But a new epoch had come, and in a way least expected.
Perhaps the most notable effort in bringing it in was made by Dr.
Wiseman, afterward Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. His is one
of the best examples of a method which has been used with
considerable effect during the latest stages of nearly all the
controversies between theology and science. It consists in
stating, with much fairness, the conclusions of the scientific
authorities, and then in persuading one's self and trying to
persuade others that the Church has always accepted them and
accepts them now as "additional proofs of the truth of
Scripture." A little juggling with words, a little amalgamation
of texts, a little judicious suppression, a little imaginative
deduction, a little unctuous phrasing, and the thing is done. One
great service this eminent and kindly Catholic champion
undoubtedly rendered: by this acknowledgment, so widely spread in
his published lectures, he made it impossible for Catholics or
Protestants longer to resist the main conclusions of science.
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