had handed down to her western provinces, the repeated waves of barbarian hordes had swept away, as if in just recompense for the idolatry committed by their means, leaving the multitude sunk in ignorance and squalor. And so Christianity found them almost in heathen darkness, while the influence of the religion their new teachers brought them had necessarily been very gradual, and mainly in the direction of restraint, rather than in that of cultivation. But now art and science were to be united to the cross, to effect which the Crusades were commissioned to fetch these handmaids of the true and good from the East, in order, by that union, to enter upon a nobler mission than had ever been given them before. It was in this memorable epoch that the nations of the West emerged from their state of infancy, and, learning for the first time to aspire to the peaceful and salutary conquests of science and art, formed a social state constantly growing in purity and vigor. But for the Crusades, architecture might not have reared those splendid cathedrals, grand poems in stone, so numerous on the European continent; but for them, there might have been no magnificent galleries, hung with the sublimest scenes of earth and heaven; but for them, the marvelous poetic thoughts of modern times might have perished still-born in the brain, that now outrival the ancient inspiration. But for this grand impulse towards a nobler life then given to the rude dwellers of the North, that miracle of civilization, that wonderful contradiction of natural tendencies, the Dutch school of art, might never have had existence. What was said with reference to one of the last great leaders in this movement, may be justly applied to the Crusades themselves: "After having led out from their respective countries slaves and barbarians, they brought back to them subjects, citizens, and men."

Finally, Europe was destined, as we living in the enjoyment of the evidence can see, to be the great missionary power of the world, and the moulder of all continents. God seems to have chosen her as the great field in which to plant the seed of the kingdom, and from which its delightful, life-giving fruits should be distributed over the entire world. Asia uprooted the tree of life and cast it upon the torrent of her lusts, with utmost contempt for its blessings; but a hand of divine. compassion and wisdom guided it to Europe's ruder but more favorable clime, there to be rooted in firmer soil, whence gales of mercy should waft its leaves to farthest shores for the healing of all nations. But for the consummation of this it was needful that her systems. should be remodelled and compacted, and her spirit be regenerated. Christianity needed a fused, consolidated, national life upon which to

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act in order to produce its ideal of external superiority, so that the civilization of Christian nations might everywhere be the forerunner of the Gospel in its purely spiritual force. Now, as said before, the Crusades had the effect of thus compacting the nations of Europe, so that when the next great Christian movement came, fully ripe, it found strong nations upon which that could act in a body, and which it could oppose to the presumptuous and oppressive hierarchy. This, however, was still far ulterior. The more immediate effect of this solidification was to afford to the "mystery of iniquity" the opportunity of more fully developing its animus, the complete enslavement of the human mind, and to increase its corruption by the augmentation of its power. And there were two steps taken by the hierarchy that greatly contributed to this. It was during this period that the legatine power came into full force, and no one who knows anything of the history of Europe needs to be told what a perilous thing this became to her princes. Then, too, was established the office of Grand Vicar, by which a further blow was struck at the independence of the inferior clergy. But all this, in connection with every other manifestation of its ever deepening baseness, aided in leading the minds of many to see the whole Roman system in all the magnitude of its possible as well as existing corruption, and prepared them for the attempt to cast off its yoke with unutterable loathing. And thus, it is not too much to say, the Crusades also contributed in furthering the success of that other great movement, the Reformation of Luther, and through this to the glorious position which the church of Christ now occupies in the world.

To the question, What is the philosophy of the Crusades, why did they arise, what purpose did they serve? this, then, seems the answer: That in the great march of human events, they were commissioned by an all-wise Providence, as one of the preparatory means of purifying European Christianity from the corruptions which were defiling and weakening it; of imbuing it with the true idea of its mission; and of qualifying it ultimately, by contact with man in all his relations, for its great and mighty work, the conversion and exalted civilization of the whole world. One sentence of the farseeing Bard of Chios, almost Christian in its tone, sums up the philosophy of the entire movement: “Διὸς δ' ἐτελείετο βουλή.”

