An old proverb ran °where there are three physicians there are two atheists.' This is not true so far as Catholic physicians are con cerned and especially not as regards great scientific physicians. The illustrations will serve to show at the same time the relations of the Church and medicine in the last two cen turies. Morganig °the father of modern pathol (Virchow), was a devout Catholic, one of whose sons became a Jesuit and all of his eight daughters nuns, with their father's full approbation. Laennec, the greatest of clinical physicians, was a devout Breton Catholic whose favorite devotion was the Rosary. Auenbrugger, the inventor of auscultation, Corrigan, of Corrigan's disease, Schwann, the founder of the cell doctrine, Johannes Muller, the father of modern German medicine, Claude Bernard and Pasteur, were not merely nominal, but thoroughly practical, Catholics. The same thing can be said of such men here in America as Sir William Hingston of Montreal, Prof. Thomas Dwight, Parkman professor of anat omy at Harvard for 25 years, Thomas Addis Emmet, pioneer in American gynecology, Hora tio Storer, a leader in the organization of hospi tal nursing and the reform of hospitals, John B. Murphy, our greatest surgeon in this genera tion, and many others who might be mentioned.
The biological sciences are usually supposed to have been the focus of the danger area for faith in modern times, and especially since the theory of evolution has gained ground the Church presumedly had to take an attitude of opposition. As a matter of fact many of the epoch-making workers in biology have been devout ecclesiastics. Experi mental and observational biology begins with Abbe Spallanzani (1729-99), whose work 'Regeneration' (1770) opened our era. The discoverer of the cell theory was Theodor Schwann, a Catholic from the Rhineland, who refused flattering offers of professorships in German universities because he wished to remain among his Catholic students in Belgium. Jo hannes Muller, the great German physiologist, to whom modern biology owes more than to any others, was a devout Catholic. So was Pasteur, the father of modern bacteriology. Claude Bernard, like many Frenchmen, neg lected religion in mid-life, but for some years before his death was a faithful Catholic. Men del, the revolutionizer of modern biology in all that relates to heredity, was an Augustinian monk, who, in the midst of his scientific work, was elected the abbot of his monastery and died in the odor of sanctity. Father Armand David, the missionary in China, probably de scribed more hitherto unknown species of ani mals and plants than any other in the last generation.
One of the greatest of modern entomologists is Father Wasmann, S.J. In archeology Catholic churchmen have rendered brilliant service: Abbe Breuil and Father Obermaier are the greatest living authorities on the cave man. The greatest name in Babylonian arche ology is Pere Scheil, the Dominican, who so promptly translated the Code of Hammureabi and has done so much else to put archeology in his debt. Far from the Church discouraging such scientific work by priests they are given opportunities for it, can readily command the aid of other ecclesiastics and, above all, are free from solicitude as to. worldly cafes while
carrying it on. The hierarchy and the religious orders to which they belong take pains to show them how proud they are of their achievements, and they themselves, far from having their faith disturbed by their science, are usually known for their devotion to their religious duties. As it is now it has always been. At times -there have been unfortunate misunder standings. These occur also at the present time. They are entirely personal. They not represent the policy of the Church. Occ sionally it seems as though a scientist is being hampered in his work by religious superiors, but thorough knowledge of the case always shows other factors at work.
Physical policy of the Church as to the physical sciences, apart from those mentioned, is clear from history. Many of the distinguished names in the scientific de velopment of electricity from Father Diwisch, Franklin's rival in bringing lightning from the clouds, and Father Beccaria, who, through Priestley's influence, was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of England, and Abbe Nollet, famous for his series of experiments on the effects of electricity on animals and plants, were Catholic priests. A great many of the distinguished pioneers in electricity were faith ful Catholics. To take only the names of the men after whom units in electricity are named we have Galvani, who asked to be buried in the Third Order of Saint Francis, to which he 'belonged; Volta and Ampere, both of them well known for their devout faith and practice; Coulomb, a good French Catholic, and Ohm, who was teaching at a Jesuit school when he made his great discovery of the law of resist ance. Meteorology, in the older time as well as now, and seismology in recent years, owe much of their development to the scientific sta tions established by the religious orders, espe cially the Jesuits in connection with their col leges in various parts of the world. These brought precious information from which laws were deduced. The Jesuits solved the secret of the severe storms of the Philippines and the United States government recognized their work.
Bacon, 'Commemoration Essays' (Oxford University Press 1915) ; Bertholet, 'Histoire de la chimie au moyen age' (Paris 1893) ; Buck, 'The Growth of Medicine' (Yale University Press 1917) ; Gar rison, 'History of Medicine' (Philadelphia 1913) 'Geschichte der Chirurgie' (Ber lin 1898) ; Humboldt, (Kosmos' - Meyer, 'His tory of Chemistry' (trans., London 1898) ; Neuberger, 'Geschichte der Medizin' (Stutt gart 1906-11) ; Nutting and Dock, 'History of Nursing' (New York 1907) ; Potamian and Walsh, 'Makers of Electricity' (New York 1909) ; Walsh, 'The Popes and Science) ( New York 1915) ; 'Old-Time Makers of Medicine' (New York 1911); 'Makers of Modern Medi cine' (New. York 1915); 'Catholic Churchmen in Science' (3 vols., Philadelphia 1906, 1909, 1917); 1A'hewell, 'History of the Inductive Sciences' ; Virchow, 'Gesammelte Abhandlun gen' (Berlin 1879).
Pam J. WALSH, Author of °The Catholic Churchmen in Sci ences; °The Popes and Sciences,' etc.