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the constant supervision of the French gendarmerie。 Half
a century afterwards； Darwin； who dared to question the story
of the creation of man； as revealed in the Bible； was denounced
from every pulpit as an enemy of the human race。
Even to…day； the persecution of those who venture into the
unknown realm of science has not entirely come to an end。
And while I am writing this Mr。 Bryan is addressing a vast
multitude on the ‘‘Menace of Darwinism；'' warning his hearers
against the errors of the great English naturalist。
All this； however； is a mere detail。 The work that has to
be done invariably gets done； and the ultimate profit of the
discoveries and the inventions goes to the mass of those same people
who have always decried the man of vision as an unpractical idealist。
The seventeenth century had still preferred to investigate
the far off heavens and to study the position of our
planet in relation to the solar system。 Even so； the Church had
disapproved of this unseemly curiosity； and Copernicus who
first of all had proved that the sun was the centre of the universe；
did not publish his work until the day of his death。 Galileo
spent the greater part of his life under the supervision of the
clerical authorities； but he continued to use his telescope and
provided Isaac Newton with a mass of practical observations；
which greatly helped the English mathematician when he dis…
covered the existence of that interesting habit of falling objects
which came to be known as the Law of Gravitation。
That； for the moment at least； exhausted the interest in the
Heavens； and man began to study the earth。 The invention
of a workable microscope； （a strange and clumsy little thing；）
by Anthony van Leeuwenhoek during the last half of the 17th
century； gave man a chance to study the ‘‘microscopic'' creatures
who are responsible for so many of his ailments。 It laid
the foundations of the science of ‘‘bacteriology'' which in the
last forty years has delivered the world from a great number of
diseases by discovering the tiny organisms which cause the
complaint。 It also allowed the geologists to make a more
careful study of different rocks and of the fossils （the petrified
prehistoric plants） which they found deep below the surface of
the earth。 These investigations convinced them that the earth
must be a great deal older than was stated in the book of
Genesis and in the year 1830； Sir Charles Lyell published his
‘‘Principles of Geology'' which denied the story of creation as
related in the Bible and gave a far more wonderful description
of slow growth and gradual development。
At the same time； the Marquis de Laplace was working on
a new theory of creation； which made the earth a little blotch
in the nebulous sea out of which the planetary system had
been formed and Bunsen and Kirchhoff； by the use of the
spectroscope； were investigating the chemical composition of the
stars and of our good neighbour； the sun； whose curious spots
had first been noticed by Galileo。
Meanwhile after a most bitter and relentless warfare with
the clerical authorities of Catholic and Protestant lands； the
anatomists and physiologists had at last obtained permission
to dissect bodies and to substitute a positive knowledge of our
organs and their habits for the guesswork of the mediaeval
quack。
Within a single generation （between 1810 and 1840） more
progress was made in every branch of science than in all the
hundreds of thousands of years that had passed since man first
looked at the stars and wondered why they were there。 It
must have been a very sad age for the people who had been
educated under the old system。 And we can understand their
feeling of hatred for such men as Lamarck and Darwin； who
did not exactly tell them that they were ‘‘descended from
monkeys；'' （an accusation which our grandfathers seemed to
regard as a personal insult；） but who suggested that the proud
human race had evolved from a long series of ancestors who
could trace the family…tree back to the little jelly…fishes who
were the first inhabitants of our planet。
The dignified world of the well…to…do middle class； which
dominated the nineteenth century； was willing to make use
of the gas or the electric light； of all the many practical applications
of the great scientific discoveries； but the mere investigator；
the man of the ‘‘scientific theory'' without whom no
progress would be possible； continued to be distrusted until
very recently。 Then； at last； his services were recognised。 Today
the rich people who in past ages donated their wealth for
the building of a cathedral； construct vast laboratories where
silent men do battle upon the hidden enemies of mankind and
often sacrifice their lives that coming generations may enjoy
greater happiness and health。
Indeed it has come to pass that many of the ills of this
world； which our ancestors regarded as inevitable ‘‘acts of
God；'' have been exposed as manifestations of our own ignorance
and neglect。 Every child nowadays knows that he can
keep from getting typhoid fever by a little care in the choice of
his drinking water。 But it took years and years of hard
work before the doctors could convince the people of this fact。
Few of us now fear the dentist chair。 A study of the microbes
that live in our mouth has made it possible to keep our
teeth from decay。 Must perchance a tooth be pulled； then we
take a sniff of gas； and go our way rejoicing。 When the newspapers
of the year 1846 brought the story of the ‘‘painless
operation'' which had been performed in America with the help
of ether； the good people of Europe shook their heads。 To
them it seemed against the will of God that man should escape
the pain which was the share of all mortals； and it took a long
time before the practice of taking ether and chloroform for
operations became general。
But the battle of progress had been won。 The breach in the
old walls of prejudice was growing larger and larger； and as
time went by； the ancient stones of ignorance came crumbling
down。 The eager crusaders of a new and happier social order
rushed forward。 Suddenly they found themselves facing a new
obstacle。 Out of the ruins of a long…gone past； another citadel
of reaction had been erected； and millions of men had to give
their lives before this last bulwark was destroyed。
ART
A CHAPTER OF ART
WHEN a baby is perfectly healthy and has had enough to eat
and has slept all it wants； then it hums a little tune to show how
happy it is。 To grown…ups this humming means nothing。 It
sounds like ‘‘goo…zum； goo…zum； goo…o…o…o…o；'' but to the baby
it is perfect music。 It is his first contribution to art。
As soon as he （or she） gets a little older and is able to sit
up； the period of mud…pie making begins。 These mud…pies do
not interest the outside world。 There are too many million
babies； making too many million mud…pies at t