could be accounted for by the laws of Galileo. Borelli, treating of the + motions of Jupiter's satellites, shows how a circular movement may arise + under the influence of a central force. Hooke exhibited the inflection of + a direct motion into a circular by a supervening central attraction. + </p> + <p> + The year 1687 presents, not only an epoch in European science, but also in + the intellectual development of man. It is marked by the publication of + the "Principia" of Newton, an incomparable, an immortal work. + </p> + <p> + On the principle that all bodies attract each other with forces directly + as their masses, and inversely as the squares of their distances, Newton + showed that all the movements of the celestial bodies may be accounted + for, and that Kepler's laws might all have been predicted—the + elliptic motions—the described areas the relation of the times and + distances. As we have seen, Newton's contemporaries had perceived how + circular motions could be explained; that was a special case, but Newton + furnished the solution of the general problem, containing all special + cases of motion in circles, ellipses, parabolas, hyperbolas—that is, + in all the conic sections. + </p> + <p> + The Alexandrian mathematicians had shown that the direction of movement of + falling bodies is toward the centre of the earth. Newton proved that this + must necessarily be the case, the general effect of the attraction of all + the particles of a sphere being the same as if they were all concentrated + in its centre. To this central force, thus determining the fall of bodies, + the designation of gravity was given. Up to this time, no one, except + Kepler, had considered how far its influence reached. It seemed to Newton + possible that it might extend as far as the moon, and be the force that + deflects her from a rectilinear path, and makes her revolve in her orbit + round the earth. It was easy to compute, on the principle of the law of + inverse squares, whether the earth's attraction was sufficient to produce + the observed effect. Employing the measures of the size of the earth + accessible at the time, Newton found that the moon's deflection was only + thirteen feet in a minute; whereas, if his hypothesis of gravitation were + true, it should be fifteen feet. But in 1669 Picard, as we have seen, + executed the measurement of a degree more carefully than had previously + been done; this changed the estimate of the magnitude of the earth, and, + therefore, of the distance of the moon; and, Newton's attention having + been directed to it by some discussions that took place at the Royal + Society in 1679, he obtained Picard's results, went home, took out his old + papers, and resumed his calculations. As they drew to a close, he became + so much agitated that he was obliged to desire a friend to finish them. + The expected coincidence was established. It was proved that the moon is + retained in her orbit and made to revolve round the earth by the force of + terrestrial gravity. The genii of Kepler had given place to the vortices + of Descartes, and these in their turn to the central force of Newton. + </p> + <p> + In like manner the earth, and each of the planets, are made to move in an + elliptic orbit round the sun by his attractive force, and perturbations + arise by reason of the disturbing action of the planetary masses on one + another. Knowing the masses and the distances, these disturbances may be + computed. Later astronomers have even succeeded with the inverse problem, + that is, knowing the perturbations or disturbances, to find the place and + the mass of the disturbing body. Thus, from the deviations of Uranus from + his theoretical position, the discovery of Neptune was accomplished. + </p> + <p> + Newton's merit consisted in this, that he applied the laws of dynamics to + the movements of the celestial bodies, and insisted that scientific + theories must be substantiated by the agreement of observations with + calculations. + </p> + <p> + When Kepler announced his three laws, they were received with condemnation + by the spiritual authorities, not because of any error they were supposed + to present or to contain, but partly because they gave support to the + Copernican system, and partly because it was judged inexpedient to admit + the prevalence of law of any kind as opposed to providential intervention. + The world was regarded as the theatre in which the divine will was daily + displayed; it was considered derogatory to the majesty of God that that + will should be fettered in any way. The power of the clergy was chiefly + manifested in the influence the were alleged to possess in changing his + arbitrary determinations. It was thus that they could abate the baleful + action of comets, secure fine weather or rain, prevent eclipses, and, + arresting the course of Nature, work all manner of miracles; it was thus + that the shadow had been made to go back on the dial, and the sun and the + moon stopped in mid-career. + </p> + <p> + In the century preceding the epoch of Newton, a great religious and + political revolution had taken place—the Reformation. Though its + effect had not been the securing of complete liberty for thought, it had + weakened many of the old ecclesiastical bonds. In the reformed countries + there was no power to express a condemnation of Newton's works, and among + the clergy there was no disposition to give themselves any concern about + the matter. At first the attention of the Protestant was engrossed by the + movements of his great enemy the Catholic, and when that source of + disquietude ceased, and the inevitable partitions of the Reformation + arose, that attention was fastened upon the rival and antagonistic + Churches. The Lutheran, the Calvinist, the Episcopalian, the Presbyterian, + had something more urgent on hand than Newton's mathematical + demonstrations. + </p> + <p> + So, uncondemned, and indeed unobserved, in this clamor of fighting sects, + Newton's grand theory solidly established itself. Its philosophical + significance was infinitely more momentous than the dogmas that these + persons were quarreling about. It not only accepted the heliocentric + theory and the laws discovered by Kepler, but it proved that, no matter + what might be the weight of opposing ecclesiastical authority, the sun + MUST be the centre of our system, and that Kepler's laws are the result of + a mathematical necessity. It is impossible that they should be other than + they are. + </p> + <p> + But what is the meaning of all this? Plainly that the solar system is not + interrupted by providential interventions, but is under the government of + irreversible law—law that is itself the issue of mathematical + necessity. + </p> + <p> + The telescopic observations of Herschel I. satisfied him that there are + very many double stars—double not merely because they are + accidentally in the same line of view, but because they are connected + physically, revolving round each other. These observations were continued + and greatly extended by Herschel II. The elements of the elliptic orbit of + the double star zeta of the Great Bear were determined by Savary, its + period being fifty-eight and one-quarter years; those of another, sigma + Coronae, were determined by Hind, its period being more than seven hundred + and thirty-six years. The orbital movement of these double suns in + ellipses compels us to admit that the law of gravitation holds good far + beyond the boundaries of the solar system; indeed, as far as the telescope + can reach, it demonstrates the reign of law. D'Alembert, in the + Introduction to the Encyclopaedia, says: "The universe is but a single + fact; it is only one great truth." + </p> + <p> + Shall we, then, conclude that the solar and the starry systems have been + called into existence by God, and that he has then imposed upon them by + his arbitrary will laws under the control of which it was his pleasure + that their movements should be made? + </p> + <p> + Or are there reasons for believing that these several systems came into + existence not by such an arbitrary fiat, but through the operation of law? + </p> + <p> + The following are some peculiarities displayed by the solar system as + enumerated by Laplace. All the planets and their satellites move in + ellipses of such small eccentricity that they are nearly circles. All the + planets move in the same direction and nearly in the same plane. The + movements of the satellites are in the same direction as those of the + planets. The movements of rotation of the sun, of the planets, and the + satellites, are in the same direction as their orbital motions, and in + planes little different. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible that so many coincidences could be the result of chance! + Is it not plain that there must have been a common tie among all these + bodies, that they are only parts of what must once have been a single + mass? + </p> + <p> + But if we admit that the substance of which the solar system consists once + existed in a nebulous condition, and was in rotation, all the above + peculiarities follow as necessary mechanical consequences. Nay, more, the + formation of planets, the formation of satellites and of asteroids, is + accounted for. We see why the outer planets and satellites are larger than + the interior ones; why the larger planets rotate rapidly, and the small + ones slowly; why of the satellites the outer planets have more, the inner + fewer. We are furnished with indications of the time of revolution of the + planets in their orbits, and of the satellites in theirs; we perceive the + mode of formation of Saturn's rings. We find an explanation of the + physical condition of the sun, and the transitions of condition through + which the earth and moon have passed, as indicated by their geology. + </p> + <p> + But two exceptions to the above peculiarities have been noted; they are in + the cases of Uranus and Neptune. + </p> + <p> + The existence of such a nebulous mass once admitted, all the rest follows + as a matter of necessity. Is there not, however, a most serious objection + in the way? Is not this to exclude Almighty God from the worlds he has + made? + </p> + <p> + First, we must be satisfied whether there is any solid evidence for + admitting the existence of such a nebulous mass. + </p> + <p> + The nebular hypothesis rests primarily on the telescopic discovery made by + Herschel I., that there are scattered here and there in the heavens pale, + gleaming patches of light, a few of which are large enough to be visible + to the naked eye. Of these, many may be resolved by a sufficient + telescopic power into a congeries of stars, but some, such as the great + nebula in Orion, have resisted the best instruments hitherto made. + </p> + <p> + It was asserted by those who were indisposed to accept the nebular + hypothesis, that the non-resolution was due to imperfection in the + telescopes used. In these instruments two distinct functions may be + observed: their light-gathering power depends on the diameter of their + object mirror or lens, their defining power depends on the exquisite + correctness of their optical surfaces. Grand instruments may possess the + former quality in perfection by reason of their size, but the latter very + imperfectly, either through want of original configuration, or distortion + arising from flexure through their own weight. But, unless an instrument + be perfect in this respect, as well as adequate in the other, it may fail + to decompose a nebula into discrete points. + </p> + <p> + Fortunately, however, other means for the settlement of this question are + available. In 1846, it was discovered by the author of this book that the + spectrum of an ignited solid is continuous—that is, has neither dark + nor bright lines. Fraunhofer had previously made known that the spectrum + of ignited gases is discontinuous. Here, then, is the means of determining + whether the light emitted by a given nebula comes from an incandescent + gas, or from a congeries of ignited solids, stars, or suns. If its + spectrum be discontinuous, it is a true nebula or gas; if continuous, a + congeries of stars. + </p> + <p> + In 1864, Mr. Huggins made this examination in the case of a nebula in the + constellation Draco. It proved to be gaseous. + </p> + <p> + Subsequent observations have shown that, of sixty nebulae examined, + nineteen give discontinuous or gaseous spectra—the remainder + continuous ones. + </p> + <p> + It may, therefore, be admitted that physical evidence has at length been + obtained, demonstrating the existence of vast masses of matter in a + gaseous condition, and at a temperature of incandescence. The hypothesis + of Laplace has thus a firm basis. In such a nebular mass, cooling by + radiation is a necessary incident, and condensation and rotation the + inevitable results. There must be a separation of rings all lying in one + plane, a generation of planets and satellites all rotating alike, a + central sun and engirdling globes. From a chaotic mass, through the + operation of natural laws, an organized system has been produced. An + integration of matter into worlds has taken place through a decline of + heat. + </p> + <p> + If such be the cosmogony of the solar system, such the genesis of the + planetary worlds, we are constrained to extend our views of the dominion + of law, and to recognize its agency in the creation as well as in the + conservation of the innumerable orbs that throng the universe. + </p> + <p> + But, again, it may be asked: "Is there not something profoundly impious in + this? Are we not excluding Almighty God from the world he has made?" + </p> + <p> + We have often witnessed the formation of a cloud in a serene sky. A hazy + point, barely perceptible—a little wreath of mist—increases in + volume, and becomes darker and denser, until it obscures a large portion + of the heavens. It throws itself into fantastic shapes, it gathers a glory + from the sun, is borne onward by the wind, and, perhaps, as it gradually + came, so it gradually disappears, melting away in the untroubled air. + </p> + <p> + Now, we say that the little vesicles of which this cloud was composed + arose from the condensation of water-vapor preexisting in the atmosphere, + through reduction of temperature; we show how they assumed the form they + present. We assign optical reasons for the brightness or blackness of the + cloud; we explain, on mechanical principles, its drifting before the wind; + for its disappearance we account on the principles of chemistry. It never + occurs to us to invoke the interposition of the Almighty in the production + and fashioning of this fugitive form. We explain all the facts connected + with it by physical laws, and perhaps should reverentially hesitate to + call into operation the finger of God. + </p> + <p> + But the universe is nothing more than such a cloud—a cloud of suns + and worlds. Supremely grand though it may seem to us, to the Infinite and + Eternal Intellect it is no more than a fleeting mist. If there be a + multiplicity of worlds in infinite space, there is also a succession of + worlds in infinite time. As one after another cloud replaces cloud in the + skies, so this starry system, the universe, is the successor of countless + others that have preceded it—the predecessor of countless others + that will follow. There is an unceasing metamorphosis, a sequence of + events, without beginning or end. + </p> + <p> + If, on physical principles, we account for minor meteorological incidents, + mists and clouds, is it not permissible for us to appeal to the same + principle in the origin of world-systems and universes, which are only + clouds on a space-scale somewhat larger, mists on a time-scale somewhat + less transient? Can any man place the line which bounds the physical on + one side, the supernatural on the other? Do not our estimates of the + extent and the duration of things depend altogether on our point of view? + Were we set in the midst of the great nebula of Orion, how transcendently + magnificent the scene! The vast transformations, the condensations of a + fiery mist into worlds, might seem worthy of the immediate presence, the + supervision of God; here, at our distant station, where millions of miles + are inappreciable to our eyes, and suns seem no bigger than motes in the + air, that nebula is more insignificant than the faintest cloud. Galileo, + in his description of the constellation of Orion, did not think it worth + while so much as to mention it. The most rigorous theologian of those days + would have seen nothing to blame in imputing its origin to secondary + causes, nothing irreligious in failing to invoke the arbitrary + interference of God in its metamorphoses. If such be the conclusion to + which we come respecting it, what would be the conclusion to which an + Intelligence seated in it might come respecting us? It occupies an extent + of space millions of times greater than that of our solar system; we are + invisible from it, and therefore absolutely insignificant. Would such an + Intelligence think it necessary to require for our origin and maintenance + the immediate intervention of God? + </p> + <p> + From the solar system let us descend to what is still more insignificant—a + little portion of it; let us descend to our own earth. In the lapse of + time it has experienced great changes. Have these been due to incessant + divine interventions, or to the continuous operation of unfailing law? The + aspect of Nature perpetually varies under our eyes, still more grandly and + strikingly has it altered in geological times. But the laws guiding those + changes never exhibit the slightest variation. In the midst of immense + vicissitudes they are immutable. The present order of things is only a + link in a vast connected chain reaching back to an incalculable past, and + forward to an infinite future. + </p> + <p> + There is evidence, geological and astronomical, that the temperature of + the earth and her satellite was in the remote past very much higher than + it is now. A decline so slow as to be imperceptible at short intervals, + but manifest enough in the course of many ages, has occurred. The heat has + been lost by radiation into space. + </p> + <p> + The cooling of a mass of any kind, no matter whether large or small, is + not discontinuous; it does not go on by fits and starts; it takes place + under the operation of a mathematical law, though for such mighty changes + as are here contemplated neither the formula of Newton, nor that of Dulong + and Petit, may apply. It signifies nothing that periods of partial + decline, glacial periods, or others of temporary elevation, have been + intercalated; it signifies nothing whether these variations may have + arisen from topographical variations, as those of level, or from + periodicities in the radiation of the sun. A periodical sun would act as a + mere perturbation in the gradual decline of heat. The perturbations of the + planetary motions are a confirmation, not a disproof, of gravity. + </p> + <p> + Now, such a decline of temperature must have been attended by innumerable + changes of a physical character in our globe. Her dimensions must have + diminished through contraction, the length of her day must have lessened, + her surface must have collapsed, and fractures taken place along the lines + of least resistance; the density of the sea must have increased, its + volume must have become less; the constitution of the atmosphere must have + varied, especially in the amount of water-vapor and carbonic acid that it + contained; the barometric pressure must have declined. + </p> + <p> + These changes, and very many more that might be mentioned, must have taken + place not in a discontinuous but in an orderly manner, since the + master-fact, the decline of heat, that was causing them, was itself + following a mathematical law. + </p> + <p> + But not alone did lifeless Nature submit to these inevitable mutations; + living Nature was also simultaneously affected. + </p> + <p> + An organic form of any kind, vegetable or animal, will remain unchanged + only so long as the environment in which it is placed remains unchanged. + Should an alteration in the environment occur, the organism will either be + modified or destroyed. + </p> + <p> + Destruction is more likely to happen as the change in the environment is + more sudden; modification or transformation is more possible as that + change is more gradual. + </p> + <p> + Since it is demonstrably certain that lifeless Nature has in the lapse of + ages undergone vast modifications; since the crust of the earth, and the + sea, and the atmosphere, are no longer such as they once were; since the + distribution of the land and the ocean and all manner of physical + conditions have varied; since there have been such grand changes in the + environment of living things on the surface of our planet—it + necessarily follows that organic Nature must have passed through + destructions and transformations in correspondence thereto. + </p> + <p> + That such extinctions, such modifications, have taken place, how copious, + how convincing, is the evidence! + </p> + <p> + Here, again, we must observe that, since the disturbing agency was itself + following a mathematical law, these its results must be considered as + following that law too. + </p> + <p> + Such considerations, then, plainly force upon us the conclusion that the + organic progress of the world has been guided by the operation of + immutable law—not determined by discontinuous, disconnected, + arbitrary interventions of God. They incline us to view favorably the idea + of transmutations of one form into another, rather than that of sudden + creations. + </p> + <p> + Creation implies an abrupt appearance, transformation a gradual change. + </p> + <p> + In this manner is presented to our contemplation the great theory of + Evolution. Every organic being has a place in a chain of events. It is not + an isolated, a capricious fact, but an unavoidable phenomenon. It has its + place in that vast, orderly concourse which has successively risen in the + past, has introduced the present, and is preparing the way for a + predestined future. From point to point in this vast progression there has + been a gradual, a definite, a continuous unfolding, a resistless order of + evolution. But in the midst of these mighty changes stand forth immutable + the laws that are dominating over all. + </p> + <p> + If we examine the introduction of any type of life in the animal series, + we find that it is in accordance with transformation, not with creation. + Its beginning is under an imperfect form in the midst of other forms, of + which the time is nearly complete, and which are passing into extinction. + By degrees, one species after another in succession more and more perfect + arises, until, after many ages, a culmination is reached. From that there + is, in like manner, a long, a gradual decline. + </p> + <p> + Thus, though the mammal type of life is the characteristic of the Tertiary + and post-Tertiary periods, it does not suddenly make its appearance + without premonition in those periods. Far back, in the Secondary, we find + it under imperfect forms, struggling, as it were, to make good a foothold. + At length it gains a predominance under higher and better models. + </p> + <p> + So, too, of reptiles, the characteristic type of life of the Secondary + period. As we see in a dissolving view, out of the fading outlines of a + scene that is passing away, the dim form of a new one emerging, which + gradually gains strength, reaches its culmination, and then melts away in + some other that is displacing it, so reptile-life doubtfully, appears, + reaches its culmination, and gradually declines. In all this there is + nothing abrupt; the changes shade into each other by insensible degrees. + </p> + <p> + How could it be otherwise? The hot-blooded animals could not exist in an + atmosphere so laden with carbonic acid as was that of the primitive times. + But the removal of that noxious ingredient from the air by the leaves of + plants under the influence of sunlight, the enveloping of its carbon in + the earth under the form of coal, the disengagement of its oxygen, + permitted their life. As the atmosphere was thus modified, the sea was + involved in the change; it surrendered a large part of its carbonic acid, + and the limestone hitherto held in solution by it was deposited in the + solid form. For every equivalent of carbon buried in the earth, there was + an equivalent of carbonate of lime separated from the sea—not + necessarily in an amorphous condition, most frequently under an organic + form. The sunshine kept up its work day by day, but there were demanded + myriads of days for the work to be completed. It was a slow passage from a + noxious to a purified atmosphere, and an equally slow passage from a + cold-blooded to a hot-blooded type of life. But the physical changes were + taking place under the control of law, and the organic transformations + were not sudden or arbitrary providential acts. They were the immediate, + the inevitable consequences of the physical changes, and therefore, like + them, the necessary issue of law. + </p> + <p> + For a more detailed consideration of this subject, I may refer the reader + to Chapters I, II., VII, of the second book of my "Treatise on Human + Physiology," published in 1856. + </p> + <p> + Is the world, then, governed by law or by providential interventions, + abruptly breaking the proper sequence of events? + </p> + <p> + To complete our view of this question, we turn finally to what, in one + sense, is the most insignificant, in another the most important, case that + can be considered. Do human societies, in their historic career, exhibit + the marks of a predetermined progress in an unavoidable track? Is there + any evidence that the life of nations is under the control of immutable + law? + </p> + <p> + May we conclude that, in society, as in the individual man, parts never + spring from nothing, but are evolved or developed from parts that are + already in existence? + </p> + <p> + If any one should object to or deride the doctrine of the evolution or + successive development of the animated forms which constitute that + unbroken organic chain reaching from the beginning of life on the globe to + the present times, let him reflect that he has himself passed through + modifications the counterpart of those he disputes. For nine months his + type of life was aquatic, and during that time he assumed, in succession, + many distinct but correlated forms. At birth his type of life became + aerial; he began respiring the atmospheric air; new elements of food were + supplied to him; the mode of his nutrition changed; but as yet he could + see nothing, hear nothing, notice nothing. By degrees conscious existence + was assumed; he became aware that there is an external world. In due time + organs adapted to another change of food, the teeth, appeared, and a + change of food ensued. He then passed through the stages of childhood and + youth, his bodily form developing, and with it his intellectual powers. At + about fifteen years, in consequence of the evolution which special parts + of his system had attained, his moral character changed. New ideas, new + passions, influenced him. And that that was the cause, and this the + effect, is demonstrated when, by the skill of the surgeon, those parts + have been interfered with. Nor does the development, the metamorphosis, + end here; it requires many years for the body to reach its full + perfection, many years for the mind. A culmination is at length reached, + and then there is a decline. I need not picture its mournful incidents—the + corporeal, the intellectual enfeeblement. Perhaps there is little + exaggeration in saying that in less than a century every human being on + the face of the globe, if not cut off in an untimely manner, has passed + through all these changes. + </p> + <p> + Is there for each of us a providential intervention as we thus pass from + stage to stage of life? or shall we not rather believe that the countless + myriads of human beings who have peopled the earth have been under the + guidance of an unchanging, a universal law? + </p> + <p> + But individuals are the elementary constituents of communities—nations. + They maintain therein a relation like that which the particles of the body + maintain to the body itself. These, introduced into it, commence and + complete their function; they die, and are dismissed. + </p> + <p> + Like the individual, the nation comes into existence without its own + knowledge, and dies without its own consent, often against its own will. + National life differs in no particular from individual, except in this, + that it is spread over a longer span, but no nation can escape its + inevitable term. Each, if its history be well considered, shows its time + of infancy, its time of youth, its time of maturity, its time of decline, + if its phases of life be completed. + </p> + <p> + In the phases of existence of all, so far as those phases are completed, + there are common characteristics, and, as like accordances in individuals + point out that all are living under a reign of law, we are justified in + inferring that the course of nations, and indeed the progress of humanity, + does not take place in a chance or random way, that supernatural + interventions never break the chain of historic acts, that every historic + event has its warrant in some preceding event, and gives warrant to others + that are to follow.. + </p> + <p> + But this conclusion is the essential principle of Stoicism—that + Grecian philosophical system which, as I have already said, offered a + support in their hour of trial and an unwavering guide in the vicissitudes + of life, not only to many illustrious Greeks, but also to some of the + great philosophers, statesmen, generals, and emperors of Rome; a system + which excluded chance from every thing, and asserted the direction of all + events by irresistible necessity, to the promotion of perfect good; a + system of earnestness, sternness, austerity, virtue—a protest in + favor of the common-sense of mankind. And perhaps we shall not dissent + from