IX- 1 ,

usi

WORKS BY DR. PYE SMITH.

In one Large Volume, 8vo, price 18s. hloth,
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MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF
JOHN PYE SMITH, D.D., LL.D., &c. By John Medway.
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THE CONGREGATIONAL LECTURE,
SIXTH SERIES.

SCRIPTURE AND GEOLOGY.
BY JOHN PYE SMITH, D.D.,' LL.D., &o.

THE RELATION

BETWEEN

THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

AND some parts op

GEOLOGICAL SCIENCE.

JOHN PYE SMITH, D.D., LL.D., F.E.S., & F.G.S.
DIVINITY TUTOR IN HOMEHTON COLLEGE;
HBMBER OF THE I'll ILOLOG IC AL, ETHNOLOGICAL, MICROSCOPICAL, AND PAL.3EOMTOLQGICAL SOCIETIES,
AMD HONORARY MEMBER OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF DEVON AND CORNWALL,
AND OF TEE -WASHINGTON U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOB THE
PROMOTION OF SCIENCE.

JiftI) lEBllion.

OvBkv av8piair(p XajSeiv tt.et£ov, ov xaptVao"0at ©et> o-efivoWepov, aKrjdeias. ,
Plutarch, de Is. et OHr.
" Than Truth, no greater blessing can man receive, or God bestow."

LONDON:
JACKSON AND WALFOKD,
18, ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD.
MDCCOLV.

There is a knowledge which creates doubts that nothing but a larger knowledge oan
satisfy; and he who stops in the difficulty will be perplexed and uncomfortable for
life. Mr. Sharon Turner.
Geology, in the magnitude and sublimity of the objects which it treats, undoubtedly
ranks, in the scale of the sciences, next to Astronomy. Sin John F. W. Herschel.
The conclusions of Geology have lent, in fact, a new evidence to revealed religion.
They have broken the arms ofthe sceptic ; and, when we ponder over the great events
which they proclaim, the mighty revolutions which they indicate, the wrecks of suc
cessive creations which they display, and the immeasurable cycles of their chronology
tho era of man shrinks into contracted dimensions ; his proudest and most ancient
dynasties wear the aspect of upstart and ephemeral groups; the fabrics of human
power, the gorgeous temple, the monumental bronze, the regal pyramid, sink into in
significance beside the mighty sarcophagi of the brutes that perish.
Quarterly Review, vol. lxx. p. 57.

CONTENTS.

LECTTJEE I.
Psalm cxi. 2. The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them
that have pleasure therein.
Object, design, utility, and importance of geological science. Requisites
and method of the study. Harmony of all science with the announce
ments of Revelation. Truth. Evidence. The world. The Supreme
Being. Aecountableness. Authority of Scripture. Necessity of ascer
taining its genuine sense. Danger of presumption. Citations from Chris
tian Philosophers  Page 1
LECTTJEE II.
Deuteeonomy xxxin. 13, 15, 16. Blessed of the Lord le his land; for
the precious things of heaven, for ' the dew, and for the deep that
coucheth beneath,  and for the chief things of the ancient mountains,
and for the precious things of. the lasting hills, and for the precious
things of the earth and the fulness thereof.
Change in the material universe, constant, but according to law. A
series of Propositions, describing the most general facts relating to the
crust of the earth. Internal condition. Pyrogenous rocks. Stratified
formations. Remains of creatures which once had life. Their distinct
periods, and areas. Separate creations. Uniformity of sequence. . 32
LECTTJEE III.
Romahs XI. 36. O/Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things:
to whom be glory for ever.
Recital of opinions which are by many assumed to be asserted or
implied in the Scriptures, but which are contrary to geological doctrines.
I. The recent creation of the world. .II. A previous universal chaos over
the earth. III. The creation of the heavenly bodies after that of the
earth. IV. The derivation of all vegetables and animals from one centre
of creation. V. That the inferior animals were not subject to death till
the fall ot man  68

Iv CONTENTS.

LECTTJEE IV.
Genesis vi. 17. -And behold I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon
the earth, to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life from under
heaven ; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
Continuation of apparent discrepancies between geological doctrines and
the testimony of Scripture, as generally understood. VI. Concerning the
deluge. The reason for that judicial infliction, in the righteous government
of God. The testimony of history and tradition. Common ascription of
geological phaenomena to the Deluge erroneous. . . . Page 90

LECTTJEE V.
2 Peter ii. 5. God spared not the old world, — bringing the flood upon
the world of the ungodly.
Continuation. More accurate and discriminating inquiry. Investigation
of the masses of rolled stony fragments which have been attributed to the
diluvial action. Those masses found to be of different character and age.
Effect of the investigation up*on the convictions of the most eminent geolo
gists. Evidence from phaenomena in Auvergne and Languedoc. The
quantity of water requisite for a deluge geographically universal. The
effect of such an addition to the bulk of the earth. The reception of
animals in the ark. Estimated number of the animal creation. Other
difficulties.  109

LECTTJEE VI.— PAET I.
1 Thessalonians v. 21. Prove all things: hold fast that which is
good.
Examinations of various methods which have been proposed for the re
moval of the difficulties and alleged contradiction, between Geology and
the Scriptures. I. Denial of any difficulty, by shutting the eyes to the
evidence of geological facts, and representing the inquiry as impious. 149

LECTTJEE VI.— PAET II.
II. Sacrificing the Mosaic records, as >uvil4slligible, or as being the
language of mythic poetry. III. Regarding the Mosaic six days as de
signed to represent indefinite periods. IV. Attributing stratification and
other geological phenomena to the interval between the Adamic creation
and the Deluge, and the action of the diluvial waters. , . 1 7c

CONTENTS. T
LECTTJEE VI.— PAET HI.
Examination continued of the Diluvial Theory. . . . Page 197

LECTTJEE VII.— PAET I.
Psalm xii. 6. The words of the Lord are pure words ; as silver tried in
a furnace of ihe earth, purified seven times.
The certain and infallible truth of all that is taught in the Holy Scrip
tures, when taken in its own genuine sense. Our duty to elicit that sense.
Induction and examination of the forms of language used in Scripture to
convey to man a knowledge of the nature and perfection God. The
gracious condescension and benefit of this method, for the religious instruc
tion of mankind. This character of the scriptural style displayed in the
descriptions of natural objects. General rule of interpretation hence de
rived. Prejudices of former interpreters, both Romanist and Protestant.
Galileo. Milton. Superior advantages of the Christian dispensation. 218

LECTTJEE VII.— PAET II.
Application of the principle established, to the interpretation of the nar
rative concerning the Creation. The independent position ofthe first sentence.
Astral creation. The subsequent description refers to a limited region of
the earth. The series of operations. The human creation. Death, before
the fall of man.  The same principle applied to the fact ofthe Deluge,
which is shown to have been universal as to the extent of the human popu
lation, but not geographically universal. — Concluding vindication of the
principle and its applications, as irrefutable, and absolutely necessary for
maintaining the honour of the word of God. . . . 243

LECTTJEE VIII.
Ecclesiastes xii. 13. Let us hear Ine conclusion of the whole matter ;
Fear God, and keep his commandments ; for this is the whole of man.
Religion the perfection of our nature. The duty of scientific studies
especially in a course of education. Exhortations to personal efforts for
improvement. Peculiar claims of Botany and Geology. The proper ac
companiments of scientific pursuits. Advantage to the comforts of life.
Moral uses. Responsibility to the just and holy God. Interest and
urgency of these considerations. The rational claims and attractions of
religion.  283

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.

A, referred to at pages 9 and 265.
_. Page
Dissertation on the Laws of Organized Natures involving the Neces
sity of Death ; and on Geological Studies in general . . .317
B, referred to at page 14.
On the Evidence derived from Astronomy to the Extent and Antiquity
of the Universe  329
B b, referred to at page 42.
On the Thickness of the Solid Crust of the Earth .... 334
C, referred to at page 54.
On the Number of Species in the earlier Fossiliferous Rocks . . 337
D, (page 62,) but intended lo apply to all the Propositions of
Lecture II.
Synoptic Table of the Stratified Formations  339
E, referred to at page 65.
Dissertation on the Varieties of the Human Species . . 347
F, referred to at pages 72 and 210.
Dissertation on the Evidence of a very high Antiquity of the Earth 360
G, referred to at pages 89 and 321.
On the Fossil Animacules . . , ago

CONTENTS. Vll
O g, referring to page 111. Page
On the Pebbles  . . 398
H, referred to at page 119.
On Ancient Glaciers, and their Effects  400
I, referred to at page 134.
Mr. Hartley's Account of Christian Piety in the Puy de Dome . 404
K, referred to at page 139.
On the Volcanic District of Auvergne  407
L, referred to at pages 148 and 267.
On the Longevity of Trees  408
M, referred to at page 201.
On Dr. George Young's Scriptural Geology j and on the Coal
Formations  415
N, referred to at page 209.
On the Comparison of the Egyptian and the Mosaic Cosmogonies . 423
0, referred to at page 209.
On some Passages in Mr. Lyell's Principles of Geology . . . 427
P, referred to al page 241.
Sentiments ofthe elder Rosenmiiller, Bishop Bird Sumner, and Dean
Conybeare, on the initial portion of the Book of Genesis . . 430
Q, referred to at page 243.
Professors Wiseman and Hitchcock, on the reference of the Mosaic
Records to Geological Truths  433
R, referred to at pages 249 and 259.
Dissertation on the Solution of Difficulties with respect to the
Mosaic Narrative, in reply to Observations by Professor Baden
Powell  435
S, referred to at pages 249 and 254.
On the Duty of these Investigations ; and in Vindication of Dean
Buckland .  <•>'

Vm CONTENTS.
T, referring to page 273 Page
On Mount Ararat  . 456
U, referred to at page 310.
The Geological Societv vindicated from Misrepresentation . . .456-

ADDENDA.

Quotations ftom Lamarck and Herder, on the meaning and use of the
term Nature. — Professor Agassiz on the Series of Animal Creatures
through the Strata  460
Lord Bacon's Prayer for the right use of Science, and its practical
connection with Revealed Religion  462
Index ...  463

PREFACE 10 the
EIEST EDITION.

The following Lectures were prepared and delivered by
the appointment of the Committee of the Congregational
Lecture, under some peculiarity of circumstances. The
appointment was unexpected, and the notice unavoidably
short. Several parts, therefore, and those referring to
subjects of the greatest importance, were treated in a
manner too brief, and, indeed, extemporaneously: but to
the kind and attentive audience the promise was given
that, if the publication should take place, the author would
supply those deficiencies. This he has endeavoured to do
partly by filling up the portions which, in the delivery,
were but sketched, and partly by adding Notes, both on
the immediate pages and in a Supplementary Appendix.
The reader will perceive that numerous citations are
introduced. Eor this no apology is requisite : and, in
deed, so richly interesting are the most of those passages,
that it would have been a wrong to the subject and to the
reader to have withheld them. Another circumstance
proves their importance, and even necessity. The facts
which are the basis of geological reasonings can be known
to the majority even of well-educated persons only by

X PEEEAC-E.
testimony ; as, in the greater number of instances, they are
to the author himself. To bring forwards, therefore, the
statements of the most competent authorities, in their own
words, is due to the right position of the subject and to
the satisfaction ofthe reader. Should it be objected, that
some of those citations contain reasonings and opinions,
besides statements of fact ; the reply is, that they are the
reasonings and opinions of men who thoroughly understood
the grounds upon which they are built; and that, there
fore, the inferences which such men have seen to be just,
are entitled to stand in the next line of authority to their
testimony as eye-witnesses and labourers in the great field.
It involves no disrespect to the multitude of pious and
intelligent persons, to say, that they cannot form an inde
pendent opinion upon many subjects in Natural Philosophy.
It is no dishonour to accept the conclusions of Newton
and his followers, though we confess ourselves unable to
read the Principia.
Homeeton College, October, 1839.

PREFACE
TO THB
FOTJETH EDITION.
As the requirement for the publication of these Lectures
arose from their having been delivered to an audience, at
the Congregational Library, I have not thought myself at
liberty to add or omit or change any part, paragraph, or
sentence, except in some two or three instances, not con
siderable, and of which in tbe passages an intimation is
given. But in the Appended Notes I have felt no restraint.
They have been increased in each of the subsequent edi
tions, with the view of placing my readers, as much as is
for me possible, in the advancing positions of geological
knowledge. The amount of this accumulation is now not
small ; for I have felt it my duty to verify the encomium
with which, on the publication of the third edition, I was
honoured by the Eev. De. "WiiewelI;, the Master of Trinity
College, Cambridge. He then wrote these words : " I per
ceive you have given it the interest which belonged to the
former editions, of making your readers acquainted with the
most recent geological discussions. On this account, it
cannot fail to be a general favourite."
Of those Notes peculiar to this edition, I have to regret
the not having, in due time, adopted a uniform mode of
designation. Some of them have a date, or imply a re
ference to time ; others are included in brackets ; and to
others, the words Fourth Edition are prefixed.
I should feel it not becoming to relate the expressions of
approbation with which this book has been favoured by
eminent men of science^ in our own country and in the
North American States ; or, what is a more exalted gratifi-

xii PBEEACE TO THE EOTJBTH EDITION.
cation, the testimonies of usefulness in relation to its
religious element. But it would be a failing to the great
cause for which I plead, if I did not avail myself of a com
munication which, to well-informed persons, will have the
appropriate interest in a very high degree. It is a part of
a letter with which Sie John Hebschel honoured me in
the summer of 1843.
"  Abstractedly, one might have thought that such

wild and ' vehement denunciations ' as those you cite from
* * * * and others, were hardly worth very serious handling.
Tet, in effect, I am disposed to regard it as doing good
service, not only to science, but to religion and moral feel
ing, to put down, as you have done, with a strong (though
not a cruel) hand, that sort of barking and yelping. There
cannot be two truths in contradiction to one another : and
a man must have a mind fitted neither for scientific nor for
religious truth, whose religion can be disturbed by geology,
or whose geology can be distorted from its character of an
inductive science, by a determination to accommodate its
results to preconceived interpretations of the Mosaic cos
mogony. " I should hope that, on this painful and troublesome
point, your work will prove final, and put an end, once and
for ever, to the sort of outcry in question ; or at least so
far crush it, that this and the next generation may be
allowed to pursue their geological researches in peace."
It is my duty to add, that these citations from private
letters are thus made public, with the kind assent of the
writers. J. P. S.
Homehton College, February 5, 1848.

ON THE RELATION

THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

AND SOME PARTS OF

GEOLOGICAL SCIENCE.

LECTTJEE I.
Psalm oxi. 2. The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them
that have pleasure therein.
Geology does so seek out the works of the Most High.
It has claims upon the regard of all cultivated and pious
minds. It leads us to study that which God has made our
earthly abode, in its present state, filled with monuments of
past conditions, and presages, I venture to think, of the
future. It leads us into some acquaintance with a magni
ficent part of the counsel of Jehovah's will, according to
which He worketh all things ; the machine of dependent
beings and subordinate causes, by which the Supreme Cause
accomplishes his purposes of wisdom and righteousness.
"We see those causes to be the same in their nature, and
similar in their mode of operation now, as in countless ages
past ; though differing through a wide range in the intensity
of their action and the form of their results.
Eain, rills, and rivers, aided by the electric and chemical
and mechanical agency of the atmosphere, are continually
wearing away the solid earth, transporting it into the
estuaries of the sea, and committing it to the currents
B

2 COMPEEHENSION AND DESIGN.
which spread it out upon the ocean-bed. There the spoils
of the land are added to the defunct shells and skeletons of
marine life, the astonishing amount of the works of men,
and the millions of human skeletons which, through more
than fifty centuries, have been swallowed up in the watery
deep. At the time which inviolable justice has fixed, " the
sea shall give up her dead." Can it be thought improbable
that the operations which are now in progress, in the dark
abyss, and at its greatest depths, are subservient to the
righteous proceedings of that day, the finishing of the
mystery of God as to this one portion of his ways ; — the
termination of man's existence as an animal-species upon
earth, but his resurrection to an immortal life, a new sphere
of being, the possession of a more exquisite organization,
which, in a manner inconceivable to our present faculties,
will be incomparably more effective for the highest purposes
of mind than that which we now possess ? — "We trace the
monuments of change to early and still earlier conditions,
carrying us back to the grand simplicity of elementary
creation ; and we are permitted to contemplate the all-
surrounding proofs that our globe only waits the will of the
Almighty Being, to develop its mechanical, electrical, and
chemical forces ; and, if that will have so ordained, " the
heavens," the atmospheric constitution, " shall pass away
with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat ; the earth also and the works that are therein shall be
burned up." 2 Pet. iii. 10.
The design of geological studies is to acquire a satisfac
tory knowledge of the substances (airs, water, earth, stones
and metals), which, in different combinations and arrange
ments, form the accessible parts of the planet assigned by
the Almighty Creator for our present dwelling-place ; and
of the changes through which they have passed and are
passing ; with a view to the enlargement of human know-

PEEEEQUISITES. 3
ledge, the promotion of our present happiness, and the
celebration of His perfections "of whom, and through
whom, and to whom are all things."
It is obvious that this is an attractive field of investiga
tion, promising not only to be productive of intellectual
pleasure, but to bring many and great benefits to the arts
of usefulness and comfort in life, and to furnisli interesting
discoveries of the power, wisdom, and goodness of Him who
exists independently and by necessity of nature, possessed
of all perfections, the designing cause and active sustainer
of all other beings, and to whom it is equally our duty and
our happiness to render the highest veneration and love
and homage.
It is not less obvious, that this study cannot be under
taken, with any reasonable hope of success, without the aid
of some other branches of natural science. Indeed, to so
high a point have the pursuits of Natural History and
Natural Philosophy been raised in our day, that it is no
longer possible for one department to be cultivated, with
the hope of success, and so as to avoid the danger of falling
into egregious mistakes, without some acquaintance with
the others. This fact has been both proved and elucidated,
with equal force of reasoning and elegance of manner, by a
lady of extraordinary attainments, in her work entitled
" The Connexion ofthe Physical Sciences."
The substances which compose the external part of our
earth, and which present themselves sometimes in a simple
state, but generally in various forms of composition, must
be ascertained by their external appearance ; and such
knowledge is the science of the Mineralogist. But their
inward nature, and the states of union in which we find
them, must also be known ; together with the principles or
laws, as they are usually called, which regulate those states
of union, preventing or separating some, favouring and
b 2

4 MEANS OE THE STTJDT.
effectuating others: and this cannot be without chemical
knowledge. In the production of geological formations aud
their subsequent changes of position, the common law of
gravitation and other regular modes of attraction and
repulsion, [including the wonderful agencies of Universal
Electro-Magnetism,] have performed and are always per
forming an important part : the investigation of those
modes of action cannot be attempted, with the least hope
of success, but by the application of mathematical Dy
namics. The larger number of the earthy and stony masses
which we have to study contain, in immense multitudes,
the skeletons, the coverings, whether adherent integuments
or such as supply the place of habitations, and various other
remains of animals ; and the substance, or mineral matter
moulded upon the substance, of vegetable species, trunk,
stems, leaves, and fruits : it is therefore indispensable to
the right understanding of geological facts, that a competent
knowledge should be obtained of Zoology and Comparative
Anatomy, and of Botany according to a Natural System.*
It must further be remarked, that the best books and the
richest cabinets are not sufficient to convey complete ideas ;
but to closet-study must be added personal inspection of
the face of a country, of sea-cliffs and beaches, of mountain
sides, rocky precipices, land-slips, and ravines ; besides every
kind of artificial excavation ; and this labour, in travelling
and exploring, must be carried to an extent greater than
* " It is now admitted on all hands, that no man can be qualified to
enter any of the highest walks of science, who is acquainted with ouly one
branch of natural knowledge; and the mutual dependence of them all is
now so positively demonstrated, that the philosopher of our days can no
longer be allowed to remain satisfied with those inquiries which belong
exclusively to any single branch, but must extend his investigations over the
whole range of sciences, and illuminate his path by the varied combinations
of them all."— Prof. Buckland's Vindiciae Geologies; his Inaugural
Lecture, 1819; p. 10.

VEBACITY OE SCIENTIFIC MEN. 5
can be expected from most individuals, though there are
eminent men who have personally achieved wonders in this
respect. There are geologists, who have devoted severe
and self-denying toil, exposure to great perils, and vast
expense, through the best years of life, to this object ;
and, with a noble disinterestedness, they communicate the
results of their untiring exertions. Those results are, by
themselves and other qualified persons, brought together,
scrutinized, compared, connected ; and then, by publication,
exposed to the renewed criticism ofthe scientific world: so
that, in the issue, ample knowledge has been obtained, and
that knowledge resting upon rigorously examined evidence,
of the geological conditions of Europe generally ; of large
districts in North and South Ameriea, India and Central
and "Western Asia ; and of some portions of Africa, Aus
tralia, and the Isles of the Pacific Ocean.
It may not unreasonably be alleged, that few persons are
qualified to this extent. To this objection we reply :
1 . Though they may be few, compared with the general
population of any country, yet, if we take the aggregate
of persons possessed of the qualifications required, in an
eminent degree, we shall find them to rise to a very high
amount, in Europe and the European settlements through
out the earth. Here might be mentioned a long line of
illustrious names, both British and foreign, whom it would
be a delight to honour ; but I deny myself the pleasure of
so doing, because though the catalogue of those whose
names instantly rise in an admiring and grateful memory
would be very considerable, many of high and probably
equal merit would be omitted, and thus no little injustiea
would be inflicted.*
* I venture to adapt to this topic the words of Leclerc. " Whoever
attempts this study, should well understand what a task he undertakes, and
by what laws he must be governed: or else he will be a most infelicitous

6 VEEACITY 0E SCIENTIEIC MEN.
2. It is no extravagance to affirm that the distinguishes1
men to whom I allude, and who have given us the details
of their travels and labours, are entitled personally to the
fullest credit of their testimony upon the facts and scenery
which they describe. Tet, if any person, moved, I doubt
not, by honourable, and even religious principles, should
allow a painful suspicion still to lurk in his mind, let him
consider that the individual veracity of persons of the finest
talents and the greatest advantages of education, and whose
integrity is unquestionable, is not our only guarantee ; but
that the number of explorers and observers is great, that-
they belong to different nations and parties, and are subject
to be influenced by various interests and prepossessions, so
that the correction of any involuntary mistake is sure and
speedy ; but, if superficial observation, or negligent state
ment, or designed misrepresentation, were to occur, the
detection would be prompt and the penalty severe, in a
public forfeiture of character and confidence. Erom some
measure of knowledge and some care in observation, I feel
myself bound in duty to profess my thorough persuasion,
that the firmest reliance may be placed on the reports and
critic [geologist] ;,and, instead of reaping that high honour which men of
real erudition [and science] have obtained from this art, he will become
contemptible and ridiculous. I think I hear my reader asking me, Whether
I myself look for any portion of this honour ? I will only venture to
say, that I do not profess this arduous and hazardous study, though I
highly honour those who do profess it, and have long read their writings
with great pleasure, from which perhaps some tinge may have adhered to
me." From a larger quotation out of his "Ars Critica," in Dr. Pye Smith's
" Scripture Testimony to the Messiah," vol. iii. p. 25, third ed. Yet, if any
should suspect me of being captivated by novelty, and ensnared by a pre
cipitate disposition, I take leave to say that these are not to me the
studies of yesterday, and that I have professed and taught the leading
sentiments of this volume, within my own circle of connexions, for at least
five and thirty years. 1839

AFEINITY OE KNOWLEDGE.; <
descriptions for which we are indebted to the most dis
tinguished geologists of our time.
3. All the natural sciences ramify into each other in so
extensive a manner, that their points of contact show them
selves perpetually. This fact not only brings to view the
necessity of the combination of these parts of knowledge,
but it creates an ardent desire for practically effecting it ;
it opens numerous avenues into the domain of other sciences;
it suggests methods of proceeding for making the desired
acquirements ; and, while we feel ourselves obliged to
submit to the necessity of being but imperfectly acquainted
with many parts of the field, we are preserved (if we main
tain a becoming moral discipline) from the vanity and
pedantry of half-knowledge, we are enabled to apprehend
with accuracy what we do learn ; and we gain safe positions
from which, when the opportunity may occur, we can make
further advances.
4. Any person of good mental faculties and liberal
education, if he will take the pains of attention and some
self-cultivation, may acquire an ability to draw satisfactory
inferences from the facts reeited and the reasonings pro
pounded in the best geological works; or at least to exercise
an unpresuming judgment whether the conclusions are
sound which others have drawn.
But it cannot be denied, and ought not to be suppressed,
that a different view of the whole matter is taken by many
estimable persons. The objects of geological investigation,
especially in the department of organic remains, are in the
highest degree attractive : casual allusions and fragments
of information float plentifully in the atmosphere of social
intercourse, so that none but the incurious can fail to hear
something; and the periodical papers of the day have
occasionally paragraphs of wonder, upon real or alleged

8 UNJUST IMPUTATIONS.
geological discoveries ; which frequently indeed turn out
to be the echoes of ignorance. Hence, the assumption is
easily made, that the circuit of this kind of knowledge may
be filled up by any young and ardent mind, with a small
degree of trouble and a little easy reading ; without laying
in even a moderate share of the prerequisites. Above all,
it is incumbent upon us. to be aware, that a vague idea has
obtained circulation, that certain geological doctrines are at
variance with the Holy Scriptures. This notion works
with pernicious effect. The semblance of discrepancy is
indeed undeniable ; but I profess my conviction that it is
nothing but a semblance, and that, like many other
difficulties on all important subjects which have tried the
intellect of man, it vanishes before careful and sincere
examination. The naked fact, however, the mere appear
ance, is eagerly laid hold of by some irreligious men, and is
made an excuse for dismissing from their minds any serious
regard to the Law and Gospel of God, and any rational
investigation of the Evidences of Eevelation ; for they are
very willing to assume that Christianity is either a mass of
obsolete prejudices, or a theory so labouring under heavy
suspicion as to have but slender claims upon a philosopher's
attention. In the opposite extreme, many excellent persons,
devout and practical Christians, knowing that " the word
of our God shall stand for ever," feel no desire to become
acquainted with the real merits of the question; and sit
down with a persuasion that geological theories are visionary
plausibilities, each having its day of fashion, then being
exploded in favour of some other vagary, which in its turn
gives way, and all falling under the description of false
" philosophy and vain deceit, according to the tradition of
men, the rudiments of the world; — the oppositions of
science falsely so called; — perverse disputings of men of

CHEISTIANITT INJUEED. 9
corrupt minds, destitute of the truth, — reprobate con
cerning the faith." — Col. ii. 8; 1 Tim. vi. 5 ; 2 Tim. iii.. 8*
* A clergyman whose piety and integrity, as manifested in his boob,
attract my sincere respect, notwithstanding egregious defects of candour and
justice in his animadversions, has expressed the opinions of many other good
men, in the following words. "J. P. S.  deprecates the idea of any
person entering upon geological questions, who does not possess considerable
acquaintance with the principles of Chemistry, Electricity, Mineralogy,
Zoology, Conchology, Comparative Anatomy, and even of * the sublimest
mathematics.' It will be readily conceded that, to prosecute the study of
Geology advantageously, some insight into most of the natural sciences is
necessary. But, when this assertion is intended to deter men of good
common sense from giving their opinion upon Geology in its connexion
with the Scriptures, the position may be safely questioned. It would be
just as reasonable to maintain, that a minute acquaintance with the
principles of Surgery and Morbid Anatomy was requisite, before a man was
qualified to say whether a leg of mutton was tainted, and ought to be sent
from the table; or that an honest countryman was unfit to sit in a jury-box,
because he was ignorant of the English Law-Reports, or Coke upon
Lyttleton. In the controversy between geologists and the Sacred Scriptures,
nothing more is required but an acquaintance with the common laws of
evidence, and a knowledge of the distinction between Divine and human
testimony." (" Reflections on Geology, suggested by the perusal of Dr.
Buckland's Bridgewater Treatise; with Remarks on a Letter by J. P. S.,
on the Study of Geology ;" by the Rev. J. Mellor Brown, B.A. &c. p. 52.)
This Letter will be reprinted in the Appendix j1 so that the reader may see
whether Mr. Brown has not, undesignedly I am willing to believe, exag
gerated the description of prerequisites to geological study. It is hardly
needful to remind him that comparisons are not arguments; and that, when
they are intended to be illustrations, they ought to be just. Upon his first
comparison I make no remark, for its propriety is equal to its elegance :
but, to invest his second with any semblance of analogy, he ought to have
made' his " honest countryman " very ill informed upon the facts connected
with the cause which he was called to try, yet imagining himself to know
all about it, and determined to shut his ears against the evidence.

1 Supplementary Note A; on the Laws of Organized Natures, involving
the necessity of Death; and on Geological Studies in general.

10 babbage's PAEALLEL.
That such a state of opinion is injurious to the cause of
Christianity, can admit of no doubt. It is a fearful thing
to array science and religion against each other ; for, how
ever unnatural and unjust this antagonist position certainly
is, the fact of its existence is pregnant with evil on both
sides. Men who have well studied the questions at issue,
and who know the evidence of those geological facts to
which such strong exception is taken, cannot by any possi
bility be brought to renounce their convictions.* "Were
they treated as Galileo was, were they, like him, unwilling
to be the martyrs of conscience, were they to profess a
change of sentiment which they could not feel ; they would
act the part of hypocrites. The nature of the impression
which is actually made upon such minds, may be judged of
from the language of a mathematician and philosopher of
the highest order, distinguished by the originality and
independence of his mind, and whose sincerity, as a pro
fessed friend of Christianity, it would be most unjust to
call into question.
* Fourth ed. — The labours of the most distinguished men in Geology
and Natural History universally, are constantly bringing confirmations. " In
no instance [of the results obtained by modern geological investigations,] have
general conclusions been shaken by subsequent observations.  Whatever
alterations and minute adjustments may take place, the great fundamental
principles of the science, and the grand subdivisions already introduced
into its history, will not be upset, but will be extended and confirmed by
future inquiry." Prof. Sedgwick, at the Brit. Assoc. Camb., 1845. At
the same time and place, " Dr. Bucklaud wished to correct a false impres
sion, not uncommon among novices, who hear only debates and conflicts on
disputable points in Geology, — that there is nothing certain in the conclu
sions of that science; and he wished it to be understood that, from the
moment when Organic Remains were appealed to, as the true ground of
comparison between the rocks of different ages and different countries,
there had been no difference of opinion amongst geologists upon the broad
principles of their science." See the very accurate reports of that meeting,
in the " Athenaeum" for June 21 and 28, and July 5, 1845.

BABBAGE S PAEALLEL. 11
" "What then have those accomplished who have restricted
the Mosaic account of the creation to that diminutive period,
which is as it were but a span in the duration of the earth's
existence ; and who have imprudently rejected the testimony
of the senses, when opposed to their philological criticisms ?
The very arguments which protestants have opposed to
the doctrine of transubstantiation, would, if their view of
the case were correct, be equally irresistible against the
book of Genesis. But let us consider what would be the
conclusion of any reasonable being in a parallel case. Let
us imagine a manuscript written three thousand years ago,
and professing to be a revelation from the Deity, in which
it was stated that the colour of the paper of the very book
now in the reader's hands is black, and that the colour of
the ink in the characters which he is now reading is white.
"With that reasonable doubt of his own individual faculties,
which would become the inquirer into the truth of a state
ment said to be derived from so high an origin, he would
ask of all those around him, whether to their senses the
paper appeared to be black and the ink to be white. If he
found the senses of other individuals agree with his own,
then he would undoubtedly pronounce the alleged revelation
a forgery, and those who propounded it to be either deceived
or deceivers. He would rightly impute the attempted deceit
to moral turpitude, to gross ignorance, or to interested
motives, in the supporters of it ; but he certainly would not
commit the impiety of supposing the Deity to have wrought
a miraculous change upon the senses of our whole species,
and then to demand their belief in a fact directly opposed
to those senses ; thus throwing doubt upon every conclusion
of reason in regard to external objects; and, amongst
others, upon the very evidence by which the authenticity
of that very questionable manuscript was itself supported,

12 DILEMMA.
and even upon the fact of its existence when before their
eyes."* Should any of those who honour me with their attention,
be not at all, or only as the result of cursory reading,
acquainted with geological science, they are entreated to
consider the case before them very seriously. Here is a
mind of high order, versed in philosophical knowledge,
whose acquirements in the exact sciences, their highest
branches, and their most astonishing applications, are ac
knowledged with admiration through the world ; who has
deeply studied the nature and rules of evidence ; and who
is not an enemy, but an avowed friend to Eevealed Eeligion:
he marches up to the front of the imagined discrepance,
and we see the strength of his conviction. He is indeed
satisfied, for himself, that Geology and Eevelation are not
at variance ; and his method of resolving the difficulty will
be mentioned in a future lecture. But we may ask in the
mean time, "What is the conclusion which the uninstructed
observer ought in fairness to draw ? Can he satisfy himself
with the assertion, that the most eminent geologists are, in
general, secret or open infidels ; that their doctrines upon
the constitution and antiquity of the earth are fond fancies,
changeable as the wind, or irreligious hypotheses of men
" ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of
the truth ; " and that he runs no risk of being mistaken, or
of becoming the instrument of moral injury to others, per
haps his own children, by making it an article of religion
to maintain that all dependent nature came from the creative
power of the Supreme Being, only about six thousand years
ago ? 'Will he say that all solicitude upon the question may
be safely dismissed, and that he gains firm footing for his
faith on this subject by reposing upon an interpretation of
* Mr. Babbage's "Ninth Bridgewater Treatise," pp. 68-70.

EELIGION EESTS ON EEVELATION. 13
the Mosaic records, which though extensively received, has
been seriously doubted of by sound expositors in ancient
and in modern times, and by some absolutely disallowed,
— yea, independently of geological knowledge?
An inquiry thus opens before us which cannot but appear,
to every reflecting person, to be of the first importance.
" Eeligion is the highest style of man." But religion, the
internal and practical principle of all piety, virtue, and
morality, rests upon Theology. And what is theology, but
the knowledge of that which is in itself true and in its rela
tions to us infinitely important, concerning the Supeeme
Being, his perfections and works and purposes, the duty
which we owe tb him, and the hopes which we are permitted
to entertain of the greatest blessings by his bestowment ?
That knowledge it is our duty to obtain, from all the sources
and by all the means that he has put in our power. His
works are the first of those means, in the order of human
apprehension. In them much of (jb yvoio-rh row ©eoC) "that
which can be known of God is manifested : — his invisible
perfections are contemplated from the creation of the world,
being understood by his works, his eternal power and god
head." Can any declaration be more clear and full than
this of the inspired apostle ?
"We have then the most satisfactory proofs, that this
all-perfect Being has not only given us mental faculties,
by which we are capable of making ever progressive
improvement in the study of the dependent universe of
which we are a part, and in which so bright rays shine
forth of his " eternal power and godhead ;" but that he
has further dignified our present condition of existence,
by the communication of positive information concerning
our relations to himself and to each other, and the results
of those relations in the eternal state to which we are
hastening.

11 SCIENCE CONSISTENT WITH EEVELATION,
Christianity rests upon the explicit acknowledgment of
a succession of such communications, commencing with the
earliest epoch ofthe human history, and growing in compre
hension and clearness, till the series is completed in the
doctrine of Jesus " the Saviour of the world." Of these
communications we have written monuments, proved to be
genuine and authentic; presenting the truths, laws, promises,
warnings, and threatenings, of the Divine Government ; and
containing the history of the persons and the circumstances
connected with those successive revelations. The earlier of
those records are far more ancient than any other monu
ments in alphabetical writing known to exist ; and the most
early of them affirm the fact of both the universal crea
tion of the world, and the preparation and adaptation of
that part of it which was designed to be the habitation
of man.
But there are two sciences, Astronomy and Geology, which
bring us into an acquaintance with faets of amazing grandeur
and interest, concerning the Extent and the Antiquity of the
created Universe. The knowledge which each communi
cates rests upon its own appropriate evidence ; in the one
case, the evidence of sense obtained by innumerable obser
vations made and compared by the most competent men,
and confirmed by rigorous mathematical processes ; * and,
in the other, the evidence of sense also, and the testimony
of a host of accomplished observers, and though not to the
same perfect extent as Astronomy, yet in a degree which
objectors little imagine, receiving support from mathematical
applications. Are then the discoveries and deductions of those sciences
consistent, or are they not, with the declarations of primeval
divine revelation P
* Supplementary Note B; on the Evidence from Astronomy

TBUTH THE SOLE OBJECT. 15
We cannot but expect such consistency. Our Creator
has given us faculties suited to the perception and the right
appreciation of it. Cases indeed are conceivable, and they
do occur, in which difficulties appear, because we see only
detached portions of the truth, and the inteirening parts
of our field of view are covered with an obscurity which we
cannot dispel. Tet such cases are not those of contradictory
propositions, in which the affirming of one destroys that of
the other. But unhappily this is the predicament of the
subject which we have to consider, as it is too commonly
understood. If from the discoveries of Astronomy and
Geology we infer that the created universe, including our
own globe, has existed through an unknown but unspeakably
long period of time past ; and IE, from the records of reve
lation, we draw the conclusion that the work of creation, or
at least so far as respects our planet, took place not quite
six thousand years ago ; it is evident that the two positions
cannot both stand : one destroys the other. One of them
must be an error ; both may be wrong ; only one can be
right. Our first care must be to ascertain the true state of the
facts on each side. Are the propositions respectively drawn
from their premises, by sound reasoning ? Have we guarded
sufficiently against all causes of error ? Are the facts in
nature satisfactorily proved ? And is our interpretation of
the Scriptures legitimate ? Doubts and renewed investi
gation of the latter question imply no precarious issue with
respect to the great designs of revelation. " The foundation
of God standeth sure." The great principle of faith and
obedience, hope and happiness ; the doctrines, warnings,
and promises of the gospel ; shine forth in the most clear
and satisfying manner ; and their certainty is not diminished
hy philological inquiry into the interpretation of words, or
by discussing the relations to history and antiquities, and

16 TEUTH ETEE CONSISTENT.
other collateral bearings of the Scriptures. For example :
the recent discoveries in the monuments of Egypt * have cast
much light upon the history and the phraseology of the Old
Testament, by bringing to our knowledge facts and usages
which were before imperfectly or not at all known: but
these accessions of knowledge, and the more correct inter
pretation of particular passages which we hence obtain, take
nothing from us in any other respect, but add materially to
the proofs and the right understanding of the whole system
of revelation. The more firmly we stand upon the rock of
evidence, the more completely we possess " the assurance of
faith." Teuth, therefore, is our object : Truth, in religion, in
morals, and in natural science. The more completely we
attain it, if we faithfully apply it to its proper purposes, the
more we shall bring happiness to ourselves and our fellow
creatures, and reverential honour to God.
All men admit and act upon the value of Truth. Even
those who practically disregard its obligations, pay to Truth
an implicit homage ; for they plainly manifest that it is only
wicked selfishness which leads them to violate it.
Truth in' sentiment is the agreement of our conceptions
or belief, with the real nature and circumstances of the
things which are the objects of those conceptions : and
conventional Truth is the agreement of the signs by which
we express our conceptions, with the conceptions them
selves. That our conceptions may be thus in accordance with the
reahty of things, is to be secured by the due consideration
of Evidence : and we believe that God, the Fountain of all
truth and goodness, has furnished us with means for the
* Now, in 1847, we add, of Nineveh, and the ancient Assyrian
empire. See the admirable work of Dr. Layard.

TEUTH evee consistent. 17
obtaining of evidence, sufficient for a rational satisfaction,
upon all objects which it concerns us to know.
All Truth must be consistent. Let the objects contem
plated be never so different in . their nature, and remote
from each other, in their position, or aspect, or other con
nexions of their occurrence; the facts concerning them
cannot but be in mutual agreement ; for to say that one
fact is contradictory to another, is to utter a manifest
absurdity. But our conception of a fact may fail of being
in accordance with the reality : from the variety of causes
which, we are aware, are the sources of frequent error
among mortals, and of which the chief are, the not being
possessed of adequate means for acquiring the knowledge
requisite as the basis of our deductions; or the want of
giving due attention to the means which we do possess for
acquiring the necessary data; or a want of correct habitude
of mind in drawing our conclusions. If we have done our
best and fail, we have not forfeited moral truth; we are
sincere, though mistaken : but, if we have not done our
best, we cannot be blameless. Eor the consequences of our
indifference, or negligence, or prejudice, we must be respon
sible to the divine tribunal ; and that responsibility will be
according to the nature of the object proposed for in
vestigation, its circumstances of greater or less import
ance to the well-being of mankind, our obligations to
possess accurate knowledge, and our profession to commu
nicate it.
The criterion of truth is Evidence : and, though evidence
is formed of different materials in different departments,
the effect of real evidence, upon a mind sincerely desirous
of knowing the truth, will be satisfactory, however different
the kind or form of the materials which constitute it.
In Physical Science, the evidence of truth is obtained by
drawing inferences from the observation of facts made

18 EIDELITT TO EVIDENCE.
known by our senses; and confirmed in many cases, and
those the most important, by the application of Mathe
matics, which indeed derive their certainty from reducing
all propositions to the plainest evidence of sense.
Truth, in matters of history, and in all that relates to the
good or evil conduct of rational beings, their relation to
social systems and to law, their dispositions and motives,
their dependence upon the Supreme Sovereign, their obli
gations to Him, and their expectations from him ; can be
attained only by what is usually called Moral Evidence.
This kind of evidence arises from our consciousness of the
manner in which we ourselves feel and act in given circum
stances ; and our observation of the manner in which other
men act under similar conditions. "We hence deduce con
clusions : these are confirmed by universal experience : we
feel a perfect confidence, that, whenever the conditions are
similar, the results will be similar also : and we call the
principles or causes of such uniformity in voluntary action,
Laws of mind.
Thus we come at last to find, that clear cases of Moral
Evidence produce an assent and satisfaction not less com
plete than is our confidence in the Evidence of our Senses.
"We arrive at a conviction, that the same wisdom and
rectitude of the omnipotent and infinitely good Being,
which established the Laws of Matter, have also established
Laws of Mind ; and that to refuse our belief, where sufficient
moral evidence has been laid before us, is not less unreason
able than it would be to doubt the dictates of our senses, or
the results of mathematical proof.
It is however a fact, that even moral truth may derive
important aid from a judicious application of mathematical
methods of investigation. The progress made, within the
last sixty years, in the most refined branches of Analytics,
has contributed its measure of auxiliary support to the reso-

moeal evidence. 19
lution of questions which have a relation to the evidences of
religion ; by the doctrine of chances. The probabilities for
and against the occurrence of a supposed fact, or the credi
bility of witnesses warranting the belief of a miracle, have
been reduced to equations and satisfactorily worked out.
The late Bishop of Peterborough (Dr.. Herbert Marsh) in
his Letters to Archdeacon Travis, nearly fifty years ago,
employed this method on a question of criticism ; and Mr.
Babbage, in his Ninth Bridgewater Treatise, has applied it
to the refutation of Hume's endeavour to set up an argument
against miracles wrought in favour of religion.*
* Sec. ed. A scientific friend has written to me upon this passage: " You
appear to give Mr. Babbage the credit of replying to Hume on Miracles,
on the numerical plan. Are you not aware that Dr. Chalmers previously
did the same ? See the third volume of his Works. I heard him deliver
the matter there published, in 1830—31."
Certainly I was not aware of this circumstance. The publication referred
to is a collection of all the works of Dr. Chalmers, which began to be
published, I believe, about four years ago, and is not yet completed. The
third volume commences with " The Miraculous and Internal Evidences of
the Christian Revelation;" and is entirely a different work from the
"Evidence and Authority," &c. which was published in 1814. Tn this
more recent and comprehensive work, the distinguished Professor applies
the mathematical doctrine of Chances to the illustration of our belief in
the constancy of natural phenomena, and to the dissection and refutation
of the objection made by Hume and La Place against the credibility of the
scripture miracles. I am greatly obliged to my correspondent for giving
me the opportunity of mentioning this fact. But it does not diminish ths
merit of Mr. Babbage. He indeed refers to Dr. Chalmers, but it is to
another part of his Works, namely, vol. i. p. 1 29. Yet it appears almost
certain that the numeral of the volame is a mistake ofthe printer, and that vol.
iii. was meant; and then we have the very passage to which I presume that
my friend alludes. Mr. Babbage gives his formulae in general algebraic
expressions, and his illustrations are widely different; though the argument
of course goes upon the same principles of recondite mathematical science.
Mr. Babbage is not a man that would derive advantage from another, and
conceal his obligations.
C2

20 FIDELITY TO EVIDENCE.
These considerations should deepen our conviction of the
duty of dealing faithfully with evidence. Those who have
temporary purposes to answer, and selfish interests to pro-.
mote, may, if they be regardless of moral obligation, permit
their predilections to infect their judgment, and to trample
down their sincerity. But Christian principles will not allow
us to do so. " "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever are
(gsp.vciy fair, whatsoever just, whatsoever pure, whatsoever
amiable, whatsoever (siip^/ia) deserve honourable mention,"
— it is our duty and our happiness to seek, and when
acquired to profess. Let us exert our utmost diligence
to obtain true premises ; let our attention be vigilant, that
we may rightly understand them; let us watch carefully
every step of our deductions, that they trespass not the limit
of correct reasoning; but let us not be stopped in our
course, nor desist from pursuing the straight line, because
objections meet us which are drawn from other departments
of human knowledge. Our duty is to bid those objections
to stand aside for a time. In the pursuit of our present
line of inquiry, it is more than barely possible that new
light may arise ; or another point of view may be reached,
which will have the effect of exterminating the difficulty.
Should this not be the result, our work then will be to
trace the derivation of the difficulty from its own source,
and to follow out the separate course of investigation by its
own principles* Thus we may find a deliverance from our
perplexity in the most effectual manner, by ascertaining
that it had no foundation in its own class of knowledge : or
the pressure of the difficulty may be dimiiiished, so far as
to yield a reasonable satisfaction that any remaining ob-
» "To those who spread themselves over these opposite Enes, each
moving in his own direction, a thousand points of meeting, and mutual and
joyful recognition, will occur."— Sir John Herschel's" Presidential Address,"
at the Fifteenth Meeting ofthe British Association at Cambridge, June 1845.

THE UNITEESE. 21
scurity may be fairly imputed to tho inherent weakness and
the necessary limitations of our imperfect nature. Above
all, let us not suffer ourselves to be beguiled into the foolish
notion, if it be not an insidious pretence, for the purpose of
undermining the foundations of religious truth, — that a
position may be false in philosophy, but true in theology ;
or, inversely, philosophically true and theologically false.
It is scarcely conceivable that a sane mind could admit
such an assertion : yet it has been made, with some disguise
perhaps in the phrase, by persons who apparently expected
to be credited.
The sum of objects which we can pereeive, or know, or
conceive of as existing, falls into two very different classes
of description.
The one elass is stamped with the proofs of mutability,
contingenee, and dependence. It presents itself to our
senses and our consciousness, in a variety of ways ; yet all
those ways and their results are limited, but the object
itself is to us illimitable. "We call it The TJniveese, or
more correctly ihe Dependent or ihe Finite Universe. "We
know not its extent : for, while the microscope, at the one
extremity of the scale, and astronomical observations at
the other, set before us multitude, magnitude, distance, and
minuteness, which we feel to become overwhelming to
our faculties, we have no reason to suppose that we have
reached a term, in either direction of our observations.
The vast space into which we look, and the " worlds upon
worlds " with which we. see it to be filled, may be but the
threshold of the finite universe ; and in the lowest part of
the known scale of being, we gain no evidence of ever
touching a boundary.
The other description of what we can know is not pre
sented to our senses ; but of its existence we gain an irre
sistible conviction by reasoning. The former class, however

22 THE DEITY.
vast its extent and remote its antiquity, impresses us, by many
facts and circumstances, with the conviction that it had a
beginning. This material portion is that alone which is
cognizable by our senses. "We find it to possess a natural
inertness ; yet it is in perpetual motion. That motion sup
poses an impulsive power, as its cause. "We can trace the
so-called causes of motion, from one to another that is prior,
and so continually ; and we cannot rationally stop till we
have ascended to the idea of a voluntary First Cause. To
this originating principle we are compelled, by the manifest
evidence of the case, to attribute the properties of being
intelligent, underived, and independent ; in other words, of
being self-existent, spontaneously active, and possessed in
an infinite degree oi every property that is an excellence ; the
One Necessaey Being. "We combine all other beings into
one group, and we call it the dependent universe : but com
paring this assemblage with that One Being, it becomes, in
the comparison, a shadow of existence, " less than nothing
and vanity;" mere emptiness. That Being is GOD; not
perceived by our organs of sense, but the Object of pure
mental conception. He is Mind, in the highest sense ;
existing necessarily, and therefore having always existed
and always to exist : a free agent, of infinite intellectual
and moral perfection ; upon whom all other beings depend
as their Originator, Preserver, and Benefactor, their Pro
prietor and Lawgiver, their Judge and Eewarder; the
supremely wise, holy, and powerful Basis of the universe.
"Unbiassed reason, no less than the book of revelation,
utters the voice of satisfaction and gladness ; " Give unto
Jehovah the glory of his name ; O, worship Jehovah in the
beauty of holiness ! — For of Him, and through Him, and to
Him are all things ; to whom be glory for ever !"
Of the existence and perfections, the providence and
efficient activity, of this glorious Being, we have every kind

ACCOUNTABLENESS. 23
and degree of evidence that can warrant the reception of
any moral truth whatever. If any honest-hearted inquirer
entertain a doubt, it is sufficient to refer him to the volumes
of Eay and Derham, Bentley, Clarke, Paley, and the authors
of the Bridgewater Treatises.
Neither- is this the place for adducing evidence that rational
creatures are accountable, and that the Supreme Being exer
cises a moral government over them. The writings of
Butler alone are sufficient for this purpose. "We are con
vinced also, upon the most satisfactory grounds, that this
Wise and Gracious Being has been pleased to give the
elements of positive knowledge to mankind, sufficient to
inform us -upon subjects which it most highly concerns us
to know, but of which, without such information, it would
be utterly impossible for us to have any other than con
jectures, vague and painfully uncertain. The proofs that
God has thus made known those facts and truths, and the
realities of an eternal futurity ; and that the communication
is contained in the series of ancient books called the Holy
Scriptures, are also to be found in many easily accessible
works. It plainly follows, that a serious attention to those books
is the most important duty, and the most interesting occu
pation, to which we can apply ourselves.
Our great object is, to understand them in their true
meaning ; that is, to take them in the sense in which they
were intended by the Spirit of truth from whose inspiration,
mediately or immediately, they have proceeded. This true
sense and meaning must be brought out by an impartial
application of the same means which men use, from a con
viction of their necessity and adequacy, in order to obtain a
just understanding of any writings composed in long past
times and in ancient languages.
The study of revealed religion, thus pursued, cannot but

24 CONNEXIONS OF GEOLOGY.
be in perfect harmony with all true science. The works
and the word of God are streams from the same source,
and, though they flow in different directions, they neces
sarily partake of the same qualities of truth, wisdom, and
goodness. Geology, in an especial manner, possesses its
place in this beneficent association. It holds also.the most
interesting connexions with every other branch of Natural
Science. It attracts and renders subsidiary to itself, the
entire domain of Natural History ; it is indissolubly com
bined with Chemistry, with which it participates in reci
procal advantages of the most important kind ; [it possesses
intimate relationships with Meteorology and Terrestrial
Magnetism ;] it has connexions, which to many have been
unexpected, with the sublime science of Astronomy, but
which the genius and attainments of Babbage, Herschel,
and Hopkins, both anticipated and have demonstrated, —
connexions of peculiar interest, and which go far to vindi
cate for Geology a place among the exact sciences. The
facts on which it rests have, since the beginning of the
present century, and especially since the estabhshment of
the Geological Societies of London, Dublin, and Paris,
and kindred institutions in many parts of Europe, and
in America, been collected by the assiduous labour of many
men of the finest talents ; and those facts have not onlv
been brought together and freely exposed to examination,
but they have been subjected to the most jealous scrutiny
and the most rigorous tests that can be imagined. Philoso
phers, whose previous opinions were very discordant, but
whose qualifications for the task were of the highest order
of different nations (and there was a time when national
rivalry even violated the sacred ground of science and
letters), and who had been trained and raised to the first
stations in all the other departments of physical knowledge
and the liberal arts; have concurred, and have emulated

EASHNESS IN TAEXWG UP OPINIONS. 25
each other, in sifting and scrutinizing to the utmost every
announced discovery, and every theoretical deduction. Can
it be then supposed that a scientific edifice thus framed,
and in the fundamental doctrines of which all who have
a claim upon our confidence, are agreed,* possesses not
the elements of stability, and has no claims upon our
confidence ?
But we are compelled to make the unwelcome admission,
that the rules of reason, with regard to evidence, have been
not a little disregarded, in relation to the proposed subject
of these Lectures. It would not, I am persuaded, be possi
ble to point out any department of scientific investigation,
in regard to which persons have rushed to the forming and
proclaiming of strong opinions, with so scanty a portion of
knowledge, yet at the same time so fearlessly, as in relation
to Geology. There have been and perhaps still are persons
who, not judging it necessary to use hard-working pains
and long perseverance, to obtain a competent acquaintance
with facts, have, with much dignity, framed their systems
of the world: and have not shown the most charitable
dispositions towards those who decline to bow down to the
idols thus set up. Let it, however, be recollected, that the
disposition to make these assumptions, and the facility of
admitting them, have risen, in a great measure, from a cause
which is entitled to our reverence and esteem, religious
feeling; though mistaken in its application. The opinion
or suspicion, is roused to meet us, on almost every occasion,
that Geology and a religious regard to the Scriptures are
opposed to each other. This notion has been diligently
* "I need not dwell upon the extreme danger of representing, as
necessarily subversive of a faith in revelation, physical conclusions received,
I believe, by all those who are generally considered as competent judges, as
firmly established truths."— Rev. W. D. Conybeare, F.R.S. &c, in tho
" Christian Observer " for 1834, p. 307.

20 MISEEPEESENTATIONS.
held up to the Christian public, and in a style well adapted
to excite alarm. Hence, some have been led to propose
and others to receive, for the overcoming ofthe apprehended
difficulties, theories which, either, on the one hand, have
grievously misrepresented principal facts in the natural
history of the earth, or, on the other, have exercised arbi
trary power upon the sacred books, in despite of the fair
methods of interpretation by which alone we are warranted
to treat ancient writings.
"When we are compelled, by the force of conviction, to
make observations of this kind, it is proper to show that we
do not stand alone. I consider it to be an advantage for
aiding the mind in the pursuit of truth, and therefore to be
eminently my duty, to adduce a small number of citations
from Christian Philosophers, whose knowledge on these
subjects is the hard-earned fruit of fair labour in toiling
over hundreds of miles of rocky mountains, and of close
study for the rigid scrutiny of results.
I shall first take a few paragraphs from a most diligent
and laborious investigator, and a devout Christian. A re
gard to brevity will oblige me to select detached passages ;
but they will represent, without perversion or exaggeration,
the meaning and design of the continuous pages. Certain
English authors are those referred to, but their nameslieed
not be introduced.
The hypotheses of those writers have been "defended
with no small ability of a certain kind, and with the most
dogmatic assurance.  They were compelled to pay so
much deference to the advanced state of science at the
present time, as to knock off some of the HutcHnsonian
protuberances ; yet they have not gone into the core of the
system, to make any reformation there. Their works are
distinguished  by great positiveness of opinion. Where
the ablest Geologists wait for further light, they cut the

MISEEPEESENTATIONB. 27
knot at once.  The relative importance of facts is often
presented by them in such a manner, as to betray at once
their want of practical acquaintance with the subject. 
These works are distinguished by very great severity and
intolerance towards the leading Geologists of the last half
century. A powerful attempt has been made to exhibit the
' Mosaical and Mineral Geologies' (to borrow the unfair
phraseology which figures in one of their titles,) as at vari
ance in their fundamental principles ; so that the one or the
other must be abandoned : and, in doing this, they have sadly
misapprehended the views of geologists. Because the
latter have imputed the changes in the earth's condition to
secondary causes, they are charged with Atheism." One of
them " says, ' It is manifest that the Mineral Geology, con
sidered as a science, can do as well without God, though in
a question concerning the origin of the earth, as Lucretius
did.' Now such a sweeping charge would never have been
made had" the writer "not entirely misunderstood the
geologists ; or had he been practically familiar with the
structure of the earth's crust : for they have referred to
second causes those changes, which no man thoroughly
acquainted with them would regard as miraculous, any more
than he would the existence of such a city as London or
Paris. And they have had no idea of doing without God, because
they suppose the world to have had an earlier origin than"
the censurer " admits : for, at whatever period it began to
exist, it would alike require infinite power and wisdom to
create and arrange it. Geologists, with scarcely an excep
tion, have decidedly and boldly opposed such views'' as these
imputations of atheism.  " The course which" those op
ponents " have taken, will inevitably produce, among pious
men, not familiar with science, a prejudice against it and
a jealousy of its cultivation. How disastrous such a result
would be, let the painful history of the past testify." —

28 VINDICATION OE GEOLOGY.
Further, "these works are distinguished by the adoption
of very extravagant theories, and very great distortion of
geological facts, as well as of the language of Scripture.
 None but a geologist can know what absurdities
must be received, and what distortions made of facts, before
such opinions can be embraced.  To the geologist they
appear a thousand times more extravagant and opposed to
facts, than any opinions that have been entertained by the
cultivators of this science.  But these hypotheses require
scarcely less perversion of the Sacred Eecords." — After
giving an instance of this bold dealing with the Bible, the
Professor adds, " This, in the matter of interpretation, is
' straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel.'  We have
no doubt that" these and similar writers " are sincerely desir
ous of vindicating Eevelation from the attacks of scientific
sceptics, and that this desire prompted them to write as
they have done. But we cannot doubt that the effect of
their works on [those] real geologists who are sceptical,
will be very unhappy. Such persons "will see that these
authors  do not understand the subject about which
they write; and they will see a spirit manifested which
will not greatly exalt their ideas of the influence of Chris
tianity." *
I next ask attention to a passage, conspicuous for the
beauty of its language, and the justness of its reasoning,
from one of the ornaments of the University of Cambridge,
the Woodwardian Professor of Mineralogy and Geology.
"A philosopher may smile at the fulminations of the.
Vatican against those who, with Copernicus, maintained
the motion of the earth ; but he ought to sigh, when he finds
* " Historical and Geological Deluges compared ;" in the " American
Biblical Repository," vol. ix., passages from p. 108 to 114; 1837. By the
Rev. Edward Hitchcock, LL.D. Prof, of Chemistry, &c, Amherst College,
New England.

SEDGWICK. 29
that the heart of man is no better than it was of old, and
that his arrogance and folly are still the same  There are
still found some who dare to affirm that the pursuits of
natural science are hostile to religion. An assertion more
false in itself, or more dishonourable to the cause of true
religion, has not been conceived in the mind of man.
" The Bible instructs us, that man and other living things,
have been placed but a few years upon the earth ; and the
physical monuments of the world bear witness to the same
truth. If the astronomer tells us of myriads of worlds not
spoken of in the sacred records ; the Geologist in like
manner, proves (not by arguments from analogy, but by the
incontrovertible evidence of physical phenomena [presented
to the plain cognizance of our senses,]) that there were
former conditions of our planet, separated from each other
by vast intervals of time, during which mau, and the other
creatures of his own date, had not been called into being.
Periods such as these belong not, therefore, to the moral
history of our race ; and come within neither the letter nor
the spirit of revelation. Between the first creation of the
earth and that day in which it pleased God to place man
upon it, who shall dare to define the interval ? On this
question Scripture is silent : but that silence destroys not
the meaning of those physical monuments of his power
which God has put before our eyes, giving us, at the same
time, faculties whereby we may interpret them and compre
hend their meaning.
" In the present condition of our knowledge, a statement
like this is surely enough to satisfy the reasonable scruples
of a rehgious man. But let us, for a moment, suppose that
there are some rehgious difficulties in the conclusions of
geology : how, then, are we to solve them ? Not by shut
ting our eyes to facts, or denying the evidence of our senses:
but by patient investigation carried on in the sincere love

30 VINDICATION OE GEOLOGY.
of truth, and by learning to reject every consequence not
warranted by direct physical evidence. Pursued in this
spirit, geology can neither lead to any false conclusions nor
offend against any rehgious truth. And this is the spirit
in which many men have of late years followed this delightful
science ; devoting the best labours of their lives to its- culti
vation ; turning over the successive leaves of nature's book,
and interpreting her language, which they know to be a
physical revelation of God's will ; patiently working their
way through investigations requiring much toil of both
mind and body ; accepting hypotheses only as a means of
connecting disjointed phenomena, and rejecting them when
they become unfitted for that office, so as, in the end, to
build only upon facts and true natural causes. All this
they have done, and are still doing : so that, however
unfinished may be the fabric they have attempted to rear,
its foundations are laid upon a rock. 
" But there is another class of men, who pursue geology
by a nearer road and are guided by a different light. Well-
intentioned they may be ; but they have betrayed no small
self-sufficiency, along with a shameful want of knowledge of
the fundamental facts they presume to write about. Hence,
they have dishonoured the literature of this country by
'Mosaic Geology,' ' Scripture Geology,' and other works of
cosmogony with kindred titles ; wherein they have over
looked the aim and end of revelation, tortured the book of
life out of its proper meaning, and wantonly contrived to
bring about a collision between natural phenomena and the
word of God.  They have committed the folly and the
SIN, of dogmatizing on matters which they have not person
ally examined, and, at the utmost, know only at second
hand ; of pretending to teach mankind on points where
they themselves are uninstructed. Authors such as these
ought to have first considered, that book-learning (in

CHALMEBS. 31
whatsoever degree they may be gifted with it,) is but a
pitiful excuse for writing mischievous nonsense ; and that,
to a divine or a man of letters, ignorance of the laws of
nature and of material phenomena is then only disgraceful,
when he quits his own ground and pretends to teach
philosophy.  A Brahmin crushed with a stone the
microscope that first showed him living things among the
vegetables of his daily food. 
" It would indeed be a vain and idle task, to engage in
controversy with this school of false philosophy ; to waste
our breath in the forms of exact reasoning unfitted to the
comprehension of our antagonists ; to draw our weapons in
a combat where victory could give no honour.  Their
position is impregnable, while they remain within the fences
of their ignorance."* 
Another eminent author, after largely discussing this
class of subjects, Dr. Chalmers, says : " We conclude with
adverting to the unanimity of Geologists in one point, — the
far superior antiquity of this globe to the commonly received
date of it as taken from the writings of Moses. What shall
we make of this ? We may feel a security as to those
points in which they differ; and, confronting them with
one another, may remain safe and untouched between them.
But when they agree, this security fails. There is no
neutrahzation of authority among them as to the age of
the world; and Cuvier, with his catastrophes and his
epochs, leaves the popular opinion nearly as far behind
him, as they who trace our present continents upward
through an indefinite series of ancestors, and assign many
millions of years to the existence of each generation, "f
This eloquent writer cannot have intended to signify
• "Prof. Sedgwick's Discourse on the Studies of the University 01
Cambridge;" passages from p. 148 to 152; 1834.
f " Edinburgh Christian Instructor," April, 1814.

32 DYING BENEDICTION OE MOSES.
"ancestors" and "generations" of the human kind, nor
of the existing species of animals ; for this would involve a
groundless imputation. He probably used those words,
without adverting to their proper meaning, and designing
only to express animated creatures and the succession of
different families and genera.*

LECTTJEE II.
Deltt. xxxiii. 13, 15, 16. Blessed of the Lord be his land; for the
precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth
beneath  and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and
for the precious things of the lasting hills, and for the precious things
of the earth and the fulness thereof.
This beautiful passage, from the dying benedictions of
Moses, the faithful servant of God, is not recited from
any supposition that it has an immediate reference to the
subjects of this lecture. Tet, such an application may
be made, upon the ground of a fair and unforced analogy.
The passage is a sublime thanksgiving to the Most High,
acknowledging the eminent advantages which he had pre
pared for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, in the
approaching partition of Palestine. Their allotment had
a moderate line of sea-coast, on which was Joppa, at that
time and long after a good port ; an ample portion of rich
* Sec. ed. The friend of Dr. Chalmers, mentioned in a former note,
has honoured me with a remark on this passage. " Dr. C. does not mean
animated creatures at all, but former continents: which may be looked
upon, by a poetical eye, as the ancestors of the present ones. You are not
accustomed to his imaginative modes of expression: but long attendance in
his class-room, and familiarity with his works, enable me to vouch for my
correctness here."

CHANGES IN NATUBE. 33
land for pasture and cultivation; and numerous high
grounds and hills supplying streams of water, and contain
ing excellent stone and lime for building, with iron and
copper in the northern mountains. Thus the description
may be properly adduced as comprehending, along with
other objects, the class of providential blessings which
belong to the mineral kingdom, and which are of so great
importance to the wealth and prosperity of a nation. That
class of blessings God has conferred upon our country in a
far superior degree : and it certainly becomes us to under
stand our mercies and be grateful for them. Geological
knowledge, if pursued in a right state of mind, will much
assist us in this duty.
All observation and every experiment prove, that the
sensible world around us is in a state of incessant motion
and change, upon all points of the scale, from the internal
movements of the matter composing the simplest and
minutest body that we can observe, to the motions of the
astral orbs and nebulae, so overwhelming to our power of
conception, or even in imagination to follow them.
These changes take place not in a fortuitous and confused
manner, but in a regular subjection to principles, mechanical
and chemical ; which, though few and simple, lead to results,
very complicated indeed and recondite, yet ever harmonizing
with each other and with the whole system of the universe :
and thus these changes are supplying employment to the
highest powers of mathematical investigation.
Throughout organized nature, the characters of species
approach to each other, group themselves into genera, and
those again into families and orders, associated by points of
resemblance ; and thus they constitute a continuous series
of structural forms, functions, and operations, which exhibit,
in all their variety, a principle of mutual adaptation reigning
throughout ; and indicate an entire dependence upon an all-
D

34 SKETCH OF OBJECTS.
comprehending, and all-arranging Intellect. The machine
of the universe is thus maintained in being and action, by
an intelligent Cause and Preserver. It would involve a con
tradiction to say that the universe is itself that cause. The
marks which it bears of dependence on a supreme reason of
existence, are incontrovertible. Whether that dependence be
conceived of as strictly proximate, or whether the efficiency
of the divine power pass through one or ten, ten thousand or
ten thousand millions, of intervening agencies, can make no
difference. Let the unceasing activity of operation move
subordinate causes whose number could not be put down in
figures, and whose complication no created intellect could
follow ; it is still the same. " The excellency of the power
is of God." Indeed the latter supposition exalts the more
highly our view of the divine perfections ; the knowledge)
wisdom, and power, to which complication and simplicity,
remoteness and nearness, an atomic point and all space, —
are the same. " God is a Spieit. — Do not I fill heaven and
earth ? saith Jehovah. — He is all and in all. — In Him we
live, and move, and have our being."
Of this dependent universe, our planet is a part so small
that no arithmetician can assign a fraction low enough to
express its proportion to the whole. God has appointed it
for our habitation, till the great change of death : and, on
every account, natural and moral, it is to us full of interest.
Its constitution, the alterations of structure and arrange
ment which are incessantly taking place upon it and within
it, its living inhabitants, ana those races of creatures once
possessing vegetable or animal life, but which have ceased
to live— set before us subjects inexhaustible for examination
and delight.
The object of this lecture is not to lay down a digest of
geological facts. Such a pretension would be absurd, unless
we could work upon a larger scale. But I may well feel

W0EKS ON GEOLOGY BECOMMENDED. 35
assured that my friends will not do themselveB so much
injustice, as would be the neglect of studying diligently some
of the best works, and which may easily be obtained.* I
* If, for the sake of my younger friends, I mention the works which I
can with most satisfaction recommend, omissions must not be understood
as intimating any disparagement. Lyell's "Elements," and his earlier and
larger work, the "Principles of Geology;" let the inquirer obtain the last
edition of each; also Mr. L.'s two volumes, full of miscellaneous as well as
geological interest, "Travels in North America," 1845; Phillips's " Guide
to Geology," his "Treatises" in the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia and the
Cabinet Cyclopaedia, both works published separately, and that in the
Encyclopaedia Metropolitana ; his " Yorkshire Geology," two quarto
volumes; his "Geological Map of the British Isles;" his "Paleozoic
Fossils of the West of England ;" Conybeare and William Phillips's
"Outlines of the Geology of England and Wales;" a work, to our great
regret, not yet finished, and of which a revised edition and the completion
are earnestly looked for; Buckland's "Bridgewater Treatise," with the
Supplementary Notes published separately ; Sir Henry de la- Beche's
" Researches," his quarto volume of " Geological Sections and Views," his
" Manual," and his " Report of the Geology of Cornwall, Devon, and West
Somerset;" Mantell's works on " Sussex," and the " S. E. of England,"
his "Wonders of Geology;"1 "Medals of Creation;" "Thoughts on a
Pebble," a beautiful little book, adapted for young inquirers; "First
Lessons, an Introduction to the Phenomena of Geology;" "Thoughts on
Animalcules," 1846; Fitton's "Geology of Hastings;" Murchison's small
treatise on the " Geology of Cheltenham," his splendid works on the
" Silurian Region," and the " Geology of Russia." There are many other

1 This Work of Dr. Mantell's is peculiarly adapted to serve not merely
as an attractive introduction to geological science, but as a comprehensive
manual of the principal facts already known, and lines of inquiry which
invite pursuit. It has rapidly passed through six editions ; besides one
(and probably more) in New England, to which Dr. Silliman has prefixed
a large and instructive Introduction. In it, that distinguished philosopher
says: " The title is appropriate: but it would be great injustice to consider
this work as a mere collection of mirabilia. It embraces in truth a regular
system of Geology, exhibiting its leading facts, and clearly elucidating its
philosophy, which is the great object ofthe work."
D 2

36 NECESSAEY TEUTHS.
have only to present, as concisely as I can make intelligible
by merely verbal description, an enumeration of those truths
which are necessary to be known for the purpose of our pre
sent investigation. I call them Truths, because they appear
so to myself, after having taken, I shall be pardoned for
saying, no inconsiderable pains, and during not a few years^
in examining the evidence of these positions. To detail that
evidence would be altogether impracticable, except we could
devote many days to it ; but my friends will give me credit,
books written with sound knowledge and accurate judgment. An inestimable
accession to the stores of Geological information, and the aids for labour in
the field and study in the closet, is made by the new edition (1840) of Mr.
Greenough's " Geological Map of England and Wales," the fruit of twenty
years' application in the improvement of the first, though that was the
object of universal admiration. Mr. Charles Maclaren's " Geology of
Fifeshire;" Prof. Hitchcock's " Elementary Geology," second ed. 1841, a
work peculiarly adapted to theological students; Mr. Richardson's (of the
British Museum) " Geology for Beginners," a volume which, without the
slightest disparagement of any other, is entitled to be universally read and
studied by proficients as well as " beginners." Prof. AnBted's " Geology,
Introductory, Descriptive, and Practical ;" his " Ancient World, or
Picturesque Sketches of Creation;" the " Mosaic Creation, viewed in the
Light of Geology," by the Rev. George Wight, of Doun in Perthshire,
1846. "Index Geologicus," a large Tablet, proper to be mounted on cloth
and rollers, by Mr. George Bartlett, of Plymouth. It presents a Synoptic
View of the Mineralogy of the Formations, their geological characters
and succession, ample lists, parallel with each formation, of the Organic
Remains, Vegetable and Animal, properly arranged, with their geographical
position, and agricultural notices. As a concomitant aid, and a subsequent
review of geological treatises, it will be found of signal use. To those who
have not, or who could not use, the Five noble Tablets with Figures
(* Geologische General Karte ; oder Synoptische Uebersicht des Zustandes
der Erde, in ihren verschiedenen Altern;") published at Weimar, in
1838, Mr. Bartlett's elaborated arrangement will be an excellent substitute.
As a valuable companion to these interesting studies, and possessing the
closest relation to Geology, I feel no little pleasure in recommending the
'' Pre-Adamite Earth," by the Rev. Dr. John Harris.

CEUST 0E THE EAETH. 37
(hat I would not utter what I do not believe to rest upon
good ground of certainty or high probability.
I. Concerning the Structure of the Earth, we are ac
quainted, by sensible evidence, with about the four hun
dredth part of the distance from the surface upon which we
dwell, taken at the sea-level, to the centre. This portion
may be called ten miles. But every one must be aware that
no such distance can be reached by direct descent. To the
bottom of the deepest seas, from the water-surface, may be
seven miles : the average depth of the sea is pretty well
ascertained to be about three miles : the highest of the
European mountains, Montblanc, is not quite three miles :
the highest peak of the Himalaya mountains falls short of
five miles : each of the two deepest mines in Great Britain,
one in Cornwall, the other at Monk Wearmouth in the
county of Durham, is stated upon the authority of the
Treasurer of the Geological Society,* at a little more than
three-tenths of a mile : and the deepest mine of which we
have any correct measurement and which may fairly be
regarded as the deepest in the world, at the village of
Kitspiihl in Upper Austria, is a little more than half a
mile. It may then be asked, upon what grounds we regard the
* John Taylor, Esq., in " Report III. of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science, 1833," page 427. [From which I derive the
following particulars: — Eng. ft.
The Kitspiihl copper mine, not worked for the last seventy
or eighty years  2764
The Sampson, Hartz; silver  2230
Monk Wearmouth ; coal. Auth. of Prof. Johnston, 1838 . 1620
Pearce's Cornwall; copper, &e  1464
Eeton, Staffordshire; copper  . 1380
But it must be observed that these depths are measured from the mouth of
the mine, which, as the countries are. mountainous, is always much above
the height of plains. The Woolf's, in Cornwall, is 1350 feet deep, of

38 STEATIFI0ATION.
distance, or to speak more correctly the thickness, of nearly
ten miles of the external part of the earth as known to us
by ocular observation. Not a fortieth part of this could
have been excavated, or in any way penetrated, if the
surface of the earth were what Dr. Thomas Burnet and
some other theorists of the last century imagined to have
been its pristine, and, according to their notions, beautiful
and sacred condition, before it became deformed by the sin
of man ; that is, if the earth's surface were that of a perfect
mathematical sphere, without seas and islands, without
valley, rock, or mountain, with " not a wrinkle, scar, or
fracture," (to use the learned dreamer's own words ;) — and
which, he seems never to have thought, would be to the eye
of a spectator a universal plain, a dead flat. Little knew
those speculatists that what they had deemed deformity was
the cause of all the life and beauty of our lower world ;
that without it we should have had no springs of water, no
rivers, no stone or lime to build with, no metals to make
tools of, no healthy condition of the atmosphere, and but a
very scanty and low existence of vegetable and animal life.
Happily for the human race, the Creator of the earth did
not see fit to form it upon this plan. Its rind, shell, or
crust (each of which term is used, but none of them is free
from impropriety, though the last is the best), consisting of
which 1230 descend below the sea-level: " while the bottom of the shaft of
Valenciana in Mexico " (depth 1770) " is near 6000 feet in absolute height
above the tops of the shafts in Cornwall. The bottom of the shaft at the
Sampson mine, is but a few fathoms under the level of the ocean. — We
have only penetrated to the extent of one thirty -two-thousandth part of the
earth's diameter."
From the "American Journal of Science," by the Professors Silliman,
(March 1146, p. 264,) we learn that an Artesian well at Mondrop is above
2200 feet deep, and is still in boring, the water rising at the temperature of
95°; and that the Artesian well at Grenelle near Paris, through the chalk.
is above 1794 feet; the temperature ofthe water, 82°.]

0EDEE OF 8TEATA. 39
a number of extended masses of various thickness, and
spread out one over the other, has been raised up by a
power acting from below ; and, from the horizontal position
which originally but at different times belonged to the
larger number, they have been inclined in all degrees, so
that the lowest in order have been elevated to form the
summits of the loftiest mountains, and their ridges consti
tute the edges of the basins or troughs in which subsequent
deposits have been laid. The masses, beds,- or layers,
technically called strata, so upraised, present of course their
broken edges ; and, by following these out-croppings, (as
they are significantly called,) with careful search and scien
tific discrimination, through extensive tracts of country, the
series is disclosed, from the crystalline rocks upon which
the first or lowest stratum rests, up to the last or newest
which, in plains for the greater part, lies immediately under
the soil on which we live, build our habitations, and cultivate
our food.
All strata follow antecedent ones in an order which is
certain and invariable for every region of the earth, so far
as investigation has been carried ; and it has been carried,
with great care and skill, far enough to render any exception
from this rule extremely improbable. If the entire series
exist in superposition in any places, it must be on a line of
perpendicular descent, under low plains, which would admit
of but a trifling depth of penetration, as water must soon
fill the shafts, and the utmost depth to which any well can
be sunk is but a small fraction of the perpendicular descent
necessary to be explored. But this impracticable proof is
utterly unnecessary ; because the demonstration of the facts
is incomparably more perfect from the out-cropping of strata,
and their exposure upon large surfaces, highly inclined or
even vertical, in mountainous countries and sea-cliffs. No
where, however, is the entire series found. Some member

40 OBJECTION AND BEPLY.
or many are wanting in every assignable locality ; but they
are never put in a violated order. Also, exact mineralogical
identity of composition is not necessary to constitute what
I may call the right and title to a given station : analogy of
composition, order of succession, and (which is the most
interesting and decisive evidence) similarity of organic
remains, produce a sufficient equivalence ; and when these
three kinds of proof concur, we have a complete demonstra
tion. It may be objected that our data are insufficient ; and
that, unless we possessed a knowledge of the terrene matter,
whatever it may be, and into whatsoever formations it may
be subdivided, through the whole interior, and under every
part of the superficial circumference to the centre, we are
not in a capacity to draw safe conclusions, concerning the
contained materials, their composition, their arrangement,
their relations to each other, and any rationally conceived
mode in which subordinate causes may have operated,
initially, successively, or concurrently, in the production of
the matter of our globe.
The objection would be weighty, if there were reason to
suppose that the body of the globe, beyond the boundary-
line of our inspections, were similar to the part already
explored. If, for example, the objector could say to us,
" Tou have arrived at no term. Tou cannot show us the
indications of a cessation of the materials which you say
have been deposited, and which form the portion through
which you have passed. The series may be repeated, pos
sibly again and again : or there may be another series, of
entirely different composition, such as precipitates from
suspension in water, or products of chemical action, or
results of igneous fusion ; and so on indefinitely. Unless
you had penetrated through all these, you can draw no
conclusion on which dependence can be placed."