POTTSVILLE, PA.

J. A. METS.

EXEGETICAL STUDIES.

IN

Does the Bible Anticipate Modern Science ?

not a few recent books we find it affirmed that not only does modern science not contradict the Bible, but the latter announces scientific truths which were unknown till a few years ago; that is, that God revealed scientific truth to the inspired writers, the gradual discovery of which, by scientific processes, affords a distinct and strong argument for the divinity of the Scriptures.

This affirmation cannot be established aprioristically from the nature of revelation; it must be established, if at all, by the citation of the passages which are supposed to contain the anticipation of scientific discoveries, and in each case it must be shown (1) that the Scripture passage states the scientific fact, and (2) that this fact has been made known to the world by modern science.

Let us briefly examine some of the passages appealed to.

1. It is said that the Copernican theory is anticipated in Isaiah xl. 22; Job xxvi. 7, and other passages, where the "circle (n) of the earth" is mentioned, and the earth is described as "suspended on nothing." But the word "circle" more probably here means the arch of the heavens, and that the earth hung in empty space was held by the ancient Greeks and Romans. And what is the scientific teaching of 1 Samuel ii. 8, "The pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon them"? In Job xxvi. 7, "He stretcheth

out the north over the empty place," clearly does not teach that the northern quarter of the heavens is comparatively empty of stars, but is parallel with, and equivalent to, the second clause of the verse, "hangeth the earth upon nothing."

2. The modern discovery of the circulation of the blood is found by some in Genesis ix. 4, "The blood is the life." The connection between blood and life, however, is a matter of simplest observation.

3. The theory of trade-winds is supposed to be given in Ecclesiastes i. 6, 7; but here again the circling of winds is matter of common observation.

4. Deuteronomy xxxii. 2, "My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew," is declared to distinguish with scientific accuracy between rain which actually falls, and dew which is condensed on surfaces. Perhaps this difference is not beyond the reach of ordinary observation. But the Hebrew does not warrant this distinction in the processes; the verb "distil" means "to flow," and is applied to rivers and tears. The language is poetical.

5. The Psalmist's phrase in Psalm cxlvii. 16, "Snow like wool, refers not to the protective office of snow for vegetation, but to the wool-like appearance of the snow-flakes.

6. The annual motion of the sun on the horizon is not given in the first clause of Ecclesiastes i. 6; and, if it were, might be known without the aid of modern science.

7. Galileo, it is said, is anticipated in Job xxviii. 25, "To make the weight for the winds." The assertion of the verse is simply that God weighs and controls the wind as he does the water, the rain, and all other things.

8. The prophet Habakkuk is held to speak with botanical exactness when he says, Habakkuk iii. 17, "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom"; that is, the fig-tree has no blossom, or the fig is its blossom. It seems clear, however, that the prophet is here not speaking botanically.

9. It is claimed that Job xxxviii. 31, "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades?" anticipates (and therefore establishes) Madler's view that Alcyone is the central sun of the universe. Without venturing an opinion on Madler's supposition, it may safely be said that the passage contains nothing more than a poetical reference to the connection between the stars and the seasons.

10. The three classes of vegetables given in Genesis i. 12 are said to set forth the modern scientific classification, and so Moses anticipates Linnæus. But the division is such as might occur to any man; and the first of the Hebrew words used is so general that it

may include the second, and is held by some to include the second and third.

11. It is maintained that Genesis i. 1, 2, distinguishes between the creation of unorganized matter and of the heavens and the earth. This view depends on an interpretation that is, at best, very doubtful. It is probable that these verses describe the creation of the organized earth which is then prepared and furnished, as described in the following verses. The supposition that the third verse gives the modern view of light as distinct from the sun is set aside by the phenomenal character of the whole narrative, especially verses seven and sixteen.

If the explanations offered above are correct, we ought not to adduce anticipations in the Bible of modern science as a proof of its divine origin. Is it not better to say that there is nothing of science in it? Things are described as they appear to the eye, and no physical explanation of them is offered.

C. H. T.