No scientific student or observer of nature will have failed to notice that all phenomena around him are ever in a condition of progressive change, ever advancing from the simple to the complex, and ever conforming to specific laws. Just as the world in which we live has gradually developed from a condition of nebulous vapour to its present complex form, and just as man has evolved from a simple molecule of protoplasm by wonderful and manifold stages to his present commanding position, so have civilisation, trade, politics, arts, literature, and science all been slowly and gradually evolved from the primitive mind of prehistoric man. A continual change has ever been going on from the simple to the complex, from the homogeneous to the heterogeneous, from the imperfect to the more perfect. This continual progress has been in operation during all time, and will proceed in the future as of old, leaving the present day far behind in its march, as the present day has left behind it the past.

In considering the evolution of reform, or progress of civilisation, we are necessarily limited to a comparatively late period in man’s history, for many thousands of years had passed away, during which time man had gradually established himself as a social animal, before any trustworthy records appeared to throw light in future ages upon the primitive condition and habits of the human family. From the patient and persevering studies of scientific men, we are now in possession of a number of facts which lead us to the conclusion that primitive man first lived the life of a wild beast, inhabiting caves, and devoting all his energies to battling with the ferocious monsters around him. From this condition he developed into a more civilised being, becoming an agriculturalist, afterwards a manufacturer of stuffs and hardware, and still later a member of an organised state. These changes probably occupied hundreds of thousands of years, compared to which enormous lapse of time the period embraced between the Egypto-Greek or classic era and the present moment is a mere speck on the face of time. We are now tolerably well acquainted with the civilisation of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, which had existed for many centuries before the time of Aristotle, and which some four or five centuries before our era had commenced its entry upon the wide field of scientific development which followed the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great. These civilisations, which for centuries had been bound up with the vain superstitions connected with the legion of divinities of Olympus, of Memphis, and of Thebes, were gradually casting off the yoke of ignorance, and becoming more acquainted with the majesty of the operations of nature. Philosophers began to publicly declaim against the Olympian absurdities, and to ridicule the notion of miracles or prodigies; traditions began to be doubted and were fast being cast aside; Zeus and his court were ceasing to command respect; and the priests were often publicly insulted. The Ionian gods of Homer, as well as the Doric of Hesiod, appeared likely to be quickly committed to the darkness of oblivion. Powerful and influential resistance was, of course, opposed to the wave of progress and reason; the philosophers were branded as Atheists and their followers persecuted rigorously; Euripides was declared a heretic, and Æschylus narrowly escaped being stoned to death for blasphemy. So great was the opposition offered to the movement that the philosophers would undoubtedly have been silenced for some time to come had it not been for the sudden military expedition against the Persians. Alexander, with his 38,000 Macedonian soldiers, having crossed the Hellespont, B.C. 334, proceeded to subjugate the imperious monarch of Persia, and, after successfully conquering Asia Minor and Syria, completely defeated the Persian army led by King Darius, and took possession of the great city of Babylon.

This war engrossed the attention of all classes at home, so that the philosophers were enabled to prosecute their studies unmolested. It also in many other ways was a means of furthering the scientific efforts of that and of future ages. For the first time the Macedonians beheld the ebbing and flowing of the tides; they discovered and examined the Chaldean astronomical instruments, and learnt their calculations, extending over several thousand years; and they observed the Chaldean division of the zodiac into twelve portions, and of the day and night into twelve hours each. The particulars of these they sent home to Aristotle. What a field was here opened out for Greek speculation! The Chaldeans had detected the precession of the equinoxes, and were well acquainted with the causes of eclipses; they printed from a revolving roller, on which they had engraved cuneiform letters; they possessed magnifying instruments; and were, in fact, the tail-end of a mighty and advanced Accadian civilisation which had been in existence for thousands of years. Not satisfied with these achievements, the conquering Alexander next subdued the ancient monarchy of Egypt, learnt the great feat of the Pharaohs—viz., the circumnavigation of Africa by the Cape of Good Hope and the pillars of Hercules, and founded the celebrated city of Alexandria. He died at Babylon B.C. 323, after which his huge empire was divided among his generals; his half brother, Ptolemy Soter, who had been governor of Egypt during Alexander’s lifetime, taking possession of that country, and establishing his seat of government at the new city of Alexandria.