CEUST OE THE EAETH. 41
But the objector cannot say this. He would be guilty of
a false assumption. The true state of the facts is the very
contrary to what he supposes. We are acquainted certainly,
I might almost say perfectly, with the character and succes
sion of the deposited substances which, laid upon each
other, with a remarkable degree of uniformity over the
whole surface, compose the crust of our globe ; and we
know the totally different constitution of the materials
which he underneath.* We see demonstrated with satis
factory clearness, the distinct character and the opposite
mode of production of these two classes of mineral forma
tions. We have all the evidence that can reasonably be
desired of the previous condition of those underlying rocks,
their ancient, and at a depth not great their present,
liquidity by heat, their boiling up, their extrusion both in
the melted state and in different degrees of advancement
towards being cooled and hardened, their being driven up
wards through the overlying formations of deposited layers,
their sometimes insinuating themselves between- the pre
viously contiguous surfaces of those deposits, their filling
long furrows of outbursts, and their being laid bare in many
cases to open dayhght. It is therefore no presumption to
affirm that we do know, with the clearness of sensible
evidence, the constituent formations of the crust of the
earth, their modes of production, their relations to each
other, and the fact of their enveloping a mass of materials,
similar in composition to the lowest rocks, and which we
* "Geological investigation may, at the present time, be considered as
having fully exhausted Europe, and the greater part of America; and the
general uniformity of the geological series, in all the various regions hitherto
explored, extending, as they do, over a full third of both the Eastern and
Western hemispheres, reduces to a very low degree of probability the antici
pation that we shall hereafter discover any new and important term of the
series." — " Quarterly Review," March, 1846, p. 350.

42 LNTEBNAL HEAT.
have much reason to think are, at certain depths, still in a
state of constant fusion. The consolidated crust, with its
superincumbent masses, is constantly undergoing elevations
and depressions, in different districts ; showing by those
undulations, that it rests, or rather floats, upon a hquid
surface. Those who bring forward this objection are, perhaps, not
aware of its bearing. Were it well founded, its effects
would be to augment, by immeasurable degrees, the antiquity
which must be attributed to the earth.
In replying to this objection, which is brought up at tho
very threshold of geological inquiry, I have been led into an
anticipation of several positions, which must be stated more
in regular detail.
II. There are good grounds for supposing that, beyond a
certain thickness for the solid crust of the earth, which can
hardly be estimated at so much as thirty miles,* the next
contiguous matter is in a state of fusion, at a temperature
probably higher than any that man can produce by artificial
means ; or any natural heat that can exist on the surface.
"Whether, in like manner, the whole interior of our planet
be composed of melted matter ; or whether there be a solid
nucleus ; and whether such nucleus be close-grained, or
more probably cavernous, the solid partitions being infusible
and the disseminated vesicles filled with gaseous substances
at a very high temperature ; thus presenting an analogy to
the appearance of ordinary boiling liquids; — are parts of
the problem upon which eminent geologists are not agreed.
But in this they are agreed, that they will not put conjec
ture, however probable, in the rank which is due only to
decisive evidence ; and that they will wait with patience till
such evidence shall be attained. In the mean time the
* Supplementary Note B b; on the thickness of the solid crust of tbe
earth.

BOCKS OP FUSION. 43
highest efforts of mathematical genius are on the stretch
for the resolution of the problem. But that a large part of
the interior matter of the earth, and that part in contact
with the sohd crust on which we dwell, is in the state of
fusion by heat, appears to be a doctrine established by most
satisfactory proofs. It should be considered, that the mean
density of the earth is not quite five sevenths of that of iron,*
nor half that of silver, nor one fourth of that of gold : facts
utterly inconsistent with the supposition that the interior
is a solid mass, or occupied by vast bodies of water, in its
ordinary hquid state, united or detached; or indeed any
thing but a fluid or fluids maintained in that state by the
action of heat as an antagonist power to gravitation. This
mean density is rather more than double that of granite.
III. The rocks which he the lowest in the descending
order, and which of course are under all the stratified.
deposits, are iu the state which has been produced by the
prodigious heat that has been mentioned, acting under a
pressure from above so great as incomparably to exceed any
familiar weight or force that we could mention as a measure
of comparison. Those rocks bear clear marks of having
crystallized in structure, and contracted in mass, by cooling
from a state of fusion. It has been objected, that the com
ponent parts of those rocks melt at unequal degrees of heat ;
as in the constituents of granite, which are quartz, mica,
and felspar, the last of these ingredients is fused at about
half the temperature which the first requires.
But they who make this objection overlook the fact of the
extreme pressure under which the power of heat was exerted ;
which would prevent the most fusible substance from being
volatilized at the highest point that could exist : neither can
* After the admirable labours of Maskelyne and Cavendish, it has been
determined, beyond the chance of any further correction, by the late Mr.
Francis Baily, to be five times and sixty-hundredths that of water.

44 STBATIFIED BOCKS.
they argue from the inequality of the points of fusion of the
minerals when extricated, that the compound would not melt
even in far less favourable circumstances ; for most persons
are acquainted with the ready fusion of metallic compounds,
though at a point considerably different from that which each
ingredient would require singly.
IV. The rocks which lie above these,, though partial
crystallization, generally aqueous but sometimes igneous, is
found in them, are demonstrably of a different origin. They
are all composed of earthy matter, that is, different mixtures
of sand, clay, and lime, with minor proportions of some other
interspersed minerals. These have been washed away from
the previously elevated rocks by the action, first, of the
atmosphere and variations of ' temperature, disintegrating
and loosening the surfaces ; and then of dropping rain and
running rills and streams, washing off the materials, in fine
particles or coarser grain, through all degrees of attenuation ;
carrying them down into lower situations ; and finally, after
perhaps a very long succession of these transporting and
sedimentary processes, depositing them on levels of rest, in
the quiet. bottoms or local depressions of lakes and seas. Each
sediment or deposit is called a layer, orbed ; for conveniency
using the Latin word stratum. These stratified formations
may be called about forty in number ; in thickness, some
times . only a few feet or even inches, but usually many
hundreds or several thousands of feet. Stratification must
be distinguished from homogeneous lamination, which is a
frequent character of single strata, presenting at their edges
the appearance of leaves, like those of a book or a bundle of
paste-boards. Taking some general resemblances of mineral
composition as a principle of classification, the whole of the
existing beds may be distributed into a small number of
groups, in a measure according to the convenience of the
geological observer, describer, or reasoner; though most

DISPOSITION AND TEXTURE OF THE BEDS. 45
acquiesce in making about twelve divisions, which, for the
most part, have very distinct natural characters. Such a
distribution is, at least, useful as an aid to the memory.
V. These beds of deposited earthy substances are not to
be conceived of as concentric spheres, spread universally over
the earth, the outermost including lower ones, and thus
embracing the globe ; as the paper and varnish which cover
artificial globes, or the coats of liliaceous bulbs, commonly
but inaccurately called bulbous roots. Such an idea would
be quite erroneous, and would betray into great misappre
hensions. But each layer is of some limited extent ; con
siderable, it may be, in reference to the superficial divisions
of country, but not exceedingly great in comparison with
the whole surface of the earth. Each usually thins off
towards its edges, or the edges are abruptly broken by the
upheaving and dislocating force : and the highest strata
generally he in hollows of various form and extent, which
may be called troughs or basins, the edges of which are made
by the elevated ridges of the oldest formations, so beautifully
called in scripture, " the great mountains, the everlasting
hills, the pillars of heaven."
VI. The lower strata, manifestly the most early, are
generally of the greatest extent in length and breadth, and
very much the deepest in thickness.* The higher and
newer are severahy of less magnitude in every dimension.
* On the margin of Mr. Phillips's Geological Map of the British Isles
(a model of clearness and beauty) is a proportionate scale of the thick
nesses of the whole series of strata ; from which it appears that all the
formations, from the superficial soil to the lowest part of the New Red
Sandstone, constitute but about one sixth of the entire depth (geologically)
of the stratified masses. The remaining five parts are the Carboniferous,
the Devonian (Old Red Sandstone), the Silurian, the Cambrian, the
Cumbrian, the Chlorite and Mica Schists, and the Gneiss. See " Edin
burgh Review," July, 1839, p. 434 ; part of a valuable article on Mr
Lyell's "Elements."-

46 INFLUENCE OF INTEENAL HEAT.
Tet, in no case, must the idea of size or extent be taken
upon a trifling scale. Even with the more recent, the area
of one formation is often some hundreds of square miles.
VII. Thus are formed the earthy beds called by the
general name of rocks ; but this term must not be under
stood as it is in common language, to denote a stony mass
necessarily very hard. The consolidation of the formations
is in all degrees, from the loose sand and gravel under our
feet, or the friable Hastings sand-rock, and the soft coherent
texture of the ink-coloured clay which lies beneath our
gravel ; to the finest close-grained marble and the heaviest
hornblende. The degree of hardness, the result of con
solidation, is upon the whole the greater, the lower we
descend; as must appear probable to the mind of any
reflecting person. It is produced by the action and reaction
of two opposite forces ; the one, derived from the mere
weight of the materials, which must press more heavily as
the depth is increased ; and the other, one whose power is
principally exerted upon the lowest class of strata, and
which, it scarcely needs to be said, arises from the expand
ing property of the interior heat. Chemical affinities also,
and electrical action, have had, and continually have, a
considerable share in the producing of texture.
VIII. Those lower strata, and in the proportion of their
distance from the surface, which is the same as their
proximity to the focus of heat, bear the more abundant
proofs of having been, not only urged upwards by the
expansive power below, but in other ways acted upon by
the immensely high temperature. The source of that heat
can be -no other than the fires which had melted and driven
upwards the materials forming the rocks of fusion. We
have great reason to beheve that these deep-seated fires
(—scarcely however to be so called, when we reflect how
near they must be to the surface,—) or, as some eminent

INFLUENCE OF INTEENAL HEAT. 47
geologists are disposed to think, certain remainders of them,
are perpetually in action. Consequently, the order of pro
duction, in those rocks of fusion, must be the reverse of
that which is seen in the rocks of deposition and stratifi
cation. The uppermost masses are the oldest; and the
newest, so long as they remain in their proper place, must
be deep-seated beyond the reach of human inspection, and
lying in contact with the amazing mass of melted mineral
matter. There are also examples innumerable, and upon
a grand scale, of the melted mineral matter having been
driven up with a force so great as to have overcome every
resistance, breaking through all the hard and thick rocky
masses (which must also have been full of cracks from the
shrinking while cooling) that lay over it, bending, bursting,
uplifting, and overturning strata, filling the chasms made,
running in those lines of crack or fissure, separating strata
and entering between their previously close-lying surfaces,
so as to form flat tablets, often also coming to the surface
and towering above all that it had displaced. These cases
are of frequent occurrence, and they form an exception to
the observation just made with respect to the relative
antiquity of the fused rocks, of which these projected kinds
have come up from the lowest depths and the most recently.
In fact, those fused rocks may be of all ages; the most
recent being of course at the lowest depth, till violent
ejection takes place.*
* It would be mean injustice to refrain from acknowledging the obli
gations under which Geology lies to Dr. James Hutton. His " Theory of
the Earth," published in 1788, propounds the doctrines of the igneous
action, its propulsions, and its effect on deposited masses, by felicitous
anticipations and reasonings of extraordinary sagacity ; the most important
of which he lived to see confirmed by visible facts. He died in 1797. Few
persons, during his life-time, could appreciate the value of his discoveries
and the force of his arguments ; and still fewer were willing to do so. The
charge of impiety and infidelity was made against him ; and he seems to

48 STEATA UPHEAVED.
IX. As we ascend in the order of the strata, we find the
appearances of the action of fire become fainter. The
pervading influence of a high temperature diminishes, till
little or no sensible effect from it remains ; and, though
the mechanical displacements are still perceptible, they are
remote and often secondary results of the power that has
acted so far below; and the intensity of the action is
weakened, in proportion to the distance from its source.
X. By that mighty action from within, the extruding
tendency radiates generaUy, but with unequal force, to all
points on the spheroidal surface of the earth. It follows,
that the earlier strata with scarcely any exceptions, and
have given himself little disquiet about it. Whether he was really a disbe
liever in religion, I know not. His day of life and his connexions were
extremely unfavourable to the just treatment of religious questions, and the
cultivation of enlightened faith. Inferences which his adversaries drew from
his writings, but which were not just inferences, they spared not to lay upon
him. His manner of expression was often inconsiderate, obscure, or un
guarded and sometimes exposed to just censure. But the fact ought not to
be lost sight of, that his fundamental principles are now admitted, and their
great importance felt, by all geologists ; few, if any, being excepted. The
impartial lover of truth would do well to read the article in the Edinburgh
Review (No. cxl. July, 1839), upon Mr. Lyell's « Elements of Geology ; ''
both for its general value and for its discursion on the merits of James
Hutton. That any physicists and philosophers are hostile and scornful
with regard to Christianity, is deeply to be lamented. Such a fact, in what
ever degree it may exist, is due to prejudice, ignorance, irreligious education,
or other moral causes : but to treat them with injustice is not the way
which Jesus Christ would have adopted, and it can only tend to render
their prejudices more inveterate. There is another admirable article in the
same Review, No. cxxxi. April, 1837, on Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater
Treatise, pp. 4— 14.— It is highly gratifying to meet with such a sentence
as the following, from one who deservedly stands so high as a mathematician
and a philosopher : " I would venture to express my belief that, among the
most eminently distinguished philosophers of the present day in this country,
there exists even a profoundly religious spirit." — Prof. Baden Powell's
"Tradition Unveiled," p. 65. 1839.

SUBSIDENCE. 49
in smaller degrees the less ancient, have been raised up,
shattered, and left in various positions of fracture and
inclination. Of those dislocating movements, the mode
has been different ; and as to the time of production, the
process has been generally very slow; though, in some
cases, there are evidences of the disturbing force having
acted suddenly and violently. From the portions thus
elevated, and left with an irregular outline, the waters in
flowing off carried down the loosened materials, and, in
different extent and degree, left bare the stony masses.
XI. But it is upon reflection obvious, and the geological-
evidences of the fact are numerous and decisive, that the
ebullient action of the fire-melted hquid below is likely to
produce undulations of the surface, and therefore, in some
places, to cause diminutions of density, and perhaps vast
caverns filled with aeriform fluids. The crust of the earth,
over these less sohd spots, will be weakened, and a sinking
down will take place through, it may most probably be, a
large area of the surface. These subsidences may, in some
rare cases, be rapid : but generally they, as the elevations,
will be extremely slow.
XII. Now I fear that I must put to trial the patience of
my friends in an attempt to describe in words a complicated
series of operations which, by arguing from effect to cause,
we have sufficient reason to believe must often have taken
place, in ways equivalent to what I request you to conceive.
But this is not the forming of an imaginative hypothesis :
it is no more than expressing in the form of simple narra
tive, facts of whose separate reahty we have the fullest
evidence, and the consecutive occurrence of which we con
sider as in the highest degree probable.
Let the mind represent to itself a large space of the bed
of an ancient ocean, into which the sedimentary materials
from the land have been transported, through a period of

50 STBATTFYING PEOCESSES.
time to us immeasurable. Along this extended surface the
deposits, in the varieties which changing circumstances in
both the land and the waters have produced, are spread.
By the weight of an ocean five or six miles in depth, and by
the antagonist pressure, with intensity varying but always
great, of heat from the under-lying fires, this formation is
consolidated. A series of movements from below raises up'
a portion of this deposit; till it is above the water-level,
with its hills and dales and susceptibilities of further varia
tion of surface. Ages roU on. Other strata are laid upon
the portion of the area which had not partaken of the
elevating movements ; or which may have moved in the
contrary direction ; that is, may have sunk down : so that
a difference of mineralogical (called also lithological)
character is produced over it. The former portion long
lies as a part of the dry land, is washed over by rains and
rivers, and is subjected to other causes of superficial change;
then it becomes subject to the process of slow subsidence,
consequent upon fluctuation or some other change in the
fiery region below, and it becomes once more the bed of
oceanic waters. Here, in due but various process of time,
it is overspread with a new stratum, differing from its own
preceding surface, and from the one or several strata which
had in succession been laid upon the portion not elevated
during the whole period ; the difference being probably in
mineral composition and texture, but more certainly in the
character of vegetable or animal remains which are imbedded
in. it. Now the new body of deposits may be identical over
the entire extent first supposed. It is manifest, therefore,
that in one part the last stratum will rest upon the fore
going one, which had been long elevated and exposed to
causes of change ; and thus the surfaces at the junction
will be irregular : but, upon the portion which had not been
raised out of the waters, or which had sunk, one stratum

EVIDENCE OF OPEBATIONS. 51
or several have been deposited throughout the intervening
period, and they will probably rest comformably, each upon
that below it, that is, their bounding surfaces will corre
spond to each other in lines nearly parallel. The whole
area comes afterwards to be elevated ; or only some parts of
it. One part, therefore, possesses a series of strata which
are not found in the other ; and that other, if studied alone,
might suggest the idea that two formations naturally came
together, or that the upper always followed the lower at
once, while yet between them in reality some others have
intervened. These operations of deposition, elevation, subsidence, and
elevation again, in application to separate districts, and in
different periods through an indefinite duration, — have been
repeated a number of times; each repetition producing
breaks, fissures, and manifold displacings, erections, and
inclinations, of the more hard and consequently frangible
strata; and bendings, even to a complete overturning, or
contortion backwards of the softer and more coherent ones.
The evidence of elevation and that of subsidence occur
frequently within moderate geographical limits ; so that two
districts with their intervening ground may be familiarly
compared to a long board, balanced on a fulcrum: when
one end sinks the other rises.* Often under the superficial
* Sec. ed. Of this operation examples nave recently occurred in the
landslips, or rather subsidences, at the cliffs of Dowlands and Whitlands ;
of which a very instructive elucidation is given in Mr. Lyell's sixth edition
of his " Principles," vol. ii. p. 78. But the inquirer will find the fullest
information upon the facts, and the most satisfactory opinions as to the
causes, briefly and luminously stated in a "Descriptive and Geological
Memoir of the Subsidences of the Land, and the Elevation of the Sea-
bottom, between Axmouth and Lyme," Dec. 26, 1839, and Feb. 3, 1840;
with Sections by Mr. Conybeare, a Ground Plan by Mr. Dawson of
Exeter, and seven faithful and beautifully picturesque Views of the scenes,
two of which are from the pencil of Mrs. Buckland, and five from that of

52 UNCONFOEMABLE SUEEACES.
area of less than an acre, and with a descent of but a few
feet, may be seen, even in beds very similar in earthy com
position, such disconformity of the bounding surfaces, with
respect to their deviation from the horizontal position, as
carries demonstration that each member of the series had
been formed, elevated, and afterwards inclined ; so that the
next deposit came to be laid upon a dipping surface, while
its own upper part was on the level : yet this also, with its
under-lying neighbours, has received another impulse from
below ; repose has succeeded, a new layer is deposited, the
inchnation has taken another change ; and this succession
of unconformable strata is displayed several times. Such is
the case in the Oolitic formations : and how much more
must this be the case when a number of strata, of differing
composition, is taken into the account ?  By an abund
ance of various and comphcated evidence, it is proved, that
there is probably no spot on the face of the earth, both the
dry land and the seas as they at present exist, which has
not gone repeatedly through the conditions of being alter
nately the floor of the waters, and an earthy surface exposed
to the atmosphere and occupied by appropriate tribes of
vegetable and animal creatures. At the next engulfing, that
loose surface has been swept off by the power of the waters.
In some cases, the bounding surfaces of differing but nearly
allied strata seem to have been produced while under the
water ; by a rapid change of temperature, or an immission of
carbonic acid gas, or some other physical agent.
The miscellaneous result might seem to baffle all attempts
at arrangement and safe induction ; but the labours of dis
tinguished men, most of them our admirable contemporaries,
Mr. Dawson: the whole revised by Dr. Buckland. Annexed are accounts
of similar phenomena, in the same neighbourhood in 1790, and at various
times in Dorsetshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Hampshire, Gloucestershire,
Shropshire, and other places.

OEDEE NOT TEANSGEESSED. 53
in the field of actual investigation, with astonishing toil and
perseverance, guided by cautious judgment and habits formed
in the study of the exact sciences, have triumphed over what
might have appeared a hopeless confusion ; and have reduced
to a certainty scarcely short of sensible and mathematical
proof, the modes of deposition, the order of original succes
sion, and in many cases that of subsequent change.
From the description which I have endeavoured to give,
it will be easily understood, that the order of succession is
never transgressed ; though particular formations, one, two,
or more, in a system or subdivisional group, and of course
many in the whole series, may and must be wanting. Those
formations either have never existed, in consequence of
modifying causes affecting the operations which I have
attempted to describe ; or they have been removed by the
nearly horizontal action of water, washing away large masses
of strata, scattering and spreading their materials upon the
floor of the oeean, and thus producing new formations.
XIII. To such removals, occasion has been given by the
elevations and depressions so frequently before mentioned.
These have exposed the softer or previously loosened ma
terials, to the incursion of mighty bodies of water, which
have washed them away, carried them out to shorter or
longer distances, dropping the coarser and heavier portions
the earliest, holding longer in muddy mixture and trans
porting to the greater distances the fine and light particles,
and spreading them out under the great seas. There these
new strata have been disposed variously, according to cir
cumstances arising from the form and constitution of the
bottom, the direction of currents, volcanic action below the
bed of the sea, molecular aggregation of similar substances,
and chemical attractions. This kind of change, in relation
to the area from which the surface has been swept off, is
called Denudation.

54 OEGANIC EEMAINS,
XIV. While these mineral formations were thus in pro
gress, their masses yet soft were replenished with the remains
of animals which had lived in the waters ; skeletons, cover
ings, sheUy habitations, and even soft parts still exhibiting
their vestiges. In all the formations, (or we might say
groups or systems of strata,) excepting the earhest two or
three, those remains occur of organized creatures, chiefly
animal, but in some cases vegetable. The absence or paucity
of vegetable remains in the older strata,* except in the beds
connected with coal, is reasonably ascribed to the more
ready destruetibility of vegetable fibre, especially as the
earhest species appear to have been of soft structure, though
of great size. In the Lias beds, fragments of wood approach
ing to the harder structure, are abundant : and in the still
later formations there are very remarkable instances. But
an abundance of vegetable remains does not occur, except in
ihe coaly strata till we arrive at the very recent formations ;
of which fact geological science affords satisfactory expla
nations. Even with respect to those earliest beds, just mentioned,
we cannot be absolutely assured that organized nature,
vegetable or animal, never existed in them : for their vestiges
would [most probably] be destroyed by the heat communi
cated from below.
XV. As a general assertion, it might be said that the
animal remains become more abundant, as we depart from
the older strata : but such an assertion would be far from
being universally and exactly correct, t In this respect,
many interesting circumstances of [extreme] diversity pre-
[* In the Old Red Sandstone, and even earlier formations, are found
some obscure impressions or even scanty remains of sea-weeds:— Fuco-
ides.] t Supplementary Note, C.

CHAEACTEEISM. — WILLIAM SMITH. 55
sent themselves to the laborious explorer of fossil remains,
especially in the department of Conchology.
XVI. With respect to their forms of organization, there
is so much general analogy as gives a sufficient ground for
the observation that all belong to Classes and Families
similar to those which now exist ; but in Genera and Specie,
there are remarkable differences.
XVII. The earliest of known organic remains are the
most widely different from animals and plants of the exist
ing creation, in generic, and of course still more in specific
characters ; and throughout the vast succession there is a
gradual approach, in all classes, to the type of recent forms.
XVIII. The duration of existence, in both genera and
species, presents many remarkable facts. A few genera,
each genus containing perhaps but one species or a very
smah number, are found to have their respective lengths of
time for existence, in some single stratum. In general they
extend through several strata ; but then there is a greater
multiplication of species, giving proof of periods of remark
able fecundity.
XIX. Each system of strata has species which belong to
itself, so that both the mineral formations and those certain
species are reciprocally characteristic. This fact is among
the greatest discoveries of modern times. For it we are
indebted to one whose conduet and character should be held
up as a model for the imitation of young men, in all the
walks of life, that they may aim at the highest excellence
and diffusive usefulness : — Dr. William Smith, to whom by
general accord the designation has been given of the Father
of English Geology.
Fifty years ago, when a very young man, he began his
course ; he quietly and without ostentation pursued it, in
the most laborious examinations of the stratified formations
throughout England, chiefly the southern and midland

56 1MP0ETANT DISCOVEEY.
counties. He announced not his discovery till the patience
and perseverance of many years had placed it beyond the
reach of doubt. He might, by reserve and management not
dishonourable, have built up for himself fortune as well as
fame ; by the benefits which his discovery and his practical
knowledge conferred upon the economy of mines, and the
surveying of ground in order to building, road-making, and
agriculture ; besides the firm foundation which he laid for
geological science. But with the most open and ready
generosity, he communicated all, to men of science and to
the world at large.* He constructed the first Geological
Map that was worthy of the name, opening the way to Mr.
Greenough's disinterested labours ; he gave to the world
several and most valuable works on the systematic relations
of Organized Fossils; and he deposited in the British
* In and before 1799, "By maps and sections, and arranged collections
of Organic Remains, Mr. Smith endeavoured to explain to many scientific
persons those views regarding the regular succession and conitnuity of
strata, and the definite distribution of animal [and vegetable forms in the
earth, which are now the common property of Geology. Among those who
heard his explanations at this early period, may be mentioned Dr. James
Anderson, of Edinburgh; Mr. Davis, of Longleat; the Rev. Joseph
Townsend, [of Pewsey;] — and the Rev. B. Ricliardson, of Farley. The
two last-mentioned gentlemen were remarkably able to appreciate the
truth and novelty of such views, from both their general attainments in
Natural History, and their exact knowledge of the country [Somersetshire
and Wiltshire] to which Mr. Smith directed their attention. Both of them
possessed large collections of Organic Remains; and both were astonished
and incredulous when their new friend, taking up one fossil after another,
stated instantly from what particular rock, and even bed of stone or cla<j,
the specimens were derived. Nor were they less surprised when, in the
field, Stratum Smith (as he was termed) traced with ease and accuracy the
ranges of the rocks, by following the courses of springs, and many other
indications of a change of the substrata." — Biogr. Notice by Prof
Phillips, in Charlesworth's "Magazine of Natural History," May 1839-
p. 216.

EANGE OE KINDS. 57
Museum, for universal instruction, the Collection which
verified his doctrines. Long may he enjoy in his retirement
the happiness most congenial to his hberal mind, and add
to that the sublime joys of Christian piety and heavenly
anticipation !* — But from this tribute of justice, I must
return. Upon this great fact, which Professor Sedgwick happily
calls "the Master-Principle of our Science," f the Character-
ism of Fossils, a number of other truths are dependent, and
those of the greatest value both practically and theoretically.
A well-prepared conchological geologist looks to the suc
cession of strata as the possessor of a cabinet does to the
order of his shelves ; and with a certainty as precise, knows
what species are to be found on every layer.
XX. A small number of genera may be called (if we may
imitate one of the pleasantries of Linnaeus,) Eoyal and
Noble Families. Comprehending numerous species, they
have a truly wonderful range. The genus Leptaena (or
Producta) is one of the first that have been ascertained ;
and, in about. fifty species, it is found through the immense
series of formations, known as the Cumbrian, the Cambrian,
the Silurian, the Old Eed Sandstone [or Devonian], and the
Carboniferous Limes, Shales and Sands. Spirifer, about
equal in origin, passes still higher, through the remarkable
varieties of the New Eed System ; and is found in the Lias.
The Ammonite, in an amazing number and diversity of
species,J appears in the Silurian System, and is found in
every formation till it terminates in the Chalk. Terebra-
* W. Smith, LL.D., died at Northampton, after a very short illness, Aug.
28, 1 839 ; in his 71st year. As this sentence had been delivered six months
before, I do not expunge it.
+ "Proceedings ofGeol. Soc." Feb. 18, 1831.
X The distinguished conchologist, Mr. Searles Wood, is of opinion that
the number of species, including, however, some forms which may be only
varieties, approaches to a thousand.

58 GEOGEAPHICAL DISTBICTS.
tula has a far wider range ; it begins among the earhest, its
numerous species scarcely fail, if at all, till we reach tho
Chalk, in which they are more abundant than in any other
formation ; other of its species occur, though in diminished
number, throughout the Tertiary System ; and it is repre
sented by some twelve or more species in the living creation.
Thus each species has a definite period of existence. The
succession proceeds. One species dies off, and its place is
taken by another of the same genus : till at last, in many
eases, the whole genus ceases. Some genera have a con
fined range, if we may use such a word, for periods of
probably many thousand years ; others have continued
through more numerous formations, and some even to the
living state of the creation. But be it observed, I am
speaking only of families and genera. Of species, none are
found in the Chalk nor in the more early strata, which
exist in the present condition of the earth.* Above the
f That none of the now existing species of vegetable or animal nature is
found so early in geological sequence as the Chalk formation, was the
general persuasion of naturalists at the time when these Lectures were first
published. But now, an exception must be made of remarkable interest.
Of the world of microscopic insects with their shelly coverings (usually
called shields,) calcareous and often purely siliceous, which have been
brought to light by the researches of Prof. Ehrenberg and those who are
treading in his steps, it has been discovered that many species still existing
have left their fossil remains in the chalk, and I believe also in the green
sand, the Oolites, and even earlier rocks : and not only are these found
in those rocks, but they actually constitute a principal constituent of the
mass. That this should be the fact with respect to these creatures, whose organ
ization is not less complicated, while their diversity of form is far greater,
than that of large animals, and their minuteness would for ever have
concealed them from man's unassisted eye, — is indeed a surprising disclosure.
It cannot but impress us as a new and most unlooked for demonstration of
the Mysterious Wisdom, which is " high as the heavens, what canst thou
do 2 deep as the unseen world, what canst thou know S " Job. xi. 8.
[Fourth ed."l

LIMITS OE 0EGANIC EEMAINS. 59
Chalk, a small number of the now living species begin to
appear-, and the proportional number increases through
the six or seven Tertiary formations ; so that the formation
which, as far as has been ascertained, is the last prior to
the existing state of nature, contains about ninety-five in
the hundred of living species ; while the oldest of even
these Tertiaiy beds scarcely yields four living species to
ninety-six extinct ones.
XXI. The areas, or regions, over which characteristic
organic remains are found, though often of great extent,
even to the embracing of opposite hemispheres, yet are not
universal ; thus manifesting that groups of species had their
geographical limits : a most important fact, since it esta
blishes a correspondence with that law or condition of the
existing animal and vegetable kingdoms, by which species
are grouped together, and appropriately confined within
geographical districts, man being almost the only excep
tion. XXII. It is also apparent, that the variations of organi
zation, which form the distinctive characters of species, as
those of any given genus succeed each other, have been
adapted to the varying condition of the earth's temperature,
the atmosphere, and the waters ; and undoubtedly made
suitable to each other, in then- reciprocal relations as par
takers of organic life.
XXIII. Besides the fossils which are strictly character
istic of the great systems of strata, there are others which
may be considered as subordinate, and which connect the
particular formations with those proximate to them, below
or above.
XXIV. Strata containing shelly, crustaceous, or coralline
remains, generally present appearances which prove to a
demonstration that the animals hved and died on the muddy
or sandy bottoms of the waters. Those appearances con
sist in the posture of individual specimens ; in the juxta-

60 DEPOSITS AT MOUTH OF E1VEES.
position of numbers, as they lie in what may be called tribes
or family groups, spread in beautiful order over considerable
areas ; and in the preservation of their slender, delicate,
and fragile parts.
There are other cases, in which the organic remains, be
they plants, sheUs, or bones, exhibit proofs of having been
washed away from their native seats, by streams of fresh
water, or by tides and currents of the sea ; and thus trans
ported into new situations, in which depressions of the
bottom, or some obstacle, or the cessation of the force of
the water, allowed them to rest ; and there the separated
parts have become imbedded in the muddy bottom. Those
lake or ocean bottoms have been consequently elevated and
dried. Again they have sunk and been submerged, so as to
form new ocean-beds ; over which new alternations of depo
sition and elevation and depression have taken place. This
vast succession of changes presents much and various
evidence of having required indescribable periods of time
for being effected ; and it should never be forgotten that
the same processes are still in operation, and have been so
without intermission since the Almighty gave its present
form to our habitable earth. There can be no doubt that,
from the earliest date of man's brief history, the Nile, the
Ganges, and the more mighty rivers of America, have
been pouring their waters into the seas at their respective
mouths. The quantity of earthy matter (with infinite
multitudes of dead animals and portions of them, and the
vegetable spoils of the land), which is without ceasing
floated down and added to the formations at the bottom,
cannot but be astonishing. By careful experiments it has
been ascertained, that the Ganges carries into the Bay of
Bengal, annually, the average of 355,361,464 tons' weight .
an amount difficult in our imagination to estimate ; but to
bring it to some auxiliary standard for comparison, Mr.
Lyeh has calculated that it nearly equals the weight of

BOCKS STILL IN FOEMATION. 61
sixty times the greatest pyramid of Egypt.* The base of
that pyramid covers an area equal to that of Lincoln's Inn
Fields, and its summit is 150 feet higher than the cross of
St. Paul's Cathedral. Tet that sea is not sensibly rendered
more shallow ; and the river is navigable for large ships to
Calcutta. So the Thames and the Severn have been bearing
down their sediment for near six thousand years : but how
far are their estuaries from being silted up ? And, how
many thousand years longer will be required to produce
that result ; should it not be accelerated by a movement
from below ?
It must, however, be stated, that there is both geological
and historical evidence of rapid and even sudden elevations
and depressions having taken place in many parts of the
globe ; but those occurrences have been comparatively rare,
and to a limited extent.
XXV. There are two other descriptions of rocks which
are neither igneous nor stratified, and which have been from
early periods, and still are, in formation. The first of these
comprehends two kinds ; one consisting of carbonate of lime,
deposited by water, generally warm, which had held it in
solution, but which drops it on emerging from the earth.
This is found abundantly in limestone countries ; it is the
travertine of Italy : the other kind, formed in like manner
by hot water taking up silica (the earth of flints), and de
positing it when coming to the air : — the great example is in
the Geyser springs of Iceland. The second consists of the
Coralline Eocks, of many fathoms in depth, and many hun
dred miles in extent ; — the coral rocksf of the Eed Sea, and
* " Principles of Geology," vol. ii. p. 13, sixth ed. in which striking pas
sage are presented other aids to our conception.'
* The classical work on this subject is, " The Structure and Distribution
of Coral Reefs," by Mr. Darwin ; 1842. A luminous epitome of it, by Mr.
Charles Maclaren, is in the " Edinburgh Philos. Journ." Jan. 1843.

62 NEVEE ALL LAND, NOB ALL WATEE.
the Indian and Pacific Oceans. These amazing formations
are the work of minute insects, which have the property of
secreting from sea-water its smah quantity of carbonate of
lime, and with these apparently petty contributions com
posing the mighty masses.
XXVI. Every stratum is itself a proof that dry land
existed contemporaneously, above the level of the waters :
for the mineral materials composing strata are the wearings
and washings down, coarse and fine, from the surfaces of the
exposed land. Thus were produced areas, formed by each
kind of the matter brought down, and having their peculiar
characters and boundaries.
XXVII. From the mineral characters of those areas, and
from the vertical penetration by various organic species
through several strata of different composition, which thus
indicate long periods of succession and different conditions
of deposition, it is an inference highly probable, if not cer
tain, that there never was a period when the surface of the
globe was continuous dry land ; nor entirely covered with
water, or any mixture of detrital matter in water. In other
words : the stratified structure of the earth presents evidence
that there have never been universal contemporaneous form
ations, but that, from the period of the production of the
igneous rocks, and the commencement of the stratified, the
surface has always consisted partly of hmited areas depressed
and holding water, and partly of lands rising up from the
boundaries of those depressions.*
To this fact in the former periods of the earth, its present
condition affords a clear resemblance. The actual Zoology
and Botany of its surface exhibit several distinct regions,
in each of which the indigenous animals and plants are,
at least as to species and to a considerable amount as to
* See the Tabular View ; Supplementary Note D.

ZOOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL DISTEICTS. 6'3
genera, different from those of other zoological and botanical
regions. Natural agency (such as that of winds and currents)
and artificial means have done something towards confounding
the distinctions of characters ; but in the case of countries
widely separated, the plants and animals proper to each
region so differ from those of every other, as to impress us
with the conviction that they have not been derived from a
common ancestry for each species, in any one locahty upon
the face of the earth. They are respectively adapted to
certain conditions of existence, such as climate, temperature,
mutual relations, and no doubt other circumstances of
favourable influence which men have not yet discovered, or
which never may be discovered in the present state. These
conditions cannot be transferred to other situations. The
habitation proper to one description of vegetable or animal
families would be intolerable, and speedily fatal, to others.
Where the extreme of incongruity does not exist, there are
causes of unsuitableness, whose action is less powerful, but
slowly and surely effective. Even when, as in many parts
of the two hemispheres, and on the contrary sides of the
equator, there is apparently a similarity of climate ; we find
not an identity, but only an analogy, of animal and vegetable
species. It is confessedly difficult to fix with absolute precision
the lines of demarcation for these independent domains of
living organized nature. The general fact is established
beyond the reach of doubt ; but naturalists are waiting for
a more complete acquaintance with the plants and animals
of every part of the globe, before they deem the natural
divisions finally determined. According to the degree of
knowledge already attained, the following may be accepted
as an approximation. A distinguished Christian physiologist
and philosopher, Dr. Priehard, was the first to bring forward

64 ZOOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL DISTBICTS.
correct views upon this interesting subject ; and he proposes
seven regions for the distribution of animals.* Mr. Swainson
pleads for five, but upon a ground of analogy which he has
assumed without proof, and which is contrary to impregnable
truth.f Others make eleven.% With regard to the vegetable
kingdom, some eminent naturalists have given their opinion
in favour often for the old continents, and six for America :§
but the great philosophical botanists of Geneva, Messieurs
de Candolle, father and son, " than whom," says Professor
Hitchcock, "no better judges can be named, reckon the
number of distinct botanical provinces at twenty-seven.
This estimate was the result of an examination of seventy
or eighty thousand species." || The Eev. J. S. Henslow,
the Professor of Botany in the University of Cambridge, a
man to whom Geology, as well as the professional science
which he adorns, is under great obligations, remarks that
" We do not as yet possess any very accurate information
respecting the number and exact extent of the well-defined
botanical regions into which the surface of the earth may
* " Researches into the Physical History of Mankind;" vol. i. pp. 68 — 97,
third ed.
+ "Geography and Classification of Animals;" pp. 14 — 18.
X Prof. Hitchcock, in the " American Biblical Repository;" vol. xl. p. 17 ;
1838. § Von. Schouw's " Fundam. Princip. of a Universal Geography of the
Veget. Kingd." German Transl. from the Danish, by the author, with an
Atlas; Berlin, 1824.
|| " Amer. Bibi. Repos.," as above. Lyell's " Principles of Geology,"
vol. iii. p. 7. Distributions into more numerous groups are ascribed to
Von Schouw and De Candolle, in the " Abridgment of Malte Brun's and
Balbi's Geogr." Edin., 1840, part i. pp. 90—93: and into a. smaller
number, twenty, by De Candolle, as stated by Dr. Pilchard, in his
" Researches," vol. i. p . 32, third ed. ; these differences may be owing to
the consultation of different works or editions of the authors, independently
of the inherent difficulties of the subject.

DISTINCT CEEATIONS. 65
be mapped out:"* but he proposes forty-five as an approxi
mating estimate.
Hence it follows that there must have been separate
original creations, perhaps at different and respectively
distant epochs. Man, whom the Creator formed to " have
dominion over the works of his hands," to a wide extent of
the inferior natures, was brought into being in one pair ;
from which all the varieties of our kind have descended.
They are only varieties, effected by circumstances, and not
species, which would imply separate primary ancestors.
This position, unhappily rejected by some persons, is not
only a fact which lies at the foundation of revealed rehgion,
but it is confirmed by an accumulation of proof from
anatomical structure, from history, from the theory of lan
guage, and from the philosophy of intellectual and moral
qualities. For this assertion I may appeal to the authority
of the veteran Blumenbach,t who occupies a station among
the highest, in the Comparative Anatomy of the different
races of men ; and to both the authority and the luminous
arguments of Dr. Prichard, in the work before referred to.J
Man, and a small number of animals peculiarly service
able to man, are endowed with a capacity of adaptation to
all the differences of climate and other circumstances, not
indeed unlimited, but extending through a wide range.§
This capacity requires for its complete development, a
* "Descriptive and Physiological Botany;" p. 305.
+ Born 1752 ; appointed Professor of Medicine in the University of
Gcittingen, in 1778; and died, Jan. 22, 1840.
{ Supplementary Note E, on the Varieties of the Human Species.
§ Sec. ed. On the borders of the sandy deserts of Africa, and in many
other portions of the hot regions of the globe, men live where the ground
under their feet is often 140° and even more (Fahr.), and the mean heat of
the air around them is from 80° to 90°. On the other hand, in the inhabited
country of the Tschutschoi, a little within the Arctic circle, Admiral Von
Wrangell, in the winter of 1820, had in his house,— 40°, i.e. 72° below the
F

C6 DISTINCT 0EEATI0NS.
gradual proceeding in subjection to the agents of change;
for which the life of no individual is sufficiently long, nor
even the duration of several generations. The process
must be carried on through many steps of descent ; and in
its course, considerable alterations of structure are slowly
produced. XXVIII. In every part of the earth, the succession of the
strata, and the character and effects of the non-stratified
rocks, are the same. Of this fact, the actual observation
has been so extensively accomplished, and the operation of
mechanical and chemical causes is so certainly understood,
that no jealousy or scepticism can avail to prevent the in
duction from being made universal.
" A few years ago only, when unable to indicate the first
created animals, or the exact relative places occupied by
some of the earhest formations, we were compelled to trace
the sequence downwards, by commencing with deposits
previously analysed, proceeding thence to those of anterior
date ;" [ — of which method Sir Boderiek's Silurian System
furnishes aluminous example ; — ] " but now, having learned
to decipher the very first letters in the long records of
animal life, we assume a more distinct position as historians,
and exhibit in their natural order, the successive organic
features which appear in the stony legend of the earth,
freezing point of water. " The people moved about in the frost of— 41°,
as gaily as if it were summer. The Yakuts are still more hardy than the
Tschutschoi : lying on the ground in the open aid, and often insufficiently
protected by clothing, they can endure without the least injury a degree ol
cold which would be inevitably [and almost instantaneously] fatal to a
European. — "Athenaeum," June 13, 1840; Review of Von Wrangell's
Expedition to the Polar Sea ; edited by Colonel Sabine from the Translation
of his accomplished lady.
The greatest natural cold known is, from the observation of Sir Edward
Parry, — 55°, or even,— 59°; of Sir John Ross, but the accuracy is not quite
free from question, — 60°.

D1SIIKCT CEEATIONS. 6/
from their earhest dawn to the present condition of the
planet. " In a word, — we can now fearlessly assert, that the
geological history of sequence of the earhest races of fossil
animals is firmly estabhshed. Its truth is sustained by the
display of forms, which mark the period when the first
vestiges of life can be discovered, as well as the foUowing
successive cbeations ; and thus, whilst, with the excep
tion of one sacred record, we can truly say that the origin
of the greatest empires of man is buried in fable and super
stition, the hard and indelible register, as preserved for our
inspection in the great book of ancient nature, is at length
interpreted and read off with clearness and precision."*
The eminent geologist Alcide d'Orbigny, has ascertained,
by extensive and accurate study of the requisite authorities,
that the geological structure of South America bears a
strong resemblance to that of Europe, and that the differ
ences are few and not very striking.t Combining this in
formation with the labours of the North American geolo
gists, Sir E. M. says : "We can now therefore affirm that,
throughout the western hemisphere, from the far north to
isles almost within the antarctic circle, the palaeozoic deposits
succeed each other in the same order as in the British Isles." J
Observation has also shown that the same characters and
succession obtain in Asia, both North and South, in Africa,
and in Australasia. lb.
* "Sir Rod. Murchison's Geo!. Russ." vol. i p, 9. 1845.
t " Report to the Paris Acad, of Sc." stated in the " Athenseum," Sept.
9,1843. J " Geol. of Russia," vol. i. p. 6.

63 antiquity of the eaeth.

LECTURE III.
Romans xi. 36. Of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things:
to whom be glory for ever.
Some of the most important positions affirmed in the
preceding lecture could not fail to be perceived by my
attentive hearers, to be at variance with certain sentiments
Or interpretations, which are extensively received under the
supposition of their being declared, or at least implied, in
the Holy Scriptures. It is now my duty to state, in par
ticular detail, what those sentiments and opinions are ; and
in what manner they stand in contradiction to the facts in
the natural history of the earth, to which we have adverted.
My auditors will do me the favour to observe, that I
speak of opinions and interpretations ; the sentiments which
men have taken up, and promulgated as the declarations of
the Bible. We have not yet arrived at the part of these
lectures in which we shall have to examine whether those
interpretations are the genuine sense of the divine oracles.
It would not be proper to anticipate that inquiry : yet
I cannot but be anxious that my friends should keep
constantly in mind the avowal made in the first lecture ;
namely, my conviction that those interpretations are erro
neous. I solicit this favour as a protection to myself from
being understood, in this and the fohowing lecture, to cast
any doubt upon the truth and authority of Scriptures. It
is not the word of God, but the expositions and deductions
of men, from which I am compeUed to dissent.
I. It is a prevailing opinion that the dependent universe,
in ah its extent, was brought into existence by the almighty
power of its Creator, within the period of the six days laid
down in the first portion of the Book of Genesis ; chap. i.

physical diffeeences. 69
throughout, and ii. 1 — 3, where the editorial division should
have been made, as the whole is evidently a connected and
complete narrative. The same conclusion is also drawn
from the language of the fourth commandment ; " In six
days the Lord *nade heaven and earth, the sea, and all that
in them is." Exod. xx. 11.
To this mode of understanding the Scripture, the dis
cover hs of geological science are directly opposed. Except
ing, [possibly but not certainly,] the higher parts of some
mountains, which at widely different epochs have been
upheaved, and made to elevate and pierce the stratified
masses which once lay over them, there is scarcely a spot
on the earth's surface which has not been many times in
succession the bottom of a sea, and a portion of dry land.
In the majority of cases, it is shown, by physical evidences
of the most decisive kind, that each of those successive con
ditions was of extremely long duration ; a duration which it
would be presumptuous to put into any estimate of years or
centuries ; for any alteration of which vestiges occur in the
zoological state and the mineral constitution of the earth's
present surface, furnishes no analogy, (with regard to the
nature and continuance of causes,) that approaches in
greatness of character to those changes whose evidences are
discernible in almost any two continuous strata.* It is an
inevitable inference, unless we are disposed to abandon the
principles of fair reasoning, that each one of such changes
in organic life did not take place till after the next pre
ceding condition of the earth had continued through a
duration, compared with whieh six thousand years appear
an inconsiderable fraction of time. Among other facts, it is
to be observed that the instances referred to often involve an
* Sec. ed. As the term stratum is used with some latitude, so as to be
applied to both the greater divisions and those which are less marked, I beg
to have it understood here as denoting the principal classes.

70 AEMOSPHEEIC DIFFEEENCES.
increase of temperature to a great amount. For example,
it is proved,by the clearest evidence of vegetable remains,
that, in what are now temperate or extremely cold climates,
there prevailed, during the periods of the earlier secondary
rocks, a mean of temperature equal to that of the hottest
region upon the present surface of the globe, or probably
greater.* It is also shown, by such evidence as every
physiologist and every chemist knows to be satisfactory,
that, at the periods referred to, the earth's atmosphere (by
being loaded with carbonic acid) must have been eo dif
ferent from that which we possess, that the present kinds
of animals breathing by lungs, and many kinds which do
not so breathe, could not have existed. Now the evidence,
from various points of physical reasoning and from well-
known historical facts, is ample, that the same state that
now subsists, as to temperature and the constitution of the
atmosphere, has belonged to our planet ever since the day
that God created man and the animals connected with man.
An objection may arise from the recollection that some
commentators have supposed, as the mediate cause of the
longevity of the antediluvian patriarchs, a peculiarly salu
brious quality in the atmosphere, which they also suppose to
have been destroyed by the deluge, or in consequence of it.
But this is an imaginary hypothesis, involving heavier diffi-
* Another evidence of this fact has been adduced by Prof. Edward
Forbes, in the characters of the freshwater shells which are found in the
more recent strata preceding the present surface. These prove, by abundant
instances, that Britain possessed a warmer climate than can be assigned to
the human period. " Zoo-Geological Considerations," &c, in the " Annals
and Magazine of Natural History;" vol. vi. 1841, p. 242. Many such
evidences occur in the fossil animal remains of older periods,
[It is maintained by Prof. Agassiz and others, as probable, that there
has been one at least intercalated period, in which our northern hemisphere
has been subjected to a temperature very much lower than its oresent
mean.]

antiquity of the eaeth. 71
culties than what it professes to remove ; and, if it were to
be accepted, it would add to the weight of reason for the
interposition of an immensity of time between the deposition
ofthe carboniferous lime-stone, for instance, and the present
epoch ; because the condition of the atmosphere which geo
logical evidence evinces to have belonged to the remote
period of which we have been speaking, was the reverse of
salubrious, or better fitted to support life than our present
common air; it would have been instantly, or in a few
moments, fatal to man, or to any such lung-breathing
animals as now exist.
But, while the general evidence for an antiquity of the
earth, so great as to set at nought our attempts at esti
mation, may be compendiously understood by any one who
will take moderate pains in studying the appearances of
stratification, and the characters of organic remains ; it
ought to be kept in mind that there is a multitude of facts,
of a more minute description, and which present themselves
on every hand to the practised geologist, each of which has
great importance, but the sum of which amounts to an irre
sistible body of argument. It would be unreasonable to expect
that ah, of even liberally educated and well informed persons,
should be sufficiently versed in Natural History, Chemistry,
and the doctrines of mechanical force, to be able readily to
apprehend and duly to weigh those facts and the deductions
from them : but the claim is reasonable that, in such cases,
we should satisfy ourselves by giving credit and honour
where credit and honour are due. We feel no difficulty in
thus relying upon conclusions drawn, in the way of mathe
matical reasoning, by Newton, Bradley, Laplace, and the
Herschels ; and, were we to indulge the monstrous suppo
sition that such men were willing to deceive, we know that
there are thousands able and ready to detect the minutest
error, and expose any misstatement, if such there were.

72 antiquity of the eaeth.
Upon this ground, therefore, I may take a few sentences
from a mathematician and man of science, from whom, in
the first lecture, I derived an important citation, and who,
tiU his recent resignation, filled the chair of Newton. In his
work, " The Ninth Bridgewater Treatise," Mr. Babbage has
the following words :
" In truth, the mass of evidence which combines to prove
the great antiquity of the earth itself, is so irresistible, and
so unshaken by any opposing facts, that none but those
who are alike incapable of observing the facts and appreci
ating the reasoning, can for a moment conceive the present
state of its surface to have been the result of only six
thousand years of existence.  Those observers and philo
sophers who have spent their hves in the study of Geology,
have arrived at the conclusion, that there exists irresistible
evidence, that the date of the earth's first formation is far
anterior to the epoch supposed to be assigned to it by
Moses ; and it is now admitted by ah competent persons,
that the formation even of those strata which are nearest
ihe surface, must have occupied vast periods, probably
millions of years, in arriving at their present state." Pp.
67, 78.
As another example, I may mention that Mr. Charles
Maclaren, in a valuable contribution to Geology, very
recently pubhshed, estimates a single period of volcanic
quiescence, during which strata of coal, shale, sandstone,
and hmestone were deposited over the site of the basaltic
hill called Arthur's Seat, at Edinburgh, at five hundred
thousand years* Let it be observed that these are not
random guesses, but founded upon knowledge and con-
Bxderation.f This is indeed a cumulative argument. It arises from a
» " Geology of Fife and the Lothians;" p. 37. Edinb. 1839.
t See Supplementary Note F, on the Antiquity of the Earth.

NO UNIVEESAL CHAOS. 73
number and variety of considerations which, without ex
aggeration, we may call inexhaustible. The active Geologist
can scarcely enter upon any new field of observation, or
repeat his survey of former ones, but he meets new proofs,
or the strengthening of what he before possessed. The
evidences, taken separately, are not equal in clearness and
cogency. Some of them have a vast amount of independent
weight : others are less striking, particularly to an unprac
tised observer: but they aU bear in one direction: and
their united force is such as to awaken surprise that any
intelligent person can be found who is capable of resisting
it. It is the case, as in all arguments of this description,
that the multitude and diversity tend to embarrass us, and
the difficulty lies chiefly in selection and arrangement.
II. Another opinion, which has been and perhaps still is
received extensively, not only by those who hold the former
position, but by many who disallow it, is this: that the
state of the earth's surface, immediately before its being
brought, by the wisdom and power of God, into the con
dition destined for the reception of man and his contempo
raneous hving creatures and plants, was one of universal
dissolution from a former condition; and which consisted
in a mixture of water and much earthy matter, producing
an ocean of muddy substance, half hquid, half sohd, com
pletely enveloping the globe : and that also the atmosphere
was perfectly dark, or nearly so ; either because its consti
tution, as a regulated compound of nitrogen and oxygen,
and endowed with the properties of transmitting and re
fracting the rays of light, was not yet effected ; or because
it was so filled with the densest watery vapour as scarcely
to allow a passage to the light, so that, if not absolutely, yet
comparatively and sensibly, had a human being existed to
employ his eye upon it, it might be called " darkness."
This sentiment has been supposed to be contained in the

74 SEEIES 0E OBGANIC CEEATUEES.
words of the sacred record ; " And the earth was without
form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep :
and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
Gen. i. 2.
Now this interpretation will not consist with facts briefly
stated in the preceding lecture ; (Prop, xxvii.) Those state
ments I am happy in being enabled to confirm and illustrate
by the authority of one whom talent and science, unwearied
personal toil in the exploring of many of the most important
districts of Great Britain and Ireland, and a mind disciplined
by severe studies, have formed into one of the most emi
nently accomplished Geologists.
" The earliest forms of life known to Geology are not, as
might perhaps be expected, plants, but animals; they are
not of the lowest grade of organization merely. Zoophyta
far advanced in structure (lamelliferous corals,) and Bra-
chiopodous bivalves, of three genera, were found by myself
on Snowdon, but no distinct traces of plants. The number
of species of this early fauna is extremely small, but there is
about them no mark of inferiority, no extraordinary sim
plicity. " From this [apparent] origin of organic life, there is no
break in the vast chain of organic development, till we reach
the existing order of things : no one geological period, long
or short, no one series of stratified rocks, is everywhere
devoid of traces of life. The world, once inhabited, has
apparently never, for any ascertainable period, been totally
despoiled of its hving wonders. But there have been many
changes in the individual forms ; great alterations in the
generic assemblages ; entire revolutions in the relative num
ber and development of the several classes. Thus the
systems of life have been varied from time to time to suit the
altered condition of the planet, but never extinguished. The
earth, once freed from its early inadequacy to support life

SEBIES OF OEGANIO OEEATUBES. 75
according to the appointed laws of life, has since been pro
lific of vegetable ancl animal existence.
" The proportionate number of organic forms has gone on,
even gradually ; augmenting from the dozen species of the
Snowdon slates, through the twelve hundred and more
species of the Oolite, the four thousand forms of the tertiary
eras, to the multitudes of [now] existing things. The change
of organic structure is also, in some degree, proportioned to
the time elapsed. Tried by the Cephalopodous Mollusca,
we see perish, first the Orthoeeratites, then the Belemnites
and Ammonites ; while Nautilus and Sepia exist to repre
sent this class in [the present families of] existing nature.
The development of the different classes of animals is usuahy
thought to exhibit a similar relation ; as if nature had been
continually improved, from the moment of the origin of life :
but this opinion is, if taken generally, one of the least certain
of ah the general notions now current, because of a radical
defect in the reasoning. This defect consists in assuming
into one induction, the terrestrial and the marine races of
animals. Now, as the higher forms of life are terrestrial,
and the remains of terrestrial things are only by accident
mixed with the spoils of the sea, it is no wonder that mam
malia and birds are rarely even suspected to occur among
the buried spoils of the ocean. However, the Didelphys of
Stonesfield is enough to cast a doubt on this notion, which
should be more critically examined by a logical process.* It
should be inquired what is the order of development, among
the marine races on one hand, and the terrestrial groups on
* This very curious and perplexing subject has been recently investigated
with exquisite science and labour, by MM. Valenciennes and De Blainville,
and by distinguished men in our own country ; in particular Mr. Owen, who
appears to have brought the completing evidence in favour of Dr. Buck-
land's opinion, that the animal was a small marsupial, that is, of the
opossum family

76 peogbession of eossils.
the other. The latter are too few, in a fossil state, to justify
any decision; the former supply certain evidence. The
order of development is :
" 1. Zoophyta and Brachiopodous Conchifera.
" 2. The same groups, with the addition of Plagiomyonous
Conchifera, Gasteropoda, Cephalopoda, Fishes.
" 3. The same, with the addition of Eeptiles.
" 4. The same, with one solitary Didelphys.
" 5. The same, without Didelphys or any other quadruped.
" 6. The same, with marine and terrestrial quadrupeds.
" 7. Existing creation.
" Is the present creation of life a continuation of the
previous ones ; a term of the same long series of communi
cated being ? I answer, Yes ; but not as the offspring is a
continuation of its parent. The present crocodiles are not
thus derived from the Teleosaurus of Caen [nor the alli
gators, monitors, or any other lizards, from any of the
Saurian species of fossil zoology], by indefinite change
through time and circumstances ; as St. Hilaire's and La
marck's (and Goethe's ?) speculations might lead to suppose.
But the existing forms of life besemble those of times gone
by, because the general aspect of the physical conditions of
the world has always been, since the origin of life on the
globe, decidedly analogous : and they diffeb from them
because the correlation of life and physical conditions is
strict and necessary, so that all the variations of these con
ditions are represented in the phases of organic structure ;
while all their general agreements are also represented by
the conformity of the great principles of structure in the
beings of every geological age, and the often repeated ana
logies and parallelisms of series of forms, between different
geological periods, which we now hail as a law of nature,
when we compare America or Australia, with Africa. Asia
or Europe.

BENEEIT OF GEOGRAPHICAL DIVEBSITIES. 77
"We are not, then, in a different system of nature,
properly so called, from those which have been created, and
have been suffered to pass away before the birth of man.
But [we are] in a forward part of the same system, whose
law of progression is fixed, though from time to time the
signification of the terms varies. The full and complete
system of organic life now on the globe, includes ah the
effects of land and sea, warmth and cold, divided regions,
and all the other things which are the diversifying causes of
nature ; and it is no wonder if, before this land was raised
from the deep, and the present distinction of natural regions
was produced, there was not the same extreme variety of
natural productions. TiU that variety was occasioned on
the globe, it was not the fitting place for intellectual man
that it now is : for, surely among the other uses and correla
tions of the visible creation this is one, — by its inexhaustible
diversity and growing newness, to interest with a perpetual
charm the growing mind of a rational being, and lead him
by a flowery path to the cultivation of the divine thing
within him, which raises him above ah that his senses make
known ; and thus to fit him for the highest contemplation of
which he is capable, namely, the relation which he bears to
the unseen Authoe of ah this visible material world.
" Thus, to the mind of a geologist, nature is one glorious
book ; one system of appointed and associated law, inde
pendent of time, and exempt from change, but operating
under conditions which vary with time and place. The past
has prepared the present : the present explains the past,
and points to the future."*
* The Supplementary note, contributed by John Phillips, Esq;, to the
Rev. Prof. Powell's "Connexion of Natural and Divine Truth :" p. 309.
On account of the pressure of other scientific engagements, in which he is
rendering important services to Government and the country, Mr. Phillips
has been obliged to resign his professorship in King's College, London.

78 INVENTING MIEACLES.
III. A prevalent, though not universal interpretation of
the archaic narrative, is that the sun and ah the other
heavenly bodies were created on the fourth day after the
creation of the earth. An obvious objection to this opi
nion is, that light is mentioned in the account of the first
day : " God said, Be light ; and light was." But to this, the
common answer is, that light was created in a diffused
state ; and that, on the fourth day, it was condensed and
collected into a centre, for the solar system of planets : that
this centre is the sun, or within the sun : and that in
some similar way the luminous property of the fixed stars
was produced.
Those who adopt this hypothesis, either with or without
the modification annexed to it, are perhaps not aware that
[But he is rendering important services to science and to his country, in
association with Sir Henry de la Beche, and Prof. Edward Forbes, by con
ducting the vast work of a Geological Survey of our island, under the
authority of Government.]
The high reputation of M. Deshayes as a palaeontologist, entitles the
following statement to great consideration (though it awaits the test of
examination by other qualified men), in relation to the doctrine which has
been repeatedly advanced in this volume, that few species of organized
beings can be traced through more than one formation ; and, of those
belonging to the present state of the earth, none at all so low as the chalk.
Though the statement is derivative, the ability and accuracy of the relator
cannot be questioned.
" M. Deshayes has lately [in a paper read to the Philomathic Society of
Paris, Feb. 10, 1838], announced that he had discovered, in surveying the
entire series of fossil animal-remains, five great groups, so completely inde
pendent that no species whatever is found in more than one of them, It
is not at present in my power to investigate this subject so completely as
the case requires ; I shall therefore only recite, that the first of those
groups is that to which Trilobites give the character, that the three succeed
ing belong to the system of the large Saurians, and that the fifth includes
the systems in which I have pointed out the Paheotheria, the Mastodons,
and the Elephants." D'Omalius d'Halloy, " Elem. de Geol." p. 187;
Paris, 1839.

WISDOM OF THE DIVINE PLAN. 79
the spheroidal figure ofthe earth, its position in the planet
ary system, its rotation producing the nights and days
which the Mosaic narrative expressly lays down in numerical
succession ; the existence of water, and that of an atmo
sphere, both definitely mentioned, and the creation of vege
tables on the third day, — necessarily imply the presence
and the operations of the sun : unless we resort to some
gratuitous supposition of multiplied miracles of the most
astounding magnitude. Such as can satisfy themselves
with such suppositions, made without evidence and at their
own good pleasure, are beyond our reach of reasoning. No
difficulty, no improbability, no natural impossibility, appals
them. They seem to have the attribute of Omnipotence at
their command, to help out any hypothesis, or answer any
exigency. But I must confess that such modes of resolving
difficulties do not approve themselves to my conviction.
The Creator has formed a finite and dependent world, the
extent and complication of which overwhelm our faculties :
but, in all that extent and complication, we have demon
strations without number that the great Sovereign and Con
servator of the universe rules it according to a plan ; and
that plan, in its physical aspect, presents the one grand and
simple law of attraction, with its correlates and conseetaries.
That plan is but the method of the divine agency pervading,
upholding, and^efficiently directing all beings and all events.
God " worketh aU things after the counsel of his own will :"
— and his " counsel standeth for ever." It would be blas
phemous to doubt whether his method of proceeding be the
perfection of wisdom. A miracle is not a destroying, nor
even a suspending of it ; it is not an amending, or repairing,
or correcting it ; it is not a break in the chain ; not an occur
rence for which no provision had been made in the con
struction of the eternal purpose. A miracle is an event
which, supposing a given connexion of time, place, and

80 DESIGN OF MIEACLES.
persons, would not have come to pass in the ordinary course
of things ; but for the instrumental causality of which the
divine plan had fixed the requisite provision. It is no less a
part of " the immutability of his counsel," than is any other
fact in the series of God's operations. It is a deviation
from the ordinary course of events, but accomphshed by the
determining will of the Supreme Being, through the agency
of the instruments proper in every case, and for purposes
of the highest wisdom and goodness requiring such an
interposition. The scriptures abundantly show that the
Divine Wisdom has not lavished away miracles ; but, so far
as we know, has wrought them only for the purpose of
accrediting the claim of some one who professed to be the
bearer of a revelation from God. To every reflecting person
this must appear to be a purpose of pure and exalted bene
volence, and most worthy of the Supreme Being, the infi
nitely Wise and Good. The undeniable evidence of our
entire dependence; the consciousness, which each of us
carries in his own breast, of wants, capacities, and desires,
stretching out of the sphere of our present existence,
expanding the more as the more they are gratified, thus
proving their illimitable character, and authorizing the
expectation of another life and improved faculties of action
and sensibilities to enjoyment or suffering ; — these and their
associated considerations must impress us with the desirable
ness of obtaining something more than that sentiment of
the Deity which we derive by inferences from what we see of
his works, in their monuments of the past, or their displays
ofthe present ; the universal and unceasing manifestations of
knowledge and power, of consummate wisdom in the appli
cation of knowledge and power, and of beneficence, appear
ing in so many beautiful forms, yet chequered with so many
dark shades of sin and pain and woe. The wondrous evi
dence thus set before us of the physical government of God

DESIGN OF MIEACLES — MOEAL GOVEENMENT. 81
warrants our behef that he exercises a moral government :
and that, in proportion as mind is a nobler object than
insensible matter, or, according to some, mere ideas im
pressed upon an unknown substratum, so must the laws'
and the action of that moral government be superior to all
the grandeur Of the sensible world.
But of the moeal perfections of God, and the laws which
belong to this department of his empire, we can have no
certain knowledge, unless he be pleased to communicate it.
Yet such knowledge is what we need; knowledge which
shall have the character of certainty, so that bur anxious
rhinds may rest upon it with confidence ; and' that we may
attain, not a vague and precarious presumption, which may
be no better than an illusion of selfishness, but a rational
assurance of escaping the just penalties of our offences
against the eternal law of morals, and of rising to an
immortal perfection of ah that is holy, happy, and glorious.
Nothing short of a positive communication from the great
Being himself, to whom our fears and our desires point, can
be satisfactory ; and we cannot conceive of any method by
which such a communication could be attested as genuine,
except a miraculous intervention, a sensible proof that the
God of the universe is addressing us. Miracles, therefore,
as well-known and valuable writers upon the evidence of
Revelation have shown, are at the same point on the scale
of probability as is the fact of a revelation from God, of
grace and mercy and peace. But I must say that this wise
and gracious design is beclouded and the evidence is weak
ened, by those who plead for an exuberance of miracles,
and are prompt to resort to them on every occasion which
their hypotheses require. If they more deeply considered
the sublime objects of revelation, and if they were better
informed concerning the order and operations of the phy
sical universe often called the laws and the powers of
G

82 NO ONE CENTBE OF CBEATION.
nature, but which are no less the results of constant Divine
agency than is an act of immediate creation ; — if they were
thus intellectually and morally prudent, they would cease
to fancy such requirements. I humbly think that, for the
honour of God and the interests of genuine religion, it is
our duty to protest against the practice of bringing in
miraculous interpositions, to help out the exigencies of
arbitrary and fanciful theories. No : our " God is the
Bock," eternal and unchangeable in his attributes ; " his
work is perfect." He has constructed a system of con
nexion and dependence, of succession, collateral relations,
and harmony ; a system which has no shocks, no breaks, no
failures, to need the interposition of correcting and repair
ing. That system does indeed include the constitution of
remedial adaptations, both physical and moral. But the
corrective and restorative character of these provisions
arises from the condition of created beings, weak, change
able, and some of them morahy depraved. With respect to
the Deity, his purposes, and his operations, they are parts
of a continuous system : and " this also cometh forth from
the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent
in working." Above ah, these remarks apply to the con
stitution and accomplishment of the method of redemption
and salvation which Infinite Benevolence has provided for
our apostate and ungrateful race. " God so loved the
world, that he gave his Only-begotten Son, that whosoever
beheveth," that is, cordially reposes, " on him, should not
perish, but have everlasting life."
IV. It is very generahy assumed, as a matter included in
the description of creation given in the Mosaic narrative,
that ah land animals were created in pairs or other suitable
modes of progenitorship, on one spot upon the earth's sur
face, and that of very moderate extent ; which was also the
seat of the first human beings, the ancestors of the entire

LIFE ADAPTED TO PLACE. 83
human race. It is also supposed that, from this point, not
only did men multiply and diffuse themselves more and more
widely, but that the various species of animals did the same.
With relation to the vegetable kingdom, the correspondent
theory is commonly maintained, as consistency requires. If
there be any who do not exphcitly declare it, the omission
is more likely to have arisen from inadvertence, than from a
perception of incongruity.
It is not Geology merely, but other branches of Natural
History, that are contradicted by this interpretation of the
Scriptures. The fossil remains, whether animal or vegetable,
which are found embedded in the strata of different forma
tions, are in general spread over a large surface ; especially
so, as we go back to the earlier classes of rocks : but the
extent of surface is limited, in both latitude and longitude.
This also is the case in the most striking manner, with
respect to the present distribution of the earth's vegetable
and animal tenantry ; the condition to which the subject
before us precisely refers. Eden, the region occupied by
the first human pair, and the animals and plants associated
with them, provided for their use, and subjected to their
dominion, was in the finest part of the temperate zone. The
persons who implicitly receive the opinion just mentioned,
have perhaps never asked themselves how animals, which
the Creator has formed with the most precise and perfect
adaptations to widely different conditions of habitation,
could subsist, even for a few days, in or around the original
paradise : or, if this difficulty be evaded, by a presumptuous
evocation of miracles, or some other arbitrary supposition,
the further inquiry presents itself, by what means the
respective races, whether progenitors or descendants, could
make their way to congenial climes ; some to the regions of
fierce equatorial heat, others to those of eternal ice, and a
rigour of cold which no animal can endure for but a few
a 2

84 SEVEEAL CENTBES.
hours, if not protected by the power and skill of man, ex
cepting those which are fitted for it by a wise and wonderful
variety in the forms and functions of their bodily structure,
internal as well as external. In all the species of animals,
the entire anatomy, and the outward provision of covering,
defence, and mode of obtaining food, are adapted to their
indigenous locahty, with a power and precision which richly
display the inexhaustible resources of creative wisdom. A
few species, indeed, are formed to enjoy a very wide range,
they being among the animals readily domesticated and the
most serviceable to man. Vet even they, we have much
reason to think, were originally indigenous in particular
places : and it is worthy of observation that some of these
species, by being brought into widely different circunistances
as to climate and treatment, acquire, through the lapse of
many generations, alterations of form so remarkable, that
uninstructed persons might take them for specifically dif
ferent animals : but that these differences constitute only
varieties, and not species, is estabhshed by clear anatomical
evidence, and by the test of continuous progeny.
Having made these by no means considerable allowances,
we find abundant proofs that the habitable surface of the
dry land, and even the vast extent of the waters, are divided
into districts, the native plants and animals of which have
characteristic peculiarities.* This fact was stated in our
* The more extensively and accurately researches are made, as they have
been by our contemporary Botanists and Zoologists, the more completely
has this fiict been put out of doubt. Apparent exceptions are satisfactorily
accounted for. With respect to the one class of the animal kingdom which
may be regarded as least under the dominion of man, the inhabitants of the
ocean, the constancy with which the boundaries of the different provinces
(as I may justly call them) are observed by the teeming population of each,
is marked with inviolability. Yet superficial observers may imagine that
the free swimmers in the waters which cover nearly three fourths of the

INDIGENOUS PEODUCTIONS. 85
last lecture. An example of it has been rendered familiar
to reading persons, by the enlarged attention of late years
to such subjects, and the wonderfully increased means of
communication ; in the instance of the Australasian coun
tries. There has not been sufficient time for any of the
species of plants or animals, which have been introduced by
European settlers, to throw a shade upon the question as
to what species are indigenous and what are naturalized
foreigners. That region, which includes some of the islands
of the South Sea, is marked by characters of the most
manifest and indubitable kind, as a region whose flora and
fauna (terms used as abbreviations, to designate the collec
tion of vegetable and animal productions that belong to
any place), are completely distinct from those of any other
portion of land upon the face of the globe.*
If therefore it were maintained, that the first instances
or parents of each animal species, which the Creator has
surface of the. globe, possess and actually use the most unlimited domain
of habitation. But this is not the case. The range of some species is
very extensive, yet the principle of distribution is remarkably preserved.
Fourth ed.
* " Various opinions have been formed on the original or primitive dis
tribution of Plants over the surface of the globe : but since Botanical
Geography became a regular science, the phenomena observed have led to
the conclusion, that vegetable creation must have taken place in a number of
distinctly different centres, each of which was the original seat of a certain
number of peculiar species, which at first grew there and nowhero else.
Heaths are exclusively confined to the Old world ; and no indigenous rose
tree has ever been discovered in the new, the whole southern hemisphere
[also] being destitute of that beautiful and fragrant plant. But this
is still more confirmed by multitudes of particular plants, having an
entirely local and insulated existence, growing spontaneously in some par
ticular spot, and in no other place ; as, for example, the cedar of Lebanon,
which grows indigenously on that mountain and in no other part of the
world. The same laws also obtain in the distribution of the Animal
creation." Mrs. Somerville's " Connexion of the Physical Sciences ;" p. 284,

86 BEIGN OF DEATH.
formed to dwell upon the earth, were found associated with
the first man in paradise, we should be obhged to say that
here was a doctrine, aheged to come under the sanction of
scripture authority, but which is at variance with demon
strated facts. [The correlate of this opinion is that ah the
inhabitants of the dry land, mammals, birds, reptiles, and
insects, were, by pairs and septuple pairs, first coUected into
the ark of Noah, and then issued out of it to spread them
selves over the earth.] La a subsequent part of these
lectures, we shah have to examine the assumptions upon
which these opinions rest, and I venture to affirm that we
shah find it to be destitute of any foundation in the fair
construction of the Sacred Writings.
V. A difficulty of great moment arises from the supposi
tion that upon the authority of divine revalation, pain and
death had no place in any part of the sensitive creation, at
least in this our world, till after the sin of the first human
beings. Who has not felt the solemn tenderness of our great
poet's invocation ?
" Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world, with all our woe ;
Sing, heavenly muse ;"
— and the sentiment is very natural, and engaging to a mind
of sensibility ; prior to having any acquaintance with the
natural history of the animal tribes, that approaches to
comprehensiveness and accuracy. It seems also to be sus
tained by the infallible authority of the scriptures. " By
one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin. —
This distinguished lady, of whom a beautiful bust is appropriately placed in
the Library of the Royal Society, carries on this observation with respect to
the classes of animals; Zoophytes, Mollusks, Fishes, Reptiles, Insects, Birds,
and Mammals. Fourth ed.

