Onthispointhelaidstressinhisgreatwork，theYmagoMundi，andaneditionofithavingbeenpublishedinthedayswhenColumbuswasthinkingmostcloselyupontheproblemofawestwardvoyage，itnaturallyexercisedmuchinfluenceuponhisreasonings。AmongthetreasuresofthelibraryatSeville，thereisnothingmoreinterestingthanacopyofthisworkannotatedbyColumbushimself：fromthisverycopyitwasthatColumbusobtainedconfirmationofhisbeliefthatthepassageacrosstheoceantoMarcoPolo’slandofZipangoinAsiawasshort。Butforthiserror，baseduponatextsupposedtobeinspired，itisunlikelythatColumbuscouldhavesecuredthenecessarysupportforhisvoyage。Itisacuriousfactthatthissingletheologicalerrorthuspromotedaseriesofvoyageswhichcompletelydestroyednotonlythisbuteveryotherconceptionofgeographybaseduponthesacredwritings。[37]
[37]Forthiserror，sofruitfulindiscovery，seeD’Ailly，YmagoMundi；thepassagereferredtoisfol。12verso。ForthepassagefromEsdras，seechap。vi，verses42，47，50，and52；seealsoZockler，GeschichtederBeziehungenzwischenTheologieundNaturweissenschaft，vol。i，p。461。Foroneofthebestrecentstatements，seeRuge，Gesch。desZeitaltersderEntdeckungen，Berlin，1882，pp。221etseq。ForaletterofColumbusacknowledginghisindebtednesstothismistakeinEsdras，seeNavarrete，ViajesyDescubrimientos，Madrid，1825，tomei，pp。
242，264；alsoHumboldt，Hist。delaGeographieduNouveauContinent，vol。i，pp。68，69。
V。THECHARACTEROFTHEEARTH’SSURFACE。
ItwouldbehardlyjusttodismissthestruggleforgeographicaltruthwithoutreferringtoonepassagemoreinthehistoryoftheProtestantChurch，foritshowsclearlythedifficultiesinthewayofthesimpleststatementofgeographicaltruthwhichconflictedwiththewordsofthesacredbooks。
Intheyear1553MichaelServetuswasontrialforhislifeatGenevaonthechargeofArianism。Servetushadrenderedmanyservicestoscientifictruth，andoneofthesewasaneditionofPtolemy’sGeography，inwhichJudeawasspokenof，notas“alandflowingwithmilkandhoney。”but，instrictaccordancewiththetruth，as，inthemain，meagre，barren，andinhospitable。Inhistrialthissimplestatementofgeographicalfactwasusedagainsthimbyhisarch-enemyJohnCalvinwithfearfulpower。InvaindidServetuspleadthathehadsimplydrawnthewordsfromapreviouseditionofPtolemy；invaindidhedeclarethatthisstatementwasasimplegeographicaltruthofwhichtherewereampleproofs：itwasansweredthatsuchlanguage“necessarilyinculpatedMoses，andgrievouslyoutragedtheHolyGhost。”[38]
[38]ForServetus’sgeographicaloffense，seeRilliet，RelationduProcescriminelcontreMichelServetd’apreslesDocumentsoriginaux，Geneva，1844，pp。42，43；alsoWillis，ServetusandCalvin，London，1877，p。325。ThepassagecondemnedisinthePtolemyof1535，fol。41。Itwasdiscreetlyretrenchedinareprintofthesameedition。
InsumminguptheactionoftheChurchupongeography，wemustsay，then，thatthedogmasdevelopedinstrictadherencetoScriptureandtheconceptionsheldintheChurchduringmanycenturies“always，everywhere，andbyall。”were，onthewhole，steadilyhostiletotruth；butitisonlyjusttomakeadistinctionherebetweenthereligiousandthetheologicalspirit。Tothereligiousspiritarelargelydueseveralofthenoblestamongthegreatvoyagesofdiscovery。AdeeplongingtoextendtherealmsofChristianityinfluencedthemindsofPrinceJohnofPortugal，inhisgreatseriesofeffortsalongtheAfricancoast；ofVascodaGama，inhiscircumnavigationoftheCapeofGoodHope；ofMagellan，inhisvoyagearoundtheworld；