This period marks the commencement of European civilisation. Owing to the excellent government adopted by Ptolemy, large numbers of Arabians, Jews, and Greeks were induced to take up their residence at Alexandria, which quickly became the centre of learning and first commercial city of the whole known world, and the resort of people of all nationalities. The celebrated museum, which was commenced by Ptolemy Soter and completed by his successor, Ptolemy Philadelphus, contained a library, which grew so largely that 400,000 volumes were soon acquired by it, and a daughter library, containing 300,000 volumes, built at the Serapion, or Temple of Serapis. Books were freely bought, transcribers engaged, apartments set aside, at the king’s expense, for the residence of Greek philosophers and students, and four faculties established, for literature, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine, including natural history. There were also in connection with the university botanical and zoological gardens, an astronomical observatory, with spheres, globes, parallactic rules, etc., and an anatomical theatre for the dissection of dead bodies. It was here that Euclid produced his celebrated geometrical demonstrations, which are at this day used in our schools. Here also Archimedes proclaimed his method for the determination of specific gravities, and invented the theory of the lever. Here Eratosthenes daily taught that the earth was a globe, and determined the interval between the tropics. The earth was described as possessing imaginary poles, axis, equator, arctic and antarctic circles, equinoxial points, solstices, climate, etc. Hipparchus taught the precession of the equinoxes, catalogued the stars, and adopted lines of latitude and longitude in describing the situations of places. Thus science progressed under the wise and beneficent rule of the Ptolemies.

But a dark cloud was already looming in the distance, which was destined to develop into a fierce storm, the effect of whose fury was felt for centuries afterwards. Julius CÆsar, in B.C. 30, defeated Cleopatra, then Queen of Egypt, and added that country to the Roman dominions, the museum and larger library being entirely destroyed during the siege of Alexandria. From this time learning and science began to decline. Numerous religious sects arose around Alexandria, the old mythologies were revived, and the priests once more gained influence. The temples of Jupiter Ammon and Apollo in Egypt, of Adonis and Ies in Phoenicia, of Dionysos in Greece, and of Bacchus in Rome, were again filled to overflowing, and miracles were performed in abundance. In the short space of about fifty years all the work of the Ptolemies appeared to have been undone, and the world once more given up to darkness, superstition, and ignorance, the popular frenzy being kept up by a number of ascetic monks, called TherapeutÆ, who inhabited the hills around Alexandria, the desert and rocky plains of Arabia PetrÆa, and the barren hills of Syria, and travelled about the country, preaching in the open air to the ignorant and credulous multitudes. Matters progressed favourably for the revivalists for a short time; but there had shortly before occurred a circumstance which proved to be, for us, the most important event in the world’s history, and which considerably modified the Therapeut programme.

According to ancient records, it appears that a monk, of the ascetic order of Essenes, called Yahoshuah (Joshua) ben Pandira, was born in Syria, in the fourth year of the reign of Alexander JannÆus, or about B.C. 120; and, being educated in Egypt, under the supervision of Yahoshuah-ben Perachia, soon made himself specially obnoxious to the priests by his heterodox teaching. From the exceedingly scanty information to be obtained from the historical writers of the time, it appears that this young man had, in addition to his knowledge of Egyptian sorcery, a large acquaintance with the sublime and moral teachings of Confucius, for whose memory he appears to have had a profound respect. Observing the despicable manner in which the priests manipulated their sacred offices for their own advantage, robbing the poor and credulous people of their hard earnings and indulging in all kinds of immoralities, this young man boldly attacked these human parasites in the public places, calling them liars and hypocrites, preaching Socialistic and Communistic doctrines, and declaring that there was but one law necessary for man—viz., the golden rule of Confucius, “Do unto another,” etc. The wrath of the priests knew no bounds; a council was called to consider the matter, and the bold reformer was, it is said, sentenced to death for his noble efforts on behalf of suffering humanity. Whether or not this young man ever lived, or whether he was merely an ideal creation of the fanatical minds of these therapeut monks, suggested by necessity, it is impossible to say positively; for there are no really trustworthy records from which a safe conclusion can be deduced. It is, however, probable that such a man did actually exist, for it is not likely that, had he been but an idea, the fact of his having declared one law to be sufficient for man’s moral guidance would have been included among the fabulous performances afterwards attributed to him, as such a declaration was destructive of all priestcraft; besides which, we are told in the Babylonian Gemara to the Mishna that Yahoshua, “son of Pandira and Stada,” was stoned to death as a wizard in the city of Ludd, or Lydia, after which he was crucified on a tree on the eve of the Passover, about B.C. 70, which was the punishment generally inflicted on preachers of heresy and sedition. Whether he had an actual existence or was but an idea, it is an undisputed fact that his name has been, during the past eighteen hundred years, a household word, and that the whole face of European history has been moulded by the various sayings and doings fabulously attributed to him.