the remark of Montesquieu, who affirms that the destruction of the + Stoics was a great calamity to the human race; for they alone made great + citizens, great men. + </p> + <p> + To the principle of government by law, Latin Christianity, in its papal + form, is in absolute contradiction. The history of this branch of the + Christian Church is almost a diary of miracles and supernatural + interventions. These show that the supplications of holy men have often + arrested the course of Nature—if, indeed, there be any such course; + that images and pictures have worked wonders; that bones, hairs, and other + sacred relics, have wrought miracles. The criterion or proof of the + authenticity of many of these objects is, not an unchallengeable record of + their origin and history, but an exhibition of their miracle-working + powers. + </p> + <p> + Is not that a strange logic which finds proof of an asserted fact in an + inexplicable illustration of something else? + </p> + <p> + Even in the darkest ages intelligent Christian men must have had + misgivings as to these alleged providential or miraculous interventions. + There is a solemn grandeur in the orderly progress of Nature which + profoundly impresses us; and such is the character of continuity in the + events of our individual life that we instinctively doubt the occurrence + of the supernatural in that of our neighbor. The intelligent man knows + well that, for his personal behoof, the course of Nature has never been + checked; for him no miracle has ever been worked; he attributes justly + every event of his life to some antecedent event; this he looks upon as + the cause, that as the consequence. When it is affirmed that, in his + neighbor's behalf, such grand interventions have been vouchsafed, he + cannot do otherwise than believe that his neighbor is either deceived, or + practising deception. + </p> + <p> + As might, then, have been anticipated, the Catholic doctrine of miraculous + intervention received a rude shock at the time of the Reformation, when + predestination and election were upheld by some of the greatest + theologians, and accepted by some of the greatest Protestant Churches. + With stoical austerity Calvin declares: "We were elected from eternity, + before the foundation of the world, from no merit of our own, but + according to the purpose of the divine pleasure." In affirming this, + Calvin was resting on the belief that God has from all eternity decreed + whatever comes to pass. Thus, after the lapse of many ages, were again + emerging into prominence the ideas of the Basilidians wad Valentinians, + Christian sects of the second century, whose Gnostical views led to the + engraftment of the great doctrine of the Trinity upon Christianity. They + asserted that all the actions of men are necessary, that even faith is a + natural gift, to which men are forcibly determined, and must therefore be + saved, though their lives be ever so irregular. From the Supreme God all + things proceeded. Thus, also, came into prominence the views which were + developed by Augustine in his work, "De dono perseverantiae." These were: + that God, by his arbitrary will, has selected certain persons without + respect to foreseen faith or good works, and has infallibly ordained to + bestow upon them eternal happiness; other persons, in like manner, he has + condemned to eternal reprobation. The Sublapsarians believed that "God + permitted the fall of Adam;" the Supralapsarians that "he predestinated + it, with all its pernicious consequences, from all eternity, and that our + first parents had no liberty from the beginning." In this, these + sectarians disregarded the remark of St. Augustine: "Nefas est dicere Deum + aliquid nisi bonum predestinare." + </p> + <p> + Is it true, then, that "predestination to eternal happiness is the + everlasting purpose of God, whereby, before the foundations of the world + were laid, he hath constantly decreed by his council, secret to us, to + deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen out of + mankind?" Is it true that of the human family there are some who, in view + of no fault of their own, Almighty God has condemned to unending torture, + eternal misery? + </p> + <p> + In 1595 the Lambeth Articles asserted that "God from eternity hath + predestinated certain men unto life; certain he hath reprobated." In 1618 + the Synod of Dort decided in favor of this view. It condemned the + remonstrants against it, and treated them with such severity, that many of + them had to flee to foreign countries. Even in the Church of England, as + is manifested by its seventeenth Article of Faith, these doctrines have + found favor. + </p> + <p> + Probably there was no point which brought down from the Catholics on the + Protestants severer condemnation than this, their partial acceptance of + the government of the world by law. In all Reformed Europe miracles + ceased. But, with the cessation of shrine-cure, relic-cure, great + pecuniary profits ended. Indeed, as is well known, it was the sale of + indulgences that provoked the Reformation—indulgences which are + essentially a permit from God for the practice of sin, conditioned on the + payment of a certain sum of money to the priest. + </p> + <p> + Philosophically, the Reformation implied a protest against the Catholic + doctrine of incessant divine intervention in human affairs, invoked by + sacerdotal agency; but this protest was far from being fully made by all + the Reforming Churches. The evidence in behalf of government by law, which + has of late years been offered by science, is received by many of them + with suspicion, perhaps with dislike; sentiments which, however, must + eventually give way before the hourly-increasing weight of evidence. + </p> + <p> + Shall we not, then, conclude with Cicero, who, quoted by Lactantius, says: + "One eternal and immutable law embraces all things and all times?" + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + LATIN CHRISTIANITY IN RELATION TO MODERN CIVILIZATION. + + For more than a thousand years Latin Christianity controlled + the intelligence of Europe, and is responsible for the + result. + + That result is manifested by the condition of the city of + Rome at the Reformation, and by the condition of the + Continent of Europe in domestic and social life.—European + nations suffered under the coexistence of a dual government, + a spiritual and a temporal.—They were immersed in + ignorance, superstition, discomfort.—Explanation of the + failure of Catholicism—Political history of the papacy: it + was transmuted from a spiritual confederacy into an absolute + monarchy.—Action of the College of Cardinals and the Curia— + Demoralization that ensued from the necessity of raising + large revenues. + + The advantages accruing to Europe during the Catholic rule + arose not from direct intention, but were incidental. + + The general result is, that the political influence of + Catholicism was prejudicial to modern civilization. +</pre> + <p> + LATIN Christianity is responsible for the condition and progress of Europe + from the fourth to the sixteenth century. We have now to examine how it + discharged its trust. + </p> + <p> + It will be convenient to limit to the case of Europe what has here to be + presented, though, from the claim of the papacy to superhuman origin, and + its demand for universal obedience, it should strictly be held to account + for the condition of all mankind. Its inefficacy against the great and + venerable religions of Southern and Eastern Asia would furnish an + important and instructive theme for consideration, and lead us to the + conclusion that it has impressed itself only where Roman imperial + influences have prevailed; a political conclusion which, however, it + contemptuously rejects. + </p> + <p> + Doubtless at the inception of the Reformation there were many persons who + compared the existing social condition with what it had been in ancient + times. Morals had not changed, intelligence had not advanced, society had + little improved. From the Eternal City itself its splendors had vanished. + The marble streets, of which Augustus had once boasted, had disappeared. + Temples, broken columns, and the long, arcaded vistas of gigantic + aqueducts bestriding the desolate Campagna, presented a mournful scene. + From the uses to which they had been respectively put, the Capitol had + been known as Goats' Hill, and the site of the Roman Forum, whence laws + had been issued to the world, as Cows' Field. The palace of the Caesars + was hidden by mounds of earth, crested with flowering shrubs. The baths of + Caracalla, with their porticoes, gardens, reservoirs, had long ago become + useless through the destruction of their supplying aqueducts. On the ruins + of that grand edifice, "flowery glades and thickets of odoriferous trees + extended in ever-winding labyrinths upon immense platforms, and dizzy + arches suspended in the air." Of the Coliseum, the most colossal of Roman + ruins, only about one-third remained. Once capable of accommodating nearly + ninety thousand spectators, it had, in succession, been turned into a + fortress in the middle ages, and then into a stone-quarry to furnish + material for the palaces of degenerate Roman princes. Some of the popes + had occupied it as a woollen-mill, some as a saltpetre factory; some had + planned the conversion of its magnificent arcades into shops for + tradesmen. The iron clamps which bound its stones together had been + stolen. The walls were fissured and falling. Even in our own times + botanical works have been composed on the plants which have made this + noble wreck their home. "The Flora of the Coliseum" contains four hundred + and twenty species. Among the ruins of classical buildings might be seen + broken columns, cypresses, and mouldy frescoes, dropping from the walls. + Even the vegetable world participated in the melancholy change: the + myrtle, which once flourished on the Aventine, had nearly become extinct; + the laurel, which once gave its leaves to encircle the brows of emperors, + had been replaced by ivy—the companion of death. + </p> + <p> + But perhaps it may be said the popes were not responsible for all this. + Let it be remembered that in less than one hundred and forty years the + city had been successively taken by Alaric, Genseric, Rieimer, Vitiges, + Totila; that many of its great edifices had been converted into defensive + works. The aqueducts were destroyed by Vitiges, who ruined the Campagna; + the palace of the Caesars was ravaged by Totila; then there had been the + Lombard sieges; then Robert Guiscard and his Normans had burnt the city + from the Antonine Column to the Flaminian Gate, from the Lateran to the + Capitol; then it was sacked and mutilated by the Constable Bourbon; again + and again it was flooded by inundations of the Tiber and shattered by + earthquakes. We must, however, bear in mind the accusation of Machiavelli, + who says, in his "History of Florence," that nearly all the barbarian + invasions of Italy were by the invitations of the pontiffs, who called in + those hordes! It was not the Goth, nor the Vandal, nor the Norman, nor the + Saracen, but the popes and their nephews, who produced the dilapidation of + Rome! Lime-kilns had been fed from the ruins, classical buildings had + become stone-quarries for the palaces of Italian princes, and churches + were decorated from the old temples. + </p> + <p> + Churches decorated from the temples! It is for this and such as this that + the popes must be held responsible. Superb Corinthian columns bad been + chiseled into images of the saints. Magnificent Egyptian obelisks had been + dishonored by papal inscriptions. The Septizonium of Severus had been + demolished to furnish materials for the building of St. Peter's; the + bronze roof of the Pantheon had been melted into columns to ornament the + apostle's tomb. + </p> + <p> + The great bell of Viterbo, in the tower of the Capitol, had announced the + death of many a pope, and still desecration of the buildings and + demoralization of the people went on. Papal Rome manifested no + consideration, but rather hatred, for classical Rome, The pontiffs had + been subordinates of the Byzantine sovereigns, then lieutenants of the + Frankish kings, then arbiters of Europe; their government had changed as + much as those of any of the surrounding nations; there had been complete + metamorphoses in its maxims, objects, claims. In one point only it had + never changed—intolerance. Claiming to be the centre of the + religious life of Europe, it steadfastly refused to recognize any + religious existence outside of itself, yet both in a political and + theological sense it was rotten to the core. Erasmus and Luther heard with + amazement the blasphemies and witnessed with a shudder the atheism of the + city. + </p> + <p> + The historian Ranke, to whom I am indebted for many of these facts, has + depicted in a very graphic manner the demoralization of the great + metropolis. The popes were, for the most part, at their election, aged + men. Power was, therefore, incessantly passing into new hands. Every + election was a revolution in prospects and expectations. In a community + where all might rise, where all might aspire to all, it necessarily + followed that every man was occupied in thrusting some other into the + background. Though the population of the city at the inception of the + Reformation had sunk to eighty thousand, there were vast crowds of + placemen, and still greater ones of aspirants for place. The successful + occupant of the pontificate had thousands of offices to give away—offices + from many of which the incumbents had been remorselessly ejected; many had + been created for the purpose of sale. The integrity and capacity of an + applicant were never inquired into; the points considered were, what + services has he rendered or can he render to the party? how much can he + pay for the preferment? An American reader can thoroughly realize this + state of things. At every presidential election he witnesses similar acts. + The election of a pope by the Conclave is not unlike the nomination of an + American president by a convention. In both cases there are many offices + to give away. + </p> + <p> + William of Malmesbury says that in his day the Romans made a sale of + whatever was righteous and sacred for gold. After his time there was no + improvement; the Church degenerated into an instrument for the + exploitation of money. Vast sums were collected in Italy; vast sums were + drawn under all manner of pretenses from surrounding and reluctant + countries. Of these the most nefarious was the sale of indulgences for the + perpetration of sin. Italian religion had become the art of plundering the + people. + </p> + <p> + For more than a thousand years the sovereign pontiffs had been rulers of + the city. True, it had witnessed many scenes of devastation for which they + were not responsible; but they were responsible for this, that they had + never made any vigorous, any persistent effort for its material, its moral + improvement. Instead of being in these respects an exemplar for the + imitation of the world, it became an exemplar of a condition that ought to + be shunned. Things steadily went on from bad to worse, until at the epoch + of the Reformation no pious stranger could visit it without being shocked. + </p> + <p> + The papacy, repudiating science as absolutely incompatible with its + pretensions, had in later years addressed itself to the encouragement of + art. But music and painting, though they may be exquisite adornments of + life, contain no living force that can develop a weak nation into a strong + one; nothing that can permanently assure the material well-being or + happiness of communities; and hence at the time of the Reformation, to one + who thoughtfully considered her condition, Rome had lost all living + energy. She was no longer the arbiter of the physical or the religious + progress of the world. For the progressive maxims of the republic and the + empire, she had substituted the stationary maxims of the papacy. She had + the appearance of piety and the possession of art. In this she resembled + one of those friar-corpses which we still see in their brown cowls in the + vaults of the Cappuccini, with a breviary or some withered flowers in its + hands. + </p> + <p> + From this view of the Eternal City, this survey of what Latin Christianity + had done for Rome itself, let us turn to the whole European Continent. Let + us try to determine the true value of the system that was guiding society; + let us judge it by its fruits. + </p> + <p> + The condition of nations as to their well-being is most precisely + represented by the variations of their population. Forms of government + have very little influence on population, but policy may control it + completely. + </p> + <p> + It has been very satisfactorily shown by authors who have given attention + to the subject, that the variations of population depend upon the + interbalancing of the generative force of society and the resistances to + life. + </p> + <p> + By the generative force of society is meant that instinct which manifests + itself in the multiplication of the race. To some extent it depends on + climate; but, since the climate of Europe did not sensibly change between + the fourth and the sixteenth centuries, we may regard this force as having + been, on that continent, during the period under consideration, + invariable. + </p> + <p> + By the resistances to life is meant whatever tends to make individual + existence more difficult of support. Among such may be enumerated + insufficient food, inadequate clothing, imperfect shelter. + </p> + <p> + It is also known that, if the resistances become inappreciable, the + generative force will double a population in twenty-five years. + </p> + <p> + The resistances operate in two modes: 1. Physically; since they diminish + the number of births, and shorten the term of the life of all. 2. + Intellectually; since, in a moral, and particularly in a religious + community, they postpone marriage, by causing individuals to decline its + responsibilities until they feel that they are competent to meet the + charges and cares of a family. Hence the explanation of a long-recognized + fact, that the number of marriages during a given period has a connection + with the price of food. + </p> + <p> + The increase of population keeps pace with the increase of food; and, + indeed, such being the power of the generative force, it overpasses the + means of subsistence, establishing a constant pressure upon them. Under + these circumstances, it necessarily happens that a certain amount of + destitution must occur. Individuals have come into existence who must be + starved. + </p> + <p> + As illustrations of the variations that have occurred in the population of + different countries, may be mentioned the immense diminution of that of + Italy in consequence of the wars of Justinian; the depopulation of North + Africa in consequence of theological quarrels; its restoration through the + establishment of Mohammedanism; the increase of that of all Europe through + the feudal system, when estates became more valuable in proportion to the + number of retainers they could supply. The crusades caused a sensible + diminution, not only through the enormous army losses, but also by reason + of the withdrawal of so many able-bodied men from marriage-life. Similar + variations have occurred on the American Continent. The population of + Mexico was very quickly diminished by two million through the rapacity and + atrocious cruelty of the Spaniards, who drove the civilized Indians to + despair. The same happened in Peru. + </p> + <p> + The population of England at the Norman conquest was about two million. In + five hundred years it had scarcely doubled. It may be supposed that this + stationary condition was to some extent induced by the papal policy of the + enforcement of celibacy in the clergy. The "legal generative force" was + doubtless affected by that policy, the "actual generative force" was not. + For those who have made this subject their study have long ago been + satisfied that public celibacy is private wickedness. This mainly + determined the laity, as well as the government in England, to suppress + the monasteries. It was openly asserted that there were one hundred + thousand women in England made dissolute by the clergy. + </p> + <p> + In my history of the "American Civil War," I have presented some + reflections on this point, which I will take the liberty of quoting here: + "What, then, does this stationary condition of the population mean? It + means, food obtained with hardship, insufficient clothing, personal + uncleanness, cabins that could not keep out the weather, the destructive + effects of cold and heat, miasm, want of sanitary provisions, absence of + physicians, uselessness of shrine-cure, the deceptiveness of miracles, in + which society was putting its trust; or, to sum up a long catalogue of + sorrows, wants, and sufferings, in one term—it means a high + death-rate. + </p> + <p> + "But more; it means deficient births. And what does that point out? + Marriage postponed, licentious life, private wickedness, demoralized + society. + </p> + <p> + "To an American, who lives in a country that was yesterday an interminable + and impenetrable desert, but which to-day is filling with a population + doubling itself every twenty-five years at the prescribed rate, this awful + waste of actual and contingent life cannot but be a most surprising fact. + His curiosity will lead him to inquire what kind of system that could have + been which was pretending to guide and develop society, but which must be + held responsible for this prodigious destruction, excelling, in its + insidious result, war, pestilence, and famine combined; insidious, for men + were actually believing that it secured their highest temporal interests. + How different now! In England, the same geographical surface is sustaining + ten times the population of that day, and sending forth its emigrating + swarms. Let him, who looks back, with veneration on the past, settle in + his own mind what such a system could have been worth." + </p> + <p> + These variations in the population of Europe have been attended with + changes in distribution. The centre of population has passed northward + since the establishment of Christianity in the Roman Empire. It has since + passed westward, in consequence of the development of manufacturing + industry. + </p> + <p> + We may now examine somewhat more minutely the character of the resistances + which thus, for a thousand years, kept the population of Europe + stationary. The surface of the Continent was for the most part covered + with pathless forests; here and there it was dotted with monasteries and + towns. In the lowlands and along the river-courses were fens, sometimes + hundreds of miles in extent, exhaling their pestiferous miasms, and + spreading agues far and wide. In Paris and London, the houses were of wood + daubed with clay, and thatched with straw or reeds. They had no windows, + and, until the invention of the saw-mill, very few had wooden floors. The + luxury of a carpet was unknown; some straw, scattered in the room, + supplied its place. There were no chimneys; the smoke of the ill-fed, + cheerless fire escaped through a hole in the roof. In such habitations + there was scarcely any protection from the weather. No attempt was made at + drainage, but the putrefying garbage and rubbish were simply thrown out of + the door. Men, women, and children, slept in the same apartment; not + unfrequently, domestic animals were their companions; in such a confusion + of the family, it was impossible that modesty or morality could be + maintained. The bed was usually a bag of straw, a wooden log served as a + pillow. Personal cleanliness was utterly unknown; great officers of state, + even dignitaries so high as the Archbishop of Canterbury, swarmed with + vermin; such, it is related, was the condition of Thomas a Becket, the + antagonist of an English king. To conceal personal impurity, perfumes were + necessarily and profusely used. The citizen clothed himself in leather, a + garment which, with its ever-accumulating impurity, might last for many + years. He was considered to be in circumstances of ease, if he could + procure fresh meat once a week for his dinner. The streets had no sewers; + they were without pavement or lamps. After nightfall, the chamber-shatters + were thrown open, and slops unceremoniously emptied down, to the + discomfiture of the wayfarer tracking his path through the narrow streets, + with his dismal lantern in his hand. + </p> + <p> + Aeneas Sylvius, who afterward became Pope Pius II., and was therefore a + very competent and impartial writer, has left us a graphic account of a + journey he made to the British Islands, about 1430. He describes the + houses of the peasantry as constructed of stones put together without + mortar; the roofs were of turf, a stiffened bull's-hide served for a door. + The food consisted of coarse vegetable products, such as peas, and even + the bark of trees. In some places they were unacquainted with bread. + </p> + <p> + Cabins of reeds plastered with mud, houses of wattled stakes, chimneyless + peat-fires from which there was scarcely an escape for the smoke, dens of + physical and moral pollution swarming with vermin, wisps of straw twisted + round the limbs to keep off the cold, the ague-stricken peasant, with no + help except shrine-cure! How was it possible that the population could + increase? Shall we, then, wonder that, in the famine of 1030, human flesh + was cooked and sold; or that, in that of 1258, fifteen thousand persons + died of hunger in London? Shall we wonder that, in some of the invasions + of the plague, the deaths were so frightfully numerous that the living + could hardly bury the dead? By that of 1348, which came from the East + along the lines of commercial travel, and spread all over Europe, + one-third of the population of France was destroyed. + </p> + <p> + Such was the condition of the peasantry, and of the common inhabitants of + cities. Not much better was that of the nobles. William of Malmesbury, + speaking of the degraded manners of the Anglo-Saxons, says: "Their nobles, + devoted to gluttony and voluptuousness, never visited the church, but the + matins and the mass were read over to them by a hurrying priest in their + bedchambers, before they rose, themselves not listening. The common people + were a prey to the more powerful; their property was seized, their bodies + dragged away to distant countries; their maidens were either thrown into a + brothel, or sold for slaves. Drinking day and night was the general + pursuit; vices, the companions of inebriety, followed, effeminating the + manly mind." The baronial castles were dens of robbers. The Saxon + chronicler records how men and women were caught and dragged into those + strongholds, hung up by their thumbs or feet, fire applied to them, + knotted strings twisted round their heads, and many other torments + inflicted to extort ransom. + </p> + <p> + All over Europe, the great and profitable political offices were filled by + ecclesiastics. In every country there was a dual government: 1. That of a + local kind, represented by a temporal sovereign; 2. That of a foreign + kind, acknowledging the authority of the pope, This Roman influence was, + in the nature of things, superior to the local; it expressed the sovereign + will of one man over all the nations of the continent conjointly, and + gathered overwhelming power from its compactness and unity. The local + influence was necessarily of a feeble nature, since it was commonly + weakened by the rivalries of conterminous states, and the dissensions + dexterously provoked by its competitor. On not a single occasion could the + various European states form a coalition against their common antagonist. + Whenever a question arose, they were skillfully taken in detail, and + commonly mastered. The ostensible object of papal intrusion was to secure + for the different peoples moral well-being; the real object was to obtain + large revenues, and give support to vast bodies of ecclesiastics. The + revenues thus abstracted were not infrequently many times greater than + those passing into the treasury of the local power. Thus, on the occasion + of Innocent IV. demanding provision to be made for three hundred + additional Italian clergy by the Church of England, and that one of his + nephews—a mere boy—should have a stall in Lincoln Cathedral, + it was found that the sum already annually abstracted by foreign + ecclesiastics from England was thrice that which went into the coffers of + the king. + </p> + <p> + While thus the higher clergy secured every political appointment worth + having, and abbots vied with counts in the herds of slaves they possessed—some, + it is said, owned not fewer than twenty thousand—begging friars + pervaded society in all directions, picking up a share of what still + remained to the poor. There was a vast body of non-producers, living in + idleness and owning a foreign allegiance, who were subsisting on the + fruits of the toil of the laborers. It could not be otherwise than that + small farms should be unceasingly merged into the larger estates; that the + poor should steadily become poorer; that society, far from improving, + should exhibit a continually increasing demoralization. Outside the + monastic institutions no attempt at intellectual advancement was made; + indeed, so far as the laity were concerned, the influence of the Church + was directed to an opposite result, for the maxim universally received + was, that "ignorance is the mother of devotion." + </p> + <p> + The settled practice of republican and imperial Rome was to have swift + communication with all her outlying provinces, by means of substantial + bridges and roads. One of the prime duties of the legions was to construct + them and keep them in repair. By this, her military authority was assured. + But the dominion of papal Rome, depending upon a different principle, had + no exigencies of that kind, and this duty accordingly was left for the + local powers to neglect. And