0BGANI0 LIFE INVOLVES DEATH. 87
The creation has been subjected to vanity :" it is labouring
and suffering under " the bondage of corruption : the whole
creation groaneth together, and is in pangs together, until
now." Eom. v. 12 ; viii. 20—22.
But, when we come to examine this interpretation or
inference, by the light which undeniable facts afford, we
are taught a different lesson. We find that ah organized
matter, that is, everything that has life, vegetable and
animal, is formed upon a plan which renders death neces
sary, or something equivalent to death. The first step to
life in the corculum of a vegetable seed, or the atomic
rudiment of the animal body, in both cases so minute and
recondite as to be inaccessible to human cognizance, com
mences a course of changes which imply an inevitable
termination. [Plants derive their nourishment from inor
ganic matter, and they thus make the first step in the
system of existence to which we attribute material life. But
in animals it is not so. They cannot be supported by any
substances except such as have had life, vegetable, or
animal.] The mysterious principle of their life is uni
versally maintained by the agency of death. From dead
organic matter, the hving structure derives its necessary
supplies. [But those supplies do not bring a perpetuity
of existence: their very nature and operation imply the
contrary.] The processes of nutrition, assimilation, growth,
exhaustion, and reparation, hold on their irresistible course,
to decay and dissolution ; in another word, to death. Some
persons have dreamed of sustaining animal life by exclusively
vegetable food ; ignorant that, in every leaf or root or fruit
which they feed upon, and in every drop of water which
they drink, they put to death myriads of hving creatures,
whose bodies are as " curiously and wonderfully made" as
our own, which were full of animation and agility, and
enjoyed their mode and period of existence as really and

88 fossils.
effectively under the bountiful care of Him " who is good to
ail, and whose tender mercies are over ah his works," as the
.stately elephant, the majestic horse, or man, the earthly lord
of ah. By far the larger portion of the animal creation is
formed, in every part of its anatomy, internal and .external,
for living upon animal food; and cannot live upon any
other. The carnivorous nature, in a thousand instances, is
the immediate cause of inest mable benefits to man. Of
this fact a familiar example is constantly presented before
our eyes, in the speedy removal of the putrescent carcases of
animals, by the industry of millions of the minor tribes ;
creatures which many of up can scarcely look at without
disgust ; yet they are saving us from being poisoned by a
fetid and infectious atmosphere ; and after a further change,
striking emblem of our future resurrection, they come forth
beautiful aud admired insects, to enjoy the brihiance of
a summer's day, to sip the flowers, to provide a posterity,
and then to die.
Geology unfolds to us similar scenes, upon the most
magnificent scale, and occupying the recesses of an un
fathomable antiquity. Few of the formations above the
micaceous slate are destitute of the remains of animals, and
in a less degree (which is easily accounted for) of vegetables :
but the larger part of those formations is filled with such
remains, constituting in some cases nearly the entire sub
stance of rocks which are hundreds and thousands of feet
in thickness, and many miles in extent. Some of the
Egyptian pyramids are built of Nu™Dulitic Limestone,
itself entirely composed of chambered shells, of very small
size and of exquisite construction. Other rocks there are,
whose very substance consists of microscopic shells of extra
ordinary beauty, once the habitations of hying beings.
Among these are our English chalk, the Bergmehl of Sweden,
and the polishing stone, first obtained from Tripoli, but since

OEOANIC BEMAINS. 89
found in many other places. Of this last, the exquisite
shells, alinost entirely siliceous in their composition, which
appear to constitute the whole rocky masses, are so minute,
that a cube of one-tenth of an inch is calculated to contain
five hundred millions of individuals.* In the series of the
Oolite and Lias rocks, which come under the Chalk, and, in
England and many other countries, overlie the New Eed
Sandstone, are found, in immense numbers, not only the
shells of smaller sea-animals, but the skeletons of formidable
creatures, some of gigantic size, formed for swimming in the
sea and crawling near the shores. + We can see and examine
their powerful teeth ; the structure of their bones for the
insertion, course and action of muscles, nerves, and the
tubes for circulation, indicating the function; and their
very stomachs beneath their ribs, replenished with chewed
bits of bone, fish-scales, and other remains of animal food.
Thus, not only the characters of the recent animal creation,
but those of races which have occupied the earth through
past periods of immeasurable duration, demonstrate it to
have been the will of the All-wise Creator that life and death
should minister to each other throughout the whole extent
of the animal tribes ; both in the actual condition of nature,
and in those states of our world which are past, but have
left their monuments inscribed with characters that cannot
be mistaken.
"Whether these positions militate against anything that is
asserted or implied in the Holy Scriptures; and whether
* Supplementary Note G ; on the Fossil Animalcules.
+ The attentive- inquirer, if he have the opportunity, will contemplate
with deep interest the skeletons and detached bones of the ancient lizard
like animalsi in the British Museum ; or the engravings of many, on a large
scale in the " Memoirs of the Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri," 1834; and the
«' Book of the Sea Dragons," 1840, by Thomas Hawkins, Esq., F.G.S.

90 THE DELUGE.
they are at all inconsistent with the impressive declaration,
" By man came death ;" it will be our duty, in a future
lecture, to consider.

LECTURE IV.

Genesis vi. 17. And behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon
the earth, to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life from under
lieaven : and everything that is in the earth shall die.
Anotheb point remains, with regard to which the dis
crepancy between the behef that is held by some, at least,
of the most eminent geologists, and the testimony of the
word of God, as it is commonly understood, appears most
serious and alarming: this is the historical fact of the
Deluge. Fifteen hundred years had nearly elapsed since the
creation of man, and his fall into sin and sorrow : and
now human depravity had grown to an awful magnitude
So far as we can form a judgment from the concise but
emphatic terms of the history, it appears that universal
discord prevailed, mutual injustice and exasperation, ma
lignity, oppression, and cruelty. Such a habit of mind from
men to their fehow men, could not but break the bonds of
society, destroy confidence and hope, and poison the springs
of human happiness. Nor was it less certain, that such a
state of mind and character would be associated with an
impious contempt of the Creator and Supreme Euler. The
condemnatory testimony therefore is, "The earth was corrupt
before God, and the earth was filled with violence." The
expression " before God" denotes a contempt and defiance
of the Divine Majesty. It is also evident that "the earth"

the deluge. 91
is put, by a frequent scriptural metonymy, for the inhabitants
of the earth ; whence it is reasonable to infer that the uni
versal terms in our text have their proper reference to
mankind, the subjects of guilt, whose flagitious character
cried for a condign manifestation of Jehovah's displeasure.
His holy perfections were insulted, and perhaps derided
with atheistic scoff. It was now become eminently proper
that there should be some demonstration of the justice and
power of God, which should admit of no doubt; for the
supplication of a fohowing age could never have been more
appropriate, "Lift up thyself, thou Judge of the earth:
render a reward to the proud. Jehovah ! How long shall
the wicked, how long shah the wicked triumph!" (Ps.
xciv. 2, 3.)
Vet the Most High showed himself merciful and gracious.
He sent warnings and threatenings, by " Noah, the preacher
of righteousness ;" and thus his " long-suffering waited" one
hundred and twenty years. (1 Pet. iii. 20 ; 2 Ep. ii. 5.) But
despised mercy must be vindicated by righteous punishment.
God therefore made known his determination to inflict that
punishment, in a revelation to his faithful servant. " Behold
I, even I, do bring a flood of waters ;" — I will demonstrate
my holiness and wisdom, in such a manner as shah admit of
no doubt with regard to its judicial intention.
Of that awful event, the sacred narrative is clear and
circumstantial. *
" In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second
month, the seventeenth day of the month," [answering to
about the middle of November,] " the same day were ah the
fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of
heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth
forty days and forty nights.  The flood was forty days
upon the earth. And the waters increased and bare up
the ark; and it was lifted up above the earth. And the

92 SCEIPTUEE NAEEATITE.
waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth ;
and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the
waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and ah the
high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail ; and the
mountains were covered. And ah flesh died that moved
upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and
of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and
every man: ah in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of ah
that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance
was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground; both
man and cattle, and the cree ping things, and the fowl of the
heaven: and they were destroyed from the earth. And
Noah only remained [alive], and they that were with him in
the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hun
dred and fifty days. And God remembered Noah, and
every living thing, and ah the cattle that were with him in
the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and
the waters assuaged. The fountains also of the deep, and
the windows of heaven were stopped, aud the rain from
heaven was restrained. And the waters returned from off the
earth continually ; and, after the end of the hundred and fifty
days, the waters were abated. And the ark rested, in the
seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon
the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased con
tinually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on
the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains
seen. — In the six hundred and first year," [that is, of the
life of Noah,] "in the first month, the first day of the
month, the waters were dried up from off the earth. And
Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked; and,
behold, the face of the ground was dry. And in the second
month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month was
the earth dried." (Gen. vii. 11 to viii. 14.)

HISTOEICAL EVIDENCE. 93
Thus is the tremendous fact related, by the writing
which, independently of its divine authority, is the most
ancient and the most credible in the world. The histories
and traditions of all nations, ancient and of recent discovery,
furnish ample proof that this great event is indelibly graven
upon the memory of the human race. The ancient systems
of mythology and polytheism are filled with idolatrous com
memorations of the deluge. Those significant rites,, and
the traditions and historical fragments which have not
entirely perished, make us acquainted with memorials of
that event, as having existed among the Egyptians, Chal
deans, Phoenicians, Creeks, Celts, and Scythians, to the
farthest antiquity of which we have any documentary know
ledge. Also, the discovery of what was long cahed the New
World, three centuries and a half ago, brought to the view
of Europeans not only traditionary notices as possessed by
the nations, at that time very numerous, and many of them
comprising a large population, of North and South America ;
but, still further, among the Mexicans and Peruvians, his
torical and emblematical pictures, which preserve, with
more exactitude than coidd have been expected, the general
event itself, and various particulars reflecting as it were an
image, distorted, indeed, but well capable of being recog
nized, of the narrative which we possess, in its native
simplicity, in the book of Genesis. Even the inhabitants
of the South Sea Islands, so recently brought to the know
ledge of Europeans, are not destitute of their tradition,
bearing its* measure of testimony to the universal im
pression.* That a statement thus attested by the consent
* The evidences of these traditions are detailed in the late Mr. Jacob
Bryant's " Analysis of Ancient Mythology," several works of the Rev. G.
Stanley Faber, and the recently published " Doctrine of the Deluge," by
the Rev. L. Vernon Harcourt. It may be regretted that these estimable
authors have not been guarded against the too common error of weakenmg
in argument by an excess of amplification.

94 UNITEESAL TBADITION.
of mankind, did not rest upon a foundation of truth, it
would be the extravagance of absurd scepticism to doubt.
Tet it is remarkable that learned writers have not per
ceived the absence of any logical connexion betwen the
universality of historical tradition, and a geographical
universality of the deluge itself. Immense pains have
been taken, and very laudably, to cohect the traditions of
tribes and nations deposing to the fact of an over
whelming deluge in the days of their remotest ancestors ;
and it' has been hence concluded, since those traditions
existed in every quarter of the globe, that the deluge had
belonged to every region. But it seems to have been for
gotten, that each of these traditionary and historical notices
referred to one and the same locahty, the seat of the family
of Noah, the cradle of the human race. The progress of
population and dispersion, however rapid we may suppose
it, could never have been such as would estabhsh any correct
idea of geographical distance, from the recohection of space
travehed over. Of ah notions of longitude and latitude, and
determinations of distance by observation of the heavenly
bodies, the migrators must have been destitute. Their
abandonment of monotheism and pure rehgion awfully
accelerated the reign of barbarism and ignorance. Hence
it became a matter of next to inevitable certainty, that
later generations would attach their narratives of the flood
to their own immediate districts.
The connexion of this distinguished event in the history
of mankind, with the phenomena presented to geological
study, has long been a favourite object of attention to many
persons. But few of them have been aware of the perilous
course into which they had entered. To pursue it with any
rational hope of success, would require an extensive col
lection of particular facts, an accurate estimation of each
one, a power of comparing, a sagacity in drawing inferences,

ANCIENT OPINIONS. 95
and a comprehension of knowledge, both physical and bibli
cal, the thought of which cannot but fill me with anxiety.
But I shah submit to my friends the statements and
deductions which appear to me to be founded on sufficient
evidence, in the fear of God, and with the desire of pro
moting the interests of truth.
That the spoils of the ocean are to be found in ah parts
of the dry land is a fact which, one would think, could
hardly have failed to force itself upon the attention of
mankind in ah ages and ah countries ; and that the proper
deduction would have been drawn from it. But such a
conjecture has not been reahzed. Just views on this sub
ject have not prevailed, till recent times; though some
remarkable ghmpses of the truth, and indeed more than
glimpses, are to be found in the fragmentary remains of
oriental and Egyptian antiquity, and more completely in
the doctrines of Pythagoras and of other illustrious men
who fohowed him at long intervals. Strabo, the Grecian
philosopher, historian, and traveller, hved in the reigns of
Augustus and Tiberius. Of his writings only a large geo
graphical work has survived the wreck of the middle ages,
but it is invaluable, though the existing copies of it are
imperfect. In several parts of that work he displays his
sagacity and diligence in making observations, and extraor
dinary justness in his reasonings upon them. He describes
geological phenomena, particularly elevations of land, alter
ations of the lines of coast, and the existence of the remains
of sea-animals at considerable distances from the sea : and he
shows that he entertained very good ideas upon their instru
mental causes.*
These subjects, however, appear to have been forgotten or
* " Strabonis, Res Geogr. pp. 71, 73, 79, 89; ed. Falconer. An interesting
summary of the testimonies from him and other ancient writers upon this
class of facts, is given by Mr. Lyell, in his " Principles of Geology," Book. I.
chap. ii.

96 MODEEN HYPOTHESES.
neglected, during the long night of intellectual darkness till
the revival of letters. In the age of the Beformation, and
through more than the century which fohowed', the power
ful and active minds of Europe were occupied with other
inquiries, of the highest importance ; so that few of the
great men of those days seem to have sought " sermons in
stones," and science in frightful ravines, pits, and precipices.
A smah number of naturalists, chiefly in Italy, rose above
the prejudices which, however ridiculous, were supported
not by vulgar minds only, but by persons of high culti
vation ; yet who could seriously believe that the bones and
shells, and the impressions and casts of animal and vege
table fragments, had never belonged to living creatures, or
been moulded from them; but had been formed just as we
find them, by a plastic power in nature, or by some kind of
abortive effort (nisus nalurce,) to produce something which
never ascended above a mineral condition, or by freaks of
nature (lusus natures), as if this same nature were a fitful
sprite, amusing herself with beguiling and puzzling the
learned industry of poor mortals. We are now surprised
that the impiety, as well as the fohy, of this jargon did not
procure its instant rejection. Vet let us not overvalue
ourselves. It is an unhappy fact, and far less excusable,
that some men of science in our own days are not ashamed
to speak and write of a thing which they perpetually call
Nature ; of whieh they speak as if it were a goddess, an
intelligent, designing, and active being; and which they
without scruple introduce, when the marks of consummate
design, benevolent wisdom, and beautiful adaptation in the
sensible world, are so striking that we cannot shut our eyes
to them. So painfully is it evinced, that " the carnal mind
is enmity against God," and that men under its influence
" do not like to retain God in their knowledge."*
* Sec. ed. I would not that this remark should give pain to any sincere
and devout person ; and I am aware of the reasoning in defence of the

GOD TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED. 97
To ah the mental movements and the beneficial progress
of the human mind, as weh as to times and dwellings, we
may apply the principle of the apostle's declaration ; " God,
who made the world, and ah things therein, — the Lord of
heaven and earth, — hath made of one blood ah nations of
men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath
practice, that a too frequent mention ofthe Deity tends to produce either a
heartless formality or a fanatical freedom, each inconsistent with true piety.
Dr. Roget has indulgently stated this apology. Upon the passage of his
Bridgewater Treatise : " It would almost seem as if Nature had been thus
lavish and sportive in her productions, with the intent to demonstrate to
man the fertility of her resources, and the inexhaustible fund from which
she has so prodigally drawn," &c. that admirable physiologist has the note :
" In order to avoid the too frequent, and consequently irreverent introduction
of the Great Name of the Supkeme Being into familiar discourse on the
operations of his power, I have, throughout this Treatise, followed the com
mon usage of employing the terra Nature as a synonym, expressive of the
same power, but veiling from our feeble sight the too dazzling splen
dour of its glory," vol. i. p. 13. But I would, with all respect, reply to the
candid philosopher, that it is not hypocrisy or any sort of affectation that
we seek ; but the honest and filial affection which is opposed to the state of
mind described by the apostle, " they like not to retain God in their know
ledge." (Rom. i. 28.)
A noble father enriches his mansion with everything that can instruct,
improve, and delight his children. They enjoy his munificence with ex
quisite pleasure ; and they spend their lives in displaying and explaining
the wisdom and goodness and variety of his provisions for them. But they
studiously avoid the mention of his name ; any allusion to his titles, his
honours, and the homage which he has required of them ; and for this pur
pose they resort to all kinds of circumlocution and evasion. — Would not an
observer say, either that his name was not producible because of some dire
blot upon it, or that his children were unworthy of him ?
The most cutting part of our grief for this practice is, the meanness of
surrender which it involves to the irreligious. It is showing them that we
are desirous of doing without God as much as we can ; plainly, that we
are ashamed of Him ! Cowper writes : —
" Why did all-creating Nature
Form the plant for which we toil."
H

98 LABOURS OF LEIBNITZ.
determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of
their habitation." (Acts xvh. 24 — 26.) A time must have
been fitted, and an habitation, so to speak, provided, in
order that a science or an art might be born, and hve, and
grow to manly vigour. Geology could not have been studied,
without exposure to fatal errors, till the exact sciences
had been raised to their present state of cultivation;
till Newton had led the way; till Astronomy had been
perfected by the Bradleys, the Laplaces, and the Hers-
chels ; till Chemistry had come into existence, (for it
could scarcely be said to have existed before the days of
Priestley and Davy ;) till Cuvier had made his wonderful
use of Comparative Anatomy ; and till the exquisite calcula
tion of Dynamics had been estabhshed by those hving men
to whom we look with feelings of, not admiration only, but
amazement. In a word, the wisdom of providence had pre
pared the combinations, for taking effect in our own time,
by which Geological Science should rise and flourish.
There was one distinguished philosopher, Leibnitz, the
contemporary and rival of Newton, the man of universal
application, and of wondrous attainment in Theology, Ju
risprudence, Mathematics, and Philosophy generally ; whose
penetrating sagacity looked beyond his time. It is instruc
tive and delightful to meet with such instances of the
power of mind ; recollecting from whom the talent comes,
and the high responsibility which is inseparable from it,
But he was personifying the poor heathen slave. Another poet has shown
us the right order of sentiment, and its due expression : 
" Nature with open volume stands,
To spread her Maker's praise abroad ;
And every labour of his hands
Shows something worthy of a God.
But, in the grace that rescued man
His brightest form of glory shines."

0VEE ESTIMATE OF THE DELUGE. 99
before Him in whose sovereign disposal "is power and
might, and in whose hand it is to make great." (1 Chron.
xxix. 12). I cannot resist the wish to cite the words of
a judicious author, and one of our first-rate geologists.
" Leibnitz honoured this branch of physical speculation by
devoting to it a portion of his attention ; and anticipated,
with the prophetic sagacity of a powerful mind, its future
progress, and the very methods of investigation which would
most effectually contribute to its successful development."
— He " exhibits a clear anticipation of the importance and
the prospects of the new science of which he foresaw the
dawn. Leibnitz proceeds even distinctly to indicate the
line of future research into the geographical distribution
and extension of the various formations, which might be
expected to place this new science on a firm basis."*
Notwithstanding these few exceptions, the common resort
of those who took any notice'of the bones, shehs, and other
remains, presenting themselves so profusely in the bowels
of the earth, has been to the Deluge of Noah.t In what
situations soever the remains of animal and vegetable beings
were found, it was at once assumed that they were antedi
luvian relics, brought thither by the flood. It seems never
to have entered into men's minds, to consider the condition
of these organic remains, their place in natural history, their
* The Rev. W. D. Conybeare's Report on Geology, in the " Reports of
the British Association for the Advancement of Science ;" vol. i. p. 368.
f This theory was propounded with ability and a good measure of science
such as the time afforded, by John Woodward, D.D. (the founder of the
Professorship and the Museum of Mineralogy, Univ. Cambr.) in his
" Essay towards a Nat. Hist, of the Earth," 1695. Animadversions and
objections were published by Leibnitz, Martin Lister, Kammerer Prof, at
Tubingen, and others. But it required another century to obtain a sufficient
knowledge of the facts. Dr. W. maintained that all the rocks and con
tained minerals were deposited by the diluvian waters, as a common solvent,
and in the order of their specific gravity. Fourth ed.
H 2

100 UNDEE-ESTIMATE OF THE DELUGE.
relations to each other and to the particular strata in which
they occur, and the presence or absence of marks of trans
port. Scarcely an appearance of entombed organization could
be presented, but it was at once set down to the account
of the deluge. The contents of ah caves containing bones,
were supposed to have been floated or driven into them by
those mighty waters. The scooping out of valleys, whether
with the most abrupt sides and tortuous courses, or hi
smooth and gentle undulations of outline, found forthwith
a ready explanation ; without any exercise of mind upon the
inquiry whether such a diversity of effects does not imply a
proportionate diversity of causes in nature, intensity, and
duration. AU or nearly ah, the superficial drift, consisting
of sand, gravel, and rolled pebbles of ah sizes, up to the
bowlders of some thousand cubic feet, were, imphcitly and
without further examination of cases and circumstances,
ascribed to one and the same cause, the diluvial waters. In
short, persons have not been wanting, even down to the
present day, who have maintained that ah the remarkable
appearances on the surface and beneath the surface of the
earth, the depositions, the fractures, the dislocations, the
denudations, the transport of materials, and the entire
formation of strata, are the effects of the deluge.
By acting upon the common infirmities of our nature,
these pretensions have led to an excess of doubt and objec
tion in the opposite direction. Shunning the violation of
reason and evidence on the one side, in attributing too
much to the flood, distinguished men, friends of revelation
and religion, among whom we must reckon the great Lin
naeus, seem to have been led into the extreme of too much
diminishing their estimate of its power and influence. It
has been passed over as an event of but smah importance,
and which therefore might be altogether neglected in our
attempts to trace the natural history of the earth ; as having

TEUTH LIES BETWEEN. 101
been only a gradual and tranquil rise of water, fatal to life
on an awful scale, and extirpating the guilty race of man,
excepting one smah family ; but incapable of working any
material effect upon the disposition of even the superficial
materials.* To my own apprehension, the truth lies between
these extremes. During both the increase and the subsi
dence of the waters, a considerable action, from rushing
* " That great event has left no trace of its existence, on the surface or in
the interior of the earth." Prof. Jameson's " Notes on Cuvier's Theory of
the Earth," fifth ed. p. 457. The professor is a decided friend of revelation.
The Rev. Dr. Fleming also, a divine of the Church of Scotland, has
largely vindicated the same opinion. I select the following from his paper
in Jameson's " Philos. Journ." No. xxviii. April, 1826. After describing the
attempts of some to extract from geological phenomena a corroboration of
the scripture narrative, and the crumbling away of their hypotheses under a
searching investigation, he says ; " The geologist beheld his theories vanish
like a dream ; and the admirer of revelation felt (though very unnecessarily)
as if a pillar of his faith had become a broken reed. Geology, by those
premature attempts at generalizing, fell into discredit as a science among
philosophers ; and by the Christian it was viewed with suspicion. The
former had witnessed opinions and assertions substituted for facts ; and the
latter had reaped the fruits of misplaced confidence." P. 206. "There is
reason to believe from the writings of Moses, that the ark had not drifted
far from the spot where it was first lifted up, and that it grounded at no
great distance from the same spot." p. 213. " I entertain the same opinion
as Linnaeus on this subject ; nor do I feel, though u clergyman, the
slightest reason to conceal my sentiments, though they are opposed to the
notions which a false philosophy has generated in the public mind. I have
formed my notions of the Noachian deluge, not from Ovid, but from the
Bible. There the simple narrative of Moses permits me to believe, that
the waters rose upon^the earth by degrees ; that means were employed, by
the Author of the calamity, to preserve pairs of the land animals ; that the
flood exhibited no violent impetuosity, displacing neither the soil nor the
vegetable tribes which it supported, nor rendering the ground unfit for the
cultivation of the vine. With this conviction in my mind, I am not pre
pared to witness in nature any remaining marks of the catastrophe, and I find
my respect for the authority of revelation heightened, when I see, on the
present surface, no memorials ofthe event." P. 214.

102 OPINION OF CUVIEB.
among obstacles, would seem inevitable ; but the admission
of this by no means necessitates the further position, that
those effects would be distinguishable to men, after the
lapse of many ages : and, that they should have produced
the stratifications of the earth, is a notion which must appear
impossible to any one who has a tolerably correct idea of
what those stratifications really are.
A. remarkable passage relating to this subject, by one of
the finest minds and most eminent philosophers, the late
Baron Cuvier, has been often quoted, and it has a strong
claim upon our attention.
" I think therefore, with Deluc and Dolomieu, that, if
there be any thing settled in geology, it is this, that the
surface of our globe has been subjected to a great and
sudden revolution, the date of which cannot be carried
much farther back than five or six thousand years ; that
that revolution broke down and made to disappear the
countries which had been before inhabited by men and the
species of animals with which we are now best acquainted ;
that, on the other hand, it laid dry the bottom of the
immediately preceding sea, and formed the countries which
are now inhabited; that it is from the epoch of that
revolution that the smah number of individuals whom i*-
had spared, have spread themselves and multiphed over the
newly dried ground ; and consequently that it is from that
epoch alone that human societies have resumed their pro
gressive advancement, have formed [social] estabhshments,
have erected memorials of themselves, have cohected the
facts of nature, and have combined those facts into scien
tific systems. But the countries now inhabited, which had
been laid dry by that last revolution, had been inhabited
before, if not by men, yet at least by land animals. It
follows, that preceding revolutions, one at least, had buried
those regions beneath the waters; and, so far as we can

cuvieb's OPINION. 103
judge of the question from the different orders of animals
whose remains are found, it is probable that two or three
such irruptions of the sea had taken place."*
It is consistent with our admiration and reverence for
this great man, to remark, that these observations attach to
a state of geological knowledge considerably inferior to that
which it has now attained. The chief design of the work
from which the passage is taken, was to explain the manner
in which the author has apphed his knowledge of Compara
tive Anatomy, to the determination of the masses of bones
dug up from the quarries of Paris ; and which, by cautious
proceeding, but in the end with the clearest demonstration,
he proved to be the remains of animals analogous to many
in the existing creation, but ah differing in species, and
many genetically. Now those formations, in various mix
tures of chalk, sand, and gypsum, belong to different parts
of the Tertiary rocks, and not even its earhest divisions :
none of them go lower. The subjects which were thus
presented to the illustrious naturalist, in numbers so vast,
and in a confusion which would have been overwhelming
to minds of less knowledge, industry, and power than his,
were more than enough to occupy his thoughts and labours,
in the most unremitting manner, during every moment of
his life, had it been prolonged to this hour : yet he devoted
himself to the efficient performance of many other and
those most arduous duties, as a philosopher, an academician,
a pohtician and statesman, and a most active labourer in
the walks of beneficence. The number and greatness and
comprehension of his exertions were such as to fih us with
even astonishment. It can excite no surprise, therefore,
that he did not carry his researches farther into general
* "Discours sur les Revolutions de la Surface du Globe, et sur les
Cliangemens qu'elles ont produit dans le. Regn-e Animal;" p. 138.
Third Edition, Paris, 1826.

104 obseetations on cuvlee.
Geology ; that in this respect he was behind many of his
inferiors ; and that he appears not to have had the least
idea that many of the points upon which, in this very work,
he had put sagacious queries and had suggested decisive
methods of research, were at the very time under successful
examination in our country, by Dr. William Smith. That
indefatigable explorer, the father of English Geology, at the
time when Cuvier was employed in his own department, and
was conferring the richest benefits upon natural history,
was completing his patient labours of thirty years ; the
result of which was to fix upon a firm basis, the study of
the Secondary rocks, by demonstrating the sure character-
ism of their imbedded fossils.
The design of these observations is to intimate that the
Baron's general conclusion, relative to that which he justly
cahs the last great and sudden revolution affecting the
earth's surface, must not be taken without modification. To
this the strict evidence of the case compels us. Though, with
his dignified caution and moderation, he speaks of only two
or three alternations of land and sea prior to the great deluge;
yet the tenor of his work, where he draws rapid sketches of
what to him appeared probable theory, with respect to the
earher strata and the underlying crystalline rocks, and some
particular expressions which he uses, afford no shght grounds
of behef that, had his investigations been continued over the
field on which he could do no more than glance, he would
have given his still more decided suffrage in favour of the
doctrine of an immensely long succession of changes affecting
the earth and its hving inhabitants; affecting, not the whole
circumambient surface at the same time, but large districts
in respect of space, and in separate periods in respect of
duration. Speaking strictly, Mineral Geology was not his
domain. His empire consisted of the Natural History of
the hving world, Comparative Anatomy, and the Palaeontolo-

CHAEACTEE 0E CUVTEB. 105
gical department of Geology; and in this wide sphere he had
not, while living, a superior, nor scarcely a rival. He was the
originator of the science: ah others were his followers. No
man possessed a more liberal mind than he. To open and
widely distribute his accumulations of knowledge, was his
heart's dehght: and he would have bounded with joy, could
he have foreknown the structures which naturalists and geolo
gists, whom I should perhaps displease were I to name them,
have built upon the foundations by him so firmly laid.
Here, it is appropriate to our subject, and just to the
illustrious foreigner, to repeat a paragraph from Mr. Murchi-
son's eulogium, delivered from the President's chair of the
Geological Society.*
" The death of such a man has called forth deep lamenta
tions from every land upon whose children the rays of science
have shed their hght; and the eulogies poured forth in his
honour are heard in almost every language of the civilized
globe. How are we to hmit our praise of one whose ample
mind was matched only by the benevolence of his heart ;
and whose whole life was passed in unremitting exertions to
enlarge the domain of science by blending it with civil polity,
and by infusing it into the principles of education? With
an almost incredible knowledge ofthe structure and functions
of every part of organized nature, he possessed a power above
that of every other man of emancipating himself from mere
details, and of ascending to lofty generahzations, which were
ever recommended by him with ah the charms of eloquence;
so that in his hands, Natural History became adorned, for
the first time, with the highest attributes of pure philosophy.
To him we owe the most important of the laws which have
* On Feb. 15, 1833. George Leopold Christian Frederick Dagobert
[but he disused this parade of names beyond the first] Cotier died May 6,
1 832, of a general and rapid paralysis, probably brought on by his extraor
dinary mental and bodily labours, in his 63rd year.

106 CUVIEE'S ANTICIPATIONS.
regulated the distribution of the animal kingdom, and by
the application of which we have been made to comprehend
many of the mutations of the surface of our planet. He it
was, who, removing from Geology the incumbrance of errors
and conceits heaped on it by Cosmogonists, contributed
more than any individual of this century, to raise it to the
place which it is assuming amongst the exacter sciences.
Unlike our precursors, we no longer have to wade through
the doubts and perplexities which retarded their acquaintance
with the lost types of creation; to his skill we are indebted
for a knowledge1 of their analogies with existing races : and
he it was who, from their scattered bones, remodehed the
skeletons of those wondrous originals which have successively
passed away from the surface of our planet."
Another beautiful and instructive passageof Baron Cuvier'a
work, more than justifies the supposition which I have ven
tured to make.
"If, in studying the infancy of our species, we take
an interest in fohowing the almost obhterated traces of
numerous nations which have gone out of existence, can we
fail to feel an equal interest in piercing the darkness of the
earth's infancy, and finding there the marks of revolutions
prior to the existence of ah nations ! We admire the powers
by which the mind of man has measured the motions of
worlds which nature seemed to have placed for ever out of
our view : but genius and science have burst the limits of
space ; and a smah number of observations, unfolded by
reasoning, have disclosed the mechanism of the world.
Would it not be also a glorious object for man, to learn
how he may clear the boundaries of time ; and, by means of
[weh directed] observations, recover the history of our
globe, and display the succession of events which preceded
the birth of human kind? The astronomers have indeed
advanced faster than the students of nature upon earth;

BUCEXAND ON THE DELUGE. 107
and, at the present moment, the theory of the earth some
what resembles that of some philosophers [of old], who
thought the sky to be built of hewn stones, and the moon
to be even as big as the Peloponnesus. But Anaxagoras
began : Copernicus and Kepler came to clear the way for
Newton : and why may not Natural History one day have
her Newton?"*
These aspirations have been realized ; so that I may, with
propriety, introduce a paragraph from one who is entitled to
write in this strain.
" The gradual advance of Geology, during the last twenty
years, to the dignity of a science, has arisen from the laborious
and extensive cohection of facts, and from the enlightened
spirit in which the inductions, founded on those facts, have
been deduced and discussed. To those who are unacquainted
with this science, or indeed to any person not [deeply versed
in the history of this and kindred subjects, it is impossible to
convey a just impression of the nature of that evidence by
" " Discours," p. 2. I cannot but here borrow the words of a masterly
writer: " The geologist was prohibited from looking beyond the Mosaic chro
nology — and the peaceful deluge of the Scriptures was the only catastrophe
to which he durst ascribe the convulsions and dislocations which had every
where shaken the interior ofthe earth. While our [i. e. English] geologists
were thus working in chains, the unfettered genius of Cuvier was ranging
over those primeval ages when the primary rocks rose in insulated grandeur
from the deep, and when the elements of life had not yet received their
div ine commission. From the age of solitude he passed to the busy age of
life ; when plants first decked the plains, when the majestic pine threw its
picturesque shadows over the earth, and the tragic sounds of carnivorous life
rung among her forests. But these plains were again to be desolated, and
these sounds to be hushed. The glories of organic life disappeared, and
new forms of animal and vegetable being welcomed the dawn of a better
cycle. Thus did the great magician of the charnel-house survey from his
pyramid of bones, the successive ages of life and death ; thus did he conjure
up the spoils of pre-existing worlds, the noblest offering which reason ever
laid upon the altar of its Sovereign." " Edinburgh Review," vol. Ixv. p. 12.

208 BUCKLAND ON THE DELUGE.
which a multitude of its conclusions are supported : evidence
in many cases so irresistible, that the records of the past
ages, to which it refers, are traced in language more im
perishable than that of the historian of any human trans
actions ; the rehcs of those beings, entombed in the strata
which myriads of centuries have heaped upon their graves,
giving a present evidence of their past existence with which
no human testimony can compete."*
One of the ornaments of Geology, in our own country,
has indeed gone through a course of sentiment not much
tmlike that which I have been supposing in relation . to
Cuvier. Dr. Buckland, in his Beliquiae Diluvianse, pubhshed
in 1823, quoted a part of the passage which I read a few
minutes ago ; and gave the sanction of his so deservedly
high authority to the idea that the present surface of the
earth is the effect of the diluvial waters. While he was
enriching his own pages with the pleasing citation, he was
furnishing his illustrious friend at Paris with a seeming
corroboration of the opinion. Speaking of the mud, gravel,
and bones of the Kirkdale Caves, Baron Cuvier proceeds :
" Most carefully described by Prof. Buckland, under the
name of diluvium, and exceedingly different from those other
beds of similarly rohed materials, which are constantly depo
sited by torrents and rivers, and contain only bones of the
animals existing in the country, and to which Mr. Buckland
gives the name of alluvium; they now form, in the eyes
of ah geologists, the fullest proof to the senses of that
immense inundation which came the last in the catastrophes
of our globe." f
This testimony was just. Dr. Buekland had indeed put
forth his zeal, his characteristic patience, and his never
wearied exertions, in exploring the drift, or, as it was usually
* "Ninth Bridgewater Treatise ;" p. 47.
f ' Discours,"p. 141.

DESIGN OF THE DELUGE. 109
called, diluvium, of the British Isles : and after careful
inductions from his own observations, he proceeded with the
fohowing passage, in reference to that mighty action of
water to which such effects were attributed : —
" An agent thus gigantic appears to have operated uni
versally on the surface of our planet at the period of the
deluge ; the spaces then laid bare by the sweeping away of
the sohd materials that had before filled them, are called
Valleys of Denudation ; and the effects we see produced by
water in the minor cases I have just mentioned, by present
ing us an example, within tangible limits, prepare us to
comprehend the mighty and stupendous magnitude of those
forces by which whole strata were swept away, and vaheys
laid open, and gorges excavated in the more sohd portions
of the substance of the earth, bearing the same proportion
to the overwhelming ocean by which they were produced,
that modern ravines on the sides of mountains bear to the
torrents which, since the retreat of the deluge, have created
and continue to enlarge them." *

LECTTJEE V.
2 Peter ii. 5. God spared not the old world,— bringing the ftood upon
the world of the ungodly.
In this sentence of the holy apostle, it is manifestly declared,
that the design of the deluge was to inflict a deserved
punishment upon that generation of men, whose awful
impiety had defied the power of the Most High, and scorned
his mercy. This defining of the object warrants the conclu
sion, that whatever amount and extent of the diluvial waters
• " Reliq. DUuv. p. 237.

110 ADVANCEMENT OF ENOWLEDGE.
would suffice to execute the sentence of excision, would also
be adequate to fulfil the moral purpose of the Bighteous
Judge in ordaining this infliction. If the universahty of
the flood extended to the human race, " the world of the
ungodly," it is ah that was requisite to satisfy the purpose
of the visitation.
In the last lecture, we had set before us some account of
the mistaken views which had been extensively entertained
concerning the effects of the deluge, as supposed to have
left their permanent impressions upon the surface of our
globe : and we hstened to the opinions of some of the most
illustrious naturalists and geologists in favour of that hypo
thesis, under different modifications.
But the lapse of not more than ten years has brought a
vast collection of observations to bear upon this interesting
subject : and I conceive it may, with the strictest truth,
be said that the annals of science, or of hterature, or of
theology, do not present a nobler instance of fairness and
mental integrity, than was shown by the most perfect
geologists that our country, or any other, can boast, in
yielding up a favourite and long cherished opinion, to which
they had committed themselves in the most public manner,
and for which they had been hailed with flattering applause ;
knowing also, by a very sure anticipation, that the con
cession to the power of evidence, the avowal of honest
conviction, would expose them to the censures of some,
who " understand neither what they say, nor whereof they
affirm," though they speak and write with a confidence
in the direct proportion of their incompetency to say or
affirm upon good grounds.
The observations which, in their legitimate deductions, have
produced this remarkable result, have been made by many
persons, and those the best qualified, from their high attain
ments in ah science, and the skih for making observations

DILUVIAL FOEMATIONS. Ill
which long practice alone can give : they have been made
in many countries, near and far distant ; and they have
been made with a circumspection, an exactitude, and an
anxious watchfulness against the causes of mistake, which
ought to command our admiration and gratitude.
Those laborious researches were chiefly directed to the
drift of which we have been speaking, and to which was
commonly assigned the name of diluvium. This is found
to spread widely over the surface in many countries, either
visibly covering the ground, or barely concealed by the
turf and cultivable soh. During the more early period of
geological progress, this diversified mass was, imphcitly,
and rather hastily, though the error was natural, regarded
as of one formation ; and thence it was an easy step of
advance, in drawing the conclusion, that a universal flood
was the active and immediate cause of the whole, that this
flood was among the most recent events affecting the exte
rior crust of the earth, and that it must have been identical
with the great deluge of universal tradition and of sacred
history. But the need was felt of closer examination,
minutely distinguishing, and carefully classifying. The
constitution, mineralogical, or hthological (for we cannot
altogether avoid using the technical terms), of the smah
grains of sand, the pebbles, the bowlders, and the masses of
ah sizes, which compose the so-called diluvium, was scruti
nized, and compared with the character of rocks at every
point on the lines of distance, till the parent rocks were
demonstrated from which the fragments had been broken
or rubbed off. The mineralogical constitution thus traced
up to a commencing point, gave a sure indication of the
extent of each kind of drift ; and a measure of the varying
water power, by which the detached bodies of stony matter
had been moved onwards. Hence were perceived the dif
ferent degrees of force and velocity which characterized the

112 LABOUBS OF GEOLOGISTS.
streams as they flowed ; the earher or later dropping of the
mud, sand, pebbles, and larger pieces, on their course ; the
greater or less rolling at the bottom before a resting-place
was obtained: the extent of the deposit in breadth, and
where it terminated by the moving power's being exhausted,
or being checked by some obstacle; and the deductions
which could be drawn as to the time requisite, under differ
ent degrees of water-power, for wearing the rough and sharp
fragments of rocks of various hardness and tenacity, till
they could be brought into rounded forms with smooth
surfaces. To any mind not practised in such inquiries, it is not
easy to conceive what a wide field this was for investigation ;
and it could not be occupied by studies only in the closet ;
it required painful and patient toil in flood and field, over
wide plains, in river-beds, on the sea-coasts, in the windings
of large and smah valleys, and up the mountain-sides ; and
ah this to be effected over many miles of surface, and in
different and distant regions of the earth. No one person
could be competent to more than a limited share in this
field ; though we cannot but be astonished at the extensive
portions of it which have been individuahy explored by
distinguished geologists : but they are men in whose cir
cumstances have been combined eminent science, disengage
ment from other occupations, health, bodily strength, ample
fortune, and such attachment to these pursuits as made
them shrink from no labour. It is not given to every man
to be a De la- Beche, a Buckland, or a Griffith ; a Murchison,
a Phillips, or a Sedgwick. The investigations however
have been carried on, over the larger part of Europe, and a
great breadth and length in North America; and the ob
servations made by individuals have been brought together,
rigorously sifted, mutually compared, and their combined
results wrought into an harmonious whole. Tet the class

DELET OF DTFEEEENT AGES. 113
of men of whom I am speaking have not sat down satisfied
with even the best proved inferences. They have continued
their efforts ; and their instructions and example have ex
cited others. Many parts of Eastern Europe, Asia, and
South America, have been explored by experienced geolo
gists : and their Beports, not seldom brought by themselves
and subjected to searching criticism in assembhes of able
and acute examiners, have thus been added to the common
treasury. One of the first results established was, that the out
spread masses of which we are treating, sands, gravel, and
bowlders, were not of one formation, nor of one age. The
separate divisions into which they had been traced, put
upon each a sort of historical mark. Some were found to
belong to origins almost on their own spot, that is, the
rocks of the locahty within but a few miles ; others were
traced to a considerable distance, yet in the same country.
Others were shown to have been derived from mountains
in remote lands, from which they were now divided by lofty
ridges or by seas, which are thus proved not to have existed
when the passage was free. The order of priority or pos
teriority has been evinced by palpable proofs. The course
of a more ancient drift has often been overlaid by a more
recent one. In many instances, or I might more correctly
say in most, it is evident that the masses of drift have been
formed by action long continued under water ; that is, by
currents, eddies, and tides, working for unknown ages, at
the bottom and on the shores of the ocean ; thus standing
opposed to the idea of any short-lived inundation. Fre
quently large tracts of country have been stripped bare of
their drifts and underlying strata, evidently by the action
of an elevating movement from below, and a vast body of
water on the surface : and sometimes considerable masses
of the materials which had thus been swept away, occur
i

114 OLDEST DELFTS.
heaped up in a corner, so to speak, or where an obstacle
was presented to their further distribution, The idea- of
sea-beaches covered with shingle is graphically presented,
and their successive elevation by slow rising of the land.*'
The respective ages, in relation or comparison to each other,
jire determined by the position of the distinguishable kinds
of drift, that of one character lying -under or over that of
another : by relations to movements of underlying or neigh
bouring rocks ; and by the geological constitution of the
parent rocks whence the mass had been derived.
These summary remarks might suffice for the purpose of
these lectures, which is not to dehver a system of Geology,
but only to state clearly, if I can, those doctrines which to
my conviction stand upon sohd grounds of proof, but which
may have the appearance of being contradicted by some
thing said or imphed in the Holy Scriptures. Tet, con
sidering the specially interesting character of this subject,
I may be excused for briefly describing some of the actual
facts which have been brought to light.
In our own island various and extensive bodies of drift
are found, to which a more detailed attention is necessary.
That which I shah first mention extends over a district to
which Mr. Murchison, by a weh-judged apphcation of our
early history, has given the name of Siluria.t It may be
* See Sir Henry de la Beche's " Geological Manual ;" pp. 172 — 178 ;
third ed. 1833. Since that time, many examples have been brought before
the Geological Society, by Prof. Sedgwick and others. Mr. Darwin, de
scribing vast formations of this kind in South America, observes that the
doctrine of slow elevations (a demonstrated fact) will account, without the
necessity of any sudden rush of water, for the general covering of mixed
shingle, so common in many parts of Europe." "Voyage of the Beagle,
vol. iii. pp. 206 ; see also of that interesting volume, pp. 381 411 423.
f Admirably detailed in the magnificent work, " The Silurian System ;"
2 vols, in quarto, with a splendid and most instructive map ; 1839. This
division of the subject is treated in Chap, xxxvi.

MORE EECENT DEIFT. 115
generaUy described as comprehending. a considerable part of
Wales, and of Monmouthshire, Herefordshire, Gloucester
shire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, and Shropshire. There
is good reason to beheve that this body of drift is the most
ancient of all that have been formed on the surface of what
is now land, but was then the bed of the sea, afterwards
elevated,; and, in the season ordained by Divine Wisdom,
made to constitute the island of Great Britain. The region
over which it had been spread when under the waters of an
ancient sea, was raised and became dry land, while the
ocean still covered the adjoining districts to the east and
north. Since that elevation it has not been again sub
merged. Its dried surface was clothed with vegetation,
and became the abode of land animals ; scattered bones of
which are dug up, containing anatomical proofs that they
had belonged to species not existing in the present state of
our earth. There are several distinct formations of this
drift, but they are ah local, derived from rocks existing
within the region.
Another more extensive body of drift spreads over a
large tract from Lancashire southwards ; and it possesses
characters of the most decisive kind, showing its perfect
distinctness from the former. Its contents are derived,
principally from the crystalline rocks and trappean inser
tions, which form the great mountains of Westmoreland,
Cumberland, and part of Scotland, but with underlying
beds and intermixtures of local drifts, indicating previous
formation, and being of less extent. It proceeds from its
origin, tapering southwards, and turned by the mountains
of North Wales, till it comes up to the boundary of the
South Welsh and Severn region just mentioned; and
there it stops. It skirts that region along its northern
and western hmit, but does not ascend into it ; and it has
also an eastern hmit, which proves that a large portion of
i 2

116 MOBE EECENT DBIFT.
our island on that side then stood above the water.
Between these limits, this drift is contracted, till it termi
nates in a roughly-pointed form upon the river Severn,
where was either the point of a bay, or the straits might be
prolonged into a wide sea towards the south. Hence some
conclusions of importance force themselves upon our con
viction. The first is, that the country occupied by the local drift
had been raised above the level of the sea which flowed up
to its northern and eastern frontier.
The second, that the waters, bringing this newer drift
from the north, did not flow over the region already occu
pied by the local and more ancient drift. But there is
evidence that both these formations were effected in periods
much more remote than the date of the flood in the days of
Noah, and even before the creation of man and his contem
porary animals. We are therefore compelled to the con
clusion that the flood of Noah, was not absolutely universal ;
for had it been so, the diluvial waters must have carried
forwards the northern drift, mingled with other stones,
gravel, and mud; and so have overspread the previous
Silurian bed.
Thirdly ; this newer drift carries further evidence that it
was not deposited by any transient rush of a body of new
waters, over a surface which had been previously dry land :
for such would have been a deluge rising for 150 days, and
then beginning to subside, and in a little more than the
same period coming completely to an end. On the con
trary, the rounded forms of the pebbles and bowlders, and
their diminishing sizes as they advance, evince a very long
time of rubbing and grinding by currents, eddies, and tides
at the bottom of the sea ; and the occurrence of sea-shehs
in considerable variety and abundance, affords evidence that
the area itself had not been dry land, but the regular bed of
the ocean.

NOBTH-EASTEBN DEIFT. 117
It was mentioned above that the newer or northern drift
was bounded on its eastern flank by a range of elevated
land. It must be added, that the eastern portion of our
island affords copious evidence of having received several
other deposits of drift, at different and distant periods,
brought from nearly all the primary and secondary rocks in
the northern parts of Great Britain, from the mountains of
Sweden and Norway, and probably from land which once
occupied that which is now the bed of the German Ocean.*
In another European region, the effects have been traced
of a series of phenomena more magnificent and astonishing
still. To bring into view the physical reasons for the con
clusions, is impossible in this brief sketch; nor indeed
could they be made intelligible to a general audience. A
statement of the results must suffice.
Some will perhaps be surprised and incredulous at hear
ing the position, which many appearances render probable,
that, for countless ages after the elevation of the great
mountain-chains of Great Britain, the region of the Alps, in
the heart of Europe, was a champaign country, in many
parts marshy, and enjoying a mean temperature not much
if at ah lower than that of tropical regions in the present
* Paper of Dr. Mitchell's, read to the Geol. Society, Nov. 7, 1838.
Confirmed by Mr. Lyell, in u paper read Jan. 22, 1840, which contains
much important information upon the Drift-formations, on the coast of
Norfolk. It is published at length iu the Philosoph. Mag. for May, 1840.
Since the depositing of the most recent parts ofthe drift, the chalk and all
the beds over it, (crag, drift, both stratified and not stratified, marine clay,
fresh-water deposits, and again marine,) have been subjected to elevation
and depression again and again after vast intervals, fracture, inclination at
all angles, overturning and convolution ; demonstrating the occurrence of
repeated and mighty action, but most probably very slow, and all during a
period in a geological sense recent.
[See also a brief but graphic and lively illustration of this subject, by the
Scottish geologist, Mr. Hugh Miller, in his ** First Impressions of England
and its People," 1847, p. 194].

118 ALPINE DEIFTS.
condition of the earth. Subsequently, the elevatory move
ments which have operated so variously and powerfully upon
the crust of the earth, greatly altering the forms and pro
portions of land and sea, pushed up the previously horizontal
beds, and raised that large district into ranges of mountains
considerably higher than is their present sj^te. This
effected an extreme reduction of temperature, and esta
blished a polar climate. The vaheys were filled with stu
pendous glaciers; which, as do those of the present day,
broke off and slowly bore away, as along inclined planes,
fragments of rock, of ah sizes, from that of mere grains to
bowlders weighing hundreds of tons. These, by the known
progressive motion of those immense masses of frozen snow,
were driven over surfaces of denuded rock, in the way of
dry grinding. ["Under circumstances of advanced tempera
ture, they became icebergs, bearing on and in their masses
and holding fixed to their bottom surfaces, those sharp frag
ments ; and producing similar rubbings and tracings upon
the rocks over which they were driven by the force of mighty
waters] . The mechanical results of such operations, repeated
thousands of times, are " written as with the point of a
diamond." Grooves, shghter markings, and the interposed
smah pebbles and fine sand, prove the kind and manner of
the operation. In a subsequent period, the great system of
mountains is supposed to have sunk down, to the average of
seven thousand feet. Consequently, the snows melted below
a certain altitude. In time the vaheys were cleared, and
the whole face of the country became nearly what it is at
present. One of the results was, that the blocks of the Alps -
are now found on the tops and opposite descents of the Jura
mountains, separated from the origin of those blocks by
several deep vaheys, running crosswise, each ten or fifteen
miles in width, and the entire distance at least fifty miles.
Several local deluges appear then to have taken place, com-

N0ETHEEN FLOODS. 119
mencing in some part of the higher Alps. The earlier of
these were probably produced from the melting of the snow
and ice made redundant by the subsidence of the ground,
and the dissolution of which would become very rapid in
consequence of the rock-fissures inevitably produced, and
through which steam and volatilized minerals would rise at a
high temperature. The courses of these floods appear to
have been principally to the east, towards the plains of Italy,
and in a northerly direction where now is the bed of the
Bhine.* There are evident indications of another deluge, which
had washed over Lapland and Norway, but especially Sweden,
in a direction from north or north-east to the south, spread
ing its stony burden, in accommodation to the receiving
surfaces, over vast districts of Denmark, Poland, and the
north of Germany, in some parts as far as the 51st degree
of latitude ;f and presenting the polished surfaces of rocks,
) * Venetz and De Charpentier; in Jameson's Philos. Journ. vol. xxi.
p. 210, and xxii. p. 27. Agassiz ; in the same Journal, xxiv. pp. 176,
and 364. Important modifications of this theory, see in Supplementary
Note H.
t [Illustration is supplied by Sir Roderick Murchison, in describing the
wide extent of this " great Scandinavian drift, by which all the low countries
of the north have been covered by far-transported materials." " — To ob
tain a due consideration of the vast area over which the detritus is spread
out, as well as to understand the very irregular dispersion of the blocks, —
sometimes placed at wide distances from each other, at other times in heaps
 here quite upon the surface, there entangled in mud, — he [the observer]
must traverse not only the northern tracts, but also the great central region
of Vologda and its continuous governments. In doing this, he may for a
while be led to speculate upon the former existence of basins of sand in one
tract, and of clay in another. But, the more he extends his survey, the
more will he find that all these accumulations and their associated blocks
are parts of one great system of operations, and that they have all been
formed in one long period of time : — he will conclude with us, that this
great northern drift (by whatever power transported) was deposited on the

120 NOBTHEEN FLOODS.
marked with fine linear scratches, larger grooves, and even
furrows, evidently produced by the passage of immense
masses of rock over them.* ' In other places, the streams of
bottom of a sea.  The southern limits of these erratics is by no means
uniform, — but on the contrary very devious. The detritus does not in fact
occupy an equably shelving southern talus ; but, though often on plateaux
it has in many instances followed, even to great distances, the course of the
existing north and south valleys, at its southern extremity.  'This ancient
detritus has usually been propelled in an opposite direction to the present
course of the waters.  We feel confident that there are no other parts of
Europe in which foreign materials have been transported so far as from
Russian Lapland and Finland to Voroneje and Putievil ; points, from 700
to 800 English miles in straight lines from the nearest crystalline rocks
whence such fragments can have proceeded." — " Geol. of Russia," vol. i.
pp. 9, and 524. — Anno 1845.]
* De la Beche's "Geol. Manual," third ed. p. 189. Poggendorf, in
Jameson's " Journal," vol. xxiii. p. 69.
f_" The superficial detritus of Russia, Poland, and Prussia, like that of
other regions which we have examined, is referable to the great mountain-
chain in its vicinity. The chief, if not the only, distinction between it and
all other far-borne drift, consists in the great breadth and length of the dis
persed detritus, in reference to the low mountains from which it has been
derived ; for, whilst in other parts of Europe various local centres of elevation
have shed their detritus in different directions (England, France, and the
Alps offer sufficient examples), the vast regions under consideration have
been uniformly covered with crystalline materials" [see Sect. II. prop, iii.]
" which have proceeded from Scandinavia and Lapland only." Sir Roderick
Murchison's " Geology of Russia and the Ural Mountains ;" vol. i. p. 509 ;
1 845. This magnificent work, in two imperial volumes, pours a flood of
light upon geological science generally and in most of its great particulars.
" This monster-publication may be considered, in more senses than one, as
the opus magnum of Geology. — The importance of the work more than
rivals its gigantic bulk. It embraces the physical geography, the mineral
structure, and the history of the ancient organized beings of nearly two-
thirds of Europe ; and the information thus communicated, for the first time,
to the scientific public, will enable them to form more complete and just views
on all the geological relations of this vast portion of our continent, than we
could possibly have obtained concerning our own little island alone, when
the Quarterly Review had reached its twentieth volume :" i. e. in 1818.
" Quart. Rev." vol. lxxvii. p. 348 ; March, 1846.]

AMEEICAN FLOODS. 121
stones have been borne in different and opposite directions,
radiating from a point of upheaval. Similar proofs, and
those upon a grand scale, of a flood, or rather of several
floods, exist in North America. These were variously local,
yet extensive and powerful to an amazing degree, and having,
in like manner, a direction from northerly points to the
southward.* Those torrents have borne upon their bosoms
* " That a transient demge, like that described in the Scriptures, could
have produced, and brought into its present situation, all the diluvium which
is now spread over the surface of this continent, will not (it seems to me) be
admitted for a moment by any impartial observer. It has obviously been
the result of different agencies and of different epochs ; the result of causes
sometimes operating feebly and slowly, and at others violently and power
fully But the conclusion to which I have been irresistibly forced, by an
examination of this stratum in Massachusetts, is, that all the diluvium, which
had been previously accumulated by various agencies, has been modified by
a powerful deluge, sweeping from the north and north-west over every part
of the State, not excepting its highest mountains ; and since that deluge,
none but alluvial agencies have been operating to change the surface."
Hitchcock's "Geology of Massachusetts," p. 148. Amherst, 1835.
" If it be true that continents and vast chains of mountains were elevated
at different periods, and by paroxysmal efforts, it is impossible but that
deluges of tremendous violence and universal l extent, should have been
the consequence. Accordingly, we find traces of such deluges in the vast
beds of conglomerates that exist in the sedimentary deposits ; and also in the
frequent extinctions and renewals of animal and vegetable life, which appear
to have taken place on the globe. For such deluges must have been fatal
to organized existence : at least to a great extent.  Our rocks [those ol
Massachusetts] show the occurrence of several very powerful deluges in
early times.  The new red sandstone affords evidences of numerous
deluges during its deposition, in the many alternations of coarse and fine ma
terials of which itis composed. Two periods, duringits production, appear
to have been particularly distinguished for powerful diluvial action. In the
first, those conglomerated beds, made up chiefly of the ruins of granite, and
associated with the lower beds of sandstone, were accumulated. In the
second, that very coarse conglomerate, chiefly composed of various schistsj
1 He probably means very wide ; for a strict universality is not required
by the reasoning, nor quite consistent with what follows.

122 TBANSFOET OE BOCKS.
numerous icebergs, broken off from vast glaciers ; and which,
both from their former action in separating portions of rock
of ah sizes, and from the accompaniments of their disruption,
must have involved large masses of rocky materials. These
materials are of ah sizes, from smah pebbles and moderate
bowlders to blocks of thousands of cubic feet in dimension
and hundreds of tons in weight. As the icebergs melted
away, after the retiring floods had left them, these stones
were deposited. Some of the masses received additional
periods of long-continued water-wearing, and are now exhi
bited to us in the graduating forms of blocks separate or in
continuous heaps, smaher bowlders and pebbles, gravel and
sand. It must be borne in mind, that the reducing of
angular fragments into rounded and smooth forms, especially
of the extremely hard rocks which have furnished this drift
(quartz, granite, syenite, hornblende, porphyry, basalt, and
the like,) could not be effected in a short time, nor probably
by any one land-torrent, or sea-current: so that we are
led to the admission of long action, previous to the great
transport, or subsequently, or both ; and that not merely in
progressive motion in straight lines, but by gyrations in
basin-like spots which abundantly show themselves in the
regions of which we have been speaking. The heavier frag
ments, having, by the force of gravity, originally taken their
places at the bottom of the icy masses, would, upon the
melting away of the under-surface, present sharp angular
points ; for when they were first enveloped in the ice they
had been just broken off from their parent rocks. These
under surfaces, acting under the pressure of many thousand
tons weight, rubbed and ground smooth the rocks upon
and connected with the higher shales and sandstones, was brought into its
present situation. The osseous conglomerate connected" with the plastic
clay, indicates diluvial action, perhaps, though not of the most violent kind,
during the deposition of this formation." Hitchcock's " Geology of Massa
chusetts;" p. 250. Amherst, 1835.

CONVICTION OF EMINENT GEOLOGISTS. 123
which they shd; and their points made grooves, or deep
scratches, which present themselves to the laborious ob
server, and are truly inscriptions " graven in the rock for
ever," and furnishing unerring indications of the direction
in which those vast masses were carried. The torrents must
soon have ceased, the waters subsiding into the seas and
lakes in the respective regions. The icebergs grounded;
and, being now in climates which kept them continually
melting, at last disappeared, and the blocks, often exhibiting
their original sharpness of outline, remain to this day, attest
ing, by the identity of the stone, which is often remarkably
characteristic, the mountain-ridges whence they had been
torn. Those mountain-ridges are frequently within a few
miles, but often at the distance of some hundreds, from the
areas over which the derived pebbles and bowlders are
spread. Here, then, we have evidence of the origin and the direc
tion, the breadth (though the edges which would show the
boundary are often lost in the ocean), and the gradual
termination, of the astonishing bodies of water which had
thus been put into a violent and long-acting motion.
To my auditors, notwithstanding their candour and
patience, I fear that these details have appeared dry and
tedious ; and to those who are not accustomed to such
verbal descriptions, it may perhaps be difficult to estimate
their argumentative value. But this object will be attained
in a manner highly advantageous and illustrative, if I here
cite the declarations of those eminent Geologists, who have
frankly and honourably relinquished their former opinion.
I begin with Dr. Buckland, because I have already quoted
from his elegant and deeply interesting Beliquise Diluvianse,
the passage expressing what were his sentiments seventeen
years ago. In his Bridgewater Treatise, he mentions, with
a brevity which we cannot but lament, the " deposits of

124 BUCKLAND.
diluvial detritus, dispersed over the surface of formations
of ah ages." These he classes with the newest or latest
geological formations, cahed in Mr. Lyeh's nomenclature
those of the Phocene period, that is, ihe newer of the
Tertiary series ; though in fact it is older than the state
of the surface which we can, with any reasonable appearance
of evidence, regard as contemporary with the human race,
and the present vegetable and animal creation. Dr. Buck-
land also shows that the bones of large quadrupeds, which
are abundantly found in these strata, have belonged to
species which no longer exist in a living state, though we
have other species of the same genera : thus warranting the
behef that we hve under a different order of creation than
that of even the latest of the past periods : he then subjoins
the fohowing passage : —
"The evidence which I have collected in my Eeliquise
Diluvianae, 1823, shows that one of the last great physical
events that have affected the surface of our globe, was a
violent inundation, which overwhelmed great part of the
northern hemisphere, and that this event was fohowed by
the sudden disappearance of a large number of the species
of terrestrial quadrupeds, which had inhabited these regions
in the period immediately preceding it. I also ventured to
apply the name Diluvium to the superficial beds of gravel,
clay, and sand, which appear to have been produced by this
great irruption of water.
" The description of the facts which form the evidence
presented in this volume, is kept distinct from the question
of the identity of the event attested by them, with any
deluge recorded in history. Discoveries which have been
made, since the pubhcation of this work, show that many
of, the animals therein described, existed during more than
one geological period preceding the catastrophe by which
they were extirpated. Hence it seems more probable, that

SEDGWICK. 125
the event in question, was the last of the many geological
revolutions that have been produced by violent irruptions
of water, rather than the comparatively tranquil inundation
described in the inspired narrative.
"It has been justly argued, against this attempt to
identify these two great historical and natural phenomena,
that as the rise and fall of the waters of the Mosaic deluge
are described to have been gradual, and of short duration,
they would have produced comparatively little change on
the surface of the country they overflowed. The large pre
ponderance of extinct species among the animals we find in
caves, and in superficial deposits of diluvium, and the non-
discovery of human bones along with them, afford other
strong reasons for referring these species to a period
anterior to the creation of man. This important point,
however, cannot be considered as completely settled till
more detailed investigations of the newest members of the
Pliocene, and of the diluvial and alluvial formations shah
have taken place."*
My next citation is from an equally distinguished philso-
pher, the correspondent ornament of the University of
Cambridge. Though the passage be long, its importance
for our present object and its comprehensiveness in relation
to others, not to mention the fehcity of its expression,
render any apology unnecessary.
"At our former Anniversary I ventured to affirm, that
our diluvial gravel was probably not the result of one, but
of many successive periods. But what I then stated as
a probable opinion, may, after the Essays of M. de Beau
mont, be now advanced with ah the authority of estabhshed
truth : and among the many obligations we owe to this
accomplished observer, I may mention the new and instruc-
* " Bridgewater Treatise,'' vol. i. p. 94.

126 SEDGWICK.
tive views he has given us of the origin of the great masses
of old detritus lying scattered over the lower regions of the
earth. We now connect the gravel of the plains with the
elevation of the nearest system of mountains ; we beheve
that the Scandinavian bowlders in the north of Germany
are of an older date than the dnuvium of the Danube ; and
we can prove, that the great erratic blocks, derived from
the granite of Mont Blanc, are of a more recent origin
than the old gravel in the tributary vaheys of the Bhone.
That these statements militate against opinions, but a few
years since held almost universally among us, cannot be
denied. But theories of diluvial gravel, like ah other
ardent generalizations of an advancing science, must ever
be regarded but as shifting hypotheses to be modified by
every new fact, till at length they become accordant with
ah the phenomena of nature.
" In retreating where we have advanced too far, there is
neither compromise of dignity nor loss of strength ; for in
doing this, we partake but of the common fortune of every
one who enters on a field of investigation like our own. All
the noble generalizations of Cuvier, and ah the beautiful
discoveries of Buckland, as far as they are the results oi
fair induction, will ever remain unshaken by the progress
of discovery. It is only to theoretical opinions that my
remarks have any apphcation.
"Different formations of sohd rock, however elevated and
contorted, can never become entirely mixed together ; and
the very progress of degradation commonly lays bare ah the
elements of their structure. But diluvial gravel may be
shot off from the flanks of a mountain chain, during one
period of elevation, and become so confounded with the
detritus of another period, that no power on earth can
separate them: and every subsequent movement, whether
produced by land-floods or any other similar cause, must

SEDGWICK. 127
continually tend stih further to mingle and confound them.
The study of diluvial gravel is, then, not only one of great
interest, but of peculiar difficulty and nice discrimination :
and in the very same deposit, we may find the remains of
animals which have hved during different epochs in the
history of the earth.
" Bearing upon this difficult question there is, I think,
one great negative conclusion now incontestibly estabhshed
— that the vast masses of diluvial gravel, scattered almost
over the surface of the earth, do not belong to one violent
and transitory period. It was indeed a most unwarranted
conclusion, when we assumed the contemporaneity of ah the
superficial gravel on the earth. We saw the clearest traces
of diluvial action, and we had, in our sacred histories, the
record of a general deluge. On this double testimony it
was, that we gave a unity to a vast succession of phenomena,
not one of which we perfectly comprehended,, and under the
name dhuvium, classed them ah together.
" To seek the hght of physical truth by reasoning of this
kind, is, in the language of Bacon, to seek the hving among
the dead, and whl ever end in erroneous induction. Our
errors were, however, natural, and of the same kind which
led many excellent observers of a former century to refer ah
the secondary formations of geology to the Noachian deluge-
Having been myself a behever, and, to the best of my power,
a propagator of what I now regard as a philosophic heresy,
and having more than once been quoted for opinions which
I do not now maintain, I think it right, as one of my last
acts before I quit this chair, thus pubhcly to read my re
cantation. "We ought, indeed, to have paused before we first adopted
the dUuvian theory, and referred ah our old superficial gravel
to the action of the Mosaic flood. Por of man, and the
works of his hands, we have not yet found a single trace

128

SEDGWICK.

among the remnants of a former world entombed in these
ancient deposits. In classing together distant unknown
formations under one name ; in giving them a simultaneous
origin, and in deterniining their date, not by the organic
remains we had discovered, but by those we expected hypo-
theticahy hereafter to discover, in them ; we have given one
more example of the passion with which the mind fastens
upon general conclusions, and of the readiness with which it
leaves the consideration of unconnected truths.
"Are then the facts of our science opposed to the sacred
records ? and do we deny the reahty of an historic deluge ?
I utterly reject such an inference. Moral and physical truth
may partake of a common essence ; but as far as we are con
cerned, their foundations are independent, and have not one
common element. And in the narrations of a great fatal
catastrophe, handed down to us, not in our sacred books
only, but in the traditions of ah nations, there is not a word
to justify us in looking to any mere physical monuments as
the intelligible records of that event : such monuments, at
least, have not yet been found, and it is not perhaps in
tended that they ever should be found. If, however, we
should hereafter discover the skeletons of ancient tribes,
and the works of ancient art buried in the superficial de
tritus of any large region of the earth : then, and not till
then, we may speculate about their stature, and their man
ners, and their numbers, as we now speculate among the
disinterred ruins of an ancient city.
" We might, I think, rest content with such a general
answer as this. But we may advance one step further. 
History is a continued record of passions and events uncon
nected with the enduring laws of mere material agents.—
The progress of physical induction, on the contrary, leads
us on to discoveries, of which the mere light of history
would not indicate a single trace. But the facts recorded

SEDGWICK. 129
in history may sometimes, without confounding the nature
of moral and physical truth, be brought into a general
accordance with the known phenomena of nature : and
such general accordance I affirm there is between our his
torical traditions and the phenomena of geology. Both tell
us, in a language easily understood, though written in far
different characters, that man is a recent sojourner on the
surface of the earth. Again, though we have not yet found
the certain traces of any great diluvian catastrophe which
we can affirm to be within the human period ; we have, at
least, shown that paroxysms of internal energy, accom
panied by the elevation of mountain chains, and followed
by mighty waves desolating whole regions of the earth,
were a part of the mechanism of nature. And what has
happened, again and again, from the most ancient up to the
most modern periods in the natural history of the earth,
may have happened once during the few thousand years
that man has been hving on its surface. We have therefore
taken away ah anterior incredibility from the fact of a
recent deluge ; and we have prepared the mind, doubting
about the truth of things of which it knows not either
the origin or the end, for the adoption of this fact on the
weight of historic testimony."*
I shah add one more to the mention of eminent Geolo
gists who, upon the point before us, have shown their
loyalty to the laws of evidence and the dominion of truth,
by surrendering favourite, long cherished, and diligently
elaborated sentiments. It is scarcely twenty years since
Mr. Greenough, at that time President of the Geological
Society, of which he was one of the founders, published his
Critical Examination of the Pirst Principles of Geology, in
which he investigates at great length the phenomena which
* " Geol. Soc. Proceed." vol. i. pp. 312—314. 1831
K

130

GBEENOUGH.

have detained us so long, the state and connexions of gravel
and transported bowlders. It is right to say of this gentle
man that he has been always distinguished by his compre
hensiveness of knowledge, and his caution, I might say
extreme reluctance, and even jealousy, in acceding to new
opinions, till they were substantiated by very satisfactory
evidence. In that large and careful disquisition, he repeat
edly declares himself in favour of one great and universal
deluge. But in the year 1834, we find him thus addressing
that Society : —
" Allow me  to say a few words upon a subject in
connexion with which my name has of late been brought
forward much more prominently than I could have desired ;
— I mean Diluvial action.
" Some fourteen years ago I advanced an opinion, founded
altogether upon physical and geological considerations, that
the entire earth had, at an unknown period, (as far as that
word implies any determinate portion of time,) been covered
by one general but temporary deluge. Tie opinion was
not hastily formed. My reasoning rested on the facts which
had then come before me. My acquaintance with physical
and geological nature is now extended: and that more
extended acquaintance would be entirely wasted upon me,
if the opinions which it will no longer ahow me to retain, it
did not also induce me to rectify. New data have flowed
in, and with the frankness of one of my predecessors, I also
now read my recantation.
" The varied and accurate researches which have been
instituted of late years throughout and far beyond the
limits of Europe, ah tend to this conclusion, that the
geological schools of Paris, Preyberg, and London, have
been accustomed to rate too low the various forces which
are still modifying, and always have modified, the external
form of the earth. What the value of those forces may be

GEEENOUGH. 131
in each case, or what their relative value, whl continue for
many years a subject of discussion ; but that their aggregate
effect greatly surpasses ah our early estimates, is, I beheve,
incontestably estabhshed. To Mr. Lyeh is eminently due
the merit of having awakened us to a sense of our error in
this respect. The vast mass of evidence which he has
brought together, in illustration of what may be cahed
Diurnal Geology, convinces me that if, five thousand years
ago, a deluge did sweep over the entire globe, its traces can
no longer be distinguished from more modern and local dis
turbances. The first sight of those comparatively recent
assemblages of strata which he designates the Eocene,
Meioctme, and Pleiocene Formations, (unknown but a few
years ago, though diffused as extensively as many which
were then honoured with the title of universal,) shows the
extreme difficulty of distinguishing their detritus from what
we have been accustomed to esteem Diluvium. The Possil
Contents of these formations strongly confirm this argu
ment. M. Deshayes has shown that they belong to a series
unbroken by any great intervals, and that if they be divided
from the secondary strata, the chasm can have no relation
to any such event as is cahed The Flood.
" Further, the elephants and other animals once supposed
to be exclusively Diluvial, are now admitted to be referrible
to two or three distinct epochs ; and it is highly probable
that the blocks of the Jura mountains, of the North of
Germany, of the North of Italy, of Cumberland, Westmore
land, &c. are not the waifs and strays of one, but of several
successive inundations."
In addition to these vestiges of deluges, wide in their
extent, and mighty in their effects, but yet hmited and
marked with characters of independent action and diversity
of time, geological research has brought to light other facts
and evidences, which we cannot enlarge upon. The phe-
k 2

132 HITCHCOCK.
nomena are chiefly in the northern hemisphere.* As far as
my reading has enabled me to get information, and if the
* Fourth ed. In North America, vast tracts of country are described by
scientific observers as overspread by drift, containing massive bowlders
and of all inferior sizes down to pebbles and sand, and masses of clay.
They have been borne from the mountains of the northerly regions (Upper
Canada, &c.) to distances of 50 or 60, 100, to 200, and in some directions
above 400 miles. The thickness of these streams of stones varies from about
10 feet to 100, and in some places 200 or 300, and more. On this subject
see Dr. Hitchcock's "Elementary Geology," sec. ed. pp 192 — 219; the
same author's " Geology of Massachusetts," in two large quarto vols. 1841,
vol. ii. pp. 350 — 406 ; Mr. Lyell's " Travels in North America," 1845,
passages referred to in the Index under Drift, especially vol. ii. p. 99. From
the " Geology of Massachusetts," I cite an appropriate passage.
" Another theory, which has long been a favourite one, imputes diluvial
action to the Deluge of Noah. The freshness and apparent recency of the
effects of this action, and its apparent universality, give at first view a strong
probability to this supposition, if we understand the language of Scripture in
its most literal sense. But many distinguished Biblical writers regard the
description of the Noachian Deluge as an example of the use of universal
terms with a limited meaning," [as is often the case, especially in ancient
writings and the sacred books, but this is only when the limitation is suggested
by flie context, or by the nature and conditions ofthe subject:"] "and hence
regard that deluge as not universal over the globe, but only over the region
inhabited by man. Again ; if the diluvial action of Geology resulted from
the Deluge of Noah, why are the organic remains found in diluvium, mostly
of extinct animals ? And why is not man among the number ? Finally, the
diluvial action of Geology must have occupied a much longer period than
the hundred and fifty days, or at longest the year of the Noachian Deluge.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to make any one feel the force of this
objection, who is not familiar with diluvial phenomena. But he who has
seen where the hardest rocks have been worn away many feet at least, and
probably sometimes many hundred feet, by diluvial action, cannot but see
that many years must have been required for the work, even though the
waters were driven over the surface with the greatest violence." Vol. ii.
p. 403.
" The structure of the Appalachian mountains (and, by analogy, those of
other countries), implies the operation of far greater and more sudden forces
than the gentle secular changes observed in modern times ; and they (H.

DEIFT IN OTHEE EEGIONS. 133
recollection do not fail, they are much less frequent and
extensive in the equatorial regions. In Jamaica, Mr. De
la Beche found considerable masses of drift-pebbles, con
glomerates, and breccias, derived from the rocks of the
island, and evidently of various ages.* But in the farther
latitudes of South America, the plains of Patagonia, an area
of two or three thousand square miles is covered with drift
derived from the chain of the Andes by the washing of the
ocean upon ancient coasts, which, in successive geological
periods, have been raised above the waters, leaving a series
of beaches which form terraces hundreds of miles asunder,
and marked with the intervention of volcanic eruptions
The mind is overwhelmed by an attempt to reduce these
periods to any comparison with our puny measures of time :
and yet they belong to the most recent class of geological
operations, f
D. and W. B. Rogers) consider it impossible to avoid the conclusion that
all the more extensive evolutions of the earth's crust have involved, to a
greater or less extent, the agency of vast earthquake waves. [They mean
an e actual billowy pulsation in the molten matter,' upon which they sup
pose the crust of the earth floats ; s engendered by a linear or focal disruption
and immediate collapse of the crust, accompanied by the explosive escape of
highly elastic vapour :' p. 775. — ] To the action of these waves, in dif
ferent geological epochs ; they attribute the formation of the vast masses of
conglomerate and detrital deposits distributed in the various groups of strata ;
also the transport of the great northern drift, and the polished and furrowed
surfaces of rocks both in Europe and in New England. " Athena;um,''
Aug. 26, 1843, p. 776.
Mr. Griffith, — on vast erratic block and bowlder deposits in Ireland, —
thinks that they have been carried by currents from at least two foci in
Ireland. lb. 776.
* " Geol. Soc. Transact." Second Series ; vol. ii. Article xiii. 1827.
See also his " Geol. Manual," p. 142.
T For this information I am indebted to Mr. Darwin's instructive and
delightful volume, the third of the " Narrative of the Voyages of Captains
King and Fitzroy ;" p. 201, &c.

134 DELUGE NOT TJNTVEESAL.
It must not be forgotten that, in some situations, the
characters of the rolled stones are thought to warrant the
supposition of their having been driven and agitated upon
the bottom of the deep ocean, by under-currents, acting
during vast periods of time, when it is probable that the
region, which now constitutes Europe, was occupied by the
sea, and studded with a multitude of smah islands.
The inference to which ah these observations and reason
ings lead, is that geological evidence is adverse to the
admission of a deluge simultaneous and universal for every
part of the earth's surface. Indeed I must add that, in
proportion to the care and accuracy with which the investi
gation of physical facts has been carried on, so the proofs
have accumulated that there never was a period, since any
vestiges occur of the existence of organized creatures, when
the earth did not possess a varied face ; partly dry land with
its vegetable and animal occupiers, and partly the wide
domain of the waters possessing their numerous inhabit
ants. Another fact, which has an interesting reference to our
present inquiry, must not be passed over, though I can
only treat it with the utmost brevity. There is a district
in the southern part of the centre of Prance, more than
forty miles in length, and twenty in breadth, comprised in
the ancient provincial divisions of Auvergne and Langue
doc. * In this district are the unquestionable cones,
craters, and other characteristic remains of more than two
hundred volcanic hills and mountains. These, in former
periods of our planet's history, have projected their tremen
dous fiery masses, ashes, and water, into the air ; and vast
streams of the melted rocks along the ground. Some of
* Supplementary Note I ; which will be a welcome refreshment to the
Christian's heart giving an authentic account of the Revival of True Religion
in that district.

CENTBAL FBANCE. 135
the smaller hills may have heen secondary vents, burst open
at the same time with a great mountain-eruption, with
whose interior a series of minor cones might be connected
in a way well known to those who have studied the struc
ture and action of volcanoes. But, when every allowance
is made for this supposition, there remains the astonishing
spectacle of many contiguous burning mountains, some of
them fairly comparable to Vesuvius.* All the accompani
ments of volcanic action are here presented in the most
perfect manner. The craters, the ejected ashes and cinders,
the characteristic fragments of stones, and the consohdated
but once hquid masses of various lavas, which have flowed
in ah directions, dispossessing rivers of their channels ,
filling up those channels and other vaheys to heights of
fifty, one hundred, and many more feet, and spreading in
their various flow, over many miles of area. The different
and distant periods which separated these eruptions from
each other, are shown by the interposition of stratified
formations, and by numerous other circumstances, appro
priate marks of volcanic districts. Subjacent and alter
nating beds of different material demonstrate the succession
of distinct mineral formations, and a rich abundance of what
was once vegetable and animal hfe, in species of creatures
which belong not to the present condition of our globe. Vast
forests, and those of the largest chestnut trees, now clothe
mgny parts of the slopes. " Eivers have, since the flowing of
these lavas, worn themselves new channels ; and have some
times not only exposed on each bank a precipitous wah of
columnar basalt one hundred and fifty feet in height, but
even to a considerable depth eaten into the granite rocks
beneath ; the whole excavation being of course entirely
* The summit of Vesuvius is 3900 feet above the level of the sea. Of
these extinct volcanoes, one is 3956, another more than 4000, another
nearly 5000, and many are from 500 to 1000.