The reason of this is as follows. The therapeut monks of Alexandria, who flourished in the first and second centuries of our era, in attempting to revive the old mythological systems, and thus to deprive scientists and philosophers of their late rapidly-increasing power, were at a great disadvantage, owing to the length of time that had elapsed since the wonderful feats of the gods had been performed. They well understood the absolute necessity of keeping alive in the memories of the people the older miraculous events by the performance of fresh wonders in their own day; but the difficulty they had to encounter was in finding suitable individuals for the occasion. The Syrian Essene monk, who had infected a great number of the lower classes of society by his heretical and revolutionary teachings, which, at first sight, appeared likely to be damaging to the cause of the priesthood, was quickly requisitioned by these astute monks for the great purpose they had in view—viz., the reproduction on earth of the popular god Bacchus, the Greek Dionysos, and Phoenician Ies. They boldly declared that this man was, when on earth, an incarnate deity, and proceeded to attribute to him all the wonderful performances that had previously been imputed to the young sun-god Bacchus, such as miraculous birth from a virgin, resurrection from the grave three days after death, ascension to heaven, etc.; and, finally, gave him the Phoenician name of Bacchus, Ies, in its Greek form Iesous—Greek being, at that time, the prevailing language around Alexandria. The new religion gradually spread from Egypt over the European provinces of the Roman empire, and soon became such a great political power in the State that the incarnate fiend and Emperor Constantine, in A.D. 312, was induced to place himself at its head, and use its increasing influence to further his own wicked projects. The new Church, by this act, gained an enormous power; its priests became arrogant, the philosophers were even more persecuted than before, and learning was fast approaching its end. The only scientific work which the Church retained was the “Syntaxis” of Ptolemy, the Alexandrian astronomer, which taught that the earth was the fixed centre of the universe, around which all other heavenly bodies rotated. It also treated of the precession of the equinoxes, the milky way, and the distances of the various bodies in the heavens from the earth; but, as the geocentric theory was clearly taught in conformity with the Bible records and the religious convictions of the people, this system was gradually adopted by all classes of society, and became the recognised authority on astronomy.

A furious and important controversy about this time broke out between Arius, the leader of those who retained the original belief in the manhood of Jesus, and Athanasius, the leader of the Christians, who declared him to be divine, which culminated in the celebrated Council of Nicea, A.D. 325, at which it was decided that he was actually god. From this moment not only Arians, but all others who refused to believe in the god Jesus, were savagely persecuted, until, at last, science and learning received their death-blow by the destruction of the Serapion, under the order of the Emperor Theodosius, and the murder of Hypatia at Alexandria. This philosopher was in the habit of lecturing on mathematics at the university, and was so popular that the jealousy of Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, was aroused; she was seized by his fanatical followers as she was going to her lecture-room, stripped naked, dragged into a Christian church, and there brained by the club of Peter the Reader, in A.D. 414.

Justinian next ordered the teaching of philosophy to be discontinued at Athens, and closed all the schools. The sciences were made to conform to Genesis, which was declared to be the only true account of the origin of nature; and the earth was declared to be flat, the sky spreading over it like a dome—or, in the words of St. Augustine, like a skin—in which all the bodies moved to give light to man. Lactantius declared the globular theory to be heretical. “Is it possible,” he said, “that man can be so absurd as to believe that the crops and the trees on the other side of the earth hang downwards, and that men have their feet higher than their heads? If you ask them how they defend these monstrosities, how things do not fall away from the earth on that side, they reply that the nature of things is such that heavy bodies tend towards the centre, like the spokes of a wheel, while light bodies, as clouds, smoke, fire, tend from the centre to the heavens on all sides. Now, I am really at a loss what to say of those who, when they have once gone wrong, steadily persevere in their folly, and defend one absurd opinion by another.” St. Augustine also said that “it is impossible there should be inhabitants on the opposite side of the earth, since no such race is recorded by Scripture among the descendants of Adam;” and again: “In the day of judgment men on the other side of a globe could not see the Lord descending through the air.” Thus perished all the grand work effected by the Ptolemies. Science was annihilated, progress arrested, and the dark ages had commenced, which lasted until the time of Luther and Copernicus, in the commencement of the sixteenth century. Throughout this long and dreary period the most cruel enormities were practised upon unoffending people; the Church became gorged with wealth; the clergy gave themselves up to all kinds of lust and debauchery; relics were sold, dispensations bartered; and no one’s property or person was safe. Progress was, however, only arrested for a time.