so, in all directions, the roads were almost + impassable for a large part of the year. A common means of transportation + was in clumsy carts drawn by oxen, going at the most but three or four + miles an hour. Where boat-conveyance along rivers could not be had, + pack-horses and mules were resorted to for the transportation of + merchandise, an adequate means for the slender commerce of the times. When + large bodies of men had to be moved, the difficulties became almost + insuperable. Of this, perhaps, one of the best illustrations may be found + in the story of the march of the first Crusaders. These restraints upon + intercommunication tended powerfully to promote the general benighted + condition. Journeys by individuals could not be undertaken without much + risk, for there was scarcely a moor or a forest that had not its + highwaymen. + </p> + <p> + An illiterate condition everywhere prevailing, gave opportunity for the + development of superstition. Europe was full of disgraceful miracles. On + all the roads pilgrims were wending their way to the shrines of saints, + renowned for the cures they had wrought. It had always been the policy of + the Church to discourage the physician and his art; he interfered too much + with the gifts and profits of the shrines. Time has brought this once + lucrative imposture to its proper value. How many shrines are there now in + successful operation in Europe? + </p> + <p> + For patients too sick to move or be moved, there were no remedies except + those of a ghostly kind—the Pater-noster or the Ave. For the + prevention of diseases, prayers were put up in the churches, but no + sanitary measures were resorted to. From cities reeking with putrefying + filth it was thought that the plague might be stayed by the prayers of the + priests, by them rain and dry weather might be secured, and deliverance + obtained from the baleful influences of eclipses and comets. But when + Halley's comet came, in 1456, so tremendous was its apparition that it was + necessary for the pope himself to interfere. He exorcised and expelled it + from the skies. It slunk away into the abysses of space, terror-stricken + by the maledictions of Calixtus III., and did not venture back for + seventy-five years! + </p> + <p> + The physical value of shrine-cures and ghostly remedies is measured by the + death-rate. In those days it was, probably, about one in twenty-three, + under the present more material practice it is about one in forty. + </p> + <p> + The moral condition of Europe was signally illustrated when syphilis was + introduced from the West Indies by the companions of Columbus. It spread + with wonderful rapidity; all ranks of persons, from the Holy Father Leo X. + to the beggar by the wayside, contracting the shameful disease. Many + excused their misfortune by declaring that it was an epidemic proceeding + from a certain malignity in the constitution of the air, but in truth its + spread was due to a certain infirmity in the constitution of man—an + infirmity which had not been removed by the spiritual guidance under which + he had been living. + </p> + <p> + To the medical efficacy of shrines must be added that of special relics. + These were sometimes of the most extraordinary kind. There were several + abbeys that possessed our Savior's crown of thorns. Eleven had the lance + that had pierced his side. If any person was adventurous enough to suggest + that these could not all be authentic, he would have been denounced as an + atheist. During the holy wars the Templar-Knights had driven a profitable + commerce by bringing from Jerusalem to the Crusading armies bottles of the + milk of the Blessed Virgin, which they sold for enormous sums; these + bottles were preserved with pious care in many of the great religious + establishments. But perhaps none of these impostures surpassed in audacity + that offered by a monastery in Jerusalem, which presented to the beholder + one of the fingers of the Holy Ghost! Modern society has silently rendered + its verdict on these scandalous objects. Though they once nourished the + piety of thousands of earnest people, they are now considered too vile to + have a place in any public museum. + </p> + <p> + How shall we account for the great failure we thus detect in the + guardianship of the Church over Europe? This is not the result that must + have occurred had there been in Rome an unremitting care for the spiritual + and material prosperity of the continent, had the universal pastor, the + successor of Peter, occupied himself with singleness of purpose for the + holiness and happiness of his flock. + </p> + <p> + The explanation is not difficult to find. It is contained in a story of + sin and shame. I prefer, therefore, in the following paragraphs, to offer + explanatory facts derived from Catholic authors, and, indeed, to present + them as nearly as I can in the words of those writers. + </p> + <p> + The story I am about to relate is a narrative of the transformation of a + confederacy into an absolute monarchy. + </p> + <p> + In the early times every church, without prejudice to its agreement with + the Church universal in all essential points, managed its own affairs with + perfect freedom and independence, maintaining its own traditional usages + and discipline, all questions not concerning the whole Church, or of + primary importance, being settled on the spot. + </p> + <p> + Until the beginning of the ninth century, there was no change in the + constitution of the Roman Church. But about 845 the Isidorian Decretals + were fabricated in the west of Gaul—a forgery containing about one + hundred pretended decrees of the early popes, together with certain + spurious writings of other church dignitaries and acts of synods. This + forgery produced an immense extension of the papal power, it displaced the + old system of church government, divesting it of the republican attributes + it had possessed, and transforming it into an absolute monarchy. It + brought the bishops into subjection to Rome, and made the pontiff the + supreme judge of the clergy of the whole Christian world. It prepared the + way for the great attempt, subsequently made by Hildebrand, to convert the + states of Europe into a theocratic priest-kingdom, with the pope at its + head. + </p> + <p> + Gregory VII., the author of this great attempt, saw that his plans would + be best carried out through the agency of synods. He, therefore, + restricted the right of holding them to the popes and their legates. To + aid in the matter, a new system of church law was devised by Anselm of + Lucca, partly from the old Isidorian forgeries, and partly from new + inventions. To establish the supremacy of Rome, not only had a new civil + and a new canon law to be produced, a new history had also to be invented. + This furnished needful instances of the deposition and excommunication of + kings, and proved that they had always been subordinate to the popes. The + decretal letters of the popes were put on a par with Scripture. At length + it came to be received, throughout the West, that the popes had been, from + the beginning of Christianity, legislators for the whole Church. As + absolute sovereigns in later times cannot endure representative + assemblies, so the papacy, when it wished to become absolute, found that + the synods of particular national churches must be put an end to, and + those only under the immediate control of the pontiff permitted. This, in + itself, constituted a great revolution. + </p> + <p> + Another fiction concocted in Rome in the eighth century led to important + consequences. It feigned that the Emperor Constantine, in gratitude for + his cure from leprosy, and baptism by Pope Sylvester, had bestowed Italy + and the Western provinces on the pope, and that, in token of his + subordination, he had served the pope as his groom, and led his horse some + distance. This forgery was intended to work on the Frankish kings, to + impress them with a correct idea of their inferiority, and to show that, + in the territorial concessions they made to the Church, they were not + giving but only restoring what rightfully belonged to it. + </p> + <p> + The most potent instrument of the new papal system was Gratian's Decretum, + which was issued about the middle of the twelfth century. It was a mass of + fabrications. It made the whole Christian world, through the papacy, the + domain of the Italian clergy. It inculcated that it is lawful to constrain + men to goodness, to torture and execute heretics, and to confiscate their + property; that to kill an excommunicated person is not murder; that the + pope, in his unlimited superiority to all law, stands on an equality with + the Son of God! + </p> + <p> + As the new system of centralization developed, maxims, that in the olden + times would have been held to be shocking, were boldly avowed—the + whole Church is the property of the pope to do with as he will; what is + simony in others is not simony in him; he is above all law, and can be + called to account by none; whoever disobeys him must be put to death; + every baptized man is his subject, and must for life remain so, whether he + will or not. Up to the end of the twelfth century, the popes were the + vicars of Peter; after Innocent III. they were the vicars of Christ. + </p> + <p> + But an absolute sovereign has need of revenues, and to this the popes were + no exception. The institution of legates was brought in from Hildebrand's + time. Sometimes their duty was to visit churches, sometimes they were sent + on special business, but always invested with unlimited powers to bring + back money over the Alps. And since the pope could not only make laws, but + could suspend their operation, a legislation was introduced in view to the + purchase of dispensations. Monasteries were exempted from episcopal + jurisdiction on payment of a tribute to Rome. The pope had now become "the + universal bishop;" he had a concurrent jurisdiction in all the dioceses, + and could bring any cases before his own courts. His relation to the + bishops was that of an absolute sovereign to his officials. A bishop could + resign only by his permission, and sees vacated by resignation lapsed to + him. Appeals to him were encouraged in every way for the sake of the + dispensations; thousands of processes came before the Curia, bringing a + rich harvest to Rome. Often when there were disputing claimants to + benefices, the pope would oust them all, and appoint a creature of his + own. Often the candidates had to waste years in Rome, and either died + there, or carried back a vivid impression of the dominant corruption. + Germany suffered more than other countries from these appeals and + processes, and hence of all countries was best prepared for the + Reformation. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the popes made + gigantic strides in the acquisition of power. Instead of recommending + their favorites for benefices, now they issued mandates. Their Italian + partisans must be rewarded; nothing could be done to satisfy their + clamors, but to provide for them in foreign countries. Shoals of + contesting claimants died in Rome; and, when death took place in that + city, the Pope claimed the right of giving away the benefices. At length + it was affirmed that he had the right of disposing of all church-offices + without distinction, and that the oath of obedience of a bishop to him + implied political as well as ecclesiastical subjection. In countries + having a dual government this increased the power of the spiritual element + prodigiously. + </p> + <p> + Rights of every kind were remorselessly overthrown to complete this + centralization. In this the mendicant orders were most efficient aids. It + was the pope and those orders on one side, the bishops and the parochial + clergy on the other. The Roman court had seized the rights of synods, + metropolitans, bishops, national churches. Incessantly interfered with by + the legates, the bishops lost all desire to discipline their dioceses; + incessantly interfered with by the begging monks, the parish priest had + become powerless in his own village; his pastoral influence was utterly + destroyed by the papal indulgences and absolutions they sold. The money + was carried off to Rome. + </p> + <p> + Pecuniary necessities urged many of the popes to resort to such petty + expedients as to require from a prince, a bishop, or a grand-master, who + had a cause pending in the court, a present of a golden cup filled with + ducats. Such necessities also gave origin to jubilees. Sixtus IV. + established whole colleges, and sold the places at three or four hundred + ducats. Innocent VIII. pawned the papal tiara. Of Leo X. it was said that + he squandered the revenues of three popes, he wasted the savings of his + predecessor, he spent his own income, he anticipated that of his + successor, he created twenty-one hundred and fifty new offices and sold + them; they were considered to be a good investment, as they produced + twelve per cent. The interest was extorted from Catholic countries. + Nowhere in Europe could capital be so well invested as at Rome. Large sums + were raised by the foreclosing of mortgages, and not only by the sale but + the resale of offices. Men were promoted, for the purpose of selling their + offices again. + </p> + <p> + Though against the papal theory, which denounced usurious practices, an + immense papal banking system had sprung up, in connection with the Curia, + and sums at usurious interest were advanced to prelates, place-hunters, + and litigants. The papal bankers were privileged; all others were under + the ban. The Curia had discovered that it was for their interest to have + ecclesiastics all over Europe in their debt. They could make them pliant, + and excommunicate them for non-payment of interest. In 1327 it was + reckoned that half the Christian world was under excommunication: bishops + were excommunicated because they could not meet the extortions of legates; + and persons were excommunicated, under various pretenses, to compel them + to purchase absolution at an exorbitant price. The ecclesiastical revenues + of all Europe were flowing into Rome, a sink of corruption, simony, usury, + bribery, extortion. The popes, since 1066, when the great centralizing + movement began, had no time to pay attention to the internal affairs of + their own special flock in the city of Rome. There were thousands of + foreign cases, each bringing in money. "Whenever," says the Bishop Alvaro + Pelayo, "I entered the apartments of the Roman court clergy, I found them + occupied in counting up the gold-coin, which lay about the rooms in + heaps." Every opportunity of extending the jurisdiction of the Curia was + welcome. Exemptions were so managed that fresh grants were constantly + necessary. Bishops were privileged against cathedral chapters, chapters + against their bishops; bishops, convents, and individuals, against the + extortions of legates. + </p> + <p> + The two pillars on which the papal system now rested were the College of + Cardinals and the Curia. The cardinals, in 1059, had become electors of + the popes. Up to that time elections were made by the whole body of the + Roman clergy, and the concurrence of the magistrates and citizens was + necessary. But Nicolas II. restricted elections to the College of + Cardinals by a two-thirds vote, and gave to the German emperor the right + of confirmation. For almost two centuries there was a struggle for mastery + between the cardinal oligarchy and papal absolutism. The cardinals were + willing enough that the pope should be absolute in his foreign rule, but + they never failed to attempt, before giving him their votes, to bind him + to accord to them a recognized share in the government. After his + election, and before his consecration, he swore to observe certain + capitulations, such as a participation of revenues between himself and the + cardinals; an obligation that he would not remove them, but would permit + them to assemble twice a year to discuss whether he had kept his oath. + Repeatedly the popes broke their oath. On one side, the cardinals wanted a + larger share in the church government and emoluments; on the other, the + popes refused to surrender revenues or power. The cardinals wanted to be + conspicuous in pomp and extravagance, and for this vast sums were + requisite. In one instance, not fewer than five hundred benefices were + held by one of them; their friends and retainers must be supplied, their + families enriched. It was affirmed that the whole revenues of France were + insufficient to meet their expenditures. In their rivalries it sometimes + happened that no pope was elected for several years. It seemed as if they + wanted to show how easily the Church could get on without the Vicar of + Christ. + </p> + <p> + Toward the close of the eleventh century the Roman Church became the Roman + court. In place of the Christian sheep gently following their shepherd in + the holy precincts of the city, there had arisen a chancery of writers, + notaries, tax-gatherers, where transactions about privileges, + dispensations, exemptions, were carried on; and suitors went with + petitions from door to door. Rome was a rallying-point for place-hunters + of every nation. In presence of the enormous mass of business-processes, + graces, indulgences, absolutions, commands, and decisions, addressed to + all parts of Europe and Asia, the functions of the local church sank into + insignificance. Several hundred persons, whose home was the Curia, were + required. Their aim was to rise in it by enlarging the profits of the + papal treasury. The whole Christian world had become tributary to it. Here + every vestige of religion had disappeared; its members were busy with + politics, litigations, and processes; not a word could be heard about + spiritual concerns. Every stroke of the pen had its price. Benefices, + dispensations, licenses, absolutions, indulgences, privileges, were bought + and sold like merchandise. The suitor had to bribe every one, from the + doorkeeper to the pope, or his case was lost. Poor men could neither + attain preferment, nor hope for it; and the result was, that every cleric + felt he had a right to follow the example he had seen at Rome, and that he + might make profits out of his spiritual ministries and sacraments, having + bought the right to do so at Rome, and having no other way to pay off his + debt. The transference of power from Italians to Frenchmen, through the + removal of the Curia to Avignon, produced no change—only the + Italians felt that the enrichment of Italian families had slipped out of + their grasp. They had learned to consider the papacy as their appanage, + and that they, under the Christian dispensation, were God's chosen people, + as the Jews had been under the Mosaic. + </p> + <p> + At the end of the thirteenth century a new kingdom was discovered, capable + of yielding immense revenues. This was Purgatory. It was shown that the + pope could empty it by his indulgences. In this there was no need of + hypocrisy. Things were done openly. The original germ of the apostolic + primacy had now expanded into a colossal monarchy. + </p> + <p> + NEED OF A GENERAL COUNCIL. The Inquisition had made the papal system + irresistible. All opposition must be punished with death by fire. A mere + thought, without having betrayed itself by outward sign, was considered as + guilt. As time went on, this practice of the Inquisition became more and + more atrocious. Torture was resorted to on mere suspicion. The accused was + not allowed to know the name of his accuser. He was not permitted to have + any legal adviser. There was no appeal. The Inquisition was ordered not to + lean to pity. No recantation was of avail. The innocent family of the + accused was deprived of its property by confiscation; half went to the + papal treasury, half to the inquisitors. Life only, said Innocent III., + was to be left to the sons of misbelievers, and that merely as an act of + mercy. The consequence was, that popes, such as Nicolas III., enriched + their families through plunder acquired by this tribunal. Inquisitors did + the same habitually. + </p> + <p> + The struggle between the French and Italians for the possession of the + papacy inevitably led to the schism of the fourteenth century. For more + than forty years two rival popes were now anathematizing each other, two + rival Curias were squeezing the nations for money. Eventually, there were + three obediences, and triple revenues to be extorted. Nobody, now, could + guarantee the validity of the sacraments, for nobody could be sure which + was the true pope. Men were thus compelled to think for themselves. They + could not find who was the legitimate thinker for them. They began to see + that the Church must rid herself of the curialistic chains, and resort to + a General Council. That attempt was again and again made, the intention + being to raise the Council into a Parliament of Christendom, and make the + pope its chief executive officer. But the vast interests that had grown + out of the corruption of ages could not so easily be overcome; the Curia + again recovered its ascendency, and ecclesiastical trading was resumed. + The Germans, who had never been permitted to share in the Curia, took the + leading part in these attempts at reform. As things went on from bad to + worse, even they at last found out that all hope of reforming the Church + by means of councils was delusive. Erasmus exclaimed, "If Christ does not + deliver his people from this multiform ecclesiastical tyranny, the tyranny + of the Turk will become less intolerable." Cardinals' hats were now sold, + and under Leo X. ecclesiastical and religious offices were actually put up + to auction. The maxim of life had become, interest first, honor afterward. + Among the officials, there was not one who could be honest in the dark, + and virtuous without a witness. The violet-colored velvet cloaks and white + ermine capes of the cardinals were truly a cover for wickedness. + </p> + <p> + The unity of the Church, and therefore its power, required the use of + Latin as a sacred language. Through this, Rome had stood in an attitude + strictly European, and was enabled to maintain a general international + relation. It gave her far more power than her asserted celestial + authority, and, much as she claims to have done, she is open to + condemnation that, with such a signal advantage in her hands, never again + to be enjoyed by any successor, she did not accomplish much more. Had not + the sovereign pontiffs been so completely occupied with maintaining their + emoluments and temporalities in Italy, they might have made the whole + continent advance like one man. Their officials could pass without + difficulty into every nation, and communicate without embarrassment with + each other, from Ireland to Bohemia, from Italy to Scotland. The + possession of a common tongue gave them the administration of + international affairs with intelligent allies everywhere, speaking the + same language. + </p> + <p> + Not without cause was the hatred manifested by Rome to the restoration of + Greek and introduction of Hebrew, and the alarm with which she perceived + the modern languages forming out of the vulgar dialects. Not without + reason did the Faculty of Theology in Paris re-echo the sentiment that, + was prevalent in the time of Ximenes, "What will become of religion if the + study of Greek and Hebrew be permitted?" The prevalence of Latin was the + condition of her power; its deterioration, the measure of her decay; its + disuse, the signal of her limitation to a little principality in Italy. In + fact, the development of European languages was the instrument of her + overthrow. They formed an effectual communication between the mendicant + friars and the illiterate populace, and there was not one of them that did + not display in its earliest productions a sovereign contempt for her. + </p> + <p> + The rise of the many-tongued European literature was therefore coincident + with the decline of papal Christianity; European literature was impossible + under Catholic rule. A grand, a solemn, an imposing religious unity + enforced the literary unity which is implied in the use of a single + tongue. + </p> + <p> + While thus the possession of a universal language so signally secured her + power, the real secret of much of the influence of the Church lay in the + control she had so skillfully obtained over domestic life. Her influence + diminished as that declined. Coincident with this was her displacement in + the guidance of international relations by diplomacy. + </p> + <p> + CATHOLICITY AND CIVILIZATION. In the old times of Roman domination the + encampments of the legions in the provinces had always proved to be foci + of civilization. The industry and order exhibited in them presented an + example not lost on the surrounding barbarians of Britain, Gaul, and + Germany. And, though it was no part of their duty to occupy themselves + actively in the betterment of the conquered tribes, but rather to keep + them in a depressed condition that aided in maintaining subjection, a + steady improvement both in the individual and social condition took place. + </p> + <p> + Under the ecclesiastical domination of Rome similar effects occurred. In + the open country the monastery replaced the legionary encampment; in the + village or town, the church was a centre of light. A powerful effect was + produced by the elegant luxury of the former, and by the sacred and solemn + monitions of the latter. + </p> + <p> + In extolling the papal system for what it did in the organization of the + family, the definition of civil policy, the construction of the states of + Europe, our praise must be limited by the recollection that the chief + object of ecclesiastical policy was the aggrandizement of the Church, not + the promotion of civilization. The benefit obtained by the laity was not + through any special intention, but incidental or collateral. + </p> + <p> + There was no far-reaching, no persistent plan to ameliorate the physical + condition of the nations. Nothing was done to favor their intellectual + development; indeed, on the contrary, it was the settled policy to keep + them not merely illiterate, but ignorant. Century after century passed + away, and left the peasantry but little better than the cattle in the + fields. Intercommunication and locomotion, which tend so powerfully to + expand the ideas, received no encouragement; the majority of men died + without ever having ventured out of the neighborhood in which they were + born. For them there was no hope of personal improvement, none of the + bettering of their lot; there were no comprehensive schemes for the + avoidance of individual want, none for the resistance of famines. + Pestilences were permitted to stalk forth unchecked, or at best opposed + only by mummeries. Bad food, wretched clothing, inadequate shelter, were + suffered to produce their result, and at the end of a thousand years the + population of Europe had not doubled. + </p> + <p> + If policy may be held accountable as much for the births it prevents as + for the deaths it occasions, what a great responsibility there is here! + </p> + <p> + In this investigation of the influence of Catholicism, we must carefully + keep separate what it did for the people and what it did for itself. When + we think of the stately monastery, an embodiment of luxury, with its + closely-mown lawns, its gardens and bowers, its fountains and many + murmuring streams, we must connect it not with the ague-stricken peasant + dying without help in the fens, but with the abbot, his ambling palfrey, + his hawk and hounds, his well-stocked cellar and larder. He is part of a + system that has its centre of authority in Italy.. To that his allegiance + is due. For its behoof are all his acts. When we survey, as still we may, + the magnificent churches and cathedrals of those times, miracles of + architectural skill—the only real miracles of Catholicism—when + in imagination we restore the transcendently imposing, the noble services + of which they were once the scene, the dim, religious-light streaming in + through the many-colored windows, the sounds of voices not inferior in + their melody to those of heaven, the priests in their sacred vestments, + and above all the prostrate worshipers listening to litanies and prayers + in a foreign and unknown tongue, shall we not ask ourselves, Was all this + for the sake of those worshipers, or for the glory of the great, the + overshadowing authority at Rome? + </p> + <p> + But perhaps some one may say, Are there not limits to human exertion—things + which no political system, no human power, no matter how excellent its + intention, can accomplish? Men cannot be raised from barbarism, a + continent cannot be civilized, in a day! + </p> + <p> + The Catholic power is not, however, to be tried by any such standard. It + scornfully rejected and still rejects a human origin. It claims to be + accredited supernaturally. The sovereign pontiff is the Vicar of God upon + earth. Infallible in judgment, it is given to him to accomplish all things + by miracle if need be. He had exercised an autocratic tyranny over the + intellect of Europe for more than a thousand years; and, though on some + occasions he had encountered the resistances of disobedient princes, + these, in the aggregate, were of so little moment, that the physical, the + political power of the continent may be affirmed to have been at his + disposal. + </p> + <p> + Such facts as have been presented in this chapter were, doubtless, well + weighed by the Protestant Reformers of the sixteenth century, and brought + them to the conclusion that Catholicism had altogether failed in its + mission; that it had become a vast system of delusion and imposture, and + that a restoration of true Christianity could only be accomplished by + returning to the faith and practices of the primitive times. This was no + decision suddenly arrived at; it had long been the opinion of many + religious and learned men. The pious Fratricelli in the middle ages had + loudly expressed their belief that the fatal gift of a Roman emperor had + been the doom of true religion. It wanted nothing more than the voice of + Luther to bring men throughout the north of Europe to the determination + that the worship of the Virgin Mary, the invocation of saints, the working + of miracles, supernatural cures of the sick, the purchase of indulgences + for the perpetration of sin, and all other evil practices, lucrative to + their abettors, which had been fastened on Christianity, but which were no + part of it, should come to an end. Catholicism, as a system for promoting + the well-being of man, had plainly failed in justifying its alleged + origin; its performance had not corresponded to its great pretensions; + and, after an opportunity of more than a thousand years' duration, it had + left the masses of men submitted to its influences, both as regards + physical well-being and intellectual culture, in a condition far lower + than what it ought to have been. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCIENCE IN RELATION TO MODERN CIVILIZATION. + + Illustration of the general influences of Science from the + history of America. + + THE INTRODUCTION OF SCIENCE INTO EUROPE.—It passed from + Moorish Spain to Upper Italy, and was favored by the absence + of the popes at Avignon.—The effects of printing, of + maritime adventure, and of the Reformation—Establishment of + the Italian scientific societies. + + THE INTELLECTUAL INFLUENCE OF SCIENCE.—It changed the mode + and the direction of thought in Europe.—The transactions of + the Royal Society of London, and other scientific societies, + furnish an illustration of this. + + THE ECONOMICAL INFLUENCE OF SCIENCE is illustrated by the + numerous mechanical and physical inventions, made since the + fourteenth century.—Their influence on health and domestic + life, on the arts of peace and of war. + + Answer to the question, What has Science done for humanity? +</pre> + <p> + EUROPE, at the epoch of the Reformation, furnishes us with the result of + the influences of Roman Christianity in the promotion of civilization. + America, examined in like manner at the present time, furnishes us with an + illustration of the influences of science. + </p> + <p> + SCIENCE AND CIVILIZATION. In the course of the seventeenth century a + sparse European population had settled along the western Atlantic coast. + Attracted by the cod-fishery of Newfoundland, the French had a little + colony north of the St. Lawrence; the English, Dutch, and Swedes, occupied + the shore of New England and the Middle States; some Huguenots were living + in the Carolinas. Rumors of a spring that could confer perpetual youth—a + fountain of life—had brought a few Spaniards into Florida. Behind + the fringe of villages which these adventurers had built, lay a vast and + unknown country, inhabited by wandering Indians, whose numbers from the + Gulf of Mexico to the St. Lawrence did not exceed one hundred and eighty + thousand. From them the European strangers had learned that in those + solitary regions there were fresh-water seas, and a great river which they + called the Mississippi. Some said that it flowed through Virginia into the + Atlantic, some that it passed through Florida, some that it emptied into + the Pacific, and some that it reached the Gulf of Mexico. Parted from + their native countries by the stormy Atlantic, to cross which implied a + voyage of many months, these refugees seemed lost to the world. + </p> + <p> + But before the close of the nineteenth century the descendants of this + feeble people had become one of the great powers of the earth. They had + established a republic whose sway extended from the Atlantic to the + Pacific. With an army of more than a million men, not on paper, but + actually in the field, they had overthrown a domestic assailant. They had + maintained at sea a war-fleet of nearly seven hundred ships, carrying five + thousand guns, some of them the heaviest in the world. The tonnage of this + navy amounted to half a million. In the defense of their national life + they had expended in less than five years more than four thousand million + dollars. Their census, periodically taken, showed that the population was + doubling itself every twenty-five years; it justified the expectation that + at the close of that century it would number nearly one hundred million + souls. + </p> + <p> + KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. A silent continent had been changed into a scene of + industry; it was full of the din of machinery and the restless moving of + men. Where there had been an unbroken forest, there were hundreds of + cities and towns. To commerce were furnished in profusion some of the most + important staples, as cotton, tobacco, breadstuffs. The mines yielded + incredible quantities of gold, iron, coal. Countless churches, colleges, + and public schools, testified that a moral influence vivified this + material activity. Locomotion was effectually provided for. The railways + exceeded in aggregate length those of all Europe combined. In 1873 the + aggregate length of the European railways was sixty-three thousand three + hundred and sixty miles, that of the American was seventy thousand six + hundred and fifty miles. One of them, built across the continent, + connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. + </p> + <p> + But not alone are these material results worthy of notice. Others of a + moral and social kind force themselves on our attention. Four million + negro slaves had been set free. Legislation, if it inclined to the + advantage of any class, inclined to that of the poor. Its intention was to + raise them from poverty, and better their lot. A career was open to + talent, and that without any restraint. Every thing was possible to + intelligence and industry. Many of the most important public offices were + filled by men who had risen from the humblest walks of life. If there was + not social equality, as there never can be in rich and prosperous + communities, there was civil equality, rigorously maintained. + </p> + <p> + It may perhaps be said that much of this material prosperity arose from + special conditions, such as had never occurred in the case of any people + before, There was a vast, an open theatre of action, a whole continent + ready for any who chose to take possession of it. Nothing more than + courage and industry was needed to overcome Nature, and to seize the + abounding advantages she offered. + </p> + <p> + === + </p> + <p> + ILLUSTRATIONS FROM AMERICAN HISTORY. But must not men be animated by a + great principle who successfully transform the primeval solitudes into an + abode of civilization, who are not dismayed by gloomy forests, or rivers, + mountains, or frightful deserts, who push their conquering way in the + course of a century across a continent, and hold it in subjection? Let us + contrast with this the results of the invasion of Mexico and Peru by the + Spaniards, who in those countries overthrew a wonderful civilization, in + many respects superior to their own—a civilization that had been + accomplished without iron and gunpowder—a civilization resting on an + agriculture that had neither horse, nor ox, nor plough. The Spaniards had + a clear base to start from, and no obstruction whatever in their advance. + They ruined all that the aboriginal children of America had accomplished. + Millions of those unfortunates were destroyed by their cruelty. Nations + that for many centuries had been living in contentment and prosperity, + under institutions shown by their history to be suitable to them, were + plunged into anarchy; the people fell into a baneful superstition, and a + greater part of their landed and other property found its way into the + possession of the Roman Church. + </p> + <p> + I have selected the foregoing illustration, drawn from American history, + in preference to many others that might have been taken from European, + because it furnishes an instance of the operation of the acting principle + least interfered with by extraneous conditions. European political + progress is less simple than American. + </p> + <p> + QUARREL BETWEEN FRANCE AND THE PAPACY. Before considering its manner of + action, and its results, I will briefly relate how the scientific + principle found an introduction into Europe. + </p> + <p> + INTRODUCTION OF SCIENCE INTO EUROPE. Not only had the Crusades, for many + years, brought vast sums to Rome, extorted from the fears or the piety of + every Christian nation; they had also increased the papal power to a most + dangerous extent. In the dual governments everywhere prevailing in Europe, + the spiritual had obtained the mastery; the temporal was little better + than its servant. + </p> + <p> + From all quarters, and under all kinds of pretenses, streams of money were + steadily flowing into Italy. The temporal princes found that there were + left for them inadequate and impoverished revenues. Philip the Fair, King + of France (A.D. 1300), not only determined to check this drain from his + dominions, by prohibiting the export of gold and silver without his + license; he also resolved that the clergy and the ecclesiastical estates + should pay their share of taxes to him. This brought on a mortal contest + with the papacy. The king was excommunicated, and, in retaliation, he + accused the pope, Boniface VIII., of atheism; demanding that he should be + tried by a general council. He sent some trusty persons into Italy, who + seized Boniface in his palace at Anagni, and treated him with so much + severity, that in a few days he died. The succeeding pontiff, Benedict + XI., was poisoned. + </p> + <p> + The French king was determined that the papacy should be purified and + reformed; that it should no longer be the appanage of a few Italian + families, who were dexterously transmuting the credulity of Europe into + coin—that French influence should prevail in it. He Therefore came + to an understanding with the cardinals; a French archbishop was elevated + to the pontificate; he took the name of Clement V. The papal court was + removed to Avignon, in France, and Rome was abandoned as the metropolis of + Christianity. + </p> + <p> + MOORISH SCIENCE INTRODUCED THROUGH FRANCE. Seventy years elapsed before + the papacy was restored to the Eternal City (A.D. 1376). The diminution of + its influence in the peninsula, that had thus occurred, gave opportunity + for the memorable intellectual movement which soon manifested itself in + the great commercial cities of Upper Italy. Contemporaneously, also, there + were other propitious events. The result of the Crusades had shaken the + faith of all Christendom. In an age when the test of the ordeal of battle + was universally accepted, those wars had ended in leaving the Holy Land in + the hands of the Saracens; the many thousand Christian warriors who had + returned from them did not hesitate to declare that they had found their + antagonists not such as had been pictured by the Church, but valiant, + courteous, just. Through the gay cities of the South of France a love of + romantic literature had been spreading; the wandering troubadours had been + singing their songs—songs far from being restricted to ladye-love + and feats of war; often their burden was the awful atrocities that had + been perpetrated by papal authority—the religious massacres of + Languedoc; often their burden was the illicit amours of the clergy. From + Moorish Spain the gentle and gallant idea of chivalry had been brought, + and with it the noble sentiment of "personal honor," destined in the + course of time to give a code of its own to Europe. + </p> + <p> + EFFECT OF THE GREAT SCHISM. The return of the papacy to Rome was far from + restoring the influence of the popes over the Italian Peninsula. More than + two generations had passed away since their departure, and, had they come + back even in their original strength, they could not have resisted the + intellectual progress that had been made during their absence. The papacy, + however, came back not to rule, but to be divided against itself, to + encounter the Great Schism. Out of its dissensions emerged two rival + popes; eventually there were three, each pressing his claims upon the + religious, each cursing his rival. A sentiment of indignation soon spread + all over Europe, a determination that the shameful scenes which were then + enacting should be ended. How could the dogma of a Vicar of God upon + earth, the dogma of an infallible pope, be sustained in presence of such + scandals? Herein lay the cause of that resolution of the ablest + ecclesiastics of those times (which, alas for Europe! could not be carried + into effect), that a general council should be made the permanent + religious parliament of the whole continent, with the pope as its chief + executive officer. Had that intention been accomplished, there would have + been at this day no conflict between science and religion; the convulsion + of the Reformation would have been avoided; there would have been no + jarring Protestant sects. But the Councils of Constance and Basle failed + to shake off the Italian yoke, failed to attain that noble result. + </p> + <p> + Catholicism was thus weakening; as its leaden pressure lifted, the + intellect of man expanded. The Saracens had invented the method of making + paper from linen rags and from cotton. The Venetians had brought from + China to Europe the art of printing. The former of these inventions was + essential to the latter. Hence forth, without the possibility of a check, + there was intellectual intercommunication among all men. + </p> + <p> + INVENTION OF PRINTING. The invention of printing was a severe blow to + Catholicism, which had, previously, enjoyed the inappreciable advantage of + a monopoly of intercommunication. From its central seat, orders could be + disseminated through all the ecclesiastical ranks, and fulminated through + the pulpits. This monopoly and the amazing power it conferred were + destroyed by the press. In modern times, the influence of the pulpit has + become insignificant. The pulpit has been thoroughly supplanted by the + newspaper. + </p> + <p> + Yet, Catholicism did not yield its ancient advantage without a struggle. + As soon as the inevitable tendency of the new art was detected, a + restraint upon it, under the form of a censorship, was attempted. It was + made necessary to have a permit, in order to print a book. For this, it + was needful that the work should have been read, examined, and approved by + the clergy. There must be a certificate that it was a godly and orthodox + book. A bull of excommunication was issued in 1501, by Alexander VI., + against printers who should publish pernicious doctrines. In 1515 the + Lateran Council ordered that no books should be printed but such as had + been inspected by the ecclesiastical censors, under pain of + excommunication and fine; the censors being directed "to take the utmost + care that nothing should be printed contrary to the orthodox faith." There + was thus a dread of religious discussion; a terror lest truth should + emerge. + </p> + <p> + But these frantic struggles of the powers of ignorance were unavailing. + Intellectual intercommunication among men was secured. It culminated in + the modern newspaper, which daily gives its contemporaneous intelligence + from all parts of the world. Reading became a common occupation. In + ancient society that art was possessed by comparatively few persons. + Modern society owes some of its most striking characteristics to this + change. + </p> + <p> + EFFECTS OF MARITIME ENTERPRISE. Such was the result of bringing into + Europe the manufacture of paper and the printing-press. In like manner the + introduction of the mariner's compass was followed by imposing material + and moral effects. These were—the discovery of America in + consequence of the rivalry of the Venetians and Genoese about the India + trade; the doubling of Africa by De Gama; and the circumnavigation of the + earth by Magellan. With respect to the last, the grandest of all human + undertakings, it is to be remembered that Catholicism had irrevocably + committed itself to the dogma of a flat earth, with the sky as the floor + of heaven, and hell in the under-world. Some of the Fathers, whose + authority was held to be paramount, had, as we have previously said, + furnished philosophical and religious arguments against the globular form. + The controversy had now suddenly come to an end—the Church was found + to be in error. + </p> + <p> + The correction of that geographical error was by no means the only + important result that followed the three great voyages. The spirit of + Columbus, De Gama, Magellan, diffused itself among all the enterprising + men of Western Europe. Society had been hitherto living under the dogma of + "loyalty to the king, obedience to the Church." It had therefore been + living for others, not for itself. The political effect of that dogma had + culminated in the Crusades. Countless thousands had perished in wars that + could bring them no reward, and of which the result had been conspicuous + failure. Experience had revealed the fact that the only gainers were the + pontiffs, cardinals, and other ecclesiastics in Rome, and the shipmasters + of Venice. But, when it became known that the wealth of Mexico, Peru, and + India, might be shared by any one who had enterprise and courage, the + motives that had animated the restless populations of Europe suddenly + changed. The story of Cortez and Pizarro found enthusiastic listeners + everywhere. Maritime adventure supplanted religious enthusiasm. + </p> + <p> + If we attempt to isolate the principle that lay at the basis of the + wonderful social changes that now took place, we may recognize it without + difficulty. Heretofore each man had dedicated his services to his superior—feudal + or ecclesiastical; now he had resolved to gather the fruits of his + exertions himself. Individualism was becoming predominant, loyalty was + declining into a sentiment. We shall now see how it was with the Church. + </p> + <p> + INDIVIDUALISM. Individualism rests on the principle that a man shall be + his own master, that he shall have liberty to form his own opinions, + freedom to carry into effect his resolves. He is, therefore, ever brought + into competition with his fellow-men. His life is a display of energy. + </p> + <p> + To remove the stagnation of centuries front European life, to vivify + suddenly what had hitherto been an inert mass, to impart to it + individualism, was to bring it into conflict with the influences that had + been oppressing it. All through the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries + uneasy strugglings gave a premonition of what was coming. In the early + part of the sixteenth (1517), the battle was joined. Individualism found + its embodiment in a sturdy German monk, and therefore, perhaps + necessarily, asserted its rights under theological forms. There were some + preliminary skirmishes about indulgences and other minor matters, but very + soon the real cause of dispute came plainly into view. Martin Luther + refused to think as he was ordered to do by his ecclesiastical superiors + at Rome; he asserted that he had an inalienable right to interpret the + Bible for himself. + </p> + <p> + At her first glance, Rome saw nothing in Martin Luther but a vulgar, + insubordinate, quarrelsome monk. Could the Inquisition have laid hold of + him, it would have speedily disposed of his affair; but, as the conflict + went on, it was discovered that Martin was not standing alone. Many + thousands of men, as resolute as himself, were coming up to his support; + and, while he carried on the combat with writings and words, they made + good his propositions with the sword. + </p> + <p> + THE REFORMATION. The vilification which was poured on Luther and his + doings was so bitter as to be ludicrous. It was declared that his father + was not his mother's husband, but an impish incubus, who had deluded her; + that, after ten years' struggling with his conscience, he had become an + atheist; that he denied the immortality of the soul; that he had composed + hymns in honor of drunkenness, a vice to which he was unceasingly + addicted; that he blasphemed the Holy Scriptures, and particularly Moses; + that he did not believe a word of what he preached; that he had called the + Epistle of St. James a thing of straw; and, above all, that the + Reformation was no work of his, but, in reality, was due to a certain + astrological position of the stars. It was, however, a vulgar saying among + the Roman ecclesiastics that Erasmus laid the egg of the Reformation, and + Luther hatched it. + </p> + <p> + Rome at first made the mistake of supposing that this was nothing more + than a casual outbreak; she failed to discern that it was, in fact, the + culmination of an internal movement which for two centuries had been going + on in Europe, and which had been hourly gathering force; that, had there + been nothing else, the existence of three popes—three obediences—would + have compelled men to think, to deliberate, to conclude for themselves. + The Councils of Constance and Basle taught them that there was a higher + power than the popes. The long and bloody wars that ensued were closed by + the Peace of Westphalia; and then it was found that Central and Northern + Europe had cast off the intellectual tyranny of Rome, that individualism + had carried its point, and had established the right of every man to think + for himself. + </p> + <p> + DECOMPOSITION OF PROTESTANTISM. But it was impossible that the + establishment of this right of private judgment should end with the + rejection of Catholicism. Early in the movement some of the most + distinguished men, such as Erasmus, who had been among its first + promoters, abandoned it. They perceived that many of the Reformers + entertained a bitter dislike of learning, and they were afraid of being + brought under bigoted caprice. The Protestant party, having thus + established its existence by dissent and separation, must, in its turn, + submit to the operation of the same principles. A decomposition into many + subordinate sects was inevitable. And these, now that they had no longer + any thing to fear from their great Italian adversary, commenced partisan + warfares on each other. As, in different countries, first one and then + another sect rose to power, it stained itself with cruelties perpetrated + upon its competitors. The mortal retaliations that had ensued, when, in + the chances of the times, the oppressed got the better of their + oppressors, convinced the contending sectarians that they must concede to + their competitors what they claimed for themselves; and thus, from their + broils and their crimes, the great principle of toleration extricated + itself. But toleration is only an intermediate stage; and, as the + intellectual decomposition of Protestantism keeps going on, that + transitional condition will lead to a higher and nobler state—the + hope of philosophy in all past ages of the world—a social state in + which there shall be unfettered freedom for thought. Toleration, except + when extorted by fear, can only come from those who are capable of + entertaining and respecting other opinions than their own. It can + therefore only come from philosophy. History teaches us only too plainly + that fanaticism is stimulated by religion, and neutralized or eradicated + by philosophy. + </p> + <p> + TOLERATION. The avowed object of the Reformation was, to remove from + Christianity the pagan ideas and pagan rites engrafted upon it by + Constantine and his successors, in their attempt to reconcile the Roman + Empire to it. The Protestants designed to bring it back to its primitive + purity; and hence, while restoring the ancient doctrines, they cast out of + it all such practices as the adoration of the Virgin Mary and the + invocation of saints. The Virgin Mary, we are assured by the Evangelists, + had accepted the duties of married life, and borne to her husband several + children. In the prevailing idolatry, she had ceased to be regarded as the + carpenter's wife; she had become the queen of heaven, and the mother of + God. + </p> + <p> + DA VINCI. The science of the Arabians followed the invading track of their + literature, which had come into Christendom by two routes—the south + of France, and Sicily. Favored by the exile of the popes to Avignon, and + by the Great Schism, it made good its foothold in Upper Italy. The + Aristotelian or Inductive philosophy, clad in the Saracenic costume that + Averroes had given it, made many secret and not a few open friends. It + found many minds eager to receive and able to appreciate it. Among these + were Leonardo da Vinci, who proclaimed the fundamental principle that + experiment and observation are the only reliable foundations of reasoning + in science, that experiment is the only trustworthy interpreter of Nature, + and is essential to the ascertainment of laws. He showed that the action + of two perpendicular forces upon a point is the same as that denoted by + the diagonal of a rectangle, of which they represent the sides. From this + the passage to the proposition of oblique forces was very easy. This + proposition was rediscovered by Stevinus, a century later, and applied by + him to the explanation of the mechanical powers. Da Vinci gave a clear + exposition of the theory of forces applied obliquely on a lever, + discovered the laws of friction subsequently demonstrated by Amontons, and + understood the principle of virtual velocities. He treated of the + conditions of descent of bodies along inclined planes and circular arcs, + invented the camera-obscura, discussed correctly several physiological + problems, and foreshadowed some of the great conclusions of modern + geology, such as the nature of fossil remains, and the elevation of + continents. He explained the earth-light reflected by the moon. With + surprising versatility of genius he excelled as a sculptor, architect, + engineer; was thoroughly versed in the astronomy, anatomy, and chemistry + of his times. In painting, he was the rival of Michel Angelo; in a + competition between them, he was considered to have established his + superiority. His "Last Supper," on the wall of the refectory of the + Dominican convent of Sta. Maria delle Grazie, is well known, from the + numerous engravings and copies that have been made of it. + </p> + <p> + ITALIAN SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Once firmly established in the north of + Italy, Science soon extended her sway over the entire peninsula. The + increasing number of her devotees is indicated by the rise and rapid + multiplication of learned societies. These were reproductions of the + Moorish ones that had formerly existed in Granada and Cordova. As if to + mark by a monument the track through which civilizing influences had come, + the Academy of Toulouse, founded in 1345, has survived to our own times. + It represented, however, the gay literature of the south of France, and + was known under the fanciful title of "the Academy of Floral Games." The + first society for the promotion of physical science, the Academia + Secretorum Naturae, was founded at Naples, by Baptista Porta. It was, as + Tiraboschi relates, dissolved by the ecclesiastical authorities. The + Lyncean was founded by Prince Frederic Cesi at Rome; its device plainly + indicated its intention: a lynx, with its eyes turned upward toward + heaven, tearing a triple-headed Cerberus with its claws. The Accademia del + Cimento, established at Florence, 1657, held its meetings in the ducal + palace. It lasted ten years, and was then suppressed at the instance of + the papal government; as an equivalent, the brother of the grand-duke was + made a cardinal. It numbered many great men, such as Torricelli and + Castelli, among its members. The condition of admission into it was an + abjuration of all faith, and a resolution to inquire into the truth. These + societies extricated the cultivators of science from the isolation in + which they had hitherto lived, and, by promoting their intercommunication + and union, imparted activity and strength to them all. + </p> + <p> + Returning now from this digression, this historical sketch of the + circumstances under which science was introduced into Europe, I pass to + the consideration of its manner of action and its results. + </p> + <p> + INTELLECTUAL INFLUENCE OF SCIENCE. The influence of science on modern + civilization has been twofold: 1. Intellectual; 2. Economical. Under these + titles we may conveniently consider it. + </p> + <p> + Intellectually it overthrew the authority of tradition. It refused to + accept, unless accompanied by proof, the dicta of any master, no matter + how eminent or honored his name. The conditions of admission into the + Italian Accademia del Cimento, and the motto adopted by the Royal Society + of London, illustrate the position it took in this respect. + </p> + <p> + It rejected the supernatural and miraculous as evidence in physical + discussions. It abandoned sign-proof such as the Jews in old days + required, and denied that a demonstration can be given through an + illustration of something else, thus casting aside the logic that had been + in vogue for many centuries. + </p> + <p> + In physical inquiries, its mode of procedure was, to test the value of any + proposed hypothesis, by executing computations in any special case on the + basis or principle of that hypothesis, and then, by performing an + experiment or making an observation, to ascertain whether the result of + these agreed with the result of the computation. If it did not, the + hypothesis was to be rejected. + </p> + <p> + We may here introduce an illustration or two of this mode of procedure: + </p> + <p> + THEORIES OF GRAVITATION AND PHLOGISTON. Newton, suspecting that the + influence of the earth's attraction, gravity, may extend as far as the + moon, and be the force that causes her to revolve in her orbit round the + earth, calculated that, by her motion in her orbit, she was deflected from + the tangent thirteen feet every minute; but, by ascertaining the space + through which bodies would fall in one minute at the earth's surface, and + supposing it to be diminished in the ratio of the inverse square, it + appeared that the attraction at the moon's orbit would draw a body through + more than fifteen feet. He, therefore, for the time, considered his + hypothesis as unsustained. But it so happened that Picard shortly + afterward executed more correctly a new measurement of a degree; this + changed the estimated magnitude of the earth, and the distance of the + moon, which was measured in earth-semidiameters. Newton now renewed his + computation, and, as I have related on a previous page, as it drew to a + close, foreseeing that a coincidence was about to be established, was so + much agitated that he was obliged to ask a friend to complete it. The + hypothesis was sustained. + </p> + <p> + A second instance will sufficiently illustrate the method under + consideration. It is presented by the chemical theory of phlogiston. + Stahl, the author of this theory, asserted that there is a principle of + inflammability, to which he gave the name phlogiston, having the quality + of uniting with substances. Thus, when what we now term a metallic oxide + was united to it, a metal was produced; and, if the phlogiston were + withdrawn, the metal passed back into its earthy or oxidized state. On + this principle, then, the metals were compound bodies, earths combined + with phlogiston. + </p> + <p> + SCIENCE AND ECCLESIASTICISM. But during the eighteenth century the balance + was introduced as an instrument of chemical research. Now, if the + phlogistic hypothesis be true, it would follow that a metal should be the + heavier, its oxide the lighter body, for the former contains something—phlogiston—that + has been added to the latter. But, on weighing a portion of any metal, and + also the oxide producible from it, the latter proves to be the heavier, + and here the phlogistic hypothesis fails. Still further, on continuing the + investigation, it may be shown that the oxide or calx, as it used to be + called, has become heavier by combining with one of the ingredients of the + air. + </p> + <p> + To Lavoisier is usually attributed this test experiment; but the fact that + the weight of a metal increases by calcination was established by earlier + European experimenters, and, indeed, was well known to the Arabian + chemists. Lavoisier, however, was the first to recognize its great + importance. In his hands it produced a revolution in chemistry. + </p> + <p> + The abandonment of the phlogistic theory is an illustration of the + readiness with which scientific hypotheses are surrendered, when found to + be wanting in accordance with facts. Authority and tradition pass for + nothing. Every thing is settled by an appeal to Nature. It is assumed that + the answers she gives to a practical interrogation will ever be true. + </p> + <p> + Comparing now the philosophical principles on which science was + proceeding, with the principles on which ecclesiasticism rested, we see + that, while the former repudiated tradition, to the latter it was the main + support while the former insisted on the agreement of calculation and + observation, or the correspondence of reasoning and fact, the latter + leaned upon mysteries; while the former summarily rejected its own + theories, if it saw that they could not be coordinated with Nature, the + latter found merit in a faith that blindly accepted the inexplicable, a + satisfied contemplation of "things above reason." The alienation between + the two continually increased. On one side there was a sentiment of + disdain, on the other a sentiment of hatred. Impartial witnesses on all + hands perceived that science was rapidly undermining ecclesiasticism. + </p> + <p> + MATHEMATICS. Mathematics had thus become the great instrument of + scientific research, it had become the instrument of scientific reasoning. + In one respect it may be said that it reduced the operations of the mind + to a mechanical process, for its symbols often saved the labor of + thinking. The habit of mental exactness it encouraged extended to other + branches of thought, and produced an intellectual revolution. No longer + was it possible to be satisfied with miracle-proof, or the logic that had + been relied upon throughout the middle ages. Not only did it thus + influence the manner of thinking, it also changed the direction of + thought. Of this we may be satisfied by comparing the subjects considered + in the transactions of the various learned societies with the discussions + that had occupied the attention of the middle ages. + </p> + <p> + But the use of mathematics was not limited to the verification of + theories; as above indicated, it also furnished a means of predicting what + had hitherto been unobserved. In this it offered a counterpart to the + prophecies of ecclesiasticism. The discovery of Neptune is an instance of + the kind furnished by astronomy, and that of conical refraction by the + optical theory of undulations. + </p> + <p> + But, while this great instrument led to such a wonderful development in + natural science, it was itself undergoing development—improvement. + Let us in a few lines recall its progress. + </p> + <p> + The germ of algebra may be discerned in the works of Diophantus of + Alexandria, who is supposed to have lived in the second century of our + era. In that Egyptian school Euclid had formerly collected the great + truths of geometry, and arranged them in logical sequence. Archimedes, in + Syracuse, had attempted the solution of the higher problems by the method + of exhaustions. Such was the tendency of things that, had the patronage of + science been continued, algebra would inevitably have been invented. + </p> + <p> + To the Arabians we owe our knowledge of the rudiments of algebra; we owe + to them the very name under which this branch of mathematics passes. They + had carefully added, to the remains of the Alexandrian School, + improvements obtained in India, and had communicated to the subject a + certain consistency and form. The knowledge of algebra, as they possessed + it, was first brought into Italy about the beginning of the thirteenth + century. It attracted so little attention, that nearly three hundred years + elapsed before any European work on the subject appeared. In 1496 Paccioli + published his book entitled "Arte Maggiore," or "Alghebra." In 1501, + Cardan, of Milan, gave a method for the solution of cubic equations; other + improvements were contributed by Scipio Ferreo, 1508, by Tartalea, by + Vieta. The Germans now took up the subject. At this time the notation was + in an imperfect state. + </p> + <p> + The publication of the Geometry of Descartes, which contains the + application of algebra to the definition and investigation of curve lines + (1637), constitutes an epoch in the history of the mathematical sciences. + Two years previously, Cavalieri's work on Indivisibles had appeared. This + method was improved by Torricelli and others. The way was now open, for + the development of the Infinitesimal Calculus, the method of Fluxions of + Newton, and the Differential and Integral Calculus of Leibnitz. Though in + his possession many years previously, Newton published nothing on Fluxions + until 1704; the imperfect notation he employed retarded very much the + application of his method. Meantime, on the Continent, very largely + through the brilliant solutions of some of the higher problems, + accomplished by the Bernouillis, the Calculus of Leibnitz was universally + accepted, and improved by many mathematicians. An extraordinary + development of the science now took place, and continued throughout the + century. To the Binomial theorem, previously discovered by Newton, Taylor + now added, in his "Method of Increments," the celebrated theorem that + bears his name. This was in 1715. The Calculus of Partial Differences was + introduced by Euler in 1734. It was extended by D'Alembert, and was + followed by that of Variations, by Euler and Lagrange, and by the method + of Derivative Functions, by Lagrange, in 1772. + </p> + <p> + But it was not only in Italy, in Germany, in England, in France, that this + great movement in mathematics was witnessed; Scotland had added a new gem + to the intellectual diadem with which her brow is encircled, by the grand + invention of Logarithms, by Napier of Merchiston. It is impossible to give + any adequate conception of the scientific importance of this incomparable + invention. The modern physicist and astronomer will most cordially agree + with Briggs, the Professor of Mathematics in Gresham College, in his + exclamation: "I never saw a book that pleased me better, and that made I + me more wonder!" Not without reason did the immortal Kepler regard Napier + "to be the greatest man of his age, in the department to which he had + applied his abilities." Napier died in 1617. It is no exaggeration to say + that this invention, by shortening the labors, doubled the life of the + astronomer. + </p> + <p> + But here I must check myself. I must remember that my present purpose is + not to give the history of mathematics, but to consider what science has + done for the advancement of human civilization. And now, at once, recurs + the question, How is it that the Church produced no geometer in her + autocratic reign of twelve hundred years? + </p> + <p> + With respect to pure mathematics this remark may be made: Its cultivation + does not demand appliances that are beyond the reach of most individuals. + Astronomy must have its observatory, chemistry its laboratory; but + mathematics asks only personal disposition and a few books. No great + expenditures are called for, nor the services of assistants. One would + think that nothing could be more congenial, nothing more delightful, even + in the retirement of monastic life. + </p> + <p> + Shall we answer with Eusebius, "It is through contempt of such useless + labor that we think so little of these matters; we turn our souls to the + exercise of better things?" Better things! What can be better than + absolute truth? Are mysteries, miracles, lying impostures, better? It was + these that stood in the way! + </p> + <p> + The ecclesiastical authorities had recognized, from the outset of this + scientific invasion, that the principles it was disseminating were + absolutely irreconcilable with the current theology. Directly and + indirectly, they struggled against it. So great was their detestation of + experimental science, that they thought they had gained a great advantage + when the Accademia del Cimento was suppressed. Nor was the sentiment + restricted to Catholicism. When the Royal Society of London was founded, + theological odium was directed against it with so much rancor that, + doubtless, it would have been extinguished, had not King Charles II. given + it his open and avowed support. It was accused of an intention of + "destroying the established religion, of injuring the universities, and of + upsetting ancient and solid learning." + </p> + <p> + THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. We have only to turn over the pages of its + Transactions to discern how much this society has done for the progress of + humanity. It was incorporated in 1662, and has interested itself in all + the great scientific movements and discoveries that have since been made. + It published Newton's "Principia;" it promoted Halley's voyage, the first + scientific expedition undertaken by any government; it made experiments on + the transfusion of blood, and accepted Harvey's discovery of the + circulation. The encouragement it gave to inoculation led Queen Caroline + to beg six condemned criminals for experiment, and then to submit her own + children to that operation. Through its encouragement Bradley accomplished + his great discovery, the aberration of the fixed stars, and that of the + nutation of the earth's axis; to these two discoveries, Delambre says, we + owe the exactness of modern astronomy. It promoted the improvement of the + thermometer, the measure of temperature, and in Harrison's watch, the + chronometer, the measure of time. Through it the Gregorian Calendar was + introduced into England, in 1752, against a violent religious opposition. + Some of its Fellows were pursued through the streets by an ignorant and + infuriated mob, who believed it had robbed them of eleven days of their + lives; it was found necessary to conceal the name of Father Walmesley, a + learned Jesuit, who had taken deep interest in the matter; and, Bradley + happening to die during the commotion, it was declared that he had + suffered a judgment from Heaven for his crime! + </p> + <p> + THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. If I were to attempt to do justice to the + merits of this great society, I should have to devote many pages, to such + subjects as the achromatic telescope of Dollond; the dividing engine of + Ramsden, which first gave precision to astronomical observations, the + measurement of a degree on the earth's surface by Mason and Dixon; the + expeditions of Cook in connection with the transit of Venus; his + circumnavigation of the earth; his proof that scurvy, the curse of long + sea-voyages, may be avoided by the use of vegetable substances; the polar + expeditions; the determination of the density of the earth by Maskelyne's + experiments at Scheliallion, and by those of Cavendish; the discovery of + the planet Uranus by Herschel; the composition of water by Cavendish and + Watt; the determination of the difference of longitude between London and + Paris; the invention of the voltaic pile; the surveys of the heavens by + the Herschels; the development of the principle of interference by Young, + and his establishment of the undulatory theory of light; the ventilation + of jails and other buildings; the introduction of gas for city + illumination; the ascertainment of the length of the seconds-pendulum; the + measurement of the variations of gravity in different latitudes; the + operations to ascertain the curvature of the earth; the polar expedition + of Ross; the invention of the safety-lamp by Davy, and his decomposition + of the alkalies and earths; the electro-magnetic discoveries of Oersted + and Faraday; the calculating-engines of Babbage; the measures taken at the + instance of Humboldt for the establishment of many magnetic observatories; + the verification of contemporaneous magnetic disturbances over the earth's + surface. But it is impossible, in the limited space at my disposal, to + give even so little as a catalogue of its Transactions. Its spirit was + identical with that which animated the Accademia del Cimento, and its + motto accordingly was "Nullius in Verba." It proscribed superstition, and + permitted only calculation, observation, and experiment. + </p> + <p> + INFLUENCE OF SCIENCE. Not for a moment must it be supposed that in these + great attempts, these great Successes, the Royal Society stood alone. In + all the capitals of Europe there were Academies, Institutes, or Societies, + equal in distinction, and equally successful in promoting human knowledge + and modern civilization. + </p> + <p> + THE ECONOMICAL INFLUENCES OF SCIENCE. + </p> + <p> + The scientific study of Nature tends not only to correct and ennoble the + intellectual conceptions of man; it serves also to ameliorate his physical + condition. It perpetually suggests to him the inquiry, how he may make, by + their economical application, ascertained facts subservient to his use. + </p> + <p> + The investigation of principles is quickly followed by practical + inventions. This, indeed, is the characteristic feature of our times. It + has produced a great revolution in national policy. + </p> + <p> + In former ages wars were made for the procuring of slaves. A conqueror + transported entire populations, and extorted from them forced labor, for + it was only by human labor that human labor could be relieved. But when it + was discovered that physical agents and mechanical combinations could be + employed to incomparably greater advantage, public policy underwent a + change; when it was recognized that the application of a new principle, or + the invention of a new machine, was better than the acquisition of an + additional slave, peace became preferable to war. And not only so, but + nations possessing great slave or serf populations, as was the care in + America and Russia, found that considerations of humanity were supported + by considerations of interest, and set their bondmen free. + </p> + <p> + SCIENTIFIC INVENTIONS. Thus we live in a period of which a characteristic + is the supplanting of human and animal labor by machines. Its mechanical + inventions have wrought a social revolution. We appeal to the natural, not + to the supernatural, for the accomplishment of our ends. It is with the + "modern civilization" thus arising that Catholicism refuses to be + reconciled. The papacy loudly proclaims its inflexible repudiation of this + state of affairs, and insists on a restoration of the medieval condition + of things. + </p> + <p> + That a piece of amber, when rubbed, will attract and then repel light + bodies, was a fact known six hundred years before Christ. It remained an + isolated, uncultivated fact, a mere trifle, until sixteen hundred years + after Christ. Then dealt with by the scientific methods of mathematical + discussion and experiment, and practical application made of the result, + it has permitted men to communicate instantaneously with each other across + continents and under oceans. It has centralized the world. By enabling the + sovereign authority to transmit its mandates without regard to distance or + to time, it has revolutionized statesmanship and condensed political + power. + </p> + <p> + In the Museum of Alexandria there was a machine invented by Hero, the + mathematician, a little more than one hundred years before Christ. It + revolved by the agency of steam, and was of the form that we should now + call a reaction-engine. This, the germ of one of the most important + inventions ever made, was remembered as a mere curiosity for seventeen + hundred years. + </p> + <p> + Chance had nothing to do with the invention of the modern steam-engine. It + was the product of meditation and experiment. In the middle of the + seventeenth century several mechanical engineers attempted to utilize the + properties of steam; their labors were brought to perfection by Watt in + the middle of the eighteenth. + </p> + <p> + The steam-engine quickly became the drudge of civilization. It performed + the work of many millions of men. It gave, to those who would have been + condemned to a life of brutal toil, the opportunity of better pursuits. He + who formerly labored might now think. + </p> + <p> + Its earliest application was in such operations as pumping, wherein mere + force is required. Soon, however, it vindicated its delicacy of touch in + the industrial arts of spinning and weaving. It created vast manufacturing + establishments, and supplied clothing for the world. It changed the + industry of nations. + </p> + <p> + In its application, first to the navigation of rivers, and then to the + navigation of the ocean, it more than quadrupled the speed that had + heretofore been attained. Instead of forty days being requisite for the + passage, the Atlantic might now be crossed in eight. But, in land + transportation, its power was most strikingly displayed. The admirable + invention of the locomotive enabled men to travel farther in less than an + hour than they formerly could have done in more than a day. + </p> + <p> + The locomotive has not only enlarged the field of human activity, but, by + diminishing space, it has increased the capabilities of human life. In the + swift transportation of manufactured goods and agricultural products, it + has become a most efficient incentive to human industry + </p> + <p> + The perfection of ocean steam-navigation was greatly promoted by the + invention of the chronometer, which rendered it possible to find with + accuracy the place of a ship at sea. The great drawback on the advancement + of science in the Alexandrian School was the want of an instrument for the + measurement of time, and one for the measurement of temperature—the + chronometer and the thermometer; indeed, the invention of the latter is + essential to that of the former. Clepsydras, or water-clocks, had been + tried, but they were deficient in accuracy. Of one of them, ornamented + with the signs of the zodiac, and destroyed by certain primitive + Christians, St. Polycarp significantly remarked, "In all these monstrous + demons is seen an art hostile to God." Not until about 1680 did the + chronometer begin to approach accuracy. Hooke, the contemporary of Newton, + gave it the balance-wheel, with the spiral spring, and various escapements + in succession were devised, such as the anchor, the dead-beat, the duplex, + the remontoir. Provisions for the variation of temperature were + introduced. It was brought to perfection eventually by Harrison and + Arnold, in their hands becoming an accurate measure of the flight of time. + To the invention of the chronometer must be added that of the reflecting + sextant by Godfrey. This permitted astronomical observations to be made, + notwithstanding the motion of a ship. + </p> + <p> + Improvements in ocean navigation are exercising a powerful influence on + the distribution of mankind. They are increasing the amount and altering + the character of colonization. + </p> + <p> + DOMESTIC IMPROVEMENT. But not alone have these great discoveries and + inventions, the offspring of scientific investigation, changed the lot of + the human race; very many minor ones, perhaps individually insignificant, + have in their aggregate accomplished surprising effects. The commencing + cultivation of science in the fourteenth century gave a wonderful stimulus + to inventive talent, directed mainly to useful practical results; and + this, subsequently, was greatly encouraged by the system of patents, which + secure to the originator a reasonable portion of the benefits of his + skill. It is sufficient to refer in the most cursory manner to a few of + these improvements; we appreciate at once how much they have done. The + introduction of the saw-mill gave wooden floors to houses, banishing those + of gypsum, tile, or stone; improvements cheapening the manufacture of + glass gave windows, making possible the warming of apartments. However, it + was not until the sixteenth century that glazing could be well done. The + cutting of glass by the diamond was then introduced. The addition of + chimneys purified the atmosphere of dwellings, smoky and sooty as the huts + of savages; it gave that indescribable blessing of northern homes—a + cheerful fireside. Hitherto a hole in the roof for the escape of the + smoke, a pit in the midst of the floor to contain the fuel, and to be + covered with a lid when the curfew-bell sounded or night came, such had + been the cheerless and inadequate means of warming. + </p> + <p> + MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENTS. Though not without a bitter resistance on the part + of the clergy, men began to think that pestilences are not punishments + inflicted by God on society for its religious shortcomings, but the + physical consequences of filth and wretchedness; that the proper mode of + avoiding them is not by praying to the saints, but by insuring personal + and municipal cleanliness. In the twelfth century it was found necessary + to pave the streets of Paris, the stench in them was so dreadful At once + dysenteries and spotted fever diminished; a sanitary condition approaching + that of the Moorish cities of Spain, which had been paved for centuries, + was attained. In that now beautiful metropolis it was forbidden to keep + swine, an ordinance resented by the monks of the abbey of St. Anthony, who + demanded that the pigs of that saint should go where they chose; the + government was obliged to compromise the matter by requiring that bells + should be fastened to the animals' necks. King Philip, the son of Louis + the Fat, had been killed by his horse stumbling over a sow. Prohibitions + were published against throwing slops out of the windows. In 1870 an + eye-witness, the author of this book, at the close of the pontifical rule + in Rome, found that, in walking the ordure-defiled streets of that city, + it was more necessary to inspect the earth than to contemplate the + heavens, in order to preserve personal purity. Until the beginning of the + seventeenth century, the streets of Berlin were never swept. There was a + law that every countryman, who came to market with a cart, should carry + back a load of dirt! + </p> + <p> + Paving was followed by attempts, often of an imperfect kind, at the + construction of drains and sewers. It had become obvious to all reflecting + men that these were necessary to the preservation of health, not only in + towns, but in isolated houses. Then followed the lighting of the public + thoroughfares. At first houses facing the streets were compelled to have + candles or lamps in their windows; next the system that had been followed + with so much advantage in Cordova and Granada—of having public lamps—was + tried, but this was not brought to perfection until the present century, + when lighting by gas was invented. Contemporaneously with public lamps + were improved organizations for night-watchmen and police. + </p> + <p> + By the sixteenth century, mechanical inventions and manufacturing + improvements were exercising a conspicuous influence on domestic and + social life. There were looking-glasses and clocks on the walls, mantels + over the fireplaces. Though in many districts the kitchen-fire was still + supplied with turf, the use of coal began to prevail. The table in the + dining-room offered new delicacies; commerce was bringing to it foreign + products; the coarse drinks of the North were supplanted by the delicate + wines of the South. Ice-houses were constructed. The bolting of flour, + introduced at the windmills, had given whiter and finer bread. By degrees + things that had been rarities became common—Indian-corn, the potato, + the turkey, and, conspicuous in the long list, tobacco. Forks, an Italian + invention, displaced the filthy use of the fingers. It may be said that + the diet of civilized men now underwent a radical change. Tea came from + China, coffee from Arabia, the use of sugar from India, and these to no + insignificant degree supplanted fermented liquors. Carpets replaced on the + floors the layer of straw; in the chambers there appeared better beds, in + the wardrobes cleaner and more frequently-changed clothing. In many towns + the aqueduct was substituted for the public fountain and the street-pump. + Ceilings which in the old days would have been dingy with soot and dirt, + were now decorated with ornamental frescoes. Baths were more commonly + resorted to; there was less need to use perfumery for the concealment of + personal odors. An increasing taste for the innocent pleasures of + horticulture was manifested, by the introduction of many foreign flowers + in the gardens—the tuberose, the auricula, the crown imperial, the + Persian lily, the ranunculus, and African marigolds. In the streets there + appeared sedans, then close carriages, and at length hackney-coaches. + </p> + <p> + Among the dull rustics mechanical improvements forced their way, and + gradually attained, in the implements for ploughing, sowing, mowing, + reaping, thrashing, the perfection of our own times. + </p> + <p> + MERCANTILE INVENTIONS. It began to be recognized, in spite of the + preaching of the mendicant orders, that poverty is the source of crime, + the obstruction to knowledge; that the pursuit of riches by commerce is + far better than the acquisition of power by war. For, though it may be + true, as Montesquieu says, that, while commerce unites nations, it + antagonizes individuals, and makes a traffic of morality, it alone can + give unity to the world; its dream, its hope, is universal peace. + </p> + <p> + MEDICAL IMPROVEMENTS. Though, instead of a few pages, it would require + volumes to record adequately the ameliorations that took place in domestic + and social life after science began to exert its beneficent influences, + and inventive talent came to the aid of industry, there are some things + which cannot be passed in silence. From the port of Barcelona the Spanish + khalifs had carried on an enormous commerce, and they with their + coadjutors—Jewish merchants—had adopted or originated many + commercial inventions, which, with matters of pure science, they had + transmitted to the trading communities of Europe. The art of book-keeping + by double entry was thus brought into Upper Italy. The different kinds of + insurance were adopted, though strenuously resisted by the clergy. They + opposed fire and marine insurance, on the ground that it is a tempting of + Providence. Life insurance was regarded as an act of interference with the + consequences of God's will. Houses for lending money on interest and on + pledges, that is, banking and pawnbroking establishments, were bitterly + denounced, and especially was indignation excited against the taking of + high rates of interest, which was stigmatized as usury—a feeling + existing in some backward communities up to the present day. Bills of + exchange in the present form and terms were adopted, the office of the + public notary established, and protests for dishonored obligations + resorted to. Indeed, it may be said, with but little exaggeration, that + the commercial machinery now used was thus introduced. I have already + remarked that, in consequence of the discovery of America, the front of + Europe had been changed. Many rich Italian merchants and many enterprising + Jews, had settled in Holland England, France, and brought into those + countries various mercantile devices. The Jews, who cared nothing about + papal maledictions, were enriched by the pontifical action in relation to + the lending of money at high interest; but Pius II., perceiving the + mistake that had been made, withdrew his opposition. Pawnbroking + establishments were finally authorized by Leo X., who threatened + excommunication of those who wrote against them. In their turn the + Protestants now exhibited a dislike against establishments thus authorized + by Rome. As the