136 AGE OF THE VOLCANOES OF ATJVEBGNE.
subsequent to the volcanic eruption, the lava of which
flowed at the bottom ofthe then existing valley."*
Tet when did these fires burn ? When took place this
amazing combination of volcanic eruptions and their ter
rible accompaniments ? How long ago was the last of
them ? And by what intervals of time could we ascend,
from that last, to the earlier eruptions ; and to the earliest
of the — astounding number? — These questions cannot be
answered by any assigning of our measures of time ; years
and centuries. Such analogies as may be inferred by com
parative examinations of the condition of JEtna, Vesuvius,
and other active volcanoes, carry us to the contemplation of
a period which runs back not to the age of Noah merely,
but immeasurably beyond the date of the creation of man
and his contemporary plants and animals. In mountainous
countries many facts are presented to the eye which ap
proach to a standard of measurement of the average action
of the atmosphere and of running water, in decomposing
and washing off the surface of granitic and basaltic rocks.
That action is sure and constant : but it is slow, to such a
degree, that not years but centuries are requisite for its
chronicle. Even the abrading of that description of rocks
when they form the boldest sea-coast, by the violence of
storms added to the ordinary action of water and weather
(an addition of great power), has not materially altered the
outline of such shores in Cornwall, the west and north of
Scotland, Norway, and many other countries, since the
beginning of our historical knowledge. But the action of a
fresh-water river, impinging upon hard rocks, is much more
feeble. Tet, in the district of which we are speaking, such
streams have made themselves a way, in several places,
between the granite and the lower part, indeed the most
* " Quarterly Review," vol. xxxvi. p. 464 ; 1827.

AGE OF THE VOLCANOES OF AUVEBGNE. 137
porous and friable of the lava, which had formed rocks of
more than one hundred feet in thickness, overlying the
granite. Such an operation must have been slow, ahnost
beyond conception. In whatever way we may contrive to
imagine a reduction of the time necessary for this purpose,
the mind cannot rest upon a period less than many thou
sands of years.* Also, in this remarkable region, in places
where time has laid bare large perpendicular surfaces, are
presented series of strata of different rock ; and laminations
of the same kind of rock, which amount to the thickness of
one hundred feet, and two hundred, and still more. One
of the laminated formations just mentioned may be said to
furnish a chronometer for itself. It consists of sixty feet
of siliceous and calcareous deposits, each as thin as paste-
* " These ancient currents [of basalt] have since been corroded by rivers,
which have worn through a. mass of 150 feet in height, and formed a
channel even in the granite rocks beneath, since the lava first flowed into the
valley. In another spot, a bed of basalt, 160 feet high, has been cut
through by a mountain stream. — The vast excavations effected by the erosive
power of currents along the valleys which feed the Ardeche, since their
invasion by lava-currents, prove that even the most recent of these volcanic
eruptions belong to an era incalculably remote." Mr. Poulett Scrope's
" Memoir of the Geology of Central France."
1 " The time that must be allowed for the production of effects of this
magnitude, by causes evidently so slow in their operation, is indeed immense ;
but surely it would be absurd to urge this as an argument against the
adoption of an explanation so unavoidably forced upon us. The periods
which, to our narrow apprehension and compared with our ephemeral exist
ence, appear of incalculable duration, are in all probability but trifles in the
calendar of nature. It is Geology that, above all other sciences, makes us
acquainted with the important, though humiliating fact. Every step we
take in it forces us to make unlimited drafts on antiquity.
" There are many minds that would not for an instant doubt the God of
nature to have existed from all eternity, and would yet reject as preposterous
the idea of going back a million of years in the history of his works. Yet»
what is a million; or a million million, of solar revolutions to an eter
nity ? " lb. p. 165.

138 -&-GE OF THE VOLCANOES OF AUVEEGNE.
board and bearing upon their separating surfaces the stems
and seed-vessels of smah water-plants in infinite numbers ;
and countless multitudes of minute shells, resembling some
species of our common snail-shells. These layers have been
formed with evident regularity, and to each of them we
may reasonably assign the term of one season, that is a
year. Now thirty of such layers frequently do not exceed
one inch in thickness. Let us average them at twenty-five.
The thickness of the stratum is at least sixty feet ; and
thus we gain, for the whole of this formation alone, eighteen
thousand years.
Purther : many of these hills in the form of sugar-loaves
consist of, or are coated with, pumice-stone and other loose
and hght substances, which every person knows to be
volcanic products. It is self-evident that these could not
have withstood the action of a flood : they must have been
broken down and washed away with the first rush of water.
Either, then, the eruptions which produced them took
place since the deluge ; or that deluge did not reach to
this part of the earth. Against the former side of this
alternative, the argument from analogy is very strong. Ah
that we know of the history of volcanoes impresses us with
the vast improbability, that such an intensity and extent of
volcanic action as belonged to the later series only, of these
eruptions, could begin, run their course, and come to an
end by settling in perfect quiescence, within the period
from the deluge to our first historical notices of this dis
trict, which is about 2300 years.* Supposing the eruptions
* Second ed. A paper of great interest was presented to the Geological
Society, on Nov. 2, 1836, by Mr. H. E. Strickland and Mr. W. J. Hamilton,
upon the Geology of the Western part of Asia Minor. This includes the
country anciently called the Burnt (ij KaraxtKavpivn' Strabo. ed. Falc. p.
900, &c.) ; on account of the marks of volcanic combustion with which it
abounds. It is the region of the ancient Sardis and Philadelphia. It pre-

AGE OF THE VOLCANOES OF AUVEEGNE. 139
in question to have commenced immediately upon the sub
siding of the diluvial waters, it would be contrary to ah
known instances of volcanic action, to suppose that they
would finally cease within a less period than many centuries.
Now Julius Csesar, in his Gahic wars, was encamped in this
very district, at the closing part of the period just men
tioned. His writings furnish abundant evidence of his
observant, inquisitive, and acute character. Notwithstand
ing his vicious habits, he had a mind deeply imbued with
hterature, and the love of philosophical pursuits ; and he
made considerable attainments in science so far as in his
day was practicable. Had he found in this place any tradi
tion of volcanic action as having formerly existed, it is
morally certain that his curiosity would have been power
fully awakened, and that we should have had in his Com
mentaries the result of his inquiries. But nothing of the
kind exists, though he indicates his acquaintance with the
features of the country, as having surveyed it with the eye
of a general.*
The geological difficulties are not the only ones which
sents a strong resemblance to " the volcanic district of Central France. In
each country are extensive lacustrine formations, cones of scoriae of different
ages, coulCes," [rocks preserving their pristine form of lava-flowings,] some
times forming plateaux on the summits of isolated bills" [consequently that
which originally filled the intervening valleys must have been worn off and
washed away ; a serious of operations requiring time to us immeasurable !]
" at others continuous streams, and thick beds of lava worn through by the
action of running water." There are thirty distinct volcanoes, whose
craters are filled up and covered with vegetation ; and which are there
fore evidently the oldest. " The newer volcanoes, of which there are
only three, must have been extinct for at least 3000 years" [otherwise
history would almost certainly have preserved some memorial of them] ;
"yet their craters are perfectly defined, and their streams of lava are black,
jugged, and barren."
* " Comment." vii. 4,9, 36. Supplementary Note, K.

140 WATEES OF THE DELUGE.
present themselves, in relation to the admission of a strictly
universal deluge, and some of the circumstances which are
commonly supposed to be affirmed or imphed in the sacred
narrative. It would be a failure in the service which I have
undertaken, were I to pass these by without notice : but I
must renew my entreaty that my auditors would not permit
any conclusion unfavourable to the perfect verity of the
Mosaic narrative, correctly interpreted, to lodge in their
minds ; for I trust that, in a future lecture, satisfactory
proof will be brought that such conclusion would be
erroneous. The mass of water necessary to cover the whole globe to
the depth supposed, would be in thickness about five miles
above the previous sea-level. This quantity of water might
be fairly calculated as amounting to eight times that of the
seas and oceans of the globe, in addition to the quantity
already existing. The questions then arise, Whence was
this water derived ; and how was it disposed of, after its
purpose was answered ? These questions may indeed be
met, by saying that the water was created for the purpose,
and then annihilated. That Omnipotence could effect such
a work, none can doubt : but we are not at liberty thus to
invent miracles, and the narrative in the Book of Genesis
plainly assigns two natural causes for the production of the
diluvial water ; the incessant rain of nearly six weeks, cahed
in the Hebrew phrase the " windows of heaven," that is, of
the sky ; and the " breaking up of ah the fountains of the
great deep." By the latter phrase some have understood
that there are immense reservoirs of water in the interior of
the earth, or that even the whole of that interior, down to
the centre, is a cavity filled with water ; a notion which was
excusable in the defective state of knowledge a century ago,
but which, ftom the amplest evidence, we now know to be
an impossibility. The use of this expression, in other parts

WATEES OE THE DELUGE. 141
of Scripture, sufficiently proves that it denotes the general
cohection of oceanic waters. It is scarcely needful to say,
that ah the rain which ever descends, has been previously
raised, by evaporation from the land and water that form
the surface of the earth. The capacity of the atmosphere
to absorb and sustain water is limited. Long before it
reaches the point of saturation, change of temperature and
electrical agency must produce copious descents of rain :
from ah the surface below, evaporation is still going on :
and, were we to imagine the air to be first saturated to the
utmost extent of its capacity, and then to discharge the
whole quantity at once upon the earth, that whole quantity
would bear a very inconsiderable proportion to the entire
surface of the globe. A few inches of depth would be its
utmost amount.* It is indeed the fact, that upon a smah
area of the earth's surface, yet the most extensive that
comes within experience or natural possibility, heavy and
continued rain for a few days often produces effects fearfully
destructive, by swelling the streams and rivers of that dis
trict : but the laws of nature, as to evaporation and the
capacity of atmospheric air to hold water in solution, render
such a state of things over the whole globe, not merely
improbable, but absolutely impossible.
If we then turn to the waters of " the great deep," we
obtain the idea of an irruption of the sea, spreading desola
tion and death over the land. Such irruptions have often
occurred over low countries bordered by flat coasts. But
* Seven inches, according to Mr. Rhind, in his " Age of the Earth," p.
100, Edinb. 1839. [Atmospheric air holds in solution f of its own quantity.
Therefore, — " supposing the vast canopy of air, by some sudden change of
internal constitution, at once to discharge its whole watery store, this preci
pitate would form a sheet of scarcely five inches thick over the surface of
the globe." — Sir John Leslie's " Dissertation on the Progress of Mathematical
and Physical Science." Encycloped. Brit. vol. i. p. 650 ; edit. 1843.

142 WATEES OF THE DELUGE.
ah the water that could be derived from this cause would
produce only an increased diffusion over the land, which
would be accompanied by a subtraction of water from the
sea, to the same amount. The absolute quantity of water,
for the entire globe, would remain precisely the same.
But we are especially cahed to take notice of the terms
used in the sacred narrative, which appear to exclude the
idea of a sudden and violent irruption; and to present that
of an elevation and afterwards a subsidence, comparatively
gentle, so that the ark was lifted, floated, and borne over
the awful flood in a manner which we might call calm and
quiet, if compared with an in-burst of the sea by the imme
diate breaking of the barrier. The words are : " The waters
increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up above
the earth: and the waters prevailed, and were increased
greatly upon the earth ; and the ark went upon the face of
the water." In relating the subsidence, the words used are
such as remarkably suit the conception of a large body of
water undergoing a process of evaporation from the surface,
and of a gradual draining off by outlets beneath : " God
made a wind to pass over the earth" ( — an expression
which definitely conveys the idea of a local field of opera
tion ; extensive it might be, but totally inapplicable to the
surface of the whole globe ; — ) " and the waters assuaged ;
the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven
were stopped, and the rain from heaven* was restrained:
and the waters returned from off the earth continually —
(literally, going and returning) — and, after the end of the
hundred and fifty days, the waters were abated."
If we suppose the mass of waters to have been such as
* This " rain" is not to be considered as a third cause ; but, according to
the frequent style of Scripture, exegetically intended, or upon the principle
ofthe hendiadys, which is abundant in the Hebrew Scriptures.

ANIMALS FEESEKTEB, 143
would cover all the land of the globe, we present to our
selves an increase of the equatorial diameter by some eleven
or twelve miles. Two new elements would hence acerue to
the action of gravity upon our planet. The absolute weight
would be greatly increased, and the causes of the nutation
of the axis would be varied. I am not competent to the
calculation of the changes in the motions of the earth which
would thus be produced, and which would propagate their
effects through the whole solar system ; and indeed to the
entire extent of the material creation: but they would
certainly be very great. To save the physical system from
derangements, probably ruinous to the well-being of innu
merable sentient natures, would require a series of stupend
ous and immensely multiplied miracles.
Again, pursuing the supposition, the ark would not
remain stationary : " it went upon the face of the waters."
Its form was adapted to secure slowness of motion ; so that
it should float as httle a distance as possible from the
place of human habitation. But, by the action of the sun
upon the atmosphere, currents would be produced, by which
the ark would be borne away, in a southerly and then a
western direction. To bring it back into such a situation
as would correspond to its grounding in Armenia, or any
part of Asia, it must first circumnavigate the globe. But,
this was impossible in the time, even if it had possessed the
rate of going of a good sailing vessel. It might, perhaps,
advance as far as the middle of North Africa, or the more
westerly part ; and there it would ground, at the end of the
three hundred days.
Upon the supposition that the words of the narrative
require to be understood in the sense of a strict and proper
universahty, another difficulty arises with respect to the
preservation of animals. Ingenious calculations have been
made of the capacity of the ark, as compared with the room

144 ANIMALS PBESEEVED.
requisite for the pairs of some animals, and the septuples of
others: and it is remarkable that the weh-intentioned calcu
lators have formed their estimate upon a number of animals
below the truth, to a degree which might appear incredible.
They have usuahy satisfied themselves with a provision for
three or four hundred species at most ; as in general they
show the most astonishing ignorance of every branch of
Natural History. Ofthe existing mammaha (animals which
nourish their young by breasts), considerably more than one
thousand species are known ; of Birds, fully five thousand :
of Eeptiles, very few kinds of which can hve in water, two
thousand ; and the researches of travellers and naturalists
are making frequent and most interesting additions to the
number of these and ah other classes.* Of Insects (using
the word in its popular sense) the number of species is
immense ; to say one hundred thousand would be moderate:
each has its appropriate .habitation and food, and these
are necessary to its life ; and the larger number could not
live in water. Also the innumerable millions upon millions
of animalcules must be provided for ; for they have ah
their appropriate and diversified places and circumstances
of existence.f But all land animals have their geographical
* Among the numerous and satisfactorily authentic works of this descrip
tion, it is a pleasure to mention two as an honour to our country, which are
now publishing under the authority ofHer Majesty's Treasury: the "Zoology
of the Voyage of H. M.S. Beagle," Capt. Fitzroy, by Mr. Darwin, Naturalist
to the Expedition : and the " Illustrations of African Zoology," by Dr.
Andrew Smith, who conducted an exploring expedition into the Interior of
South Africa. Both these enterprises were effected in the vears 1832 to
1836. — Since completed.
t Fourth ed. To the best of my remembrance, these numbers were
given, in the delivery ofthe lecture, from general recollection, or when I had
not the time for accurate research. I therefore adduce the following as more
perfect statements. The sentence upon animalcules was intended to refer to
individuals, not to species.

MIEACLES BEQUIEED. 145
regions,* to which their constitutional natures are congenial,
and many could not hve in any other situation. We cannot
represent to ourselves the idea of their being brought into
one smah spot, from the polar regions, the torrid zone, and
ah the other climates of Asia, Africa, Europe, America,
Australia, and the thousands of islands ; their preservation
and provision ; and the final disposal of them ; without
bringing up the idea of miracles more stupendous than any
that are recorded in Scripture,t even what appear appahing
in comparison. The great decisive miracle of Christianity,
the Besueeection ofthe Loed Jesus, — sinks down before it.
The persons of whom we are speaking have probably
From the " Encyclopaedia Britannica" (1842,) upon the authority of Mr.
Swainson : — SPECIES. SPECIES.
«' Mammalia  1,000 Conchylia and naked Mol-
Birds  6,000 lusca  5,100
Reptiles and amphibious ani- Insects  550,000
mals  1,500 Vermes, &c  2,500
Fishes  6,000 Zoophytes, &c  2,500
" Besides these, there exist innumerable hosts of Infusoria." Vol. xvii.
p. 549.
To Dr. Beard's " Bible Dictionary," vol. i. p. 422, 1 am indebted for
another passage : —
" Greatly has our acquaintance with the animal world been extended by
the labours of Cuvier. Linnaeus, in the last edition of his ' System of
Nature,' described altogether six thousand species of animals. [Linnaeus
died in 1778.] Whereas the following numbers have been known for a long
time, and every year is making some addition.
SPECIES. . SPECIES.

" Mammalia .... 800
Birds  6,000
Amphibious animals and
Reptiles  1,000
Fishes  5 to 6,000
* See Lect II. prop, xxvii.
+ Some one may adduce Josh. xi. 13, the sun and the moon standing
still : but the obvious r eply is, that the whole effect wanted in that case
L

Conchylia ... 15 to 20,000
Insects  80,000
Intestinal worms . 1,500 to 2,000
Zoophytes, including
600 Infusoria . . 6,000

,146 DELUGE NOT UNIVEESAL.
never apprehended any difficulty with respect to the in
habitants of the waters ; supposing that no provision was
needed for their preservation. It may therefore be proper
to notice some particulars. Such an additional quantity of
water as their interpretation requires, would so dilute and
alter the mass as to render it an unsuitable element for the
existence of ah the classes,* and would kill or disperse their
food ; and ah have their own appropriate food. Many of
the marine fishes and sheh animals could not hve in fresh
water: and the fresh-water ones would be destroyed by
being kept even a short time in salt water. Some species
can indeed hve in brackish water : having been formed by
their Creator to have their dwelling in estuaries and the
portions of rivers approaching the sea; [or they may be
brought io endure it :] but even these would be affected,
fatally in ah probability, by the increased volume of water
and fully answering the description of the apparent phenomenon as re
corded, would be produced by an alteration in the refracting and trans
mitting properties ofthe atmosphere, immediately over the part of Judea
where the victory was obtained. Such an alteration would be an indubitable
miracle. But if any exclaim, ' All miracles are alike ; the smallest and
the greatest are equal to Omnipotence ;* I request their kind attention to
some remarks in a former lecture, (pp. 78 — 81.) Upon this particular
case, to suppose that the diu rnal rotation of the earth was interrupted, is
to bring in a shock which would have disturbed the functions of not only
every part of our earth, and the planetary system, but would extend through
the astral spaces, rendering necessary three continuous and universal
miracles, one for the disturbance, a second for preserving all creatures from
being ruined by the shock, and a third for the restoration of order.
* Third ed. A very moderate proportion of salt water will dilute b
much larger quantity of fresh, if it be introduced suddenly, in such a
degree as to destroy life. In the dreadful hurricane of Barbadoes, Aug.
0, 1831, the spray of the sea was carried by tire wind for many miles
inward, so that its falling was called a salt water rain ; and " all the fresh
water fish in the ponds of Major Leacock were killed." Gen Reid on the
" Law ofStoxUis ;" 1838, p. 34.

descent ebom abaeat. 147
and the scattering and floating away of their nutri
ment.* Thus, in a variety of ways, it is manifest that, upon the
interpretation which I conceive to be erroneous, the pre
servation of animal life in the ark was immensely short of
being adequate to what was necessary.
Purther ; if we admit that interpretation, and also accede
to the usual opinion that the Ararat upon which the ark
rested was the celebrated mountain of that name in Armenia,
and which tradition points out as being such, — we are in
volved in another perplexity. That mountain is nearly the
height of our European Mont Blanc,f and perpetual snow
covers about five thousand feet from its summit. If the
water rose, at its hquid temperature, so as to overflow that
summit, the snows and icy masses would be melted : and,
on the retiring of the flood, the exposed mountain would
present its pinnacles and ridges, dreadful precipices of
naked rock, adown which the four men and four women,
and with hardly any exception, the quadrupeds, would have
found it utterly impossible to descend. To provide against
this difficulty, to prevent them from being dashed to pieces,
— must we again suppose a miracle ? Must we conceive of
* Third ed. The larger number of land-plants, and those tbe most
important for size and utility (as timber and fruit trees, and the different
kinds of com and grasses), lose their vitality by a short submersion in water ;
so that, in a period equal to the duration of the Deluge, they would have
become putrescent and in a great measure decomposed. Thus, upon the
supposition of a strict universality, a new creation of the chief part of the
vegetable tribes would have been necessary, after the waters had subsided.
In this view, the existence of an olive-leaf (Gen. viii. 1 1) is an observable
circumstance. It was probably a fresh germination, but the stem must
have grown very near the highest point to which the waters ascended, and
could not have been long under water.
+ The most recent statements make it much higher: Mont Blanc
15,668 English fret: Ararat, 17,000. Black's Atlas, 1840.
L 2

148 ANCIENT TEEES.
the human beings and the animals, as transported through
the air to the more level regions below: or that, by a
miracle equally grand, they were enabled to ghde unhurt
down the wet and slippery faces of rock ?
One fact more I have to mention, in this range of argu
ment. There are trees of the most astonishing magnificence
as to form and size, which grow, the one species in Africa,
the other in the southern part of North America. There
are also methods of ascertaining the age of trees of the
class to which they belong, with satisfaction generally, but
with full evidence after they have passed the early stages of
their growth. Individuals of these species now existing are
proved, by those methods, to have begun to grow at an
epoch long before the date of the deluge ; if we even adopt
the largest chronology that learned men have proposed.
Had those trees been covered with water for three-quarters
of a year, they must have been destroyed : the most certain
conditions of vegetable nature, for the class (the most
perfect land-plants) to which they belong, put such a result
out of doubt. Here then we are met by another independ
ent proof that the deluge did not extend to those regions of
the earth.*
Such are the objections which present themselves against
the interpretation which, with grief I acknowledge, is
generally admitted, in relation to the scriptural narrative
of the deluge. It is a painful position in which I stand.
I seem to be taking the part of an enemy, adducing
materials for scepticism, and doing nothing to remove them.
But this situation for me is inseparable from the plan of
these lectures ; the only plan that appeared practicable.
The apparent discrepancies, between the facts of science
and the words of Scripture, must be understood, before we
* See Supplementary Note. L.; on the Longevity of Trees.

OBJECT OF MAN'S CEEAT10N. 149
can make any attempt at their removal. I confide in the
candour of my friends, that they wih suspend their judg
ment till I am enabled to lay before them the way, in
which I conceive that independent and unforced philological
evidence wih enable us satisfactorily to dispose of those
difficulties.

LECTUBE VI.

FAST I.
1 Thessalonians v. 21. Prove all things : hold fast that which is good.
We are born for great and noble purposes. The object
of existence, to every rational creature, is to enjoy a con
scious union, in approbation, dehght, and conformity, with
the Being who is supreme in ah excellence. To love and
obey him is to secure our own happiness, and to acquire the
best means of promoting that of every other being within
our influence. If our minds be not dead to just feeling,
we must be sensible that this is a necessary truth : and its
undeniable concomitants are accountableness and retribu
tion, stretching out into immortality. To that immortality
of moral purity and happiness, the Eevelation from God,
contained in the Scriptures, is our only guide. Clearly
then, it is the duty of every man to apprehend, with the
most complete intelligence and satisfaction that he can
attain, the contents and evidences of that Eevelation ; and
to remove out of the way every obstacle to a complete
" assurance of faith." Among the Christians of the apostolic

150 GIFTS IN THE PEIMHTVE CHUECH.
age, there was a variety of talents for the understanding of
sacred subjects, their exphcation, and their communication
to others. Some of these were of an extraordinary kind, de
pending for their existence and exercise upon peculiar com
munications from the Sovereign of ah minds, who, in order
to give the fullest proofs of divine authority, in the introduc
tion of Christianity, confirmed it by wisely adapted miracles.
Among these was the gift of Prophecy. The meaning of
this word was not restricted to the foretelling of future
events, in such a manner as evinced an emanation from the
Omniscient ; but it comprehended a faculty of communi
cating divine knowledge, by pubhc speaking, with remarkable
attractions of fervid eloquence : in fact, it was preaching.
But the matter thus declared was not necessarily and in ah
cases the result of inspiration or any divine influence. Even
in the hands of the wise and holy, it was not infallible ; but
was exposed to the intrusions of error in judgment and
imperfection in representation. Therefore the apostle Paul
gave precepts for the regulation, control, and correction of
this "gift for the edifying of the church."* In the words
preceding our text, he enjoins a respectful and reverential
treatment of ah those means of instruction ; while yet, in
the text itself, he directs to a faithful examination of them,
by bringing them to the standard of truth, and then firmly
to retain whatever sentiments had endured this searching
scrutiny. The standard of truth, in rehgious matters, hes
in the unchangeable perfections of God, and the revelation
which he has made of himself: and, in matters of science
respecting the sensible world, it is to be ehcited by observa
tion, experiment, and induction. The obligations, then,
to which we are here remitted, are comprehensiveness and
diligence in our inquiries, openness to conviction, right
* 1 Cor. xiv. A similar precept is in 1 John iv. 1.

LUTHEE AND CALVIN. 151
estimation of evidence, and a steadfast adherence to its
results.* * " — See; here St. Paul determines that no position should be admitted,
till, before the community which hears it, it has been examined and found
to be sound. This duty of examination does not belong to teachers only ;
but " [implies that] " they must openly propound their sentiments, in order
that they may be subjected to every man's examining. Thus, by the
authority of this passage, the exercise of judgment upon doctrines in not
reserved to Christian teachers, but is given to the learners: so that it is
altogether a different thing among Christians, to what obtains in the world.
In the world, sovereigns command what they please, and their subjects
yield compliance. ' But,' says Christ, ' it shall not be so among you.'
Among Christians, every one has the right of forming a judgment concerning
others ; and is also himself subjected to the same right in them : though
spiritual tyrants have made a worldly dominion out of Christianity."
Luther's " Larger Catechism;'' a work of 2756 columns on the quarto page,
written in 1528: in Walch's ed. of " Luther's Works, in 24 quarto volumes;
Halle, 1744, vol. x. col. 1799.
" Because rash men and impostors often cover over their absurdities with
the title of prophecy, there was some danger of true prophecy being brought
into suspicion, or cast into odium. As, in the present day, many persons
almost nauseate the very name of a sermon, because there are so many
silly and ignorant men (insulsi ac imperiti) who babble out from the
pulpit their own inventions; and also ungodly men and contemners of
.religion, who preach execrable blasphemies. Wherefore, because, by the
faults of such teachers, prophecy " [or preaching] " might be brought into
dislike, or even be almost entirely rejected, Paul commands the Thessalo-
nians to prove all things ; intimating that, although all teachers are not
unexceptionable in their adherence to the perfect rule, and the propriety of
their expressions, still we are not to condemn or reject any doctrine till we
have fairly put it to the trial. In this respect, two opposite errors are
common. Some persons, finding that themselves, or the bulk of men, have
been imposed'upon, reject in the mass all " [religious] " doctrines. Others,
with weak credulity, indiscriminately embrace whatsoever is proposed to
them in the name of God. Each extreme is wrong. The former class,
filled with proud prejudice, bar themselves out from the way of improve
ment; the others rashly expose themselves to every wind of error. From
these two extremes, Paul recalls the Thessalonians to the middle path ;
forbidding the condemnation of any sentiment, till it be fust duly examined;

152 SCIENCE AND EEVELATION.
We have seen that formidable difficulties present them
selves to a man who looks seriously at the relations between
the records of Eevelation and the monuments of Natural
History. Tet such a man cannot but feel assured, that the
difficulties he only in our want of sufficient knowledge.
Nature and Eevelation are both beams of hght from the
same Sun of eternal truth; and there cannot be a discordance
between them. If that which is announced as a revelation
be indeed what it professes, and if the facts in nature be
satisfactorily ascertained, it must be impossible that any
real discordance should exist. The appearance of it, how
ever, we have seen. We know that this appearance of
things has attracted, and continues to attract, the most
earnest attention, to a very wide extent among reading and
inquiring persons. Serious Christians are alarmed : unbe
lievers and irreligious persons exult. But to both classes
we say, Te are too hasty : the Christian may dismiss his
apprehensions : the hopes of the infidel are a spider's web.
The voices of nature, and reason, and revelation are in
harmony. We want only that facts be correctly stated, and
that the words of Scripture be interpreted upon the principles
of just philology ; and we fear not the result. We wih search
out the objects of science, "the works of the Lord," by the
most careful investigation and rigorous induction, as if we
had never heard of his word : and we wih apply ourselves to
the study of his word, with the strictest observance of th6
rules of interpretation, just as if we knew nothing of the
physical world. We do not therefore speak of bringing
and admonishing that we should exercise a just judgment before we receive
as certain that which is proposed to us.— Nothing is more hurtful " [to
intellectual and religious improvement] "than the petulant and conceited
disposition, by which we take up a dislike to any sentiment, without taking
the trouble of a fair examination." Calvin, in his « Comment, in Epistolas;"
ad locos.

TBUTH NOT A SUBJECT OF CONCESSION. 153
about a conciliation between these two lines of fact and
doctrine ; for we anticipate the conviction that it already
exists. It wih not, I trust, be presumptuous in me to express
some regret in finding an expression used by one of the
most accomplished geologists of our own or any other
country, Dr. Buckland ; believing, at the same time, that
it was introduced by him more from oversight than with
dehberate intention. He says, " If, in this respect, geology
should seem to require some httle concession from the
hteral interpreter of Scripture, it may fairly be held to afford
ample compensation for this demand, by the large additions
it has made to the evidences of natural religion, in a depart
ment where revelation was not designed to give informa
tion."* The testimony of the word of Heaven does not he
at our disposal. We have not the power of conceding any
thing from it ; and I am confident that the distinguished
Professor did not intend to intimate that mortals have such
a power or right. He was referring indeed to the interpre
tation of Scripture ; but, in this view, the expression is
unhappy. Interpretation, as well of the Bible as of other
ancient writings, is to be conducted by a rigorous process
of examination into words and phrases ; a process solely
grammatical, and which must not be checked or turned
out of its straightforward course by any foreign considera
tions.! * " Bridgewater Treatise ;" vol. i. p. 14. I cannot too much recommend
the diligent study (not an indolent running over) of this admirable work,
to all who desire to gain true and accurate information. Such students)
however, will consult their own advantage by previously acquiring a satis
factory acquaintance with the Mineralogical part of Geological science. Dr.
Buckland's work is chiefly occupied with the description of the animal and
vegetable remains found in the successive strata of the earth ; conveniently
called the Palesontological department of Geology.
T The excellent Bishop of Chester has perhaps approached to the Bame

154 DUTY OF IMPAETIAL INQUIET.
The design of this lecture and the fohowing, is to enume
rate methods that have been proposed for removing the
difficulty, or apprehended inconsistency, which arises from
a survey of God's visible works, and comparing them with
the declarations of his word; and to submit those remarks
which they respectively seem to require.
It cannot be without some anxiety that I enter upon this
part of my duty, being perfectly aware of the strong senti
ments which exist in the minds of many upon this class of
objects ; and of the suspicion and disapprobation, I might
even say horror, with which some excehent persons view
any deviation from those interpretations which they have
been accustomed to hear and read. Scarcely less sensitive
are the authors of different hypotheses with regard to their
respective views. Many estimable men, who have pubhshed
their opinions upon the question before us, lay the greatest
stress upon their own views, and find it difficult to tolerate,
or even to excuse, any dissent from them. Por many of
them I entertain a sineere esteem ; and I equahy respect
the motive by which they are excited, a jealousy for the
honour of revelation and the interests of rehgion. But it
becomes us. all to take the utmost care that our godly zeal
may be according to knowledge. If it be not so, we shall
inflict no shght disservice upon the cause of truth and
righteousness, while we may imagine that we are promoting
it. I. There are some who feel no difficulty at ah in the case,
inadvertence in saying, " The concessions, if they may be so called, of the
believers in revelation on this point, have been amply remunerated by the
sublime discoveries as to the prospective wisdom of the Creator, which have
been gradually unfolded by the progressive improvements in astronomical
knowledge. We may trust with the same confidence as to any future
results from Geology." This was written in 1813 or earlier. Dr. Bird
Sumner on the " Records of Creation ;" vol. i. p. 271.

VEHEMENT DENUNCIATION. 155
or at least, none from which they cannot disembarrass them
selves with the utmost ease. Of geological subjects, truly
they possess but httle knowledge ; yet they persuade them
selves that they know much, or certainly as much as qualifies
them to give a peremptory judgment upon the whole matter.
They afford reason enough to believe that, of the most
important facts, those upon which the decision of the
question principally depends, they are far from being weh
informed: and with regard to other geological facts and
doctrines, a partial acquaintance with which they have
derived from a light and easy perusal of a few books, or
perhaps of only one, they make it evident that they have
acquired no more than some confused and incoherent
notions. But their confidence rests upon the assumption,
that the interpretation of the Sacred Becords which they
have adopted, and in which they can certainly strengthen
themselves by the suffrages of eminent commentators, none
of whom had the least acquaintance with these subjects, is
the only true one. Some of them reckon it among the
highest points of the Christian faith, that the first sentence
in the book of Genesis is not an independent proposition, a
simple, majestic, and complete enunciation of one grand
truth ; but that it is connected with the recital of the six
days' work, in such a manner as to allow of no interval of
time between the facts related. To have a doubt upon this
matter is represented as characteristic of a criminal state of
mind, not deserving to be refuted by kind and calm argu
ment, but which ought to be put down by awful rebukes
and threatenings. I shah transcribe a few words of a fervid
writer of this school.
"This 'first day' is the beginning: and, if we fix that
beginning by the eternal testimony of the same truth
(which the same God of truth wih do, and has done, for us,)
ah the vain 'nebulosities' of a graceless philosophy are

156 VEHEMENT DENUNCIATION.
dispehed for ever. — [This is] the self-evident definition of
the beginning which God himself has given. — And we here
defy ah the combined ability of infidelity, philosophy, and
geology, to prove the 'beginning' to have been anterior
to the 'first day' God here intends. — No geologist who
may read these pages wih henceforth remain ignorant
of his war against Omnipotence and everlasting Truth.
And we again sacredly defy ah the combined ability of
sophistical geologians, to the end of time, to prove either
our Scriptural positions false, or their geological positions
true. — We have insubvertibly estabhshed it from the hps of
Eternal Veracity, that neither the earth, nor the material of
which it was formed, nor any creature that is found therein,
had existence before ' the first day' of the revealed creation:
that truth we have undeniably and everlastingly estabhshed,
insubvertible and immoveable by human ability.  Cer
tainly, of ah the lately discovered or extended sciences,
which the enemy of God and man has thus pushed to his
destroying ends, no one has been found so appropriate to
his purposes, nor has been so insidiously and industriously
driven forward to the accomplishment of his aims, as the
popular 'new science' of Geology.  To enumerate all
the infernal artillery, which the subtle enemy of God and
man has put into the hands of his vassals, to aim at this
everlasting monument of revealed truth, would require his
own unspent breath and unwearied tongue. Suffice it to
say, that sophisticating geologians have been allured, by his
implacable subtleties, to enlist themselves in the service of
his infernal pohcy.  This awful evasion of the testimony
of Eevelation, by denying its concernment with the Creation,
and indeed by denying in fact its inspiration altogether,
runs through the whole race of geologists, and is the prin
ciple set up in both our National Universities.  As to the
fear of not satisfying, or of making, infidels ; if the word of

BOLD ASSUMPTION. 157
God does not satisfy them, no scientific hypothesis wih. If
a man acknowledge not the divine and eternal authority of
that word, he is not worthy with whom to argue on any
subject which involves its sanction. Let such be turned
out of the field of sacred argument, as they have often
nobly been from a court of justice, as not worthy of being
heard."—* I have thought it right to quote these passages, that I
may not do injustice to their author ; who is, I indulge no
doubt, a zealous maintainer of the gospel according to his
own conceptions of it, and desirous of promoting the best
'nterests of mankind, which undoubtedly can be promoted
by no other means than the truth and power of religion.
These declarations of his are adapted to make a deep im
pression on the minds of uninformed persons, who are
upright and pious : and it is always a duty to protect such
persons from being grieved or offended.
1. I present then my solemn protest against the as
sumption which runs through and characterizes the whole
structure of the book, and the supplementary pamphlet
just cited. The impassioned author of them ought not to
put his own interpretations, supported though they be by
the expositions of eminent scholars and divines, upon a level
with the express declarations of Scripture itself. That he
beheves his interpretations to be just, cannot be doubted ;
but he ought not to affirm, in so high and peremptory a
tone, that they are infallible and incapable of being sub
verted ; at least till the other side has been heard. Also,
on my own behalf as an humble geologist (and I confidently
join with myself men of the greatest eminence in geological
* " Popular Geology subversive of Divine Revelation ;" and " Two
Letters to the Editor of the Christian Observer ;" by the Rev. Henry Cole.
pp, 21, 35, 37, 54, 91 ; 6, 34, 42.

158 LUTDJEE.
attainments,) — I disown and reject with the strongest ab
horrence the imputation of evading, or denying, or in any
way perverting the Holy Scriptures, or taking away then
inspiration : and I maintain also that those persons do no
honour to the word of God, but are unwittingly serving the
designs of its enemies, who judge of it in the superficial,
hasty, and flippant manner here exemplified; who choose
not to search out its true sense by those means of criticism
and exphcation which God has put into our hands ; and
who bury the Christian dispositions of humility and meek
ness under their imperious dogmatism and assumed infalli
bility. It wih be the business of a future lecture to explain
and apply those principles of honest philology by which we
are bound to study and interpret the Scriptures, and which,
it is my full conviction, wih show that the true sense of the
beginning of Genesis does not contradict the geological
doctrines which are made the objects of these unmeasured
reproaches. The reverend gentleman to whose observations I have
been compehed to advert, makes large extracts from Luther's
Commentary on the Book of Genesis ; and displays, with
exultation and triumph, that great man's opinion of the
creative act, described in the second sentence, as having
immediately followed upon the primary one declared in the
first. I yield not to that gentleman in veneration and love
for the illustrious Eeformer ; for his devoted piety, his noble
independence of mind, his simplicity and perspicuity, the
ingenuity and liveliness of his remarks, his judgment and
even his taste : but I do not see the propriety of attributing
to him, or to any man of his day, such a knowledge of
Natural Philosophy as was necessary for the apphcation of
the Hebrew phraseology to the objects under description.
It is no disparagement to Luther that, for instance, in his
Comments on the work of the fifth day, he shows his want

LUTHEB. 159
of correct ideas concerning the atmosphere and the heavenly
bodies ; that he implicitly rests on the common notions of
his time : that he speaks copiously upon the four elements
and the ten spheres (according to the doctrine of one atmos
pheric, seven planetary, the ninth crystalline, and the tenth
empyreal;) that the stars, taken universally, derive their
light from the sun, for he intimates no distinction between ,
the fixed stars and the planets ; and that the sun and ah the
other heavenly bodies move round the earth in twenty-four
hours. Ah this was quite natural, and we may say unavoid
able, under the circumstances of the time. Unless a mira
culous communication had been made to the mind of Luther,
it could not have been otherwise. Tet the author, who has
compehed me to make these observations, brings forward his
citations from the blessed and immortal man, (as he justly
calls the Eeformer), as if they possessed a kind of divine
inspiration. He writes : "What a faithful, simple, unphilo-
sophizing, convincing, and self-evident exposition is the holy
man thus instructed by ihe Holy Spirit to leave to the world!
— I cannot describe the gratitude of spirit and union with
the holy Luther which I found, when, in turning to his ex
position of the Book of Genesis, I found that his faith and
understanding respecting some particulars of the creation-
work (in addition to his fixed faith regarding the main point
at issue,) exaetly and sweetly accorded with my own."
This writer so cites, with just approbation, a part of
Luther's introductory paragraph. It would have been
weh if he had given the passage entire ; and had reflected
whether, in his fiery positiveness of assertion, and his ruth
less condemnation of philosophers and geologists, he was
not violating the admonition before his eyes.
"There has not hitherto been any one in the Church
that has, with the sufficient propriety and exactness, ex
pounded the whole of these subjects. Por expositors have so

160 LUTHEB.
mixed them up with various, diversified, and never-ending
inquiries, as to make it apparent that God has reserved to
himself alone this majesty of wisdom, and the sound under
standing of this chapter ; leaving to us the general know
ledge, that the world had a beginning, and was created out
of nothing by God. This general knowledge is clearly
derived from the text. But with respect to the particular
things, there is very much that is involved in difficulty
and doubt, and about which questions without end are
agitated."* Thus temperately and wisely wrote "the blessed man."
Most plainly has he laid down the very position which wih
be the foundation of my reasoning, when I arrive at the
part of these lectures in which it is proposed to search out
the declarations of divine truth upon our subject. Other
passages might be adduced from the writings of Luther, f in
* Luther's Works, ed. Walcb, vol. i. p. 1 .
f Sec. ed. For instance. " Reason is a very great and inestimable gift
of God, and its sagacious directions and discoveries in human things are not
to be despised." — "It is absolutely certain that reason is among all things
the most excellent, the best of all other things in this life, yea, something god
like : as it is the inventress and directress of all sciences, the medical art,
jurisprudence ; and even of all wisdom, energy, virtue, and honour that men
possess in this life. — God has not deprived reason.of this glory since the fall
of Adam, but rather has confirmed it. Yet, what is the [most] majestic
and excellent reason knows nothing of itself, but only from the Scripture.
— Of human nature we know scarcely anything, more than that into its
material causes [no doubt meaning what would now be called physic
logical,'] we can scarcely carry a glance. Of efficient causes little is known
to philosophy ; and of final causes, nothing." Upon such considerations,
this great man proceeds, from the limitation and imperfection of the human
understanding, to urge the duty of valuing and improving the light of the
glorious gospel. — " Reason indeed comprehendeth not what God is ; but it
does comprehend, with great certainty of evidence, [inferior things] that
which is not God." He then adduces examples of the Lord Christ and the
Apostle Paul, appealing to the dictates of reason.—" What then is contrary

FALSE CHABGES. 161
which he vindicates scientific researches, and supports the
kind of principles for ascertaining the sense of Scripture, on
which we are proceeding ; those of a strict and impartial
grammatical investigation.
2. I likewise raise my protest against the constant strain
and tone of this gentleman, respectable and worthy as he
may be, in his holding up the friends and professors of
Natural Philosophy in general, and of Geology in particular,
as either open infidels, or, what would be worse, secret
traitors to the cause of Christianity. There is a deplorable
want of both wisdom and justice in this style of representa
tion. It is not wise; for it tends to foster the suspicions and
objections which unhappily exist in many minds, imbued
with scientific knowledge, but ignorant of the evidences
and the divine grandeur of religion, and unhappily averse to
a free examination of them. How must such persons be
confirmed in their prejudices, and in the sinful condition of
to reason, is certainly much more contrary to God. How can that which
is opposed to the reason and truth of man, be other than opposed to the
truth of God ?" — " That man fails in some things ; but thou, in more. I
enter into a subject which others have not penetrated ; but I also well know
that at some future time, others will see what I have not attained to perceive.
What remains then, but that we should extend a helping hand to each
other ?— Our present life is a beginning and a progress, but not a comple
tion and perfection. The more closely any one attains the mind of the
Holy Spirit, the greater advantage hath he for interpreting the holy Scrip
ture If I have reached the moon, I must not fancy that I have also
grasped the sun in my hand : no, nor should I despise the smaller stars.
There are steps and degrees in life and action ; why not also in the faculty
of understanding ?"— After correcting the error of interpretation which
applies Isaiah xiv. 12, to the fall of the chief apostate angel, he says,
« This so weighty error should stimulate us to enjoin the studies of the
learned sciences and the philosophy of language, as [hochst nothig] in the
highest degree necessary to a theologian in his discussions upon holy
Scripture." Walch's ed. vols. vi. 181; xix. 1778, 1940 ; iv. 2679 ; vi,
391. M

162 TEUE SCIENCE A DIVINE BLESSING.
mind which is the substratum of those prejudices, when
they hear Christian ministers declaiming against the know
ledge of what they are convinced is certain and valuable
truth; and reviling the only possible means of attaining
that knowledge ! It is not just : for the sciences and all
their investigations for which we are pleading, are not the
"phhosophy and vain deceit" against which the apostle
gives a solemn warning. That was no other than a com
pound of Oriental and Grecian doctrines ; referring to the
mind of man and to invisible beings ; founded, not upon
observation and experiment, but on the play of imagination
and the dictates of assumed authority : it was an impostress
under the name of phhosophy, entanghng men in a web of
idle and visionary speculations, destitute of evidence, having
no practical apphcations, and opposing itself to that purest
reason which is displayed in the authority and grace of the
gospel. The Natural Phhosophy of our times is of the
opposite character, as to both its constitution and its ten
dency. It consists in the honest "searching out of the
works of Jehovah," (Ps. cxi. 2,) in obtaining the facts of
sensible nature, in admitting nothing as data without ade
quate evidence, and in receiving no conclusions till they
have been substantiated by the most cautious reasoning:
and if its proper effects be not counteracted by our own
perverse depravity, it leads to a devout veneration of God,
and to practical benefits without number to ourselves and
our fehow creatures. This phhosophy may be abused : and
so may any of the gifts of God ; health, strength, property,
family, education, talents, the esteem of our friends, the
advantages of our social position, and even our heavenly
rehgion itself. Ah our enjoyments of the divine beneficence
may be abused, by some kind or other of an association with
unworthy principles, or a subserviency to wrong pursuits.
But does any man abandon these blessings on that account;

INTEEPEETATION OF GENESIS. 163
or declaim against them as sinful, or in their own nature
pernicious ? The oppugners of phhosophy do not act so
with their own favourite enjoyments. They ought to reflect
that the pursuits which they misunderstand and misrepre
sent, and then decry, are no other than obedience to the
divine command, " Consider the works of God : — remember
that thou magnify his work which men behold." If, to any
attainments which we may make in the study of physical
objects, we do not add sincere love and devotion and obedi
ence to the Lord of nature and grace, the blame is our own;
and no slight blame and guilt it is. But let not the good
principles be condemned for the bad practice. Does it not
so much the more become sincere Christians, to labour to
" add to their faith— knowledge ;" to acquire, so far as they
have opportunity, that true science which diffuses innume
rable benefits among men, unfolds many of the divine glories,
and is the proper handmaid of vital piety ?
3. Though our interpretations of the word of God must
rest upon their own intrinsic evidence, in grammatical con
struction, suitableness to the connexion, and agreement
with other parts of Scripture ; still it is a useful assistance,
in cases of difficulty, to know what sentiments have been
entertained, and expositions given, by persons whose oppor
tunities of knowledge, and whose character for learning and
judgment, constitute a reasonable presumption that they
have not taken up opinions from supine ignorance, unex
amined custom, or any other prejudice. Upon this ground,
therefore, and not because we attribute to the sentiments
of uninspired men any commanding authority, I bring
some instances to show to our opponents that it is not a
novelty in the Church of Christ, to consider the first sen
tence in the Book of Genesis as an independent proposition:
and the succeeding portions as taking up our habitable earth
at a crisis of its existence, and describing a series of opera-

164 THE CHRISTIAN FATHEES.
tions by which God was pleased to make it fit for the exer
cises of his wisdom and goodness in relation to a new order
of creation; and consequently that those persons have no
right to charge us with impiety, even if our interpretation
were erroneous : since we stand upon the same ground
with so many eminent Christians, who were led to their
conclusions by reasons purely critical, and without the least
tincture of geological knowledge.
Some of the ancient Christian writers, usually called the
Pathers of the Church, intimate this idea, under the opinion
that the first verse states generahy the creation of matter,
out of which the formations and distributions of the six
days were afterwards educed. It is evident that the
former idea is distinct and separable from the latter ;
though it is not probable, that Clemens of Alexandria,
Origen, and others who adopted the sentiment, conceived
of the commencement of the former order of action as
having preceded that of the latter, by any long interval.
Augustine, in two passages, though he does not always
maintain consistency, writes copiously upon this interpre
tation ; representing the former state of the earth as being
to the latter what the seed of a tree is to the root, the
trunk, the branches, leaves, and fruit.*. Bash says, " It is
probable that something existed before this world ; which
we may conceive of in our understandings, but of which no
narrative has been left."f Chrysostom lays down, as a
principle for the interpretation of the beginning of Genesis,
that Moses designed to write only of the sensible appear
ances of things, adapting both the matter and the expression
to the capacities of the Israehtes, a people recently delivered
from the oppression of Egyptian slavery, and whose minds
* " De Genesi, contra Manichaeos," lib. i. cap. 6. " Confessiones " lib. xii.
cap. 17, 29.
f "Homil. I. in Hexahemeron ;" Op. torn. i. p. 7 Par. 1619.

CALVIN — PATEICK. 165
had not been elevated above low and common concep
tions.* Calvin considers the design and purport of the first
verse, as being to estabhsh this primary truth, that "the
world was not from eternity, but was created by God."
Thus that acute Bible-interpreter sanctions the general
idea for which I am pleading, that the passage is a grand
and independent axiom.
Bishop Patrick, in his Commentary, supports the senti
ment, which many others have done, that the passage
declares a chaotic condition of the earth, between its crear-
tion and its being made the receptacle of vegetable and
animal life : and he regards this state as having been of an
indefinitely long continuance. He thus admits the prin
ciple of our interpretation, though we think him to have
been mistaken in his method of applying it. There appears
to be no reason for attributing any other than a short
duration to the state of our planet, or any part of its sur-
• " Homil. II. et Sermo. I. in Gen." Op. torn. ii. pp. 12, 728; Francof.
1698. " It is indeed singular that all ancient cosmogonists should conspire
to suggest the same idea, and preserve the tradition of an early series of
successive revolutions." — The Hindoos: — Burmese: — Egyptians. — "But I
think it much more important and interesting to observe, how the early
Fathers of the Christian Church should seem to have entertained precisely
similar views; for St. Gregory Nazianzen, after St. Justin Martyr, supposes
an indefinite period between the creation and the first ordering of all
things. St. Basil, St. Csesarius, and Origen, are much more explicit ; for
they account for the creation of light prior to that of the sun, by supposing
this luminary to have indeed before existed, yet so as that its rays were
prevented, by the dense chaotic atmosphere, from penetrating to the earth;
[and that] this was, on the first day, so far rarified as to allow the trans
mission of the sun's rays, though not the discernment of its disk, which
was fully displayed on the third day." Principal Wiseman's " Lectures on
the Connexion between Science and Revealed Religion," delivered in Rome,
in 1835; vol. i. p. 297.

106 MODEEN AUTHOES.
face, which is expressed in the words of our translation:
'' And the earth was without form and void."
Dr. David Jennings, the author of the well-known work
upon Jewish Antiquities, and who, in the days of our
fathers, was one of the most esteemed Dissenting Ministers
of this city, has these observations. " The Mosaic account
does not seem to be designed for an account of the whole
creation of God ;"— but "plainly to be a designed account
of the creation of this planet only." He speaks with
approbation of the hypothesis, that "our earth, — as that
most penetrating philosopher, Dr. Hahey, seems to suspect,
might be a former world, reduced to a chaos by the shock
of a comet." — It may be not improper here to interpose the
remark, that this supposition of Hahey and others, is
exploded by the fact, ascertained but within the few latter
years, that comets are not sohd bodies, but are composed of
brilliant matter, resembhng some kind of vapour ; but so
attenuated that small stars are visible through it, and that
it might pass over and envelope the earth without giving a
shock, or producing any material effect. — Dr. Jennings
goes on to say : " One cannot suppose that this account of
the creation was designed to teach the Israehtes such
deep points of phhosophy as the true motions of the earth
and moon : but rather it was designed to teach them to
reverence the great Creator of ah things, and also to pre
serve them from the idolatry of the heathen nations around
them, who worshipped the sun and the moon, and other
creatures which God had made. Bufc yet, as this account
was written by inspiration, — it is ah agreeable to truth and
to the nature of things. And the skill of the Divine Author
is in this truly admirable, that the account of the creation
is here given, for the use of the people, in such words and
phrases as were suited to vulgar conceptions; and yet it

WAEDLAW. 167
is, at the same time, perfectly consistent with true phi
losophy." *
I may, with propriety, remind my auditors, that in this
Lecture for 1833, Dr. Wardlaw had the passage, " When
creation began, we know not. There were angels, and
there was a place of angelic habitation, before the creation
of man and of the world destined for his residence. How
long these spirits had existed, and how many other orders
of being besides, it is vain for us to conjecture. But of
one thing we are certain, that, how far back soever we
suppose the commencement of creation carried, — let it be
not only beyond the actual range (if a definite range it can
be said to have) of the human imagination, but even beyond
the greatest amount of ages that figures in any way com-
* "Introduction to the Globes;" pp. 148, 151, 167. Lond. 1747.
Sec. ed. Rabbi Solomon Jarchi, who lived in the eleventh century, is
among the most highly valued of all the Jewish interpreters, both by his
own nation and by Christians: and is honoured as " The chief of expositors,
the father of Talmud, and the teacher of the exile," denoting the present
state of dispersion. He labours much in the explanation of this chapter,
and makes the general remark, " In no case can it be accepted, that the
Scripture here [in this sentence] intends to lay down the succession of the
objects of creation." His meaning appears to be, that this verse stands as
an independent and complete proposition.
" The writer does not amuse or tire his reader with long metaphysical
disquisitions, about the nature of the universe, the generation of matter,
cause and effect, time and eternity, and other such subtle and insolvable
questions ; but, with the greatest simplicity and the most imposing air of
conviction, teils us that an Ax,mi<jhty Being made those heavens which we
behold, and the earth which we inhabit. ' In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth.' This is the general proposition.''' Geddes's
« Pref. to his Bible;" p. 2.
"  Moses — forbears to speak  even of the time when such first
creation as he thus briefly mentions, was effected; for he only says that
God Almighty was the original Great Creator of all." Edward King's
" Morsels of Criticism;'' vol. i. p. 90.

168 MODEEN AUTHOES.
bined could be made to express ; — still there was an etee-
NTTT preceding." *
Also, in the Lecture for the year 1837, Dr. Bedford went
into our present discussion at considerable length, and con
cluded that " we ought to understand Moses as saying,,
Indefinitely far back, and concealed from us in the mystery
of eternal ages, prior to the first moment of mundane timer
God created the heavens and the earth." f
The last year a pamphlet was pubhshed by a clergyman
whose manner of writing makes a strong demand upon our
respect and affection.J His talents are evidently of a
superior order ; and, which is a far higher recommendation,
his book breathes the spirit of reverential piety, and a holy
affection for the word of God. Prom such a man it is
painful to be compehed to differ. But I should be wanting
in that faithfulness of which he sets the example, if I were
not to express concern that he has not escaped the errors of
many other good men, with respect to the design of the
Scriptures, and the proper method of interpreting them.
It wih be my duty, in future lectures, to show cause in
reply to his views, upon the subject of the Deluge, and that
of Biblical interpretation. At present I have only the pain
of saying, that he fohows in a style of assumption, less
headstrong and vehement, but for that reason more touch
ing to my mind and feelings, than that of another author,
before referred to. He hesitates not to charge upon modern
geologists, making no exceptions, — even designating them
" our Bucklands, our Sedgwicks, and our Conybeares," —
that they are associating their efforts with those of infidels
to invahdate the statements of Scripture, — impugning the
* " Cong. Lect.," first series, p. 206.
¦j: " Cong. Lect.," fifth series, p. 34.
% The Rev. J. Mellor Brown, mentioned in the Note on p. 9.

' MELLOB BEOWN. 169
sacred record,— *-and assailing the volume of the Great God.
On the other hand, with equal boldness, he represents his
own interpretations of Scriptures as unquestionable ; and so
confident is he in the infallibility of his own deductions as
to identify them with the Divine Veracity, and to think
himself entitled to take for an analogy to his own reason
ings, " Two and two may be five, more easily than the God
of Truth can be untrue." He zealously affirms, but makes
no attempt at proof, "that it is exceedingly " offensive to the
plain reader of the Scriptures," — " not only contrary to the
Scriptures but unphilosophical, to resort to such an idea as
a series of creations on the same spot:" and he maintains
that "our highest conception of creation" (evidently intend
ing to imply that it is the proper conception,) " is that of
a world starting into being, perfect and complete, at the
command of God ; so perfect and complete, that, from the
lowest zoophyte to the highest species of hving creature,
not a single gap could be found into which another animal
might be thrust." He looks with evident complacency to
the hypothesis " that Almighty God may, by the mere fiat
of his power, have intentionahy brought every rock and
stratum, every fossil leaf and sheh and bone, into its present
form and condition."
This kind of argument has been repeatedly brought
forwards, even in modern times : but surely those who use
it have not considered what havoc they are making ; for, if
it had any strength at ah, it would fearfully weaken the
proof for the first truth of religion, from the doctrine of
sufficient causes. We find the dead parts of animals, with
the marks of muscular attachment, the shehy, or crus-
taceous, or bony structure, the condyles, the receiving
hollows, the grooves and port-holes for the passage of nerves
and blood-vessels, the teeth with their sockets in ah the
variety of the most exquisitely appropriate formation, even

170 MODEEN AUTHOES.
the organs and provisions and products of nutrition:— and
it is seriously said, that we may sit down with the conclu
sion that these objects were never the parts of any hving
creature, but have existed from the beginning of time, just
as we now find them ! — Shah we throw such an advantage
as this into the hands of the atheist ?
This respected clergyman has also other suppositions,
and certain theories of his own, by which he beheves that
all the geological appearances may be accounted for, within
the limits of time which he holds it an impiety to exceed.
One of these is, to bring forwards, with some spirit and
ingenuity, instances of accelerated speed, in motion and
mechanical operations, by the steam-engine; and some cases
in Natural and Civil History, not weh understood: and
from the whole, the author asks, " Whether there is any
difficulty in believing that the known laws of nature could
be so far increased, in" power and velocity, as to produce
the same effects in six thousand years, for which" geologists
*' now estimate sixty thousand, or six hundred thousand, to
be necessary ?"* The querist was evidently not aware of
* " I once showed to a reader of this cast a solid, lofty, inland rock,
composed of one vast mass of shells, often very delicate and brittle, aggluti
nated with interstitial matter; and asked him whether he thought that these
enormous depositions were attributable to the deluge, or were formed during
its short duration : and also, whether the various successions of strata, ten
mile3 thick, teeming with the remains of animals and vegetables, from the
most complicated in the upper strata down to the most simple in the
lower— all arranged in order ; now a layer of salt water formation, then one
above it of fresh, and then another of sea, and so on in succession, — had really
been deposited thus in fifteen hundred years before the deluge. His reply
was to the following effect.—' How do I know but that in those early days
the powers of nature were so prolific, or rather that there was so constant a
miracle, that this rock, which would require an enormous period to grow by
ordinary accretion, might be generated in a day; each plant and animal
going through all ita stages of life and death in the fraction of a moment, if

MELLOE BBOWN. 171
the want of analogy in his cases. We know that great
mineralogical changes may be wrought in a very short time,
by the chemical and electric forces which are in constant
action: metallic compounds may be produced and veins
formed, crystals made to shoot, and lamination or even
stratification effected upon a smah scale. Let us grant the
extension of these effects as largely as can be desired, not
withstanding the insuperable objections which lie in our
way : the concession wih not benefit the argument. The
question is not with regard to mineralogical deposits and
formations, as such ; but to the remains of once hving
beings imbedded in them. It is manifest that the worthy
author possesses only crude and. defective notions upon this
subject. He is evidently not acquainted with the charac-
terism which connects particular formations with definite
fossils ; nor with the manner, as to position, in which the
principal classes of specimens are found, (the conchiferous
and molluscous shells,) proving the quietness and slowness
of the processes to which they had been subjected; nor of
the numerical amount of the remains, as to species and
individuals, (the number of known fossil species of these
two classes only, being little if at ah less than five thou
sand ;) nor of the nature of the argument as it arises from
the gradation of changes, specific and generic, in the sub
jects of organic life ; nor of laws which the Ceeatoe has
disclosed to industrious research with regard to the duration
of species. Ah these topics needed to have been known
and weh-scrutinized, before any surmise had been hazarded.
necessary to produce the effect ?' But why should it be necessary ? Or,
what ' effect ' did my friend mean, except the support of a popular inter
pretation ? I almost believe, that if my friend had been pressed with an
argument from Euclid, he would have replied, ' But how do we know that
antediluvian circles or angles were like ours 1" A Scriptural Geologist ; in
the " Christian Observer," April, 1839, p. 212.

172 MODEEN AUTHOES.
Our objectors universally appear not to be aware that it is
from a long-continu.ed search into the almost immensely
numerous particulars, and a contemplation of their parahel
relations, that the conclusion appears irresistible, as to the
myriads of ages during which the ah-glorious God has held
on the wondrous course of his works.
Another of his objections is directed against the theory
of the internal heat of the earth, and its gradual cooling
through a vast period of time. He appeals to the evidence
which we possess, that the general temperature, and that
of particular climates, has undergone no change from the
earliest times of history. Had he taken the precaution of
understanding what he was writing about, he would have
refrained from combating his own shadow. He would have
learned that the heat, however intense at no very great
great depth, has long ago arrived at the point at which the
weak conducting power- of the earth's rocky crust prevents
any further sensible progress, in affecting the temperature
at any point of the surface. The process of coohng there
fore, though at first and for a long period rapid, must have
acquired a stationary condition thousands of years ago : so
that our chmates now are dependent solely upon the action
of the sun, and the superficial causes of radiation. We
have reason to regard it as highly probable, and we may
hope that the exact researches upon which eminent mathe
maticians are now engaged wih bring an approximating
certainty to the conclusion, that this point was reached
some time before the creation of man, and that it was a
part of the processes by which the earth was adapted to its
present destination among the works of God.
With a solemnity and fidelity for which he has my cordial
gratitude, this Christian monitor sounds the alarm against
forgetting " the most valuable axiom of human science, that
man is ignorant and weak;" and that he ought therefore

MELLOE BEOWN. 173
" to be thankful for what he is permitted to know," but
" submissive where God has been pleased to set a barrier to
further knowledge." He comprehends geological investiga
tions among what he considers as not " subjects of lawful
inquiry, — shrouded from us by a higher power;" to be
reckoned " a dark art, — dangerous and disreputable." To
these cautions he adds the assertion, " Surely an humble
mind wih be ready to confess that events which took place
before the birth of man, or the date of revelation, belong to
a forbidden province."
I cannot for a moment doubt the good motive from which
this strain of admonition has proceeded. The author's
fundamental principle, upon the duty of modesty and
humhity, is unquestionably of the first importance. The
best friends of science wih unite with him in deprecating
the pride and vanity which pretend to carry researches
beyond the hmits which the Author of our nature has
prescribed. But he has not brought an atom of evidence
to prove that the efforts of Geology, or of any other branch
of Natural Phhosophy, involve any excursion whatsoever
out of those hmits. His caution is, in itself, only an en
forcement of the first principle of the Baconian philosophy.
But for this apphcation of it, he gives us nothing but his
his own assertion. The undistinguishing apphcation of
good general principles is one of the most frequent causes
of human error, and that to the most dangerous extent. I
question whether there is any error or heresy, which may
not be traced to this as one of its principal causes. Specu
lations may indeed be indulged jpd theories constructed,
upon subjects in which we have no data for the support of
our conclusions ; and in which therefore ah the materials
are the offspring of imagination. But that is not the case
here. In Geology and every other part of physical science,
the objects of investigation are substantial reahties, things

174 FALSE IMPUTATIONS.
presented to our eyes and ah our other bodily organs ; and
the phenomena of change are in many cases perfectly
similar, and in others analogous, to what is continually
passing before our eyes. True phhosophy is not an " in
truding into things which we have not seen," the vain infla
tion of a carnal mind. (Col. ii. 19.) It is the patient
ascertaining of actual things and actual events, of which
our own senses and those of other men are the witnesses ;
and it then seeks to find out the connexion of those facts
with each other. Such is Geology. It deals in realities,
diligently ascertained and faithfully reported : and the
reasonings against which this author, pious and amiable
as he is, directs his assault, are in ah Christian upright
ness intended to protect the cause of rehgion against the
injuries to which it is exposed from the misunderstanding
of natural facts, and from what we beheve to be the mis
interpretation of the sacred Scriptures. What right has he
to say, that " events which took place before the birth of
man or the date of revelation, belong to a forbidden pro
vince ?" He brings no reason in support of his assertion :
he adduces no evidence in its favour from the divine oracles :
he does not pretend to give us any ground whatever for the
reception of it. Can he have expected that any man wih
receive this dictate, upon his pronouncing of it ? Geology
unrols to the eyes bf men a glorious book of the works and
ways of divine power and providence. Are we to behold
these objects ; and then turn aside refusing to inquire, or
to hear other persons inquire concerning their nature and
relations, their causes and^consequences ? Can we persuade
our fehow-men to yield obedience to such a prohibition?
"Whl the unbelieving and irreligious submit to it ? Wih
they retire from the threshold of the temple, after they have
been permitted to look in and gain a glance of its grandeur;
and wih or can they repress every desire of entering to

TENDENCY OF THE BIBLE. 175
explore its treasures ? There are, unhappily, men well
acquainted with the natural sciences, but who are disgrace
fully, because wilfully, ignorant of the real nature of reli
gion, and the grounds of claim which it has on their under
standings and their hearts : how wih such as they treat this
•ban of an unproved authority ? Wih they not regard the
futile prohibition as involving an unequivocal confession,
that the book of revelation wih not endure to be confronted
with the book of nature ? Or wih religious persons, the
sincere believers in the authority of the Bible, give in their
adherence to it ? Wih they, can they, shut their eyes and
silence their understandings; and suppress the risings of
reason and admiration and piety? Can they strike dead
the desire for knowledge which the wise and good Creator
has implanted in man ? Widely different is a simple desire
of knowledge, regulated by rational and rehgious consider
ations, from that principle of the first transgression with
which some unreflecting persons profess to identify it.
That was the hankering after a gratification of animal
appetite, in despite of a prohibition which the transgressors
knew to have proceeded from infinite goodness ; it was the
giving credit to an unknown pretender, in contempt of the
divine veracity : but the studies of Natural Phhosophy,
(though, hke every other of God's beneficent gifts, they
may be and awfully are abused by ungrateful men,) are, in
themselves, only a proceeding in the spirit of the divine
declarations : " The works of the Lord are great, sought out
of ah them that have pleasure therein. — Bemember that
thou magnify his work which men behold. — Through desire,
a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth
with all wisdom."* The Bible, in numerous places, directs
* Ps. cxi. 2. Job xxxvi. 24. Prov. xviii. 1. This last passage is one
of those in the Old Testament which, on account of the extremely elliptical

176 NEGLECT OF STUDY INEXCUSABLE.
us to the contemplation of God, under the especial aspect
of displaying his perfections by his doings ; and it affixes no
limitations of time or place to the objects of such contem
plation. The works which the Infinite Being has wrought,
and the ways in which he governs his own creation, may,
in a sound and obvious sense sanctioned by the inspired
apostle, be cahed a revelation of Him ; " because that which
may be known of God (rh yvoidrh rou Qeou) is manifest in
them." (Bom. i. 19.) It cannot be held excusable, in any
to whom he has given the means of studying this manifesta
tion of himself, to neglect that duty, or to oppose and decry
those who endeavour to perform it. This study is, not the
rival, but the valuable assistant, of the manifestation which
God has granted us in positive revelation ; and which is to
us practically of infinitely the greatest importance.
" All nature joins to show thy praise.
Thus God in every creature shines.
Fair is the book of nature's lines:
But fairer is the book of grace." Watts.

PART II.
II. Theee is another and very different class of men,
who are not only aware of the difficulties which we have
undertaken to discuss, as producing some appearance of
contradiction, but who affirm, without hesitation, that there
is a real and insuperable discrepancy between the demon
strated facts of science and the unambiguous declarations
character of the Hebrew style, is attended with difficulty. The following
paraphrastic translation is submitted as strictly conveying the sense of the
original. « For gratifying a laudable desire, a recluse student diligently
explores and zealously contends for all elevation of knowledge."

BABBAGE AND POWELL. 177
of the Mosaic writings ; and their method of resolving the
difficulty is not hke that of others who deny the geological
facts, (for this, their knowledge makes impossible for them,)
but they take the opposite course. The two leaders in this
course are Mr. Babbage and Professor Baden Poweh. The
former of these philosophers thinks himself compehed to
resort to a desperate kind of hypothesis, which is really
cutting the knot. He is of opinion that we cannot so
depend upon our ability to construe the ancient Hebrew
language, as to be sure that we have correctly interpreted
the archaic documents before us. Thus, to speak the plain
truth, an opening is made for treating the written records
of the creation as if they had no existence ; or, in the same
manner as would be our conduct with regard to some
antique marble, inscribed with characters which we might
believe to express the words of a lost language, but that
language one which we could never hope to recover. We
•might admire the elegance of its form and the beauty of its
sculptured figures ; we might lay it up as the most interest
ing treasure of a museum ; but we should not spend our
time in attempting to decipher its characters, persuaded
beforehand that the attempt would be vain.
The second of those distinguished mathematicians and
philosophers goes farther. He has no difficulty in admitting
the perfectly intehigible character of the commencement of
Genesis and the Pourth Commandment ; but he considers
it incumbent upon him to maintain that, in both cases, the
statement " was not intended for an histobical narrative ;
and if the representation cannot have been designed for
literal history, it only remains to regard it as having been
intended for the better enforcement of its objects in the
language oi figure and poetry ; and to ahow that the manner
in which the Deity was pleased to reveal himself to the
Jews as accomphshing the work of creation was (like so
N

178 FALSE HYPOTHESES.
many other points of their dispensation,) veiled in the guise
of apologue and parable ; and that only a more striking
representation of the greatness and majesty of the Divine
power and creative wisdom was intended, by embodying the
expression of them in the language of dramatic action.*
I offer a few remarks upon each of these hypotheses.
Mr. Babbage is careful to state that he has not " any
acquaintance with the language in which the sacred volume"
of the Old Testament is written. This deficiency is much
to be regretted. Had it not existed, the acute investigator
would never have taken up his hypothesis, or any approach
to it. He would have felt himself assured that, as a con
sequence of the uninterrupted use of the Hebrew language
by the Jews, and the constant pubhc reading of these very
writings, from the days of Moses down to our own, we have
in fact as firm a hold upon the meaning as we have in
regard to the Greek and Latin ; that, from its being one of
a family of languages, ah of which possess literary monu-
• " Connexion of Nat. and Div. Truth ;" by the Rev. Baden Powell,
F.R.S. &c, Savil. Prof. Geom. Oxford: p. 260. A work which I regard
as of great value; and cannot but earnestly recommend to those who wish
to search deeply and accurately into philosophical subjects and their moral
relations', notwithstanding the author's deplorable mistake in his notion of
Calvinism, and the appearance of some serious theological errors. But I
cannot surrender him to the self-styled Rationalists; men whose just claim
would be to a very different appellation. The learned Professor has, more
recently, done excellent service to the cause of religion by his masterly
exposure of a system, which comes forwards indeed with lofty pretensions,
uniting in itself the lamb and the dragon (Rev. xii. 1 1), but which he
rightly characterizes "as involving in entire ambiguity the landmarks of
Christian truth: — by neutralizing it destroys the whole evidence of the
gospel." " Tradition Unveiled;" p. 68. Deeply also are the friends of
Scriptural religion and just liherty indebted to him for another contribution
to their cause — " State Education, considered with reference to Prevalent
Misconceptions on Religious Grounds:" 1840: and more recently still the
" Supplement to Tradition Unveiled."

BABBAGE AND POWELL. 179
ments and those of great antiquity, we are furnished with
aids and guarantees, in the comparison of the cognate
tongues, by which the correct understanding of Hebrew is
made sure to those who wih rationally study it ; and that,
by the aid of the Greek Yersion, ah or most of which was
made in the third century before Christ, we have a still
further ground of satisfaction for the intelligence of the
Hebrew Scriptures. There are oriental scholars, especially
in Germany, and of whom some are awfully hostile to the
truth and the authority of revelation, who would inform
Mr. Babbage that the fact of a clear and certain under
standing of the Hebrew Scriptures is above ah reasonable
doubt. The construction of the language is the most
simple and luminous that can weh be imagined : its pecu
liar idioms are weh ascertained and illustrated ; few very
difficult passages occur ; the principal obscurities he in the
determination of a small number of words referring to
natural objects and operations of art ; and the text is settled
to a degree of purity more satisfactory than we dare affirm
of many of the Greek and Latin classics. Ah competent
scholars, of whatever opinions and parties they may be in
other respects, wih agree to reject any imputation of uncer
tainty with respect to the means of ascertaining the sense
of the language.
Professor Powell's scheme appears, at first sight, to be a
reproduction of the mythic hypothesis which the German
Antisuper-naturahsts generally hold ; and which we could
not consistently adopt unless we went with them to the
infidel length of denying any positive revelation. This I
am persuaded that the Professor would not do. But as a
divine, he has involved himself in serious difficulty. His
notion, that we have here " the language of figure and
poetry," is palpably erroneous. The whole is in the style
of plain narrative, evidently intended to be understood as a
2n

180 FALSE HYPOTHESES.
simple, straightforward, unadorned history. The dramatic
form, introducing the Creator as speaking, to command an
effect ; and then stating that the effect fohowed, and that
he was pleased with the contemplation of it ; — is a part of
the great characteristic which runs through all the Hebrew
Scriptures, and especiahy the earher parts of them, the
Anthropopathia ; a mode of expression adapted, by the
graciousness of Divine condescension, to the capacity and
habits of thought which belong to men in an unpolished
Btate of society, who were totahy ignorant of abstract
phraseology, and would have been unable to receive spiri
tual sentiments, unless clothed in language borrowed from
sensible objects, and from the emotions and actions of men.
This is indeed the very principle which wih appear, as I
trust, in a fohowing lecture, to be both " a true cause" in
the formation of the ancient scriptural phraseology, and to
be adequate to carry us out of the difficulty, without sacrifi
cing the reahty of the things related, or invading the truth
and majesty of Divine Inspiration.
I do cherish much hope that, had Professor Powell more
carefully and more completely examined the case, he would
have found this principle, which indeed he definitely lays
down, quite sufficient for obviating ah the difficulty; without
having recourse to admissions which cannot but be revolt
ing to the calm judgment of any man ; as weh as to the en
lightened piety of a reflecting Christian. We, equahy with
him, admit the fohy of " constructing systems of phhosophy
out of the Bible,  of attempting* to force its language into
accordance with philosophical results," — or of supposing
that the senses or applications which, by some engineering
of verbal criticism, we might maintain tha* the words could
be made to bear, were actuahy in the understanding and
intention of Moses, or of any other inspired writer ;  or
of "imagining that the dehvery of the Judaical law was

POWELL. 181
really intended to embrace the doctrines of Geology, and
this too under the guise of expressions which, in their
obvious sense, are directly contradictory to those doc
trines ;" or, in a word, of " saying something plausible to
satisfy prejudice, and avoid giving offence to popular
belief."* Some persons there indeed have been, and still
are, who have held notions like these, and have pursued
Borne such fallacious course as is here reprobated ; we
cannot shield them from the Beverend Professor's censure :
we repudiate ah such devices. But it is not necessary for
us to go into the opposite extreme, and affirm that the lan
guage of revelation, when stripped of the conventional forms
of description which were necessary in that state of mind
and habits which characterized the people and the age, is
irreconcilably and insuperably contradictory to the truth of
facts in nature. I fear that Mr. Poweh's expressions are
in danger of involving some inconsistency with his own
saered professions and obligations ; and, that, if fohowed
out, they would lead to consequences deeply injurious to
the cause of Christianity. Se admits the inspiration of
Moses, and the divine origin and authority of the previous
patriarchal and the subsequent prophetic revelations ; and
yet he maintains that the Christian system of religion is
independent of those former disclosures of the wih and truth
of God, and distinct from them, in such a manner that (if I
do not misapprehend his meaning,t which I sincerely wish
* Expressions of Prof. Powell.
•f Sec. ed. It is with great pleasure that T here copy the words of the
Professor in a more recent publication. " Dr. Pye Smith — fears [ — no, —
wishes,] he may have mistaken my meaning. He has certainly done so, if
he supposes me to deny any of the positions which he states respecting the
progressive nature of the divine dispensations. All this is the very view
that I take. All that I contend for is the plain fact that these different
relations were addressed, as they were adapted, to different parties ; one

182 NOTION UNCHBISTIAN.
may be the case with me,) we might lawfully and safely
give them up, as obsolete ideas, mingled with much that is
erroneous. This is a notion which stands in direct hostility
to the sentiment that pervades the whole frame of revela
tion, a progression of knowledge and its practical appplica-
tions ; exhibiting a twilight, a dawn, a sunrise, and the
perfect day, Moses and the prophets bore testimony to
the Messiah, the promised Eedeemer of mankind ; and that
Messiah with his immediate disciples pointed to the com
pletion of the ancient dispensations in the " grace and
truth" of the gospel. Nothing can be plainer than that
our Lord and his apostles gave honour to Moses as the
most faithful servant of God, as an inspired person, and as
the initiating prophet of a national dispensation which was
constituted by divine authority to be the symbol and pre
parative of a religion that should be universal and perma
nent for mankind, the " glad tidings concerning Jesus
Christ."* I trust it wih appear in the sequel of these lectures, that
we neither torture the Bible to make it speak the language
of phhosophy, nor suppress or mutilate the facts of nature
in order to bring about an agreement with the Bible.
to the Jews, another to us. In connexion with the view of such adaptation,
when I suggested the idea, that the whole description of the creation, taken
as a whole, might be understood as couched in the language of mythic
poetry, this was not laid down dogmatically, but simply suggested as a less
harsh alternative than a naked statement which might seem directly im
pugning the truth of the narrative. — If the true statement be not boldly
made by the friends of Christianity, it will inevitably be perverted and turned
against them by its adversaries." " Suppl. to Trad. Unveiled ;" p. 36. —
But upon this subject a few remarks will be offered in a Supplementary Note.
* Besides the whole bearing of the Old Testament prophecies and the
writings of the New Testament, particular evidences are Matt. .xvii. 3;
Luke xvi. 31; xx. 37; xxiv. 27; John i. 17, 46; iii. 14; v. 46, 47; Acts
iii. 22; vii. 35; xxvi. 22, 23; xxviii. 32; Rom. iii. 2, 21, 31 ; iv. through*
out; ix. 4, 5; 2 Cor. iii.; Heb, throughout; Rev. xv, 3.