anddoubtlessfoundaplaceamongthemoreworldlymotivesofColumbus。[39]
[39]AstotheearliermixtureinthemotivesofColumbus，itmaybewelltocomparewiththeearlierbiographiestherecentonesbyDr。WinsorandPresidentAdams。
Thus，inthisfield，fromthesupremacyaccordedtotheology，wefindresultingthattendencytodogmatismwhichhasshownitselfinallagesthedeadlyfoenotonlyofscientificinquirybutofthehigherreligiousspirititself，whilefromtheloveoftruthfortruth’ssake，whichhasbeentheinspirationofallfruitfulworkinscience，nothingbutadvantagehaseverresultedtoreligion。
Thenextgreatseriesofbattleswasfoughtovertherelationsofthevisibleheavenstotheearth。
IntheearlyChurch，inviewofthedoctrinesoprominentintheNewTestament，thattheearthwassoontobedestroyed，andthatthereweretobe“newheavensandanewearth。”astronomy，likeotherbranchesofscience，wasgenerallylookeduponasfutile。
Whystudytheoldheavensandtheoldearth，whentheyweresosoontobereplacedwithsomethinginfinitelybetter？ThisfeelingappearsinSt。Augustine’sfamousutterance，“Whatconcernisittomewhethertheheavensasasphereinclosetheearthinthemiddleoftheworldoroverhangitoneitherside？”
Astotheheavenlybodies，theologianslookedonthemasatbestonlyobjectsofpiousspeculation。RegardingtheirnaturethefathersoftheChurchweredivided。Origen，andotherswithhim，thoughtthemlivingbeingspossessedofsouls，andthisbeliefwasmainlybaseduponthescripturalvisionofthemorningstars。
singingtogether，anduponthebeautifulappealtothe“starsandlight“inthesongofthethreechildren——theBenedicite——whichtheAnglicancommunionhassowiselyretainedinitsLiturgy。
Otherfathersthoughtthestarsabiding-placesoftheangels，andthatstarsweremovedbyangels。TheGnosticsthoughtthestarsspiritualbeingsgovernedbyangels，andappointednottocauseearthlyeventsbuttoindicatethem。
Astotheheavensingeneral，theprevailingviewintheChurchwasbaseduponthescripturaldeclarationsthatasolidvault——a“firmament“——wasextendedabovetheearth，andthattheheavenlybodiesweresimplylightshungwithinit。Thiswasforatimeheldverytenaciously。St。Philastrius，inhisfamoustreatiseonheresies，pronounceditaheresytodenythatthestarsarebroughtoutbyGodfromhistreasure-houseandhungintheskyeveryevening；anyotherviewhedeclared“falsetotheCatholicfaith。”ThisviewalsosurvivedinthesacredtheoryestablishedsofirmlybyCosmasinthesixthcentury。HavingestablishedhisplanoftheuniverseuponvarioustextsintheOldandNewTestaments，andhavingmadeitavastoblongbox，coveredbythesolid“firmament。”hebroughtinadditionaltextsfromScripturetoaccountfortheplanetarymovements，anddevelopedatlengththetheorythatthesunandplanetsaremovedandthe“windowsofheaven“openedandshutbyangelsappointedforthatpurpose。
Howintenselyrealthiswayoflookingattheuniversewas，wefindinthewritingsofSt。Isidore，thegreatestleaderoforthodoxthoughtintheseventhcentury。Heaffirmsthatsincethefallofman，andonaccountofit，thesunandmoonshinewithafeeblerlight；butheprovesfromatextinIsaiahthatwhentheworldshallbefullyredeemedthese“greatlights“willshineagaininalltheirearlysplendour。But，despitetheseauthoritiesandtheirtheologicalfinalities，theevolutionofscientificthoughtcontinued，itsmaingermbeingthegeocentricdoctrine——thedoctrinethattheearthisthecentre，andthatthesunandplanetsrevolveaboutit。[40]
[40]ForpassagecitedfromClementofAlexandria，seeEnglishtranslation，Edinburgh，1869，vol。ii，p。368；alsotheMiscellanies，BookV，cap。vi。FortypicalstatementsbySt。
