Nomanwhohasreflectedmuchupontheannalsofhisracecan，withoutafeelingofawe，comeintothepresenceofsuchclearnessofinsightandboldnessofutterance，andthefirstthoughtofthereaderisthat，ofallmen，FrancisBaconisthemostfreefromtheunfortunatebiashecondemns；thathe，certainly，cannotbedeludedintotheoldpath。ButaswegoonthroughhismainworkwearesurprisedtofindthatthestrongarmofAquinashasbeenstretchedovertheinterveningages，andhaslaidholduponthismaster-thinkeroftheseventeenthcentury；foronlyafewchaptersbeyondthosecontainingthecitationsalreadymadewefindBaconalludingtotherecentvoyageofColumbus，andspeakingoftheprophecyofDanielregardingthelatterdays，that“manyshallruntoandfro，andknowledgebeincreased。”asclearlysignifying“that……thecircumnavigationoftheworldandtheincreaseofscienceshouldhappeninthesameage。”[279]
[279]SeetheNovumOrganon，translatedbytheRev。G。W。
Kitchin，Oxford，1855，chaps。lxvandlxxxix。
InhisgreatworkontheAdvancementofLearningthefirmgraspwhichthemethodshecondemnedhelduponhimisshownyetmoreclearly。Inthefirstbookofitheassertsthat“thatexcellentbookofJob，ifitberevolvedwithdiligence，willbefoundpregnantandswellingwithnaturalphilosophy。”andheendeavourstoshowthatinitthe“roundnessoftheearth。”the“fixingofthestars，everstandingatequaldistances。”the“depressionofthesouthernpole。”the“matterofgeneration。”and“matterofminerals“are“withgreatelegancynoted。”But，curiouslyenough，heusestosupportsomeofthesetruthstheverytextswhichthefathersoftheChurchusedtodestroythem，andthoseforwhichhefindsScripturewarrantmostclearlyaresuchassciencehassincedisproved。So，too，hesaysthatSolomonwasenabledinhisProverbs，“bydonationofGod，tocompileanaturalhistoryofallverdure。”[280]
[280]SeeBacon，AdvancementofLearning，editedbyW。AldisWright，London，1873，pp。47，48。Certainlynomorestrikingexamplesofthestrengthoftheevilwhichhehadallalongbeendenouncingcouldbeexhibitedthattheseinhisownwritings。
Nothingbetterillustratestheswayofthemediaevaltheology，orbetterexplainshisblindnesstothediscoveriesofCopernicusandtotheexperimentsofGilbert。ForaverycontemptuousstatementofLordBacon’sclaimtohispositionasaphilosopher，seeLange，GeschichtedesMaterialismus，Leipsic，1872，vol。i，p。
219。Foramorejuststatement，seeBrewster，LifeofSirIsaacNewton，London，1874，vol。ii，p。298。
Suchwasthestruggleofthephysicalsciencesingeneral。Letusnowlookbrieflyatonespecialexampleoutofmany，whichreveals，aswellasany，oneofthemaintheorieswhichpromptedtheologicalinterferencewiththem。
ItwilldoubtlessseemamazingtomanythatforagestheweightoftheologicalthoughtinChristendomwasthrownagainsttheideaofthesuffocatingpropertiesofcertaingases，andespeciallyofcarbonicacid。Althoughinantiquityweseemenformingarighttheoryofgasesinmines，wefindthat，earlyinthehistoryoftheChurch，St。ClementofAlexandriaputforththetheorythatthesegasesaremanifestationsofdiabolicaction，andthat，throughoutChristendom，suffocationincaverns，wells，andcellarswasattributedtothedirectactionofevilspirits。
Evidencesofthisviewaboundthroughthemedievalperiod，andduringtheReformationperiodagreatauthority，Agricola，oneofthemostearnestandtruthfulofinvestigators，stilladheredtothebeliefthatthesegasesinminesweremanifestationsofdevils，andhespecifiedtwoclasses——oneofmalignantimps，whoblowouttheminers’lamps，andtheotheroffriendlyimps，whosimplyteasetheworkmeninvariousways。HewentsofarastosaythatoneofthesespiritsintheSaxonmineofAnnabergdestroyedtwelveworkmenatoncebythepowerofhisbreath。
AttheendofthesixteenthcenturywefindawriteronmineralogycomplainingthattheminesinFranceandGermanyhadbeeninlargepartabandonedonaccountofthe“evilspiritsofmetalswhichhadtakenpossessionofthem。”
Evenaslateastheseventeenthcentury，VanHelmont，afterhehadbrokenawayfromalchemyandopenedoneofthegreatpathstochemistry——evenafterhehadannouncedtotheworldtheexistenceofvariousgasesandthemodeoftheirgeneration——wasnotstrongenoughtofreehimselffromtheologicbias；hestillinclinedtobelievethatthegaseshehaddiscovered，wereinsomesenselivingspirits，beneficentordiabolical。