METAPHOBICAL DAYS UNTENABLE. 183
III. An hypothesis was resorted to about thirty years
ago by several men of eminence in geological knowledge,
such as the late Mr. James Parkinson, Baron Cuvier, and
Professor Jameson of Edinburgh ; and it has found ap
provers and advocates more recently ; among whom we may
reckon Professor Sihiman (at least a few years ago,) and
the anonymous clergyman who wrote the able Preliminary
Essay to Dr. Manteh's Illustrations of the Geology of
Sussex, published in 1822 : but it is now so generahy relin
quished, that more than a brief mention of it wih not be
necessary. This is, that the Six Days of Creation may be
understood of periods of time, of indefinite, though of a
very great length. Pinding in frequent instances of Scrip
ture-use, what is indeed the case in ah languages, that the
term day is put metaphoricahy to denote any portion of
time which has been marked by the accomplishment of
some great event or series of events, it was concluded that
the same figurative apphcation might be resorted to here.
The mind was thus left at liberty to attach to each of these
periods any length that the exigency of the case might
require, in order to obtain the protracted time which the
supporters of this hypothesis knew to be an indispensable
provision for the mineral and palseontological formations.
They went further, and supposed that the succession of
geological beds, with respect to organic remains, exhibited
a correspondence with the contents of the sacred narrative
in describing the several operations of divine power. "Upon
this theory a few remarks are submitted.
1. More accurate investigations have proved that the
correspondence just mentioned does not exist. Though, to
a superficial view, some plausible appearances of this kind
present themselves, the scheme fails when it is attempted
to be carried into detail.
2. Admitting, what indeed every person must be aware

184 METAPHOBICAL DAYS UNTENABLE.
of, that the word is often used in the wide acceptation, as
when we speak of " the day of the Son of man," — " the day
of salvation," — the day of human hfe ; — it is evident that
this figurative use is employed, more generahy indeed in
poetical or oratorical diction, but always when the con
nexion in any given instance makes it unquestionably
manifest that a figurative sense is intended. No examples
need be brought in proof of this fact : it must be familiar
to every person.
Tet there is one instance which is peculiarly important,
because it occurs in another of the archaic records with
which Moses the inspired and faithful servant of God,* was
directed by the Divine Being to commence his narrative.
Por, it is not irrelevant here to remark, that the earher
part of the Book of Genesis consists of several distinct
compositions, marked by their differences of style, and by
express formularies of commencement.! It is entirely con
sonant with the idea of inspiration, and established by the
whole tenor of the scriptural compositions, that the heavenly
influence operated in a concurrence with the rational facul
ties of the inspired men; so that prophets and apostles
wrote from their own knowledge and memory, the testi
mony of other persons, and written documents, to which
* " My servant Moses is not so [on an equality with other prophets],
who is faithful in all my house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth,
even apparently [Heb. in visible form], and not in dark speeches [obscure
representations] : and the similitude of Jehovah he shall behold." Numb.
xii. 7, 8; and compare Heb. iii. 2, 5.
+ The following appear to be the distinct compositions, yet it must be
observed that the evidence is not equally clear in every case. I. Gen. i. 1,
to ii. 3. II. ii. 4, to iii. 24. III. chap. iv. IV. v. 1, to vi. 8. V. vi. 9,
to ix. 29. VI. chap. *. VII. xi. 1—9. VIII. xi. 10—26. IX. xi. 27,
and all that follows may be regarded as the records of the house of
Abraham. Chap, xxxvi. a separate document, inserted in the most suitable
place. '

METAPHOBICAL DAYS UNTENABLE. 185
indeed express appeal is often made.* Prom the evidence
of language and of matter, we have no shght reasons for
supposing that Moses compiled the chief parts of the Book
of Genesis, by arranging and connecting ancient memorials,
under the divine direction, and probably during the middle
part of his life, which he spent in the retirements of Arabia.
Thus, though it is impossible to affirm with confidence such
a position, yet it appears far from improbable, that we
have in this most ancient writing in the world, the family
archives of Amram and his ancestors, comprising the his
tory of Joseph, probably written in great part by himself ;
documents from the hands of Jacob, Abraham, Shem, Noah,
and, possibly, ascending higher still, authentic memorials
from Enoch, Seth, and Adam.
At the fourth verse of the second chapter, commences a
new narrative in these words, " These are the generations "
( — the Hebrew word is that commonly used to introduce
an historical relation, and learned translators render it, in
numerous places, by origin, history, account, or some simhar
word, — ) " of the heavens and the earth, in their being
created, in the day of Jehovah God's making earth and
heavens." I read this in the most closely literal version.
Undoubtedly the word requires to be understood here in
the less restricted sense of a period of time. But one
obvious remark puts an end to ah difficulty in the mat
ter. The word used in this place and in chapter v. 1, 2,
is not the simple noun ; but it is a compound of that noun
with a preposition, formed according to the genius of
the Hebrew language, and producing an adverb, requir-
We have these instances in the Old Testament, Numb. xxi. 14, 17, 18;
27—30. Josh. x. 13. 2 Sam. i. 18. 1 Kings xi. 41. 1 Chron. ix. 1 ;
xxxix. 29. 2 Chron. ix. 29 ; xii. 15; xx. 34. In the New Testament
many of the anecdotal portions in the first three Gospels; and see Luke i.
1,2.

183 METAPHOBICAL DAYS UNTENABLE.
ing to be rendered by such words as when, at ihe time,
after.* 3. Upon the very face of the document, it is manifest
that in the first chapter the word is used in its ordinary
sense. Por this primeval record (terminating, as was
remarked in a former lecture, with the third verse of the
second chapter,) is not a poem, nor a piece of oratorical
diction ; but is a narrative, in the simple style which marks
the highest majesty. It would be an indication of a deplor
able want of taste for the beauty of language, to put a
patch of poetical diction upon this face of natural sim
plicity. But, one might think that no doubt would remain
to any man who had before his eyes the concluding formula
of each of the six partitions, "And evening was, and morning
was, day one;" and so throughout the series, repeating exactly
the same form ; only introducing the ordinal numbers, till
we arrive at the last, " And evening was, and morning was,
day the sixth."
4. If there were no other reason against this, which I
may cah device of interpretation, it would appear quite
sufficient to require its rejection, that it involves so large
an extension in the liberty, or licence, of figurative speech.
Poetry speaks very ahowably of the day of prosperity or of
sorrow, the day of a dynasty or of an empire : but the case
before us requires a stretch of hyperbole which would be
monstrous. A few hundreds, or even thousands, of days
turned into years, would not supply a period sufficiently
ample to meet the exigency of geological reasoning ; while
this way of proceeding, to obtain the object desired, is
sacrificing the propriety and certainty of language, and
* Examples are numerous; as Exod. xiv. 57; Numb. xxx. 5, &c; Deut.
xxi. 16; 2 Sam. xxii. 1; Neh. xiii. 15. Many other instances are adduced
in Noldii " Concord. Partic. Hebr."

BES0BT TO THE ANTEDILUVIAN PEEIOD. 187
producing a feeling of revolt in the mind of a plain reader
of the Bible.
IY. We advance to the consideration of a theory, which
has been held with strong attachment by persons of talent
and piety, upon many of whom we cannot think without
the feelings of Christian affection. At the same time,
it is incumbent on me to make an observation which is
entitled to be well considered. It is, that the persons to
whom I advert, and especially those who have most distin
guished themselves as the advocates of this theory, are not
practical men, not geologists who have devoted the con
tinuous labour of weeks and months, I might justly say
years, in exploring those regions of Europe and other parts
of the earth, which are the most important in a geological
sense, because they present the greatest extent of natural
sections, elevations, fractures, and outcrops, and the largest
abundance and variety of organic remains. But the writers
who have most signalized themselves in the advocacy of
this view appear to have chiefly derived their knowledge of
geological subjects from the study of books and their own
reflections in calm retirement, I am not so presumptuous
as to imagine myself qualified to bear this testimony con
cerning those estimable persons, so as to exclude ah liability
to mistake, I utter only the impression made upon my
mind, by a smah degree of actual knowledge, by credible
information from other persons, and above ah from the
indications of their own writings.
The hypothesis referred to is that which, first, considers
the Mosaic record as indubitably affirming the creation of
the universe, within the period of six natural days, at an
epoch about six thousand years back ; then, it regards the
interval from the creation to the Deluge, as affording a
sufficient lapse of time for the deposition of the chief part
of the stratified formations; and finally it considers the

18S CHEONOLOG? OF THE BIBLE.
remainder of the phenomena as adequately accounted for by
the action of the diluvial waters.
That interval, according to the chronology calculated from
the Hebrew copy of the Bible, was 1656 years ; according
to the Greek translation, usuahy cahed the Septuagint, it
was 2262 ; but according to the estimate in the " Analysis
of Chronology" of the late Dr. William Hales of Dublin,
the period was 2256 years. Professor Wallace brings out,
from laborious investigation, 2262.*
1. The first thought that strikes our minds, on a survey
of the inquiry, is this ; that the materials, of which the
advocates of this theory have framed it, are what they have
derived from the labours of the very men who hold the
opposite doctrine. The men whose persevering toils have
brought to hght the great facts of Geology, who have traced
them through their vast extent, and who have described them
with careful precision by their pens and pencils, are repre
sented by this hypothesis as the worst interpreters of these
facts; either incapable of drawing logical inferences from
their own observations, or unwilling to declare what the
honest inferences are. Upon the former supposition, it
must appear a strange thing, that the persons who have
given such distinguished proofs of their general ability, and
of their acuteness of penetration in this particular depart
ment of scientific study ; who possess the resources of those
auxiliary sciences which are the best guides in physical
inquiry, and the most stern checks upon sanguine minds, to
guard them against precipitance or inaccuracy in drawing
conclusions; — it must appear a strange thing, that such
persons should labour under an obliquity of judgment, so
peculiar and so obstinate, that they cannot see the just con
clusion from premises which they have obtained by so much
* On the " True Age of the World, and its Chronology ;" p. 298. 1844.

FEAE OF THE CONCLUSION. 189
expense of time and fortune, of mental and bodily toil. It
should also not be omitted that, of these persons, some,
probably the larger number, had the prepossessions of
education originally fixed in their minds in favour of the
very opinion which they are now rebuked for rejecting.
Could we imagine that one such human mind was in exist
ence ? — It would appear a prodigy : but that many, that all
who fall under the former part of my description (for I
know not of one exception,) should be thus mighty to do
the greater thing, which every logician knows to be the
gaining of true premises, yet so wretchedly feeble to per
form the easiest part of ah, the perceiving what conclusion
is contained in those premises ! — This does indeed surpass
belief!— But the other part of the alternative is, that the men so
qualified, with the evidence on the case spread before their
eyes, are unwilling to announce that conclusion which
dispassionate bystanders see to be the right one, and which
they themselves were quite aware of, yea, probably had
before maintained ; that they had been seduced into a con
federacy, — though many of them never saw each other, —
to violate conscience, honour, and truth, to support an
opinion which they know is not the fair deduction from the
facts by themselves elicited : an opinion which they them
selves had once disapproved,* which shocks many of their
• " When I first heard of the conclusions of Geology, I thought them
very unsafe, for they opposed my conscientious interpretation of the
scripture-narrative; and I concluded (as was right and just, for I knew
scripture to be infallible, and I had never considered any other interpreta
tion,) that geological science was an aberration.' But, upon farther
scrutiny, I found its main conclusions impregnable. I then considered
whether my interpretation was of necessity the right one ; and I found,
as many scriptural geologists have shown, that the sacred text might,
without any violence, be differently interpreted, and that thus the supposed

]90 IMMATUEE JUDGMENTS.
friends, which is denounced as of an irreligious and scep
tical character, and which therefore forces them to he under
suspicion and reproach : and, finally, that some of these
men, and those the most ready to make the avowal, are con
secrated ministers and zealous advocates of the Christian
Eehgion : — this side of the supposition does indeed involve
such an amount of dehberate baseness, — that it exceeds my
capacity of behef !
2. The worthy persons who oppose what I may, not
assumingly, call the whole body of geologists, have had no
very difficult task to perform. There may be two or three
exceptions : but we may safely affirm that they in general
have not spent those years of patient apphcation which the
case demands in order to have the prerequisites for forming
a correct judgment: but they take up an alluring book,
Professor Buckland's Bridgewater Treatises, perhaps, or
Mr. Lyeh's Principles ; or, more probably, they may have
been content with some of the older and very defective
authors. Prom this they seleet a few statements, which,
by their want of previous knowledge, they are exposed to
difficulties vanished. I was not reckless of consequences, — very far from
it; but I saw that there might be bad consequences in two opposite ways;
and I fear that some well-meaning and truly pious writers are exposing
scripture to one of them." Letter of a Scriptural Geologist in the " Christian
Observer," August 1839, p. 473.
On the question, Whether these phenomena can " be comprised within
the short period usually assigned to them," the Rev. Samuel Charles
Wilks long ago observed: " Buckland, Sedgwick, Faber, Chalmers, Cony
beare, and many other Christian Geologists, strove long with themselves to
believe that they could : and they did not give up the hope, or seek for a
new interpretation of the sacred text, till they considered themselves driven
from their position by such facts as we have stated. — If, even now, a
reasonable, or we might say possible solution were offered, they would, we
feel persuaded, gladly revert to their original opinion. ' " Christ. Observ."
Aug. 1834; p. 486.

GEANVILLE PENN. 191
no smah risk of failing to understand. Of the great number
of facts necessary to be known, many are overlooked, and
many are forgotten; and among them are some which
make no very prominent appearance in a verbal description,
but the omission to graBp and apply which wih vitiate the
entire body of conceptions which the hasty compiler is
forming. He finds incoherences, and has no suspicion that
they are produced only by the fragmentary character of his
own attainments : he puts them down and surveys them :
to him they appear to involve positions or to warrant in
ferences fatal to the geologists : and then our well-pleased
considerator marshals his doubts and objections, forms a
theory of his own which delightfully harmonizes with his
views of the scriptural cosmogony: he favours the world
with it : and, in the end, he is surprised and grieved, and
perhaps irritated, that the geologists do not adopt his views.
With reluctance and pain I acknowledge myself under
the obligation of mentioning some principal writers of this
description. Some twelve or thirteen years ago, a gentleman entitled
to our high esteem, Mr. Granville Penn, pubhshed a large
work which he entitled "A Comparative Estimate of the
Mineral and the Mosaic Geologies." He endeavours to
prove that the phenomena of stratification may be accounted
for by referring them to the accumulated deposits of the
antediluvian ocean, which he supposes to have become the
habitable earth after the Deluge; and then introducing
tremendous disruptions, and forcible transportations of
those accumulations, by the action of the diluvial waters.
Whhe professing, and I have no doubt with the utmost
sincerity, to hold the authority of Seripture in the su
premacy of honour which is its due, Mr. Perm makes no
scruple to deal with it in a very arbitrary manner. He
even cashiers and rejects as spurious, in the face of ah

192 PAIEHOLME AND KIEBT.
critical evidence, the entire passage which gives the topo
graphy of the country of Eden ; because it is incompatible
with his theory. Pleasing and in some respects useful as
his volumes are, I am compehed to regard them as calcu
lated to mislead the confiding reader.
Considerably later, another of our countrymen, Mr. Pair-
holme, pubhshed a work on the " Geology of Scripture,"
which he has lately amplified and repubhshed. He is evi
dently versed in some parts of recent Natural History ; and,
in this respect, he may be put into the same class with a
respectable clergyman, the Eev. William Kirby, who, in his
Bridgewater Treatise, having wandered out of his proper
province, has introduced some of the wildest speculations
upon geological subjects that ever germinated in the brain
of man, whhe, in the same work, he generously relieves our
astounded minds by acknowledging that he has not studied
Geology. Surely this is a lesson and a monitory example
for us ah, to refrain from hazarding opinions upon subjects
with which we are conscious of being but insufficiently
acquainted. Mr. Pairholme exercises great ability, I might cah it
adroitness, in the whole strain of his work ; with a strong
tincture of severity and sarcasm upon the objects of his
censure ; and with a boldness of assertion, and the frequent
assumption of a triumphant tone, which is likely to lead
captive an uninformed reader. He rests most confidently
Upon an argument derived from the forms of vaheys, which
Dr. Buckland had before laid before the world, but which
he has since, with equal pubhcity, retracted, or so modified
as to render it incapable of warranting the conclusion in
favour of which Mr. Pairholme avahs himself of it : yet he
does not, so far as I have observed, take notice of such
modification, though -the fact itself, under ah its circum
stances, had surely no httle claim to respectful notice. Dr.

HITCHCOCK. 193
Pleming also, a zealous advocate of the authority of Scrip
ture, had long before maintained the futility of this argument.
In preference to resting upon my own opinion of the
productions of Mr. Penn, Mr. Kirby, and Mr. Pairholme,
I wih quote that of Professor Hitchcock, a man whose reh
gious character, his candour and fairness in discussion, and
his extensive acquaintance with geological subjects, — an
acquaintance gained not merely by studious reading and
reflection, but by the hard labour of years in river-beds,
ocean-coasts, gorges, and mountains, — entitle him to the
confidence which is due to a man who understands what he
is writing about.
" Whl it be believed, that a reahy able and scientific man,
writing by appointment of the President of the Boyal
Society — in the year 1835, should have revived and adopted,
with slight modifications, the essential features of this
hypothesis" [Thomas Burnet's] "of dissolution and recon-
sohdation of the earth by the deluge?"  "It is not
necessary to go into a formal exhibition of the absurdity of
such views as these : for, unless a new school of Physico-
Theologists should arise, and Geological Science as weh as
Biblical Criticism revert to their condition one hundred
years ago, they wih not be adopted. — We do no injustice to
that gentleman by saying this ; whhe justice to the cause of
science as connected with rehgion requires us to do it. 
Such exhibitions can have no other than a bad effect upon
the cause evidently so near Mr. Kirby' s heart, the defence
of Natural and Eevealed Eehgion. Por the inevitable effect
upon the sceptical geologist wih be to make him throw
aside the work, and we fear the whole series" [of the
Bridgewater Treatises] "in disgust. We have before us
a- letter from one of the ablest hving geologists i of this
description, which weh exhibits the effects of such produc
tions. ' It gives me pain (says he) to find a man so estima-
o

194 HITCHCOCK.
ble in every respect as * * * [not Mr. Kirby,] compehed to
cling to theories impossible to defend, from reasons uncon
nected with science. It has injured his weh-earned reputa
tion ; and I think has injured the great cause he has at
heart, the interests of the Christian Eehgion : for this must
be the effect of connecting it with opinions which are mani
festly no more than the best conclusions that wise and good
men of former days were induced to adopt, when they had
but few facts, inaccurately observed, to reason from.' 
There is another bad effect resulting from the adoption of
such untenable and exploded opinions by a standard writer.
The greater part of even educated men have not the leisure
requisite for pursuing the subjects of natural science, so
accurately as to be able to form independent opinions upon
difficult questions connected with it. Hence, when a man
like Mr. Kirby, of acknowledged distinction in science, and
evidently jealous for the honour of Natural and Bevealed
Eehgion, advances opinions on the connexions of science
with revelation, they wih have a wide influence and be
extensively adopted; and, if they happen to be wrong,
they wih powerfully arrest the progress of truth. Now,
Mr. Kirby's reputation as an entomologist, and perhaps
we may add also as a helminthologist, is deservedly high.
But this does not prove that he is at ah qualified to decide
difficult geological questions ; especially when he himself
testifies that he is not. Tet his opinions on Geology wih
have nearly as much influence, except among geologists, as
if he were weh acquainted with the science. Nay : with not
a few, there exists no smah jealousy respecting the views of
geologists, as if hostile to revelation; and such wih be very
glad to range themselves under the banner of a leader in
Natural History, especiahy of one whose great object appears
to be, to bring philosophers back to the word of God."*
* "Americ. Biblic. Repos." Jan. 1837; pp. 100  104.

GISBOENE. 195
With regard to Mr. Penn and Mr. Pairholme, I must
now say that a passage of Professor Hitchcock which was
quoted in the first lecture, but suppressing the names,
referred to those authors. It needs not to be repeated.
The tenor of it is to complain of them for their unreason
able positiveness of opinion upon subjects in which they
betray their want of practical acquaintance, their intolerant
spirit and injurious language, their wrong representation of
facts, and their calling upon us to receive theories of their
own, which, says Mr. Hitchcock, " appear" to a person
acquainted with Geology, " a thousand times more extrava
gant and opposed to facts, than any opinions that have been
entertained by the cultivators of this science, and which
Penn and Pairholme so violently oppose." This comparison
shows the strong sense which Hitchcock entertains of the
fohy and presumption which provoked his censure ; but I
ought to caution my hearers against understanding it too
largely. The Professor did not design to cast a veil over
the irreligious opinions of some foreign geologists, which,
in the Dissertations from which I have quoted, he has
strenuously exposed and refuted. But his observation is
strictly correct in relation to the subject upon which he is
treating, — the theories of really weh-informed geologists.
Two years ago, a venerable clergyman, of whom it would
not be easy to speak in terms of too high respect, the Bev.
Thomas Gisborne, one of the Prebendaries of Durham, pub
lished his " Considerations on the Modern Theories of
Geology." If Christian piety, good temper, fine talent,
and elegant expression could alone secure correctness of
sentiment upon a subject of natural knowledge, we should
have had nothing to regret in relation to this work. But
the sources of error, which have been already described,
have unhappily poured their influence into Mr. Gisborne's
mind. The prevalent and deeply working prejudice against

196 COCKBUEN.
the modern Geology, that it seeks to undermine the authority
of the Scriptures, and consequently to destroy our faith in
Christianity, has led Mr. Gisborne into the adoption Of most
imperfect views of geological facts, and into the pleasing
fallacy of what Professor Sedgwick calls " making a world
after a pattern of our own." He employs his great ability
in finding or in imagining faults and inconsistencies in the
doctrines advanced by geologists, whhe it is manifest that
his acquaintance with the subjects of their attention is
extremely limited; and. that his perusal of their writings
has been but cursory, and far from being comprehensive, or
such as could be made the basis of safe argument. The
inconsequence of reasoning, into which this excehent man
has allowed himself, I am sure unconsciously, to be drawn,
we can scarcely hope that, in his very advanced age, he whl
be brought to discover: but it has subjected him to the
cutting suggestion of a clergyman of his own communion,
who concludes a page of criticism upon the Prebendary's
pamphlet, with the words, " This is surely not an age, in
which dignitaries of the Church should be found arraying
themselves in hostility to science."*
Tet another dignitary has not withheld himself from the
peril of joining this array. The last year, the Dean of Tork
published "A Letter to Professor Buckland ;" in which, by
the expenditure of a very few pages Of loose paragraphs, he
actuahy represents himself as having overthrown some of
the principal doctrines which the most cautious geologists
regard as indubitably estabhshed ; and then he brings for
ward a theory of his own, of which I wih only say that it
manifests a degree of ignorance next to incredible upon the
phenomena under his consideration, the very nature and
most obvious facts of stratification : and, to crown ah, the
* Prof. Powell's "Connexion;" p. 281.

SHAB0N TUENEE. 197
Dean of Tork does not observe even common courtesy
towards Dr. Buckland. Probably that eminent man may
think this attack beneath his notice ; and, scientifically con
sidered, it is so. But, as not only the Dean's pamphlet?
but the productions of Prebendary Gisborne, Mr. Mehor
Brown, and some other writers, are directed against Dr.
Buckland by naine ; and as multitudes read those pamphlets
who are totahy unqualified to detect their errors and escape
the impression of their vehemence ; it is greatly to be wished
that he would confer upon the public a service so valuable
as would be a calm exposure and refutation of the whole
genus.

paet m.
. A gentleman who has illustrated the history of our
country in a manner which proves diligent research, fidelity
to moral principles, and a pleasing talent for narration,
Mr. Sharon Turner, has also written a work for the use of
young persons, and containing stores of valuable matter,
"The Sacred History of the World." This work, in a
manner weh adapted to inform and religipusly to benefit
the readers, introduces many facts, of Natural History and
principles of Natural Phhosophy : yet one may wish that
the author had accumulated his materials with more discri
mination. He has also taken notice of geological subjects,
in several of the Letters of which the work consists. He
has consulted many books and philosophical journals ; and
has brought together, in rapid, but not always correct,
sketches, a numerous body of interesting facts. In many
of his details and descriptions, I humbly think that his

198 SHARON TUBNEB.
work is mistaken and defective ; the apparent result of
having been compiled too hastily, by multifarious reading,
without personal observation and practical knowledge. This
is particularly the case in his opinions upon stratification ;
and in his account of vegetable and animal remains. He
supposes ah the stratified formations, from the lowest to the
highest secondary, to have been produced in the 1656 years
from the creation of man to the deluge ; and the tertiary, to
have been the effects ofthe deluge itself: notions which,
one might well think, would be impossible to be received by
any person who had examined with his eyes any large
extent of stratified masses, and observed the vast thickness
of many, and the regularity and order which belong both to
the earthy deposits and to the organic remains imbedded in
them. But, with ah the deficiencies and errors which
appear in this part of the work, Mr. Turner has sufficiently
conceded the position, that, in any fair interpretation of the
commencing portion of Genesis, "the Sacred Historian
gives the largest latitude for the investigations and de
ductions of geological science."  "What interval occurred
between the first creation of the material substance of our
globe, and the mandate for hght to descend upon it, whether
months, years, or ages, is not in the slightest degree noticed.
Geology may shorten or extend its duration, as it may find
proper. There is no restriction on this part of the subject.
In this portion of time or eternity, we may place the forma
tion of our elementary matter ; the composition and arrange
ment of the vast central and interior contents, whatever
they may be; and the construction, circumambiency, and
consohdation of ah the primordial rocks ; and indeed the
production of ah things to which hght was not essentially
necessary."* If this be admitted, the chief point is secured;
* "Sacred History of the World;" vol. i. pp. 491, 490.

BIBLICUS DELVINUS. 199
and we may indulge the hope that more ample examination,
and its results in more accurate knowledge, wih show to
this respectable writer the perfect imtenableness of the
theories which he has advanced on the formation of strata
and the character of imbedded remains. I may be allowed
also to add, that the beautiful sentence of the archaic record,
— " Be hght, and hght was," — upon which Mr. Turner expa
tiates with just feeling, wih be perceived by no means to
signify a first creation of hght, or a first production of the
conditions of which it may be an effect ; but is perfectly
reconchable with the behef that the phenomena of hght had
existed long before, and that the instance under considera
tion declares only a new development and apphcation of it.
A book has been lately published by some one who
honours himself with the appehation of "Bibhcus Del-
vinus;" entitled, "Pacts, Suggestions, and Brief Inductions
in Geology." The apparent rapidity of composition, the
unscrupulous facility of assertion, and the tone of self-com
placency, which distinguish the book, would appear ludi
crous, were it not that our minds are wounded and mortified
by the reflection, that errors so egregious and reasonings so
inconsequent as are found here, united with professions of
pious reverence for the Bible, are not unlikely to work great
mischief. That mischief may be immediate, by misleading
the honest but uninformed; and remote, by producing a
revulsion, to the injury of faith in_ the Scriptures, when
those persons may come hereafter to be better informed.
Indeed, I may express the behef that this is a common
character of certain books and papers, which seem to be
mutual copyists, in the quahties of blind and obstinate
blundering, and vehement censuring of others who take
some pains to understand before they write and publish;
whhe these easy writers ahow themselves no narrow indulg
ence in the formation of purely ideal and often very ignorant

200 YOUNG.
theories, by which they fancy that they can account for
everything.* A gentleman entitled to our high regard as a Christian
minister and a cultivator of natural science, Dr. George
Toung of Whitby, has recently published a smah work with
the title, " Scriptural Geology." He possesses the advan
tage of having resided many years in a most interesting
district for this branch of study ; and he has acquired, what
long observation and practice only can give, an extensive
acquaintance with mineralogical structure and organic
remains in some ofthe northern counties, both on the eastern
coast and in the upland. La former works of greater mag
nitude, he has furnished valuable materials to the antiquary
and to the geologist.f The design of this recent treatise
* There have been in the " Christian Observer " for 1832,1834, 1839,and
at other times, many valuable remarks of the Editor, and communications
from his correspondents, upon the studies of Geology. Many of those
papers might be particularized as pre-eminently valuable: but to attempt
such a discrimination would be digressing too far, in this incidental notice.
I may, however, recommend con amore, the poetical jeu desprit, " The
Fossil Shell," by the Rev. Samuel Charles Wilks, in the vol. for 1834,
page 219; and republished in a volume of the author's Poems, "Rescued
Rose Buds." From an article published since these lectures were delivered,
I feel happy in taking a citation. " The antigeologists taunt the geologists
with their diversities of opinion, but keep back that no two of themselves
agree: whereas the geologists, amidst all their controversies, are unanimous,
as to the main points which their opponents represent as heretical; namely,
[l.J the impossibility of condensing the'actual phenomena of the fossil
strata into the space of six thousand, or many times six thousand years ; or
[2.] of admitting, with due regard to the voice of truth, that the death of
animals is not to be traced to a much more remote period. — A man only
betrays his own ignorance or incapacity, who affects to sneer at modern
physical science." A letter signed Fides ; " Christ. Observ." for July, 1839,
p. 404. In the same work for the month of August, p. 473, is a just and
gentlemanly castigation of Biblicus Delvinus.
+ In his " History of Whitby and the Vicinity;" 2 vols. 8vo. 1817- and
his " Geological Survey ofthe Yorkshire Coast;" 4to. 1828.

BHIND. 201
is to maintain the production of the earth, at least as a place
of habitation for hving creatures, to have been coeval with
the creation of man, that the materials of ah the strata were
cohected during the period from that epoch to the deluge,
tnat the deposition of those materials and the formation of
ah the strata took place about the same era, that this was
effected by the waters of the deluge, and that ah the organic
remains are those of vegetable and animal beings, which
hved in the antediluvian period.
It is with reluctance and pain that I say anything in
disparagement of a writing by so good a man: but I am
sure that he is far from wishing that any person should
sacrifice conviction to respect and friendship. To me, I
must confess, it appears, that he often errs in stating the
opinions of other persons ; that his arguments upon the
disputed points are quite insufficient to bear their conclu
sions ; that he commits the great fault of drawing universal
inferences from particular facts and occasional circumstances,
without any sufficiently comprehensive induction ; and that,
if we were to rest upon the statements by him made and
the doctrines which he draws from them, our knowledge of
premises would be essentiahy defective, and our conclusions
from them very far from the truth.*
Mr. Bhind of Edinburgh is a writer respectably known by
a brief treatise entitled " The Elements of Geology," and
by other works on natural science. The last year, he pub
lished " The Age of the Earth, considered Geologically and
Historically." He understands his subject far more than
some of whom we have been obhged to speak, and discusses
it with calmness and candour. He lays down facts, too
briefly and generahy indeed, and not always, I fear, accu
rately, but with the nature and relations of which he is
* See Suplementary Note, M; on Dr. Young's " Scriptural Geology."

202 EHIND.
acquainted; and he is far from being dogmatical in his
manner. Tet I must own that, to my apprehension, he
seems to be labouring under the disadvantages of an inquirer
whose mind is filled beforehand with the idea that he
absolutely must estabhsh a previously dictated doctrine. I
cannot with fuh satisfaction accord to him the praise of
impartiality. He brings forward facts and phenomena that
may be made to look favourably upon the views which he is
anxious to confirm; and touches very lightly or entirely
passes over others which are necessary to a more complete
view of the evidence.* His mind is imbued with the idea,
that the voice of the Eternal and Omniscient Being, speaking
by the instrumentahty of his inspired servants, has clearly
fixed a limit to physical research, and has positively revealed
the commencement of universal creation to have been nearly
coincident with that of the human race. He affirms, that
" the most obvious and general impression of these revela
tions on the human mind cannot be mistaken or contro
verted;" [as being to this effect,] "that the world was
created, and furnished with plants and animals, for the
express habitation of man, within a definite period; that
after a time, it suffered a partial destruction and change by
some great catastrophe ; and that, ultimately, it will be
totally destroyed, after it has ceased to be needed as the
theatre of moral probation for the human race." (Page
115.) Of these three positions, the first is the question
* As many of Mr. Rhind's arguments are drawn from the geological
structure of the country round Edinburgh, considerable advantage would
be derived by a careful student from the far more comprehensive and exact
descriptions of the same region, by Mr. Charles Maclaren, in his " Sketch
of the Geology of Fife and the Lothians;" 1839. The results of his inves
tigations, as applied to the time elapsed since the deposition of even the
carboniferous strata, are in striking contrast to Mr. Rhind's opinions.— See
also the Addition to Suppl. Note, F,

ANNIHILATION DENIED. 203
under our actual consideration: and the middle one is
expressed in terms not discrepant from the views concerning
the Deluge which are supported in these lectures. With
respect to the third, I cannot but feel astonishment that any
serious and intelligent man should have his mind fettered
with the common, I might cah it the vulgar, notion of a
proper destruction of the earth ; and some seem to extend
the notion to the whole solar system, and even the entire
material universe; applying the idea of an extinction of
being, a reducing to nothingness. This notion has indeed
been often used to aid impassioned description in sermons
and poetry ; and thus it has gained so strong a hold upon
the feelings of many pious persons that they have made it
an article of their faith. But, I confess myself unable to
find any evidence for it, in nature, reason, or Scripture. We
can discover nothing like destruction in the matter of the
universe as subjected to our senses. Masses are disinte
grated, forms are changed, compounds are decomposed ; but
not an atom is annihhated. Neither have we the shadow of
reason to assert that mind, the seat of intelligence, ever was
or ever wih be, in a single instance, destroyed. Should any
man ask me, What I presume to think concerning the
principle of intelligence in the inferior animals ? What
becomes of it, when they die ? Does that principle in an
elephant or a sparrow, in a bee, an ant, or an animalcule,
retain its consciousness after death ? Or, into what state
does it pass ? Or, does it absolutely cease to exist ? — I
reply, that I pretend not to know, nor do I presume to
conjecture ; that an impenetrable veil prevents our obtaining
this knowledge ; but yet that, if there be mind, I can find
no ground for believing in its annihilation. The great
naturalist of Geneva, Charles Bonnet,* distinguished also
* Fourth ed. Other distinguished men have been, at least, inclined to
this hypothesis. See a most able and cautious " Dissertation on the Mind

204 CONFLAGEATION.
by his piety as a Christian, maintained the reality of a
future life for ah sentient natures. No man who thinks.
seriously upon the infinite perfections of God, can imagine
that difficulty can he in his path, whether of purpose or of
action ; or that there is not space in the universe to contain
such assemblages of beings, and to furnish them with the
fullest scope for useful and happy existence. If an expres
sion in one of the Psalms be held to imply the annihilation
of inferior animals, such interpretation wih carry with it
also that the souls of wicked men are annihhated : " Man
that is in honour and abideth not, is hke the brutes that
perish." — Where our Maker has not given us the means
of knowledge, our duty is to be humbly and thankfully
ignorant.f The declaration in Scripture, that " the heavens
and the earth shall flee away, and no more place be found
for them," is undoubtedly figurative, and denotes the most
momentous changes in the scenes of the divine moral govern
ment. If it be the purpose of God that the earth shah be
subjected to a total conflagration, we perfectly weh know
that the instruments of such an event he close at hand, and
of the Lower Animals," by John Sheppard, Esq., appended to his poem,
" An Autumn Dream," a deeply interesting volume for its poetical merits,
and eminently so for its copious Notes, in which theology and practical
religion, criticism and metaphysics, receive rich contributions. Gladly
also do I recommend the other writings of this excellent author. They
possess the same classes of good qualities, invaluable aids to knowledge,
taste, and piety. As allied to some of the subjects of this volume, I would
particularly mention his " Lecture on the Arguments for Christian Theism
from Organized Life and Fossil Osteology;" 1845. It contains penetrating
remarks, yet always candid and kind, upon the book, entitled "Vestiges of
the Nat. Hist, of Creation."
+ Quairunt arguti sed parum sobrii homines, an immortale futurum sit
omne animalium genus. His speculationibus si fraenum laxetur, quorsum
tandem nos abripient? Hac ergo simplici doctrina contenti simus, tale
fore temperamentum et tarn concinnum ordinem, ut nihil vel sit defoime

FINAL DESTEUCTION. 205
wait only the divine volition to burst out in a moment.*
But that would not be a destruction ; it would be a mere
change of form, and, no doubt, would be subservient to the
most glorious results. " We, according to his promise, look
for new heavens and a new earth ; wherein dweheth tighten
ousness."f Upon the whole, Mr. Bhind's chief intention
vel fluxum appareat. " Some persons, more curious than wise, ask whether
the inferior animal creation will be endowed with immortality in the
future state. If we give unlimited indulgence to such speculations, to
what lengths will they hurry us? Let us be satisfied with the plain doctrine,
that the adjustment and disposition of the universe will be so beautifully
adapted as to leave no room for disorder or decay." Calvin, on Rom.
viii. 21.
* Sec. ed. " When we consider the combustible nature of the elements
of the earth, so far as they are known to us, the facility with which their
compounds may be decomposed and made to enter into new combinations,
the quantity of heat which they evolve during these processes ; when we
recollect the expansive power of steam, and that water itself is composed
of two gases which by their union produce intense heat; when we call to
mind the number of explosive and detonating compounds which have been
already discovered; we may be allowed to share the astonishment of Pliny
that a single day should pass without a general conflagration. ' Excedit
profecto omnia miracula, ullum diem fuisse quo non cuncta conflagrarent.'
' Hist. Mundi,' lib. ii. cap. 107." Lyell's " Princip." B. II. ch. xx. vol.ii.
p. 451, sixth ed.
f 2 Pet. iii. 7, 10. Many critics and expositors, probably the majority,
understand this passage of a literal conflagration of our planet, to take place
immediately after the universal resurrection and the final judgment. But
it would be wrong to withhold the observation, that some of the most
eminent Bible-scholars have entertained a different opinion : in particular,
John Prideaux, Bishop of Worcester in the time of Charles I., a man
never to be thought of without affection for his learning, magnanimous
humility, piety, and sufferings as a conscientious royalist; (" Fascicul.
Controv. Theol." cap. vii.) Dr. Lightfoot ; (Works, ed. 1684, vol. ii. pp.
626, 1073 — 6.) and Dr. John Owen ; (<Sto\oyovpcva, ed. Bremen, 1684,
p. 147.)
I will attempt a summary of Owen's disquisition. " The apostle treats
upon three worlds, or states of the world; the ancient one, which had

206 EHIND.
appears to be the moderate and pious one of promoting tne
due reverence to divine authority, a modest sense of our
ignorance, and a cautious abstinence from lofty positiveness.
His candid admission does him honour. " It is true, even
the Mosaical record does not definitely settle this question. —
May we not be permitted to think — that the period for
perished by water; the one then present, which was to be consumed by
fire; and a third, the new heavens and earth, the abode of righteousness. He
is not referring to the visible heaven or earth, considered with respect to
its substance. For the destruction of the ancient world by water did not
take away the material frame of the heavens and the terrene globe. The
term world is used to signify the human inhabitants of the world. They
were extirpated by the flood ; and another world of men was to be esta-
lished, for maintaining true religion and the right worship of God. Of this
world he laid the foundations in the family of Noah ; and its fabric was
completed by the erection of the Church of Israel. That was the world
whose immediately impending dissolution by fire St. Peter here predicts:
but we must observe that he uses the prophetic style " [of emblematical
imagery;] "corresponding with Isa. li. IS, 16;" [Ixv. 15, 17, 18; lxvi. 14 — ¦
16.] " When God divided the sea and brought his people out of Egypt,
he entrusted them with his law and the solemn institutions of his worship,
and formed them into a church for himself: that was establishing and
completing this new world, the heaven and the earth. But, when Peter
wrote, this world, the Jewish church, had become apostate, and was hasten
ing to the destruction of fire; just as the ancient world plunged itself into
the destruction of the deluge. By the burning of the temple and city of
Jerusalem, the frame of that world was dissolved. The apostle directs
believers to another world, as a matter of expectation, to be looked for ;
because r) ovvTeKua tov aidvog [the completion of the period, Matt.
xxviii. 20] was not yet accomplished; and which would be new heavens
and a new earth, according to the promise of God. That promise is in Isa.
Ixv. 17; lxvi. 22; in which passages the prophet draws as it were a picture
of the coming of the Messiah.— The state of the Church, after the confla
gration of the second world, was called the age or world to come : Heb. ii.
5; vi. 5. Thus the first or ancient world, was that which perished by the
deluge; the second, was the actually present, which the apostle declares
was about to perish by fire; and the third, the world io come, is declared to
be that which shall endure to the end of time."

WISEMAN.

207

forming a true theory of the earth, has not arrived, and may
never come ; that we must content ourselves in this, as in
most other cases of human inquiry, with an investigation of
facts and phenomena, without diving into causes which are
to us inscrutable?" (Pp. 114, 111.) Thus he concedes
what nullifies the purpose and the title of the whole book.
Three years ago, Dr. Nicholas Wiseman, Principal of the
Enghsh (of course Boman Catholic) Cohege in Borne,
pubhshed a work eminently valuable : " Twelves Lectures
on the Connexion between Science and Eevealed Eehgion."
The course advantageously comprehends Philology, Civil
History, Antiquities, and some branches of Natural Science.
The view which he gives of Geology, he professes to be
historical rather than scientific,* but it is very able, candid,
and judicious ; and, in a mild but effective manner, he vindi
cates Geology and many modern geologists from the oppro
brium which some have endeavoured to throw upon them ;
he convicts those accusers (some of whom we have had
occasion to refer to) of inconsistency and vicious reason
ing; he shows that the time implied between the first
action declared in the Book of Genesis and the ensuing
facts, is left undecided and indefinite ; he expresses himself
very favourably to the doctrine of the central heat ; he has
just views of the difference and disposition of strata and the
characters ofthe imbedded vegetable and animal remains ; and
though he maintains the universahty of the deluge of Noah,
he considers its effects and vestiges as merely superficial,
and that it is utterly absurd to ascribe to it the formation
of strata. Throughout this part of his interesting volumes,
he proves how vain are the fears of those who apprehend
injury to religion from geological discoveries, he exposes
* " I am not guided by a personal predilection for any system. I have
no claim to be called a geologist. I have studied the science more in its
history than in its practical principles." Vol. i. p. 299.

208 LYELL.
the false reasonings of infidel pretenders, and he manifests
the consistency of those very positions which have been
vehemently condemned, upon the antiquity and mutations
of the earth, with the testimony of the sacred writings.
The impartiahty, good temper, and equity of this Eomish
priest ought to put to shame some Protestant animadverters.
A pleasing exception therefore is made by these volumes
of Principal Wiseman to the larger part of books like those
upon which 1 have thought myself cahed to animadvert.
Of them it may be said that, however dissimilar in some
respects, they agree in certain characters : such are, the
laying down of facts or statements in a partial manner, thus
producing defective and often widely erroneous impressions ;
the keeping out of sight other facts which would be adverse
to their hypotheses, probably from not being themselves
acquainted with those facts ; a frequent forgetfulness of
equity in stating and describing the objects under consider
ation ; their being either insensible to the difficulties which
belong to their own schemes, or not feeling any obligation
to remove those difficulties; in short, their carrying on
their arguments in the way which too much resembles the
chicanery of counsel in a bad cause.
Striking is the contrast which this method of reasoning
and writing bears to the character of a work which I do not
say is unexceptionable, but which, for completeness and
accuracy, for fairness of statement and perspicuity of ex
position, for force of reasoning and felicity of suggestion,
stands forth among the books of our day, very signally dis
tinguished ; but which has been made an object of censure
and suspicion, by some who have never carefully studied it,
and of serious regret by intelligent and candid geologists ;
— Mr. Lyell's " Principles of Geology." We cannot but
lament that he takes so shght a notice of the bearings of

lyell. 209
his subject upon the ancient records* of revelation ; using
general ¦ expressions when precise distinctions were cahed
for, and thus laying himself open to painful imputations. The
hope had been cherished that, in the editions after the first,
he would have obviated serious objections which had been
advanced in a spirit so candid and kind as to have possessed
a just claim upon his respect.f This, however, he has nob
done. It therefore remains for the readers of his indis
pensable volumes, to make such explanations and correc
tions for themselves. It is not, I trust, in me an unbecom
ing hope, that these lectures may furnish, in some degree,
the means of so doing. Tet a work which the Council of
the Eoyal Society, two years ago, honoured by the adjudica
tion of the Boyal Medal, a work of which Sir John Herschel
says, " I now read it for the third time, and every time
with increased interest," a work whose luminous and hvely
diction makes even so interesting a subject more attractive,
— cannot have its merits exploded by a few though serious
faults, and from which it is a pleasing and reasonable hope
that it wih be expurgated. If I may venture on the expres
sion of my own opinion, it is, that the day is not distant
when the chief points of difficulty wih be satisfactorily
cleared up ; and that, in particular, the great question
between catastrophes and uniformity of action, brought to
comparison upon a scale of appropriate amplitude, wih be
found to shade off into a fair coalescence. Ah wih fall
under the universal principle that, through a series of
dependent agencies, extensive and complicated beyond our
mental grasp, God " worketh ah things, according to the
counsel of his own wih." Professor Sedgwick, whhe he did
* Supplementary Note, N; on the Comparison of the Egyptian and the
Mosaic Cosmogonies.
T Supplementary Note 0 ; on some Passages in Mr. Lyell's " Principles
of Geology." P

210 GEOLOGICAL DIFFICULTIES.
not spare the language of frank and strong criticistn, uttered
the impressions of his honourable mind, with impartiality
as noble as it was splendid in eloquence. Speaking of Mr.
Lyeh's first volume in the first edition, he says, " Nineteen
twentieths of his work remain untouched by these remarks.
His excehent and original historic narrative, his dignified
philosophic views and clear descriptions, his admirable
account of the effects brought about by the great causes,
whether aqueous or igneous, now acting on the crust of
the globe, contribute to make his volume in the highest
degree both popular and instructive : and I cannot but
express a wish that, in the future editions of his work, the
system of Geological Dynamics may be stripped of even the
semblance of hypothetical assumption."*
It would be desirable here to give a sketch of the reasons
which we have for believing in the high antiquity of the
earth : but the length of this lecture and the demands of
the subsequent ones, render such an attempt impracticable .f
Instead of it, my kind and patient auditors wih ahow me to
conclude by reading a passage, from a paper by an unknown
writer, in the " Christian Observer" for the present month.
" In regard to difficulties, the popular interpretation
labours under heavier ones than that of the scriptural
geologists ; but I fear that such argumenta ad hominem are
of very httle service ; for there is a class of minds upon
which inductive science makes no impression. Argue with
a person of this order of intellect, (he may be a good
linguist, a critic, an historian, a man versed in pohte htera
ture,) upon the known and incontrovertible facts of Geology ;
he cannot deny them ; but when you press the conclusion,
* Address to the Geol. Soc. Feb. 1831; on retiring from the President's
chair. ¦f To meet this object, the Supplementary Note F, was added to this
volume.

BBS0BT TO MIEACLES. 211
you perceive that his mind has not rgahy grappled with
them. He rephes, ' How do we know that it was not a
miracle ?' or, ' How do we know that things were then as
they are now ?' or, ' I wih beheve God rather than man ;'
or, ' We know nothing at ah about the matter ;' or some
thing equally vague, and to which of course no reply can be
given. But the most common resource is, ' The Deluge did
it all.' This reply exhibits either complete ignorance of the
facts, or a rejection of the inevitable conclusions which they
suggest. No epitome of those facts would do justice to
them ; for they would require at least a hundred pages of
minute detail ; and yet, without having even glanced over
the outlines, some persons are not ashamed to say, ' It was
the Deluge ;' or, ' It was a miracle ;' and they persuade
themselves they do God service by this sort of obtund
argument. Geologists have carefully examined some ten
miles' thickness of solid fossiliferous strata to the number
of hundreds, which they are able to do by means of their
slanting position, where the edges crop up. These strata
are not homogeneous ; but consist of successive layers
differing widely in their character and contents. They are
divided into groups ; they are not jumbled confusedly — fresh
water productions with salt, land animals with fishes, present
with extinct genera or species ; but they he as methodicahy
as the shelves of specimens in a cabinet, being to ah appear
ance successive sedimentary depositions gradually accumu
lated through a period of very long duration ; the footsteps
of animals on the once soft moists and (now hard rock), and
the ripple marks of water, being in many cases still visible,
and the most dehcate and brittle species of shells being
unfractured. At the bottom are numerous strata of slate,
sheh, limestone, and sandstone, containing vegetable and
animal sea-water remains now whohy unknown. Over these
p2

212 DIFFICULTIES BETOETED.
come sand and clay, interlaid with vast forests of coal, and
other land and fresh-water productions. Then come lime
stone, and sandstone, and clay; ah containing organic
remains quite distinct from those of the former groups.
Then come the upper fossiliferous rocks ; in which, for the
first time, appear land animals ; but even these quite dis
tinct from those that now inhabit the world. These ten
miles of strata upon strata bear marks of successive changes
in the cruet of the earth, both by dislocation and gradual
accretion, every particle of clay or sand, for example, being
so much pulverized rock ; and the vast masses of fossiliferous
stone, often composed almost entirely of shells, having every
appearance of being the sediment at the bottom of oceans
for very lengthened periods ; how long no man can calculate;
but this we know, not through eternal ages, for the very
first announcement of Holy Writ is, that God created ah
things ; they were therefore not self-derived or eternal. But
to pretend that there is any proof in Holy Writ, that God
created them about six thousand years ago, and that to
doubt this is infidelity, is to foist the received interpretation
in the place of the inspired word, as well as to deal very
harshly by our Christian neighbour who thinks otherwise.
The geologist only asks a hearing ; but he is not heard ; he
is taunted, declaimed against, and silenced ; whilst the in
fidel stands by and admires the proceedings of the Protest-
tant Inquisition, as often as a new Galileo demonstrates a
truth which accords not with some received interpretation.
' Let God be true, and every man a har ;' but we are not to
lie for God, or, what comes nearly to the same, to refuse to
open our eyes to truth, because we are apprehensive, as the
Soman Catholics are in regard to transubstantiation, that
our senses and our faith wih contradict each other. We
may feel quite easy on that score ; for the more we know of

CEETAINTY OF SCBIPTUEE. 213
God's works, the more clearly shah we see their accordance
with his word ; though not, it may be, with some popular
comments on it."*

LECTTJEE VII.

Psalm xii. 6. The words of the Lord are pure words ; as silver tried in
t a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
The connexion of this passage shows that, by " the words
of the Lord" here mentioned, we are to understand his
promises of mercy and protection to his faithful servants,
when they are exposed to sufferings from the treachery of
false-hearted men, and when their hopes of aid from their
friends ' are diminished by the death or oppression of the
" godly " and " faithful." In opposition to the flatteries and
deceitful actions of an unprincipled party, the author of this
psalm exults in the fidelity of God, and the assurance that
the fullest reliance might be placed on every authenticated
declaration Of the divine will. This is illustrated by the
metaphor of metallic purity. Silver and gold occur native,
in the proper metahic state ; yet, even in that case, they
cannot be got free from the stony substances which enclose
or penetrate them, without the art of the refiner : but, when
the processes of the hammer, the crucible, and the furnace
have been duly performed, the precious metal is obtained
in a state of high purity, and fit for completely answering
every purpose in the arts of life, for which it is adapted.
That which is thus declared concerning the " exceeding
great and precious promises " of divine grace, is equahy
true of every other part of what God has been pleased to
* Baconianus Christianus; in the "Christ. Obs." March, 1839; p. 147.

214 INSTUUCTITE ANALOGY.
reveal, for the purposes of his wisdom and benevolence to
mankind ; " for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for
instruction in righteousness." The most scrupulous student
of the Bible wih not accuse me of making an arbitary apph
cation of Scripture, because from this particular instance,
upon the principle of evident analogy, I deduce a universal
truth. That truth is, that every declaration contained in the
writings of the prophets and apostles, which, has a respect to
the faith, the obedience, the consolation, and the usefulness
of behevers ; and when understood in the sense intended
by the Author of inspiration, possesses the purity of the
best refined silver, the infallibility of unmixed tbuth.
The sentiment, in an enlarged form, is given by the son of
the writer of this psalm ; " Every word of God is pure. He
is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou
not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found
a liar."* Every serious mind wih perceive how solemnly
this caution bears upon our proceeding, in the endeavour to
ehcit the sense of the Scriptures. It not less clearly fohows,
that one of our first duties is to ascertain, by those means
which God has put into our possession, the genuine meaning
of the divine oracles, without prepossession in favour of
some interpretations, or prejudice against others. Our
honest question must be, " What saith the Lord ?"
It is not, I trust, in disregard of this caution, that I avail
myself of the analogy suggested by our text, as an instructive
direction, not of fancy, but arising justly and naturally out
of the imagery employed. The use of shver, though it is
often found native in metalliferous veins, would be confined
within narrow limits, if mankind could employ only the
native metal. The quantity obtained, and the capacity of
even the best specimens for being apphed to the many
* Prov. xxx. 5, 6.

0UE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDED ON ANALOGY. 215
valuable purposes for which the providence of God has
given us that metal, would be very smah, were if not for
the skill and laborious diligence of the metahurgic workman.
So the treasures of the heavenly word, " more to be desired
than gold, yea, than much fine gold," require that we should
exert our best faculties, in digging out of the mine, (if I
may carry on the metaphor,) and in separating the actual
substance of divine communication from that which is
necessarily human, the forms of language, and the conde
scending methods of comparison with the affections and
actions of men, by which God is pleased to bring spiritual
and divine reahties within the sphere of our narrow compre
hension. The matter is divine, but the vehicle is human.
" We have this treasure in earthen vessels." Pursuing this
train of thought, we arrive at some important principles for
Theology and the study of the Scriptures.
I. Of the nature and attributes of the Infinite Spirit, of
his purposes and his acts, which cannot but have the charac
ters of his own perfection, we have no intuitive knowledge :
and we have no possible means of receiving knowledge,
though communicated from its own Divine Pountain, except
through the medium of besemblances to objects of our
own thought, or of sensible perception by our own organs.
"Behold, God is great; and we know him not!" Ofthe
Divine Nature as Infinite Intellect, Puee Mind, we can
form no conception but by reflecting upon, and drawing
conclusions from our own consciousness, and the operations
of our own minds. In like manner, we gain our knowledge
of the Eternity of God, by adding the notion of infinity to
our perception of the flow of time. By our touch and our
sight, we get the ideas of motion, resistance, and impulse :
and, by reflecting on the lesson thus taught, we rise to the
notion of effects and causes. We look and feel around, we
lay hold of bodies extraneous to ourselves, and we discover

.216 conceptions of deity.
certain states and alterations of states fohowing upon
certain conditions of tangible and visible things : we then
rise to a wider survey of the sensible world around us, and
we see a vast number of changes taking place, upon a scale
of great magnitude ; and at last our feeble minds having
acquired the idea of power, we transfer it, with the highest
increase of form, to our conception of the Infinite and
Eternal Deity; and we cah our new idea Omnipotence.
In a similar way, we form conceptions of justice and kind
ness, from the action of parental and infantile feehngs, and
from the mental phenomena which we experience inwardly
and the actions of our fehow beings observed outwardly ; to
these conceptions we also annex the quahties of infinity and
eternity, and thus we gain some notion of the moeal attri
butes ofthe Supreme Majesty, his Holiness and his Benignity.
But, how faint, how low, are our best conceptions ! " Lo,
these are parts of his ways : and what whisper-word is heard
of him !— The Almighty ! We find him not ! " *
I humbly think that these positions are self-evident to
every reflecting person. Equahy manifest it is, that the
highest orders of created intelligences, though they may be
immeasurably superior to man in their faculties of under
standing, can know God in only the same way: by elevating
their minds through aids of analogy : unless the Teans-
cendent One, in his boundless goodness, have reserved
for them some mode of immediate communication ; but to
conceive which must necessarily be beyond our powers.
Prom this general statement, some important conse
quences fohow.
* Job xxvi. 14. The word rendered porte signifies the extremities of
lines, mere points: but I know not of any good English word which I
could venture to substitute. The whisper-word is the barest literal render
ing; and it is too beautiful to be lost, as in the common version. Chap.
xxxvii. 23, also closely rendered.

STYLE OF EEVELATION. 217
1. Ah the methods of representation, that may be em
ployed to convey notions of the Deity to the mind of man,
must, of absolute necessity, be designed to produce only
analogical or comparative ideas; and must be adapted to
that end. If we may so speak, they are pictures, which
stand in the place of spiritual reahties ; but the reahties
themselves belong to the inaccessible light.
2. The materials of such comparison must be different,
according to the varying states of mental improvement in
which different minds are found. Let it, for a moment, be
supposed, that it had pleased the Divine Majesty to grant
an immediate revelation of his authority and his grace to
the Athenians, in the age of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle,
and for their use ; we may reverentially beheve that, in such a
case, the communication would have been expressed in the
terms and phrases to which they had habituated them
selves, and moulded upon a system of references to the
natural scenery around them, to their modes of action in
social hfe, and to their current notions upon all other sub
jects. Not only would the diction have been pure Greek,
but the figures, the allusions, and the illustrations of what
ever kind, would also have been Attic. The Hebraized
style which was adapted to the people of Israel, would have
failed to convey just sentiments to the men of Greece ; or,
though it would not have been absolutely unintelligible,
the cohateral ideas would have been misapprehended, false
by-notions would have insinuated themselves, and the
principal sentiments, to inculcate which was the object of
the whole process, would have been grievously distorted.
Or, had the favour of a positive revelation been given to
the ancient Britons, or to the aborigines of America, it
would have been clothed in another dress of representative
imagery, and described in other and very different forms of
speech. .

218 eably eevelations.
Tet, in any such case, and under every variety that could
occur, the enucleating of the representations, if it were
fairly accomplished, would bring out the same truths : and
the practical benefit to piety and virtue, resulting from each
mode, for the classes of mankind to which each was adapted,
would be the same, if improved with equal fidelity.
3. The earhest revelation which God was pleased to grant
to man, whether in the state of pristine integrity, or in that
into which by transgression he feh, must have been con
veyed by representations of the character which we have
described; they must have been composed of materials
derived from the knowledge possessed by the subjects of
those revelations, and the relations under which they stood
to beings and circumstances around them.
This position is only the correlate of saying, that the
revelation must have been given and transmitted in the
language spoken or written by those to whom the message
of God came : or, to say ah in one word, it must have been
intelligible. H any objection be raised against the supposi
tion, that, by this showing, the revelation, would be clothed
in the imagery of gross and sensible objects, with the imper
fections and misconceptions under which those objects
appeared to men, possessing only the rude ideas of a
primeval state of society ; a corresponding objection would
lie against the revelation's being conveyed in a rude and
imperfect language. Then, to be consistent, it would be
requisite further to maintain, that the terms and style of
the revelation must have been in the most pure and abstract
kind of phrase that human diction could afford, the most
nearly approaching to the spirituality of the Divine Nature,
and the majesty of eternal things ; and this would be equiva
lent to saying, that it ought to have anticipated by many
centuries the progress of man as an intellectual and social
being; that it ought to have been written, not in the

FIEST HUMAN BEINGS. 219
language of shepherds and herdsmen, but in that of moral
philosophers and rhetoricans ; not in Hebrew, but in Greek
or Enghsh.
It would plainly also fohow that, if the prescription, as to
the forms of thought and diction, which such presumptions
demand as befitting a revelation from Heaven, were ad
mitted, a revelation so expressed would have been unintel
ligible to "the ages and generations" of primitive time, and
to the generahty of mankind in ah times.
II. We are thus led to another observation, which wih
bring us to the principle proposed as the solution of the
Biblical question, with relation not to Geology only, but to
human science universally. It is this.
The revelations, successively given to the fathers of man
kind, to the ancestors of the Israelitish nation, and to
particular persons of that nation, " at sundry times and in
divers manners," were conveyed in representations to the
senses,, chiefly that of sight, and in words descriptive of those
representations .
To the shghtest rational consideration it must be evident,
that the first human pair were created in the perfection of
their bodily organs and mental powers ; and that they were
immediately endowed by their Creator with a fuh use of
their organs and faculties, and with a competent measure
of the habits thence resulting : that use and those habits,
which ah subsequent human beings have had to acquire,
by the slow process of parental training and imitative
acquisition. Had these qualifications not been thus infused
into them, or made instinctive, at the very commencement
of their being, they could not have preserved their own
lives, nor have rendered to their heavenly Sovereign any
religious homage. The German philosopher Pichte gave
the decision of reason, when he asked the question and
returned the answer, " Who educated the first human pair ?

220 MODES OF EEVELATION.
A Spirit took them under his care ; as is laid down in an
ancient, venerable, original document; which contains the
deepest and the subhmest wisdom, and presents results to
which ah phhosophy must at last return."* The certainty
of such an order of things nature and reason declare ; the
actual reahty of it we learn from the word of revelation.
" God created man in his own image ;" and the Christian
Scriptures show us in what that image consisted ; " in know
ledge, righteousness, and true holiness." That knowledge
must have been sufficient for ah the purposes of a pure and
happy existence, and as the principle of a progressive deve
lopment which would have been most glorious, had man
abode in his pristine honour. The Deity was pleased to
manifest himself to the newly formed and favoured creatures,
in ways of the most condescending goodness and wisdom ;
assuming probably a splendid human form, and communing
with them, in ways and to an extent of the most wise and
benevolent purposes, beyond what we can know. But it is
not an unreasonable conjecture, that the archives of the
human race which open the writings of Moses, are frag
ments of those .communings. The narration of that which
took place before man existed to have witnessed it, could
have been only from a supernal communication. Tet, to
* " Wer erzog denn das erste Menschenpaar ? Ein Geist nahm sich
ihrer an, wie es eine alte, ehrwiirdige Urkunde vorstellt, welche iiberhaupt
die tiefsinnigste, erhabenste Weisheit enthalt, und Besultate aufstellt, zu
denen alle Philosophie am Ende doch wieder zuriick muss." Quoted by
Dr. Dereser of Breslaw, in the translation of the Bible with annotations, by
himself, Brentano, and Scholtz; in 17 vols. Francf. 1820 — 1833; vol. i. p.
16. John Gottlieb Fichte, whose writings have exercised a very powerful
influence iu Germany, taught that the arrangement of moral sentiments
and relations, that is, the moral order of the universe, is God; thus
denying a personal and intelligent Deity. He died in 1814, a?t. 52; and
there is reason to believe that, several years before his death, he renounced
his atheism.

SPIEITUALITY OF GOD. 221
suppose that scientific knowledge was thus imparted, or any
knowledge beyond what was necessary for the present
welfare of the newly created rational beings, their intel
lectual progress, and the preservation of their unahoyed
but not expanded holiness ; has no ground of probability as
a subject of conjecture, nor the shadow of evidence as a
matter of fact. After the mournful apostacy of man, the
condescending Deity was pleased still to grant manifesta
tions of himself; for the increase of moral knowledge, the
counteraction of growing wickedness, and the providing of
facts and evidences to be recorded as a basis for ulterior
revelations. In many of those manifestations, the appear
ance of a human figure is expressly declared: thus suggesting
reason to beheve that those appearances were in the person
of " the Woed, who, in the fulness of the time, became
flesh," that is, assumed the human nature, " and dwelt
among us ;" " who is over ah, God blessed for ever."* In
this manner, a foundation was laid for the succession of
divine communications, to guide wandering man into the
ways of peace.
In comparison with the glory of the gospel, the " grace
and truth by Jesus Christ," this was a very imperfect pro
ceeding : but it was a rudiment of the moral system which
was to be the excelling glory of a future age ; and, with all
its imperfection, it was as high and spiritual as the condition
of human nature was able to bear. It was adapted to a state
of intellectual and spiritual infancy ; and from it was derived
that character of the Old Testament revelations, which it is
our present object to consider more closely.
That character consisted in representing God by the
figurative attribution of the human form, with its organs
and functions, and the human mind, with its affections and
passions. * John i. 1, 14. Gal. iv. 4. Rom. ix. 5.

222 ANALOGICAL EEPEESENTATIONS.
In the majestic language of the church of England,
" There is but one hving and true God ; everlasting, with
out body, parts, or passions."* And does any man need to
be told that this article is the echo of the clearest scripture
testimony ; in the Old Testament as weh as in the New ?
" Do not I fill heaven and earth ? saith the Lord. — Whither
shah I flee from thy presence ? — God is a spirit : — the Ehng
eternal, immortal, invisible ; — who only hath immortality,
dwelling in the hght which no man can approach unto ;
whom no man hath seen, nor can see."t
Tet it pleased this Being to bring down himself, not to
the comprehension, for that is impossible, but to the appre
hensive capacity of untutored men, by representations drawn
from the circumstances of man, and from other natural
objects. Is it intended to represent the beauty and grandeur of
the Divine Nature ? — " He covereth himself with hght as
with a garment. — His glory covered the heavens : — his
brightness was as the hght : — God is hght." J
His universal knowledge ? " The eyes of the Lord run
to and fro, through the whole earth." §
The apphcation of his omniscience to the exercises of
distributive justice ? " God looked down from heaven upon
the children of men; to see if there were any that did
understand, that did seek God. — The Lord said, Because
the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is very great, and because
their sin is very grievous, I wih go down now, and see
whether they have done altogether according to the cry of
it, which is come unto me ; and if not, I wih know."|l
His unfailing notice and gracious attention to the suffer-
* More impressively in the Latin copy of the articles ; «  incorporeus
impartibilis, impassibilis ;  "
t Jer. xxiii. 24. Psa. cxxxix. 1 — 12. John iv. 24. 1 Tim.i. 17; vi. 16.
J Psa. civ. 2. Habak. iii. 3, 4. 1 John i. 5. § 2 Chron. xvi. 9.
|| Psa. liii. 2. Gen. xviii. 21.

analogical eepeesentations. 223
ings of his obedient servants ? " The eyes of the Lord are
upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. — Thou
wilt hear me, O God ; incline thine ear unto me, unto my
speech."* His justice upon the wicked and impenitent ? "When ye
spread forth your hands, I wih hide mine eyes from you.
Tea, when ye make many prayers, I wih not hear. — God is
jealous, and the Lord revengeth ; the Lord revengeth and is
furious."t His compassion and forgiving grace ? " Is Ephraim my
dear son? Is he a pleasant child? Por, since I spake
against him, I do earnestly remember him still : therefore
my bowels are troubled for him ; I wih surely have mercy
upon him, saith the Lord."J
His almighty power, and its various exercises ? "When I
consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers. — I have made
the earth and created man upon it. I, even my hands, have
stretched out the heavens. — This is the finger of God. —
Thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand : — thy right
hand, and thine arm, and the hght of thy countenance." §
In like manner, "the heart of Jehovah" is put to signify
his love and approbation ; his nostrils, mouth, and breath,
his hps and tongue, express his declarations of mercy to the
penitent, and retributive justice upon the ungodly; his
feet and footsteps designate the proceedings of his govern
ment. ||
By a further apphcation of this method of bringing down
divine things to the grasp of man, the Scriptures, and most
abundantly the earhest books, represent the attributes of
* Psa. xxxiv. IS; xvii. 6.
f Isa. i. 15 ; Nah. i. 2. J Jer. xxxi. 20.
§ Psa. viii. 2. Isa. xiv. 12. Exod. viii. 19. Psa. xliv. 3.
|| In numerous places which must be familiar to the dutiful readers of
the Bible.

224 ANALOGICAL EEPEESENTATIONS.
Deity and their exercise in the moral government of rational
creatures, by ascribing to him the sudden emotions, and
the more tranquh yet mutable affections, which, in their
literal meaning, can be predicated of only limited and im
perfect beings.
To express the wisdom of God in the adaptation of
creatures, forms, and structural organs, to the purposes
destined ; he is represented in the attitudes of a man who
has invented and constructed a new machine, or who has
made an untried experiment. He watches the working ; he
looks at the result ; he sees the whole to have succeeded to
the fulness of his intention ; and he sits down contented
and happy, to repose after his labour. " God saw" (the
word has an intensive meaning, and denotes to look at an
object with strong feeling) " everything that he had made ;
and behold, it was very good." — " Thus the heavens and the
earth were finished, and ah the host of them : and on the
seventh day God ended his work, which he had made ;
and he rested on the seventh day from ah his work which
he had made."*
It deserves observation, that a simhar train of ideas
occurs in the passage which, with the same kind of graphic
simphcity, presents Moses, upon his having completed the
construction and utensils of the tabernacle, as revising the
whole work, finding it correctly done, sitting down satisfied,
and invoking the blessing which only God could confer.f
The disobedience and ingratitude of mankind to their
heavenly Maker and Benefactor, and his abhorrence of
everything wicked, in principle and in act; are expressed
by the image of a man who sees a valuable work spoiled, a
favourite measure frustrated, his intentions thwarted, and
his hopes turned to the reverse of just expectation: he
* Gen. i. 31 — ii. 3. + Exod. xxxix. 42, 43.

UTILITY OF ANALOGIES. 225
therefore bitterly regrets that he had ever formed such
a purpose, and undergone the labour of executing it. " God
saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth ; and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continuahy: and it repented the Lord that he had made
man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."* In
another remarkable passage, this imagery is carried still
further, and the Blessed and Glorious Being, " with whom
is no variableness nor shadow of a turning," is depicted as
changing his mind a second time. "The Lord said unto
Moses, I have seen this people ; and, behold, it is a stiff-
necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath
may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them :
and I wih make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought
the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax
hot against thy people ?  " He then uses pleas and
arguments to urge his petition, — "Turn from thy fierce
wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.  And
the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto
his people." t
One instance more only shah be mentioned. After the
awful visitation of the deluge, when Noah with his smah
household came from their ark of safety and saw themselves
the sole survivors of the human race, he presented the ado
ration of gratitude and prayer to his Almighty Preserver :
and this, according to what we think there is evidence to
regard as a divine institution, was accompanied by a fuh J
offering of sacrifices, in which sin was acknowledged, repent
ance professed, and the great propitiation anticipated. The
God of mercy deigned to give some sign of assurance, that
the act of devotion was accepted; and that the stream of
* Gen. vi. 5, 6. + Exod. xxxii. 9—14.
X That is, of all the kinds requisite to the completeness of the ritual

226 ADAPTATION OF SCEIPTCEE LANGUAGE.
his goodness should now flow uninterruptedly to man, not
withstanding the aboundings of sin which would anew take
place. The entire transaction must have been of the most
impressive character to the favoured family ; and to us and
ah men it is fuh of instruction. Tet observe . the child
like simphcity, and the boldly figurative language in which
it is related. " Noah builded an altar unto the Lord ; and
took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered
burnt-offerings upon the altar. And the Lord smehed a
sweet odour ; and the Lord said in his heart, I wih not again
curse the ground anymore for man's sake; although the
imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth ; neither
wih I smite any more every hving thing as I have done."*
Such was the manner in which the earhest scriptures
depicted to men the perfections and the operations of
the Infinite Being, his dominion and authority, his jus
tice and his mercy. Was it not most touching and
impressive ? Was it not weh adapted to the mental capa
cities and the susceptibility of strong affections, which
characterized men in a state of rude simphcity ? Would
a style more chastised, more coldly correct, more philo
sophical, more theological (if we please so to cah it), have
been better fitted to answer the ends of rehgious instruc
tion ? — better adapted! — would it have been adapted at
all? Let us elevate its beneficial effect the most that we
reasonably can : still it would have been cold, unattractive,
and with difficulty comprehended. Try the experiment
upon our peasantry, or even the best educated children
of our own families. The style of a Moral Phhosophy
school would arouse no attention, would leave scarcely any
impression; the simple imagery of Scripture is instinct with
life, and touches every chord of feeling.
But it not the less plainly fohows, that it is our duty to
understand ah such passages in modes which shah be worthy
* Gen. viii. 20, 21.

EULES OF INTEEPBETATION. 227
of the dignity of God; and so to interpret them as to
deprive the contemners of revelation of a pretext for cen
suring and rejecting it. Possibly some Christian may say,
' I wih not follow this course : I wih take the words of
Scripture in their immediate and obvious sense, and let
difficulties alone, persuaded that ah is true and right, how
ever contrary to my understanding.' If this language
proceed from piety, I honour its motive ; but I cannot
regard the course which it takes as wise and good. If you
do indeed resolve to take up the figurative language of
Scripture as if it were literally true, look weh to yourself.
Think what consequences you are plunging into ; what
conceptions of the Infinite Majesty you are cherishing in
your mind and propagating around you ; what effects they
are likely to have upon other persons, — yes, your own chil
dren, especiahy in the well-educated and inquiring classes
of society ; and what vantage-ground you are surrendering
to the impugners of the Bible, thus giving your aid for
undermining the faith of probably the dearest to you in this
world. — Elnow ye not the universal rule of language, that
the figurative is always to be explained by the simple ; the
obscure by the perspicuous ? Are ye inattentive to the
plain declarations of the sacred word, upon the spirituality,
the omniscience, the unchangeableness of the One Living
and True God ? Or, if ye wih not accept of this method
of reconciling the apparent discrepance between the two
classes of passages, a method fair and reasonable, and con
sonant to ah the use of language ; are you provided with
any other ? Are you able, upon any better grounds, to
protect the faith of the Gospel, and to disarm its op
ponents ? *
* The Anthropomorphites of the fourth and fifth centuries furnish an
example of the danger of adhering to the literal understanding of the pas.
sages of the Old Testament which describe the Deity under the analogies of
Q2

228 BIBLE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE EABTH.
Nor ought we to forget, in the pride of our phhosophy,
that our own best conceptions of God, and our most chas
tised manners of expression, are likewise formed upon
resemblances and analogies. In this way only can we have
any conceptions of the Infinite One. The difference be
tween us and the ruder children of nature hes ODly in the
degree. III. We have now to consider the manner in which this
characteristic style of the Scriptures speaks of natural
phenomena. The field of this kind which it opens for inves
tigation is very extensive ; but we must content ourselves
with a smah number of instances.
1. With regard to the figure of the Earth, its relation to
heavenly bodies, and its motion or immobility.
So far as I have been able to ascertain, direct information
does not occur in the Scriptures, upon these subjects. But
there are many passages which, in the way of incidental
human forms and passions. Upon them, the modern master of Ecclesiastical
History, Dr. Neander (Prof. Theol. Berlin) has this observation : " The
coarse and carnal ideas, which attribute human passions to the Divine
Nature, were derived by carnally minded Jews and ignorant Christians,
cleaving to the letter, from certain misunderstood passages of the Old
Testament. Thus occasion was afforded to Marcion to represent the God
of the Old Testament as in reality such a being as those persons had pictured
him." (" Allgemeine Gesh. d. Chr. Relig." vol. i, p. 968.) There are some
unhappy people, in our own times, who maintain that God is really a being
having the shape, limbs, and functions of a man; persons who call them
selves Christyans ; also some disciples of an Irishman, Alexander Campbell,
an emigrant to Virginia. A large account of them is in the " American
Biblical Repository, for Jan. and April 1839. Third Ed. This assertion
has been recently denied, in a publication at Nottingham; but it is fully
averred in passages cited in the " Am. B. Repos." p. 310, from a Christyan
book professing to give their system authoritatively, "Kincade's Bible
Doctrine;" and other quotations show that "the Christyans and Campbellists
are here declared by both parties [themselves], to stand upon the same
foundation, and to be one people."

BIBLE DESCBIPTIONS OF THE EAETH. 229
mention, seem capable of affording us abundant satisfaction.
As this is a topic of much interest in itself, and has a close
connexion with our ultimate subject, I shah recite passages
at some length.
The primary record, in the beginning of the Book of
Genesis, wih presently be the specific subject of attention.
It is only needful now to say, that nothing is there affirmed,
nor in any way implied, concerning the figure and situation
of the earth. The mention which is made of the heavenly
bodies evidently relates to their use to men, as luminaries
and as measures of time ; and it gives no hint of any other
relations and uses.
" He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and
hangeth the earth upon nothing."* The former part of
this verse seems to contemplate the expanse of the starry
heavens as seen by night, especiahy distinguishing the
northern constehations, and presenting the appearance of a
concave surface extended on ah sides ; or, as it is more fully
expressed in the Book of Isaiah ; " He stretcheth out the
heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to
dweh in."f By "the empty place" (tohu, a word apphed
to any thing supposed to be waste and deserted,^) appears
to be meant the whole space above the habitable ground, and
which, by those who had no knowledge of the atmosphere,
or of any aeriform substance, was regarded as emptiness,
a mere nothing. The " suspending of the earth upon
nothing," comes as the Antithesis of the former member,
and declares that the solid earth, on which men and other
creatures dweh, has no visible or known support, but
remains in its place fixed by the decree and power of God.
I cannot discover that the passage involves any sentiment,
or warrants any conclusion whatever, as to the figure of the
* Job xxvi. 7- + Is. xl. 22.
J Used in Gen. i. 1, and there translated without form.

