"Thus was developed a sacred science of creation and of the divine purpose in Nature, which went on developing from the fourth century to the nineteenth—from St Basil to St Isidore of Seville, from Isidore to Vincent of Beauvais, and from Vincent to Archdeacon Paley and the Bridgewater Treatises. Like all else in the Middle Ages, this sacred science was developed purely by theological methods. Neglecting the wonders which the dissection of the commonest animals would have afforded them, these naturalists attempted to throw light into Nature by ingenious use of scriptural texts, by research among the lives of the saints, and by the plentiful application of metaphysics. Hence even such strong men as St. Isidore of Seville treasured up accounts of the unicorn and dragons mentioned in the Scriptures and of the phoenix and basilisk in profane writings."
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https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Warfare_of_Science_with_Theology_in_Christendom
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A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom
A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom was written 1896 by Andrew Dickson White, and was the culmination of over thirty years of research and publication on the conflict thesis. His research was stimulated by difficulties in assisting Ezra Cornell in the establishment of Cornell University to be free from official religious affiliation. The following quotes are from the 1922 edition of Volume 1 and the 1920 edition of Volume 2. The "warfare" characterization has been di
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