theological dogma, that the plague, like the earthquake, + is an unavoidable visitation from God for the sins of men, began to be + doubted, attempts were made to resist its progress by the establishment of + quarantines. When the Mohammedan discovery of inoculation was brought from + Constantinople in 1721, by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, it was so + strenuously resisted by the clergy, that nothing short of its adoption by + the royal family of England brought it into use. A similar resistance was + exhibited when Jenner introduced his great improvement, vaccination; yet a + century ago it was the exception to see a face unpitted by smallpox—now + it is the exception to see one so disfigured. In like manner, when the + great American discovery of anaesthetics was applied in obstetrical cases, + it was discouraged, not so much for physiological reasons, as under the + pretense that it was an impious attempt to escape from the curse denounced + against all women in Genesis iii. 16. + </p> + <p> + MAGIC AND MIRACLES. Inventive ingenuity did not restrict itself to the + production of useful contrivances, it added amusing ones. Soon after the + introduction of science into Italy, the houses of the virtuosi began to + abound in all kinds of curious mechanical surprises, and, as they were + termed, magical effects. In the latter the invention of the magic-lantern + greatly assisted. Not without reason did the ecclesiastics detest + experimental philosophy, for a result of no little importance ensued—the + juggler became a successful rival to the miracle-worker. The pious frauds + enacted in the churches lost their wonder when brought into competition + with the tricks of the conjurer in the market-place: he breathed flame, + walked on burning coals, held red-hot iron in his teeth, drew basketfuls + of eggs out of his mouth, worked miracles by marionettes. Yet the old idea + of the supernatural was with difficulty destroyed. A horse, whose master + had taught him many tricks, was tried at Lisbon in 1601, found guilty of + being, possessed by the devil, and was burnt. Still later than that many + witches were brought to the stake. + </p> + <p> + DISCOVERIES IN ASTRONOMY AND CHEMISTRY. Once fairly introduced, discovery + and invention have unceasingly advanced at an accelerated pace. Each + continually reacted on the other, continually they sapped supernaturalism. + De Dominis commenced, and Newton completed, the explanation of the + rainbow; they showed that it was not the weapon of warfare of God, but the + accident of rays of light in drops of water. De Dominis was decoyed to + Rome through the promise of an archbishopric, and the hope of a cardinal's + hat. He was lodged in a fine residence, but carefully watched. Accused of + having suggested a concord between Rome and England, he was imprisoned in + the castle of St Angelo, and there died. He was brought in his coffin + before an ecclesiastical tribunal, adjudged guilty of heresy, and his + body, with a heap of heretical books, was cast into the flames. Franklin, + by demonstrating the identity of lightning and electricity, deprived + Jupiter of his thunder-bolt. The marvels of superstition were displaced by + the wonders of truth. The two telescopes, the reflector and the + achromatic, inventions of the last century, permitted man to penetrate + into the infinite grandeurs of the universe, to recognize, as far as such + a thing is possible, its illimitable spaces, its measureless times; and a + little later the achromatic microscope placed before his eyes the world of + the infinitely small. The air-balloon carried him above the clouds, the + diving-bell to the bottom of the sea. The thermometer gave him true + measures of the variations of heat; the barometer, of the pressure of the + air. The introduction of the balance imparted exactness to chemistry, it + proved the indestructibility of matter. The discovery of oxygen, hydrogen, + and many other gases, the isolation of aluminum, calcium, and other + metals, showed that earth and air and water are not elements. With an + enterprise that can never be too much commended, advantage was taken of + the transits of Venus, and, by sending expeditions to different regions, + the distance of the earth from the sun was determined. The step that + European intellect had made between 1456 and 1759 was illustrated by + Halley's comet. When it appeared in the former year, it was considered as + the harbinger of the vengeance of God, the dispenser of the most dreadful + of his retributions, war, pestilence, famine. By order of the pope, all + the church-bells in Europe were rung to scare it away, the faithful were + commanded to add each day another prayer; and, as their prayers had often + in so marked a manner been answered in eclipses and droughts and rains, so + on this occasion it was declared that a victory over the comet had been + vouchsafed to the pope. But, in the mean time, Halley, guided by the + revelations of Kepler and Newton, had discovered that its motions, so far + from being controlled by the supplications of Christendom, were guided in + an elliptic orbit by destiny. Knowing that Nature bad denied to him an + opportunity of witnessing the fulfillment of his daring prophecy, he + besought the astronomers of the succeeding generation to watch for its + return in 1759, and in that year it came. + </p> + <p> + INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES. Whoever will in a spirit of impartiality + examine what had been done by Catholicism for the intellectual and + material advancement of Europe, during her long reign, and what has been + done by science in its brief period of action, can, I am persuaded, come + to no other conclusion than this, that, in instituting a comparison, he + has established a contrast. And yet, how imperfect, how inadequate is the + catalogue of facts I have furnished in the foregoing pages! I have said + nothing of the spread of instruction by the diffusion of the arts of + reading and writing, through public schools, and the consequent creation + of a reading community; the modes of manufacturing public opinion by + newspapers and reviews, the power of journalism, the diffusion of + information public and private by the post-office and cheap mails, the + individual and social advantages of newspaper advertisements. I have said + nothing of the establishment of hospitals, the first exemplar of which was + the Invalides of Paris; nothing of the improved prisons, reformatories, + penitentiaries, asylums, the treatment of lunatics, paupers, criminals; + nothing of the construction of canals, of sanitary engineering, or of + census reports; nothing of the invention of stereotyping, bleaching by + chlorine, the cotton-gin, or of the marvelous contrivances with which + cotton-mills are filled—contrivances which have given us cheap + clothing, and therefore added to cleanliness, comfort, health; nothing of + the grand advancement of medicine and surgery, or of the discoveries in + physiology, the cultivation of the fine arts, the improvement of + agriculture and rural economy, the introduction of chemical manures and + farm-machinery. I have not referred to the manufacture of iron and its + vast affiliated industries; to those of textile fabrics; to the collection + of museums of natural history, antiquities, curiosities. I have passed + unnoticed the great subject of the manufacture of machinery by itself—the + invention of the slide-rest, the planing-machine, and many other + contrivances by which engines can be constructed with almost mathematical + correctness. I have said nothing adequate about the railway system, or the + electric telegraph, nor about the calculus, or lithography, the airpump, + or the voltaic battery; the discovery of Uranus or Neptune, and more than + a hundred asteroids; the relation of meteoric streams to comets; nothing + of the expeditions by land and sea that have been sent forth by various + governments for the determination of important astronomical or + geographical questions; nothing of the costly and accurate experiments + they have caused to be made for the ascertainment of fundamental physical + data. I have been so unjust to our own century that I have made no + allusion to some of its greatest scientific triumphs: its grand + conceptions in natural history; its discoveries in magnetism and + electricity; its invention of the beautiful art of photography; its + applications of spectrum analysis; its attempts to bring chemistry under + the three laws of Avogadro, of Boyle and Mariotte, and of Charles; its + artificial production of organic substances from inorganic material, of + which the philosophical consequences are of the utmost importance; its + reconstruction of physiology by laying the foundation of that science on + chemistry; its improvements and advances in topographical surveying and in + the correct representation of the surface of the globe. I have said + nothing about rifled-guns and armored ships, nor of the revolution that + has been made in the art of war; nothing of that gift to women, the + sewing-machine; nothing of the noble contentions and triumphs of the arts + of peace—the industrial exhibitions and world's fairs. + </p> + <p> + What a catalogue have we here, and yet how imperfect! It gives merely a + random glimpse at an ever-increasing intellectual commotion—a + mention of things as they casually present themselves to view. How + striking the contrast between this literary, this scientific activity, and + the stagnation of the middle ages! + </p> + <p> + The intellectual enlightenment that surrounds this activity has imparted + unnumbered blessings to the human race. In Russia it has emancipated a + vast serf-population; in America it has given freedom to four million + negro slaves. In place of the sparse dole of the monastery-gate, it has + organized charity and directed legislation to the poor. It has shown + medicine its true function, to prevent rather than to cure disease. In + statesmanship it has introduced scientific methods, displacing random and + empirical legislation by a laborious ascertainment of social facts + previous to the application of legal remedies. So conspicuous, so + impressive is the manner in which it is elevating men, that the hoary + nations of Asia seek to participate in the boon. Let us not forget that + our action on them must be attended by their reaction on us. If the + destruction of paganism was completed when all the gods were brought to + Rome and confronted there, now, when by our wonderful facilities of + locomotion strange nations and conflicting religions are brought into + common presence—the Mohammedan, the Buddhist, the + Brahman-modifications of them all must ensue. In that conflict science + alone will stand secure; for it has given us grander views of the + universe, more awful views of God. + </p> + <p> + AMERICAN AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. The spirit that has imparted life to this + movement, that has animated these discoveries and inventions, is + Individualism; in some minds the hope of gain, in other and nobler ones + the expectation of honor. It is, then, not to be wondered at that this + principle found a political embodiment, and that, during the last century, + on two occasions, it gave rise to social convulsions—the American + and the French Revolutions. The former has ended in the dedication of a + continent to Individualism—there, under republican forms, before the + close of the present century, one hundred million people, with no more + restraint than their common security requires, will be pursuing an + unfettered career. The latter, though it has modified the political aspect + of all Europe, and though illustrated by surprising military successes, + has, thus far, not consummated its intentions; again and again it has + brought upon France fearful disasters. Her dual form of government—her + allegiance to her two sovereigns, the political and the spiritual—has + made her at once the leader and the antagonist of modern progress. With + one hand she has enthroned Reason, with the other she has re-established + and sustained the pope. Nor will this anomaly in her conduct cease until + she bestows a true education on all her children, even on those of the + humblest rustic. + </p> + <p> + SCIENCE AND CIVILIZATION. The intellectual attack made on existing + opinions by the French Revolution was not of a scientific, but of a + literary character; it was critical and aggressive. But Science has never + been an aggressor. She has always acted on the defensive, and left to her + antagonist the making of wanton attacks. Nevertheless, literary dissent is + not of such ominous import as scientific; for literature is, in its + nature, local—science is cosmopolitan. + </p> + <p> + If, now, we demand, What has science done for the promotion of modern + civilization; what has it done for the happiness, the well-being of + society? we shall find our answer in the same manner that we reached a + just estimate of what Latin Christianity had done. The reader of the + foregoing paragraphs would undoubtedly infer that there must have been an + amelioration in the lot of our race; but, when we apply the touchstone of + statistics, that inference gathers precision. Systems of philosophy and + forms of religion find a measure of their influence on humanity in + census-returns. Latin Christianity, in a thousand years, could not double + the population of Europe; it did not add perceptibly to the term of + individual life. But, as Dr. Jarvis, in his report to the Massachusetts + Board of Health, has stated, at the epoch of the Reformation "the average + longevity in Geneva was 21.21 years, between 1814 and 1833 it was 40.68; + as large a number of persons now live to seventy years as lived to forty, + three hundred years ago. In 1693 the British Government borrowed money by + selling annuities on lives from infancy upward, on the basis of the + average longevity. The contract was profitable. Ninety-seven years later + another tontine, or scale of annuities, on the basis of the same + expectation of life as in the previous century, was issued. These latter + annuitants, however, lived so much longer than their predecessors, that it + proved to be a very costly loan for the government. It was found that, + while ten thousand of each sex in the first tontine died under the age of + twenty-eight, only five thousand seven hundred and seventy-two males and + six thousand four hundred and sixteen females in the second tontine died + at the same age, one hundred years later." + </p> + <p> + We have been comparing the spiritual with the practical, the imaginary + with the real. The maxims that have been followed in the earlier and the + later period produced their inevitable result. In the former that maxim + was, "Ignorance is the mother of Devotion in the latter, Knowledge is + Power." + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linktwelve" id="linktwelve"></a> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + THE IMPENDING CRISIS. INDICATIONS OF THE APPROACH OF A + RELIGIOUS CRISIS.—THE PREDOMINATING CHRISTIAN CHURCH, THE + ROMAN, PERCEIVES THIS, AND MAKES PREPARATION FOR IT.—PIUS + IX CONVOKES AN OECUMENICAL COUNCIL—RELATIONS OF THE + DIFFERENT EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS TO THE PAPACY.—RELATIONS OF + THE CHURCH TO SCIENCE, AS INDICATED BY THE ENCYCLICAL LETTER + AND THE SYLLABUS. + + Acts of the Vatican Council in relation to the infallibility + of the pope, and to Science.—Abstract of decisions arrived + at. + + Controversy between the Prussian Government and the papacy.— + It is a contest between the State and the Church for + supremacy—Effect of dual government in Europe—Declaration + by the Vatican Council of its position as to Science—The + dogmatic constitution of the Catholic faith.—Its + definitions respecting God, Revelation, Faith, Reason.—The + anathemas it pronounces.—Its denunciation of modern + civilization. + + The Protestant Evangelical Alliance and its acts. + + General review of the foregoing definitions, and acts.— + Present condition of the controversy, and its future + prospects. +</pre> + <p> + PREDOMINANCE OF CATHOLICITY. No one who is acquainted with the present + tone of thought in Christendom can hide from himself the fact that an + intellectual, a religious crisis is impending. + </p> + <p> + In all directions we see the lowering skies, we hear the mutterings of the + coming storm. In Germany, the national party is arraying itself against + the ultramontane; in France, the men of progress are struggling against + the unprogressive, and in their contest the political supremacy of that + great country is wellnigh neutralized or lost. In Italy, Rome has passed + into the hands of an excommunicated king. The sovereign pontiff, feigning + that he is a prisoner, is fulminating from the Vatican his anathemas, and, + in the midst of the most convincing proofs of his manifold errors, + asserting his own infallibility. A Catholic archbishop with truth declares + that the whole civil society of Europe seems to be withdrawing itself in + its public life from Christianity. In England and America, religious + persons perceive with dismay that the intellectual basis of faith has been + undermined by the spirit of the age. They prepare for the approaching + disaster in the best manner they can. + </p> + <p> + The most serious trial through which society can pass is encountered in + the exuviation of its religious restraints. The history of Greece and the + history of Rome exhibit to us in an impressive manner how great are the + perils. But it is not given to religions to endure forever. They + necessarily undergo transformation with the intellectual development of + man. How many countries are there professing the same religion now that + they did at the birth of Christ? + </p> + <p> + It is estimated that the entire population of Europe is about three + hundred and one million. Of these, one hundred and eighty-five million are + Roman Catholics, thirty-three million are Greek Catholics. Of Protestants + there are seventy-one million, separated into many sects. Of Jews, five + million; of Mohammedans, seven million. + </p> + <p> + Of the religious subdivisions of America an accurate numerical statement + cannot be given. The whole of Christian South America is Roman Catholic, + the same may be said of Central America and of Mexico, as also of the + Spanish and French West India possessions. In the United States and Canada + the Protestant population predominates. To Australia the same remark + applies. In India the sparse Christian population sinks into + insignificance in presence of two hundred million Mohammedans and other + Oriental denominations. The Roman Catholic Church is the most widely + diffused and the most powerfully organized of all modern societies. It is + far more a political than a religious combination. Its principle is that + all power is in the clergy, and that for laymen there is only the + privilege of obedience. The republican forms under which the Churches + existed in primitive Christianity have gradually merged into an absolute + centralization, with a man as vice-God at its head. This Church asserts + that the divine commission under which it acts comprises civil government; + that it has a right to use the state for its own purposes, but that the + state has no right to intermeddle with it; that even in Protestant + countries it is not merely a coordinate government, but the sovereign + power. It insists that the state has no rights over any thing which it + declares to be in its domain, and that Protestantism, being a mere + rebellion, has no rights at all; that even in Protestant communities the + Catholic bishop is the only lawful spiritual pastor. + </p> + <p> + It is plain, therefore, that of professing Christians the vast majority + are Catholic; and such is the authoritative demand of the papacy for + supremacy, that, in any survey of the present religious condition of + Christendom, regard must be mainly had to its acts. Its movements are + guided by the highest intelligence and skill. Catholicism obeys the orders + of one man, and has therefore a unity, a compactness, a power, which + Protestant denominations do not possess. Moreover, it derives inestimable + strength from the souvenirs of the great name of Rome. + </p> + <p> + Unembarrassed by any hesitating sentiment, the papacy has contemplated the + coming intellectual crisis. It has pronounced its decision, and occupied + what seems to it to be the most advantageous ground. + </p> + <p> + This definition of position we find in the acts of the late Vatican + Council. + </p> + <p> + THE OECUMENICAL COUNCIL. Pius IX., by a bull dated June 29, 1868, convoked + an Oecumenical Council, to meet in Rome, on December 8, 1869. Its sessions + ended in July, 1870. Among other matters submitted to its consideration, + two stand forth in conspicuous prominence—they are the assertion of + the infallibility of the Roman pontiff, and the definition of the + relations of religion to science. + </p> + <p> + But the convocation of the Council was far from meeting with general + approval. + </p> + <p> + The views of the Oriental Churches were, for the most part, unfavorable. + They affirmed that they saw a desire in the Roman pontiff to set himself + up as the head of Christianity, whereas they recognized the Lord Jesus + Christ alone as the head of the Church. They believed that the Council + would only lead to new quarrels and scandals. The sentiment of these + venerable Churches is well shown by the incident that, when, in 1867, the + Nestorian Patriarch Simeon had been invited by the Chaldean Patriarch to + return to Roman Catholic unity, he, in his reply, showed that there was no + prospect for harmonious action between the East and the West: "You invite + me to kiss humbly the slipper of the Bishop of Rome; but is he not, in + every respect, a man like yourself—is his dignity superior to yours? + We will never permit to be introduced into our holy temples of worship + images and statues, which are nothing but abominable and impure idols. + What! shall we attribute to Almighty God a mother, as you dare to do? Away + from us, such blasphemy!" + </p> + <p> + EXPECTATIONS OF THE PAPACY. Eventually, the patriarchs, archbishops, and + bishops, from all regions of the world, who took part in this Council, + were seven hundred and four. + </p> + <p> + Rome had seen very plainly that Science was not only rapidly undermining + the dogmas of the papacy, but was gathering great political power. She + recognized that all over Europe there was a fast-spreading secession among + persons of education, and that its true focus was North Germany. + </p> + <p> + She looked, therefore, with deep interest on the Prusso-Austrian War, + giving to Austria whatever encouragement she could. The battle of Sadowa + was a bitter disappointment to her. + </p> + <p> + With satisfaction again she looked upon the breaking out of the + Franco-Prussian War, not doubting that its issue would be favorable to + France, and therefore favorable to her. Here, again, she was doomed to + disappointment at Sedan. + </p> + <p> + Having now no further hope, for many years to come, from external war, she + resolved to see what could be done by internal insurrection, and the + present movement in the German Empire is the result of her machinations. + </p> + <p> + Had Austria or had France succeeded, Protestantism would have been + overthrown along with Prussia. + </p> + <p> + But, while these military movements were being carried on, a movement of a + different, an intellectual kind, was engaged in. Its principle was, to + restore the worn-out mediaeval doctrines and practices, carrying them to + an extreme, no matter what the consequences might be. + </p> + <p> + ENCYCLICAL LETTER AND SYLLABUS. Not only was it asserted that the papacy + has a divine right to participate in the government of all countries, + coordinately with their temporal authorities, but that the supremacy of + Rome in this matter must be recognized; and that in any question between + them the temporal authority must conform itself to her order. + </p> + <p> + And, since the endangering of her position had been mainly brought about + by the progress of science, she presumed to define its boundaries, and + prescribe limits to its authority. Still more, she undertook to denounce + modern civilization. + </p> + <p> + These measures were contemplated soon after the return of his Holiness + from Gaeta in 1848, and were undertaken by the advice of the Jesuits, who, + lingering in the hope that God would work the impossible, supposed that + the papacy, in its old age, might be reinvigorated. The organ of the Curia + proclaimed the absolute independence of the Church as regards the state; + the dependence of the bishops on the pope; of the diocesan clergy on the + bishops; the obligation of the Protestants to abandon their atheism, and + return to the fold; the absolute condemnation of all kinds of toleration. + In December, 1854, in an assembly of bishops, the pope had proclaimed the + dogma of the immaculate conception. Ten years subsequently he put forth + the celebrated Encyclical Letter and the Syllabus. + </p> + <p> + The Encyclical Letter is dated December 8, 1864. It was drawn up by + learned ecclesiastics, and subsequently debated at the Congregation of the + Holy Office, then forwarded to prelates, and finally gone over by the pope + and cardinals. + </p> + <p> + ENCYCLICAL LETTER AND SYLLABUS. Many of the clergy objected to its + condemnation of modern civilization. Some of the cardinals were reluctant + to concur in it. The Catholic press accepted it, not, however, without + misgivings and regrets. The Protestant governments put no obstacle in its + way; the Catholic were embarrassed by it. France allowed the publication + only of that portion proclaiming the jubilee; Austria and Italy permitted + its introduction, but withheld their approval. The political press and + legislatures of Catholic countries gave it an unfavorable reception. Many + deplored it as likely to widen the breach between the Church and modern + society. The Italian press regarded it as determining a war, without truce + or armistice, between the papacy and modern civilization. Even in Spain + there were journals that regretted "the obstinacy and blindness of the + court of Rome, in branding and condemning modern civilization." + </p> + <p> + It denounces that "most pernicious and insane opinion, that liberty of + conscience and of worship is the right of every man, and that this right + ought, in every well-governed state, to be proclaimed and asserted by law; + and that the will of the people, manifested by public opinion (as it is + called), or by other means, constitutes a supreme law, independent of all + divine and human rights." It denies the right of parents to educate their + children outside the Catholic Church. It denounces "the impudence" of + those who presume to subordinate the authority of the Church and of the + Apostolic See, "conferred upon it by Christ our Lord, to the judgment of + the civil authority." His Holiness commends, to the venerable brothers to + whom the Encyclical is addressed, incessant prayer, and, "in order that + God may accede the more easily to our and your prayers, let us employ in + all confidence, as our mediatrix with him, the Virgin Mary, mother of God, + who sits as a queen upon the right hand of her only-begotten Son, our Lord + Jesus Christ, in a golden vestment, clothed around with various + adornments. There is nothing she cannot obtain from him." + </p> + <p> + CONVOCATION OF THE COUNCIL. Plainly, the principle now avowed by the + papacy must bring it into collision even with governments which had + heretofore maintained amicable relations with it. Great dissatisfaction + was manifested by Russia, and the incidents that ensued drew forth from + his Holiness an allocution (November, 1866) condemnatory of the course of + that government. To this, Russia replied, by declaring the Concordat of + 1867 abrogated. + </p> + <p> + Undeterred by the result of the battle of Sadowa (July, 1866), though it + was plain that the political condition of Europe was now profoundly + affected, and especially the relations of the papacy, the pope delivered + an allocution (June 27, 1867), confirming the Encyclical and Syllabus. He + announced his intention of convoking an Oecumenical Council. + </p> + <p> + Accordingly, as we have already mentioned, in the following year (June 29, + 1868), a bull was issued convoking that Council. Misunderstandings, + however, had now sprung up with Austria. The Austrian Reichsrath had + adopted laws introducing equality of civil rights for all the inhabitants + of the empire, and restricting the influence of the Church. This produced + on the part of the papal government an expostulation. Acting as Russia had + done, the Austrian Government found it necessary to abrogate the Concordat + of 1855. + </p> + <p> + In France, as above stated, the publication of the entire Syllabus was not + permitted; but Prussia, desirous of keeping on good terms with the papacy, + did not disallow it. The exacting disposition of the papacy increased. It + was openly declared that the faithful must now sacrifice to the Church, + property, life, and even their intellectual convictions. The Protestants + and the Greeks were invited to tender their submission. + </p> + <p> + THE VATICAN COUNCIL. On the appointed day, the Council opened. Its objects + were, to translate the Syllabus into practice, to establish the dogma of + papal infallibility, and define the relations of religion to science. + Every preparation had been made that the points determined on should be + carried. The bishops were informed that they were coming to Rome not to + deliberate, but to sanction decrees previously made by an infallible pope. + No idea was entertained of any such thing as free discussion. The minutes + of the meetings were not permitted to be inspected; the prelates of the + opposition were hardly allowed to speak. On January 22, 1870, a petition, + requesting that the infallibility of the pope should be defined, was + presented; an opposition