230 BIBLE DESCBIPTIONS OF THE EABTH.
earth, or its connexion with other bodies : but it is perfectly
conformable to the idea of the earth's being an extended
plane ; which we shah find to be the sentiment more clearly
declared in other places.
Consonant with this, is a verse in the same connexion.
" He hath drawn a limiting circle upon the surface of the
waters, to the boundary of hght with darkness."* The
idea is that of a disc drawn with a compass-instrument,
consisting of the whole earth, surrounded by water, and
beyond which, on every side and beneath, ah was perpetual
darkness and a dead waste. The same representation is in
the Book of Proverbs : " In his eutting out a circle upon
the surface of the deep."t
Other passages speak of extremities, as bounding lines of
the earth ; and of phlars or supports of some kind upon
which it rests. In some places these boundaries are
represented as points, the summits of angles : but it is not
necessarily to be thence deduced that the idea entertained
concerning the figure of the earth was that of a four-sided
plane ; for the expression would naturally arise from con
templating the two opposite points marked by the sun's
rising and setting, and the two which he transversely to
them. The Hebrew words for denoting each of these four
quarters (cahed wings) of the heavens or of the earth, are
several in each instance ; and thus they afford us an insight
into the ideas of the Israehtes upon the characteristics
of the cardinal points. The words for the East signify
radiating, a luminous space, and before, that is, referring to
the position of a person who has his face towards the rising
sun : those for the West, express going away, going down,
behind the sea, namely the Mediterranean : those for the
* Verse 10. The closest translation. That in the Common Version is
not sufficiently exact.
T Chap. viii. 27; closely translated.

FIGUEE OF THE EAETH. 231
North, darkness, gloominess, the left hand; and those for
the South, light, the shining region, dry, referring to the
Countries parched with heat, the right handi
" Under the whole heavens he directeth it, [the thunder ;]
and its hght [the lightning] unto the wings of the earth.
 Where wast thou at my laying the foundations of the
earth ? Narrate [it ;] since thou possessest fuh under
standing. Who apphed measuring rods unto it ; since thou
knowest ? Upon what were its bases let in ? Or who laid
a stone for its corner ?  He shaketh the earth out of its
place, and the pihars thereof tremble.*  He will cohect
[the dispersed people] from the four wings of the earth."t
The behef with regard to the figure of the earth, that it
is an extended plane, was current among the Christian
fathers : J but they in general disapproved and avoided
* Job xxxvii. 3; xxxviii. 4 — 6; ix. 6; closely translated.
t Is. xi. 12; and compare Ezek. vii. 2.
J Sec. ed. Plato, Aristotle, Strabo, Cicero, and others of the heathen,
maintained the globular figure of the earth. Hicetas of Syracuse is men
tioned by Cicero as holding its motion ; and an approach to just views
concerning the system ofthe world appears to have been made by Pythagoras.
Socrates regarded this kind of topics as beyond the reach of human know
ledge. But the fathers of the church (not very worthily so called) were
generally alien from such inquiries. Lactantius diffusely reproves and
ridicules those who believed the earth to be round, and to be habitable on
opposite sides. " Is any one so foolish," he asks, " as to believe that there
are men whose feet are higher than their heads;— trees growing down wards;
rain, snow, and hail, falling upwards ?" " De Falsa Sapientia," iii. 24.
In the middle ages, the Jews and Mahommedans were the men to whom
we might look for philosophical knowledge, rather than to the general mass
of those called Christians* but who were the degraded victims of spiritual
tyranny, superstition, and ignorance. In the Hebrew Concordance, attri
buted to Rabbi (Isaac or Mordecai ?) Nathan in the fifteenth century, we
find this explication, under 7£p ; "—to place, found, build, lay the founda
tion of an edifice; applied to the creation of the earth, which God has
placed in the middle of the universe, a solid, immovable body."

232 GALILEO.
attention to physical subjects. By slow degrees the general
doctrine of a globular form made its way among men ; but,
to a much later date, that of the immobility of the earth was
strenuously maintained. Considerably within the last two
centuries, that opinion was the common behef of ah denomi
nations of Christians. Most persons know that threats,
persuasions, and a short imprisonment subdued Galileo,
and brought him to make a solemn recantation of the
Copernican doctrine ; and he had to endure the penal
sentence of imprisonment for life.* It is hardly imaginable
* Yet let not a wrong use be made of the example of Galileo. It
has been very properly observed, that many a system -maker, " when a
check is offered to his crude and inconclusive conceptions, — fancies himself
another Galileo, and glories in his imagined martyrdom. Yet no case was
ever more exaggerated than that of Galileo ; and even assuming it at its
worst phase, it was rather the fault of the age than of the individuals
engaged in it. How many really wicked attacks have been levelled at
sacred things, from the days of Galileo to the present, and successfully
refuted by divines laudably on the watch to preserve the purity of that
faith which has been entrusted to them ; and yet how small praise has been
awarded them, compared to the opprobrium of this one case of exaggerated
oppression !" Rhind, "On the Age of the Earth ;" p. 117.
So much error prevails with regard to this great man and his persecutions,
some overstating and others diminishing them, that a few lines of informa
tion may not be useless. I derive it from the " Allgemeine Deutsche
Real-Encyclopadie," 16 volumes, Leipzig, 1830—1834; and its authorities
are the works of Galileo himselfj and Lives by Jagemann and Nelli. We
usually call him by his baptismal name, though the family name would be
more exactly proper. He was the son of Vicenzo Galilei, a Florentine
nobleman, and born at Pisa. His talents and industry corresponded to the
signal advantages of his education, in mathematics, the sciences, and
elegant literature. About 1620, he became involved in a dispute with the
Jesuits, which materially affected his subsequent circumstances. Having
obtained the legal permission at both Rome and Florence, he published,
1632, his great work, " A Dialogue by Galileo Galilei, in which, through
conversations of Four Days, are discussed the two principal Systems, the
Ptolemaic and the Copernican." Notwithstanding the extreme moderation

GALILEO. 233
that his persecutors could beheve in his sincerity ; even had
he not declared, the moment after, his retention of his own
behef; which he did. But persecution is the parent of
of the work, scarcely amounting to an avowal of the Copernican doctrine,
it was made the ground of severe proceedings. Pope Urban VIII. had in
private life been his friend ; but he was now drawn over by the monks to
become a zealous enemy. A congregation of Cardinals and others, all his
sworn enemies, condemned his book, and cited him to the tribunal of the
Inquisition. He was obliged to come to Rome, was imprisoned some
months, and on the 23rd of June, 1633, kneeling and placing his hand
upon the gospels, to denote a declaration by oath in the presence of the
God of truth, he uttered the dictated words, " With a sincere heart and
undissembled fidelity, I abjure, curse, and detest, the aforesaid errors and
heresies." Immediately as he rose from this impious mockery, he betrayed
the strongest emotion, stamped on the ground, and said, E pur si muove !
(It moves, however !) He was condemned to perpetual imprisonment in
the dungeons of the Inquisition, and to repeat weekly for three years the
seven Penitential Psalms. With regard to the place of imprisonment great
favour was shown him. Instead of a dungeon, he was confined in the
Bishop's palace at Sienna, and afterwards in a similar retreat near Florence.
In this condition he prosecuted his investigations on the laws of motion,
the planetary phenomena, and other parts of mechanical philosophy ; till
deafness, blindness, sleeplessness, and excruciating pain, wore out the
venerable philosopher. He died, aged 78, Jan. 8, 1642, the year of the
birth of Newton. — Alas ! how low does this great man sink, by the side of
many a poor, tender, and delicate woman, who has refused to purchase a
release from the most cruel torture of the rack or the flames, by yielding to
utter any falsehood or deny any truth. [With this agrees the incidental
record of our immortal poet. His description seems to have purposely
avoided implying that the scene was in the prison of the Inquisition, and
it is not probable that the young English Protestant would have been
admitted there. " I could recount what I have seen and heard in other
countries, where this kind of inquisition tyrannizes ; when I have sat among
their learned men, for that honour I had. —There it was that I found and
visited the famous Galileo, grown old, a prisoner to the Inquisition, for
thinking in Astronomy otherwise than the Franciscan and Dominican
licensers thought." " Areopagitica," Hollis's ed. 1780, p. 310. Milton
was at that time twenty-nine years old.]

234 PEEJDDICES OF PEOTESTANTS.
hypocrisy. A consistent Christian would have died, rather
than have infringed his integrity. Tet, not hurling con
demnation, but pitying the illustrious Plorentine, let us
turn his history into a lesson for ourselves. In things of
every kind, earthly as weh as spiritual, " godly simphcity
and integrity '' is the only right course : and, whatever it
may cost, it wih bring happiness in the end.  But it is
not so much known that, long after that event, pious and
learned Protestants viewed Gahleo's doctrine with the same
alarm and abhorrence as the Eomish Church professed
to feel; and they founded their determination upon the
fohowing passages of Scripture.
" He hath established the earth upon its foundations : it
shah not be moved, for ever and ever. — Por upon the seas
he hath founded it, and upon the streams he hath fixed it.
— 0, give thanks unto Him — who hath spread out the
earth upon the waters ! — The mount Zion " [and therefore,
they inferred, the whole earth, of which any hill or mountain
is only a part] — " shah not be moved, for ever and ever. —
Generation goeth, and generation cometh ; but the earth
for ever standeth.  The sun  rejoiceth as a strong man
to run a race. Prom the end of the heavens is his going
forth, and his circuit to their uttermost parts.  Praise
him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the
heavens.  Who stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain,
who layeth rafters in the waters, his upper chambers."*
Upon the interpretation which men of the highest ability
attach to these declarations of Scripture, they rested the
most positive confidence that the sun flies round the earth
every twenty-four hours, and that the earth rests immove-
ably in the centre of the universe. " This," said one of the
most eminent men of the Eeformed Church, " we affirm,
* Psa. civ. 5; xxiv. 2; cxxxvi. 6. Eccles i. 4. Psa.xix. 6; cxi viii. 4;
civ. 3.

PEEJUDICES OF PEOTESTANTS. 235
with ah divines, natural philosophers, and astronomers,
Jews and Mohammedans, Greeks and Latins; excepting
one or two of the ancients, and the modern fohowers of
Copernicus."* It is in no smah degree curious, but it
conveys also a serious lesson to us, to observe what was a
very great stretch of candour and charity, one hundred and
fifty years ago. " That the sun moves and that the earth is
at rest," wrote another of that class of learned men, " is
testified in Scripture :  that the earth also cannot be
moved, being as it were founded and fixed upon bases,
pedestals, and pillars. Some philosophers, indeed, both
ancient and modern, and Copernicus, the most distinguished
among them, have maintained the contrary. Gemma Prisius
has taken pains to explain this opinion of Copernicus, in
the most favourable manner that he could; and some
celebrated philosophers have endeavoured to reconcile it
to the Bible, by considerations drawn from the ambiguity
and various use of language. Others have recourse to the
Condescension of the style of Scripture, which, upon matters
that do not affect faith and religion, is wont to lisp and
prattle (tfu/i^XX/^siv), like a father with his babes. But
our pious reverence for the Scripture, the word of truth,
wih not ahow us to depart from the strict propriety of the
words ; as, by so doing, we should be setting to infidels an
example of wresting the Scriptures ; unless we were con
vinced by sure and irrefragable arguments ; as perhaps
there may be a few so convinced, but they are ambitious
persons, though professing themselves to be devoted to
sacred studies."f
The length to which these observations have gone ap
peared necessary, in order to establish the broad and strong
foundation of that principle of Bible-interpretation which to
* Gisb. Voetii "Disput. Theol." vol. i. p. 637. Utrecht, 1R48.
+ Joh. Henr. Heideggeri "Medulla Theol. Christ." p. 136; Zurich, 1696.

236 SCEIPTUEE PHEASE0L0GY.
•my full conviction, wih hberate us from difficulty, in relation
to the supposed discrepance between the facts of science,
especiahy geological science, and the testimony of the Holy
Scriptures. A few more instances wih be useful : but they shah be
briefly mentioned.
" Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars ; if thou be
able to number them.  So shah thy seed be.  In mul
tiplying I wih multiply thy seed, as the stars of heaven, and
as the sand which is upon the sea-shore."* Here we have
two similitudes, to represent the great increase of a national
population; a population which, in the most flourishing
times of Israel and Judah, cannot be estimated as having
reached to more than eight or nine millions. Tet it is repre
sented by two comparisons, which he in opposite extremes.
The one fahs immensely short. With a httle skill and per
severance, Abraham might have counted ah the stars visible
even in his, fine chmate. They could scarcely have amounted
to fifteen hundred. But the second object of comparison
presents a number which the most advanced arithmetician
could with difficulty write in figures, and which would many
times exceed the number of human beings that have ever
lived upon the face of the globe, t Wih any one say that
these are not figurative expressions, peculiarities of idiom ;
which must be interpreted by the rule of common sense, the
one by extending, the other by contracting ?
A mode of expression to be interpreted upon the same
* Gen. xv. 5; xxii. 17.
+ Third ed. The same method of expressing a number, large in
reference to some object of comparison, but far from being absolutely of
immense extent, we find applied to an armament of the Canaanitish con
federacy, Josh. xi. 4 ; to an army" of the Philistines, 1 Sam. xiii. 5 ; to a
levy in mass, 2 Sam. xvii. 11; to the population under Solomon, 1 Kings
iv. 20 ; and even to the days of a reasonably protracted human life, Job
xxix. 18.

HEBEEW IDEAS 0E NATUEAL OBJECTS. 237
principle, is that of representing a long period of time,
in relation to the history of mankind, by " a thousand
generations:"* whereas ah the generations of the human
race, from Adam to the present hour, cannot exceed two
hundred. 2. Concerning atmospheric phenomena, a few. things are
to be noticed.
The Hebrew word (rakia) is commonly translated firma
ment, after the example of the Septuagint (o-rigecofict-) but
many modern critics have sought to mollify the.unphilo-
sophical idea of a sohd concave sheh over our heads, by
using the word expanse. No doubt they felt their minds
acquiescing in this term, as expressing very weh the diffused
fluid which surrounds the earth; and so leaving us at hberty
to conceive of its increasing tenuity, till it is lost in the
planetary spaces. But this is the transferring of a modern
idea, to times and persons which had it not. The Hebrew
language has no word for air, properly speaking : because
they knew not the thing. Their nearest approaches were
with words that denoted watery vapour, condensed and thus
rendered visible, whether floating around them or seen in
the breathing of animals ; and words for smoke arising from
substances burning ; and for air in motion, wind, a zephyr-
whisper, or a storm. But of elastic fluids they had no idea.
The word under consideration strictly signifies a sohd sub
stance, extended by beating out, or rolling, or any other
mode of working upon a ductile mass.f The old word,
* Deut. vii. 9. 1 Chron. xvi. 1 5. Psa. cv. 8.
f Sec. ed. In Jer. x. 9, the passive participle (Pual) is used ; — " silver
spread into plates." In Is. xiii. 5, we have the active form as applied to
the earth, while another verb which signifies expanding and extending, as
of cloth cords, or the limbs of animals, is applied to the heavens : —
" Creating the heavens, and stretching them out, spreading forth the earth
and its productions."

238 HEBEEW IDEAS OF
firmament, was therefore the most proper.* Examining the
whole subject, by connecting it with some passages which
have been quoted, and some yet to be mentioned, we acquire
an idea of the meteorology of the Hebrews. They supposed
that, at a moderate distance above the flights of birds was
a sohd concave hemisphere, a kind of dome, transparent, in
which the stars were fixed, as lamps ; and containing open
ings to be used or closed as was necessary. It was under
stood as supporting a kind of celestial ocean, cahed "the
waters above the firmament," and "the waters above the
heavens." This was the grand reservoir containing water
to be discharged at proper times in rain, with which were
connected " water-courses, for the overflowing," or pouring
ouif The idea also was entertained of masses of water
being secured in strong bags, which the clouds were sup
posed to be. Thus we read, as one of the works of Deity,
that he " tieth up water in his dark cloud, and the cloud
beneath them is not torn." J Here also were the " treasures
* Fourth ed. " Solid expanse ; — I say solid, for nothing can be more
certain than that the apparent welkin above us, in which the heavenly
bodies seem to move, is spoken of in Genesis i. and in other parts of Scrip
ture, as a solid and expanded arch or ceiling over our heads. Yet what
reality is there in such a supposition I The scriptural writers were not
commissioned to teach philosophy, nor astronomy; and they have always
spoken of objects like those just mentioned, merely in an optical manner ;
in the way in which they present themselves to the eye, either of the body
or of the mind." Prof. Moses Stuart, in the " Amer. Biblioth. Sacra ;"
1843, p. 142.
+ Job xxxviii. 25.
% lb. xxvi. 8. Sec. ed. A striking instance of this mode of representation
occurs in Prov. viii. 28. " In his fastening the clouds from above, in making
strong the fountains of the depth." The second clause, according to the
structure of the Hebrew poetry, is the correlate for illustrating the first; so that
the sentiment is, that, as the springs of water, before their gushing out on the
sides of hills, are contained in hollows of the rock, so water is also contained
in the clouds as vessels of capacity, ready to discharge it when wanted, but,
in the mean time, hung up by some kind of strong attachment in the vault

NATUBAL OBJECTS. 239
of snow and treasures of hah."* Lightning also was con
ceived of as produced, and then laid by for use, in the same
region ; and as consisting of some kind of ignited matter,
cahed in Scripture " coals of fire ;" deriving the idea from
burning wood, for mineral coal they knew not. Of the
nature and cause of thunder, the Israehtes had no concep
tion; and therefore they referred it immediately to the
Supreme Cause, and called it "the voice of God." This
idea coincided with the accustomed mode of representing
the Deity, by the analogies of the human form. In one
place it seems as if the hghtning was regarded to be the
effect of thunder : " Who hath divided  a way for the
dartings of the voices ?"f As the thunder was conceived to
be the awfully majestic voice of God, it was a natural accom
paniment of the imagery that " He maketh the clouds his
chariots, and walketh upon the wings of the wind." J In
one passage, we find all the parts of this imagery combined,
so as to produce the most magnificent effect. " Then the
earth shook and trembled : the foundations also of the hills
moved and were shaken; because he was wroth. There
went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his
mouth devoured : coals were kindled by it. He bowed the
heavens also, and came down ; and darkness was under his
feet : and he rode upon a cherub and did fly; yea, he did fly
upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his secret
place : his pavihon round about him was dark waters, thick
clouds of the skies. At the brightness before him his dark
clouds passed, hail-stones and coals of fire. The Lord also
thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave forth his
voice, hail-stones and coals of fire. Tea, he sent out his
of the sky. The prototype for the resemblance was most probably the
suspending of skins containing water or wine, from the ceiling of a room or
the upper part of a tent.
* Job xxxviii. 22. t lb. xxxviii. 25. X ^sa" c^y- '¦

240 SCBIPTUBAL DESCETPTION
arrows and scattered them ; and he shot out hghtnings and
discomfited them. Then the channels of water were seen,
and the foundations of the world were discovered, at thy
rebuke, O Lord, at the blast ofthe breath of thy nostrils."*
3. With respect to the animal system, the knowledge of
the ancient Hebrews did not go beyond what might be
expected from men in their circumstances. They appear to
have ascribed distinct intellectual functions to the region
of the kidneys (usuahy rendered the reins,) and the liver.
They referred pain to the bones ; and they seem to have not
had the least knowledge of the nervous system. There is no
word in Hebrew for the brain and nerves except that which
denotes the marrow of the bones, with which it is probable
they confounded the cerebral and nervous substance ; and
even that word was a derivative from another signifying fat.
Tet upon this defective physiology the language of Scripture
is formed for the expression of sensations and many intel
lectual operations .f
It was incumbent upon me to go thus largely into the
induction of particulars, Hot merely on account of the con
nexion of the entire view of Scripture Idioms with our
particular object ; but because I venture to hope that the
principle thus estabhshed wih be of use to those who favour
me with their attention, as some assistance to the forming
of an intelligent, and therefore most profitable method of
studying the divine word.
We have thus seen it placed beyond the possibility of a
doubt, that it is the manner of the Scriptures, and most
* Psa. xviii. 7 — 15.
t Examples. Psa. xxvi. 2; lxxiii. 21. Lam. ii. 11. (Psa. xvi. 9;
Ivii. 8; cviii. 1; where the word is usually rendered glory, but learned
prientalists incline to the opinion that the use of the term is based upon the
sensitive properties which were supposed to reside in the liver.) Job xxxiii.
19. Psa. vi. 2.

OF THE DEITT. 241
copiously in their earliest written parts, to speak of the
Deity, his nature, his perfections, his purposes, and his
operations, in language borrowed from the bodily and mental
constitution of man, and from those opinions concerning the
works of God in the natural world, which were generally
received by the people to whom the blessing of revelation was
granted. That so the fact is, cannot be denied : and wih any dare
to find fault with it ? Is it not sufficient to satisfy any
rational man, that it has pleased Him who cannot err to
make use of this method ? We have no right to demand
any more satisfaction. But let it not be forgotten, what
has already been stated, that, not only is this style that
which alone would have been intehigible in the early ages
of the world ; but it is still the best adapted for universal
use. An observation now arises to our view, which must, I
cannot but think, force itself with irresistible conviction
upon any impartial mind. If it was not unworthy of the
Adorable Majesty of God to permit himself to be described
in terms infinitely beneath him, and which require our watch
fulness and pious care, lest we take up with conceptions far
remote from the spirituality of the Divine Nature, and the
purity of Christian worship; much mobe may it be regarded
as consonant with the honour of his word, that its references
to natural objects should be, in the character of thought and
expression, such as comported with the knowledge of the age
in which they were delivered.*
* No doubt this principle has been often thought of, and happily em
ployed in theological discussions; as by Archbishop King, the German
divine Seiler, Mr. John Sheppard, and probably others. Whether it has
been distinctly applied to the interpretation of the Bible, in relation to the
objects of natural science, by any writers in particular, I am not able to
say. I am aware of but two distinguished authors who have expressly
E

242 THE PEINCIPLE APPLIED
Again : the completed manifestations of the Divine Wih
in the New Testament raise us to a justness and purity of
conception concerning " the things of God," far superior
to that which the ministrations of Moses and the prophets
eould supply. The one was obscure, tinctured with the
spirit of bondage, only a preparatory and temporary system:
but the other is the " ministration of righteousness," in
comparison with which the former " had no glory."* We
pointed it out: and, as they only indicate it in general terms, the effort in
this lecture to pursue it into its details, and to show its application as a
shield to scientific investigations, against the misconceptions and alarms of
some well-intentioned men, will not, I trust, be held superfluous. The two
authors alluded to, are John George Rosenmiiller, in a. book published
more than sixty years ago, and from which the relevant extracts are given
in the Appendix, Supplementary Note P; and my honoured friend, Pro
fessor Sedgwick, in his Discourse on the Studies of Cambridge : — A " source
of error, on physical questions, has been a mistake respecting the import of
certain scripture-phrases. These writings deal not in logical distinctions or
rigid definitions. They were addressed to the heart and understanding in
popular forms of speech, such as men could readily comprehend. When
they describe the Almighty as a being capable of jealousy, love, anger,
repentance, and other like passions, they use a language accommodated to
our wants and capacities, and God is put before us in the semblance of
humanity." Page 147. Galileo must be added: see the next Note.
* 2 Cor. iii. 10, 11. Second ed. A passage of the man who was in
scientific respects so wondrously in advance of his age, Galileo, is highly
interesting, as showing that he clearly understood and justly applied this
principle of Bible-interpretation.
" I admit and maintain that the Holy Scripture can never depart from
what is true, provided we take it in its true and germane sense : but no one
will deny, that this often lies deep, and is a good deal removed from the
bald signification of the words. If any one think that it is always to be
understood according to the letter, he will not only run into error, but he
will impute to Holy Scripture numerous contradictions, propositions palpably
untrue, even heresies and blasphemies. He would be obliged to ascribe to
God feet, hands, and eyes, and human properties and accidents, both boldily
and mental, such as anger, repentance, hatred, forgetfulness of the past, and
ignorance of the future. Propositions of this kind have been in this manner

TO THE MOSAIC EECOEDS. 243
stand therefore upon safe ground, and are fully warranted
by divine authority to translate the language of the Old
Testament upon physical subjects, into such modern ex
pressions, as shall be agreeable to the reality of the things
spoken of.

PAET II.
Upon the principle which has been explained, I now
propose to the impartial judgment of Bible-scholars, that
method of understanding the Mosaic account of the Cre
ation and the Plood, which appears to me just and safe.
The way is sufficiently cleared, and the principles explained
and confirmed ; so that httle wih be necessary in showing
the apphcation to the cases before us.
I. With respect to the account of the Ceeation.*
Gen. i. 1. " In the beginning, God created the heavens
and the earth."
The phrase " the heavens and the earth," though not
always used by the sacred writers in the fuh sense, is the
most comprehensive that the Hebrew language affords, to
designate the universe of dependent being ; and, on account
of the connexion, it requires to be so taken in this place.
It thus corresponds to the expressions in the New Testa-
expressed by the sacred writers, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in
order to accommodate divine truths to the capacity of the uncultivated and
ignorant mass of mankind. It is therefore the duty of competent and
diligent expositors to bring forth, in every instance, the true meaning ; and
to explain the ground and reason of their having been expressed in the
words which are presented to us." "Novantiqua; alia Serenissima Madama
ia Gran Duchessa di Toscania, Madre;" p. 10, 11; printed in 1636, at
A igusta Trebocca, perhaps Trevi in the duchy of Spoleto.
* Supplementary Note, Q.
B2

244 CEEATION.
ment ; " Ah things that are in the heavens and that are on
the earth, the visible and the invisible ;  the ah things."*
This subhme sentence therefore stands, as an independent
axiom,t at the head of the sacred volume, announcing that
there was an epoch, a point in the flow of infinite duration,
when the whole of the dependent world, or whatever portion
of it first had existence, was brought into being ; and that
this commencement of being was not from pre-existent
materials, nor by fortune, chance, or accident, nor through
the skill of any finite agent, but absolutely and solely by
the wih, wisdom, and power ofthe One and Only God. It
was a creation, in the proper sense ; not a modelling or
new-forming. The phrase, " In the beginning," is used
several times in Scripture, to denote the commencement of
whatever flow of time, or series of things, the subject spoken
of requires. One of the primary doctrines of the New
Testament is, "In the beginning was the Woed ;" showing
that' the Word was aheady in existence, at the point of
time spoken of, did not then begin to be, and consequently
must have existed in ah prior time. But here the expres
sion specifies an action as taking place at this point of time;
an act of the Infinite Being. But when that beginning
was, when that act was put forth, it was not the design of
revelation to inform us. Carry it back as far as we may,
there is etebnity beyond it : and compared with that
eternity, ah finite duration sinks into a moment.
In the same manner we understand the recapitulation in
©hap. ii. 1 — 3 ; the commencement of the briefer narrative,
in chap. ii. 4 ; and the reason of the sabbath given in the
fourth commandment, Exodus xx. 11. Ah that the Israehtes
* Td n-avra, ra Iv role ovpavoXg Kal ra im rrjg -yjjc  ra. iravra.
Sec. ed. The equivalent phrases in common authors are ra iJXo, and -6
•Kav. f See pp. 159—165.

CEEATI0N. 245
could understand by " the heavens and the earth," ah that
they knew, and ah that it concerned them to know,* was
"made," (adjusted, arranged, appropriated to new purposes,
for so the word often signifies,) "in six days." There is
just as much reason to interpret that commandment, as
representing the Deity to " faint and be weary," in direct
contradiction to other parts of the Bible,f as to maintain
that it teaches the proper creation of the universe to
have taken place immediately before the institution of the
sabbath. [
Here I trust that, without assumption or captiousness,
I may express regret that Dr. Buckland, in his Bridgewater
Treatise, instead of relying on his own sound and clear
j udgment, obtained a note from one of his learned fehow
Professors, which appears very obscure and quite nugatory.
If it had any apphcation to the matter at ah, it would
rather go to darken the evidence of a proper creation being
* Fourth ed. ".Whatever worthy andexalted apprehensions ofthe Author
of nature, the infinite perfection of his attributes, or the extent and magnifi
cence of his works, reason and philosophy may dictate. and discover to us ;
to whatever important uses, God, in his infinite wisdom and power, may have
destined the planets and the fixed stars (in the] discovery of which we have
no other light to direct us but bare conjectures, and arguments drawn from
congruities), Moses, by divine direction, has withdrawn our thoughts and
speculations from all such far distant objects ; not only because we have no
visible relation to, nor perceptible connexion with them, but rather (as we
may with certainty and confidence affirm) because they do not measure
our time, by either their real or apparent revolutions. God has created
and ordained two great luminaries, the sun and moon, to be unto us 'lor
signs and for seasons, for days and years ;' and to this motion only Moses,
with great judgment and accuracy, confines his astronomy." " Scripture
Chronology," by John Kennedy, Rector of Bradley, Derb. 1751: p. 7.
t " Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God
Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is
weary 2" Is. xL 28.

246 CEEATION.
here asserted, or declared in any other part of the Bible.
Such aid was not needed.
Whether the original writer of this sacred archive was
Moses, or whether he was placing at the head of his work,
a composition of an earher patriarch, the calm majesty and
simphcity of the declaration give, as a matter of internal
evidence, the strong presumption that he spoke with
authority: that he only repeated what the Omniscient
Spirit had commanded him to say and write. The declara
tion is, in the New Testament, adduced as an object of
faith ; which implies a divine testimony.*
What was the condition or constitution of the first
created matter ? — Certainly it fahs within the province of
General Physics to examine this question : and if the in
vestigation be conducted in the true spirit of phhosophy,
which is modest, reverential, and cautious, — in a word,
the spirit of genuine rehgion, — though it may not be
demonstratively answered in the present life, yet valuable
approximations may be made to it. The nebular hypothesis,
ridiculed as it has been by persons whose ignorance cannot
excuse their presumption, is regarded as in a very high
degree probable by some of the finest and most Christian
minds.f If I may venture to utter my own impressions, I
* Heb. xi. 3.
+ If the reader be not already acquainted with the nature and the reasons
of this doctrine, he owes himself a great duty. Let him consult WheweH's
" Bridgewater Treatise," book ii. chap. vii. : Mantell's " Wonders of
Geology," Lect. i. § 17, 18; and Nichol's "Architecture of the Heavens,"
Letters vii. and viii. " The Nebular Hypothesis, in its relations to the
Planetary System, may be termed complete ; it comprehends its beginnings,
establishes those elements on which its duration depends, and exhibits the
causes and mode of its ultimate transition into a novel form.  Surely the
vision of these unfathomable changes, ofthe solemn march of these majestic
heavens from phase to phase, obediently fulfilling their awful destiny, will
be lost on the heart of the adorer, unless — it swells with that humility which

CEEATION. 247
must profess it as the most reasonable supposition, and the
correlate of the nebular theory, that God originally gave
being to the primordial elements of things, the very smah
number of simple bodies, endowing each with its own
wondrous properties. Then, that the action of those pro
perties, in the ways which his wisdom ordained, and which
we cah laws, produced, and is Btih producing, ah the forms
and changes of organic and inorganic natures ; and that the
series is by Him destined to proceed, in combinations and
is the best homage to the Supreme! — Between us and the Highest there
is still vastness and mystery. — To take wing beyond terrestrial precincts,
perhaps, is not wholly forbidden, provided we go with unsandaled feet, as
if on holy ground. — An order hanging tremblingly over nothingness, and of
which every constituent — fails not to beseech incessantly for a substance
and substratum, in the idea of One who liveth for ever!" Nichol.
Fourth ed. These objects wear the appearance of luminous masses, in
various degrees of brilliance and obscurity, of different and what might be
called capricious shapes, but which, however irregular in our view, undergo
no perceptible change of figure. ¦ They are very numerous. Of most of
them, the magnitude far exceeds that of our whole solar system.. See Sir
John Herschel's Astronomy; p. 401-7. Many of them he had scarcely
ever a doubt, would be resolved into constellations, clusters, or groups of
stars, if a sufficient telescopic power could be obtained. This anticipation
has been realized by the Earl of Rosse, in the use of his matchless telescope.
He has resolved several of these objects, upon which he has given a short
paper, with exact figures, in the " Philosophical Transactions " for 1 844.
A sufficiently favourable state of, the atmosphere is so rare in our climate,
as to forbid our hoping for a rapid progress of those observations. Some
persons have hastened to the conclusion that all the so-called nebulosities
are ofthe same character, groups of stars: and that, of course, the nebular
theory is exploded. But this is a premature judgment: we cannot say that
the induction has been carried out far enough. Lord Rosse observes that,
though, " as has always been the case, an increase of instrumental power
has added to the number of the clusters, at the expense of the nebulas
properly so called ; still it would be very unsafe to conclude that such will
always be the case, and thence to draw the obvious inference that all
nebulosity is but the glare of stars too remote to be separated by the utmost
power of our instruments."

248 SEQUENCE OF CEEATION.
multiphcations ever new, without hmit of space or end of
duration, to the unutterable admiration and joy of ah holy
creatures, and to the eternal display of His glory " who
fixed the wondrous frame."
Ver. 2. " And the earth was without form and void, and
darkness was upon the face ofthe deep."
The first inquiry here is, What relation does this para
graph bear to the preceding ? Is it the relation of close
connexion and immediate sequence ; or does it only express
posteriority, without defining the separating interval ? My
conviction is, not the former, but the latter.
The question wih be answered by attending to the con
necting particle. As it is rendered in our Version, it
naturally excites the idea of immediate sequence. But a
few words wih show that this would be an unwarranted
inference from the expression in the original. This pre
fixed conjunction is the general connecting particle of the
language ; but the mode of connexion may be extremely
various, and is always to be ascertained by a consideration
of the circumstances in every case. It may be copulative,
or disjunctive, or adversative ; or it may express a mere
annexation to a former topic of discourse, the connexion
being only that of the subject-matter, or the continuation
of the composition. This continuative use forms one of the
most marked peculiarities of the Hebrew idiom ; and it
comprehends every variety of mode in which one train of
sentiment may be appended to another.* As this prefix is
most usuahy rendered and, in our Version, (though fre-
• It introduces the series of history, commencing at Numb. xx. 1 ; which
immediately follows the preceding narrative, from which it is chronologically
separated by an interval of thirty-eight years : yet that interval is not
indicated by any words ; it is left to be made out by the research of the
reader. [It often commences an entirely new subject, and even a new
composition.]

MEANING OF THE W0ED EAETH. 249
quently by other conjunctions,) the English reader has it in
his power to observe the variety in the shades of meaning,
and the differing grounds upon which it connects senti
ments and expressions. The two sentences are thus ren
dered by a cautious and judicious critic, the late Dr. Dathe,
of Leipzig : " In the beginning God created the heaven
and the earth. But afterwards the earth became waste
and desolate."*
A most important subject of our inquiry is the genuine
meaning of the word which we render earth ; and which, in
passing, it may be remarked has an etymological affinity
with the words of the same signification in ah the Teutonic
languages, to which class ours belongs, the ancient Persian,
those allied to the Hebrew, and the Sanscrit. I assure my
friends that I have not spared time and pains in pursuing
this inquiry ; and the result I wih briefly give. The most
general sense of the word is, the portion of the universe
which the Supreme Lord has assigned for the habitation of
mankind. When it is conjoined with "the heavens," it
denotes the entire created world : but it is evident of itself,
that the practical understanding of the phrase would be
in conformity with the ideas of the people who used it.
Prequently it stands for the land of Palaestine ; and indeed
for any country or district that is mentioned or referred to
in the connexion. Sometimes it denotes a mere plot of
ground ; and sometimes the soh, clay, and sand, or any
earthy matter. Often it is put, figuratively, for mankind,
as the inhabitants of the world. Considering ah the evi
dence of the case, I can find no reason against our regarding
the word, subsequently to the first verse, and throughout
the whole description of the six days, as designed to express
the part of our world which God was adapting for the dwell-
* See Supplementary Notes, R. and S

250 EEBION OF THE ADAMIC CEEATIOW.
ing of man, and the animals connected with him. Of the
spheroidal figure ofthe earth, it is evident that the Hebrews
had not the most distant conception. The passages which
have been quoted, and many others, abundantly convince
me that it never entered into the purpose of Eevelation to
teach men geographical facts, or any other kind of physical
knowledge. I must profess then my conviction, that we are not
obliged by the terms made use of, to extend the narrative
of the six days to a wider apphcation than this ; a descrip
tion, in expressions adapted to the ideas and capacities of
onankind in the earliest ages, of a series of operations, by
which the Being of omnipotent wisdom and goodness adjusted
and furnished the earth generally,* but, as the particular
subject under consideration here, a poetion of its surface,
for most glorious purposes ; in which a newly formed creature
should be the object of those manifestations ofthe authority
and grace of the Most Sigh, which shall to eternity show
forth his perfections above all other methods of their display.^
This portion of the earth I conceive to have been a part
of Asia, lying between the Caucasian ridge, the Caspian
Sea, and Tartary, on the north, the Persian and Indian
Seas on the south, and the high mountain ridges which run
at considerable distances, on the eastern and western flank.
I venture to think that man, as first created, and for many
ages afterwards, did not extend his race beyond these
* " Geology, therefore, in expounding the former condition of the globe,
convinces us that every variation of its surface has been but a step towards
the accomplishment of one great end ; whilst all such revolutions are com
memorated by monuments which, revealing the [proximate] cause and
object of each change, compel us to conclude that the Earth can alone have
been fashioned into a fit abode for Man by the ordinances of Infinite
Wisdom." Murchison's " Silurian System;" vol. i. page 576.
f One of those separate districts, or centres of creation, the certainty of
which we have shown in Lect. II. and III.

DESCEIPTIVE DETAIL OF 0BEATI0N. 251
limits: and therefore had no connexion with the extreme
east, the Indian and Pacific clusters of islands, Africa,
Europe, and America: in which regions we have ocular
demonstration that animal and vegetable creatures had
existed, to a vast amount, unintexTuptedly, through periods
past, of indescribable duration.
This *region was first, by atmospheric and geological
causes of previous operation under the whl of the Almighty,
brought into a condition of superficial ruin, or some kind
of general disorder. With reverence I propose the suppo
sition, that this state was produced by the subsidence of
the region, of which the immediate cause might be the same
that we know has often wrought a simhar effect in various
districts upon the earth's surface ; namely, that which is
probably the cause of earthquakes, a movement, (which may
be in ah the degrees of intensity,) of the igneous fluid mass
below. Extreme darkness has been often known to accom
pany such phenomena. This is the unforced meanmg of
the two words rendered " without form and void." Those
words (tohu vabohu) are elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible
used to describe ruined cities, wild wastes of desert-land,
and figuratively any thing that is empty, unsubstantial, or

The sacred record presents to us the district described as
overflowed with water, and its atmosphere so turbid that
extreme gloominess prevailed. "Darkness was upon the
face of the deep," the "waters" mentioned just before.
Both this deluge, from the flowing in of a sea or rivers,
and the darkness, would be the effect of an extensive subsi
dence. The Hebrew word does not necessarily mean the
absolute privation of light : it is used in relation to various
circumstances of partial darkness : and we know that con
ditions of the atmosphere have locahy happened, in ancient
and in recent times, in which the noon-day has become dark

252 DESCEIPTIVE DETAIL OF CSEATION.
as an ordinary night. The Divine power acted through the
laws of gravity and molecular attraction ; and, where requi
site, in an immediate, extraordinary, or miraculous manner.
The atmosphere over the region became so far cleared as to
be pervious to hght, though not yet perfectly transparent.
In this process the watery vapour cohected into floating
masses, the clouds; which, as we have seen, the ancient
Hebrews expressed by the phrase " waters above the firma
ment." Elevations of land took place, by upheaving igneous
force ; and consequently the waters flowed into the lower
parts, producing lakes, and probably theCaspian Sea, which
manifestly belonged to the very region. The elevated land
was now clothed with vegetation instantly created.* By
* Gen. i. 1 1, 12. The enumeration of vegetable kinds here given is both
an illustrative example of the earliest botanical distribution, and a confirma
tion of our principle of interpretation, that the language has throughout a
simple reference to the wants and conveniences of men. The vegetation
intended to be included in this primeval arrangement is put under three
descriptions ; (1.) grasses, food for cattle ; (2.) herbs, for human use, pro
bably referring chiefly to grain and leguminous plants ; (3.) trees producing
edible fruit : all considered merely in the light of utility to mankind. Of
timber-trees and thousands of other important genera, there is no hint.
From just analogy we infer, that the first individuals of every other species
were produced by an act of immediate creation ; but a body of evidence
convinces us that these productions took place, respectively at the
points of divergence, or centres, of the different botanical districts. The
language of the text expresses a creation of these vegetables in a state of
maturity, that they might be ready for the immediate use of the human
pair, and the small number of land-animals formed for the enjoyment of
this region. Those who contend for an immediate creation of all the
mineral strata with all their contents, precisely as they are ( — see Mr.
Mellor Brown's positions, page ] 68 of this volume,—) have sometimes
brought forward this question, as including for them a triumphant argument.
If the exogenous trees were created in a state of maturity, must they not
have had the concentric layers around their pith, indicating, what in all
future cases would be years of growth, and which, in order to effect the
perfect maturity supposed, would in many instances be numerous ?— The

DESCEIPTIYE DETAIL OF CEEATION. 253
the fourth day, the atmosphere over this district had become
pehucid ; and, had there been a human eye to have beheld,
the brightness of the sun would have been seen, and the
other heavenly bodies after the sun was set. Animals were
produced by immediate creation, in this succession;* the
inhabitants of the waters, birds, and land-animals ; ah in the
fuh vigour of their natures. No mention is made of the
thousands of tribes of insects, mohuscous creatures, and
animalcules ; whose number, we know, transcends calcula
tion. It is generahy assumed by commentators that they
are included in "the things that creep." But this very
phrase supphes an illustration of the scripture-style, as con
descending to the limited knowledge and the simple asso
ciations of comparatively uncultivated men. f Last of ah,

answer is at hand ; that all the exigencies of the case are satisfied by the
condition of trees in an early stage, before the first layers can be distin
guished. Serviceable leaves, fruits, and seeds, are produced within that
period. Besides, we do not suppose that all vegetable species were thus
produced, but only such as were adapted to the climate and requisite for
the immediate purpose.
* Fourth ed. Combining all the intimations that we can collect, I
venture to think that the Mosaic description in this part extends not to all
animal and vegetable species, but to those only which would be suitable to
the region under its various conditions, would have a beneficial connexion
with man, and would, by their forms, habits, and instincts, be subject to
his dominion. Chap. i. 26, 28.
+ Second ed. In this single verse, the 20th, are several striking illustra
tions of the principle of interpretation for which I am pleading. It is
literally — " And God said, Let the waters breed [propullascere, cause to
swarm, wimmeln,-] a brood, animated being, and flying [animal which]
shall fly over the earth upon the face of the firmament of the heavens."
The literal meaning would be that all the smaller kinds of land-animals and
birds had their origin under the waters. In verse 24 it is said of the
larger quadrupeds, that "the earth brought them forth:" as if they had been
created underground, and were then protruded, as many molluscous
animals and worms come up to the surface of the mud in which they live.

254 DESCEIP1TVE DETAIL OF CBEATION.
God formed his noblest earthly creature : " In the image of
God created He him," in the command of physical faculties,
the possession of intellect, a dominion over the lower crea
tion, and the noblest enjoyment of ah, the image of the
divine holiness.*
No rational objection can he against the statement, that
the Creator was pleased to distribute these works through
the space of six natural days ; instead of effecting the
whole by an instantaneous vohtion. It is sufficient for us
to know that Infinite Wisdom chose this method of proceed
ing : we are sure then that it was the best. But we may
very reasonably suppose that the gradual character of the
process furnished valuable instruction to superior creatures,
and filled them with devout rapture ; " when the morning-
stars sang together, and ah the sons of God shouted for
joy." Nor can we be insensible to the lessons to which
the Scriptures apply this part of the counsels of Jehovah,
But the plain sense is given in v. 25, where it is said that " God made "the
land-animals; the words merely expressing, that Divine power gave them
existence; and we cannot indulge a doubt, but that they were brought into
being in the conditions for which their conformation fitted them, land-
animals on the dry ground, fishes and other inhabitants of rivers, lakes, and
seas, in such waters as they were adapted to. But those expressions were
the phrase of the time; and the kernel of truth which they enclose is, that
animal and vegetable bodies are organized out of the very materials which
constitute water and the commonest minerals. Jarchi's annotation upon
verse 20, is curious: " Every living thing which does not raise itself much
above the ground is called sheretz (creeping thing). Under the winged
creatures, flies ; under the impure [creepers,] ants, beetles, and worms ;
under the other creatures, weasels, mice, snails and the like ; as also all
fishes.'' * It will, I trust, conduce to the illustration and establishment of the
sentiments here so briefly sketched, and other parts of the general subject,
to insert in the Appendix a Letter published some time ago in a periodical
work, and occasioned by a Review of Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater Treatise.
Supplementary Note S.

DESCEIPTIVE DETAIL OF CEEATION. 255
for the religious, and not overlooking the physical, benefit
of mankind in ah fohowing time.
A consideration, which not merely justifies but renders
necessary the interpretation here proposed, arises from the
incongruity, and in fact reciprocal ruin, which would have
taken place if ah plants and animals had been created at
the same epoch. Many plants could "not have hved, unless
time had been given for them to establish themselves, before
the introduction of other species into the contiguous soil.
Provision also needed to be made for each kind of animal,
before it was brought forth to occupy its destined place.
Single pairs of each would ah have perished in a very short
time, some being immediately consumed, and others then
dying for want. Take the example of the inhabitants of
the waters, fresh or salt. They are almost ah carnivorous ;
and each individual requires, for but a day's sustenance, vast
multitudes of the smaher kinds, we must say countless
myriads, if we consider the visible insects and the invisi
ble animalcules which constitute the food of many species.
In like maimer, with regard to reptiles, birds, and land-
animals, it was necessary that those species in both the
vegetable and the animal kingdoms, on which other animals
must have depended for their support, should have been in
existence a time] sufficient to ensure a multiphcation ade
quate to two purposes ; a provision for the unfailing supply
of the feeding creatures, and a redundancy sufficient to
preserve and adequately increase the stock. It fohows that
the creation of ah species, both vegetable and animal, must
have been gradual, and with intervals adjusted by unerring
benevolence and wisdom. Therefore the scene of the six
day's operations,* which I have endeavoured to show was
* See a striking passage of Mr. Lyell, illustrating this connexion of
things dependent on each other ; " Principles " B. iii. ch. viii. vol. iii.
p. 166.

256 CEEATION OF MAN.
only one of those districts which in different periods were
centres of creation, could not but be very limited.
The condescending principle of the narrative is manifested,
in a striking manner, by the description of the fourth day.
The sun is mentioned as the greatest luminary, the moon
as the next in magnitude and importance, and the other
shining orbs are grouped together, as if they formed, even
when ah combined, the least object of consideration. The
heavenly bodies are represented, not as being at that time
created (for that word, which occurs in verses 1 and 27, is
not the word used here), but "made," constituted or ap
pointed, to be "luminaries," for such is the meaning of the
word used : and their design is specified with an exactitude
very observable : to afford hght, and to furnish standards
for the divisions of time, the operations of agriculture, and
religious or other social observances. Had it been the pur
pose of revelation, to give a view of creation according to
the physical reahty, can we imagine that no reference would
have been made to superior creatures, of whom the subse
quent Scriptures say so much, under an appellative which
designates only their work and office, — angels ? Or that
no mention would occur of the planets, and their satellites,
as distinct from the fixed stars ? And that ah the notice
taken of the astral system would lie in two words, — " and
the stars ?" — If not our earth merely, but the entire solar
system, were to be this instant blotted out of existence, it
would be no more missed in the aspect of the universe, —
except to the gloeious Ceeatoe's eye, — than a grain
of sand blown away from the sea-shore ! Tet it is most
evident that any person not acquainted with the true system
of the world, would, after his most careful study of this por
tion of the Bible, rest in the conclusions, that our earth is,
not in moral importance only, but in physical magnitude, by
far the greatest of the Creator's works ; and that the entire

CBEAT10N OE MAN. 257
furniture of the heavens is solely a provision for our conve
nience and comfort.*
It is a further evidence that the style of this primitive
document was framed in conformity to the phraseology of
simple men in unpolished times, that the successive pro
cesses are described in a child-like-conversation form. "God
said, Let there be light; — let there be a firmament; — let
the earth bring forth; — let us make man:" the author using
in each instance the same formula, first, an introduction of
the matter, and then narrating the effect. Now is there a
man who seriously beheves that the Infinite Spirit exercised
vocal organs, the supposition of which would imply a corpo
real structure ; or that he willed the effect of voice without
those organs, creating the impulses upon an elastic medium,
which, had there been an animal ear to have received the
impression, would have duly impinged upon it and produced
the effect of articulate words : as " God spake all the words
of the law " from the top of Sinai, so as to be heard and
* It is also evident that the completion of Revelation, by the Christian
Scriptures, did not include any purpose of teaching the topics of natural
knowledge, or correcting the current opinions of the ancients upon this class
of subjects. Our Lord himself did not disdain to speak in the common
style and according to the opinions of those among whom he lived, when
the philosophy of germination and vegetable growth were unknown, and a
spontaneous (avroudrn) power of production was attributed to the soil :
Mark iv. 27, 28. And the enumeration of the heavenly bodies in Cor. xv.
41, proceeds upon the position, the same as in Gen. i. 16, that the sun is
the greatest of all, the moon the next, and the stars taken together compose
but the third degree. Would men impartially consider what they are
demanding, when they claim that the language of Scripture should be an
anticipation of modern philosophical discovery, they would see that to
insist upon those demands is throwing the evidence of revelation under th'e
feet of Infidels. The grand design, above all others in excellence and glory,
is thus declared : " These things are written, that ye may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that, believing, ye may have life
through his name." S

258 CEEATION OF MAN.
understood by a million and a half of people ? To my
judgment, this circumstance carries with it the force of
demonstration. The same style is shown in the second and the subsequent
narratives. " The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." To the
men of primitive time this statement would be sufficient ;
and they would probably form a conception of some kind of
moulding, as in pottery, one of the earhest arts ; which
indeed we actuahy find in the Grecian fable of Prometheus :
and that, into this mechanical formation the powers of life
were infused, as they are indicated by respiration. The
style of the Scriptures abundantly shows that the Hebrews
derived their conception of the intellectual principle in man,
from the phenomena of respiration. So far only could the
men of the first ages proceed: but we are enabled to
develop, out of this little statement, one of the most inter
esting facts in physiology, and which could not have been
known till the chemistry of our own days was, by God's
benignant providence, bestowed upon men. By the Hebrew
term {aphar) rendered dust, is signified the general soh
with which men were always familiar; the mingled sand,
clay, and hme. Now the fact is, that the human body, as
that of ah other animals, is composed of the same sub
stances as those which constitute large and essential parts
of the mineral kingdom; nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, and
hydrogen ; potash, soda, phosphorus, sulphur, lime, and iron.
Thus does the most accurate science confirm the declara
tions of Scripture, if we only take care to understand them
rightly. Again ; " The Lord God said, It is not good that the man
should be alone; I wih make him a help, meet for him."
In the fact itseh there is no difficulty ; but it is the mode of

CEEATI0N. 259
introduction upon which we are remarking. The statement
of the fact has been cavilled at by inconsiderate men. But
I would ask any person of reflection and feeling, whether
the method described of bringing the female man (isha, vira,
hommesse, mcinnin,) into being, is not as wise and benign as
it is simple ? The first female must have been the subject
of an immediate creation, in some way : and can imagina
tion frame a mode of origin so weh adapted to endear her
to her conjugate, as that creative power should form her out
of his actual bodily substance ? Under the dress of a child
like narrative, we discover a proceeding of exquisite wisdom
and effective tenderness.*
* Upon the genius and character of the initial Mosaic records, I earnestly
solicit my reader to give his attention to the beautiful and eloquent Address
of the Rev. William Vernon Harcourt, to the British Association, at its
meeting in Birmingham, Aug. 26, 1839. It is excellently reported in the
Athenajum for Aug. 31 ; and has since been published authentically in the
eighth Volume of the Reports of the Association. With all respect for
opponents, I cannot but say that this Address and the many other labours
in science, especially Geology and its alliances, by which that amiable and
accomplished man has distinguishod himself, form a mighty shield of
defence against the efforts to disparage Geology, which some estimable
clergymen and others mentioned in former parts of this volume have unhap
pily put forth. Sec. ed. Yet with the freedom which I am sure that he
will not only permit, but encourage, I shall offer a remark on a part of his
Address, at the close of the Supplementary Note R, upon Professor
Powell's Solution of these difficulties. The following passage, from one of
Dr. Chalmers's earliest works, may calm the apprehensions of some pious
persons. They sufficiently show that, in the judgment of that accomplished
man, a negative answer to his questions would by no means invole any
irreverence to the authority of the Scriptures. " Does Moses ever say that,
when God created the heavens and the earth, he did more at the time
alluded to than transform them out of previously existing materials ? Or
d es he ever say, that there was not an interval of many ages betwixt tbe
first act of creation, described in the first verse of the Book of Genesis, and
eaid to have been performed at the beginning, and those more detailed
operations, the account of which commences at the second verse, and which
S 2

260 DEATH BEFOEE THE FALL.
I. We proceed now to inquire what solution the Holy
Scriptures afford of that which to many appears a difficulty,
not only formidable, but insuperable ; the dominion of pain
and death over the animal creation, in ah periods of its
existence.* The nature of this difficulty was stated in Lecture III.
and facts were detailed, both in the disclosures of geological
investigation, and in the present condition of animated
nature, which compel us to admit that production and
growth in ah organized beings have their correlates in
decay and dissolution.
But the general opinion has been that, before our first
are described to us as having been performed in so many days ? Or finally,
does he ever make us to understand that the genealogies of man went
any further than to fix the antiquity of the species, and of consequence that
they left the antiquity of the globe a free subject for the speculations of
philosophers?" " Evid. and Auth. ofthe Christian Revel." p. 204.
* See an excellent work of Christian philosophy, which happily unites
free and powerful reasoning, with the spirit of reverential piety, " Moral
Agency and Man as a Moral Agent ;" by William Mac Combie : London,
1842. In Part ii. Section iii. this subject is carefully investigated. — " These
astonishing disclosures [ — those of Geology, — ] open to us an entirely new
view ofthe constitution ofthe universe: and in casting about for a solution
of the (as it seems to our notions) awful and anomalous fact of the universal
prevalence of sufFering and death, the idea presents itself, that trial and
pain may be indispensable to the development of mind, as we have every
reason to believe they are in every system of moral agency. It has been
generally assumed, but unphilosophically, we think, and certainly without
any authority from Scripture, that the original state of man must have
been one of unmingled enjoyment ; and preachers and poets have strained
their imaginations and exhausted nature, for images to picture its felicity. —
We are not entitled to pronounce that the most anomalous of all the modes
of suffering which come under our view, that of the lower animals, is to
them an evil ; seeing we know not how far it may contribute to enhance
their enjoyment ; and are ignorant whether they may not have a future
destitnaion, in regard to which it may be subserving the most important
purposes."

DEATH BEFOEE THE FALL. 261
parents feh from innocence and happiness, death and its
harbingers had no place in the inferior animal creation.
To maintain consistency, it ought further to have been
affirmed, that the vegetable kingdom was also preserved
from decay, withering, and dying. But men have been
probably withheld from setting up such a theory, by consi
deration of the manifest absurdities into which it would
have led its supporters ; and by the belief that plants,
though possessing an irritability to which it is difficult to
refuse the idea of some kind of sensitiveness, yet appear not
to have any consciousness or intellectual faculties.
Our first inquiry most naturally should be, whether we
find any information, direct or indirect, in the original
document of inspiration. I think that we do ; not indeed
directly, but indirectly, and by such an implication as is
equal to a formal assertion. The constitution of animated
beings, founded upon the divine wih, is expressed in the
words, "Be fruitful, and multiply." This involves the pre
servation of species, but a succession of individuals ; which
would necessarily imply a departure of precedent indivi
duals. The law of organization, from the embryo formation
to the animal maturity, is carried on in the way of a con
tinual separation of particles and their replacement by new
ones which the nutritive process incessantly furnishes. To
this process, impassable hmits are set, by the most certain
laws of the Creator's ordination; those of gravity and
chemical action. To suppose that those laws should be
abrogated, or what would amount to the same thing, be
perpetually suspended, would involve a contradiction ; it
would be abolishing the very essential condition of organized
existence. When a certain point was reached, separation,
changed combination, and dissolution of the molecules,
must take place: the rudiment and sure introducer of
death.

262 DEATH WITHOUT SIN.
"Were it not so, were animated beings to increase and
multiply without the departure of the preceding generations,
they would, at no immense distance of time, go beyond the
provision of nutritive support, and the hmits of appropriate
habitation: the land, the air, and the waters, would be
filled ; food would fah, and death with aggravated suffering
would be the infallible consequence. This terrible consum
mation would the more speedily ensue, as, by the supposition
made, the only means of nutrition would he in vegetable
matter. The threatening of death, upon a violation of the easy
test of obedience, seems very clearly to imply, that the
subjects of this law had a knowledge of what death was ;
otherwise they could not have known what the threatening
meant. The idea of their having had set before them, as
;, the penalty of violating the law, an unknown and undefined
suffering, does not seem congruous to the wisdom and dig
nity of legislation.
It would next be proper to ascertain whether there are
any passages of Scripture which affirm, or imply, that the
animals inferior to man were created in a state not liable to
death. This, if supposed, would involve the necessity of
ah being herbivorous ; and further, that there were no
minute and even invisible animals,- inhabiting the leaves
and fruits of plants, and which the feeders on vegetables
must kill by myriads. I must own that I know of no
such passage.
If, however, any should contend that an insuperable diffi
culty hes in the occurrence of pain and death to animals,
irrespectively of moral evil, I humbly think that they ought
to satisfy themselves with the spirit and principle of our
Lord's reply to a not dissimilar question. " His disciples
asked him, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind ? Jesus answered, Neither hath this

DEATH THE PENALTY OF SIN. 263
man sinned nor his parents ; but [this was appointed] that
the works of God should be manifested in him."*
It is indeed an essential part of revealed truth that, " by
one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ;" and
that thus " by man came death."f But it appears to me a
fair interpretation of these passages, and a fuh admission
of the doctrine concerning death as the penalty of sin, to
consider them as declaring, that in this manner death
acquired dominion over the first man and his posterity;
that is, the human race universahy. The entire view of the
case leads us to believe that, in the state of pristine purity,
the bodily constitution of man was exempted from the law
of progress towards dissolution which belonged to the
inferior animals. It must have been maintained in that
distinguished peculiarity, by means to us unknown : and it
would seem probable that, had not man fahen by transgres
sion, he and each of his posterity would, after faithfully
sustaining an individual probation, have passed through a
change without dying, and have been exalted to a more
perfect state of existence.
In addition to these considerations, it ought to be
especially recohected, that the anatomical structure of the
larger part of animal species presents demonstration that
they were created to hve upon animal food.J There are
* John ix. 2, 3. t Rom. vi. 12. 1 Cor. xv. 21.
X Fourth ed. " Of any organized being," each part taken separately,
indicates and gives the key to a knowledge of all the rest. Thus, if the
stomach of an animal is so organized as only to digest fresh animal food,
its jaws must also be so contrived as to devour such prey ; its claws, to
seize and tear it ; its teeth, to cut and divide it ; the whole structure of its
locomotive organs, to pursue and obtain it ; its organs of sense, to perceive
it from afar ; and nature must even have placed in its brain the necessary
instinct to enable it to conceal itself and to bring its victim within its toils.
" Geology, Introductory, Descriptive, and Practical ;" by Prof. Ansted :

264 NATTJBAL HABITS OF ANIMALS.
those who have affirmed the contrary, and have supposed
that, by persevering practice, hons, and wolves, and ah
carnivorous creatures might be brought to hve on a vegeta
ble diet. Every physiologist must smile at this monstrous
absurdity. A few species indeed are omnivorous ; and thig
circumstance has misled some persons. Cases also some
times occur, in which the violation of natural habits has
been imposed upon domesticated animals, by artificial means :
but the healthy condition is sacrificed, and the effect is not
permanent. It fohows, that those predictions of the peace
and happiness of the Messiah's reign, which picture the
ferocious and venomous animals as becoming herbivor
ous and harmless, must be understood, as they are by
Christian expositors generahy, as beautiful poetry, express
ing the moral influence of the gospel.*
III. In the fourth and fifth of these lectures, several
facts were brought forward, tending to place the natural
history of the earth in a position of variance with the
generally received behef concerning the Deluge, which is
so important a part of the scriptural history of the human
race. As I cannot expect that those facts can be distinctly
recohected, it wih be proper to recapitulate them in the
briefest manner consistent with making them intehigible.
That enumeration brought before us the fohowing state
ments : that, through the whole process of stratification,
from the most ancient to the latest, the mineral character
of each stratum proves the existence of contemporaneous
dry land, as weh as of depressed areas filled with water ; that
1844, p. 74. The law of nature stated in the first sentence of this citation
comprehends every order of corporeal animated creatures, and is demon
strated in the structure and the habits of every species.
* Upon this subject, I beg to refer to Dr. Buckland's recently published
Sermon on " The Sentence of Death ;" and to the Supplementary Note A
of this volume.

evidence of peevious floods. 265
the indubitable rehcs of once animated creatures, in a great
variety of species, from the earlier formations to the latest,
penetrate through one or more of the next superincumbent
strata, so that there never occur contiguous beds of mineral
deposit which fah to be connected, (if I may use the phrase,
dovetailed,) with each other : giving the result that, from
the unspeakably remote point of time in which vestiges of
living nature first occur, there never was a period when
life was extinct upon the surface of the globe ; or, we might
more properly say, when hving creatures did not abundantly
exist : that the vast masses of rohed pebbles and stones of
ah sizes which have been spread over large districts, especi
ahy of this northern hemisphere, belong, not to any one
transient flood, but to different eras of time, at great re
spective distances ; some of the earhest never having been
overflowed by a succeeding flood, and each for itself indi
cating the action of water, in one direction, through very
long periods of time, in contradistinction to the idea of a
deluge so brief as that of Noah, enduring but httle more
than three hundred days : that the cones of cinder and
other volcanic products, over a considerable district in the
south of Prance, are accompanied by evidences of an anti
quity reaching much further back than the date of Noah's
deluge ; and that these cones of loose and hght materials
have never been exposed to the action of a rush or any even
moderate force of water, or they would have been inevitably
washed away. These geological facts stand thus powerfully
in the way of admitting that there ever was a universal
deluge. Some other circumstances also were briefly alluded
to, belonging to other departments of natural science. One
of these was the impossibility of either the vegetable or the
animal creations having ah proceeded from one spot as a
centre of ancestry ; but that the surface of the earth is
distributed into several distinct regions, each of which has

266 ANTIQUITY OF TEOPICAL TEEES.
its appropriate and exclusive tenantry, both vegetable and
animal. It was also remarked how utterly impossible it
would be for the inhabitants of many of those regions to
have migrated from various others, or even to exist in
them, if by an instantaneous miracle they were transported
thither. We adverted to the difficulty, arising from the
quantity of water requisite to cover the entire globe and to
overflow the highest mountains, which would be an addition
to the present ocean of eight times its actual quantity. Por
both the production and the subsequent removal of this
body of water, we can imagine ho cause but the miraculous
intervention of omnipotence ; whereas the narrative in the
Book of Genesis assigns two natural causes, raised to an
extraordinary degree of action. Notice was also taken of
the animals preserved with Noah in the ark ; the number of
existing species, so far exceeding what the commentators
on the Bible have taken into their calculations ; the very
different kinds of receptacle which would be necessary, the
amount of food, the necessity of ventilation and the cleaning
out of the stables or dens ; the provisions for repthes and
insects ; the fact that some fish and shell animals cannot
live in salt water, and others not in fresh. The difficulty
also was mentioned, if we suppose that the resting place of
the ark was the Mount Ararat pointed out by tradition,
of conceiving how the eight human persons and their
accompanying animals could descend adown the precipitous
cliffs ; a difficulty which amounts to an impossibility, unless
we cah in the aid of divine power, operating in the way of
miracle. Another circumstance was adduced as proving that the
Deluge of Noah was not absolutely universal : the existence
of trees in the equatorial regions of Africa and of South
America, which, by the known method of ascertaining the
age of exogenous trees, are shown to be of an antiquity

consistency of teuth. 267
which goes farther back than to the date of the Deluge.
What was said in that lecture, and wih be advanced in the
Note on this subject,* renders it needless to add any more.
I may also remind my auditors that the opinion which
ascribes to the Deluge the vast amount and variety of
animal and vegetable remains found in a fosil state, in ah
parts of the earth, is flagrantly inconsistent with a correct
attention to the circumstances in which such remains occur.
From any of these considerations, the probability of a
universal contemporaneous flood is, to say the least, rendered
very smah ; but, their united force appears to me decisive
of the negative to this question.
I cannot doubt but that some alarm and anxiety may be
produced in the minds of many, by the hearing of these
statements. They wih be thought to be in direct contra
diction to the sacred narrative : and we cannot justify to
ourselves any twisting and wresting of that narrative in
order to bring it into an apparent accordance with the doc
trines of human phhosophy. But let my friends dismiss
their fears. The Author of nature and the Author of reve
lation is the same. He cannot be at variance with himself.
The book of his works and the book of his word cannot be
contradictory. On the one hand, we find certain appear
ances in the kingdoms of nature, which stand upon various
and independent grounds of sensible proof; and, on the
other hand, are declarations of Scripture seeming to be
irreconcileable with those appearances, which are indeed
ascertained facts. But we are sure that Truth is immutable;
and that one truth can never contradict another. Different
parts of its vast empire may and do lie far asunder, and
the intermediate portions may be covered with more or less
* See Supplementary Note, L. But the reader will especially observe
the addition to that Note in this [the third] edition.

268 universality of the deluge.
of obscurity ; but they are under the same sceptre, and it
is of itself and antecedently certain that the facts of nature
and the laws that govern them are in perfect unison with
every other part of the wih of Him that made them. There
are declarations of Scripture which seem thus to oppose
facts, of which we have the same kind of sensible evidence
that we have of the letters and words of the sacred volume ;
and which we understand by the same intellectual faculties
by which we apprehend the sense of that volume. Now
those appearances, — facts I must cah them, — have been
scrutinized with the utmost jealousy and rigour : and they
stand impregnable ; their evidence is made brighter by
every assault. We must then turn to the other side of our
research ; we must admit the probability that we have not
rightly interpreted those portions of Scripture. We must
retrace our steps. Let us resort to this renewed examina
tion in the great instance before us.
I. The expressions of universahty, with regard to the
extent of the Deluge, are these. " The waters prevailed
exceedingly upon the earth, and all the high hills that were
under the whole heaven were covered."
To those who have studied the phraseology of Scripture,
there is no rule of interpretation more certain than this,
that universal terms are often used to signify only a very large
amount in number or quantity. The fohowing passages, taken
chiefly from the writings of Moses, wih serve as instances :
— "And the famine was upon ah the face of the earth:"*
yet it is self-evident that only those countries are meant
which lay within a practicable distance from Egypt, for the
transport of so bulky an article as corn, carried, it is highly
probable, on the backs of asses and camels. — " Ah the cattle
of Egypt died;" yet the connexion shows that this referred to
* Gen. xii. 56, 57.

UNTVEESALITY OF THE DELUGE. 269
some only, though no doubt very many ; for, in subsequent
parts of the same chapter, the cattle of the king and people
of Egypt are mentioned in a way which shows that there were
stih remaining sufficient to constitute a considerable part of
the nation's property,* — " The hah smote every herb of the
field, and brake every tree of the field ;" but a few days
after, we find the devastation of the locusts thus described ;
" They did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of
the trees, which the hah had left."f — "Ah the people
brake off the golden ear-rings which were in their ears,
and brought them unto Aaron : " J meaning undoubtedly
a large number of persons, but very far from being the
whole, or even a majority, of the people ; as we may reason
ably infer from the circumstance that the stroke of punitive
justice, for this act of idolatry, feh upon only three thousand
persons, but the entire number of the Israelites at that time
was a million and a half, and of them six hundred thousand
were grown men trained to arms. — " This day whl I begin
to put the fear of thee and the dread of thee upon the face
of the nations under ah the heavens : " § yet this declaration
respects only the nations of Canaan and those lying upon
its frontier, all being within a very smah geographical dis
trict. We likewise find the phrase, "under heaven," em
ployed by the insphed writers to signify an extent of
country, large indeed, but falling exceedingly short of a
geographical universahty : as, " I gave my heart to seek
and search out by wisdom concerning ah things that are
done under heaven.  There were dwelling at Jerusalem,
Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven*'
With this passage is combined a geographical enumeration,
which points out the extent of country intended, as being
* Exod. ix. 6, 10, 19—22, 25; xiv. 26, 28.
f lb. x. 5, 15. X Ib- xxxi>- 3-
§ Deut. ii. 25.

270 LIMITED EXPLANATION OF
from Italy to Persia, and from Egypt to the Black Sea : and
thus a probable elucidation is given to the dec'laration of
the apostle, that " the gospel was preached to every creature
which is under heaven." * — " Te shah be plucked from off
the land whither thou goest to possess it, and the Lord
shall scatter thee among ah peoples, from one end of the
earth even unto the other end of the earth : " f a prophetic
description of the dispersion of the Jewish people, as the
punishment of their apostasy from God and rejection of
the Messiah, but no one can regard the expression as
denoting a proper geographical universality. — " The fame
of David went forth into ah the lands [the plural of the
word generahy rendered the earth~\, and Jehovah put the
fear of him upon ah the nations. "J This expression cannot
be taken as reaching beyond the range of Syria, Armenia,
Mesopotamia, Arabia, and Egypt. — " And all the earth
sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom." §
This cannot be reasonably understood of any kind of resort
but chat of embassies and comphmentary visits, from sove
reigns and states within such a distance, as might have
appeared immense in those times, but which was small com
pared with even the then inhabited parts of the earth. The
queen of Sheba was, we may think undoubtedly, the prin
cipal of these visitants. Our Lord himself condescended
to use the style of the Jews, in saying of her, that "the
queen of the south — came from the uttermost parts of the
earth, to hear the wisdom of Solomon." || Tet her country
was on either the Eastern or the Western side of the
Arabian Gulf, about twelve or fourteen hundred miles south
of Jerusalem ; a mere trifle compared with distances familiar
to us in our days.
* Eccl. i. 13. Acts ii. 5. Col. i. 23.
t Deut. xxviii. 63, 64. % 1 Chron. xiv. 17.
§ 1 Kings x. 24. | Matt. .xii. 42.

UNIYEESAL TEEMS. 271
Passages are numerous, in which the phrase " ah the
earth" signifies only the country of Palestine.* In a few
places it denotes the Chaldean empire :f in one, that of
Alexander.;): Prom these instances of the scriptural idiom in the apph
cation of phraseology simhar to that in the narrative con
cerning the Plood, I humbly think, that those terms do not
obhge us to understand a hteral universahty ; so that we
are exonerated from some otherwise insuperable difficulties
in Natural History and Geology.§ If so much of the earth
was overflowed as was occupied by the human race, both
the physical and the moral ends of that awful visitation
were answered.
Some writers have taken great pains in calculating the
numbers of mankind at the epoch of the Deluge, and they
have brought out an amount for the human population
immensely larger than that which has subsisted in any suc
ceeding period, down to the present time. But apart from
other errors in the statistical principles upon which they
have proceeded, they appear to have overlooked two ele
ments of calculation. The first is the apparent paucity of
births which not obscurely shows itself in the genealogical
table (Gen. v. 3 — 28), almost ah the history left to us of
the period from Adam to Noah. We may not irreverently
conjecture that, in addition to other reasons, especiahy the
preservation of a correct tradition concerning the most

* Deut. xxxiv. 1 . Is. vii. 24 ; a. 14. Jer. i. 18 ; iv. 20 ; viii. 16 ; xii.
12; xl. 4. Zeph. i. 18; iii. 19. Zech. xiv. 10.
f Jer. li. 7, 25, 49. J Dan. ii. 39.
§ Dr. George Young, though his ideas concerning the Flood appear to
my humble judgment to be very extravagant, feels the necessity of main
taining that " all, every one, the whole, and such like expressions are very
often used to denote a great many, or u large proportion." " Script.
Geol." p. 27.

272 ANTEDILUVIAN POPULATION.
important rehgious truths, one motive in the plan of Pro
vidence for the longevity of the antedhuvian patriarchs was,
to compensate by the length of individual hves, for the
slowness of multiplication. The second consideration which
those calculators have neglected, is the effect of moral de
pravity in diminishing the fecundity of the human species.
There are facts in modern history which exemplify this
principle. The rapid decrease of the population of the
South Sea Islands, within little more than half a century,
is a striking instance. Of such depopulation, there are
two causes : the one, extreme licentiousness ; the other,
tyrannous, anarchical, and murderous cruelty. That the
latter state of mankind existed in the antedhuvian period,
is expressly recorded (chap. vi. 11) : and the former is not
without intimation (verses 2 and 4), as indeed from the too
weh known tendencies of corruption in society, it may be
very certainly inferred. The consequences would be, that
few chhdren would be born ; many would die of diseases,
or of sheer neglect, or by actual murder ; and the mutual
destruction of grown persons would be very great. It is
an instance in confirmation of this reasoning, that no
chhdren of Noah are mentioned tih he was five hundred
years old ; and that, a century later, his three sons, each
having a wife, had no chhdren. Now we cannot but sup
pose that the family of Noah was, at least, among the most
virtuous of those which then existed; and therefore was,
upon the whole, more likely to have become numerous than
the generality of others. Prom the whole, I humbly think
it reasonable to infer, that the human population had not
spread itself far from its original seat, the country of Eden ;
that its number was really smah; and that it was in a
course of rapid progress towards an extreme reduction,
which would have issued in a not very distant extinction.
The difficulties also seem to be insuperable, with respect

ANIMALS IN THE ABK. 273
to the animals saved in the ark, on the supposition that
every species had its representatives. But why may we not
derive our explanation of this part of the statement, from
the general rule of the Hebrew and Hebraistic diction,
with respect to universal terms ? A confirmation of the
principle we may find in the description of Peter's em
blematical vision, presenting to bim "ah the four-footed
animals of the earth, and the whd beasts, and the creeping
things, and the birds of the heaven."* The design of this
revelation was to convince him that the Mosaic distinction
into clean and unclean was by the gospel abohshed : there
fore, a representation of some principal animals, under each
of the two* divisions, and those such as were weh known to
the apostle, would be ah that was needed. To assume a
literal universahty would involve the idea of a crowding
and compressing such as would destroy ah distinctness.
In the case of Noah, we may understand the animals pre
served with him in the ark as having been those connected
more or less with man, by domestication, and by other
modes of subserviency to his present and future welfare.
This idea answers to the enumeration given, which only
comprises the four descriptions : — " whd animals," such
as we now call game, serviceable to man but not tamed ; —
"cattle," the larger domesticated mammifers, such as the ox,
the camel, the horse, the ass, the sheep, and several species
of the deer and goat genera; — "the creeping things," the
smaher quadrupeds ; — and " birds," the peaceable, useful,
and pleasing kinds.f
But an important observation presses upon us. If, by
the Ararat mentioned in scripture, be understood the moun
tain of that name in Armenia, it would inevitably fohow
that a deluge capable of surmounting that, must have been,
* Acts x. 12, — Tiavra ra rtrparroSa — . f Gen. viii. 14.
T

274 DESCENT 0E THE ABK.
by the laws of the motion of fluids, universal with regard
to the earth. Against that supposition, the impossibility
of descent presents itself, as has been already mentioned.
But St. Jerome says, that the name Ararat was given
generahy to the mountains of Armenia : and Shuckford, a
judicious writer, who hved long before geological studies
were awakened, adduces reasons against the common opi
nion, and supports the idea of the ark's having grounded
much farther to the East.* This therefore might be on a
mountain, or a mountainous range, but not so high and
precipitous as to preclude an easy descent into the lower
and more cultivable grounds.
Let us now take the seat of the antedhuvian population
to have been in Western Asia, in which a large district,
even in the present day, hes considerably below the level of
the sea-.f It must not be forgotten that six weeks of con-
* " Sacred and Proph. His. Connected ;" vol.i. pp. 28—104; ed. 173!.
A learned writer (but who, I have no knowledge or conjecture) in the
Congregational Magazine for May, 1840, has urged other cogent reasons,
geographical and historical, against the supposition that the Ararat, usually
so called, was the resting-place of the ark.
Paravay, in his work on the " Origin of Arithmetical Figures and of
Letters, Introd." p. 5, maintains the position that the ark rested in the
western part of the country now called Thibet ; and this opinion obtains
strong confirmation from Gen. xi. 2. ' They journeyed from the east, and
found a plain in the land of Shinar.' Fr. de Paula de Schrank, " Comment.
in Genesin ;" Sulzbach, 1835. The region thus pointed out is that of
the vast Himmalayah chain, a very conceivable boundary on the east for
the diluvial waters, and far beyond the probable extent of the then
inhabited earth."
t The site of Mesopotamia and Persia, and. part of Afghanistan and
Turkestan, taken generally ; the countries laid down in Lechner's Map of
Central Asia [Mittel-Asien, so called in reference to the knowledge of the
ancients]; Leipzig, 1823.
A more precise statement is desirable ; and this I derive from the
Preliminary Discourses to "Black's Atlas," Edinburgh, 1840, p. 23 ; bur.

