ing
them into harmony with the doctrines of the Church; to condemn those
of which the principles are heretical and pernicious; and to grant the
peculiar privilege of perusing heretical books to certain persons.
This congregation, which is sometimes held in presence of the pope, but
generally in the palace of the Cardinal-president, has a more extensive
jurisdiction than that of the Inquisition, as it not only takes
cognizance of those books that contain doctrines contrary to the Roman
Catholic faith, but of those that concern the duties of morality, the
discipline of the Church, the interests of society. Its name is derived
from the alphabetical tables or indexes of heretical books and authors
composed by its appointment."

The Index Expurgatorius of prohibited books at first indicated
those works which it was unlawful to read; but, on this being found
insufficient, whatever was not permitted was prohibited--an audacious
attempt to prevent all knowledge, except such as suited the purposes of
the Church, from reaching the people.

The two rival divisions of the Christian Church--Protestant and
Catholic--were thus in accord on one point: to tolerate no science
except such as they considered to be agreeable to the Scriptures. The
Catholic, being in possession of centralized power, could make its
decisions respected wherever its sway was acknowledged, and enforce the
monitions of the Index Expurgatorius; the Protestant, whose influence
was diffused among many foci in different nations, could not act in such
a direct and resolute manner. Its mode of procedure was, by raising a
theological odium against an offender, to put him under a social ban--a
course perhaps not less effectual than the other.

As we have seen in former chapters, an antagonism between religion and
science had existed from the earliest days of Christianity. On every
occasion permitting its display it may be detected through successive
centuries. We witness it in the downfall of the Alexandrian Museum, in
the cases of Erigena and Wiclif, in the contemptuous rejection by the
heretics of the thirteenth century of the Scriptural account of the
Creation; but it was not until the epoch of Copernicus, Kepler, and
Galileo, that the efforts of Science to burst from the thraldom in which
she was fettered became uncontrollable. In all countries the political
power of the Church had greatly declined; her leading men perceived
that the cloudy foundation on which she