About the year 570 Mohammed was born in Arabia, and in 610 he declared to the world that he had been commissioned by the angel Gabriel to preach the unity of god. He appears to have been a very remarkable religious enthusiast, who believed himself in his divine mission, and was eminently successful in his arduous undertaking. Idolatry was quickly abolished among the Arabs, and replaced by the religion of Mohammed. On the death of the prophet his successors as vigorously pursued the course he had entered upon. Ali, the general of Khalif Omar’s army, in A.D. 637, captured Jerusalem and conquered Syria in the name of the one true god and his prophet Mohammed. The Khalif rode from Medina to Jerusalem upon a red camel, and, as he entered the conquered city, issued the following proclamation: “In the name of the most merciful God. From Omar Ebno’l AlchitÂb to the inhabitants of Œlia. They shall be protected and secured, both in their lives and their fortunes; and their churches shall neither be pulled down nor made use of by any but themselves.” Sophronius, the chief Christian priest, having invited the conqueror to pray in a Christian church, received a polite refusal, Omar contenting himself with kneeling on the steps outside, so that his followers might not have any excuse for seizing the edifice or otherwise annoying the conquered Christians. The Khalif and his followers then pressed northwards, conquered the Roman Emperor Heraclius, sent a fleet to the Hellespont, defeated the Roman fleet, and laid siege to Constantinople, then called Byzantium. Egypt was next conquered, the remnants of the Serapion destroyed, and the whole of North Africa added to the dominions of the Khalif. Spain was then seized upon, and the entire country, as far north as the Loire, annexed to the growing empire. In 732 Charles Martel succeeded in stopping the Saracen foe at Poictiers and driving him back to Spain, thus relieving the anxiety of the Church, which was now becoming intense. In 846 a Mussulman fleet sailed up the Tiber, menaced Rome, and carried away St. Peter’s altar to Africa, the Christian empire being saved from further trouble only by the Mohammedan power being divided into three Khalifates.

According to the Koran, the earth was a square plane, on the edges of which rested the heavenly vault, divided into seven stories, in the topmost of which dwelt god in his omnipotence. This theory, however, was quickly given up by the learned Saracens, Al-Mamun declaring it to be unscientific, and asserting that the earth was globular, with a circumference of about 24,000 miles, which was not far wrong. In 661 the Khalif Moawyah encouraged this new teaching, and ordered the writings of the Greek philosophers to be translated into Arabic. In 753 the Khalif Almansar recommended the study of astronomy, medicine, and law at Bagdad; and his grandson, Haroum-al-Raschid, ordered that every mosque should have a school attached to it, and established a large library at Bagdad for the use of learned men. The sciences of chemistry and geometry were revived, and algebra invented by the Saracens. At Cairo the Fatimist Library became the wonder of the world; and the great library of the Spanish Khalifs had 600,000 vols., its catalogue alone occupying 44 vols. Gibbon tells us that they “diffused the taste and the rewards of science from Samarcand and Bokhara to Fez and Cordova, and that the vizier of a sultan consecrated a sum of two hundred thousand pieces of gold to the foundation of a college at Bagdad, which he endowed with an annual revenue of fifteen thousand dinars.” The first medical college in Europe was founded by the Saracens at Salerno in Italy, and the first astronomical observatory was erected by them at Seville in Spain. The streets in Spain were lighted, baths were erected, and total abstinence universally practised. Thus we see that, while the power of the Church was gradually steeping central Europe in darkness, ignorance, and wretchedness, progress was on the march again in Western Asia, Africa, and Spain. During this period, however, there were not wanting in Europe bold men who attempted a revival of philosophy; but these were quickly suppressed by the Church. In A.D. 800 there appeared a man in Britain called John Erigena, who, having read Aristotle’s works, adopted his views and attempted to reconcile them with the Christian religion. There were also many Christian divines who had crossed the Mediterranean to study philosophy secretly from Mohammedan doctors. Erigena declared that every living thing evolved from something that had previously lived; that each particular life-form was but a part of general existence or mundane soul; and that all life must be eventually re-absorbed in deity. The Church became infuriated and alarmed at this heretical barbarian, who taught the pernicious doctrines of emanation and absorption, and steps were immediately taken to suppress him.

During the period of quiet which followed a certain priest of Thuringia, Bernhardt by name, created a great sensation in central Europe by declaring that the end of the world was fast approaching; that the prophecy contained in the twentieth chapter of Revelation would be fulfilled on December 31st, in the year 1000—or possibly immediately before that time—when the devil would be unbound; and that unutterable calamity or annihilation would come upon the world. The clergy quickly followed suit, and as the fearful day approached every church and cloister in Europe resounded with the frantic appeals of the monks and priests for their flocks to prepare for the awful doom. Europe was turned upside down; business was suspended; kings, princes, senators, nobles, and peasants all alike left their occupations to seek refuge in some holy sanctuary against the coming event. As the dread moment approached there was not a church or convent in Europe that was not crowded to suffocation, the people imagining that, if they were found at the last moment in some consecrated place, their chances of being saved would be better. Hundreds and thousands of these poor wretches never had opportunity of obtaining the coveted shelter, having been bereft of their reason under the awful excitement of the hour. Amid prayer, faintings, hysterical screaming, and chanting of choirs—priests, monarchs, and beggars all huddled together anyhow—the clock struck twelve, and dead silence prevailed. Gradually the people roused themselves from their stupor to find themselves the victims of a cruel hoax. Strange to say, not any attempt was made to punish those who had produced such a melancholy state of things. Kings and nobles had endowed monasteries and churches with lands and wealth, which they believed would soon be of so little use to them, and became suddenly penitent, assuming the monk’s shirt of hair, and otherwise showing evidence of their piety and humility. William of the Long Sword, Duke of Normandy, Hugh Duke of Burgundy, Hugh Count of Arles, the Emperor Henry II., all renounced their wealth and position to become monks. Nobles had left lands and castles to the Church, the deeds being drawn up by monks and witnessed by prelates and sovereigns, as though no day of reckoning was at hand, the form being invariably as follows: “Seeing that the end of the world is now approaching, and that every day accumulates fresh miseries, I, Baron —— (or King ——), for the good of my soul, give to the monastery of ——,” etc. The Church, which before was poor, now became gorged with wealth, and the ignorance and credulity of the people secured the treasures to the now powerful prelates.

