St. George Jackson Mivart (30 November 1827 – 1 April 1900) was an English

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

. He is famous for starting as an ardent believer in

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Cha ...

who later became one of its fiercest critics. Mivart attempted to reconcile Darwin's theory of evolution with the beliefs of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and finished by being condemned by both. His opposition to the central role of natural selection, his idea that the soul is created by God, and that evolutionism is not unattainable with the idea of God, brought him in contrast with other evolutionist scientists. His theological theories on hell and on the compatibility between science and Catholicism led him to clash with the Catholic Church but importantly, ''"... the cause of Mivart’s problems was not his advocacy of evolutionism."''

Early life

Mivart was born in London. His parents were Evangelicals, and his father was the wealthy owner of Mivart's Hotel (now

Claridge's Claridge's is a 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. It has long-standing connections with royalty that have led to it sometimes being referred to as an "annexe to Buckingham Palace". Claridge's Hot ...

). His education started at the

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...

Grammar School, and continued at Harrow School and King's College London. Later he was instructed at St. Mary's, Oscott (1844–1846); he was

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

there on 11 May 1845. His conversion to Roman Catholicism automatically excluded him from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, then open only to members of the Anglican faith.

Appointments

In 1851 he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn, but he devoted himself to medical and biological studies. In 1862 he was appointed to the chair in zoology at St. Mary's Hospital medical school. In 1869 he became a fellow of the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

, and in 1874 he was appointed by Mgr Capel as Professor of Biology at the short-lived

Catholic University College, Kensington {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The Catholic University College was a short-lived nineteenth-century institution in Kensington, London. On 21 November 1873, Henry Edward Manning, Archbishop of Westminster, announced that the Roman Catholic Bishop ...

, a post he held until 1877. He was vice-president of the Zoological Society twice (1869 and 1882); Fellow of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

from 1862, secretary from 1874 to 1880, and vice-president in 1892. In 1867 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

for his work "On the Appendicular skeleton of the Primates". This work was communicated to the society by

Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stori ...

. Mivart was a member of the

Metaphysical Society The Metaphysical Society was a famous British debating society, founded in 1869 by James Knowles, who acted as Secretary. Membership was by invitation only, and was exclusively male. Many of its members were prominent clergymen, philosophers, and ...

from 1874. He received the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy from Pope

Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

in 1876, and of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Louvain in 1884.

Controversy

Mivart and Huxley

Mivart met Huxley in 1859, and was initially a close follower and a believer in natural selection. "Even as a professor he continued to attending Huxley's lectures ... they became close friends, dining together and arranging family visits." However, Huxley was always strongly anti-Catholic, and no doubt this attitude led to Mivart becoming disenchanted with him. Once disenchanted, he lost little time in reversing on the subject of natural selection. In short, he now believed that a higher teleology was compatible with evolution.

As to "natural selection", I accepted it completely and in fact my doubts & difficulties were first excited by attending Prof. Huxley's lectures at the School of Mines.

Mivart's alternative evolutionism

Even before Mivart's publication of ''On the Genesis of Species'' in 1871, he had published his new ideas in various periodicals. Huxley, Lankester, and

Flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

had come out against his ideas, although O'Leary (2007) reports that "their initial reaction to ''Genesis of Species'' was tolerant and impersonal". Though admitting

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

in general, Mivart denied its applicability to the human intellect (a view also taken by Wallace). His views as to the relationship between human nature and intellect and animal nature in general were given in his books ''Nature and Thought'' and ''Origin of Human Reason''. Mivart was someone Darwin took seriously; Darwin prepared a point-by-point refutation which appeared in the sixth edition of ''

Origin of Species ''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life''),The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by Me ...

''. One of Mivart's criticisms to which Darwin responded was a perceived failure of natural selection to explain the incipient stages of useful structures. Taking the eye as an example, Darwin was able to show many stages of light sensitivity and eye development in the animal kingdom as proof of the utility of less-than-perfect sight (argument by intermediate stages). Another was the supposed inability of natural selection to explain cases of

parallel evolution Parallel evolution is the similar development of a trait in distinct species that are not closely related, but share a similar original trait in response to similar evolutionary pressure.Zhang, J. and Kumar, S. 1997Detection of convergent and paral ...