QUESTION OF SITE. 275
tinued rain would not give an amount of water forty times
that which fell on the first or a subsequent day ; for evapo
ration would be continuahy carrying up the water, to be
condensed and to fah again : so that the same mass of water
would return many times. If, then, in addition to the tre
mendous rain, we suppose an elevation of the bed of the
Persian and Indian Seas, or a subsidence of the inhabited
land toward the south, we shah have sufficient causes, in the
hand of almighty justice, for submerging the district, cover
ing its hills; and destroying ah hving beings within its
hmits, except those whom divine mercy preserved in the
corrected from Dr. von Schubert's own work (" Reise in das Morgenland,
in d. J." 1836, 1837 ; vol. iii, p. 87, Erlangen, 1 839 ; a beautiful example
of philosophical, tasteful, and Christian travel.) " In the S. W. of Asia
there are two remarkable regions, depressed below the level of the sea. The
one of these comprises the basin of the Caspian Sea, and a considerable tract
of country to the N, and N.E., the depression of which amounts to 101-2
Russian feet. The other includes the Dead Sea and the valley of the
river Jordan ; but the exact amount of its depression has not been ascer
tained. Prof, von Schubert estimated (for his barometer had not sufficient
height of tube) the Dead Sea to be 600 French feet (about 640 English,)
and the sea of Tabaria (Tiberias, the Lake of Galilee,) by barometrical
measurement, for here the instrument would serve, 535 Fr. (=570 Engl.)
below the level of the Mediterranean ; but M. Russeger estimates the Dead
Sea, at its northern end, to be no less than 1319 French, or nearly 1400
English feet below that level." However, it must be observed, that the
result of numerous observations, estimates, and adjustments, by the fore-
mentioned and other scientific travellers, is to cast doubt upon the
accuracy of the preceding statements of number ; while the general fact is
well established, a low position of the Lake of Galilee and the bed of the
Jordan, and much lower still, of the Dead Sea. See an elaborate paper on
this subject from Poggendorf and Berghaus, in Jameson's "Edinburgh
Journal ;" July, 1840.
It is now fl843) ascertained, by the trigonometrical Burvey of Lieutenant
Symonds, that the Dead Sea is 1311 feet below the level of the Mediter.
ranean. M. Berthou, from barometrical calculation, had stated it to be
1332.
T 2

276 STILLINOFLEET.
ark. The draining off of the waters would be effected, by
a return of the bed of the sea to a lower level, or by the
elevation of some tracts of land, which would leave chan
nels and slopes for the larger part of the water to flow back
into the Indian Ocean, whhe the lower part remained a
great lake, or an inland sea, the Caspian.*
I may now adduce citations from divines and sacred
scholars whose eminence none wih dispute, and who wrote
without the least knowledge of geological arguments.
Pew men possessed a more powerful understanding or a
finer judgment than Bishop Stihingfleet. He makes the
fohowing remarks : —
" I cannot see any urgent necessity from the Scripture,
to assert that the Plood did spread itself over ah the sur
face of the earth. That ah mankind, those in the ark
excepted, were destroyed by it, is most certain, according
to the Scriptures. The flood was universal as to mankind :
but from thence fohows no necessity at ah of asserting the
universahty of it as to the globe of the earth, unless it be
sufficiently proved that the whole earth was peopled before
the Plood : which I despair of ever seeing proved. And
* Fourth ed. This is not the only mode in which an elevation of a vast
body of waters may be conceived as probable, and as adequate to the pro
duction of the effect. It is established by abundant evidence that, through
a period geologically recent, a district lying immediately north of the
primeval seat of mankind, was occupied by an inland sea, more than equal
in extent to the existing Mediterranean. The shores and basin of this
ancient sea are incontrovertibly determined by littoral and marine remains.
It is also certain that repeated elevations and subsidences of the region still
further to the north, have taken place. One such elevation, proceeding
gradually for forty days, would throw southward such a body of water as
would produce the effect described ; and the cessation might leave the
separate basins of the Aral, the Caspian, and the Euxine Seas, in a state to
be brought to their present form by the progress of evaporation and
drving.

poole. 277
what reason can there be to extend the Plood beyond the
occasion of it, which was the corruption of mankind ? — I
grant, as far as the flood extended, ah these [the animals]
were destroyed ; but I see no reason to extend the destruc
tion of these beyond that compass and space of the earth
where men inhabited; because the punishment upon the
beasts was occasioned by, and could not but be concomitant
with, the destruction of mankind. But (the occasion of
the Deluge being the sin of man, who was punished in the
beasts that were destroyed for his sake, as weh as in him
self,) where the occasion was not, as where there were ani
mals and no men, there seems no necessity of extending the
Plood thither."
The bishop further argues that the reason for "preserving
hving creatures in the ark," was that there might be a
stock of the tame and domesticated animals that should be
immediately "serviceable for the use of men after the flood:
which was certainly the main thing looked at in the preser
vation of them in the ark, that men might have all of them
ready for their use after the flood ; which could not have
been, had not the several kinds been preserved in the ark,
although we suppose them not destroyed in all parts of the
world."* The eminent nonconformist divine, Matthew Poole, wrote
as follows, in his Latin Synopsis of Critical Writers upon
the Bible.
" It is not to be supposed that the entire globe of the
earth was covered with water. Where was the need of
overwhelming those regions in which there were no human
beings ? It would be highly unreasonable to suppose
that mankind had so increased, before the Deluge, as to
have penetrated to ah the corners of the earth. It is
* " Origines Sacras," Book iii. chap. iv. ed. 1709, p. 337.

278 poole.
indeed not probable that they had extended themselves
beyond the limits of Syria and Mesopotamia. Absurd it
would be to affirm that the effects of the punishment in
flicted upon men alone, apphed to places in which there
were no men. If then we should entertain the behef that
not so much as the hundredth part of the globe was over
spread with water, still the Deluge would be universal,
because the extirpation took effect upon ah the part of the
world which was inhabited. If we take this ground, the
difficulties which some have raised about the Deluge, fall
away as inapphcable and mere cavils; and irreligious persons
have no reason left them, for doubting of the truth of the
Holy Scriptures."*
The same pious and'learned author repeats the sentiment,
in his English Annotations, pubhshed after his death.
" Peradventure this Plood might not be simply universal
over the whole earth, but only over the habitable world,
where either men or beasts hved ; which was as much as
either the meritorious cause of the Plood, the sins of men ;
or the end of it, the destruction of ah men and beasts,
required."! To the same effect, Le Clerc and the younger Eosen-
miiller might be quoted ; but it cannot be necessary. Tet
* Non putandum est totum terras globum aquis tectum fuisse. Quid
opus erat illas mergere terras ubi homines non erant ? Stultum est putare ante
diluvium homines ita multiplicatos fuisse ut omnes terra? angulos pervaserint,
cum ne Syria? quidem et Mesopotamia? fines forsan excesserant. Absurdum
autem est dicere, ubi nullse hominum sedes, illic etiam viguisse effectus
pcena? solis hominibus inflictse. Licet ergo credamus ne centesimam quidem
orbis partem aquis fuisse obrutam, erit nihilominus diluvium universale,
quia clades totum orbem habitatum oppressit. Sic si statuerimus, jam
cessabunt inepta? ista? et futiles qusestiones quas nonnulli de Diluvio move-
runt, et simul improbis de Sacrarum Literarum veritate dubitandi omnis
prseripietur occasio." "Synops. in Gen." vii. 19.
f On the same passage. Mr. Poole died in 1679.

PEICHAED. 279
I may add that my hearers and readers wih derive addi
tional satisfaction from perusing the observations on this
subject of Dr. Prichard, a man whose amiable and Chris
tian character adds a bright ornament to his scientific
and philological eminence. He states the difficulties,
and methods for removing them. But though he de
clines giving a decided opinion, the inclination of his judg
ment appears to be in favour of the limited locality of
the Deluge.*
But, I almost hear the exclamation from a thousand
tongues, What are you doing ? Whither are you driving ?
Are you not trampling upon, not the inspiration only, but
the veracity of the Holy Scriptures ? Are you not repre
senting the God of truth, speaking through the medium of
his inspired servants, as uttering that which is not true ?
Let it be freely admitted that it is no part of the design of
God, in giving a revelation of his moral will, to commu
nicate lessons of physical philosophy; yet this does not
involve the admission that, when the instruments of revela
tion advert to physical causes and operations, they should
not speak according to the reality of things. A weh
informed and correct speaker, when he is talking freely
about common affairs, and when nothing is farther from his
mind than to be teaching history or geography, yet whl not
so express himself as to imply ignorance of historical or
geographical facts. Surely we cannot think less of the
inspired writers. " If Moses professes by divine inspira
tion to give an account of the manner in which the world
was framed, he must describe the facts as they occurred."t
This may seem an unanswerable objection ; but wih it
* See his " Researches into the Physical History of Mankind ; vol, 1,
pp. 98—102.
+ The excellent and amiable man, the Rev. Richard Watson, in his
" Theological Institutes ;" vol. i. p. 278.

280 APPBEHENSIONS ALLAYED.
stand before a fair examination ? I think not ; for two
reasons. 1. It is impossible to deny that the Scripture does use
language, even concerning the highest and most awful of
objects, God and his perfections and operations, which we
dare not say is literally true, or that it is according to the
reahty of the things spoken of. I entreat renewed atten
tion to the evidence which I have adduced. Wih any man
deny, that the Scripture, in places innumerable, particularly
in the earher books, speaks of God as having the bodily
form and members of a man, and the mental passions and
imperfect affections of men ? Or wih any say that such
descriptions and ahusions are properly true ; that they are
according to the reahty of things ? Shah we, can we,
believe that the infinite, Eternal, and unchangeable Being,
comes and goes, walks and flies, smehs, hears, and sees, and
has heart and bowels, hands, arms, and feet ? Or that he
deliberates, inquires, suspects, fears, ascertains, grieves,
repents, and is prevailed upon by importunity to repent
again and resume a rejected purpose ? Do not the same
Scriptures furnish us amply with the proper exponents of
those figurative, and, strictly speaking, degrading terms ?
Do they not, for example, teh us : " God is not a man, that
he should he ; neither the son of man, that he should
repent. Hath he said, and shah he not do ? Or hath he
spoken, and shall he not make it good ?  1 am Jehovah :
I change not."* What then wih ye do, ye worthy men
that make this objection? Must ye not admit that the
language of inspiration is couched on the plan of the boldest
figures ? Such figures as, if we were not protected by this
authority, we should not dare to employ ? And do ye not
always explain that language by stripping off the figurative
coverings, aud drawing forth the simple truth, which ye
* Numb, xxiii. 19. Mai. iii. 6.

FINAL BESULT. 281
then express in some kind of abstract phrase, metaphysi
cally more accurate, but far less mighty to impress the
human mind ? — Tou are convinced that this is necessary ;
and you do not for a moment admit that, in doing this, you
derogate from the truth and inspiration of the Bible. Apply
then your just methods of interpretation to this case : I ask
no more. Mr. Bomaine lays down the principle, in saying,
"The Holy Spirit does not reveal God to us as he is in
himself, but as he stands related to us :" and this know
ledge is best conveyed to mankind in the style of condescen
sion to our own low estate of acts and habits, feelings and
language. If the view of the range of inspiration, that its proper
and sole reference is to religious subjects, be rejected, it will
inevitably follow that we must impute error to the Spirit of
God.  Abhorred be the thought !  We must suppose
to be physicahy correct those declarations concerning the
astral worlds, the phenomena of the atmosphere, and the
human frame, which have been mentioned : we must regard
the inferior creatures as " made to be taken and destroyed," *
in defiance of ah our knowledge that the whole animal crea
tion is formed for an immense variety of beneficent pur
poses, partly no doubt unknown to us, but in a very great
measure manifest by the clearest and most beautiful proofs.
2. The Mosaic narrative is, manifestly and undeniably as
we have seen, so expressed in that style of condescension,
and particularly in the manner suited to the men of primeval
times. Tet, when read and understood, as ah language is
required to be, by the conversion of what is figurative and
idiomatical into plain diction, it is a faithful description of
f 2 Pet. ii. 12. Not well rendered " natural brute beasts :'' for the
clause aKoya ffo, fvaiKa, strictly signifies, irrational animals, governed
by natural instinct.

282 FINAL BESULT.
the facts that did occur, and the method and order of theh
occurrence. I have now reached the point at which, from the begin
ning of these lectures, I have been aiming. I speak my
own conviction, and I trust I have brought forward suf-
ficent evidence to support that conviction, that the aheged
discrepance between the Holy Scriptures and the discoveries
of scientific investigation, is not in reahty, but in semblance
only: in particular, that the Scriptures, fairly interpreted,
are not adverse to a behef in an immeasurably high an
tiquity of the earth : in the reference of the six days' work
to a part only of the earth's surface ; in the position of
several centres of creation, distinct from each other, on the
surface of the globe ; in the reign of death over the inferior
animals, from the earhest existence of organized earthly
beings ; and in a hmited extent of the Deluge which swept
away the remnant of a self-destroying race, saving one
family, which "found grace in the eyes ofthe Lord."
I have not attempted to do this by affirming that the
Scriptures teach the sciences ; or that their language can
be forced, by any grammatical or critical ingenuity, into a
hteral accordance with scientific truths : but by adducing
abundant evidence to show, that the Authoe of revelation
spoke to mankind in such language as they were accus
tomed to use, such as they could most readily understand,
and such as must ever remain the most affecting and im
pressive to the human heart.
Let it also be observed, that the principle of interpreta
tion here brought forward is entirely independent of facts
in Natural History, or doctrines of Geology, or any other
branch of Natural Science. If those facts be denied and
those doctrines disapproved, stih this mode of understand
ing the figurative language of Scripture wih not be affected;

EXCELLENCE OF BELIGION. 283
it stands upon its own evidence, and cannot, I conceive, be
overthrown. It follows then, as a universal truth, that the Bible, faith
fully interpreted, erects no bar against the most free and
extensive investigation, the most comprehensive and search
ing induction. Let but the investigation be sufficient, and
the induction honest. Let observation take its farthest
flight; let experiment penetrate into ah the recesses of
nature ; let the veil of ages be lifted up from ah that has
been hitherto unknown, if such a course were possible ; —
rehgion need not fear, Christianity is secure, and true
science wih always pay homage to the Divine Creator and
Sovereign, " of whom, and through whom, and to whom are
ah things ; and unto whom be glory for ever."

LECTTJEE VIII.

Ecclesiastes xii. 13. Let us hear the conclusion of the wfiole matter :
Fear God, and keep his commandments : for this is the whole [.duty]
of man*
"The whole of man:" instruction for his duty, direction
in his difficulties, consolation in his sorrows, triumph in
death, and the boundless bhss of knowledge and holiness to
eternity. But the fear of God and the observance of his
commandments are no servile and narrow habits of mind.
The Scriptures abundantly show that they comprehend, or
by just deduction lead to, ah that is true in knowledge
and noble in feeling. " The High and Lofty One, who in-
* It will not be unwelcome to tne serious reader to have this passage laid
before him in a close translation. " The finishing lesson, the total, let us
hear ; Revere God, and keep his commandments : for this [eoncerns]
every one of mankind."

284 puesuits of science.
habiteth eternity," builds also his temple in "the contrite
heart." He has made it our duty, and a part of the fihal
"fear" which we owe to him, that we should acquire ah
that we can of sound information concerning his perfections
and his works. " He giveth to a man that is good in his
sight, wisdom and knowledge and joy:" and it is laid down
as one of the characters of the impious, that, " they regard
not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands." f
When the Committee of the Congregational Lecture did
me the honour of the invitation to dehver the course of this
year, I could not but feel grateful for the opportunity thus
afforded, of making an attempt to rescue from misapprehen
sion a branch of research into the works of God, which at
the present time attracts the attention of men, beyond all
former example ; and of offering an humble contribution for
advancing the influence of religion, as the rightful associate
of ah other knowledge.
It is incumbent on me to state that, beyond a general
approbation of the subject, the Committee is not answerable
for anything that has been, advanced. The sentiments and
arguments which have been submitted to you, rest upon the
responsibility of the lecturer alone.
There are some remaining subjects respecting which I
am desirous of obtaining the approbation of my indulgent-
auditors ; especially of the young persons, who are the
delight of our families and the hope of our churches ; — " for
ye are our glory and joy."
I. I congratulate you upon the increasing attention
which is evidently paid to the objects of sensible science.
By the studies of Natural History, my young friends, you
become acquamted with " the wondrous works of Him that
is excehent in knowledge ;" and, by those of Natural Philo
sophy, you investigate the causes and results of the changes
* Eccl. ii. 26. Psa. xxviii. 5.

DILI&ENT SEABCH BECOMMENDED. 285
which you or others have observed in the objects noticed by
your senses. This is a part, at least, of what the wise man
describes as " applying the heart to know, and to search,
and to seek out wisdom and the reason of things."* It is
a subject for much thankfulness to the Author of ah good,
that so many of you have been furnished, by the affectionate
hberahty of your parents, with the means of laying a
foundation for these acquisitions, and of commencing to
build worthily upon that foundation. Tet those who have
been thus favoured in a less degree ought by no means to
be discouraged. It is an humiliating fact, that the class of
persons which has enjoyed such opportunities in their most
perfect form, is not universally found to make a correspond
ent improvement of them. On the other hand, the honours
of science have been sustained, and its bounds enlarged, in
the greater number "of directions, and in superior degrees,
by those who, nearly or altogether unaided, have risen to
eminence by their own diligence and perseverance in the
cultivation of talent.
The advice has been often and very properly given, that
you should beware of satisfying yourselves with superficial
acquirements. But this recommendation needs to be better
understood than it sometimes is. A vicious superficialism
is when self-fondness persuades a man, and urges him to
endeavour to persuade others, that his knowledge is some
thing great ; that he has studied to an extent which he has
not done, and has made attainments which he has not
made. Such affectation involves the guilt of falsehood;
and it is sure to defeat its own end, and bring its merited
punishment. But there is a sense in which it must be said that most,
even of cultivated minds, possess but superficial knowledge.
* Eccl. viii. 25.

286 IGNOEANCE TO BE CONFESSED.
It is one of our blessings, by God's kind providence, to hve
in a time when hterature, science, and the arts are cul
tivated so assiduously, and their results are proclaimed so
widely, that the necessity of acquiring general knowledge
is strongly impressed, and the means of the acquisition are
afforded with unexampled facility. To many, however, the
measure of such acquisition must be imperfect. The indis
pensable cares and labours of our earthly condition present
insurmountable obstacles : and there are duties of personal
religion and of social life which possess an infinitely higher
obligation, and the neglect of which would bring guilt
upon our own consciences, and injury upon our dearest con
nexions. Par from happy would be the possession of even
great attainments, purchased at such a cost.
Let us then never be reluctant to acknowledge the
ignorance, which we have not been able to remove. Let
us not put on the flimsy show of a knowledge, which we do
not possess. Let us be ever open to the confession, that
such or such a subject is one with which we have not been
favoured to obtain an accurate acquaintance. The in
genuous state of mind which thus expresses itself, whl
bring no shame ; and it wih very often be the means of
opening a valuable door of information and improvement ;
partly by its exciting influence on ourselves, and partly by
its conciliating the attention of our more accomplished
friends. These considerations not only impress upon us some
admonitions, but they justify the exhortations which I am
presuming to give, that (in subordination to the richest
jewel and sweetest charm of life, the eeligion of Cheist,
and in a weh regulated connexion with ah domestic and
social obligations,) my young friends would invigorate their
minds by hterary, mathematical, and scientific pursuits.
This must, generahy and chiefly, be accomplished by what

EMPLOYMENT OE 1EISUEE TIME. 287
Mhton so strenuously eulogizes, as the education which a
man gives himself.
Let us suppose that a foundation has been laid in a
good general education, in which the rudiments of the
Mathematics have been sohdly taught ; for without that
preparation the exact sciences cannot be efficiently pur
sued.* Toung persons then enter upon some course of life
which claims their chief earthly attention. Some are privi
leged to enjoy a good measure of evening hours : let them
not neglect the gift which the benignity of Providence thus
confers upon them. Their leisure is a talent too precious,
and its responsibility is a weight too awful, to be treated
lightly. The cultivation of Natural History and the Sciences
wih be a dignified means of excluding those modes of abusing
time which are the sin and disgrace of many young persons;
vapid indolence, frivolous conversation, amusements which
bring no good fruit to the mind or the heart, or such read
ing as only feasts the imagination whhe it enervates the
judgment, and diminishes or annihilates the faculty of com
mand over the thoughts and affections, a faculty whose
healthy exercise is essential to real dignity of character.
But, there are many of the most estimable men who
cannot enjoy this advantage. The connexions and claims,
whether of business or of professional life, leave them
scarcely any leisure ; and, at the close of each day, both the
mind and the body are weared to exhaustion. Tet let them
* The observation of Sir John Herschel concerning Astronomy is also
applicable to all other departments of Natural Philosophy, and it ought
to be engraven on the mind of every aspirant after scientific knowledge.
" Admission to its sanctuary, and to the privileges and feelings of a votary,
is only to be gained by one means, a sound and sufficient knowledge of
Mathematics, the great instrument of all exact inquiry, without which no
man can ever make such advances in this or any other of the higher
departments of science, as can entitle him to form an independent opinion
on any subject of discussion within their range." " Treatise on Astronomy;"
p. 5.

288 SELECTION OF APPBOPEIATE STUDY.
not be discouraged. Let them take unceasing pains to cul
tivate the habit of close observation and exact attention.
Let them make up by repetition what they lack in conti
nuity. Smah portions of time, hnked together by constancy
of return and closeness of succession, wih form, in months
and years, a noble amount of improvement.
May I then be permitted to advise my young friends to
select that department of solid knowledge, for which each
may possess the best means and opportunities ? Let this
one thing be the body of the building. " This one thing,
do."* Tou wih see the necessity of obtaining completely
* Not till after the composition of these lectures was I made acquainted
with a circumstance, full of hope and promise ; and which presents a
motive for determining, among objects that may seem equally inviting, that
which shall be the first choice. The University of London has made a
Regulation that every student, before being admitted to Examination for
his first Degree, (and, after 1840, at his matriculation,) shall be examined
among other subjects, in " The characters and differences of the Natural
Classes and principal Orders belonging to the Flora of Europe, according to
the botanical classification of De Candolle." This thenyfoes the first step
in a scientific, education ; and a more judicious determination could not well
be conceived. It will now be the duty of parents and instructors everywhere
to lay this foundation in early life. From their tenth or twelfth year,
boys and girls should be led to acquaint themselves with every species
in tbe fields, hedges, and woods within their reach. It will be the most
salutary recreation from the toils of school ; it will be a strong barrier
against indolence and dissipation : and it will draw on to Zoology and all
other departments of natural knowledge, by obvious and even necessary
bands of affinity. Though but a small number of our young men through
the land may come to be examined for degrees, the spirit of the Regulation
ought to operate to the widest extent ; and I trust it will. It has led Dr.
Lindley (Prof. Bot. Univ. Coll. Lond.) to compose his new work, " School
Botany;" for the express purpose of promoting this object. He gives the
monition: "It is necessary that boys should prepare themselves for it,
before they leave school; and therefore it will be a part of the duty of
schoolmasters to cause their highest classes to be taught the kind [i. e. the
system] of Botany required by the University." Undoubtedly it has been
from mature consideration that the Council has fixed upon M. de Candolle's
System, instead of the more operose and difficult one of Dr. Lindley

IMPOBTANCE OF FIEST TBUTHS. 289
and securing firmly, those first truths in any science which
make its foundation : and you will be convinced also of the
himself : but it has the unwelcome result of counteracting in some measure
the use of his own valuable works. It was hoped that the System which
he has elaborated through so many years of study and exertion would have
come into universal and permanent use. However, for inconveniences like
this, there is no remedy but acquiescence : and let it be our consolation
that De Candolle's System has already made sure of acceptance among all
nations. Perhaps Dr. Lindley will give the necessary modifications to his
principal works, to the great benefit of students. It will be needful and
easy for them to add a competent acquaintance with the Linnajan System,
for many indispensable purposes.1 To this Btudy there is a delightful
Introduction expressly for young persons, by Mr. Francis, just published,
" The Little English Flora ;"a but they must not dispense with the works

1 Sec. ed. At the same time the young student must come to his
enterprise with a resolute heart, and should never forget the monition of
Prof. Lindley : — " After all that has been effected [for giving facility to
the acquirement of an incipient knowledge of Botany,] — or is likely to be
accomplished hereafter, there will always be more difficulty in acquiring a
knowledge of the Natural System of Botany, than of the Linnasan. The
latter skims only the surface of things, and leaves the student in the fancied
possession of a sort of information which it is easy enough to obtain, but
which is of little value when acquired : the former requires a minute
investigation of every part and every property known to exist in plants,,
but, when understood, it has conveyed to the mind » store of information
of the utmost use to man in every station of life. Whatever the difficulties
may be of becoming acquainted with plants according to this method, they
are inseparable from Botany." " Synops. of Brit. Flora ;" pref. p. xi.
* That gentleman had before conferred on young Botanists a benefit of
no little value, to assist their study of a peculiarly interesting and beautiful
Order, and to which a minute attention has, in the present day, become an
elegant fashion, " The British Ferns and their Allies," 1837: and, but a
few weeks ago, he has published a still more important pocket volume,
" The Grammar of Botany," 1840, a necessary introduction to the Flora,
or to any other Synopsis of the Linnaean Botany. Mr. Francis's works
have the merit of aiding the student with regard to his literary taste and
the attractions of anecdotal facts, thus adding greatly to the pleasure of
scientific acquirements : and he has benevolently considered the logic of
U

290 NEED OF MINUTE ACCUBACY.
need of minute accuracy in all details. This one science, —
or you may have chosen a department of sohd and elegant
hterature, then I would say, this one object, — make your
dwelling place ; and let others be viewed as accessories of
convenience and stability. Avenues wih open into other
departments of valuable knowledge. Affinities wih present
themselves of the most pleasing kind. Mutual illustrations
wih multiply. Delight wih supersede difficulty. Every
position taken up wih give a new extent of command ; and
by degrees a noble ahotment wih be enclosed from the field
which divine goodness has made the common property of
mankind. Thus, a most desirable amount of hterary or
scientific acquirement wih be laid up in the stores of the
memory. The very labour of getting these intellectual
possessions will be a pleasure, and its own reward; and
results wih probably be obtained, of immediate value in the
arts of life. Tour attainments wih not be superficial ; they
wih be solid and safe, so far as they have proceeded ; you
wih have always in your hand good instruments, and you
will know how to use them, for making progress in any
of Dr. Withering,1 or Sir James E. Smith, or Sir W. J. Hooker. — Besides
the sentiment which has occasioned this too long note, we ought not to be
insensible to the direct benefit of botanical knowledge, economically and in
agriculture, as well as in relation to Medicine and general science.
[But, now (1847) I must earnestly call attention to Prof. Lindley's vast
work, to •which his former labours, great and numerous, have been cul
minating ; " The Vegetable Kingdom ;" sec. ed. with above 500 wood
engraved illustrations of admirable beauty ; 8vo. 979 pages closely
printed.]
the pocket. He has also rendered a service of great value, to both young
and advanced Botanists, by his "Catalogue of British Plants," exhibiting
on a large sheet all the Linnaean Genera and Species ; and the price is
sixpence I
1 The condensed and otherwise improved edition, by Dr. Macgillivray,
in a single volume, will be found the most useful.

STUDY OF GEOLOGY EECOMMENDED. 291
direction that might invite. . But forget not the heavenly
axiom, " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
II. As a branch of knowledge to which I request these
remarks to be especiahy apphed, I invite you to the studies
of Geology.
Here I avail myself of a paragraph, expressed with his
usual fehcity and force, by one of the most favoured sons of
science, and to whom already I have been largely indebted.
" By the discoveries of a new science (the very name of
which has been but a few years engrafted on our language),
we learn that the manifestations of God's power on the
earth have not been limited to the few thousand years
of man's existence. The geologist tells us, by the clearest
interpretation of the phenomena, which his labours have
brought to light, that our globe has been subject to vast
physical revolutions. He counts his time, not by celestial
cycles, but by an index he has found in the sohd framework
of the globe itself. He sees a long succession of monu
ments, each of which may have required a thousand ages
for its elaboration. He arranges them in chronological
order, observes in them the marks of skill and wisdom, and
finds within them the tombs of the ancient inhabitants of
the earth. He finds strange and unlooked for changes in
the forms and fashions of organic life, during each of the
long periods he thus contemplates. He traces these changes
backwards, through each successive era, till he reaches a
time when the monuments lose ah symmetry, and the types
of organic life are no longer seen. He has then entered on
the dark age of nature's history ; and he closes the old
chapter of her records.  This account has so much of
what is exactly true, that it hardly deserves the name of
figurative description."*
* Sedgwick's " Studies of Cambridge ;" p. 25. My reader will thank
me for introducing here a passage from another ornament of the same
TJ 2

292 SCEIPTUEE DIFFICULTIES.
We have seen, however, that this science brings us into a
situation which we cannot but feel most unwelcome and
even distressing. In these lectures it has been sufficiently
shown, that some of the most evident geological facts carry
the appearance of being at variance with the declarations of
holy scripture ; and that many of our friends, men of ardent
piety and Christian excehence, not perceiving any mode of
conciliation, deny and reject, with great vehemence, our
statement of those facts.
In the last lecture, a principle was explained and esta
bhshed, which to me appears capable of removing the diffi
culty, in a way that ought to satisfy impartial minds. But
it would be too presumptuous in me, to indulge the hope
that this mode of solution wih be satisfactory to those
University. " The spirit of geological observation is so widely diffused and
so thoroughly roused, that I trust we need not anticipate any pause or
retardation in the career of Descriptive Geology. I confess indeed, for my
own part, I do not look to see the exertions of the present race of geologists
surpassed by any who may succeed them. The great geological theorizers
of the past belong to the Fabulous Period of the science ; but I consider
the eminent men by whom I am surrounded as the Heroic Age of Geology.
.They have slain its monsters and cleared its wildernesses; and founded here
and there a great metropolis, the queen of future empires. They have
exerted combinations of talents, which we cannot hope to see often again
exhibited ; especially when the condition of the science which produced
them is changed. I consider that it is now the destiny of Geology to pass
from the heroic to the Historical Period. She can no longer look for
supernatural successes : but she is entering upon a career, I trust a long
and prosperous one, in which she must carry her vigilance into every
province of her territory, and extend her dominion over the earth, till it
becomes, far more truly than any before, a universal empire." Prof.
Whewell, in his Address as President of the Geol. Soc. Feb. 15, 1839.
The concluding sentiment referred only to human dominions, civil, or
intellectual. I am sure that the learned and estimable speaker is not
indifferent to the unearthly empire of Christianity, which God has destined
to be the parent of virtue and happiness, knowledge and peace, to all
nations.

sceiptuee difficulties. 293
prepossessed persons ; or to others, who take up an opinion
at first sight, and are not disposed to go through the course
of investigation which is necessary for a proper under
standing of the question. I cannot but fear that it must
have the fate of the Newtonian Phhosophy ; and must wait
its time, till pious and learned men shah be convinced that
their objections are groundless.
I cannot imagine any motive but the excehent one of
veneration for the Bible, that can induce a pious mind to
feel satisfied with the idea which attributes to the first
exercise of creating power, a date so recent as six or seven
thousand years ago. Tet we may reasonably ask, Ought
the mind of a Christian to sit down with passive acqui
escence in this persuasion ? A commencement of creation
unquestionably must have been : and before that point,
from eternity, the All-sufficient Jehovah was his own
universe. But what reason, viewing the subject solely in
itself, can we have for assuming that we are living in so
early a stage of the flow of time ? What objection can we,
a race of poor, feeble, sinful creatures, pretend to set up
against the idea that the glories of the Creator had been
displayed, in diffusing a holy and happy existence through
worlds upon worlds, and throughout ages which man cannot
number, before he cahed human kind into existence ? If it
be said that the "great mystery of godliness," the display
of the divine perfections in the work of Bedemption,
forbids such an extent of our conceptions ; I would reply,
with humility and deference, that the objector has forgotten
the grand attribute of Deity, the basis of ah the Divine
perfections — Infinity. He is measuring Jehoyah by a
standard applicable only to creatures. — And are not the
purposes of God, including the glorious plan of salvation to
a lost world (Eph. i. 4, 5 ; iii. 11) from eternity ? — To my
judgment and feeling, the grandeur of those heavenly coun-

294 difficulties must be encounteeed.
sels is presented to us the more sublimely by the views for
which I have been pleading, of the extent, antiquity, and
endless duration of the products of God's creative power
and provident wisdom.*
But, why do you not let these matters alone ? Why do
you bring them before the Christian pubhc, distressing the
minds of pious persons, and incurring the danger of shaking
the faith of your weaker brethren ?
I am bound to acknowledge that my own breast is no
stranger to the feelings involved in these queries. Scarcely
can I turn out of my heart emotions approaching to envy,
at the tranquh state of many of my fehow Christians. Hap
pily ignorant, exempt from perplexities and conflicts, at
least on such subjects as this, they spend their blameless
lives in the exercises of piety, usefulness to mankind, and
ah the sweet enjoyments of rehgion ; they go down to the
grave in peace, and the angel of death leads their purified
spirits to the perfection of heaven. Would we harass them
on their pilgrimage ? — Par, far from it ! — Alas, the choice
is not left with us ! These subjects are not ahowed to he
in concealment. They are bruited abroad. If Christians
can be quiet, infidels wih not be so.f " The arrow flieth by
* Let the reader turn back to the quotation from Mr. Scrope in page
137. — What materials for reflection lie deep in this sentence of the wise
and devout Richard Baxter ! " I meddle only with mankind, not with
angels. Nor will I curiously inquire whether there were any other world
of men created and destroyed, before this had being." Saints' Everlasting
Rest ; p. 115, ed. 1688. Thus the mind of this good and great man did
not absolutely reject the notion of a prior race even of beings like ourselves;
though such a notion would have appeared much more in collision with the
Scriptures than the admission of creatures quite different from the human.
Geology confirms the scriptural doctrine concerning the origin of man, and
supplies proofs that man is among the newest productions of the Creator's
power, and that our kind had no existence before Adam.
f " The time has come when the whole question must be understood and.

DUTY T0WAEDS SCIENTIFIC UNBELIEVEBS. 295
day, and the pestilence walketh in darkness." Not only in
books of phhosophy, but in the periodical journals and
common hterature of the day, in this country and in others,
in Europe and in America, by various phrase, covertly and
openly, coarsely and pohtely, it is proclaimed that Cuvier
has supplanted Moses, that Geology has exploded Genesis.
There is a class of persons, who understand the scientific
side of the difficulty enough to make out of it an excuse
for open infidelity, or secretly cherished scepticism; and
thus they are able to pacify their consciences in a con
temptuous neglect of the evidence and authority of religion.
Do we owe no regard to those persons ? Have we no sym
pathy for them ; no consideration for the educational and
other unhappy causes of their doubts ? Are not their souls
as precious as our own ? Is not their state, before God
and for eternity, as important as ours ? Can we prevail
upon them to unlearn their knowledge, to stifle the con
victions of their judgment, or suppress the avowal of those
settled by the friends of Revelation, unless they wish it to be turned to
evil account by its enemies." An Anti-infidel Geologist, " Christ. Obser."
May, 1834; p. 313.
I quote, with pleasure and entire assent, the remark of an excellent
writer; yet observing that it is applicable only to questions of pure The
ology. The case before us is widely different: it is a case in which phy
sical facts compel us to question, not the authority of the Bible, but the
justness of certain interpretations and inferences; and our questioning is
sustained by the undeniable analogy of language, used much more abun
dantly in the Bible, upon the most venerable of subjects, the Attributes of
the Deity. — Having mentioned some theological difficulties, and the simple
facts to which they refer, the author proceeds: — " These things are all
plain. With these the humble Christian is content. If beyond these,
perplexities and troubles arise, they are the gratuitous, self-inflicted per
plexities and troubles of scholars and philosophers. The plain good man,
v. ho simply believes his Bible, who can follow where it leads and pause
where it stops, effectually escapes them." Dana's " Letters to Prof. Moses
Stuart;" Boston, New England, 1839; p. 31.

296 NECESSITY OF DECLAEING OUE VIEWS.
convictions ? — And if we could ; if they were to promise
Bilence and to keep the promise ; would rehgion be served
thereby ? — Examples have not been wanting of compli
mentary verbiage, with affected solemnity, offered to the
Christian religion ; whhe the fraternity of concealed unbe
lievers can look significantly at each other, and mutually
build up their self-flattery and pride ; as if they were men
immeasurably superior to the vulgar, but who, to soothe
prejudice, and flatter pubhc opinion, are willing to uphold a
style of conventional hypocrisy.
But, can we not throw ourselves into the arms of our
brethren in the faith, who, as we have seen, summarily
dispose of the whole matter ? — We cannot. Pirst ; our
own convictions stand in the way. The facts cannot be set
aside : they are too numerous, too various and independent,
and too weighty in their character as grounds of reasoning.
Secondly ; if we could so put off our reasonable faculties,
the great cause would not be reheved. It would be far
more deeply injured. The body of scientific men, in every
country, would only be confirmed in their hostility, and
the more completely discharged from keeping terms with
us : whhe we should be the men that laid Christianity
under the feet of its adversaries.*
* " From ill-informed, or too often prejudiced persons, we hear frequent
remarks disparaging the inquiries and conclusions of the Geologist, while
they allow and applaud the inferences of the astronomer and the chemist.
They condemn as visionary and presumptuous the results of the one as to
the antiquity of strata, and the successive eras of animal organization, the
monuments of which are before their eyes ; while they revere as unques
tionable truths the most marvellous and paradoxical inferences of the other,
which refer to subjects utterly beyond the scope of the senses, to periods
and distances which transcend our arithmetical powers to conceive, and to
processes of nature which exceed our faculties to apprehend.  -Yet,
when the Geologist contends that the crust of the earth, with its organized
productions, has been gradually brought into its present condition, by a
series of creative changes, going on through millions of ages; his conclu-

DANOEE OF EEEONEOUS NOTIONS. 297
Hence arises a motive of the greatest force to quicken
our endeavours to diffuse every where just principles for
understanding the figurative language of Scripture. We
cannot but be affected by the prevalence of ignorance and
misconception on this point ; and the consequent influence
of those misconceptions upon the formation of Tehgious
sentiments and their practical results. The eloquent pro
fusion of striking scripture language, in sermons and trea
tises and poems, yet without the accompaniment of just
caution and correct interpretation, has made many enthu
siasts and many infidels ; and not a few have rushed from
the one extreme to the other. The unexplained ascription
of human forms and passions to the Deity leads some to
breathe the atmosphere of a piety imaginative and pic
turesque indeed, but degrading to its glorious Object, and
nursing most pernicious fancies in its subjects : and it helps
forward another class in their injurious conceptions of the
attributes and government of God; for these are ideas
which they are very ready to accept, as a bolstering up of
secret scepticism. In their own minds, they put upon
the adorable One a garb of unreasonable, turbulent, and
changeful passions ; instead of representing him as the
Being ah whose attributes are pebfections, fixed and in
variable principles of rectitude and wisdom. Thus, the
pure character and the reasonableness of moral obedience,
and the inviolability of the law that requires it, are thrown
sion is condemned as chimerical and dangerous.  They allow the foil
claims of the human mind, to assign spaces and periods which transcend
the flights of the loftiest imagination: — yet they talk of the arrogance of
the Geologist in pretending to maintain that, millions of years ago, the
world was going on, governed by the same physical laws which prevail now,
and replete with vegetable and animal life in all its varied forms of per
fection and adaptation to a state of things, of which the existing order is
only one of a series of gradual and regular changes." Prof. Powell's
« Connexion;" pp. 67, 69.

298 VALUE OF TEUTH.
out of sight ; the necessity of a Divine Saviour is therefore
hidden from view ; the whole economy of redeeming grace
iB distorted; Christianity is represented as an irrational
dream ; and the best hopes of man are thrown to the winds.
But, how often does a melancholy reaction take place ; and
the empire of superstition succeeds to that of scorn ! Sor
row and desolation, age and death, present themselves ; and
the miserable victim, "ignorant of God's righteousness,"
and never having cast the anchor of his soul " within the
veil," is overwhelmed with terrors, and flees into the arms
of some foohsh and delusive scheme, for rehef from the
scourge of a terrified conscience : — a false rehef, to be
fohowed by the bitterest aggravations of disappointment,
and the death of hope ! To prevent such ruin, let us do ah
in our power to inculcate just views of the true meaning of
scripture-imagery, the unalterable perfections of God, the
majesty of his holiness, the riches of his grace, and the
exceeding greatness of his power, through faith in Christ,
to hberate our souls from sin and wretchedness, and raise
them to immortal purity, activity, and joy. This is " the
glorious gospel of the Blessed God; — the truth according
to godliness, in hope of eternal hfe, which God who cannot
deceive (o a^eudrjg &iog) has promised before the world
began." *
Our rehgion, — blessed be God ! — is not a religion of con
trivance and expediency. We want only Tbuth : and we
cannot barter it for ease, custom, or fashion.
Is it not then our duty, as honest men and Christians, to
make ourselves somewhat more than superficiahy acquainted
with the evidence in this case ; and to take some pains in
diffusing correct knowledge upon it ?
This is the proceeding which I humbly recommend;
* 1 Tim. i. 11. Tit. i. 1,2.

TENDENCY OF SCIENCE.

299

and to promote which has been the design of these
lectures.* III. I would entreat my friends to consider what are the
proper accompaniments of ah human knowledge, if it be
sought and employed in the manner that becomes reason
able and accountable creatures.
Science is the knowledge of truth. Its proper tendency
is to augment our desire to obtain higher measures of that
possession ; and to increase our love to that truth of which
it is the image. But ah truth is connected with all other
truth, by natural alliances numerous and ever multiplying.
* " The subject before us is not one which can be advantageously dis
cussed with the people at large." [Meaning, no doubt, in sermons.] " A
wide range of facts and an extensive course of induction are necessary to the
satisfactory exhibition of geological truths; and especially to establish their
connexion and harmony with the Mosaic history. It is a subject exclusively
for the learned, or at least for the studious and the reflecting. But it can
no longer be neglected with safety by those whose province is to illustrate
and defend the sacred writings. The crude, vague, unskilful, and unlearned
manner in which it has been too often treated, when treated at all, by those
who are to a great extent ignorant of the structure of the globe, or who
have never studied it with any efficient attention, can communicate only
pain to those friends of the Bible, who are perfectly satisfied, after full
examination, that the relation of Geology to sacred history is now as little
understood, by many theologians and biblical critics, as astronomy was in the
time of Galileo. There is but one remedy. Theologians must study Geology:
or, if they will not or from peculiar circumstances cannot do it, they must
be satisfied to receive its demonstrated truths from those who have learned
them in the most effectual way, not only in the cabinet, but abroad on the
face of nature and in her deep recesses. They will then be convinced,
that geology is not an enemy but an ally of revealed religion ; that the
subject is not to be mastered by mere criticism ; that criticism must be
applied to facts as well as to words ; and that there is, at most, only an
apparent incongruity, an incongruity which vanishes before investigation."
Dr. Silliman (Prof. Chem. Yale Coll. U. S.) in his App. to a republication
of Mr. Bakewell's Geology, near the close ; published separately in London,
by Mr. J. S. Hodson, with the title " Consistency of the Discoveries of
Modern Geol. with the Sacred Hist." 1837-

300 FATAL EFFECTS OF IGNOEANCE.
Physical truth, though the fact is often overlooked, has
much in common with moral truth. Prom a sound ac
quaintance with the kingdoms of nature, innumerable
benefits accrue to the comfort and always extending use
fulness of- the life that now is : and we thus obtain enlarg
ing convictions of the pernicious consequences of ignorance
and false opinions. Prom the want of knowledge in some
branches of science, many a flattering project has been
marred, much property has been thrown away, famhies have
been ruined, and the public has been injured. This has been
remarkably the case from the want of geological knowledge.
Almost incredible might appear the ^history of disappoint
ments and pecuniary losses which have been produced by
this cause, in laying down lines of road, in selecting
materials for road-making and stone for buhding, in making
cuttings and tunnels, in sinking for coal, and in the economy
of metallic mines. Hence we may derive lessons, by reason
able analogy, to enforce the scriptural precept, in its moral
aspects, as weh as in every other: " Buy the truth and seh it
not." It is a treasure above ah price, and nothing can com
pensate for the loss of it. Ignorance and error, in relation
to God, our duty to him and expectations from him, are
the causes of unbehef, impenitence, insensibility to the
evidences and claims of revealed rehgion, and ah sinful
affections and conduct ; what the inspired author calls
" foolish and pernicious lusts, which drown men in destruc
tion and perdition." * But a mind which ingenuously loves
Truth, wih " search for it as for hidden treasure ; " and wih
see a beauty in moral and rehgious truth transcending every
other kind of excehence, and connecting itself with the
glories of eternity.
Weh-conducted studies also tend to promote a right
estimation of Evidence universally, a wise discrimination
* 1 Tim. vi. 9.

ETEBNITY AND BETEIBUTION. 301
of its various kinds, and the habit of regarding it with
integrity and fidelity.
These qualities of mind are congenial with others, which
advance stih higher the holy edifice in our minds ; such are
a profound sense of the universal presence and the infinite
perfections of God, veneration and filial love to him, cordial
submission to his authority, delight in his precepts, the
thankful reception of his gospel, and the repose of the soul
in Him as the ground of its immortal hopes.
So shah we answer the purposes of our existence,- and
shah be prepared for the momentous changes which are
hastening on, and in which we have a never-dying interest.
Infinite happiness or infinite woe wih be the result of a due
regard to these considerations, or a contempt of them. This
result for eternity wih be the product of our present cha
racter, as it is seen by the Omniscient ; a product necessary
by the laws of our intellectual nature, and just under the
government of eternal rectitude.
God has written the lesson of responsibility and retribu
tion upon the large scale of affinity and sequence, through
the whole empire of nature. The fehcities of holiness and
the punishments of sin, are not arbitrary inflictions, but
grow out of the necessary constitutions which the All-wise
Sovereign has fixed for the good order of his universe.
Hence, it is not less an inevitable certainty, from physical
truths and rational evidences, than it is a primary doctrine
of the Bible, that "they who hate knowledge and choose
not the fear of the Lord, who reject his counsels and despise
his reproof, shah eat of the fruit of their own way." *
' Prov. i. 29 — 31. With this coincide the reasonings of Mr. Babbage,
in his chapter " On the permanent Impressions of our Words and Actions
on the Globe we inhabit." Laplace had observed "that the curve de
scribed by [the motion of] a single molecule of air or any fluid is subjected
to laws as certain as those of the planetary orbits : there is no difference

302 ADMONITOEY ASPECT
The instruments of his righteousness are in preparation ;
and, how soon they wih be ready for action He knows who
created, who sustains, and who governs his own world. But
between them, but that which arises from our ignorance." Mr. Babbage
pursues the idea, and shows that " these aerial pulses, unseen by the
keenest eye, unheard by the acutest ear, unperceived by human senses, are
yet demonstrated to exist by human reason.  If man enjoyed a larger
command over mathematical analysis, his knowledge of these motions
would be more extensive : but a being, possessed of unbounded knowledge
of that science, could trace every the minutest consequence of that primary
impulse. Such a being, howeyer far exalted above our race, would still bs
immeasurably below even our conception of Infinite Intelligence. 
Whilst the atmosphere we breathe is the ever-living witness of the senti
ments we have uttered, the waters and the more solid materials of the globe
bear equally enduring testimony of the acts we have committed. If the
Almighty stamped on the brow of the first murderer, the indelible and
visible mark of his guilt ; he has also established laws by which every
succeeding criminal is not less irrevocably chained to the testimony of his
crime ; for every atom of his mortal frame, through whatever changes its
several particles may migrate, will still retain, adhering to it through every
combination, some movement derived from that very muscular effort by
which the crime itself was perpetrated. The soul of the negro whose
fettered body, surviving the living charnel-house of his infected prison, was
thrown into the sea to lighten the ship, that his Christian master might
escape the limited justice at length assigned by civilized man to crimes
whose profits had long gilded their atrocity, will need, at the last great
day of human account, no living witness of his earthly agony. When man
and all his race shall have disappeared from the face of our planet, ask
every particle of air still floating over the unpeopled earth, and it will
record the cruel mandate of the tyrant. Interrogate every wave which
breaks unimpeded on ten thousand desolate shores, and it will give evidence
of the last gurgle of the waters which closed over the head of his dying
victim, confront the murderer with every coporeal atom of his immolated
slave, and in its still quivering movements he will read the prophet's denun
ciation of the prophet king, — Thou art the man." " Ninth Bridgewater
Treat." chap. ix.
But the arm, the tongue, the brain, were but the organism of the mind ;
and for mind with all its machinations God has made equally effective
registers : " and the books win, be opened."

OF GEOLOGICAL FACTS. 303
we need not expect a delay till the workings of the atmo
sphere and the running waters shah have worn down the
mountains, and washed away the plains to the sea-level. A
different point in the course of the agency which God has
ordained, may bring on the catastrophe. Let but the
deposits at the bottom of the sea, over any particular area,
proceed to a certain amount of thickness, and Deity knows
(and he may have disclosed the event and its time to creatures
superior to man) how near we are to the attainment of that
point ; and upheaving must take place, escape of the fiery
hquid below by a volcanic vent may not be permitted, new
continents must then be raised from the bed of the sea, and
now-existing land must resume its former place at the
bottom of the waters. It may be said that this is a slower
process than numbers can assign. Be it so : but before this
point is reached, the operation of the same constant cause
may produce earthquakes and volcanic explosions under the
soh of Great Britain or Germany, or the intermediate sea ;
and in a few moments may send into eternity every human
creature, over a wide district. That these countries have
not been the seat of such destructive outbursts, within the
record of history, or since the creation of man, forms no
objection. That they have been so agitated in former periods
is among the most certain of facts : and no man can be
assured that the renewal of simhar events whl not take
place, at any hour.
I do not advert to these considerations as if rehgion
needed them. Its evidences, its authority, and its motives
stand forth fuh and complete on their own grounds ; and a
few years, or perhaps a few of our rapidly fleeting days, wih
bear away each one of us to our personal judgment. But
this is one of the lights in which we may view the interest
of geological studies. The records of earthquakes and
volcanoes, if we contemplated nothing else in this rich field,

304 ADMONITOEY ASPECT
are the most awfully impressive that visible nature affords.
The Christian cannot exclude them from the universal
government of God : nor would he, if he cOuld. Physical
events have moral relations. Here we see large extents of
country, rising, or sinking down, at the slow rate of two or
three feet in a century : there, an elevation or a depression
of several feet through hundreds of miles, takes plade in
a few hours. On our own coasts are many examples of
ancient sea-beaches, even several in superposition, but far
above the highest tide-level of the present day. In places
innumerable of the British Isles, the early and secondary
and tertiary beds have been upraised, fractured, and pierced
through by the melted rocks from below ; parts of which,
having become solid, as necessarily and speedily they would,
form our most magnificent mountains, and other parts have
run in lines of many miles in length, filling up the cracks
and chasms which the upbursting force had rent. In many
parts of the oeean which covers three-fourths of the surface
of our globe, new islands have been raised up ; some of
which have soon sunk down, or have been washed away,
leaving dangerous shahows, and others continue to this day
and have become the abodes of hfe and action. The vestiges
of ancient volcanoes stand up in their unquestionable de
monstration, in countries next to our own. At distances a
little greater, we find volcanic vents, either in never-ceasing
though temperate action, or at uncertain periods breaking
forth in terrible magnificence. Pifty-six years ago, in the
island geographically near to us, Iceland, the eruption of
the mountain Skaptar Jokul, which was prolonged through
two years, dried up rivers and filled their beds, covered
vaheys of five hundred feet in depth, and overflowed their
mountain-limits, and spread its lava-torrents over areas of
country from seven to fifteen miles in breadth, in length
forty to fifty, and in various thickness from one hundred

OF GEOLOGICAL FACTS. 305
feet to six hundred. Twenty villages were destroyed, and
nearly the fifth part of the population perished.
In 1797, the old city Biobamba, in Peru, was destroyed
in one day by an earthquake : and, in a few minutes, forty-
five thousand human beings were thus awfully sent into
eternity. In 1815, the island of Sumbawa, at the eastern end of
Java, was the scene of volcanic devastation to a most dread
ful extent. The eruptions began on April 15th, and continued
for three months. Great tracts of land were buried under
the lava. "Violent whirlwinds carried up men, horses,
cattle, and whatever else came within their influence, into
the air ; tore up the largest trees by the roots, and covered
the whole sea with floating timber."* The shocks were felt
to the distance of 1000 mhes ; and the terrible sound of the
explosions was heard over a range of 1500. The ashes
ejected reached 200 and 300 mhes in distance, covering the
sea extensively with pumice and cinders to the thickness of
two feet, and making the day darker than the thickest night
over a wide space in length more than 500 mhes. Out of
about twelve thousand persons, in two smah districts, no
more than five or six persons survived; and of the whole
population, the number of which is not stated, only twenty-
six escaped this awful catastrophe.f
Seven years afterwards, in the same island, an eruption
took place of the mountain Galongoon^ which, with its
* Lyell's "Princip. Geol." vol. ii. p. 200.
+ Sir T. S. Raffles's " Hist, of Java," vol. i. pp. 25—28. " Twenty.six
of the people who were at Sumbawa at the time, are the whole of the po ¦
pulation who have escaped. From the most particular inquiries I have
been able to make, there were certainly not fewer than twelve thousand
inhabitants in Tomboro and Pekati at the time of the eruption, of whom
only five or six survive." Page 28 ¦
X

306 CONSTANCY OF CHANGE.
deluges of rain and scalding mud, destroyed 114 villages
and 4000 persons.
Thus the instruments of change are incessantly at work,
in modifying and altering the surface of the planet which
the adorable Creator has appointed for our dwelling-place,
in this incipient state of being. The examination of the
earth affords us an insight into its state and many of the
changes through which it has passed, before it assumed its
present condition ; and spreads before us volumes of evi
dence that those changes have been produced by the same
instrumental causes that we see working at the present
moment. The intensity has varied : different states or
circumstances have augmented or diminished their resulting
forces ; but the casualty, mediate as weh as primary, has
been of the same kind : and the variations of intensity have
affected but a smah portion of the immeasurable system of
Jehovah's empire, and have been ah the effect of more
general laws. Everything that we can observe, and every
deduction that we can form, presents the glorious unfold-
ings of beauty and majesty, the progressive triumphs of
wisdom and beneficence.
We ought not to omit the observation, that the causes of
most extensive operations are and have been the most shent
and quiet. The volcano and the earthquake, necessary as
their part has been in carrying on the economy of God's
physical government, have had to perform a much inferior
part compared with the slow and tranquh processes of depo
sition, consolidation, elevation, crystallization, cleavage, and
electric affinities continuahy acting. Those hidden opera
tions, whose depth and breadth and length were to be the
elements of the most important results through a vast futu
rity, have in ah past time been effected, and now are pro
ceeding, in a manner so gradual, so slow, and yet without
any needless consumption of time, as to overwhelm our

ABDENT ASPIEATIONS. 307
minds with the contemplation, and to impress us with con
ceptions at once awful and dehghtful, of the Wisdom,
Power, and Goodness, which have connected incalculable
numbers of beings and events, stretching through ages to
which we are incompetent to apply a measure ; so that they
ah combine with unfailing accuracy, to effectuate the pur
poses which only Infinite Perfection could form, or when
formed could execute.
Whether fiery catastrophes shah take place, local and
successive, over different regions, or one universal confla
gration involving the globe in simultaneous destruction,
(improperly so cahed, for a glorious future wih he beyond,)
is probably above the power of human knowledge to deter
mine. How far the prophetic announcements of Scripture
import a hteral action of fire, or whether they are altogether
significant of moral changes, are questions, the resolution of
which I presume not to assert.*
IV. There remains another object of my heart's desire,
with which if I might be gratified, my prayers would be
answered, and my joy be unspeakable. Might I but hope
that those sons of science, to whose labours and our obliga
tions for them, so frequent reference has been made, would
be persuaded to give to the noblest objects of contem
plation, a portion of their attention correspondent to that
which they have devoted to objects valuable indeed, but infi
nitely inferior ;  happy should I be, beyond expression !
The philosophers, whose names form a wreath of honour
to our own and other nations, cannot but be objects of
regard, with feelings of interest and sohcitude to which no
words can give fuh utterance.  Illustrious men ! we look
up to you with more than respect : we admire and reverence
you. Your early acquisitions in mathematics and the exact
sciences, in all that could lay the foundation of an enduring
• See pages 204—206.
x 2

308 EELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY.
edifice ; your separation from the frivolity and vice, to the
temptations of which you have been exposed ; your devote-
ment of youth and manly age, of fortune, health, labour and
peril, and severe studies; your generous readiness in giving to
the pubhc the fruit of your tohs ; the debt which physical
science owes you; the benefits which you have conferred
upon society, for economical and national purposes ; the
excitement and encouragement which you have so readhy
given, through wide circles of influence ; — ah entitle you to
our honour and affection.
But these reasons add to the justness and warmth of our
wishes, that you would adorn ah other excehence with the
pearl of greater price. Vour penetration into the vastness
of space and time has made you familiar with the subhmest
ideas in nature. Those ideas have brought you into a con
tact, incomparably closer than that of ordinary men, with
the etebnal and the infinite. Is it then possible, that
you do not meditate on eternity and infinity, as subjects in
which you have the highest interest ? The powers of intel
lect which you so exercise, must have given to you a more
than probable conviction, that those powers are not extin
guished by the stroke of death. Knowing that not an atom
of material existence is destroyed, or even fahs to come into
beneficial uses ; you above ah men cannot suppose that
moral powers and susceptibilities sink into annihilation.
Witnesses as ye are to the demonstrations of forecast,
wisdom, and design, upon the grandest scale, in the con
nexions and adjustments of unintelligent matter ; and to
the disclosures of the same qualities, in forms of stih higher
magnificence, through ah organized nature, as weh the dead
memorials of ancient life as the wonders of actual anima
tion ; — you cannot but see the evidence that an all-presiding
Mind exists : nor can you think it reasonable to suppose
that He is not the possessor of ah perfections ; of ah that

AFFINITIES OF EELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY. 309
is lovely and ah that is awful. Tou contemplate the laws
and you calculate their results, by which you show us that
the Infinite Being has bound together ah the parts of his
material universe ; that, through their complexity, divine
simphcity reigns ; and that one fundamental law exercises
its sovereignty over the mighty whole.  And has it never
occurred to you, that the Lord of the world must also love
every other kind of order ; and must rule by fixed laws, in
his highest domain, the minds which he has created ? Is it
not a reasonable presumption that he has made known his
moral laws, to the beings from whom it is right that he
should expect gratitude, love, and voluntary obedience ? Is
it not possible that there may be an intercourse, between
the human mind and the glorious Deity ? Are there even
now, no incipient communings, of your spirits with the
Infinite Being ? Wo aspirations after a greater good than
nature yields ? Are there no means of securing the favour
of the All-sufficient, and so of looking forwards to the
immortality which awaits you, with something better than
vague hopes ; with rational joy and confidence ?
There are such provisions, made by the Being of supreme
goodness on behalf of rational and therefore accountable
creatures. Christianity presents them. She opens a portal
into the palace of undying purity and happiness, and she
invites you to enter.
Astronomers, geologists, and. microscopic observers have
peculiar facilities for acquiring the most sublime conceptions
of the Deity ; from their deep, extensive, and accurate ac
quaintance with his works. Can they gaze at the wondrous
mechanism with which they are familiar ; can they calculate
its workings, based upon the most recondite mathematical
truths ; can they predict the results on the greatest scale
and with infallible certainty ;  and yet cherish no admir
ing and affectionate thoughts of the Poemeb ? Tou disclose

310 MOTIVES AND CAUTIONS.
to the astonished view the animalcules of the living world, or
the Bhehs and habitations of those which peopled their
proper stations in the long past conditions of creation :
you witness their exquisite beauty, their especial adapta
tions, and the appropriate places which they fill in the
ranks of organized being ; and you show us many species,
of which millions of the individuals do not weigh a grain :
»nd does not this impress upon you the weakness of scepti
cism with respect to the doctrines of a Divine Eedemption,
as if they gave to mankind too much importance in the view
of the Almighty God ? Vour science carries you back to
periods of past time, the review of which is overwhelming
to even your well-trained understandings : and do you not
hence gather a presumption of credibility to the plan
arranged from eternity, of holiness and wisdom, for the
highest welfare of human beings.
There are indications of a thought latent in some minds,
that the Deity cannot be expected to take that notice of
the human race, stih less of an individual man, which the
Christian rehgion affirms. But is it possible that a phi
losopher, a mathematician, a true student of nature, can
entertain such a thought ? Accustomed as he is to the
demonstrations of wisdom and power which he cannot but
cah infinite, in the farthest regions of the microscopic
world; he must grant that every unit in the aggregate of
creation, let it be more minute than can be expressed, has
a share as complete in the regards of the Infinite Mind, as
if that unit were the universe. Can it be thought unworthy
of the Supreme Majesty, or on any ground improbable, or
indeed any other than a necessary truth, that He should
require the affectionate attachment and the zealous obedi
ence of each rational creature ; and that he should govern
the intelligent world and every being in it, by a system of
the purest moral law ?  *
• See Supplementary Note U.

DE. EDWAED TTJENEB. 311
Can such men as you be enslaved to the prejudices of
httle minds p — Can you be satisfied with a knowledge of
Christianity, so meagre as to be a parahel to that ignorance
on scientific subjects which provokes your pity ? When
large expatiating and thorough research upon ah other
objects, are esteemed indispensable and are nobly achieved
by you ; can you be contented with fragments of knowledge
about rehgion, picked up in childhood, or accidentahy and
carelessly in the course of life ; and which have no coherence,
no completeness, no standing upon well-studied proof; which
are often indeed nothing but vulgar prejudices ? *
Did the rehgion of Dr. Turner, who so long and meri
toriously filled the office of Secretary to the Geological
Society, impede his exertions in the field of phhosophy;
or in any way depreciate their value? The testimony of
his friend Mr. Dale should be inscribed upon the heart of
every man of science. " He received the Bible with im
plicit deference, not as the word of man, but, as it is in truth,
the word of GOD. — Blameless, excehent as he was, to out
ward appearance, in every relation of life, he knew that he
could not abide the scrutiny of One who looked upon the
• 0 that they would practically and efficiently abrogate the distressing
monition of one of the distinguished philosophers of our country !  " There
is no subject on which the generality, even of educated and reasoning
persons, are less given to reason than on religion. Hence the prevalent
disposition (even among those who think deeply, and are perhaps profoundly
engaged in philosophical investigations on other subjects,) is to avoid all
such examination of religious matters ; to adopt nominally the established
creed without question ; to dismiss all particular distinctions from their
thoughts ; or, if questioned, to recur to mystery, and repose in the incom
prehensibility of the doctrine ; maintaining this, too, as in itself the most
effectual and legitimate means of cherishing a due and becoming sentiment
of religion. And all this grounded upon and vindicated by the favourite
and fashionable idea, so grateful to human nature, that religion is altogether
a matter of feeling." Powell's " Tradition Unveiled ;" p. 62.

312 DB. EDWAED TUBNEB.
heart ; and he joyfully took refuge in the comfortable doc
trine of an Almighty Saviour, one able to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by him."
When Dr. Turner knew that death was near, he adverted
to the perfect calmness of his pulse, and asked, " What can
make it so at such an hour? What, but the power of
rehgion? Who, but the Spirit of God?  1 could not
have beheved (he said,) that I could be happy on my
death-bed. I am content my career should close.  The
question was put to him by an anxious relative, Is not
Christ as good as his word ? Tes, he faltered, quite. And,
when he had said these words, he feh asleep." *
I cannot but add, that any member of the learned and
scientific societies to which Dr. Turner belonged, is doing
himself a wrong if he do not read and deeply ponder the
Sermon which has furnished these extracts.
In a word : suffer one to entreat you, who puts forth no
claim but that of the sincerest regard, and the warmest
desire for your enjoying happiness of the most exalted kind
and in the most perfect degree. Suffer him to entreat, that
you would effectually resolve to yield to rehgion its rightful
place in your minds and your hearts : that you would give
the just proportion of your studies to the facts and evi
dences of Christianity, its doctrines and duties, its promises,
its invitations, and its faithful warnings.
" Gloey to God in the highest ; on eaeth, peace ;
among men, good will ! "
Fourth ed. Upon one subject, which has not been made prominent as
it ought to have been in the preceding Lecturesj I add a few words: the
Direct Agency of God in the Achievements of the Human Mind. A con-

* " The Philosopher entering as a Child into the Kingdom of God :" a
Sermon preached at the Parish Church of St. Bride, Feb. 27, 1837: on the
Death of Edward Turner, M.D., F.R.S. &c. By the Rev. Thomas Dale,
M.A. Pp. 24,28,29,

CONCLUSION. 313
sistent believer in Christianity cannot bring this into doubt; but we have
far too slight an impression of it. Professed faith in God's providence is
commonly a formal and vapid word-currency, standing for some kind of
inspection and general government; but by no means letting itself down to
the smallest particulars of creatures and events, and producing no holiness
in the heart and the life. Atoms and moments are thought to be too
inconsiderable for the attention of the Infinite Majesty ; and not infre
quently men scornfully sneer at the doctrine of a providence really universal,
that is, which omits nothing from its view and action. Let a thing existent,
or an event occurring, be such that a finite intellect might judge it totally
and for all purposes insignificant; such judgment would be not only pre
sumptuous but erroneous, yea, sinfully false. May devout reason pursue
the thought ! I use it only to awaken the sentiment that, in the physical
and mental conformation, and in all the predicates of parental, educational,
and every other actuation, there has been a special influence from the
Deity. Conjecture, inquiry, experiment, induction, confirmation, applica
tion of ascertained truths, all the causes or occasions that have produced
science and art, in every degree and form of tkutb, have come from GOD,
by his acting upon the susceptibilities of the individual, in a manner
distinguishing and specific. Thales, Hippocrates, Plato and Aristotle,
Archimedes and Hipparchus, Kepler, Bacon and Galileo, Newton, Leib
nitz and Bradley, and the bright galaxy of our own times studded with
names for admiration, — all have been the subjects of that communication
from on high of which the Book of Inspiration remarkably speaks. For
example: " In thy hand is power and might, and in thy hand it is to make
great. — Jehovah spake to Moses, — See, I have called by name Bezaleel,
and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and in under
standing, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise
cunning [i. e. knowing, such as indicates profound insight] works. — Unto
Solomon — God said, — Behold— I have given thee a wise and understanding
heart. — God gave to Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much,
and largeness of heart, even as the sand which is on the sea-shore; — for he
was wiser than all men; — and he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that
is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; he
spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. —
Doth the ploughman plough all day ? Doth he open and break the clods i
— Doth he not cast abroad, — and cast in — [the different seeds] 1 — For his
God doth instruct him." *

• 1 Chron. xxix. 12 ; Exod. xxxi. 3 ; 1 Kings iv. 29—33; Is. xxviii. 26.

314 CONCLUSION.
The imperative lessons from these facts are, — that scientific men are
under the strongest obligations to cultivate their rich domain with the most
reverential spirit towards Him who has given it to them: — that as, in a
natural sense, they are thus privileged to " draw nigh unto God," and as it
were " enter into bis secret chambers," they, above all men, ought not to
satisfy themselves without the exalted, pure, happy, influence of the
Almighty Spirit, which will transform them into His likeness " in know
ledge, righteousness, and the holiness of the truth ;" that Christ may be
" made by God unto them, wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification
and redemption."
O, may this supreme blessedness be granted to all those whom God's
distinguished mercy has raised so high !

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.

