, 1877-12-08


against hope, that they hnl reached the
limit ot such humi!iutmg changes, there
came forth II simple, uoprctcnJious vol
umc entitled Origin Of Species" Only II
small book, without one word Of ungrn
elous criticism, ora single fling at any
ones opinions; but simply he result ut
the observations ut II very conscientious,
careful, observing naturalist with IA
statement ot what effect time might pro.
dncr, upon the different species existing,
"r that have existed un the globe shnuh
the principles he demonstrated tu exist,
hc permitted to have their full effect.
That was dll there was to this dreaded,
book. We are sorry to say very FEW ot
the clergy have taken the pains to exam
Inc into these principles; but the result
that might he produced, have been called
the Darwin Theory" and this work has
met with more Wholesale abuse, hes been
WORST rIdlcuIcd, hurrsqucd and misrep
Resented; to say nothing of being mis-
understood, than perhaps my other
work IN the English huguagc.
This appeared to he SO mu,h worse to
the clergy, than anything AgaS,iz ever
taught, that without changing his opln--
ions, he soon found the clergy of the
country were almost ready to endorse
everything be ever taught, and when he
died he was vcncmtcd by them, almost
as one ot the saints elect.
Thus, to illustrate how nicely the theo.
ries OF theology and the facts of science
lay down together, when science hns
demonstrated her claim to such yenera-
bic company, we give the following case
One ot the most ancient and popular
theories OF theology is, that sin, nm n,en-
tional violation of the divine will, was the
first cause of death. That this sin termed
by them, "0rignial Sin" happened some
5000 years ago, and that wns the direct
cause OF lcath being IN the world. That
no death existed prior to that date, and
had 1t not been for that single oifcnsr.
none need ever to have known the kim
n tcirors 1t is needless to say, lhnt
much Of popular tn ology is constructed
on this pleasant fable.
Well, when Cuvier discovered the
Paleotherium and other ancient beasts
near Paris, less than centuuy ugo, md
fresh discoveries added soon after, dem
UnstrOie'l the existence of countless ccn.
eratiuns Oi beings, that had lived and
died ages before existing species were
either created or developed; as soon ns
these iactS were regarded MS u part of
demonstrated science, countless theologians
were busy With their theories of reconcile
atiun; trying to patch up the rents such
demonstrations made in their theology.
The past century has been busy one
iorthe friends of science, they mvegather-
ed treasures in countless fields of nature
The yield in its fruitiulness has been
beyond the widest dreams of the poets
of antiquity.
While the practical results have been
so marvellous its, demonstrated facts have
blown to the winds of heaven, so many
idle theories OF the past, so many horrij
superstiti0ns, and has removed so much
of the underpinning from those systems
OF Cast Iron theology, the out growth OF
those times Of medieval cruelty and op.-
preston, when the blood of human kind
ness ran thin and cold and have kept
such a large portion Of the clergy busy
reconstructing their theories, 50 us to
keep up with iacts freshly demonstrated
each year; that we are sorry to say, very
few Of the clergy. who boast so much OF
the conflicts OF science, and speak dis
paragingly Of its theories, or tbecrizers,
know aught OF 1t, save what they have
seen in the conflicting theories OF recon-
cilliation between advancing science, and
their disionted, medieval SYSTEMS Of
theology.
Thus, it was not enough that the story
of original sin was demonstrated false, yet
Agassiz had to teach, that death was not
only coeval with life, but from the nature
of our organism necessarily coexistent
with it making il impossible for such =
state as depicted in the garden OF Escn
to have existed.
This, is now one Of the established doc
trihes OF science, accepted and vouched
for by the clergy generally. and guaran
. faa1 nnf IN contrn,lict fbci,, thonlnuy