During this period of excitement and terror the number of pilgrimages to the Holy Land had enormously increased, so much so that the Saracen masters of Jerusalem, with the view of putting a stop to the now troublesome and inconvenient influx of Christians to the Holy City, commenced to persecute the pilgrims, thus creating a very great ill-feeling against themselves throughout Europe. Peter the Hermit, a monk of Amiens, took up the cause of his ill-treated brethren, and forthwith commenced to preach a holy war against the Saracens of Syria, Pope Urban II. and his priests promising absolution from all sin to those who took up arms against the Infidel. A vast multitude of rabble from all parts of Europe soon started on their march to the Holy Land, being divided into three large armies, one led by Walter the Penniless, another by Peter the Hermit, and the third by Gottschalk, a monk. The armies gave themselves up to unheard-of iniquities, spreading poverty and misery on all sides in their march, braining all who refused to give up their provisions and property to them, and, at last, arriving in Constantinople footsore and diseased, having left two-thirds of their comrades to die of starvation on the road. Crossing over into Syria, they met the Saracen foe, who quickly put an end to their sufferings by annihilating the whole lot. Seven other Crusades followed, one composed altogether of children, who, the priests declared, were to be the inheritors of the Holy Land, it being now apparent that full-grown men were too sinful to conquer the Infidel. The army of children was accordingly shipped off to destroy the Saracen foe, but never reached Palestine, the boys having been sold as slaves, and the girls drafted into Turkish harems. When, at last, Acre surrendered to the Crusaders under Richard Coeur de Lion, the leniency displayed by the Khalif Omar in his capture of Jerusalem in 637 was repaid by 2,700 Saracen hostages being brutally beheaded outside the city walls for the sport of the Christian soldiers. All this time Europe was in a constant state of agitation and alarm, which was further intensified by the revival in 1180 of the doctrines of John Erigena by the Saracen philosopher Averroes, who boldly preached them in Spain, making converts in all directions, among whom was the great Jewish writer, Maimonides, who had been held by the Jews in the highest esteem, and considered second only in wisdom to Moses.

Under the tolerant and liberal rule of the Saracens Averroism made great progress in Spain, where Mohammedans, Christians, and Jews were permitted to live peaceably together, and where philosophical theories were openly and fearlessly taught; but a day of reckoning was at hand. On the death of the Caliph Hakem, Almansor usurped the throne, and, in order to secure his position, entered into a secret treaty with the orthodox section of the Mohammedans, thus establishing a Church and State party of enormous power, which culminated in the expulsion of Averroes from Spain and the suppression of the study of philosophy. Thus were crushed again philosophy and progress in 1198. The Christians of Italy, Germany, and France followed suit, ordering all Averroists to be seized and punished, and shortly afterwards extending the order also to Jews and Mohammedans. From the accession of Almansor dates the downfall of the Mohammedan power in Spain and the commencement of the fearful persecutions of Infidels by the Christian Church, which has left such a dark blot upon the pages of European history.

