for unostentatious Christian charity. With his religious belief no fault had ever been found. He was a canon of the church of Frauenberg, and over his grave had been written the most touching of Christian epitaphs.
Naturally, then, the people expected a religious service. All was understood to be arranged for it. The procession marched, to the church and waited. The hour passed, no priest appeared; none could be induced to appear. Kopernik, simple, charitable, pious, one of the noblest gifts of God to the service of religion as well as science, was still held to be a reprobate. Seven years after that, his book was still standing on the "Index of Books prohibited to Christians."[1]
Nor has this warfare against dead champions of science been carried on only by the older Church.
On the 10th of May, 1859, was buried Alexander von Humboldt. His labors were among the greatest glories of the century, and his funeral one of the most imposing that Berlin had ever seen: among those who honored themselves by their presence was the prince regent—the present emperor. But of the clergy it was observed that none were present save the officiating clergyman and a few regarded as unorthodox.[2]
Nor have attempts to renew the battle been wanting in these latter days. The attempt in the Church of England, in 1864, to fetter Science—which was brought to ridicule by Herschel, Bowring, and De Morgan; the Lutheran assemblage at Berlin, in 1868, to protest against "science falsely so called," in the midst of which stood Pastor Knak denouncing the Copernican theory; the "Syllabus," the greatest mistake of the Roman Church, are all examples of this.[3]
And now, what has been won by either party in this long and terrible war? The party which would subordinate the methods and aims of science to those of theology, though in general obedient to deep convictions, had given to Christianity a series of the worst blows it had ever received. They had made large numbers of the best men in Europe hate it. Why did Ricetto and Bruno and Vanini, when the crucifix was presented to them in their hours of martyrdom, turn from that blessed image with loathing?[4] Simply because Christianity had been made to them identical with the most horrible oppression of the mind.
Worse than that, the well-meaning defenders of the faith had
- ↑ Bertrand, "Fondateurs de l'Astron. Mod.," p. 61. Flammarion, "Vie de Copernic," chap. ix.
- ↑ Bruhns and Lassell, "Life of Humboldt," London, 1873, vol ii., p. 411.
- ↑ For the very amusing details of the English attempt, and of the way in which it was met, see De Morgan, "Paradoxes," p. 42. For Pastor Knak and his associates, see Revue des Deux Mondes, 1868.
- ↑ For a striking account, gathered from eye-witnesses, of this frightful scene at the execution of Bruno, see letter of Scioppius in appendix to vol. iv. of Libri, "Hist, des Mathématiques."
