The Irish standard., 1909-01-09

I ter known ny his Latinized name
efnicus, who introduced the gyst
ncw held by the scientists as tho
word of science searched out by q
intelligence OF man."
Now all these systems are the tea
inss Of science, each in it's turn tau
by science. What confidence 7hs
fore can ha placed in a science thati
sues us OF the truth of it's latestgs
tom after having assured us with ga
tens that contradict it's latest, 8
tina. stands ready. OH some new disct
cry to assure us tho truth, Of so
other system contradictory Of I
Present system? ..5 g.. ...,5.
What faith can be had in % sciel
that is forever readjusting, or .tlro
ing aside its latest CONCLUSIONS, las :s
tronomy has been doing during i
pust centuries? ~, a Siisis.ag NM
> Is not the experience OF astfonoil
cal science like that Of the fabl
Sisyphus who was condemned to r.
an immense boulder from the botte
1, the summit Of u hill, which, whe
G. CT it reached the top, rolled COY
again, and The task Of Slsyphus had
bs begun anew. The physical scienc
toll wearily up the hill, but when ne
the summit and ready to deposit the
burden Of information there, son
rev discovery hurts it to the botto
where the upward toll must beg
again. It was thus that the discover
or the Roentgcn rays hurled to, IL
bottom the indestructible atom Of u
science of chemistry. -
The word Science" is a ShibboleS
OF frequent use, a word Of "damnab
iteration as lalstaff would call
afoong the tlippant and superi1ci,
gcng-lnen Of science. Science teacht
tins. that and the other; that endst,i
We'll, what did science teach yestei
dny and the day before, and the da
before that? It's contradictory teach
iDSs cannot all DO true; experience de
r7ol.strates that 1t is not infallibl,
From its very nature it's latest afi1rma
tons are not ultimate; any non1eY
s7n.e new discovery may cast them L
the wind, like dead leaves in autumn.
Tho ineff1ciency Of science as the Ill
innate criterion Of the truths an,
facts Of nature arises from the inconl
.,ieteness Of experience and the .1aAF
end unjustitied conclusions Of scion
fists, and the credulous confidence
with Whi:n they ride an assumption
or an hypothesis as q hobby, unit
they finally lapse into the convictfoi
f}lnt it is demonstrated. Thus ttleJ
ride from the assumption of a thina
to an assumption of it's verlfication'
Calling to observe that an assumptfol
remains III assumption until it is ds.
lnonstrat' d to be a truth. i@s4
DIR. Crapscy: I'm geology ths
Church taught that the world wns
1our thousand years Old" VA
The word Church as used by thas
Doctor is ambiguous. Sometimes hs
laeans the Catholic Church. At otir..
er times lie means some vague ina
definite things like an atmosphere ie orI
floating in the air. If shsi
means that the Catholic Church has
ever defined that the world is four,
thousand years old he has fallan intn
an egregious and inexcusable error.
The Church never so defined. II hs
i'oant some particular denominat tion
no should have named it, and thus
left the others free from the. charge.
If he meant some vague generality iie
should have been more definite and
said something that the intelligence sof
man might grasp and deal with. ssSsss
AN example of the way the Church
has battled. with personal intelligeriicsis.I isi.I
J 'yas ' given lbyss pr. e spokS