11th June 1864
Dear Sir.
I thank you warmly both for your letter & for the accompanying circular.2 As regards science, & indeed as regards human action in general, I always fall back upon the creed of Gamaliel—If it be of God—that is if it be true—I cannot overthrow it—if it be of men—that is if it be untrue—it will come to naught.3
As far as I am concerned therefore I desire that science should proceed as it has hitherto done, slowly & surely laying hold of the convictions of thinking men. I do not think the amount of opposition which it meets with in the world very detrimental to its health & progress; and I should prefer allowing it to bide in own natural time to making an organised declaration in its favour.
While therefore I sympathise with the spirit of liberality which characterises your present movement4 I should not feel disposed to take any part in it myself.
Believe me dear Sir | very faithfully yours | John Tyndall
Cambridge University Library MS.Add.5989:f.24, in Declaration of students of natural sciences
Capel Henry Berger: Capel Henry Berger (1839–68), a British chemist and paint manufacturer (W. H. Brock and R. M. Macleod, ‘The Scientists’ Declaration: Reflexions on Science and Belief in the Wake of “Essays and Reviews,” 1864–5’, British Journal for the History of Science, 9 (1976), pp. 39–66). Brock and Macleod label Berger as the main person who organised and coordinated the ‘declaration’ referred to here (p. 43; see n. 4). He died in 1868 by an accidental poisoning of carbonic acid used to alleviate tooth pain (‘Death of Mr. Capel Henry Berger, F.C.S.’, Chemical News and Journal of Industrial Science, 26 June 1868, p. 307).
your letter & for the accompanying circular: letter and circular missing. The circular was very likely a copy of the declaration.
the creed of Gamaliel… it will come to naught: in the Christian tradition, Gamaliel the Elder (also spelt Gamliel), is described in Acts of the Apostles, as a Pharisee and Doctor of Mosaic Law, and a member of the council (Acts 5: 34–40); he notably spoke against the execution of the Apostles, saying, ‘Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this council or work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it' (Acts 5: 38–39).
your present movement: on 16 April 1864, a declaration organised by Berger was signed by over two hundred ‘Students of the Natural Sciences’, expressing regret that scientific researches were being ‘perverted by some… into occasion for casting doubt upon the Truth and Authenticity of the Holy Scriptures’, and claiming that if scientific results appeared to contradict the Bible, investigators ought to ‘leave the two side by side till it shall please God to allow us to see the manner in which they may be reconciled’. The document was widely circulated to members of learned societies in Britain, eventually receiving 717 signatures. It was published as The Declaration of Students of the Natural and Physical Sciences (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1865). See W. H. Brock and R. M. Macleod, ‘The Scientists’ Declaration: Reflexions on Science and Belief in the Wake of “Essays and Reviews,” 1864–5’, British Journal for the History of Science, 9 (1976), pp. 39–66.
Please cite as “Tyndall2104,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on