Augustine，seeDeGenesi，ii，cap。ix，inMigne，Patr。Lat。，tomexxiv，pp。270-271。ForOrigen’sview，seetheDePrincipiis，lib。i，cap。vii；seealsoLeopardi’sErroriPopulari，cap。xi；
alsoWilson’sSelectionsfromthePropheticScripturesinAnte-NiceneLibrary，p。132。ForPhiloJudaeus，seeOntheCreationoftheWorld，chaps。xviiiandxix，andOnMonarchy，chap。i。ForSt。Isidore，seetheDeOrdineCreaturarum，capv，inMigne，Patr。Lat。，lxxxiii，pp。923-925；also1000，1001。ForPhilastrius，seetheDeHoeresibus，chap。cxxxiii，inMigne，tomexii，p。1264。ForCosmas’sview，seehisTopographiaChristiana，inMontfaucon，Col。Nov。Patrum，ii，p。150，andelsewhereascitedinmychapteronGeography。
Thisdoctrinewasofthehighestrespectability：ithadbeendevelopedataveryearlyperiod，andhadbeenelaborateduntilitaccountedwellfortheapparentmovementsoftheheavenlybodies；itsfinalname，“Ptolemaictheory。”carriedweight；
and，havingthuscomefromantiquityintotheChristianworld，St。ClementofAlexandriademonstratedthatthealtarintheJewishtabernaclewas“asymboloftheearthplacedinthemiddleoftheuniverse“：nothingmorewasneeded；thegeocentrictheorywasfullyadoptedbytheChurchanduniversallyheldtoagreewiththeletterandspiritofScripture。[41]
[41]Astotherespectibilityofthegeocentrictheory，etc。，seeGrote’sPlato，vol。iii，p。257；alsoSirG。C。Lewis’sAstronomyoftheAncients，chap。iii，sec。1，foraverythoughtfulstatementofPlato’sview，anddifferingfromancientstatements。
Forplausibleelaborationofit，andforsupposedagreementoftheScripturewithit，seeFromundus，Anti-Aristarchus，Antwerp，1631；alsoMelanchthon’sInitiaDoctrinaePhysicae。Foranadmirablestatementofthetheologicalviewofthegeocentrictheory，antipodes，etc。，seeEicken，GeschichteundSystemdermittelalterlichenWeltanschauung，pp。618etseq。
Wroughtintothisfoundation，andbaseduponit，therewasdevelopedintheMiddleAges，mainlyoutoffragmentsofChaldeanandotherearlytheoriespreservedintheHebrewScriptures，anewsacredsystemofastronomy，whichbecameoneofthegreattreasuresoftheuniversalChurch——thelastwordofrevelation。
Threegreatmenmainlyrearedthisstructure。FirstwastheunknownwhogavetotheworldthetreatisesascribedtoDionysiustheAreopagite。ItwasunhesitatinglybelievedthattheseweretheworkofSt。Paul’sAthenianconvert，andthereforevirtuallyofSt。Paulhimself。Thoughnowknowntobespurious，theywerethenconsideredatreasureofinspiration，andanemperoroftheEastsentthemtoanemperoroftheWestasthemostworthyofgifts。IntheninthcenturytheywerewidelycirculatedinwesternEurope，andbecameafruitfulsourceofthought，especiallyonthewholecelestialhierarchy。Thustheoldideasofastronomywerevastlydeveloped，andtheheavenlyhostswereclassedandnamedinaccordancewithindicationsscatteredthroughthesacredScriptures。
ThenextofthesethreegreattheologianswasPeterLombard，professorattheUniversityofParis。AboutthemiddleofthetwelfthcenturyhegaveforthhiscollectionofSentences，orStatementsbytheFathers，andthisremaineduntiltheendoftheMiddleAgestheuniversalmanualoftheology。Initwasespeciallydevelopedthetheologicalviewofman’srelationtotheuniverse。Theauthortellstheworld：“JustasmanismadeforthesakeofGod——thatis，thathemayserveHim，——sotheuniverseismadeforthesakeofman——thatis，thatitmayserveHIM；thereforeismanplacedatthemiddlepointoftheuniverse，thathemaybothserveandbeserved。”