Butatvarious。periodsglimpsesofthetruthhadbeengained。
Theancientviewhadnotbeenentirelyforgotten；andasfarbackasthefirstpartofthethirteenthcenturyAlberttheGreatsuggestedanaturalcauseinthepossibilityofexhalationsfrommineralscausinga“corruptionoftheair“；buthe，aswehaveseen，wasdrivenordraggedoffinto，theologicalstudies，andtheworldrelapsedintothetheologicalview。
Towardtheendofthefifteenthcenturytherehadcomeagreatgeniusladenwithimportanttruthsinchemistry，butforwhomtheworldwasnotready——BasilValentine。Hisdiscoveriesanticipatedmuchthathasbroughtfameandfortunetochemistssince，yetsofearfulofdangerwashethathisworkwascarefullyconcealed。Notuntilafterhisdeathwashistreatiseonalchemyfound，andeventhenitwasforalongtimenotknownwhereandwhenhelived。Thepapalbull，Spondentpariter，andthevariousprohibitionsitbred，forcingotheralchemiststoconcealtheirlaboratories，ledhimtolethimselfbeknownduringhislifeatErfurtsimplyasanapothecary，andtowaituntilafterhisdeathtomakearevelationoftruthwhichduringhislifetimemighthavecosthimdear。Amongthelegaciesofthisgreatestofthealchemistswasthedoctrinethattheairwhichasphyxiatesworkersinminesissimilartothatwhichisproducedbyfermentationofmalt，andarecommendationthat，inordertodriveawaytheevilandtopreventseriousaccidents，firesbelightedandjetsofsteamusedtoventilatethemines——stressbeingespeciallylaidupontheideathatthedangerintheminesisproducedby“exhalationsofmetals。”
ThankstomenlikeValentine，thisideaoftheinterferenceofSatanandhisminionswiththeminingindustrywasgraduallyweakened，andtheworkingofthedesertedmineswasresumed；yetevenatacomparativelyrecentperiodwefinditstilllingering，andamongleadingdivinesintheveryheartofProtestantGermany。In1715acellar-diggerhavingbeenstifledatJena，themedicalfacultyoftheuniversitydecidedthatthecausewasnotthedirectactionofthedevil，butadeadlygas。ThereuponProf。Loescher，oftheUniversityofWittenberg，enteredasolemnprotest，declaringthatthedecisionofthemedicalfacultywas“onlyaproofofthelamentablelicensewhichhassotakenpossessionofus，andwhich，ifwearenotearnestlyonourguard，willfinallyturnawayfromustheblessingofGod。”[281]
Butdenunciationsofthiskindcouldnotholdbackthelittlearmyofscience；inspiteofadverseinfluences，theevolutionofphysicsandchemistrywenton。Moreandmorethererosemenboldenoughtobreakawayfromtheologicalmethodsandstrongenoughtoresistecclesiasticalbribesandthreats。Asalchemyinitsfirstform，seekingforthephilosopher’sstoneandthetransmutationofmetals，hadgivenwaytoalchemyinitssecondform，seekingfortheelixiroflifeandremediesmoreorlessmagicalfordisease，sonowthelatteryieldedtothesearchfortruthastruth。Moreandmorethe“solemnlyconstitutedimpostors“wereresistedineveryfield。Agreatlineofphysicistsandchemistsbegantoappear。[282]
[281]ForLoescher’sprotest，seeJulianSchmidt，GeschichtedesgeistigenLebens，etc。，vol。i，p。319。
[282]ForthegeneralviewofnoxiousgasesasimpsofSatan，seeHoefer，HistoiredelaChimie，vol。i，p。350；vol。ii，p。48。
FortheworkofBlack，Priestley，Bergmann，andothers，seemainauthoritiesalreadycited，andespeciallytheadmirablepaperofDr。R。G。EcclesonTheEvolutionofChemistry，NewYork，D。
Appleton&Co。，1891。ForthetreatmentofPriesley，seeSpence’sEssays，London，1892；alsoRutt，LifeandCorrespondenceofPriestley，vol。ii，pp。115etseq。
II。