petition of the minority was offered. Hereupon, + the deliberations of the minority were forbidden, and their publications + prohibited. And, though the Curia had provided a compact majority, it was + found expedient to issue an order that to carry any proposition it was not + necessary that the vote should be near unanimity, a simple majority + sufficed. The remonstrances of the minority were altogether unheeded. + </p> + <p> + As the Council pressed forward to its object, foreign authorities became + alarmed at its reckless determination. A petition drawn up by the + Archbishop of Vienna, and signed by several cardinals and archbishops, + entreated his Holiness not to submit the dogma of infallibility for + consideration, "because the Church has to sustain at present a struggle + unknown in former times, against men who oppose religion itself as an + institution baneful to human nature, and that it is inopportune to impose + upon Catholic nations, led into temptation by so many machinations, more + dogmas than the Council of Trent proclaimed." It added that "the + definition demanded would furnish fresh arms to the enemies of religion, + to excite against the Catholic Church the resentment of men avowedly the + best." The Austrian prime-minister addressed a protest to the papal + government, warning it against any steps that might lead to encroachments + on the rights of Austria. The French Government also addressed a note, + suggesting that a French bishop should explain to the Council the + condition and the rights of France. To this the papal government replied + that a bishop could not reconcile the double duties of an ambassador and a + Father of the Council. Hereupon, the French Government, in a very + respectful note, remarked that, to prevent ultra opinions from becoming + dogmas, it reckoned on the moderation of the bishops, and the prudence of + the Holy Father; and, to defend its civil and political laws against the + encroachments of the theocracy, it had counted on public reason and the + patriotism of French Catholics. In these remonstrances the North-German + Confederation joined, seriously pressing them on the consideration of the + papal government. + </p> + <p> + On April 23d, Von Arnim, the Prussian embassador, united with Daru, the + French minister, in suggesting to the Curia the inexpediency of reviving + mediaeval ideas. The minority bishops, thus encouraged, demanded now that + the relations of the spiritual to the secular power should be determined + before the pope's infallibility was discussed, and that it should be + settled whether Christ had conferred on St. Peter and his successors a + power over kings and emperors. + </p> + <p> + INFALLIBILITY OF THE POPE. No regard was paid to this, not even delay was + consented to. The Jesuits, who were at the bottom of the movement, carried + their measures through the packed assembly with a high hand. The Council + omitted no device to screen itself from popular criticism. Its proceedings + were conducted with the utmost secrecy; all who took part in them were + bound by a solemn oath to observe silence. + </p> + <p> + On July 13th, the votes were taken. Of 601 votes, 451 were affirmative. + Under the majority rule, the measure was pronounced carried, and, five + days subsequently, the pope proclaimed the dogma of his infallibility. It + has often been remarked that this was the day on which the French declared + war against Prussia. Eight days afterward the French troops were withdrawn + from Rome. Perhaps both the statesman and the philosopher will admit that + an infallible pope would be a great harmonizing element, if only + common-sense could acknowledge him. + </p> + <p> + Hereupon, the King of Italy addressed an autograph letter to the pope, + setting forth in very respectful terms the necessity that his troops + should advance and occupy positions "indispensable to the security of his + Holiness, and the maintenance of order;" that, while satisfying the + national aspirations, the chief of Catholicity, surrounded by the devotion + of the Italian populations, "might preserve on the banks of the Tiber a + glorious seat, independent of all human sovereignty." + </p> + <p> + To this his Holiness replied in a brief and caustic letter: "I give thanks + to God, who has permitted your majesty to fill the last days of my life + with bitterness. For the rest, I cannot grant certain requests, nor + conform with certain principles contained in your letter. Again, I call + upon God, and into his hands commit my cause, which is his cause. I pray + God to grant your majesty many graces, to free you from dangers, and to + dispense to you his mercy which you so much need." + </p> + <p> + THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT. The Italian troops met with but little resistance. + They occupied Rome on September 20, 1870. A manifesto was issued, setting + forth the details of a plebiscitum, the vote to be by ballot, the + question, "the unification of Italy." Its result showed how completely the + popular mind in Italy is emancipated from theology. In the Roman provinces + the number of votes on the lists was 167,548; the number who voted, + 135,291; the number who voted for annexation, 133,681; the number who + voted against it, 1,507; votes annulled, 103. The Parliament of Italy + ratified the vote of the Roman people for annexation by a vote of 239 to + 20. A royal decree now announced the annexation of the Papal States to the + kingdom of Italy, and a manifesto was issued indicating the details of the + arrangement. It declared that "by these concessions the Italian Government + seeks to prove to Europe that Italy respects the sovereignty of the pope + in conformity with the principle of a free Church in a free state." + </p> + <p> + AFFAIRS IN PRUSSIA. In the Prusso-Austrian War it had been the hope of the + papacy, to restore the German Empire under Austria, and make Germany a + Catholic nation. In the Franco-German War the French expected ultramontane + sympathies in Germany. No means were spared to excite Catholic sentiment + against the Protestants. No vilification was spared. They were spoken of + as atheists; they were declared incapable of being honest men; their sects + were pointed out as indicating that their secession was in a state of + dissolution. "The followers of Luther are the most abandoned men in all + Europe." Even the pope himself, presuming that the whole world had + forgotten all history, did not hesitate to say, "Let the German people + understand that no other Church but that of Rome is the Church of freedom + and progress." + </p> + <p> + Meantime, among the clergy of Germany a party was organized to remonstrate + against, and even resist, the papal usurpation. It protested against "a + man being placed on the throne of God," against a vice-God of any kind, + nor would it yield its scientific convictions to ecclesiastical authority. + Some did not hesitate to accuse the pope himself of being a heretic. + Against these insubordinates excommunications began to be fulminated, and + at length it was demanded that certain professors and teachers should be + removed from their offices, and infallibilists substituted. With this + demand the Prussian Government declined to comply. + </p> + <p> + The Prussian Government had earnestly desired to remain on amicable terms + with the papacy; it had no wish to enter on a theological quarrel; but + gradually the conviction was forced upon it that the question was not a + religious but a political one—whether the power of the state should + be used against the state. A teacher in a gymnasium had been + excommunicated; the government, on being required to dismiss him, refused. + The Church authorities denounced this as an attack upon faith. The emperor + sustained his minister. The organ of the infallible party threatened the + emperor with the opposition of all good Catholics, and told him that, in a + contention with the pope, systems of government can and must change. It + was now plain to every one that the question had become, "Who is to be + master in the state, the government or the Roman Church? It is plainly + impossible for men to live under two governments, one of which declares to + be wrong what the other commands. If the government will not submit to the + Roman Church, the two are enemies." A conflict was thus forced upon + Prussia by Rome—a conflict in which the latter, impelled by her + antagonism to modern civilization, is clearly the aggressor. + </p> + <p> + ACTION OF THE PRUSSIAN GOVERNMENT. The government, now recognizing its + antagonist, defended itself by abolishing the Catholic department in the + ministry of Public Worship. This was about midsummer, 1871. In the + following November the Imperial Parliament passed a law that ecclesiastics + abusing their office, to the disturbance of the public peace, should be + criminally punished. And, guided by the principle that the future belongs + to him to whom the school belongs, a movement arose for the purpose of + separating the schools from the Church. + </p> + <p> + THE CHURCH A POLITICAL POWER. The Jesuit party was extending and + strengthening an organization all over Germany, based on the principle + that state legislation in ecclesiastical matters is not binding. Here was + an act of open insurrection. Could the government allow itself to be + intimidated? The Bishop of Ermeland declared that he would not obey the + laws of the state if they touched the Church. The government stopped the + payment of his salary; and, perceiving that there could be no peace so + long as the Jesuits were permitted to remain in the country, their + expulsion was resolved on, and carried into effect. At the close of 1872 + his Holiness delivered an allocution, in which he touched on the + "persecution of the Church in the German Empire," and asserted that the + Church alone has a right to fix the limits between its domain and that of + the state—a dangerous and inadmissible principle, since under the + term morals the Church comprises all the relations of men to each other, + and asserts that whatever does not assist her oppresses her. Hereupon, a + few days subsequently (January 9, 1873), four laws were brought forward by + the government: 1. Regulating the means by which a person might sever his + connection with the Church; 2. Restricting the Church in the exercise of + ecclesiastical punishments; 3. Regulating the ecclesiastical power of + discipline, forbidding bodily chastisement, regulating fines and + banishments granting the privilege of an appeal to the Royal Court of + Justice for Ecclesiastical Affairs, the decision of which is final; 4. + Ordaining the preliminary education and appointment of priests. They must + have had a satisfactory education, passed a public examination conducted + by the state, and have a knowledge of philosophy, history, and German + literature. Institutions refusing to be superintended by the state are to + be closed. + </p> + <p> + These laws demonstrate that Germany is resolved that she will no longer be + dictated to nor embarrassed by a few Italian noble families; that she will + be master of her own house. She sees in the conflict, not an affair of + religion or of conscience, but a struggle between the sovereignty of state + legislation and the sovereignty of the Church. She treats the papacy not + in the aspect of a religious, but of a political power, and is resolved + that the declaration of the Prussian Constitution shall be maintained, + that "the exercise of religious freedom must not interfere with the duties + of a citizen toward the community and the state." + </p> + <p> + DUAL GOVERNMENT IN EUROPE. With truth it is affirmed that the papacy is + administered not oecumenically, not as a universal Church, for all the + nations, but for the benefit of some Italian families. Look at its + composition! It consists of pope, cardinal bishops, cardinal deacons, who + at the present moment are all Italians; cardinal priests, nearly all + Italians; ministers and secretaries of the Sacred Congregation in Rome, + all Italians. France has not given a pope since the middle ages. It is the + same with Austria, Portugal, Spain. In spite of all attempts to change + this system of exclusion, to open the dignities of the Church to all + Catholicism, no foreigner can reach the holy chair. It is recognized that + the Church is a domain given by God to the princely Italian families. Of + fifty-five members of the present College of Cardinals, forty are Italians—that + is, thirty-two beyond their proper share. + </p> + <p> + The stumbling-block to the progress of Europe has been its dual system of + government. So long as every nation had two sovereigns, a temporal one at + home and a spiritual one in a foreign land—there being different + temporal masters in different nations, but only one foreign master for + all, the pontiff at Rome—how was it possible that history should + present us with any thing more than a narrative of the strifes of these + rival powers? Whoever will reflect on this state of things will see how it + is that those nations which have shaken off the dual form of government + are those which have made the greatest advance. He will discern what is + the cause of the paralysis which has befallen France. On one hand she + wishes to be the leader of Europe, on the other she clings to a dead past. + For the sake of propitiating her ignorant classes, she enters upon lines + of policy which her intelligence must condemn. So evenly balanced are the + two sovereignties under which she lives, that sometimes one, sometimes the + other, prevails; and not unfrequently the one uses the other as an engine + for the accomplishment of its ends. + </p> + <p> + INTENTIONS OF THE POPE. But this dual system approaches its close. To the + northern nations, less imaginative and less superstitious, it had long ago + become intolerable; they rejected it summarily at the epoch of the + Reformation, notwithstanding the protestations and pretensions of Rome, + Russia, happier than the rest, has never acknowledged the influence of any + foreign spiritual power. She gloried in her attachment to the ancient + Greek rite, and saw in the papacy nothing more than a troublesome + dissenter from the primitive faith. In America the temporal and the + spiritual have been absolutely divorced—the latter is not permitted + to have any thing to do with affairs of state, though in all other + respects liberty is conceded to it. The condition of the New World also + satisfies us that both forms of Christianity, Catholic and Protestant, + have lost their expansive power; neither can pass beyond its + long-established boundary-line—the Catholic republics remain + Catholic, the Protestant Protestant. And among the latter the disposition + to sectarian isolation is disappearing; persons of different denominations + consort without hesitation together. They gather their current opinions + from newspapers, not from the Church. + </p> + <p> + Pius IX., in the movements we have been considering, has had two objects + in view: 1. The more thorough centralization of the papacy, with a + spiritual autocrat assuming the prerogatives of God at its head; 2. + Control over the intellectual development of the nations professing + Christianity. + </p> + <p> + The logical consequence of the former of these is political intervention. + He insists that in all cases the temporal must subordinate itself to the + spiritual power; all laws inconsistent with the interests of the Church + must be repealed. They are not binding on the faithful. In the preceding + pages I have briefly related some of the complications that have already + occurred in the attempt to maintain this policy. + </p> + <p> + THE SYLLABUS. I now come to the consideration of the manner in which the + papacy proposes to establish its intellectual control; how it defines its + relation to its antagonist, Science, and, seeking a restoration of the + mediaeval condition, opposes modern civilization, and denounces modern + society. + </p> + <p> + The Encyclical and Syllabus present the principles which it was the object + of the Vatican Council to carry into practical effect. The Syllabus + stigmatizes pantheism, naturalism, and absolute rationalism, denouncing + such opinions as that God is the world; that there is no God other than + Nature; that theological matters must be treated in the same manner as + philosophical ones, that the methods and principles by which the old + scholastic doctors cultivated theology are no longer suitable to the + demands of the age and the progress of science; that every man is free to + embrace and profess the religion he may believe to be true, guided by the + light of his reason; that it appertains to the civil power to define what + are the rights and limits in which the Church may exercise authority; that + the Church has not the right of availing herself of force or any direct or + indirect temporal power; that the Church ought to be separated from the + state and the state from the Church; that it is no longer expedient that + the Catholic religion shall be held as the only religion of the state, to + the exclusion of all other modes of worship; that persons coming to reside + in Catholic countries have a right to the public exercise of their own + worship; that the Roman pontiff can and ought to reconcile himself to, and + agree with, the progress of modern civilization. The Syllabus claims the + right of the Church to control public schools, and denies the right of the + state in that respect; it claims the control over marriage and divorce. + </p> + <p> + Such of these principles as the Council found expedient at present to + formularize, were set forth by it in "The Dogmatic Constitution of the + Catholic Faith." The essential points of this constitution, more + especially as regards the relations of religion to science, we have now to + examine. It will be understood that the following does not present the + entire document, but only an abstract of what appear to be its more + important parts. + </p> + <p> + CONSTITUTION OF CATHOLIC FAITH. This definition opens with a severe review + of the principles and consequences of the Protestant Reformation: + </p> + <p> + "The rejection of the divine authority of the Church to teach, and the + subjection of all things belonging to religion to the judgment of each + individual, have led to the production of many sects, and, as these + differed and disputed with each other, all belief in Christ was overthrown + in the minds of not a few, and the Holy Scriptures began to be counted as + myths and fables. Christianity has been rejected, and the reign of mere + Reason as they call it, or Nature, substituted; many falling into the + abyss of pantheism, materialism, and atheism, and, repudiating the + reasoning nature of man, and every rule of right and wrong, they are + laboring to overthrow the very foundations of human society. As this + impious heresy is spreading everywhere, not a few Catholics have been + inveigled by it. They have confounded human science and divine faith. + </p> + <p> + "But the Church, the Mother and Mistress of nations, is ever ready to + strengthen the weak, to take to her bosom those that return, and carry + them on to better things. And, now the bishops of the whole world being + gathered together in this Oecumenical Council, and the Holy Ghost sitting + therein, and judging with us, we have determined to declare from this + chair of St. Peter the saving doctrine of Christ, and proscribe and + condemn the opposing errors. + </p> + <p> + "OF GOD, THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS.—The Holy Catholic Apostolic + Roman Church believes that there is one true and living God, Creator and + Lord of Heaven and Earth, Almighty, Eternal, Immense, Incomprehensible, + Infinite in understanding and will, and in all perfection. He is distinct + from the world. Of his own most free counsel he made alike out of nothing + two created creatures, a spiritual and a temporal, angelic and earthly. + Afterward he made the human nature, composed of both. Moreover, God by his + providence protects and governs all things, reaching from end to end + mightily, and ordering all things harmoniously. Every thing is open to his + eyes, even things that come to pass by the free action of his creatures." + </p> + <p> + "OF REVELATION.—The Holy Mother Church holds that God can be known + with certainty by the natural light of human reason, but that it has also + pleased him to reveal himself and the eternal decrees of his will in a + supernatural way. This supernatural revelation, as declared by the Holy + Council of Trent, is contained in the books of the Old and New Testament, + as enumerated in the decrees of that Council, and as are to be had in the + old Vulgate Latin edition. These are sacred because they were written + under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. They have God for their author, + and as such have been delivered to the Church. + </p> + <p> + "And, in order to restrain restless spirits, who may give erroneous + explanations, it is decreed—renewing the decision of the Council of + Trent—that no one may interpret the sacred Scriptures contrary to + the sense in which they are interpreted by Holy Mother Church, to whom + such interpretation belongs." + </p> + <p> + "OF FAITH.—Inasmuch as man depends on God as his Lord, and created + reason is wholly subject to uncreated truth, he is bound when God makes a + revelation to obey it by faith. This faith is a supernatural virtue, and + the beginning of man's salvation who believes revealed things to be true, + not for their intrinsic truth as seen by the natural light of reason, but + for the authority of God in revealing them. But, nevertheless that faith + might be agreeable to reason, God willed to join miracles and prophecies, + which, showing forth his omnipotence and knowledge, are proofs suited to + the understanding of all. Such we have in Moses and the prophets, and + above all in Christ. Now, all those things are to be believed which are + written in the word of God, or handed down by tradition, which the Church + by her teaching has proposed for belief. + </p> + <p> + "No one can be justified without this faith, nor shall any one, unless he + persevere therein to the end, attain everlasting life. Hence God, through + his only-begotten Son, has established the Church as the guardian and + teacher of his revealed word. For only to the Catholic Church do all those + signs belong which make evident the credibility of the Christian faith. + Nay, more, the very Church herself, in view of her wonderful propagation, + her eminent holiness, her exhaustless fruitfulness in all that is good, + her Catholic unity, her unshaken stability, offers a great and evident + claim to belief, and an undeniable proof of her divine mission. Thus the + Church shows to her children that the faith they hold rests on a most + solid foundation. Wherefore, totally unlike is the condition of those who, + by the heavenly gift of faith, have embraced the Catholic truth, and of + those who, led by human opinions, are following, a false religion." + </p> + <p> + "OF FAITH AND REASON.—Moreover, the Catholic Church has ever held + and now holds that there exists a twofold order of knowledge, each of + which is distinct from the other, both as to its principle and its object. + As to its principle, because in the one we know by natural reason, in the + other by divine faith; as to the object, because, besides those things + which our natural reason can attain, there are proposed to our belief + mysteries hidden in God, which, unless by him revealed, cannot come to our + knowledge. + </p> + <p> + "Reason, indeed, enlightened by faith, and seeking, with diligence and + godly sobriety, may, by God's gift, come to some understanding, limited in + degree, but most wholesome in its effects, of mysteries, both from the + analogy of things which are naturally known and from the connection of the + mysteries themselves with one another and with man's last end. But never + can reason be rendered capable of thoroughly understanding mysteries as it + does those truths which form its proper object. For God's mysteries, in + their very nature, so far surpass the reach of created intellect, that, + even when taught by revelation and received by faith, they remain covered + by faith itself, as by a veil, and shrouded, as it were, in darkness as + long as in this mortal life. + </p> + <p> + "But, although faith be above reason, there never can be a real + disagreement between them, since the same God who reveals mysteries and + infuses faith has given man's soul the light of reason, and God cannot + deny himself, nor can one truth ever contradict another. Wherefore the + empty shadow of such contradiction arises chiefly from this, that either + the doctrines of faith are not understood and set forth as the Church + really holds them, or that the vain devices and opinions of men are + mistaken for the dictates of reason. We therefore pronounce false every + assertion which is contrary to the enlightened truth of faith. Moreover, + the Church, which, together with her apostolic office of teaching, is + charged also with the guardianship of the deposits of faith, holds + likewise from God the right and the duty to condemn 'knowledge, falsely so + called,' 'lest any man be cheated by philosophy and vain deceit.' Hence + all the Christian faithful are not only forbidden to defend, as legitimate + conclusions of science, those opinions which are known to be contrary to + the doctrine of faith, especially when condemned by the Church, but are + rather absolutely bound to hold them for errors wearing the deceitful + appearance of truth." + </p> + <p> + THE VATICAN ANATHEMAS. "Not only is it impossible for faith and reason + ever to contradict each other, but they rather afford each other mutual + assistance. For right reason establishes the foundation of faith, and, by + the aid of its light, cultivates the science of divine things; and faith, + on the other hand, frees and preserves reason from errors, and enriches it + with knowledge of many kinds. So far, then, is the Church from opposing + the culture of human arts and sciences, that she rather aids and promotes + it in many ways. For she is not ignorant of nor does she despise the + advantages which flow from them to the life of man; on the contrary, she + acknowledges that, as they sprang from God, the Lord of knowledge, so, if + they be rightly pursued, they will, through the aid of his grace, lead to + God. Nor does she forbid any of those sciences the use of its own + principles and its own method within its own proper sphere; but, + recognizing this reasonable freedom, she takes care that they may not, by + contradicting God's teaching, fall into errors, or, overstepping the due + limits, invade or throw into confusion the domain of faith. + </p> + <p> + "For the doctrine of faith revealed by God has not been proposed, like + some philosophical discovery, to be made perfect by human ingenuity, but + it has been delivered to the spouse of Christ as a divine deposit, to be + faithfully guarded and unerringly set forth. Hence, all tenets of holy + faith are to be explained always according to the sense and meaning of the + Church; nor is it ever lawful to depart therefrom under pretense or color + of a more enlightened explanation. Therefore, as generations and centuries + roll on, let the understanding, knowledge, and wisdom of each and every + one, of individuals and of the whole Church, grow apace and increase + exceedingly, yet only in its kind; that is to say retaining pure and + inviolate the sense and meaning and belief of the same doctrine." + </p> + <p> + Among other canons the following were promulgated. + </p> + <p> + "Let him be anathema— + </p> + <p> + "Who denies the one true God, Creator and Lord of all things, visible and + invisible. + </p> + <p> + "Who unblushingly affirms that, besides matter, nothing else exists. + </p> + <p> + "Who says that the substance or essence of God, and of all things, is one + and the same. + </p> + <p> + "Who says that finite things, both corporeal and spiritual, or at least + spiritual things, are emanations of the divine substance; or that the + divine essence, by manifestation or development of itself, becomes all + things. + </p> + <p> + "Who does not acknowledge that the world and all things which it contains + were produced by God out of nothing. + </p> + <p> + "Who shall say that man can and ought to, of his own efforts, by means of, + constant progress, arrive, at last, at the possession of all truth and + goodness. + </p> + <p> + "Who shall refuse to receive, for sacred and canonical, the books of Holy + Scripture in their integrity, with all their parts, according as they were + enumerated by the holy Council of Trent, or shall deny that they are + Inspired by God. + </p> + <p> + "Who shall say that human reason is in such wise independent, that faith + cannot be demanded of it by God. + </p> + <p> + "Who shall say that divine revelation cannot be rendered credible by + external evidences. + </p> + <p> + "Who shall say that no miracles can be wrought, or that they can never be + known with certainty, and that the divine origin of Christianity cannot be + proved by them. + </p> + <p> + "Who shall say that divine revelation includes no mysteries, but that all + the dogmas of faith may be understood and demonstrated by reason duly + cultivated. + </p> + <p> + "Who shall say that human sciences ought to be pursued in such a spirit of + freedom that one may be allowed to hold as true their assertions, even + when opposed to revealed doctrine. + </p> + <p> + "Who shall say that it may at any time come to pass, in the progress of + science, that the doctrines set forth by the Church must be taken in + another sense than that in which the Church has ever received and yet + receives them." + </p> + <p> + THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. The extraordinary and, indeed, it may be said, + arrogant assumptions contained in these decisions were far from being + received with satisfaction by educated Catholics. On the part of the + German universities there was resistance; and, when, at