THE SIMIAN ORIGIN OF MAN. 353 



whole material universe." ' To judge from his sub- 

 sequent writings, time has but confirmed him in this 

 view and afforded him opportunities of developing 

 and corroborating his argument. 



When Mivart's book first appeared it was se- 

 verely criticised by the Catholic press, both of the 

 Old and the New World, and its author was in 

 many instances denounced as a downright heretic. 

 Indeed, he was almost as roundly and as generally 

 berated, by a certain class of theologians, as was 

 Charles Darwin after the publication of his " Origin 

 of Species." In England, France and Germany the 

 denunciation of the daring biologist was particularly 

 vehement, and strenuous efforts were made to have 

 his work put on the Index. It was almost the uni- 

 versal opinion among theologians, that the proposi- 

 tion defended was heretical, and it was considered 

 only a matter of a short time until it would be 

 formally condemned. The book was forwarded to 

 Rome, but, contrary to the expectations of all who 

 were eagerly watching the course events would take, 

 the book was not condemned. Neither was its 

 author called upon to retract or modify the proposi- 

 tion which had been such an occasion of scandal. 

 Far from censuring the learned scientist, the pope, 

 Pius IX, made him a doctor of philosophy, and the 

 doctor's hat was conferred on him by no less a per- 

 sonage than Cardinal Manning himself.* 



1 Page 282. 



2 "My 'Genesis of Species,'" writes Mivart, "was published 

 in 1870, and therein I did not hesitate to promulgate the idea 

 that Adam's body might have arisen from a non-human animal, 



E. 23 