Justatthemiddleoftheseventeenthcentury，andattheverycentreofoppositiontophysicalscience，RobertBoylebeganthenewepochinchemistry。StronglyinfluencedbythewritingsofBaconandthediscoveriesofGalileo，hedevotedhimselftoscientificresearch，establishingatOxfordalaboratoryandputtingintoitachemistfromStrasburg。Forthishewasatoncebitterlyattacked。Inspiteofhishighposition，hisblamelesslife，hisliberalgiftstocharityandlearning，theOxfordpulpitwasespeciallysevereagainsthim，declaringthathisresearchesweredestroyingreligionandhisexperimentsunderminingtheuniversity。Publicoratorsdenouncedhim，thewitsridiculedhim，andhisassociatesinthepeeragewereindignantthatheshouldcondescendtopursuitssounworthy。ButBoylepressedon。Hisdiscoveriesopenednewpathsinvariousdirectionsandgaveanimpulsetoasuccessionofvigorousinvestigators。ThusbeganthelongseriesofdiscoveriesculminatingthoseofBlack，Bergmann，Cavendish，Priestley，andLavoisier，whousheredinthechemicalscienceofthenineteenthcentury。
Yetnoteventhenwithoutasorestruggleagainstunreason。Anditmustherebenoticedthatthisunreasonwasnotalltheological。Theunreasoningheterodoxwhenintrustedwithirresponsiblepowercanbeasshort-sightedandcruelastheunreasoningorthodox。Lavoisier，oneofthebestofourrace，notonlyagreatchemistbutatrueman，wassenttothescaffoldbytheParisianmob，ledbybigoted“liberals“andatheists，withthesneerthattherepublichadnoneedofsavants。AstoPriestley，whohaddevotedhislifetoscienceandtoeverygoodworkamonghisfellow-men，theBirminghammob，favouredbytheAnglicanclergymenwhoharanguedthemas“fellow-churchmen。”
wreckedhishouse，destroyedhislibrary，philosophicalinstruments，andpaperscontainingtheresultsoflongyearsofscientificresearch，drovehimintoexile，andwouldhavemurderedhimiftheycouldhavelaidtheirhandsuponhim。Norwasitentirelyhisdevotiontorationalliberty，norevenhisdisbeliefinthedoctrineoftheTrinity，whichbroughtonthiscatastrophe。Thattherewasadeepdistrustofhisscientificpursuits，wasevidentwhentheleadersofthemobtookpainstousehiselectricalapparatustosetfiretohispapers。
Still，thoughtheologicalmodesofthoughtcontinuedtosterilizemucheffortinchemistry，theoldinfluencewasmoreandmorethrownoff，andtruthsoughtmoreandmorefortruth’ssake。
“Blackmagic“withitsSatanicmachineryvanished，onlyreappearingoccasionallyamongmarvel-mongersandbelatedtheologians。”Whitemagic“becamelegerdemain。
Intheearlyyearsofthenineteenthcentury，physicalresearch，thoughitwentonwithever-increasingvigour，feltinvariouswaysthereactionwhichfollowedtheFrenchRevolution。ItwasnotmerelyundertheBourbonsandHapsburgsthatresistancewasoffered；eveninEnglandtheoldspiritlingeredlong。Aslateas1832，whentheBritishAssociationfortheAdvancementofSciencefirstvisitedOxford，nolessamiableamanthanJohnKeble——atthattimeapowerintheuniversity——condemnedindignantlytheconferringofhonorarydegreesupontheleadingmenthusbroughttogether。InaletterofthatdatetoDr。Puseyhecomplainedbitterly，tousehisownwords，that“theOxforddoctorshavetruckledsadlytothespiritofthetimesinreceivingthehotchpotchofphilosophersastheydid。”ItisinterestingtoknowthatamongthementhuscontemptuouslycharacterizedwereBrewster，Faraday，andDalton。
Norwasthisamereisolatedexhibitionoffeeling；itlastedmanyyears，andwasespeciallyshownonbothsidesoftheAtlanticinallhigherinstitutionsoflearningwheretheologywasdominant。Downtoaperiodwithinthememoryofmenstillinactivelife，studentsinthesciences，notonlyatOxfordandCambridgebutatHarvardandYale，wereconsideredadoubtfulifnotadistinctlyinferiorclass，intellectuallyandsocially——toberelegatedtodifferentinstructorsandbuildings，andtoreceivetheirdegreesonadifferentoccasionandwithdifferentceremoniesfromthoseappointedforstudentsinliterature。TotheStateUniversityofMichigan，amongthegreaterAmericaninstitutionsoflearningwhichhaveneverpossessedorbeenpossessedbyatheologicalseminary，belongsthehonouroffirstbreakingdownthiswallofseparation。
Butfromthemiddleyearsofthecenturychemicalscienceprogressedwithever-acceleratingforce，andtheworkofBunsen，Kirchhoff，Dalton，andFaradayhas，inthelastyearsofthecentury，leduptotheestablishmentofMendeleef’slaw，bywhichchemistryhasbecomepredictive，asastronomyhadbecomepredictivebythecalculationsofNewton，andbiologybythediscoveriesofDarwin。