the close of the + year, the decrees of the Vatican Council were generally acquiesced in, it + was not through conviction of their truth, but through a disciplinary + sense of obedience. + </p> + <p> + By many of the most pious Catholics the entire movement and the results to + which it had led were looked upon with the sincerest sorrow. Pere + Hyacinthe, in a letter to the superior of his order, says: "I protest + against the divorce, as impious as it is insensate, sought to be effected + between the Church, which is our eternal mother, and the society of the + nineteenth century, of which we are the temporal children, and toward + which we have also duties and regards. It is my most profound conviction + that, if France in particular, and the Latin race in general, are given up + to social, moral, and religious anarchy, the principal cause undoubtedly + is not Catholicism itself, but the manner in which Catholicism has for a + long time been understood and practised." + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding his infallibility, which implies omniscience, his Holiness + did not foresee the issue of the Franco-Prussian War. Had the prophetical + talent been vouchsafed to him, he would have detected the inopportuneness + of the acts of his Council. His request to the King of Prussia for + military aid to support his temporal power was denied. The excommunicated + King of Italy, as we have seen, took possession of Rome. A bitter papal + encyclical, strangely contrasting with the courteous politeness of modern + state-papers, was issued, November 1, 1870, denouncing the acts of the + Piedmontese court, "which had followed the counsel of the sects of + perdition." In this his Holiness declares that he is in captivity, and + that he will have no agreement with Belial. He pronounces the greater + excommunication, with censures and penalties, against his antagonists, and + prays for "the intercession of the immaculate Virgin Mary, mother of God, + and that of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul." + </p> + <p> + Of the various Protestant denominations, several had associated + themselves, for the purposes of consultation, under the designation of the + Evangelical Alliance. Their last meeting was held in New York, in the + autumn of 1873. Though, in this meeting, were gathered together many pious + representatives of the Reformed Churches, European and American, it had + not the prestige nor the authority of the Great Council that had just + previously closed its sessions in St. Peters, at Rome. It could not appeal + to an unbroken ancestry of far more than a thousand years; it could not + speak with the authority of an equal and, indeed, of a superior to + emperors and kings. While profound intelligence and a statesmanlike, + worldly wisdom gleamed in every thing that the Vatican Council had done, + the Evangelical Alliance met without a clear and precise view of its + objects, without any definitely-marked intentions. Its wish was to draw + into closer union the various Protestant Churches, but it had no + well-grounded hope of accomplishing that desirable result. It illustrated + the necessary working, of the principle on which those Churches + originated. They were founded on dissent and exist by separation. + </p> + <p> + Yet in the action of the Evangelical Alliance may be discerned certain + very impressive facts. It averted its eyes from its ancient antagonist—that + antagonist which had so recently loaded the Reformation with contumely and + denunciation—it fastened them, as the Vatican Council had done, on + Science. Under that dreaded name there stood before it what seemed to be a + spectre of uncertain form, of hourly-dilating proportions, of threatening + aspect. Sometimes the Alliance addressed this stupendous apparition in + words of courtesy, sometimes in tones of denunciation. + </p> + <p> + THE VATICAN CONSTITUTION CRITICISED. The Alliance failed to perceive that + modern Science is the legitimate sister—indeed, it is the + twin-sister—of the Reformation. They were begotten together and were + born together. It failed to perceive that, though there is an + impossibility of bringing into coalition the many conflicting sects, they + may all find in science a point of connection; and that, not a distrustful + attitude toward it, but a cordial union with it, is their true policy. + </p> + <p> + It remains now to offer some reflections on this "Constitution of the + Catholic Faith," as defined by the Vatican Council. + </p> + <p> + For objects to present themselves under identical relations to different + persons, they must be seen from the same point of view. In the instance we + are now considering, the religious man has his own especial station; the + scientific man another, a very different one. It is not for either to + demand that his co-observer shall admit that the panorama of facts spread + before them is actually such as it appears to him to be. + </p> + <p> + The Dogmatic Constitution insists on the admission of this postulate, that + the Roman Church acts under a divine commission, specially and exclusively + delivered to it. In virtue of that great authority, it requires of all men + the surrender of their intellectual convictions, and of all nations the + subordination of their civil power. + </p> + <p> + But a claim so imposing must be substantiated by the most decisive and + unimpeachable credentials; proofs, not only of an implied and indirect + kind, but clear, emphatic, and to the point; proofs that it would be + impossible to call in question. + </p> + <p> + The Church, however, declares, that she will not submit her claim to the + arbitrament of human reason; she demands that it shall be at once conceded + as an article of faith. + </p> + <p> + If this be admitted, all bar requirements must necessarily be assented to, + no matter how exorbitant they may be. + </p> + <p> + With strange inconsistency the Dogmatic Constitution deprecates reason, + affirming that it cannot determine the points under consideration, and yet + submits to it arguments for adjudication. In truth, it might be said that + the whole composition is a passionate plea to Reason to stultify itself in + favor of Roman Christianity. + </p> + <p> + With points of view so widely asunder, it is impossible that Religion and + Science should accord in their representation of things. Nor can any + conclusion in common be reached, except by an appeal to Reason as a + supreme and final judge. + </p> + <p> + There are many religions in the world, some of them of more venerable + antiquity, some having far more numerous adherents, than the Roman. How + can a selection be made among them, except by such an appeal to Reason? + Religion and Science must both submit their claims and their dissensions + to its arbitrament. + </p> + <p> + Against this the Vatican Council protests. It exalts faith to a + superiority over reason; it says that they constitute two separate orders + of knowledge, having respectively for their objects mysteries and facts. + Faith deals with mysteries, reason with facts. Asserting the dominating + superiority of faith, it tries to satisfy the reluctant mind with miracles + and prophecies. + </p> + <p> + On the other hand, Science turns away from the incomprehensible, and rests + herself on the maxim of Wiclif: "God forceth not a man to believe that + which he cannot understand." In the absence of an exhibition of + satisfactory credentials on the part of her opponent, she considers + whether there be in the history of the papacy, and in the biography of the + popes, any thing that can adequately sustain a divine commission, any + thing that can justify pontifical infallibility, or extort that + unhesitating obedience which is due to the vice-God. + </p> + <p> + One of the most striking and yet contradictory features of the Dogmatic + Constitution is, the reluctant homage it pays to the intelligence of man. + It presents a definition of the philosophical basis of Catholicism, but it + veils from view the repulsive features of the vulgar faith. It sets forth + the attributes of God, the Creator of all things, in words fitly + designating its sublime conception, but it abstains from affirming that + this most awful and eternal Being was born of an earthly mother, the wife + of a Jewish carpenter, who has since become the queen of heaven. The God + it depicts is not the God of the middle ages, seated on his golden throne, + surrounded by choirs of angels, but the God of Philosophy. The + Constitution has nothing to say about the Trinity, nothing of the worship + due to the Virgin—on the contrary, that is by implication sternly + condemned; nothing about transubstantiation, or the making of the flesh + and blood of God by the priest; nothing of the invocation of the saints. + It bears on its face subordination to the thought of the age, the impress + of the intellectual progress of man. + </p> + <p> + THE PASSAGE OF EUROPE TO LLAMAISM. Such being the exposition rendered to + us respecting the attributes of God, it next instructs us as to his mode + of government of the world. The Church asserts that she possesses a + supernatural control over all material and moral events. The priesthood, + in its various grades, can determine issues of the future, either by the + exercise of its inherent attributes, or by its influential invocation of + the celestial powers. To the sovereign pontiff it has been given to bind + or loose at his pleasure. It is unlawful to appeal from his judgments to + an Oecumenical Council, as if to an earthly arbiter superior to him. + Powers such as these are consistent with arbitrary rule, but they are + inconsistent with the government of the world by immutable law. Hence the + Dogmatic Constitution plants itself firmly in behalf of incessant + providential interventions; it will not for a moment admit that in natural + things there is an irresistible sequence of events, or in the affairs of + men an unavoidable course of acts. + </p> + <p> + But has not the order of civilization in all parts of the world been the + same? Does not the growth of society resemble individual growth? Do not + both exhibit to us phases of youth, of maturity, of decrepitude? To a + person who has carefully considered the progressive civilization of groups + of men in regions of the earth far apart, who has observed the identical + forms under which that advancing civilization has manifested itself, is it + not clear that the procedure is determined by law? The religious ideas of + the Incas of Peru and the emperors of Mexico, and the ceremonials of their + court-life, were the same as those in Europe—the same as those in + Asia. The current of thought had been the same. A swarm of bees carried to + some distant land will build its combs and regulate its social + institutions as other unknown swarms would do, and so with separated and + disconnected swarms of men. So invariable is this sequence of thought and + act, that there are philosophers who, transferring the past example + offered by Asiatic history to the case of Europe, would not hesitate to + sustain the proposition—given a bishop of Rome and some centuries, + and you will have an infallible pope: given an infallible pope and a + little more time, and you will have Llamaism—Llamaism to which Asia + has long, ago attained. + </p> + <p> + As to the origin of corporeal and spiritual things, the Dogmatic + Constitution adds a solemn emphasis to its declarations, by anathematizing + all those who hold the doctrine of emanation, or who believe that visible + Nature is only a manifestation of the Divine Essence. In this its authors + had a task of no ordinary difficulty before them. They must encounter + those formidable ideas, whether old or new, which in our times are so + strongly forcing themselves on thoughtful men. The doctrine of the + conservation and correlation of Force yields as its logical issue the + time-worn Oriental emanation theory; the doctrines of Evolution and + Development strike at that of successive creative acts. The former rests + on the fundamental principle that the quantity of force in the universe is + invariable. Though that quantity can neither be increased nor diminished, + the forms under which Force expresses itself may be transmuted into each + other. As yet this doctrine has not received complete scientific + demonstration, but so numerous and so cogent are the arguments adduced in + its behalf, that it stands in an imposing, almost in an authoritative + attitude. Now, the Asiatic theory of emanation and absorption is seen to + be in harmony with this grand idea. It does not hold that, at the + conception of a human being, a soul is created by God out of nothing and + given to it, but that a portion of the already existing, the divine, the + universal intelligence, is imparted, and, when life is over, this returns + to and is absorbed in the general source from which it originally came. + The authors of the Constitution forbid these ideas to be held, under pain + of eternal punishment. + </p> + <p> + In like manner they dispose of the doctrines of Evolution and Development, + bluntly insisting that the Church believes in distinct creative acts. The + doctrine that every living form is derived from some preceding form is + scientifically in a much more advanced position than that concerning + Force, and probably may be considered as established, whatever may become + of the additions with which it has recently been overlaid. + </p> + <p> + In her condemnation of the Reformation, the Church carries into effect her + ideas of the subordination of reason to faith. In her eyes the Reformation + is an impious heresy, leading to the abyss of pantheism, materialism, and + atheism, and tending to overthrow the very foundations of human society. + She therefore would restrain those "restless spirits" who, following + Luther, have upheld the "right of every man to interpret the Scriptures + for himself." She asserts that it is a wicked error to admit Protestants + to equal political privileges with Catholics, and that to coerce them and + suppress them is a sacred duty; that it is abominable to permit them to + establish educational institutions. Gregory XVI. denounced freedom of + conscience as an insane folly, and the freedom of the press a pestilent + error, which cannot be sufficiently detested. + </p> + <p> + But how is it possible to recognize an inspired and infallible oracle on + the Tiber, when it is remembered that again and again successive popes + have contradicted each other; that popes have denounced councils, and + councils have denounced popes; that the Bible of Sixtus V. had so many + admitted errors—nearly two thousand—that its own authors had + to recall it? How is it possible for the children of the Church to regard + as "delusive errors" the globular form of the earth, her position as a + planet in the solar system, her rotation on her axis, her movement round + the sun? How can they deny that there are antipodes, and other worlds than + ours? How can they believe that the world was made out of nothing, + completed in a week, finished just as we see it now; that it has undergone + no change, but that its parts have worked so indifferently as to require + incessant interventions? + </p> + <p> + THE ERRORS OF ECCLESIASTICISM. When Science is thus commanded to surrender + her intellectual convictions, may she not ask the ecclesiastic to remember + the past? The contest respecting the figure of the earth, and the location + of heaven and hell, ended adversely to him. He affirmed that the earth is + an extended plane, and that the sky is a firmament, the floor of heaven, + through which again and again persons have been seen to ascend. The + globular form demonstrated beyond any possibility of contradiction by + astronomical facts, and by the voyage of Magellan's ship, he then + maintained that it is the central body of the universe, all others being + in subordination to it, and it the grand object of God's regard. Forced + from this position, he next affirmed that it is motionless, the sun and + the stars actually revolving, as they apparently do, around it. The + invention of the telescope proved that here again he was in error. Then he + maintained that all the motions of the solar system are regulated by + providential intervention; the "Principia" of Newton demonstrated that + they are due to irresistible law. He then affirmed that the earth and all + the celestial bodies were created about six thousand years ago, and that + in six days the order of Nature was settled, and plants and animals in + their various tribes introduced. Constrained by the accumulating mass of + adverse evidence, he enlarged his days into periods of indefinite length—only, + however, to find that even this device was inadequate. The six ages, with + their six special creations, could no longer be maintained, when it was + discovered that species, slowly emerged in one age, reached a culmination + in a second, and gradually died out in a third: this overlapping from age + to age would not only have demanded creations, but re-creations also. He + affirmed that there had been a deluge, which covered the whole earth above + the tops of the highest mountains, and that the waters of this flood were + removed by a wind. Correct ideas respecting the dimensions of the + atmosphere, and of the sea, and of the operation of evaporation, proved + how untenable these statements are. Of the progenitors of the human race, + he declared that they had come from their Maker's hand perfect, both in + body and mind, and had subsequently experienced a fall. He is now + considering how best to dispose of the evidence continually accumulating + respecting the savage condition of prehistoric man. + </p> + <p> + Is it at all surprising that the number of those who hold the opinions of + the Church in light esteem should so rapidly increase? How can that be + received as a trustworthy guide in the invisible, which falls into so many + errors in the visible? How can that give confidence in the moral, the + spiritual, which has so signally failed in the physical? It is not + possible to dispose of these conflicting facts as "empty shadows," "vain + devices," "fictions coming from knowledge falsely so called," "errors + wearing the deceitful appearance of truth," as the Church stigmatizes + them. On the contrary, they are stern witnesses, bearing emphatic and + unimpeachable testimony against the ecclesiastical claim to infallibility, + and fastening a conviction of ignorance and blindness upon her. + </p> + <p> + Convicted of so many errors, the papacy makes no attempt at explanation. + It ignores the whole matter Nay, more, relying on the efficacy of + audacity, though confronted by these facts, it lays claim to + infallibility. + </p> + <p> + SEPARATION OF CATHOLICISM AND CIVILIZATION. But, to the pontiff, no other + rights can be conceded than those he can establish at the bar of Reason. + He cannot claim infallibility in religious affairs, and decline it in + scientific. Infallibility embraces all things. It implies omniscience. If + it holds good for theology, it necessarily holds good for science. How is + it possible to coordinate the infallibility of the papacy with the + well-known errors into which it has fallen? + </p> + <p> + Does it not, then, become needful to reject the claim of the papacy to the + employment of coercion in the maintenance of its opinions; to repudiate + utterly the declaration that "the Inquisition is an urgent necessity in + view of the unbelief of the present age," and in the name of human nature + to protest loudly against the ferocity and terrorism of that institution? + Has not conscience inalienable rights? + </p> + <p> + An impassable and hourly-widening gulf intervenes between Catholicism and + the spirit of the age. Catholicism insists that blind faith is superior to + reason; that mysteries are of more importance than facts. She claims to be + the sole interpreter of Nature and revelation, the supreme arbiter of + knowledge; she summarily rejects all modern criticism of the Scriptures, + and orders the Bible to be accepted in accordance with the views of the + theologians of Trent; she openly avows her hatred of free institutions and + constitutional systems, and declares that those are in damnable error who + regard the reconciliation of the pope with modern civilization as either + possible or desirable. + </p> + <p> + SCIENCE AND PROTESTANTISM. But the spirit of the age demands—is the + human intellect to be subordinated to the Tridentine Fathers, or to the + fancy of illiterate and uncritical persons who wrote in the earlier ages + of the Church? It sees no merit in blind faith, but rather distrusts it. + It looks forward to an improvement in the popular canon of credibility for + a decision between fact and fiction. It does not consider itself bound to + believe fables and falsehoods that have been invented for ecclesiastical + ends. It finds no argument in behalf of their truth, that traditions and + legends have been long-lived; in this respect, those of the Church are + greatly inferior to the fables of paganism. The longevity of the Church + itself is not due to divine protection or intervention, but to the skill + with which it has adapted its policy to existing circumstances. If + antiquity be the criterion of authenticity, the claims of Buddhism must be + respected; it has the superior warrant of many centuries. There can be no + defense of those deliberate falsifications of history, that concealment of + historical facts, of which the Church has so often taken advantage. In + these things the end does not justify the means. + </p> + <p> + Then has it in truth come to this, that Roman Christianity and Science are + recognized by their respective adherents as being absolutely incompatible; + they cannot exist together; one must yield to the other; mankind must make + its choice—it cannot have both. + </p> + <p> + SCIENCE AND FAITH. While such is, perhaps, the issue as regards + Catholicism, a reconciliation of the Reformation with Science is not only + possible, but would easily take place, if the Protestant Churches would + only live up to the maxim taught by Luther, and established by so many + years of war. That maxim is, the right of private interpretation of the + Scriptures. It was the foundation of intellectual liberty. But, if a + personal interpretation of the book of Revelation is permissible, how can + it be denied in the case of the book of Nature? In the misunderstandings + that have taken place, we must ever bear in mind the infirmities of men. + The generations that immediately followed the Reformation may perhaps be + excused for not comprehending the full significance of their cardinal + principle, and for not on all occasions carrying it into effect. When + Calvin caused Servetus, to be burnt, he was animated, not by the + principles of the Reformation, but by those of Catholicism, from which he + had not been able to emancipate himself completely. And when the clergy of + influential Protestant confessions have stigmatized the investigators of + Nature as infidels and atheists, the same may be said. For Catholicism to + reconcile itself to Science, there are formidable, perhaps insuperable + obstacles in the way. For Protestantism to achieve that great result there + are not. In the one case there is a bitter, a mortal animosity to be + overcome; in the other, a friendship, that misunderstandings have + alienated, to be restored. + </p> + <p> + CIVILIZATION AND RELIGION. But, whatever may be the preparatory incidents + of that great impending intellectual crisis which Christendom must soon + inevitably witness, of this we may rest assured, that the silent secession + from the public faith, which in so ominous a manner characterizes the + present generation, will find at length political expression. It is not + without significance that France reenforces the ultramontane tendencies of + her lower population, by the promotion of pilgrimages, the perpetration of + miracles, the exhibition of celestial apparitions. Constrained to do this + by her destiny, she does it with a blush. It is not without significance + that Germany resolves to rid herself of the incubus of a dual government, + by the exclusion of the Italian element, and to carry to its completion + that Reformation which three centuries ago she left unfinished. The time + approaches when men must take their choice between quiescent, immobile + faith and ever-advancing Science—faith, with its mediaeval + consolations, Science, which is incessantly scattering its material + blessings in the pathway of life, elevating the lot of man in this world, + and unifying the human race. Its triumphs are solid and enduring. But the + glory which Catholicism might gain from a conflict with material ideas is + at the best only like that of other celestial meteors when they touch the + atmosphere of the earth—transitory and useless. + </p> + <p> + Though Guizot's affirmation that the Church has always sided with + despotism is only too true, it must be remembered that in the policy she + follows there is much of political necessity. She is urged on by the + pressure of nineteen centuries. But, if the irresistible indicates itself + in her action, the inevitable manifests itself in her life. For it is with + the papacy as with a man. It has passed through the struggles of infancy, + it has displayed the energies of maturity, and, its work completed, it + must sink into the feebleness and querulousness of old age. Its youth can + never be renewed. The influence of its souvenirs alone will remain. As + pagan Rome threw her departing shadow over the empire and tinctured all + its thoughts, so Christian Rome casts her parting shadow over Europe. + </p> + <p> + INADMISSIBLE CLAIMS OF CATHOLICISM. Will modern civilization consent to + abandon the career of advancement which has given it so much power and + happiness? Will it consent to retrace its steps to the semi-barbarian + ignorance and superstition of the middle ages? Will it submit to the + dictation of a power, which, claiming divine authority, can present no + adequate credentials of its office; a power which kept Europe in a + stagnant condition for many centuries, ferociously suppressing by the + stake and the sword every attempt at progress; a power that is founded in + a cloud of mysteries; that sets itself above reason and common-sense; that + loudly proclaims the hatred it entertains against liberty of thought and + freedom in civil institutions; that professes its intention of repressing + the one and destroying the other whenever it can find the opportunity; + that denounces as most pernicious and insane the opinion that liberty of + conscience and of worship is the right of every man; that protests against + that right being proclaimed and asserted by law in every well-governed + state; that contemptuously repudiates the principle that the will of the + people, manifested by public opinion (as it is called) or by other means, + shall constitute law; that refuses to every man any title to opinion in + matters of religion, but holds that it is simply his duty to believe what + he is told by the Church, and to obey her commands; that will not permit + any temporal government to define the rights and prescribe limits to the + authority of the Church; that declares it not only may but will resort to + force to discipline disobedient individuals; that invades the sanctify of + private life, by making, at the confessional, the wife and daughters and + servants of one suspected, spies and informers against him; that tries him + without an accuser, and by torture makes him bear witness against himself; + that denies the right of parents to educate their children outside of its + own Church, and insists that to it alone belongs the supervision of + domestic life and the control of marriages and divorces; that denounces + "the impudence" of those who presume to subordinate the authority of the + Church to the civil authority, or who advocate the separation of the + Church from the state; that absolutely repudiates all toleration, and + affirms that the Catholic religion is entitled to be held as the only + religion in every country, to the exclusion of all other modes of worship; + that requires all laws standing in the way of its interests to be + repealed, and, if that be refused, orders all its followers to disobey + them? + </p> + <p> + ISSUE OF THE CONFLICT. This power, conscious that it can work no miracle + to serve itself, does not hesitate to disturb society by its intrigues + against governments, and seeks to accomplish its ends by alliances with + despotism. + </p> + <p> + Claims such as these mean a revolt against modern civilization, an + intention of destroying it, no matter at what social cost. To submit to + them without resistance, men must be slaves indeed! + </p> + <p> + As to the issue of the coming conflict, can any one doubt? Whatever is + resting on fiction and fraud will be overthrown. Institutions that + organize impostures and spread delusions must show what right they have to + exist. Faith must render an account of herself to Reason. Mysteries must + give place to facts. Religion must relinquish that imperious, that + domineering position which she has so long maintained against Science. + There must be absolute freedom for thought. The ecclesiastic must learn to + keep himself within the domain he has chosen, and cease to tyrannize over + the philosopher, who, conscious of his own strength and the purity of his + motives, will bear such interference no longer. What was written by Esdras + near the willow-fringed rivers of Babylon, more than twenty-three + centuries ago, still holds good: "As for Truth it endureth and is always + strong; it liveth and conquereth for evermore." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Conflict Between +Religion and Science, by John William Draper + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE CONFLICT *** + +***** This file should be named 1185-h.htm or 1185-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/8/1185/ + +Produced by Charles Keller, and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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