, to which Huxley responded that the effect of natural selection in places with the same environment would tend to be similar. Mivart's hostile review of the '' Descent of Man'' in the ''

Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London publishing house John Murray. It ceased publication in 1967. It was referred to as ''The London Quarterly Review'', as reprinted by Leonard Scott, f ...

'' aroused fury from his former intimates, including Darwin himself, who described it as "grossly unfair". Mivart had quoted Darwin by shortening sentences and omitting words, causing Darwin to write: "Though he means to be honourable, he is so bigoted that he cannot act fairly." Relationships between the two men were near breaking point. In response, Darwin arranged for the reprinting of a pamphlet by

Chauncey Wright Chauncey Wright (September 10, 1830 – September 12, 1875) was an American philosopher and mathematician, who was an influential early defender of Darwinism and an important influence on American pragmatists such as Charles Sanders Peirce and Wi ...

, previously issued in the US, which severely criticised ''Genesis of Species''. Wright had, under Darwin's guidance, clarified what was, and was not, "Darwinism". The quarrel reached a climax when Mivart lost his usual composure over what should have been a minor incident: In 1873,

George Darwin Sir George Howard Darwin, (9 July 1845 – 7 December 1912) was an English barrister and astronomer, the second son and fifth child of Charles Darwin and Emma Darwin. Biography George H. Darwin was born at Down House, Kent, the fifth chi ...

(Charles' son) published a short article in ''

The Contemporary Review ''The Contemporary Review'' is a British biannual, formerly quarterly, magazine. It has an uncertain future as of 2013. History The magazine was established in 1866 by Alexander Strahan and a group of intellectuals anxious to promote intellig ...

'' suggesting that divorce should be made easier in cases of cruelty, abuse, or

mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

. Mivart reacted with horror, using phrases like "hideous sexual criminality" and "unrestrained licentiousness". Huxley wrote a counter-attack, and both Huxley and Darwin broke off connections with Mivart. Huxley blackballed Mivart's attempt to join the Athenaeum Club.

Mivart's banned theological articles

In 1892 and 1893 Mivart published three articles on "Happiness in Hell" in the journal ''Nineteenth Century''. Mivart proposed that the punishments of hell were not eternal, and that hell is compatible with some kind of happiness. These articles were placed on the ''

Index Expurgatorius The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidde ...

''. This was the first official action of the Catholic Church against Mivart but it ''"had nothing to do either with evolution or science."'' Later articles in January 1900 ("The Continuity of Catholicism" and "Scripture and Roman Catholicism" in ''The Nineteenth Century,'' and "Some Recent Catholic Apologists" in ''The Fortnightly Review'') led to his being placed under

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...

Cardinal Vaughan Herbert Alfred Henry Vaughan, MHM (15 April 1832 – 19 June 1903) was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1892 until his death in 1903, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1893. He was t ...

. These last articles were written, by Mivart's own admission, in a provocative tone so that the authorities would have to act. In them, reversing his previous stance, he challenged the authority of the Church, concluding that the Bible and Catholic doctrine could not be reconciled with science. :''"Without attempting to pass judgment on Mivart’s final stance, we can say that his attitude was not solely or principally determined by scientific motives and, more concretely, that evolution did not occupy a determining role in it."'' The report of the consultor of the Holy Office dealing with Mivart's case significantly does not mention evolution.

Death

Mivart died of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

in London on 1 April 1900. His late heterodox opinions were a bar to his burial in consecrated ground. However, Sir William Broadbent gave medical testimony that these could be explained by the gravity and nature of the diabetes from which he had suffered. After his death, a long final struggle took place between his friends and the church authorities. On 6 April 1900, his remains were deposited in catacomb Z beneath the Dissenters' Chapel, in the unconsecrated ground of the dissenters' section of the General Cemetery of All Souls, Kensal Green, in a public vault reserved for 'temporary deposits' (most of which were destined for repatriation to mainland Europe or the Americas). His remains were finally transferred to St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green, on 16 January 1904, for burial there on 18 January 1904.

Legacy

Mivart's name is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of lizard, ''

Emoia ''Emoia'' is a genus of skinks, lizards in the subfamily Eugongylinae. The genus ''Emoia'' belongs to a group of genera mainly from the southwestern Pacific-Australian region. These small skinks are commonly known as emoias or skinks. Species ...

mivarti''.