The Saracen power in Europe was annihilated by Ferdinand and Isabella, and the Inquisition established by Pope Innocent IV. in 1243. For two hundred years it seemed as though philosophy and progress were indeed dead, so relentlessly did the Church persecute all heretics and denounce all scientific studies. But an occurrence took place in 1440 which completely turned the tide of events. In that year the art of printing was introduced into Europe by the Venetians, who had learnt it from the Chinese; and in 1469 it was carried to France, and from thence to all the great cities of the continent. At first the Church paid little heed to the innovation; but it soon became apparent that a dangerous medium had been introduced for intercommunication of the people and their governments, which must lessen the need and importance of a religious medium. Books were only allowed to be published under the supervision of the ecclesiastical authority, and heavy penalties inflicted upon all who attempted to circulate any heretical works. The writings of Averroes, Maimonides, and other heretics, were ordered to be burnt, the doctrines taught by them being declared blasphemous and subversive of all good government. The leading and most learned Jews and Mohammedans in Spain and Southern France were avowed Averroists, and did not shrink from preaching their doctrines in the public thoroughfares; and the infection was extending so rapidly that the Church feared that a great calamity would overtake the orthodox faith unless some steps were taken to put a stop to the heresy. The Inquisition, which had been found so effective in silencing heretics in France, was now utilised for dealing with the Jews and Moors. A cry was made in Castile by the orthodox Christians for the establishment of the Inquisition in Spain, which was immediately taken up by all haters of progress; and so great was the influence brought to bear by the Dominican monk and arch-fiend, Torquemada, upon the Queen Isabella that the Pope was petitioned for a bull, which was issued in 1478, for the detection and suppression of heresy in Spain. The Christian monster, Torquemada, proved himself a worthy agent of the Inquisition, burning at the stake in eighteen years about 10,220 persons of both sexes. Dispensations from the operation of the Inquisition were sold by the Pope to such as could afford to purchase them; and in 1492 all unbaptised Jews, old or young, were ordered by Torquemada to leave Spain within four months, and to leave behind them all those effects they could not sell in the meantime. These poor wretches swarmed in the roads in their thousands, rending the air with their piteous cries, the Christian Spaniards being forbidden to render assistance under penalty of torture. The consequence was that hundreds and thousands of men, women, and children died by the wayside from hunger, thirst, and fatigue. In 1502 a further order was issued at Seville for the Spaniards to drive out of their country every Infidel they could hear of, no matter what the nationality might be. The Moors were particularly indicated in the document, one clause stating that it was justifiable to kill Mohammedans on account of their shameless infidelity. The consequence was that, in a marvellously short space of time, there was not a Mohammedan to be found on the European side of the Straits of Gibraltar. In spite of the precautions made use of by the Christians for the prevention of the study of philosophy and the acquirement of knowledge, the news of the discovery of America by Columbus, in 1492, very soon found its way all over Europe, producing the most intense sensation, for the discovery came as a terrific blow to the Church and its inspired Bible. To make matters worse, in 1522 Magellan sailed completely round the world, thus demonstrating conclusively that the earth was a globe.

Matters appeared to be going wrong with the Church, in spite of the recent bloody triumphs of the Inquisition; and the clergy and laity were not slow to notice the turn events were taking. Martin Luther, a young Augustinian monk, in particular, took advantage of the unsettled state of the mind of Europe to make a furious onslaught against the Pope and the Church. Having been told by Cajetan that he must “believe that one single drop of Christ’s blood is sufficient to redeem the whole human race, and the remaining quantity that was shed in the garden and on the cross was left as a legacy to the Pope, to be a treasure from which indulgences were to be drawn,” this young priest declared he never would accept such a doctrine, and commenced forthwith to preach openly against the sale of indulgences, declaring that the Church must stand or fall on the Bible, which taught no such doctrine. The orthodox clergy, on the contrary, declared that the Bible derived its authority from the Church, and not the Church from the Bible, and demanded that Luther should be arrested for heresy. In 1520 the Pope excommunicated the bold monk, who, in return, defiantly burnt the Papal bull, for which he was ordered to appear before the Imperial Diet at Worms, when he deliberately refused to retract. The views of the reformer quickly spread through Switzerland and Germany, Pope Leo thundering forth his anathemas upon all who joined the dangerous movement, until, at length, after many bloody wars and horrible massacres, such as the slaughter of the Huguenots, etc., the Reformation was firmly established, and the Bible became, to the Reformed Church, the only guide to morals and duty. At first, the Pope sullenly submitted to what appeared to be the inevitable; but soon it became apparent that, in order to keep any authority at all over the people, some plan would have to be adopted to curtail the growing influence of the Reformed Church. Accordingly, Pope Paul III., in 1540, established the Society of Jesus, the members of which order were sent abroad all over Europe for the purpose of secretly undermining the influence of the Reformers. Three years afterwards, as if to counteract the evil designs of the Jesuits, there appeared on the scene the celebrated work of Copernicus, which was destined for ever to demolish the geocentric theory of Ptolemy, and to establish the heliocentric philosophy, which taught that the sun was the centre of our system, and that all the planets, including our earth, revolved in regular order round it, and which, of course, called forth a volley of abuse from the Vatican, the theory being declared heretical and its author anathematised. The effect of all this was to cause quite a revolution in thought among the learned of Europe, which gave rise to another schism in the Church, departure being this time from the ranks of the Reformers.

