THE SIMIAN ORIGIN OF MAN. 363 



Opinions of Other Writers. 



Not to mention a number of other Catholic 

 writers who might be named, Mivart's theory has an 

 able defender in the learned French Dominican, 

 Pere Leroy. His thesis in its simplest form may be 

 expressed as follows : It is probable that God, in 

 creating Adam, did not make use directly of the slime 

 of the earth, but that, by the sole infusion of a 

 rational soul, he transformed into man an anthro- 

 pomorphic animal which had been brought by Evo- 

 lution, under the guidance of Divine Providence, to 

 a point approximating humanity as nearly as possible. 

 The argument of the author is well sustained, and 

 his work, entitled " L'Evolution Restreinte des Es- 

 peces Organiques," besides having the imprimatur 

 of the provincial and censor librorum of his order, 

 has the cordial indorsement of such distinguished 

 authorities as the eminent Catholic geologist, Prof. 

 A. de Lapparent, and the well-known theologian, 

 Pere Monsabr. The latter, in a letter to Pere 

 Leroy, printed in the beginning of the volume, 



Scientific Congress at Brussels, in 1894. Canon Duilhe de Saint- 

 Projet, the noted French apologist, in referring to the theory of 

 the animal origin of man, remarked, with enlightened breadth of 

 view, " Ici, comme pour toutes les opinions libres ou tolerees au 

 point de vue de 1'orthodoxie, l'glise est le seul juge." See 

 Compte Rendu, Section d'Anthropologie, p. 10. 



As illustrative of the attitude of the anthropological section 

 of the same congress, the following resolution, adopted by 

 acclamation, is significant : " La section d'anthropologie du 

 troisieme Congres Scientifique des Catholiques de Bruxelles, 

 loue et encourage les etudes de ceux qui, sous le supreme magis- 

 tere de 1'figlise enseignante, s'adonnenta rechercher le role que 

 revolution pent avoir eu dans le concert des causes secondes 

 qui ont amene le monde physique a 1'etat actuel." Compte 

 Rendu, p. 298. 



