the water was caused by dense masses of minute insects. When news of this explanation reached the ears of the Protestant bishop he denounced this scientific discovery as a “Satanic Abyss.” “When God allows such a miracle to take place,” said he, “Satan endeavors, and so does his ungodly and worldly tools, to make it signify nothing.” Descartes, the founder of modern philosophy, and ranked among the foremost mathematicians of his day, yet, his constant dread of persecution from Protestantism led him steadily to veil his thoughts, and to suppress them when they threatened to interfere with theological beliefs. Leibnitz, the great thinker, who came so near to the discovery of evolution, Spinoza, and later Hume, Kepler, Kant, Newton and many others, which want of space prevents mention were likely to have done much more for science had not the theological atmosphere of the Christian churches been so unpropitious. The true story of Galileo, the monumental shame of Christianity, cannot be told without implicating the younger with the older church. The Reformation looked on complaisantly and approvingly while this crime was being committed. It was in complete accordance with its beliefs and methods. The Copernican system, on account of the adoption of which, Galileo was persecuted was as strenuously and bitterly denounced by Protestants as Catholics. Luther says “People gave ear to an upstart astrologer, who strove to show that the earth revolved, and not the sun and moon. This fool wishes to revise the whole system of astronomy, but sacred scripture tells us that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, and not the earth.” The recantation of this venerable scientist, worn out with imprisonment and sorrow, and in fear of torture and death, is as follows: “I Galileo, being in my seventieth year, being a prisoner on my knees before your eminences, having before my eyes the Holy Gospel, which I touch with my hands, abjure, curse and detest the error and the heresy of the movement of the earth.” As the sphericity of the earth was suggested by Aristotle, and its movement had been a matter of earnest discussion by theologians for ages, we see fit to transcribe here the argument of one of them, made a long time ago it is true, but nevertheless a fair sample of the theological methods of thought. It is copied from a book written by one Scipio Chiaramonti, and dedicated to Cardinal Barberini. “Animals which move have limbs and muscles, the earth has no limbs and muscles, therefore it does not move. It is angels who make Saturn, Jupiter, the Sun, etc., turn round. If the earth revolves it must also have an angel in the center to set it in motion; but only devils live there; it would therefore be a devil who would impart motion to the earth.” All branches of the Protestant church condemned the theory of the earth’s movement. Calvin asked, “Who will venture to place the authority of Copernicus above that of