References

Other sources

* *

External links

* *
Works by St. George Jackson Mivart
at

Europeana Europeana is a web portal created by the European Union containing digitised cultural heritage collections of more than 3,000 institutions across Europe. It includes records of over 50 million cultural and scientific artefacts, brought togethe ...

Works by St. George Jackson Mivart
at

Hathi Trust HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...

Illustrations from ''A Monograph of the Lories,..''

Illustrations from ''Dogs, Jackals, Wolves, and Foxes''

Mivart bibliography

Chief works

''On the Genesis of Species,''
Macmillan & Co., 1871. * ''An Examination of Mr. Herbert Spencer's Psychology'' (Dublin 1874–80). * ''Lessons in Elementary Anatomy,'' 1873.
''The Common Frog,''
Macmillan and Co., 1874 st Pub. in Nature Series, 1873
''Man and Apes: An Exposition of Structural Resemblances and Differences Bearing upon Questions of Affinity and Origin.''
London: Robert Hardwicke, 1873.
''"One Point of Controversy with the Agnostics,"''
in Manning, ed. Essays on Religion and Literature, Third Series, Longmans, Green & Co., 1874. * ''Lessons from Nature,'' 1876.
''Contemporary Evolution,''
Henry S. King & Co., 1876. * ''Address to the Biological Section of the British Association,'' 1879.
''The Cat: An Introduction to the Study of Backboned Animals, Especially Mammals,''
John Murray, 1881.
''Nature and Thought: An Introduction to a Natural Philosophy,''
Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1882. * ''A Philosophical Catechism,'' 1884.
''On Truth: A Systematic Inquiry,''
Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1889.
''The Origin of Human Reason, Being an Examination of Recent Hypotheses Concerning it,''
Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1889.
''Dogs, Jackals, Wolves and Foxes: Monograph of the Canidæ,''
Taylor & Francis, for R.H. Porter and Dulau & Co., 1890. * ''Introduction Générale à l'Etude de la Nature: Cours Professé à l'Université de Louvain,'' Louvain and Paris, 1891.
''Birds: The Elements of Ornithology,''
Taylor & Francis, 1892.
''Essays and Criticisms,''Vol. 2
1892. * ''Types of Animal Life,'' 1893.
''Introduction to the Elements of Science.''
Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1894.
''The Helpful Science,''
Harper & Brothers, 1895. * ''Castle and Manor,'' 1900.
''A Monograph of the Lories, or Brush-tongued Parrots,''
H. R. Porter, 1896.
''The Groundwork of Science: A Study of Epistemology,''
John Murray, 1898.

Miscellany

''Under the Ban: A Correspondence between Dr. St. George Mivart and Herbert Cardinal Vaughan.''
New York: Tucker Publishing Co., 1900. * *

