138 THE WONDERFUL CENTURY. CHAP. xm. 



As an illustration of the state of scientific opinion at this 

 time, it may be mentioned that so great a man as Sir 

 John Herschel, at a scientific meeting in London, spoke 

 strongly against the book for its advocacy of so great a 

 scientific heresy as the Theory of Development. 



I well remember the excitement caused by the publi- 

 cation of the " Vestiges/' and the eagerness and delight 

 with which I read it. Although I saw that it really 

 offered no explanation of the process of change of 

 species, yet the view that the change was effected, not 

 through any unimaginable process, but through the 

 known laws and processes of reproduction, commended 

 itself to me as perfectly satisfactory, and as affording the 

 first step toward a more complete and explanatory 

 theory. It seems now a most amazing thing that even 

 to argue for this first step was accounted a heresy, and 

 was almost universally condemned as being opposed to 

 the teaching of both science and religion ! 



The book was, however, as great a success as, later on, 

 was Darwin's " Origin of Species." Four editions were 

 issued in the first seven months, and by 1860 it had 

 reached the eleventh edition, and about 24,000 copies 

 had been sold. It is certain that this work did great 

 service in familiarizing the reading public with the idea 

 of evolution, and thus preparing them for the more 

 complete and efficient theory laid before them by 

 Darwin. 



During the fifteen years succeeding the publication of 

 the " Vestiges " many naturalists expressed their belief 

 in the progressive development of organic forms; while 

 in 1852 Herbert Spencer published his essay contrast- 

 ing the theories of Creation and Development with such 