Arianism was once more revived by a number of people, who maintained that the doctrine of the Trinity was un-Scriptural, and that Jesus was but a man like themselves, though endowed with great authority from god. The orthodox and reformed Churches both alike were alarmed at this turn of events, and co-operated to suppress the new heresy, denouncing all philosophical studies, and branding the Unitarians as Infidels. The upshot was that Servetus was burnt to death at the stake by the order of the Trinitarian Calvin, and a check was thereby given to the propagation of the Arian doctrines. It is satisfactory to note that a Unitarian College now stands upon the very spot where Servetus was murdered.

Again progress was arrested, and this time it seemed as though a mortal blow had been dealt at all acquirement of knowledge, for shortly afterwards, in 1559, Pope Paul IV. established the Congregation of the Index Expurgatorius for the purpose of examining all books and manuscripts intended for publication, and of deciding whether the people should read them. The usual counterpoise, however, quickly made its appearance, proving once more that progress cannot be arrested for long.

In 1563 the first newspaper was produced in Venice, which again set the ball of intellect rolling along, never more to be stopped by priest or prince. The new Copernican philosophy was now accepted by many learned men, among whom even were some of the priesthood. Giordano Bruno, an Italian Dominican monk, among others, embraced these truths, and was not afraid to openly teach them, for which daring act he was soon obliged to seek refuge in Switzerland, where he prosecuted his studies for some time in peace. The fiends of the Inquisition, however, soon discovered his whereabouts and drove him into France, then into England, and then back to Germany; in the end arresting him at Venice. He was taken thence to Rome, publicly accused of teaching the plurality of worlds, and burnt at the stake by the Inquisition in 1600. Eighteen years after the murder of this noble Italian, Kepler, of WÜrtemberg, published his “Epitome of the Copernican System,” in which he demonstrated for the first time that all the heavenly bodies are bound in their courses by various laws. This work, like those of Copernicus and Bruno, was prohibited by the Congregation of the Index Purgatorius, and Kepler himself declared a dangerous infidel. Still, in spite of the fury of the priesthood, Catholic and Reformer alike, the study of the sciences made rapid strides, and in 1632 the venerable Galileo published his “System of the World,” in which he maintained the accuracy of the Copernican theory. For this daring disregard of the Church’s warnings he was summoned to Rome and brought before the Inquisition, accused of having taught that the earth moves round the sun. The poor old man was compelled to kneel on the floor of the court, place his hand on the Bible, and recant, after which he was incarcerated in the prison of the Inquisition, where, ten years afterwards, he died. Still science progressed, and was considerably aided by the rapid increase in the number of newspapers throughout Europe. In 1631 the French Gazette was established, and, soon after, newspapers appeared in all important cities, much to the discomfiture of the Church, whose power was now more seriously imperilled than ever. Confidence was gradually becoming established, and Descartes dared, in 1680, to make an attempt to analyse the mind, declaring that the necessity of universal doubt was the only starting-point of all true philosophy. He was followed, six years later, by Newton, who published his “Principia,” in which he demonstrated the grand truth which has immortalised his name—viz., that all bodies attract each other with forces jointly proportionate to their masses, varying universally as the squares of their distances. Thus was established the great law of universal gravitation, which marks an epoch in the intellectual development of man. Owing to the constantly-recurring feuds between the Lutherans, Calvinists, and Catholics, this great discovery passed for a while almost unnoticed; but it soon became apparent that the final blow had been given to the old theory of divine intervention in the movements of the universe, and that learned men of all countries were rapidly embracing the Newtonian theory of irreversible laws.

It was, however, now too late for the Church to interfere, for all classes were quickly becoming impressed with the grand theory of gravitation, which was destined for ever to remain the most wonderful discovery of man; and, although the clergy still continued to anathematise all scholars and scientists, the study of nature was pursued with rapidly-increasing enthusiasm, as though to make up for lost time. In 1690 Locke, the physician and philosopher, published his “Essay on the Human Understanding,” in which he declared all human knowledge to be the result of experience, thus entirely upsetting the old theory of intuition. Twenty years later Leibnitz published his work entitled “TheodicÉe,” in which he endeavoured to solve the difficult problem of existence of evil in the world under the moral government of Deity. These two rival philosophers soon became the leaders of philosophic thought in their respective countries; but barely thirty years had passed away before an iconoclast appeared, in the person of David Hume, who cut away the ground ruthlessly from beneath their feet. His “Treatise on Human Nature,” published in 1739, upset all the philosophical systems of the past, replacing them by the great theory of causation, which was soon accepted by every philosopher and scientist. Kant followed in 1781 with his “Critique of Pure Reason,” in which he submitted matter to analysis, and declared it to be possessed of inherent force.

The other sciences were also joining in the march of progress. Chemistry was fast becoming a settled science; Priestley’s discovery of oxygen, in 1774, had created a great sensation; Cavendish shortly afterwards, in 1783, discovered the constitution of water; and Lavoisier, in 1789, summarised the combined researches of these two chemists and himself in his “Elements of Chemistry,” which at once was recognised as the standard work on the subject. Astronomy had, since Newton’s discovery of gravitation, assumed a more settled condition, but was destined to further modification by the enunciation of the nebular hypothesis by Laplace, who commenced to publish his bulky work, “ Mecanique Celeste,” in 1799.

