CHAPTER IV.

SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY.

Bishop Virgil--Roger Bacon--Galileo--Jordano Bruno--Thomas Campanella--De
Lisle de Sales--Denis Diderot--Balthazar Bekker--Isaac de la Peyrere--Abbe
de Marolles--Lucilio Vanini--Jean Rousseau.


Science in its infancy found many powerful opponents, who, not
understanding the nature of the newly-born babe, strove to strangle it.
But the infant grew into a healthy child in spite of its cruel stepmother,
and cried so loudly and talked so strangely that the world was forced to
listen to its utterances. These were regarded with distrust and aversion
by the theologians of the day, for they were supposed to be in opposition
to Revelation, and contrary to the received opinions of all learned and
pious people. Therefore Science met with very severe treatment; its
followers were persecuted with relentless vehemence, and "blasphemous
fables" and "dangerous deceits" were the only epithets which could
characterise its doctrines.

The controversy between Religion and Science still rages, in spite of the
declaration of Professor Huxley that in his opinion the conflict between
the two is entirely factitious. But theologians are wiser now than they
were in the days of Galileo; they are waiting to see what the scientists
can prove, and then, when the various hypotheses are shown to be true, it
will be time enough to reconcile the verities of the Faith with the facts