Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1885-01-17
QUIZ porsoNYILLE CRITIC.

OF rustic 4mugwump" OF the relixio-
scientific school. has taken the CHRoE- |
IcLE TO task for undue levity and tool
strong tendency to what he considers |
a materialistic creed; and mirabile !
dscfa! the medium he chose for his
lecture was the columns OF that pious |
and most dignifed journal, the Ciarks- |
vile Democrat.
Our learned critic wrote from the |
city Of Dotsonvisle, in this county. and |
what he don't know about science and |
such like has been left for the sages
OF the future 10 discoyer. He Ia fully
up, so TO speak, on all that has yet been
brought TO light. 1t is he,
with intellect piercing affair
OWNING the Law OF each planet and star"
who can uphold the truth and grind
into powder the dangerous doctrines
OF the pseudo scientists.
1t was little allusion we made re-
Gently to @The Survival of the Fittest,"
in connection with the theory of evo-
luton that got up the dander, ms it
were, of the DotsonviIle savant and
made him arch his back at us with
such an ominous growl. He thought
we meant to be personal, and were in
sinuating that his ancestors were mon
keys, or probably that he came from
the offspring of that famous union
when the monkey married the bab-
boon's sister.
Our wise reviewer can possess his
soul in peace and enjoy in undisturbed
repose the @bOundless contiguity of
shade" that surrounds Jacksonville.
We don't believe in evolution and con-
sequently couldn't possibly have in
tended these base insinuations against
his ancestry. His lineage is, no
doubt very aristocrstic; we have
no disposition to dispute that he
is n direct descendant of Adam. But
discarding evolution and taking up
metemsychosis, it must be admitted
that our Dotsonyille friend furnishes
some evidence in support OF the theo-
ry. The spirit that now enlivens him,
no doubt, once lived in a wise house
cat that could out "yowP all the other
cats in the neighborhood, or probably
it animated the carcass of
''5ome solemn. sentimental owl"
We don't believe in evolution. We
haven't any fixed opinion in that re-
gard because we don't know anything
about it Unlike the sage of Dotson-
VILE, this writer is not scientist Be
yOnd a cursory reading of the sOrigin
of Species" "The Descent OF Man" and
some OF Mr.. Huxley's minor writings,
we have made no study of evolution,
and wouldn't pretend to express any
opinion OF its merits.
II we believed that our Dotsonville
friend had read one-fourth as much,
we might treat his article with some
degree of seriousness, but We are con-
WINGED that all he knows about evolu-
ton was learned from that rat story
which we related in the editorial OF
which he complained. He doubtless
thought our tale of the cannibal rodent
embraced the nebnlar hypothesis, nat
uFal selection, survival of the nttest, in
fact, all the ingredients and concomi-
tants of the theory of evolution, in
Guiding even ''the missing link"
We believe, in the light of history,
that it is foolish for the church to be-
come alarmed over the PRONUNCIATION
of scientific theories. Such theories
never meet with popular acceptance
until they become demonstrated facts,
and without such demonstration time
will sink them into oblivion. The
church prosecuted Copernicus because
he said the world was round. Some
years later Columbus demonstrated
this theory to be fact, but Christian
ity didn't suffer in consequence; it
only served to carry the gospel into
the uttermOst parts of the earth"
Giordano Bruno was burned ut the
stake for holding some slch idea, and
when the great Calico said the world
moved, the theologians held up their
hands in holy horror, and forced him,
on penalty of death, to publicly retract
the heretical statement This action
OF the churchmen has long been
subject for ridicuie, the world goes Sc
renely bObbing around in It's orbit,
and the glory of the Divine Intelli-
gence that directs its motion is all the
more manifest in consequence.
Evolution is far from being DEM
onstrated fact. Its most Jealous advo-
Gates do not claim as much. But it is
futile for the church to try to suppress
its discussion, and no harm need be
feared from it il it is false.
These are all the ideas we have on
evolution. We should not have intru-
ded them on the public except to es-
cape the misrepresentation of our
friend of Dotsonville. We will enter
into no further discussion of the sub
jet, and hereby inform our rural crit
ic that il he seeks a controversy, he
must find some other opponent, or ar
que solo. But he will do better to
discuss a subject he knows something
about-a dog law, for instance.
So far as Christianity is concerned,
we assure him if he will follow strictly
the teachings of the Sermon on the
Mount and the Golden Rule, he will
enter in at the straight gate, and st.
Peter will not inquire whether he
originated from a molusk gasping in
Nile mud, mass of inorganic proto-
plasmic matter, rs the scientists sug-
gest, or from "the dust OF the earth"
as Moses has related in Genesis. There
was a great evolution in either case,
and he Is indeed hardened material
ist who couldn't recognize in either a
Providence
Moving in mysterious ways
His wonders TO perform"
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