The nineteenth century opened with progress, as it were, on the gallop. In 1804 the first locomotive engine was started in England, at the same time that the first screw steamer was run at New York. It is needless to enumerate all the inventions of scientific men during the century, which are so well known to every one. Suffice it to say that, in a marvellously short space of time, the whole face of Europe has been changed. Railways cross each other at all points, like a huge network; telegraph wires link together as one place all important centres of population; public buildings are protected from nature’s freaks by lightning conductors; lighthouses dot the whole length of our coasts; the penny postage conveys our thoughts to and fro throughout the length and breadth of the land; a free press ventilates our grievances and enlightens our minds; hospitals and dispensaries minister to the sick and maimed wherever we go; and the Habeas Corpus Act endows each well-disposed individual with freedom and liberty. What a metamorphosis to be effected in so short a time!

The lesson we learn from such a cursory glance as this necessarily is at the intellectual progress of Europe during the last two thousand years is full of the deepest meaning. We cannot help being struck by the dogged manner in which the Christian religion has opposed all progress, ruthlessly murdering in cold blood any who dared to suggest that the now-established and universally-accepted theories might possibly possess some little of the truth. Every new scientific truth or discovery has been denounced by the Church, every great benefactor to the human race persecuted and hunted to death by the sleuth-hounds of bigotry and intolerance, and every European war or massacre hatched out of religious differences. To this very day the Church, though robbed of all its old power to inflict evil and misery, persists in its denunciation of all scientific discoveries; and not one of the numerous sects which at present divide the Christian Church is exempt from this charge. Hegel, Bunsen, John Stuart Mill, RÉnan, Huxley, Darwin, Tyndall, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Carpenter, Herbert Spencer, Emerson, Haeckel, Schopenhauer, Victor Hugo, and, in short, all the leaders of thought of our century, have incurred the bitter hostility of the various Christian sects; and yet what a heirloom the works of these men form for the coming generation!

The discovery of the power of chloroform and ether to relieve pain was denounced by the Church because it was proposed to apply it to the relief of the agony of childbirth, the natural inheritance of woman under the divine curse of Eden; the abolition of slavery was also opposed by these human parasites because the practice was ordered in the Bible; and it is well known how the priests of the Church utilised for their own purposes those abominable texts of the Old Testament, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” and “Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his own cause.”

The Middle Ages bear attestation to the fidelity of the priesthood to their sacred oracles. Have not two honest citizens of London quite lately undergone one whole year’s imprisonment for the grave sin of ridiculing the notion of the Hebrew and Christian gods being other than creations of man’s imagination? This very lecture will probably be the means of bringing down the wrath of the priesthood—State Church and Nonconformist alike—upon its author. And why? Are the facts untrue? Just the reverse. The writer, historian, or pseudo-scientist who writes volumes of falsehoods for the purpose of propping up for a short time longer priestcraft and tyranny will assuredly fare well at the hands of these insinuating gentlemen of the cloth; but let the man who dares to write the honest, unvarnished truth beware! His fair name, his business, and his social and family ties will be undermined and destroyed in an incredibly short space of time. All honor, therefore, be given to those brave ones who have dared to stand before the world and speak out the truth in the cause of humanity! They have done their share in helping forward the march of intellect, in stifling superstition, and in uprooting ignorance. The state of Europe to-day, as compared with its condition two thousand years since, is overwhelming evidence of the continual progress of civilization, which, in spite of the opposition from its old enemy, the Church, in the past and, to a limited extent, in the present, has proved to the world that it must, of necessity, continue for all time as one of the great and immutable laws of Nature.

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GENESIS I. 1, according to authorised Hebrew version, with final letters, but without vowel points and breathings.

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“In the beginning the ram (or lamb)-sun-gods (or the good gods) renovated (reorganized or re-started) the heavens and the earth.”

This refers to the commencement of the Persian new-year, at the vernal equinox, Aries, the ram or lamb.

GENESIS I. 1, according to the Samaritan Pentateuch, transcribed into ante-Masoretic, or original Hebrew, as written before the invention of the five final letters.

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“In the beginning the goat renovated the heavens and the earth.”

This refers to the commencement of the Egyptian new-year, at the winter solstice, Capricornus, the goat.

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Fac Simile of fragmentary MS. of sixth century (Luke XX.9.10.), written in Greek and partially
covered with Syrian writing of 10^th century.
Copied from “Secular Review,” of March 27 1886.

Small fragment from John’s Gospel, taken from the Cotton Manuscript.

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