Selected articles

"Difficulties of the Theory of Natural Selection,"Part IIPart III
''The Month'', Vol. XI, 1869.
"On the Use of the Term 'Homology',"
''The Annals and Magazine of Natural History'', No. 32, 1870.
"Evolution and its Consequences – A Reply to Professor Huxley,"
''The Contemporary Review'', Vol. XIX, 1872.
"Contemporary Evolution,"Part IIPart III
''The Contemporary Review'', Vols. XXII/XXIII, 1873/1874.
"Instinct and Reason,"
''The Contemporary Review'', Vol. XXV, 1875.
"Likenesses: or Philosophical Anatomy,"
''The Contemporary Review'', Vol. XXVI, 1875.
"Natural History of the Kangaroo,"
''Popular Science Monthly'', Vol. VIII, 1876.
"What are Bats?,"
''Popular Science Monthly'', Vol. IX, 1876.
"Liberty of Conscience,"
''The Dublin Review'', Vol. XXVII, 1876.
"Emotion,"
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. III, 1878.
"The Meaning of Life,"
''The Nineteenth Century'', Vol. V, 1879.
"The Government of Life,"
''The Nineteenth Century'', Vol. V, 1879.
"On the Study of Natural History,"
''The Contemporary Review'', Vol. XXXV, 1879.
"What are Living Beings?,"
''The Contemporary Review'', Vol. XXXV, 1879.
"Animals and Plants,"
''The Contemporary Review'', Vol. XXXVI, 1879.
"The Forms and Colours of Living Creatures,"
''The Contemporary Review'', Vol. XXXVI, 1879.
"The Relation of Animals and Plants to Time,"
''The Contemporary Review'', Vol. XXXVII, 1880.
"The Geography of Living Creatures,"
''The Contemporary Review'', Vol. XXXVII, 1880.
"The Relation of Living Beings to One Another,"
''The Contemporary Review'', Vol. XXXVII, 1880.
"Notes on Spain,"Part IIPart III
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. V, 1880.
"The Soul and Evolution,"
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. VI, 1881.
"A Limit to Evolution,"
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. VIII, 1883. * "On Catholic Politics," ''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. XCIII, 1883.
"The Life and Times of Frederic II,"Part IIPart III
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. IX, 1884.
"Phases of Faith and Unfaith,"
''The Catholic World'', Vol. XXXIX, 1884.
"Ecclesiastical Survivals and Revivals,"
''The Catholic World'', Vol. XL, 1885.
"Organic Nature's Riddle,"Part II
''The Eclectic Magazine'', Vol. XLI, 1885.
"Modern Catholics and Scientific Freedom,"
''The Nineteenth Century'', Vol. XVIII, 1885.
"A Tour in Catholic Teutonia,"Part II
''The Catholic World'', Vol. XLII, 1886.
"What Are Animals and Plants?,"
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. XI, 1886.
"Notes on Colonial Zoology,"
''The Contemporary Review'', Vol. LI, 1887.
"The Catholic Church and Biblical Criticism,"
''The Nineteenth Century'', Vol. XXII, 1887.
"Catholicity and Reason,"
''The Nineteenth Century'', Vol. XXII, 1887.
"The Future of Christianity,"
''The Forum,'' Vol. III, 1887.
"Laughter,"
''The Forum,'' Vol. III, 1887.
"On the Possibly Dual Origin of the Mammalia,"
''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London'', Vol. XLIII, 1888.
"Why Tastes Differ,"
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. XIII, 1888.
"Impressions of Life in Vienna,"
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. XIII, 1888.
"Sins of Belief and Sins of Unbelief,"
''The Nineteenth Century,'' Vol. XXIV, 1888.
"Darwin's Brilliant Fallacy,"
''The Forum,'' Vol. VII, 1889.
"Where Darwinism Fails,"
''The Forum,'' Vol. VII, 1889.
"Professing Themselves to be Wise, They Become Fools,"
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. XVI, 1891.
"The Foundations of Science,"
''Natural Science'', Vol. I, No. 7, 1892.
"Happiness in Hell,"
''The Nineteenth Century,'' Vol. XXXII, 1892.
"Catholicity in England Fifty Years Ago—A Retrospect,"Part IIPart III
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. XVII/XVIII, 1892/1893.
"Evolution in Professor Huxley,"
''The Nineteenth Century'', Vol. XXXIV, 1893.
"Christianity and Paganism,"
''The Nineteenth Century'', Vol. XXXIV, 1893.
"The Index and my Articles on Hell,"
''The Nineteenth Century'', Vol. XXXIV, 1893.
"L'Ancien Régime,"Part II
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. XVII/XVIII, 1893/1894.
"The Newest Darwinism,"
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. XIX, No. 76, 1894.
"The Evolution of Evolution,"
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. XX, 1895.
"Balfour's Philosophy. Part I.: Some Consequences of Belief,"
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. XXI, 1896.
"Balfour's Philosophy. Part II.: Some Reasons for Belief,"
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. XXI, 1896.
"What Makes a Species?,"
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. XXIII, 1898.
"Living Nature,"
''The American Catholic Quarterly Review'', Vol. XXIII, 1898.
"The Continuity of Catholicism,"
''The Nineteenth Century'', Vol. XLVII, 1900.
"Scripture and Roman Catholicism,"
''The Nineteenth Century'', Vol. XLVII, 1900. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mivart, St George Jackson 1827 births 1900 deaths People from Clapham People educated at Harrow School English Roman Catholics English biologists Charles Darwin Fellows of the Zoological Society of London Alumni of King's College London Alumni of St Mary's College, Oscott Converts to Roman Catholicism Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Members of Lincoln's Inn 19th-century British Roman Catholic theologians Catholic University College, Kensington