[A.]
Referred to at pages 9 and 265.
DISSERTATION ON THE LAWS OF ORGANISED NATURES, INVOLVING; THE
NECESSITY OP DEATH ; AND ON GEOLOGICAL STUDIES IN GENERAL.
In the "Congregational Magazine" for November, 1837, the
inquiry was proposed, under the signature of T. K. — " Could there
be death, by violent and painful means, before the entrance of sin
had deranged the order of a holy world, or had given occasion
for bringing into action the instruments of violent death ? "
To this, the foUowing answer was returned : and, as it has been
made an object of controversial attack by Mr. Mellor Brown, and
as it may contribute some further illustration to several of the
topics treated in these lectures, I have thought it not unsuitable
to be here introduced, omitting a few sentences.
The question of your correspondent T. K., merits the most
serious attention. It forms one, and probably the heaviest, of the
two great difficulties which Christians feel in relation to the dis
coveries and doctrines of modern Geology ; the first is the alleged
necessity of admitting that God had put forth his creating energy
from an era impossible to be even conjectured, but stretching back
through immeasurable periods, from the adaptation of the earth,
to be the abode of a new race of creatures, with man at their head.
I have said, alleged necessity; because that qualifying term is
proper at the outset of an inquiry : but, though I cannot now under
take this part of the discussion, I am bound to profess that there
is no doubt in my own mind. I must even go so far as to express
my conviction, that it is perfectly impossible for any intelligent
person to understand the fects of the case, and sit down with any
modification of the sentiment which supposes our globe to have
been created a few thousand years ago. But it is much to be
lamented, that many well-meaning persons have imagined them
selves qualified to decide this question, while really unacquainted
with the essential parts of the argument ; having probably derived
what they suppose to be a competent measure of knowledge, from
a perusal of some one or two books, lofty, and even haughty
in assertion, but ignorant, to a degree almost incredible, of the
very grounds on which the inquiry must proceed so as to have any
reasonable prospect of success. Indeed, Geology, as a. science de
duced by the severest logic from phenomena which, when once fairly

318 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
ascertained, a man can no more doubt of (I think I speak not too
strongly), than he can doubt that it is day when he sees the sun,
can scarcely be said to have come into existence till within the
last thirty or forty years ; for it is within such a period that Dr.
William Smith's discovery of characteristic fossils to each stratum
and series of strata, laid a foundation on which many most cau
tiously practical and reasoning geologists have built, and from
which, by general accordance, the epithet has been applied to him,
the father of Geology. Yet, at this hour, many excellent persons
are reposing upon the belief that one theory is about as good as
another, that the primary doctrines which prevail among geolo
gists are nothing but ideal hypotheses, not at all advanced beyond
plausible conjectures, mostly at variance with each other, and that,
as fast as one theory is set up, it is found to be wrong by some
succeeding inquirer ; so that, upon the whole, we may rest satis
fied that the right theory has not yet been discovered, and that
the phenomena are not yet justly understood, nor their real bear
ings discerned. Of such persons there can be no hope, unless they
will take pains in more ways than one, and to a degree which they
have not yet dreamed of. It is no wonder that Geology has risen
so high within but the last fifteen years, and has attracted to it
the most gifted minds in this and other countries : for it is based
upon the evidence of sense, in the laborious and protracted exami
nation of mines, mountain-regions, and less dangerous places
without number ; and it demands, in order to its successful
cultivation, an acquaintance with at least the principles of
chemistry, electricity, mineralogy, zoology, conchology, compara
tive anatomy, and (as the papers of Mr. Hopkins and Sir J. F.
Herschel have recently shown) of the sublimest mathematics.
Thus Geology maintains relations with the whole sphere of natural
knowledge ; and, above all, it bears a most important reference to
Theology and Biblical studies, that we may know truth, and
maintain it against both well-meaning believers, and ill- meaning
unbelievers, and may magnify " the wondrous works of Him that
is perfect in knowledge."
The question is, how can we admit the existence of animal pain
and death, before " sin entered into the world, and death by sin 1 "
1. The matter of fact must be ascertained. Is there evidence,
such as cannot be set aside, of such facts as the following ? That
the state of the surface of our globe has been changed by sub
mersion under oceanic or lake water, and frequent elevation and
drying, a great number of times, (say 30 to 40 ;) that each of those
successive states continued during a vast period, which it would
be presumptuous to conjecture, but which might very moderately
be taken at many thousands of years ; that, in every one of those
states, (till, in the descending order, we arrive at the very early
strata,) we find the unquestionable remains of animals, or their

STJPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 319
shelly habitations ; that these are not huddled together, as if
drifted on by a torrent, or thrown into a hole, but are disposed in
horizontal, or what was once horizontal, order, spread over large
surfaces, often of the same family or tribe, in all stages of their
growth, preserving the most delicate parts of their form, and thus
showing that there they had quietly lived and died; that of these
humble beings, many are shown, by the structure of the shell, to
have been carnivorous; that, in some far more recent* members
of the secondary class of strata, are found the skeletons of gigantic
lizard-formed animals, with their stomachs remaining under their
ribs, and those stomachs still retaining the more solid relics of
their food, among which are fish-scales, and bits of bone ; and that
every stratum has its own characteristic animal and vegetable
remains, the differing natures of which indicate great and pro
gressive alterations in temperature and other circumstances. All
these are familiar facts to the geologist. He sees those remains
in the midst of hard rocks, yea, often composing the chief sub
stance of those rocks ; he digs them out ; he sends them to tl e
British and other Museums, or to be preserved in private collec
tions ; and there the delicate inhabitants of cities may see them
without pains or peril.
We cannot argue against facts. Let us seek the solution of
difficulties, in the best way that we can ; but let us proceed with
modesty and humility, ever ready to confess our weakness and
ignorance ; thankful for what we may know, submissive in what
we cannot know, and confidently relying on the glorious per
fections of God, when we cannot follow their unfolding, Are
there not, ought there not to be, many things in nature, as well as
in providence and grace, of which it is our privilege to say, " Such
knowledge is too wonderful for me ; it is high ; I cannot attain
unto it ! His judgments are a great deep : — unsearchable ; — past
finding out ! "
2. It has pleased the Adorable Supreme to give existence to a
dependent world, in part spiritual, and in part material Of the
material part of the universe, one great division is insensitive,
and consists, so far as we know, of only aggregated and crystal
lized matter : the other is sensitive, and its structure is organized;
that is, it is composed of a system, arranged by divine skill, of
tubes or cells, in which fluids circulate, the more solid parts being
perpetually in motion of receiving and giving, each particle
passing on in a course of change, the whole endowed with the
mysterious property or functional possession, called life, and dis
tributed into a classification of kinds, descending from larger to
smaller groups, till we arrive at an individual. The individuals
* Recent, in a geological sense, but if compared with our common measures of time,
we confess ourselves unable to give an equation. Untold thousands of years before
the adjustment of the earth for the human race, would be no extravagant expression, -

320 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
reproduce similar ones : each individual is born, grows, becomes
mature, decays, dies ; and the dead organic matter is seized upon
by appropriated agents ; some of which effect a recombination of
certain portions with the mineral kingdom ; others, being them
selves organic and living, both vegetable and animal, take and
recombine with their own structure, certain other portions. Thus
all living organized beings are maintained in life by the assimila
tion into themselves of portions of dead organized beings; and
this is the universal circle of process in all material nature that is
endowed with life, vegetable and animal.
3. The law of dissolution, that is death, is therefore necessary
to organic life. Each individual has its term; then it dies, and
enables others to live. Through a vast period, the species con
tinues ; it at last ceases, but other species of the same genus
appear, and enjoy their time of duration. Mightier cycles
revolve, during which great changes take place in the temperature
and the strata of the globe, and whole genera live no more. The
life of man, however, does not extend to witness the commence
ment and the extinction of a single species : yet the period of the
human race upon earth has outlived several species, some of which
obscurely appear in the traditionary history of nations, and one
(the dodo) has become extinct within the last two hundred years ;
and finally, we have not the slightest reason to think that any
genus has ceased, " since the day that God created man upon the
earth." 4. A system of nature, according to which organized creatures
should not die, would be totally incompatible with the plan which
the Creator has been pleased to establish in this department of his
works. But let us try some hypotheses.
(1.) Put the case, that there be no death. Upon this supposi
tion, two or three modes are conceivable :
a. Life prolonged without food. But this would be irreconcila
ble with a system of successive production, nutrition, assimilation,
and growth. Such beings would be perpetual possessors of the
earth and the waters, in their own persons, without any progeny.
Only imagine such a world ! Shall we say one, or some number,
of each species 1 Quadruped, bird, reptile, fish, mollusc, zoophyte,
insect of every kind, including all those invisible without micro
scopic aid ; each immortal.
b. life prolonged by vegetable food alone. But this would
require a differently constituted vegetable world : for there is no
plant on the land or in the sea, which does not nourish myriads
of minute insects, which are destroyed in the eating of the plants.
c. Must there be any multiplication by progeny, upon any
scheme 1 Then, either the whole number must be always extremely
small, by being kept down in some inconceivable way ; or would,

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 321
after a time, multiply to that degree that there would not be room
for them. The land and the waters would be over-filled !
(2.) Let the supposition be, that death take place, but only in
the way of natural decay and old age ; not by violence, as in
becoming the prey of other animals. This seems to be the hypo ¦
thesis of T. K. or that for which he wishes. But he certainly has
not reflected upon the working out of this notion. The debility
and decay of age require the nursing and soothing attentions of
other individuals of the same species. But, except very imper
fectly in a few instances of quadrumana and some domesticated
animals, nothing appears in the brute creation analogous to the
care and tenderness of man for man, in nursing and tending the
sick or feeble. Even in the human species, unless where beli&ion
breathes its vital influence, that class of duties is miserably at
tended to. Let your worthy correspondent ask the aid of some
judicious physiologist, to assist him in weighing, the opposite
amounts of suffering, the one by natural and untended decay, the
other by an almost instantaneous act of violence by another crea
ture, in the full health and vigour of the devoured animal. He
will find the very reverse of the estimation which he appears to
have made. Besides, there is some reason to think that the first
surprise produces a paralysis, by which the sense of pain is dimin
ished, or wholly extinguished. I am not writing ludicrously ; but
seriously, as the subject requires.
But Geology furnishes cases of animal life extinguished upon a
scale immensely large, by other processes than being devoted to
furnish nutriment for other living creatures. The polishing stone
called tripoli was till lately thought to be a siliceo-argillaceous
rock ; but it is now ascertained to be a, congeries of microscopic
many-chambered shells : and there are rocks of nummulitic lime
stone, and vast heaps of the shell milliola compressed into solid
masses. The able and indefatigable Curator to the Geological
Society, Mr. Lonsdale, has discovered microscopic shells in chalk,
unutterably numerous. In all these cases, the densely associated
and countless millions of once living beings, which inhabited those
shells, must have died by the upheaving, out of the sea, of the
compact masses consisting of them, and being thus left dry. Was
not that as painful a death as if they had supplied food to larger
cephalopods % It was probably much slower, and consequently
involving more protracted distress. Some approach may be made
to an idea of the number of animals thus become the prey of death,
by considering the fact that, in a cube of tripoli rock of but one-
tenth of an inch, 500 millions of those shells are contained,* each
one an exquisitely formed dwelling, comprising several cells, most
beautiful in material, and in general structure resembling the
existing genus nautilus. We might in like manner argue from
* See Supplementary Note G.
Y

322 STJPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
the mountain limestone, in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, on the banks
of the Wye, and in innumerable other places, many miles in
extent and hundreds of feet in thickness ; and which, without a
microscope, any man may see to consist of scarcely anything beside
the skeletons of the many-fingered crinoideal families, and the
occasional beds of bivalve and some univalve shells, evidently not
brought together by any moving body of water, which would have
broken their tender carved-work, and have left them a huddled
mass ; but, on the contrary, lying together, orderly, and in all ages
and degrees of growth.
It is a common supposition that, in the interval between their
creation and the fall of man, all animals were gentle, and fed solely
upon vegetable productions. Some have proposed the hypothesis
that the carnivorous tribes were not created till after the fall, or
even after the deluge. This hypothesis seems to lessen the diffi
culty, but it overlooks the fact that the grasses, leaves, seeds, and
fruits, which are the food of the herbivorous races, swarm with
insect life. The supposition that the carnivorous animals could
at any time have fed upon vegetables, cannot be entertained for a
moment, except it were by a person quite ignorant of the anato
mical structure of those animals. Their bones and muscles, their
teeth, claws, stomachs, and intestines, demonstrate that they were
created to be nourished solely by animal food. Let it also be con
sidered, that the tribes of fish, great and small, with very incon
siderable exceptions, so immensely filling rivers, lakes, and the
ocean, are formed by the all-wise Creator to be carnivorous. I
have formerly thought that our first parents had never witnessed
death, till they had beheld with agony the first sacrifice, offered
up by divine prescription. But I do not now see the necessity or
the probability of such a state of things. Rather, the denunciation
in Gen. ii. 17, would seem to imply that they understood what the
penalty was, in consequence of their having witnessed the pangs
of death, in the inferior animals.
5. What, then, is the meaning of Rom. viii. 20 — " The creation
(ver. 22, all the creation) has been made subject to vanity," <fcc. ?
1 reply, that here the word (which is used in different senses and
under great limitations, as in Col. i. 23 ; 1 Pet. ii. 13 ;) denotes
the part of the created universe which is immediately related to
man, or comes under his influence ; and that " vanity " denotes
the frustration of high and holy purposes to which that part of
the universe is subjected by the wickedness of mankind, ungrate
fully towards God and cruelly towards sentient animals, abusing
the gifts of Providence.
6. Still, the question will be proposed, Are we compelled to
acquiesce in these conditions 1 Might not the deposition of all
the strata, their superposition, the imbedding in them of vegetable
and animal remains, and their elevation so as to form our present

STJPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 323
continents and islands, all have taken place in the 1656 years from
the fall to the deluge, completed by the powerful action of the
diluvial waters.
This is the question of questions in relation to Geology. To
discuss it fully would require a volume : yet, long as this paper
has become, I must offer a few words. There are two classes of
men, each of which gives its reply.
The first class consists of those who have heard the word Geology,
but have been told (often by truly excellent men) that it is a
dangerous study, that it impugns the truth of the Scripture re
cords, and that it seeks to betray the unwary into infidelity. Of
this class, some have read a little about geological subjects, have
heard say a little more, and have eked out the rest by their own
conjecture and imagination : and they answer this question in the
affirmative. The second class of persons comprises those who have spent
thirty, forty, even fifty years in laborious investigation ; many of
them, having set out with tbe opinion of the former class ; who
have personally explored all the most important districts in the
British isles, in France, in the Alpine countries, in Germany, and
in Eastern and Northern Europe ; also, in Asia, Worth and South
America, and many parts of Africa and Australasia ; who have
endured Herculean toils in the field of personal labour ; expending
large sums of money in their travels for this very object ; who
have come to geological investigations well prepared by mathe
matical and chemical science ; who have pursued those investiga
tions with untiring perseverance, and with the severest jealousy
against precipitate conclusions : and what answer do they give ?
With one mouth they say, No ; it is impossible.
There are thirty, or rather more, well-defined beds, layers, or
strata, of different* mineral masses, lying upon each other, so as
to form the surface of the globe on which we dwell. These com
bine themselves, by natural characters, into three or four grand
groups. Compare them to a set of books, in 30 or 40 volumes,
piled up on their flat sides. Nowhere, indeed, can the whole set
of the earth's strata be displayed, lying each upon the other, for
reasons which will presently appear ; and, if it were so at any
spot, all the power and art of men could never penetrate through
more than one, two, or three of the layers. They are placed one
over the other, in a sure and known order of succession ; that is,
though in no locality are all to be found, or (which is saying the
same thing conversely) in every locality some are wanting, the
order of position is never violated. Let the letters of the alpha
bet represent the strata, thus ; the Tertiary, a, b, c, d, e ; the
* Different in mineTal composition : for it must he observed, that many a homo
geneous stratum of great thickness is itself laminated or stratified, like the leaves of
a book or a number of pasteboards closely pressed together.
Y 2

324 STJPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
Secondary, i. e. all from the chalk to the old red sandstone inclu
sive, / to z ; the Primary, aa, bb, cfec. to jj : then observe that
any member or several members of the series may be absent, for
example, d or /, or I or p ; but b is never above a, nor m above k,
nor s above q. When this fact is rightly conceived of, let it be
further observed, that the strata do not lie over each other in con
tinuous concentric spheroids, like the coats of an onion ; but may
rather be compared to a vast number of wafers, of irregular forms,
laid on a globe, and patched upon each other in different sets as to
thickness, and variously under-passing, out-cropping, and over
lapping. Now, let the mind imagine mighty forces from below,
acting upon certain points and along certain lines : then the
wafer-patches will be raised to all angles, bent, broken, their
edges often turned up, so that the edges of lower strata stand in
some places over the higher ones which had been thus shattered.
Further, let the mind conceive of a mass of melted matter, suppose
pitch, having lain for some time quietly underneath the lowest of
the wafer-patches ; then boiling up, bursting forth, and in many
places raising the wafers, piercing them, passing through them,
and finally hardening in fantastic shapes, and towering over the
upheaved and fractured outside. This little play of imagination
will present a pretty fair idea of the real stratification of the
earth's surface, the eruption of the non- stratified (granitic and
similar) rocks which have boiled up, elevating linear ridges
(mountain ranges) when they could not pierce through, but
actually piercing through where their force could overcome the
resistance, and when cooled, remaining the magnificent crags and
summits of the loftiest mountains. It must also be understood,
as a matter of the clearest sensible demonstration, that these pro
cesses have occurred several times, at various and distant intervals,
producing among the strata many varieties of direction, inclina
tion, contortion, cleavage, conformity, and nonconformity in re
ference to each other. If all the strata could be placed, or, for
illustration' sake, we may say replaced, upon each other, to what
thickness or depth would they amount 1 It is commonly said five
miles : Dr. Buckland, who is so eminently qualified to make an
estimate, gives his authority to the supposition of ten miles. With
respect to the actual surface of the earth, the greatest height from
the lowest valley-bottom to the top of the highest mountain, may
be taken at five miles. This height, compared to the diameter of
the earth, may be fairly represented by the thickness of a fine
thread laid upon the surface of a twelve-inch globe.
All these things being considered, the inquirer may be able to
conceive the appearance of the accessible end, or denuded cross
cut, of a stratum or several strata. The observer sees that the
whole has been deposited from water either as a mere precipi
tate from a mixture, or as separated from chemical solution.

STJPPLEMENTABY NOTES. 325
Hence, the variety of rocks, siliceous, clayey, limestone, marly, and
all these in various compounds. The eye also perceives, in many
cases, the lower portion of a stratum to contain pebbles, the water-
worn fragments of the older rocks to which they can be traced ;
higher up, the coarser sandstone ; and towards the top, the finer
sediment. Moreover, the separations of the distinct strata arc
often presented to view ; the bounding surfaces of the formations.
Now we want a measure for the rate of deposition. A perfect
rule for this is beyond the present reach of science ; but there is
an ample sufficiency of ascertained facts, to prove that the whole
series of deposits has occupied untold ages. This letter has grown
to so alarming a length, that I can only hint at the phenomena
which furnish the grounds for this approximate estimate. They
are observations upon the rates of deposit, in all kinds and in all
circumstances, as it is continually going on in ponds, lakes, river
beds, estuaries, deltas, fiat shores, siliceous and limestone springs
of water, and conclusions analogical but most powerfully supported,
concerning the deposits in the depths of the ocean.
This may give some idea of the processes of observation and
reasoning, by which we are brought to the conclusion which I have
mentioned ; that the whole series of stratifications, which lie upon
the non-stratified masses of rock, must have taken a period of
time immeasurable by mortals, but which is but a point in com
parison with the eternity of the CREATOR. — It may be proper
also to observe, that it is only in the newest and latest kinds of
formation that any remains of man and his contemporary animals
are to be found.
6. By this long but necessary circuit, we are brought to the
question of your correspondent. We cannot resist the evidence of
facts perceived by ocular demonstration, and every other kind of
sensible evidence : and that evidence tells us that the system of
organized life which the Creator has established, is a cycle of pro
duction, growth, decay, and death.
It is easy to show that this plan of vegetable and animal existence
provides for an amount of creatures and their enjoyment, unut
terably greater than any scheme imaginable by us, and which
should exclude death by carnivorous violence. We ought not to
smile at this ; nor to affect horror at it: let us examine thoroughly,
and judge fairly.
7. But, if even we decline to press this reasonable argument,
we have a last resort : " Who art thou, 0 man, that repliest against
God ? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why
hast thou made me thus !"
8. We may now ask, what is the just interpretation of Rom. v.
12. " By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin V
We reply, that it refers to the access and dominion of death over
man, involving, the presupposition that, had not our first parents

326 STJPPLEMENTAEr NOTES.
sinned, they would, on the expiration of their probationary state,
have undergone a physical change different from dying, which would
have translated them into a higher condition of happy existence.
This glorious prospect they forfeited, and, as the just penalty of
their transgression, sunk down into the condition of the inferior
animals, in becoming the prey of temporal or corporal death : but,
in relation to their higher capacities, they plunged themselves into
the gulf of death in senses infinitely more awful. Thus to Adam
and all his natural descendants, " the sting [that which constitutes
it a real evil] of death is sin :" but to the irrational creation this
does not apply. They are incapable of moral obedience or dis
obedience towards God (though they have resemblance of both with
respect to man, who is to them in the place of God, Gen. i. 26 ;)
and therefore death is not a sting to them, in a spiritual sense, or
in any sense inconsistent with the equity, goodness, and wisdom of
the divine government.
As your inquiring correspondent calls himself " a beginner in
Geological Researches," he will not deem me presuming or rude if
I offer a few words of humble advice : and, for brevity's sake, I will
suppose myself to be addressing a young friend.
1. Do not suppose that a satisfactory knowledge of Geology
can be obtained in a short time, or by skimming over a book or
two. 2. Necessary prerequisites are a knowledge of chemistry, miner
alogy, and natural history, particularly comparative anatomy,
conchology, and botany, not only according to the Linnsean artificial
system, but to the natural arrangement of Dr. Lindley, or some
other recent and eminent botanist. A profound intimacy with
any one of these branches of science is indeed a work for a man's
life ; but where there is such a minute acquaintance with any
one, a masterly knowledge of the others is easily and delightfully
acquired, provided the due appropriation be made of time and
diligence. But a general knowledge of essential principles, taking
care that it be accurate so far as it goes, may be acquired by
pains-taking in a few inestimable years which usually follow a
good school education.
3. Go into the field of actual search and observation ; sea-cliffs,
steep ravine -sides, quarries, cuttings through hills for highways,
canals, rail-roads, and well-diggings, or any accessible exhibitions
of the faces of rocks. The great gravelly plain of London is desti
tute of good localities of this kind : yet the sand-pits of Woolwich
yield a very good lesson. But the West of England, Wales, and
the North, are the grand academy for these studies. A person
who has made himself familiar with a few good instances, will be
able, with the aid of books, maps, views, and sections, to form a
mental idea of others ; which will be in its measure just, though
of course far inferior to the impression of the actual objects.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 327
Mr. De la Beetle's " How to Observe in Geology," will be found of
great use.
4. Hand-specimens of rocks must be studied. There are many
fine collections throughout the kingdom. I may mention Bath,
Bristol, Brighton, Norwich, York, Scarborough, Leeds, Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, Liverpool, and many other places.
5. For books, without involving the least prejudice against other
valuable works, I take the liberty of recommending the following
short list.
Prof. John Phillips's " Guide to Geology ;" the last edition, and
his " Treatises on Geology " in the seventh edition of the " Ency
clopaedia Britannica," and published separately ; Edinb. 1837,
and in the " Cabinet Cyclopaedia." The latter works form excellent
illustrations of the preceding.
Mr. Lyell's "Principles of Geology;" 4 vols. 12mo. the fifth
edition, 1837. An admirable collection of facts, and which care
fully separates facts from hypotheses. Mr. L. makes you acquainted
with the former, without urging your assent to the latter.*
" Outlines of the Geology of England and Wales ;" by the Rev.
W. D. Conybeare, and the late Mr. W. Phillips ; vol. i. 1822.
Unhappily the second volume has never been published : but I
have reason to hope that Mr. Conybeare will favour the world
with a new work, incorporating, condensing, and completing the
volume just mentioned, which is now far behind the actual state
of geological science, but it can never lose its value for local
descriptions. De la Beche's "Geological Manual," 8vo. 1833. Fhillips's
" Guide" should precede this.
The same author's " Tablet of the Tertiary and Secondary
Rocks." Viguiev and Collon's Tablet, drawn from Alex. Brongniart's
" Tableau des Terrains." Paris.
These two are single sheets of paper upon a synoptic plan, and
comprising the essence of many volumes : and the same praise is
due to the tablet which forms the first plate in Dr. Buckland's
" Bridgewater Treatise ;" 2 vols. 8vo. 1836. That work is of the
richest interest for Palaeontology, the study of organic remains ;
but a previous acquaintance with the mineralogical branch is
absolutely necessary, and it did not belong to Dr. Buckland's
design and plan to supply that.
A series of exceedingly good systematical papers on Geology and
the Minerals, are in the "Penny Magazine," chiefly during the
year 1833; but many since. No. 51, Jan. 19, 1833, contains a
little Tablet admirably drawn up, perhaps in imitation of Mr. De
* The "Elements of Geology," by Mr. Lyell, the second edition, is in two volumes,
and should be studied before, and then in collation with, the Principles ; of which
also say the sixth edition. [1647. Of course, the latest, editions must be sought.}

328 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
la Beche's. Also, in the " Saturday Magazine " for the present
year, 1 837, a series has commenced of " Familiar Illustrations of
Geology." Two articles have appeared, viz. in Nos. 329 and 344 ;
and they well answer to their title.
"A System of Geology, with a Theory of the Earth, and an
Explanation of its Connexion with the Sacred Records." By John
Macculloch, M.D., F.R.S., 2 vols. 8vo. 1831. This is a work which,
for illustration and amplifying comment, should be read both
after, and, a second and third time, concurrently with, any of the
preceding. Indeed I would say, that Professor Phillips's Guide
and this work, would admirably constitute the initial course. Dr.
Macculloch was a geologist of a very high order, though he
strangely neglected the Palasontological branch, indefatigable in
the arduous toils of personal examination in the most interesting
regions of Great Britain, an independent thinker, and yet a man
who delighted to do homage to the government and the word of
God. The work was written in 1821, and therefore some modi
fications and corrections will accrue, by comparing it seriatim
with Mr. John Phillips's books. Yet we must confess that it has
serious faults of style and manner. It ought also to receive, as a
most important supplement or companion, the following posthu
mous work of the same author ; which is indeed a little too prolix,
and its arrangement might admit of much improvement, had not
death put upon it the sacred seal of inviolability. " Proofs and
Illustrations of the Attributes of God, from the Facts and Laws of
the Physical Universe ; being the Foundation of Natural and
Revealed Religion." 3 vols. 1837.
Finally, let me intreat the student to be on his guard against
expecting, that a few months of light reading will make him a
geologist. The study is indeed one for life ; and that general
acquaintance with it which a person of liberal education ought to
possess, must be acquired with long-continued diligence and care,
to be minutely accurate, or he will be liable to fall into perpetual
and most serious errors. " Those who have taken a narrow view of
this great and growing branch of human knowledge, who have
satisfied themselves with collecting a few fossil shells, naming a
few compound rocks, and constructing a few sections and maps,
may possibly be startled at the mighty circle of perpetual research
in which they are unconsciously engaged." — Phillips's Encycl.
Treatise, p. 4. J. p. S.
Homerton, Nov. 10, 1837.
Aug. 1839. I cannot resist the transcribing of some paragraphs
from an unknown writer in the " Christian Observer."
" As one who — has taken great interest in Geology, though no
geologist, I beg to offer a few observations upon the idea that the
inferior animals were not subject to death before the fall. — Perhaps,

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 329
the remarks of a mere Christian observer might, so far as they
are of value, be received with less suspicion than those of a pro
fessedly scientific man.  1 was accustomed to entertain the idea
of death having passed generally upon the whole creation, at the
fall of man. But, when I heard of the discoveries of geologists, I
was led to examine into the foundation of this opinion. I referred
to Scripture ; but upon examination I found no passage which
supports such a notion.  Not finding it declared in Scripture, I
began to consider what reason there might be for supposing it ;
and I was led to the conclusion that there was none. For (setting
aside the discoveries of geologists), which is the most difficult to
believe ; that the inferior animals had only a limited existence, or
that they were created immortal ? Immortal ! From the igua-
nodon or mammoth to the fluttering butterfly or invisible ani
malcule 1 A notion which involves a belief of the eternal duration
of the earth ; unless we are to suppose a series of transmigra
tions from world to world, as each dissolved.  The belief that
death was in the world previous to the fall of Adam, I am aware,
seems at first, to a Christian mind, to destroy the idea of death as
a penal consequence of sin. But this difficulty soon vanishes : for,
when man saw that he was placed above the inferior animals, not
merely in the possession of intellect, but in being honoured with
immortality while they were subject to death, he would not only
understand what was meant by the threatened consequences of sin,
but surely would feel the curse as denouncing a deep degradation,
to be sunk to the level of that creation over which he was made
lord. ' The wages of sin ' were ' death ; ' a curse indeed, since it
made him like the beasts that perish in this world, at the same
time that it could not deliver the immortal spirit from the eternal
wrath of its offended Maker."  J. A. W. in " Christian Obs."
July, 1839 ; p. 405.

[B.]
Refered io at page 14.
ON THE EVIDENCE DERIVED PROM ASTRONOMY TO THE EXTENT AND
ANTIQUITY OF THE UNIVERSE.
In the Philosophical Transactions for 1800, is a paper by the
late Sir William Herschel, upon the Power of Telescopes to penetrate
into Space, a property distinct from the magnifying power. By
observations and calculations which appear to have been conducted
with the greatest care, and which were corroborated by facts
independently and previously ascertained, the space penetrating
power of his 40 feet reflector is brought out to be a little more

330 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
than 191 times that of ordinary natural vision, or extending to
more than 300,000 times the distance of Sirius, which on satisfac
tory grounds is regarded as one of the nearest of the fixed stars.
The light by which Sirius is seen by us, moving at its known
velocity of 192,000 miles in a second, is at least six years and four
months on its passage to our system. By applying his equation,
Sir \\ illiam brought out that the brilliant nebulae which only his
telescope could [at that time] reach, are distant from our system
by a number of miles, to express which in common arithmetical
numeration requires twenty figures, of which the first eight are
11,705,475, the 11 denoting trillions, and the other number bil
lions ; the remaining part of the sum being much more than 948
thousand millions. This almost unmanageable number is expressed
by Sir William Herschel thus, — above llf millions of millions of
millions of miles ! " It follows, that the light by which those
bright objects become visible to us, cannot have been less than
one million and nine hundred thousand years in its progress.
Yet, when we have strained our minds to contemplate, in the
extremely feeble manner to which our faculties are competent,
this overwhelming distance, we have no reason to think that we
have touched the circumference of the astral sphere ; or that we
have advanced beyond the threshold of God's creation.
If it be objected that, in accordance with these deductions, we
might expect new portions of Jehovah's dominion to be frequently
disclosing themselves, stars and clusters of stars " blushing out"
on our view, new to us, because their light had now first arrived
at our earthly abode ; I conceive the following considerations
sufficient to meet the objection.
1. The absolute distances of fixed stars and groups from each
other, may be such as to require respective intervals of years and
even centuries for the light of the more remote objects to reach
us ; that light arriving successively from each according to the
distance. 2. Our case refers to objects which, though self-luminous, are
not visible to the naked eye. They may " blush out," even fre
quently ; but men are not capable of being their observers. Only
a few of mankind can enjoy, and be qualified to use, such telescopes
as those of Sir William Herschel, and his still more accomplished
son. 3. Granting the possession of those advantages, the opportunities
for observation are too scanty for the construction of a negative
argument. Sir William Herschel, in the same paper, says that the
number of night-hours, suited to this kind of celestial observation,
is averaged favourably in our climate at one hundred in a year ;
and that to " sweep," — to examine as rapidly as is consistent with
astronomical attention, — every zone of the heavens, for the two
hemispheres, would require eight hundred and eleven of such

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 331
favourable years. The number of the objects to be observed is
great almost beyond conception. Sir W. H. by counting the stars
in a definite portion of the field of view, which he observed in one
hour, and estimating the rest, concluded that fifty thousand passed
under his review in that hour. It is therefore within the scope of
probability that new masses of light are achieving their first
arrival in parts of our telescopic sphere, frequently, without its
being possible for men to be aware of it : and, when any of them
come to be discovered, the date of their arrival is unknown.
I draw no argument from the fact that, within the short period
of the last two or three centuries, stars have been discovered which
earlier catalogues or descriptions had not noticed. The attention
requisite to give certainty in this matter, we cannot assume to
have been exercised ; and to look for evidence from this quarter
would be forgetting that it can exist in the domain of only the
greatest telescopic powers.
These views of the antiquity of that vast portion of the Creator's
works which Astronomy discloses, may well abate our reluctance
to admit the deductions of Geology, concerning the past ages of
our planet's existence.
Fourth ed. The argument of this Note may be usefully repre
sented by comparison. The velocity of light is 192,000 miles in a
second of time. I borrow the following Table and observations
from an interesting paper entitled "Astronomical Transcendent
alism," in the "Scottish Congregational Magazine," Jan. 1847.
" From the Moon, light comes to the earth in \\ second.

Sun „ „

8 minut

Jupiter „ „

52

Uranus ,, „

2 hours.

a fixed star of the 1st magnitude,

3 to 12 years.

2nd

20

„ 3rd „

30

4th

45

„ 5th

66

„ 6th „

96

7th

180

12th

4000

"Now, as we see objects by the rays of light passing from those
objects to our eye, it follows that we do not perceive the heavenly
bodies as they are at the moment of our seeing them, but as they
were at the time the rays of light by which we see them left those
bodies. Thus, when we look at the moon, we see her, not as she
is at the moment of our beholding her disc, but as she was a second
and a quarter before ; for instance, we see her, not at the moment
of her rising above the horizon, but IJ second after she has risen.
The sun, also, when he appears to us to have just passed the
horizon, has already passed it by 8 minutes. So, in like manner,
of the planets and the fixed stars. We see Jupiter, not as he is at
the moment of our catching a sight of him, but as he was 52

332 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
minutes before. Uranus appears to us, not as he is at the moment
of our discovering him, but as he was 2 hours previously. And a
star of the 12th magnitude presents itself to our eye, as it was
4000 years ago : so that, suppose such a star to have been anni
hilated 3000 years back, it would still be visible on the earth's
surface for 1000 years to come : or, suppose a star of the same
magnitude had been created at the time the Israelites left Egypt,
it will not be perceptible on the earth for nearly 700 years from
this date" [i.e. till a.d. 2547].
After some striking applications of these truths, the able and
ingenious author proceeds : — " Of what use are such speculations ?
We reply that, besides seeking to awaken — impressive views of
the grandeur of creation, and reverential feelings towards Him
who made and who sustains all this wondrous scheme, — —they
may help us to apprehend, in some degree, what may be the grand
conditions of knowledge, in that higher state which, for ransomed
man, is to succeed the resurrection." — The whole Essay will richly
reward perusal.
May I entreat my young readers to brace themselves up to the
acquiring of astronomical knowledge t Let them combine with
the facts, above stated, just ideas of the number, magnitudes, dis
tances, and motions ofthe heavenly bodies. Let them reflect upon
such truths as these. Of our earth the circumference is 25,000
miles. The moon, at the distance of 240,000 miles, is less than a
fiftieth of the earth's bulk. If the sun were laid upon the earth,
the centres corresponding, it would cover the orbit of the moon
around the earth, and its circle extend 200,000 miles beyond. Our
distance from the sun is 95 millions of miles : that of the planet
Herschel [ — I abhor and lament the change, to which we have no
choice but to submit : — Christians owe no honour to the Grecian
idolatry: — ] is from the sun twenty times our distance: that of
Le Verrier's planet, which we are condemned to call Neptune
(three thousand two hundred millions of miles), about thirty-five
times our distance. To travel from the earth to the Herschel, at
the rate of 20 miles an hour, would require ten thousand years ;
but, at a thousand miles an hour, it would take only 200 years.
Our solar system is itself moving, at the rate of 35,000 miles an
hour, among the fixed stars ; and were our system to be annihi
lated, it would not be missed by an intellect like ours surveying
no more than what we know of the astral universe. Of that astral
universe, the number of stars, within the range of good telescopes,
is computed at 100 millions : but, to examine every part of the
celestial hemisphere, with due observance, supposing 100 favour
able hours each year (a good average for the climate of Britain),
would require 800 years. If, from the most distant part of the
heavens, the light has taken two millions of years to come to
us, — could we be transported thither, — perhaps we should have
advanced to the threshold only of the material creation.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 333
It will interest the ingenuous reader to see two paragraphs from
subsequent papers of Sir William Herschel, which, being in the
" Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society," are accessible to
those only who have the opportunity of consulting that voluminous
repository of science.
" Hence it follows, that, when we  see an object ofthe calcu
lated distance at which one of these very remote nebulas may still
be perceived  the rays of the light which convey its
image to the eye, must have been more than nineteen hundred and
ten thousand, that is almost two millions of years on their way ;
and that consequently so many years ago, this object must already
have had an existence in the sidereal heavens, in order to send
out those rays by which we now perceive it." "Philos. Trans." for
1802 ; p. 498.
"  When our gauges will no longer resolve the Milky Way
into stars, it is not because its nature is ambiguous, but because it
is fathomless." "Philos. Trans." 1818; p. 463. The last contri
bution, I beheve, to Astronomy, from that distinguished man. He
died, Aug. 23, 1822, aged 83.
Alexander von Humboldt, in his " Cosmos," translated by Mrs.
Colonel Sabine (vol. i. pp. 145, 496 ; Lond. 1846,) cites the former
of the two of these memorable passages, and adds the observa
tion : — " Such events or occurrences — reach us as voices of the
past.  We penetrate at once into space and time.  Much [of
the phenomena in past periods] may have disappeared even before
it became visible to our eyes, and in much the arrangement and
order may have varied.  It is more than probable that the light
of the most distant cosmical bodies offers us the oldest sensible
evidence of the existence of matter."
I subjoin a recent contribution to this branch of astronomical
science, extracted from the "Etudes d'Astronomie Stellaire," a Re
port upon the State of Astral Observation, made to Count Ouvaroff,
Min. of Publ. Instr. and Presid. of the Imperial Acad, of Sciences,
by Prof. F. G. W. Struve ; May 19, 1847. Petersburgh.
Table of the Time required by the different Magnitudes of Stars, for the passage of
their respective Emissions of Light to our Sun. The earth may be safely taken to
be the same, as tho difference is only a very minute fraction.
JUX.IAN PBRIODS.
MAONI- RADirOFTHE EACH 7,980 S0LAK YKARS, S0"R
TUDS. EiRTHS0KBI1- MOI-tCTING FRACTIONS. ******
1. One, whose distance from
our sun is  986,000  15  119,700
Another  1,246,000  19  151,620
II. One  1,778,000  28  223,440
Another  2,111,000  .'. 33  263,340
III. One  2,725,000  43  343,140
Another  3,151,000  49  391,020
IV. One  3,850,000  60  478,800
Another  4,375,000  69  550,620
V. Olio  -.  5,378,000  84  670,320
Another  6,121,000  96  76d,080

334 SUPrLEMENTAET NOTES. JULIAN PERIODS, _., ._
MAGNI- BADir OF THE j 98Q SQLAR YE SOLAR
TUDE. EARTH S ORBIT. NEGLECTING FBACTIONg, YE*RS
VI One  7,616,000  120  957,600
Another  8,100 000  127  1,013,400
Another  8,746.000  137  1,093,260
VII. For the distance  14,230,000  224  1,787,520
VIII   24,490,000  386  3,080,280
IX. ¦   87,200,000  586  4,676,280
A star  224>.0,000  3541  28,257,180

" And these are suns ! Vast, central, living fires,
Lords of dependent systems, kings of worlds
That wait as satellites upon their power
And flourish in their smile. Awake, my soul,
And meditate the wonder. Countless suns
Blaze round thee, leading forth their countless worlds 1
Worlds, iu whose bosoms living things rejoice,
And drink the bliss of being from the fount
Of all pervading love. What mind can know,
What tongue can utter, all their multitudes?
Thus numberless in numberless abodes!
Known but to thee, Blest Father ! Thine they are.
Thy children and thy care ; and none o'erlooked
Of thee. No, not the humblest soul that dwells
Upon the humblest globe that wheels its course
Amid the giant glories of the sky ;
Like the mean mote that dances in the beam
Amongst the thousand mirror'd lamps, which fling
Their wasteful splendour from the palace-wall.
None can escape the kindness of thy cave ;
All compass'd underneath thy spacious wing;
Each fed and guided by thy powerful hand."
Prof. Henry Ware, jun., Cambridge Univ. Massachusetts. For the citation
I am indebted to Dr. W. B. Carpenter's " Popular Cyclop." vol. iv. 1843.

[Bb.]
Referred to at page 42.
ON THE THIOKHESS OF IHE SOLID CEUST OF THE EAETH.
" As for the internal heat of the earth, I am of opinion that it
ought not to be considered as an hypothesis, but as a fact well
grounded on numerous phenomena." Prof. Gustav. Bischoff, of
Bonn, in Jameson's Journal, Jan. 1841, p. 14.
" All the calculations,— if they can be at all trusted, tend to
prove that the earth's crust is not much more, and perhaps less,
than twenty miles in. thickness : and if this be so, the crust may
indeed be well compared with a thin sheet of ice over a frozen
pool."— Mr. Darwin, in Memoir on the Connexion of certain
Volcanic Phenomena in South America, "Geol. Trans." second ser.
vol. v. p. 608, 1840. This able philosopher uses the language of
deferential caution from respect to Mr. Parrot, (known for his
observations on the Caspian Sea, tfcc.) but with little or no doubt

STJPELEMEHTAEY NOTES.

335

in his own richly informed mind. In this interesting Memoir,
Mr. Darwin brings much evidence to establish the position, that
the crust of the earth rests upon a mass of melted mineral matter,
whose undulations, with other modifying causes, produce eleva
tions, earthquakes, and volcanos. He has eminently the talent
of simple but graphic description, and luminous deduction. Con
sidering the extent of the field of action, a space, in the instance
considered, of little less than 7000 miles, — "and likewise the
symmetry of the whole, we shall be deeply impressed with the
grandeur of the one motive power which, causing the elevation of
the continent, has produced, as secondary effects, mountain-chains
and volcanos. The same reasons, which led me to the conviction
that the train of connected volcanos in Chile and the recently
uplifted coast, together more than 800 geographical miles in
extent, rested on a sheet of fluid matter, are applicable, with nearly
equal force, to the areas beneath the other trains." After enu
merating several considerations, he continues : " It appears to me
that there is little hazard in assuming, that this large portion of
the earth's crust floats in a like manner on a sea of molten rock.
Moreover, when we think of the increasing temperature of the
strata, as we penetrate downwards in all parts of the world, and
of the certainty that every portion of the surface rests on rocks
which have once been liquefied ; — when we consider the multitude
of points from which fluid rock is annually emitted, and the still
greater number of points from which it has been emitted during
the few last geological periods inclusive, which, as far as regards
the cooling of the rock in the lowest abyss, may probably be con
sidered as one, from the extreme slowness with which heat can
escape from such depths ;  when we reflect how many and wide
areas in all parts of the world are certainly known, some to have
been rising and others sinking, during the recent sera even to the
present day, and do not forget the intimate connexion which has
been shown to exist between these movements and the propulsion
of liquefied rock to the surface in the volcano ;  we are urged
to include the entire globe in the foregoing hypothesis.  The
furthest generalization, which the consideration of the volcanic
phenomena appears to lead to, is, that the configuration of the fluid
surface of the earth's nucleus is subject to some change,  its cause
completely unknown,  its action slow and intermittent, but irre
sistible." Pp. 629—631.
But justice to this subject requires it to be stated, that Mr.
William Hopkins has applied his pre-eminent talents in mathe
matical analysis to the solution of this problem. Of this laborious
investigation he has given the processes and the results, in four
papers, communicated to the Royal Society in the years 1838,
1839, and 1842, "On the State ofthe Interior ofthe Earth ;" and
published in the Philos. Trans, of those years. That the entire

336 SITPPLEMENTABY NOTES.
mass of the earth was originally in a fluid state, and that, by
cooling, it has obtained a superficial coating of solidified matter,
was first adopted as a result of astronomical considerations, but is
now corroborated by the discoveries of geology. It occurred to
Mr. H. that an indirect, but sure test of the truth of the hypothesis
might be derived from the consideration of the Nutation of the
Earth's Axis, a fact arising from the attractions of the sun and the
moon, which produce the Precession of the Equinoxes. It is
obvious that this nutation must affect the earth differently on the
supposition of its being a fluid contained in a solid spheroidal
shell, from what it would do if the globe were throughout a solid
mass. Equally is it to be expected, that differences of result will
be produced according as the quantity of the contained fluid is less
or greater ; that is, as the thickness of the containing crust is
greater or less. An indefinite number of conditions is thus pre
sented for selection and investigation. To" the immense labour of
these operations, Mr. Hopkins applied himself, with his charac
teristic power and perseverance. Now the amount of the gyratory
change constantly produced by the nutation of the pole, is astro
nomically known. But the amount, as deduced from the hypothesis
of the earth's being composed of a heterogeneous solid shell enclos
ing a heterogeneous fluid, will not agree with the actually known
amount, unless the ellipticity of the interior surface of the shell
were less by a certain quantity than that of the outward surface.
Finally, Mr. H. arrives at the conclusion, that the thickness of
the crust, to answer all the conditions, must be at least equal to
one-fourth or one-fifth of the distance from the outer circum
ference to the centre of the earth ; in other words, that the
thickness of the solid envelope of the globe cannot be less than
800 or 1000 miles.
Here then is an astounding difference from the' conclusion
before mentioned, that in which so many eminent and accom
plished physicists agree, and of which the evidence appears unex
ceptionable. But Mr. H. has furnished a mode of conciliation.
He supposes that the solidity of the crust is not everywhere the
same, but that there are insulated fluid masses, or what may be
called, vesicles, interspersed through it, containing portions of more
fusible matter, and which is actually in a state of fusion, forming
subterranean reservoirs or lakes, some of which are distinct, and
others communicating by passages of different degress of openness
or obstruction. This he proposes for the explanation of the
phenomena of volcanos. We must extend the idea, by supposing
an extensive distribution of those fiery lakes, so as to cause the
observed ratio of the increase of temperature in the descent of
mines. This investigation has produced another very important result,
in demonstrating that no change has taken place in the direction of

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 337
the earth's axis, from the epoch of the formation of the external
crust. Fourth ed. — On this subject, at the sitting of the Paris Academy
of Sciences, Dec. 9, 1844, "M. Elie de Beaumont made some ob
servations on a question submitted for consideration, viz. What
relation exists between the progressive cooling of the earth and
that of its surface % M. de B. thinks that the experiments made
by M. Arago, in the gardens of the Observatory at Paris, with
thermometers sunk in the earth at various depths, furnish the
most essential elements which are necessary for the solution of
the problem. According to this solution, the antiquity of the
period, when our globe was entirely incandescent, is of a remote
ness which defies" calculation." — Athenaeum, Dec. 28, 1844 ;
p. 1202.

[C]
Referred to at page 54.
ON THE NOMBER OF SPECIES IN THE EARLIER FOSSILIFEROUS ROCKS.
This proposition, as it stood in the first edition, expressed the
doctrine, which till lately was received among geologists, that the
organic remains found in the earliest rocks possessing any such
remains at all, are " the fewest " in proportionate numbers. But
the recent Herculean toils of Mr. Murchison have opened new fields
of view upon this interesting subject. The proposition is a little
altered, that it may be in accordance with the observation of that
distinguished geologist; "Another remarkable fact illustrating
this point of inquiry is, that although the older fossiliferous strata
often contain vast quantities of organic remains, the number of
species is much smaller than in more recent deposits." — " Silur.
Syst." p. 583.
It is interesting to observe the careful and cautious progress of
Geology, as in other respects, so in this. Seven years before the
publication of Mr. Murchison's work, Sir Henry De la Beche had
treated this subject with his characteristic judgment and sagacity.
I will cite a few paragraphs, as specimens of the penetration and
anticipations of his geological mind, while the facts of the case
were not as yet brought clearly to light ;.and with a wish also to
excite my readers to peruse the whole passage. It must be pre
mised that the German term grauwacke, now generally disused,
must be understood as the same with, or including, the Silurian
System. " Although, when we regard the mass of the grauwacke rocks,
we are struck with the minute proportion that organic remains

338 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
bear to the whole, we must still perceive that the atmosphere was
capable of supporting vegetation ; and the seas of sustaining
zoophytes, crinoidea, annulata, conchifera, mollusca, Crustacea,
and fish. What other creatures existed, we are unable, from the
absence of their remains, to judge ; it may however be by no means
unphilosophical to conclude that vegetation did not exist alone on
dry land, but that, consistently with the general harmony of
nature, it afforded food to terrestrial creatures suited to the cir
cumstances under which they were placed." [Yet no vestiges of
such creatures have been found.] — " Whatever the kind of animal
life may have been which first appeared on the surface of our
planet, we may be certain that it was constant with the wisdom
and design which has always prevailed throughout nature ; and
that each creature was peculiarly adapted to that situation de
signed to be occupied by it." — " Geological Manual ;" third ed.
pp. 428, 429 ; 1833.
I hope I shall not give pain to a very kind friend whose quali
fications make him one of the safest authorities, by transcribing
a part of a letter with which he has favoured me. The certainty
and accuracy of the remarks may be fully relied upon, and their
application is extensively important.
" In the older fossiliferous rocks, animal life appears in as full a
development with respect to size, as in the existing analogous
animals. The zoophagous cephalopods were also of gigantic
growth. It does not appear that animal life, at that period, was
limited with respect to ihtmber. The lowest Silurian rocks are
crowded, in some localities, with organic bodies ; and their absence
over extensive districts is only a condition in the distribution of
testacea, <fcc. which prevails in our seas. There are many coasts
from which a reasoner, who had visited no other, might infer that
marine animals are now few and small-sized ; and, if he were a
geologist, he might say, Life is on the decrease ! " William
Lonsdale, Esq. Sept. 7, 1839.
[On this subject, however, the following statements from men
of the highest authority, as to both science and judgment, cannot
.be disregarded. But a conciliation arises from considering that
the actually occurring fossils in the Protozoic rocks are no index
of those which existed in previous periods of life ; for causes of
decomposition must have existed to a great extent. Not only
countless individuals, but vast groups, animal and vegetable, must
have been totally obliterated. Mr. Lonsdale's doctrine, with
regard to the lowest Silurian, is confirmed by the observations of
the geologist of New York, Mr. James Hall, in the "Boston
Journal of Nat. Hist.," Jan, 1845, p. 14.]
" One general conclusion becomes very apparent : wherever we
meet with rocks admitting of the preservation of organic remains,
the number of these decreases as we descend in the series, till we

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 339
arrive at a period when the physical monuments of the globe
bear no trace of organized beings ; an abyss which gives no re
cord of life, and which sets a bound to our Zoological inquiries."
" Prof. Sedgwick, at the Plymouth Meeting of the Brit. Assoc,
Aug. 3, 1841."
" These remains of life are most plentiful in the upper strata ;
decrease in number and variety as we proceed downwards ; and,
by gradual and continual diminution, approach in the lowest to
absolute extinction." Mr. Phillips, at the same time and place.
[" It is now a truth which I consider as proved, that the
ensemble of organized beings was renewed, not only in the in
terval of each of the great geological divisions which we have
agreed to term Formations, but also at the time of the deposition
of each particular member of all the formations. For example I
think that I can prove that, in the Oolitic formation (at least
within the limits of the Swiss Jura) the organic contents of the
Lias, those of the Oolitic group properly so called, those of the
Oxfordian group, and those of the Portlandian group, (as they
occur in Switzerland,) are as different from each other as the
fossils of the Lias from those of the Keuper [Poecilitic], or those
of the Portlandian beds from those of the Neocomian formation
TGreensand]. I also believe very little in the genetic descent of
living species from those of the various tertiary layers which have
been regarded as identical, but which, in my opinion, are speci
fically distinct. I cannot admit the idea of the transformation of
species from one formation to another. In advancing these general
notions, I do not wish to offer them as inductions drawn from the
study of any particular class of animals, (of the fishes, for in
stance,) and [thence, by mere theoretical analogy,] applied to
other classes , but as the results of direct observation of very con
siderable collections of fossils, of different formations, and belong
ing to different classes of animals, in the investigation of which I
have been specially engaged for many years." Prof. Agassiz ;
" Report to the Brit. Assoc, on the Fossil Fish of the Old Red ;"
1842.]

[D]
Referred to al page 62, but intended to apply to all the Propositions of
Lecture II.
SYNOPTIC TABLE OF STRATIFIED FORMATIONS.
In compliance with the desire of many and those unconnected
friends, I have compiled a short view of the Strata of the Earth,
almost exclusively as they are developed in our own island. But

340 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
a similarity will apply to every other country, if the comparison
be rightly made ; for there are few formations known to exist in
any part of the globe, which have not their equivalent or repre
sentative in Great Britain ; excepting some of the numerous and
circumscribed Tertiaries of the Continent.
As this attempt represents only the strata, or aqueous deposits,
the reader will understand the vast mass of granite and other
igneous rocks as lying under the gneiss, the last stratum ; and
will recollect that, in various forms, it has elevated, pierced
through, and surmounted the strata. (See p. 46.) For impress
ing this lesson, he will not neglect to avail himself of the graphic
representations presented in the splendid first plate of Dr. Buck-
land's Bridgewater Treatise ; or De la Beche's Tabular View,
which extends only to the Devonian ; or the seventh of Dr.
Mantell's Wonders of Geology ; or the French plate by Viguier
and Collon, as an Exposition of Alexander Brongniart's volume,
Tableau des Terraines ; or Bartlett's Index Geologicus, (Plymouth,
1841,) which gives a lucid view of all the formations, the seat of
metals, and the genera and species of fossils, vegetable and animal,
properly classified.
I would advise the possessor of this volume to tint tne spaces
in the strata column with faint water-colours. In the Tertiary,
apply with judgment alternate bands of yellow and light brown ;
the crag, fawn colour ; the London clay, slight India-ink ; leave
the chalk white ; the gault, the lias, the Silurian, and the Cum
brian, light purple, varying the hues ; the green sands and the
mica schist, green, but the latter with streaks of red ; the weald,
Hastings, and Purbeck, hues of brown ; the oolites, [to be pro
nounced in three syllables, o-o-lite,~] bands of gamboge and fawn
colour ; the pcecilitic, [pron. poikalitic,'] red, mottled with purple,
green, and a few white spaces ; the coal, tfcc. curved bands of
indian-ink, with brown, and blue ; the millstone grit, greenish
brown ; the limestones, blue ; the Devonian, brick-red ; the Cam
brian, green, mottled with purple ; and the gneiss, pink.
Upon so small a scale, the descriptions are necessarily incom
plete, but I hope they are not materially erroneous. All tho
Tertiary beds must not be understood as being successionary ; for
many are mutually equivalents in different districts, for example,
the London clay and the Paris gypseous rocks. Indeed, if we
regard this class in France, Belgium, up the Rhine, &c. the number
is far greater than this small tablet could represent. These equi
valent or substitutionary beds maybe compared to cakes of dough>
dropped irregularly on beds of other kinds of plastic matter, and
lying (to speak with some laxity) nearly in the same plane. I can
devise no other way of presenting them, in this small space. In
selecting principal organic remains, there must be difficulty ; I can
only follow my own opinion, and a candid geologist will not greatly

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 341
disapprove. Those in italics are pointed out as the more inter
esting. The thicknesses cannot possibly be precise. The numbers given
must be taken as probable approximations to the greater thickness
of the masses ; it being remembered, that, especially in the Terti
ary formations, in consequence of depressions and elevations of
the under-lying strata, considerable differences must exist ; and
often they thin out towards the edges.
The length of the spaces must not be taken as pretending to be
upon a scale of proportions ; which would be impossible, except
with a very much extended sheet.

Class.

(I'roup or

MUm-aU-gical Character.

Strata.

Some Principal Locality.

Some Principal Organic Remains.

i i-l .'
H 1
LiH

r
1
Ptistocene, -^ Ir
i
Pliocene. <^ i I(i1
Miocene. J i
L
Eocene. ^

Surface-soil.

Everywhere.

Buried remains of existing species.

Beds of rivers and lakes.,

Existing species, merely preserved.

Sea-bottoms, Coral rocks.

Red Sea, Pacific, Australia, &c.
Corals, shells, fish-bones ; recent.
Peat, Maries, Travertins.
Britain, Ireland, Holland, Sicily,
Scandinavia.
Existing species ; some extinct ;
crustations.
Drift, erratic blocks, gravel,
mud-deposits, bone-caves.
Europe America.
Existing species, more extinct, Elephants'
teeth & bones. Carnivorous animals.
Sands, and clays, limes. 300 feet.
Italy.
Shells of existing species ; few extinct.
Sands; the Crag. m ^
Norfolk and Suffolk.
Sea shells and corals, most extinct.
Sands and Clays. 400 feet.
South-west of France,
Manv extinct.
bands, clays; iiebb water, 60 feet.
Near Paris.
Shells, land & fresh water ; mostextinct.
Same, but marine. 100 feet.
Same neighbourhood.
Sea shells, most extinct.
Sands, gypsum, and marles ;
fresh water. 200 feet.
Same.
Extinct quadrupeds, birds, reptiles.
Dark clay (London), pyrites,
gypsum. 500 feet.
Essex, Kent, Middlesex,
Hants.
Extinct quadrupeds, reptiles, plants,
fruMs s and marine remains.
Fine sands, and clays. 400 feet.
Hants, &c.
Some sea and fresh water shells; ex
tinct quadrupeds.
W
B- oo

Cretaceous .

Oolitic,

Premian.

Chalk, with flints.
 , without flints.

600 feet.

Green Sand, upper
Gault, bluish clay.
Green Sand, lower.

Weald clay.
Hastings sand.
Purbeck stone.

900 feet.

Oolite, upper.
Portland stone
Kimmeridge clay.
0- middle. Coralline sandstone.
Oxford clay.
Forest marble.
Kelloway's rock.
Bradford clay.
O. great. Stonesfield slate, Fuller's
earth, &c.
O. lower- 2,000 feet.

Lias.

New Red sandstone, upper.
Rock-salt. Variegated Marie (Pcecilitic).
Magnesian limestone, and
conglomerate.
New Red sandstone, lower.
1,000 feet.

_L_

Flamborough Head to Spilsby;
north of Norfolk, through
Cambridge, Herts, Berks,
Wilts, to g. Dorset, Hants,
Sussex, Surrey, Kent.

Kent, Sussex, Isle of Wight.

Sussex, and spreading into
Kent and Hants.

A narrow waving course, from
north of Lynn to Portland.
In Northampton, Bedford,
Bucks, Oxford, Berks, Wilts,
and Dorsetshires.
Waving through Yorkshire,
Lincoln, Northampton,
Gloucester, Wilts, Dorset,
Somerset.

Wavingfrom Tees-mouth,thro'
Notts. Lincoln , Leicester,
Northampton, &c.to Dorset.

Cumberland, Westmoreland,
and Durham.
Yorkshire, Notts, Leicester,
and Lancashire.
Cheshire, Stafford, Warwick.
Vast tract in Russia.

Abundant in marine productions; plants,
sponges, corals, families of crinoidea,
asterida, echinida ,- shells, bivalve,
univalve, chambered, in great variety,
Crustacea, fish, some reptiles. Consult
Dr. Mantell's works.

Similar families to the chalk, but gene
rally of different species ; ammonites,
nautilites, &c. Bmall belemnites.

Some land plants and fresh water
shells ; endogenites ,¦ fish ; monstrous
lizard-like reptiles.

Trees gymnosperm, allied to zamia ;
numerous shells of various orders, fish.
Coralloids, echinida ; shells, bivalve,
and some univ. ; cruBtacea; fish, li2ard-
formed, didelphys.
Similar to the other Oolites ; but more
of cryptogamous land plants ; apio-
crinites, trigonio?, terebratul&.

Very rich in gymnosp. wood, bivalves,
ammonites, fish, lizard-like reptiles,
beleranites.

Coniferous wood, and several species of
the fern and equisetum tribes ; fish ;
saurians.

tjroitp or
System.

Mineralogical Character.

Some Principal Locality,

Some Principal Organic Remains.

M -
g
O

Carbo
niferous.

Old Red
Sandstone.

Coal, shale, and sandstone, in
alternating layers, forming
vast concave patches, like a
series of irregularly shaped
dishes. 3,000 feet.

Millstone grit.

700 feet.

Mountain limestone, with some
beds of shale, sandstones,
and inferior coal. 1,000 feet.

Red and brown sandstones,
tile-stones and marles, with
equivalent limestones in
Devonshire ; whence the
system is now called De-(
vonian. 10,000 feet, and in Scotland
more.

PartB of South Scotland, Nor
thern Counties of England,
some of the Midland, South
Wales.

The coal is entirely compressed land-
vegetation, chiefly from trees of great
size, whose stems, branches, leaves,
&c. are abundant in or on the inter-
posod shales and* sands. The trees
have heeneuphorhiaceous, coniferous,
monocotyledonous, equisetaceous,
ferns, lycopodiaceous, &c. Some
river bivalve shells. Fish.

Northern Counties, and Derby,
Nottingham, &c.

Northumberland, Durham,
Yorkshire, Derby, Mon
mouth, Glamorgan, Pem
broke;

Land-plants, as of the coal. Thin beds
of limestone occur, having sea-shells.

Land-plants, as the coal. Sea remains
in great variety and abundance, an
cri7ioidere,coralloids,bivalves,(spirifer,
leptsena,) univalves, ammonites, and
other chambered shells, trilobites, fish.

Scotland, Salop, Hereford,
Monmouth, South Wales,
Somerset, Devon.

Fish. In the Devonian beds, the or
ganic remains of the upper part re
semble those of the mountain lime
stone ; and the lower, those of the
Silurian system. Those in Scotland
and Russia are rich iu fishes, of ex
traordinary forms, and often of con
siderable magnitude.

o

5«

Upper
Silurian* "^

Lower
Silurian. <
(Cambrian.)

Ludlowj upper rocks.
Sandstone and limestone.

Wenlock and Dudley.
Sandstone and limes.
Horderley and May Hill.
Flagstones, sandstones, &
limes.
Builth, Caradoc, and Llandeilo.
Flags, sandstone, & limes.
Longmynd and Gwastaden
rocks. Siliceous, very hard and
quartzy; slates.
10,000 feet, and probably
more.

Slate rocks of Plynlymmon,
Snowdonia, &c, with dark
limestones and sandstones,
both fine and conglomerate.
7,000 feet, and more.

A district varying in breadth,
and undulating southerly
and westerly from the vale
of Llangollen, through por
tions of Montgomery, Salop,
Stafford (an upheaved insu
lated tract from Dudley to
Beacon Hill,} Worcester,
Gloucester, Hereford, Mon
mouth, Radnor, Brecon, Car
marthen, Pembroke.

Merionethshire, Caernarvon
shire, and other parts of
North Wales ; and in Corn
wall.

Fish-fin-bones, gigantic serpulce, coral-
loids, crinoikea, bivalve, and univalve
shells of forms increasingly interest
ing, including many brackiopoda,
trdobites in great number of the
various species, chambered shells,
straight and in variety of curvature,
gra/itolites, annelids, &c. <fec. See
Murchison's Silurian System, founded
on Geological Researches through
the region.

Two or three species of coralloxds
(cyathophylla) ; a few species of
orachiopodous conchifera, «* the oldest
monuments yet discovered of the
creation of living things." See
Phillips's Cyclop. Treat. I. 129 ; and
p. 74 of these Lectures. In Corn
wall, Endosiplionites carinatus.

Class.

Group or
System.

Mineralogical Character.

Strata.

Some Principal Locality.

Some Principal Organic Remains.

6 tu
M I
O ^

Lowest [
Silurian. J
(Cumbrian) \
Mica
schist. -J

Vast roeks of slates, purple,
green, &c, with very hard
and fine sandstones, some
times conglomerate ; the
lowest group of slates, soft.
More than 10,000 feet.

Westmoreland, Cumberland,
and a large breadth of South
Scotland, from the Lammer-
muir Hills to the coast of
Wigtownshire.

None.

Hard rock, consisting of mica
and quartz interlaminated.
Many thousand feet.

Scotland, south-west from
Stonehaven, becoming very
broad across Perthshire and
Argyleshire to the Mull of
- Cantire, and the islands of
Isla, Jura, &c.

None.

GneiBS. ^

Gneiss consists of the compo
nent parts of granite (quartz
felspar, and mica) ; fine
grained and laminated, so as
to present the idea of being
the product of granite, abrad
ed, worn, and then deposited
from the water, and acted
upon by the heat below
Many thousand feet. See Note
F. 2.

Ben Lomond.
None.
The Crystalline Rocks, Granite, Syenite, Porphyry, Greenstone, Trap, &c. Depth, various, vast, not assignable.
ST/PPLEMENTABY NOTES. 347
[B.]
Referred to at page 65.
DISSERTATIONS ON THE VARIETIES OF THE HITMAN SPECIES.
It would be wrong to conceal the difficulties with which this
subject is surrounded, however satisfied we may be with the evi
dence in favour of the descent of all mankind from one original
pair of ancestors. The consideration of those difficulties has be
trayed some men of eminence in physiological science into the
opinion, that there are four or five races of the one species. The
fact joi a revelation from the Supreme Being, as contained in the
Israelitish and the Christian Scriptures, is so firmly established by
moral evidence, that we can no longer call it into question. We
are entitled to regard it as a thing settled, as much as the chief
facts of our national history : and the derivation of all men from
the single pair created in Eden, plainly appears to be asserted in
scripture, and to form an article of the Christian doctrine. But,
independently of that part of the inquiry, it is not too much to say,
that the progress made in all the other lines of investigation is
constantly removing, or at least abating, the reasons for doubt.
For instance; the diversity of those which appear to be the
primitive stems in the classification of languages, has seemed
quite unaccountable, upon the hypothesis of a common origin.
But the believer in revelation may see, in this circumstance, a
ground for believing, that the just and not less merciful inter
position of divine power in the plains of Shinar, inflicted upon
the distinct parties, into which the social mass was broken up,
such a radical difference in the vocables as extinguished the idea
of a previous intercommunity. Upon this very point also, where
unassisted research seemed to be baffled, we are met by a fact
undeniable, and directly applying to the subject. The affinity of
the ancient Egyptians and the Hindoos has been established by
the minute and extensively pervading resemblances in tradition,
religion, arts, modes of life, and every important characteristic
besides, language excepted. Yet this exception is most remark*
able, and it contradicts all our notions of antecedent probability.
Another class of facts is pointed out by the eminent scholar and
naturalist to whom I have referred. " An extensive field of in
quiry is opened by the observation, that traces exist, among the
most distant African nations, of ' ancient connexion with the
Egyptians.  The traces of animal-worship, the belief in metem
psychosis, circumcision, and a variety of observances recorded by
travellers, among the Kafirs, the native people of Madagascar, as
well as among tribes in the western parts of Africa, are too exten-

348 SUPPLEMENTARY HOTES.
sively diffused, and occur in too many instances, to be attributed
to accidental coincidence."*
Anatomical differences are indeed very great, but they all (with
an exception which shall be presently mentioned) refer, not to the
essential structure of parts, but only to some modifications of form.
They are, therefore, capable of being accounted for, from the
influence of climate, food, mode of life, occupation, and artificial
means directly used to alter the figure of parts. Much stress has
been laid upon the differing forms of the skull which are held to
characterize the Iranian ( = Japetic, or Caucasian,) the Mongole,
the Negro-African, and the American, varieties, stocks, races, or
whatever else they may be called, of the human species. But
what is known concerning the methods used to procure the flat
tened disfiguration of the skull, so frightfully distinguishing some
of the American tribes, both ancient and existing, while it accounts
for extreme cases of deformity, clearly gives us a principle adequate
to resolve the difficulty in manv other deviations from a natural
shape. " Cox, in his Travels on the Columbia River, thus describes the
method by which the singular flatness and elongation of the skull
are produced : — ' Immediately after birth, the infant is placed in
a kind of oblong cradle, formed like a trough, with moss under it.
One end, on which the head reposes, is more elevated than the
rest. A padding is then placed on the forehead, with a piece of
cedar-bark over it ; and, by means of cords passed through small
holes on each side of the cradle, the padding is pressed against
the head. It is kept in this manner upwards of a year ; and the
process is not, I believe, attended with much pain. The appear
ance of the infant, however, while in this state of compression, is
frightful ; and its little black eyes, forced out by the tightness of
the bandages, resemble those of a mouse choked in a trap. When
released from this inhuman process, the head is perfectly flattened,
and the upper part of it seldom exceeds an inch in thickness. It
never afterwards recovers its rotundity. They deem this an essen
tial point of beauty.'  " Linnaeus Martin's Nat. Hist, of the
Mammalia, vol. i. p. 207.
In the " American Journal of Science," edited by Dr. Silliman,
(the number for April, May, and June, 1840,) is a Review of an
important work : " Crania Americana ; or a Comparative View
of the Skulls of various Aboriginal Nations of > North and South
America : to which is prefixed, an Essay on the Varieties of the
Human Species. By Sam. Geo. Morton, M.D. Prof. Anat. Penn
sylvania Coll. folio, with 78 plates and a Map ; Philad. 1839." +
From this review I take the following extracts : —
* Dr. Prichard's Researches ; ii. 217.
f This article of the Am. Journ. is now republished in Prof. Jameson's Philos.
Joarn. Julj, 1840 ; 'with high encomium upon Dr. Morton's work, and the Review
of ft.

STTPPLEMETTTAEY NOTES. 349
" In Jan. 1839,— [was examined] a full-blooded Chenouk, twenty
years old ; his heaa as much distorted by mechanical compression
as any skull of his tribe in Dr. Morton's possession. ' He appeared
to me [Dr. M.] to possess more mental aeuteness than any Indian
I had seen : he was communicative, cheerful, and well-mannered."
— In May, 1839, Mr. George Combe, [the Scots phrenologist] met
with Thomas Adams, — twenty years old, of the Cloughewalla tribe.
— His head had been compressed by the board and cushions in his
infancy. The parietal was actually greater than the frontal and
occipital diameter. The organs in the superciliary ridge of the
forehead were fully developed ; the upper part of the forehead was
flat and deficient ; his organs of language and form were large.
He had studied the English language for two years, and spoke it
tolerably well. In conversation he was intelligent, ready, and
fluent, on all subjects that fell within the scope of the faculties
of observation, situated in the superciliary ridge ; but dull, un
intelligent, and destitute equally of ideas and language, on topics
that implied the activity of the reflecting faculties situated in the
upper part of the forehead."
Even among ourselves, we daily see remarkable diversities of
configuration, affecting both bones and muscles ; which have been
produced by modes of life, in both passive and active relations, and
which give a very distinct character to classes, families, and the
inhabitants of particular districts. Among the natives of our own
island, and where there can be no doubt of an unmixed English
descent, we meet with heads and faces, whose forms, externally at
least, approach to the Mongolian, Negro, Hottentot, Patagonian,
and Australian ; and in the blackest tribes of the heart of Africa,
are found heads whose fine proportions might vie with the Circas
sian and Grecian specimens.
From all that I have been able to learn (and upon Dr. Prichard's
works I rely as my great physiological authority), it appears to be
established that all the diversities of configuration which belong
to human beings, may be satisfactorily referred to external agents,
( — temperature, from constringing cold to almost insupportable
warmth ; the peculiar action of the sun's rays independently of
mere temperature ; conditions of the atmosphere, from great
purity to miasmatic ; soil ; food ; occupation ; artificial treatment ;
and possibly causes yet to be discovered ; — ) continuing their in
fluence through many generations; for it is with those nations
which have retained the same mode of Ufe unvaried from time
immemorial, and in whom therefore the hereditary predisposition
has been sustained, by the unceasing action of similar causes, —
with those nations it is that the greatest deviations are found from
the standard human form.* But what and where is that standard
* This doctrine receives support and illustration from facts detailed in a recent
work of great merit, Dr. W. B. Carpenter's " Principles of General and Comparative
Physiology/' book ii. ch. xiv.

350 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
human form ? Where is the true ideal of corporal perfection 1
We have been trained to view it in the Grecian models ; but have
we demonstration of our being in the right 1 Men of eminence
have conceived that the primitive and model form lies among the
brown tribes, the intermediate between all extremes. Divergen
cies from such a centre will lead by a natural gradation to all the
varieties of figure and complexion. One of the highest authori
ties * has published his reasons for regarding the Arabs of the
eastern side of the Red Sea as the primitive race, the prototype
of the Human Species. " This interesting people," he writes,
"undoubtedly one of the most ancient in the world,  have a
physiognomy and character which are quite peculiar, and which
distinguish them generally from all those which appear in other
regions of the globe." In his dissections, he found — the brain
and nervous substance more dense and firm than in Europeans
generally, the brain large, and its circumvolutions more numerous,
and furrows deeper, — the heart and arterial system most regular
and perfect, — their organs of sense exquisitely acute, — and the
same extraordinary characters of perfection conspicuous in the
parts performing the functions of nutrition, respiration, and
motion, — their size above the average of men in general, — their
figure robust and elegant, — their colour brown, but deepest in the
face,f — their "intelligence proportionate to that physical perfec
tion, and without doubt superior, other things being equal," to
that of other nations.!
Thus far, then, anatomy and physiology, the characters of lan
guage and the phenomena of mind, all lead us to conclude in
* The Baron de Larrey, surgeon-general to the French army of Egypt in 179S, author
of several surgical works held hy all in great estimation. We may think it equivocal
moral honour, that Napoleon Buonaparte bequeathed him 100,000 francs, and desig
nated him the most virtuous man he had ever known. But De Larrey's scientific merits
none will dispute: and his opportunities for the study of Physical Anthropology
were signally advantageous. He has died this month (July, 1842,) at the age of
eoventy-six. t It deserves to be universally known, that they protect the faces of their children
and others, when attacked by the small-pox, with a covering of leaf-gold, renewed as
occasion requires ; and thus disfiguration is prevented.
% De Larrey's Paper for the use of the Scientific Commission proceedingto Algiers ;
Paris, 1838. Transl. in "Jameson's Philos. Journ. ;" Oct. 1838; p. '316.
Third ecJ. — "It must not be forgotten that, although there are black races and
white races, there are individuals of almost every tint, leading from one of these
extremes of colour to the other : although there are races with a facial line nearly
vertical, and others with the same line greatly inclined, there are individuals who
display every possible degree between these differences. Where then shall we draw
the line of separation, if they are not all from a common origin ?" Supplements of
Griffith, Hamilton Smith, and Pidgeon, to " Cuvier's Anim. Kingd." vol. i. p. 179.
The same author adduces the species hog (sus scrota,) in illustration of tbe fact that
single species of other animals, when widely dispersed and domesticated, undergo
differences of structure, colour, skeleton, and other particulars equally great with
those which diversify mankind : and he adds, " We are fully warranted in concluding
both from the comparison of man with inferior animals, so far as the inferiority will
allow of such comparison, and, beyond that, by comparing him with himself, that the
great family of mankind loudly proclaim a descent, at some period or other, from ont
common origin."

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 351
favour of an identity of species, and derivation from one origin.
But I must now adduce a fact alluded to at the beginning of this
Note. The greater number of mankind, that is, the brown and
black varieties, differ from the fair portion who form the minority,
not merely in circumstances more or less considerable oi form,
but also in the possession of a distinct peculiarity of structure.
The cuticle, or scarf-skin {epidermis), is a transparent covering,
consisting of several layers, the upper and lower of which are
especially distinct. It is derived by secretion from the exqui
sitely sensible {true skin, epidermis, cutis, corium.) Between these
is interposed a remarkably soft a,nd slippery cellular substance,
which is produced so as to line all the open cavities of the body,
and performing other most important functions. This is usually
called the mucous membrane, or mucous net; and it has been often
said to be the cause of complexion, being white in fair people,
dusky in brown, and black with increased solidity in negroes.
But this is not the exact state of the facts. The colouring matter
is distinct from the membranous tissue, is a substance perfectly of
its own kind] and may not improperly be called a paint. It is
spread over the mucous membrane, as a foreign substance having
no vital or chemical connexion, but only the union of mechanical
contiguity. This paint, showing itself through the cuticle, is the
cause of the phenomenon of which we are treating, the diversity
of colour in mankind. It is therefore affirmed, that we have here
a new existing thing, a character, not of form, but of structure,
found in the darker varieties of men, (for the reddish or copper-
coloured have it of their own hue,) but not existing in the white
nations ; and hence it is positively concluded that " the two races,
the white and the black, form two essentially and specifically
distinct races." * The French physiologist who has drawn this
inference, readily admits the essential character of species to be
the succession of fructiferous individuals ; yet he contends for a
specific distinction of races ; thus seeming to involve the behef of
two or more pairs of first ancestors. His concluding paragraph
is : " The fact of the succession, therefore, and of the constant
succession, constitutes alone the unity of the species. Thus unity,
absolute unity, of the human species, and variety of its races, as a
final result, is the general and certain conclusion4 of all the facts
acquired concerning the natural history of man."
The reader will observe the self-contradiction which M. Flourens
commits, in asserting both a specific distinction, and an absolute
unity of the species. But he might perhaps retreat, by imputing
the contradiction to the imperfection of nomenclature.
We cannot indeed affirm it to be an impossibility that the
* Paper by M. Flourens, from the " Annales des Sciences Natorelles," tome x.,
transl. in Jameson's " Fhiloe. Journ.," Oct, 1839. I do not feel myself at liberty to
apply any remedy to his solecism in using his term "races."

352 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
Almighty Creator should have seen fit to bring originally into
being duplicates, triplicates, or other multiples of pairs, formed so
alike that there should be no specific difference between them.*
Yet it appears antecedently improbable ; and it is unnecessary,
for, grant an extension of time not at all prodigious, with the
requisite provisions for sustenance, and a sufficient increase of
posterity will ensue from a single pair.
All the probabilities of the case (and they amount to a high
degree of moral evidence,) seem to warrant our adoption of De
Larrey's theory. Let us then take some brunette hue for the
normal complexion of the human race ; and let all the existing
colours be represented by radii from a centre diverging in all
directions. The differences would increase with the distance, and
the extremities of the lines, in opposite parts of the periphery,
would present contrasts of colour, and of every other deviation
produced by the range of causes. I presume not to be a phy
siologist, but it will not be deemed arrogant in me to ask, May
not the alteration of colour in the pigment of the mucous tissue
be dependent upon causes analogous to those which change the
colour of our hair, from yellow, brown, or black, to a perfect
white ; while yet the follicles are not absorbed, nor their functions
extinguished in the nutrition of the hair 1 May not that pigment,
in one line of alteration, that influenced by augmenting solar
heat, be increased in quantity, and be made more intense in its
qualities, and so pass through every shade to the deepest black :
and, in the opposite direction, sustain a gradual diminution of
quantity and strength, tending to ultimate obliteration, (for its
existence in fair persons has been questioned, and what may be its
minute rudiment can be shown only by very fine injection,) or at
least the loss of colour, and so producing the fairest specimens of
the human complexion 1 1 Is it not known that, in mountainous
* Winer, in the sec. ed. of his " Biblisch.es RealwSrterbuch," [Diet, of the Civil and
Nat. Hist, of the Bible,] refers to Prof. Link's "Urwelt," [Primitive World,] and says,
"He adduces many solid reasons for the derivation of men from one original, one
species ; but he leaves it undecided whether of this species there might not have been
created several pairs." Vol. i. p. 25. This venerable naturalist is Henry Frederick
Link, M.D. Prof. Medic, in the University of Berlin, and Director of the Botanic
Garden. He is the author of several highly esteemed works, in Botany and Natural
History generally ; 'and is distinguished as an erudite and elegant scholar. Among
his works is (" Die Urwelt und das Alterthum," &c.) The Primitive World and An
tiquity, illustrated by Natural History; 2 vols., Berlin, 1821. We had the gratification
of seeing him at the meeting of the British Association at Glasgow, in September,
1840. Itis a curious circumstance, which shows that difficulty upon this head was
felt at an early period, that in the Targum, a Jewish paraphrase upon the Pentateuch,
ascribed, but without sufficient evidence, to Jonathan Ben Uzziel, (a rabbi who lived
in the apostolic times,) the passage, Gen. ii. 7, is thus praphrased — " And Jeja Elohim
formed and created man [Adam] by two creations, and he collected dust from the habita
tion of the holy place, and from the four winds of the world ; and mixed from all the
¦waters of the world, and created him red, black, and white ; and breathed into his
nostrils the soiil of life, and the soul was in the body of man (or a speaking- spirit, for
the enlightening of the eyes, and for the hearing of the ears."
t "Although I cannot demonstrate rete mucosum in the European, I think that

BtTPPLEMENTABY NOTES. 353
districts of hot countries, the inhabitants of the highest regions
are fair, while those of the plains below are extremely dark ¦
But the gradation supposed, and proved by examples, presents
us with shades of brown only. We have no instance of a white
family or community acquiring the proper negro colour, nor of a
negro family losing its peculiarity, and becoming of a proper,
healthy, North-European white, where there are not intermar
riages with fair persons, long continued in the favourable direction.
This, I believe, must be admitted ; and another fact, of great
importance, must be added to it. The recent explorings of the
Egyptian tombs and temples have brought to light pictures of
native Egyptians and of men and women of other nations, com
prising negroes, who are distinguished by their characteristic form
of face and their completely black colour. Some of these highly
interesting representations are proved to be of the age of Joseph
and earlier, and some in which negro figures occur, are of the
eighth century after the flood. * Assuming then that the com
plexion of Noah's family was what I ventured to suppose, as the
normal brown, there was not time for a negro race to be produced by
the operation of all the causes of change with which we are
acquainted. On the other hand, some of the Egyptian figures,
particularly those consigned to constant labour under the sun,
and (which is very remarkable) persons performing religious cere
monies, are of a brown so deep, as to be almost black.
Is it unreasonable to expect that a more perfect acquaintance
with the physiology of the mucous membrane, and particularly in
the negro subject, remains yet to be acquired 1 I look with a
feeling almost of impatience, to the publication of Dr. Prichard's
third volume of " Researches into the Physical History of Man
kind;" in which one cannot doubt that this subject will be
discussed. But, to any upright mind, I appeal, whether, in relation to a
subject so complicated, this one difficulty, even should it never be
scientifically disposed of, is of sufficient weight to overbalance all
the evidences, psychical and moral, (so ably treated in Dr.
Prichard's Book ii. ch. ii.) physical, philological,t and historical,
there must be under the cuticle some colouring matter. How can we otherwise ac
count for the difference between the fair and the swarthy, or for the remarkable
pecularity of the Albino ?" Lawrence's " Lect. on Comp. Anat." seventh ed. p. 189.
* It would be a blameable omission, were I not to recommend to my young readers
the devoting of two or three successive days to studying the Egyptian antiquities in
tho British Museum ; and to peruse a work, small in size, but ample in matter, Dr.
Cooke Taylor's " Illustrations of the Bible from the Monuments of Egypt ;" 1838.
See also Prof. Hengstenberg's " Biicher Moses und -ffigypten ;" or the Engl. Transl.
with Notes by Prof. Robbins, the American Translator, and Dr. Taylor ; Edinb. 1845.
f The fundamental principles for applying philological investigation to the ques
tion before us, are beautifully illustrated in the same author's "Eastern Origin of the
Celtic Nations.'' A A

354

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.

which flow together in proof of the unity of the human race, by
derivation from one ancestry.*
Above all other topics of argument are the melancholy demon
strations that moral depravity has acquired the dominion over all
the nations and families of mankind ; that there is a mournful
consciousness of this, lying deep in every human breast ; that we
all need a redemption from guilt and misery ; and that all the
varieties of our race, down to Esquimaux and Hottentots, are
capable of receiving that holy happiness, and all its elevation of
character, which spring from restoration to God through our Lord
Jesus Christ. The whole constitution of revealed grace stands
upon the declaration made against the autochthonic t folly of the
Athenians, the declaration of one whom the Omniscient Spirit
led into " all the truth " (John vi. 13) that involves man's highest
welfare, — •" God, who made the world and all things that are in
it, — the Lord of heaven and earth, — who giveth to all, life and
breath and all things, hath made of one blood every nation of men,
to dwell upon the whole face of the earth." (Acts xvii. 24 — 26.)
But, if we carry our concessions to the very last point, — if the
progress of investigation should indeed bring out such kinds and
degrees of evidence, as shall rightfully turn the scale in favour of
the hypothesis that there are several kaces of Mankind, each having
originated in a different pair of ancestors,  what would be the
consequence to our highest interests, as rational, accountable, and
immortal beings 1 Would our faith, the fountain of motives for
love and obedience to God, virtuous self-government, and uni
versal justice and kindness,  would this faith, " the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,"  sustain
any detriment ; after, by due meditation and prayer, we had sur
mounted the first shock ?  Let us survey those consequences.
If the two first inhabitants of Eden were the progenitors, not
of all human beings, but only of the race whence sprung the
Hebrew family, still it would remain the fact, that all were formed
by the immediate power of God, and all their circumstances, stated
or implied in the scriptures, would remain the same as to moral
and practical purposes.
Adam would be "a figure of Him that was to come" the
Saviour of mankind ; just as Melchizedek, or Moses, or Aaron, or
David : the spiritual lesson would be the same.
The sinful character of all the tribes of men, and the individuals
* A great anatomist, who cannot be suspected of prejudice with regard to this
question, draws this conclusion from his very extensive induction of facts and reason
ings ; — "that the human species, like that of the cow, sheep, horse, and pig, and
others, is single ; and that all the differences which it exhibits, are to be regarded
merely as varieties." Lawrence on "Comp. Anat." p. 376.
f Imagining themselves to have been derived from no other stock of men, but that
the fiTSt occupants of Attica sprung out of its soil : — " ut ipsa ex sese suos cives
fenuisse dicatur, et eorum eadem terra parens, altrix, patria." Ci«. pro L. Flacc. 26.
t was the popular opinion, but their wiser men disallowed it.

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 355
composing them, would remain determined by the most abundant
and painfully demonstrated proofs, in the history of all times and
nations. The way and manner in which moral corruption has
thus infected all men, under their several heads of primeval ances
try, would be an inscrutable mystery ( — which it is now ; — ) but
the need of divine mercy, and the duty to seek it, would be the
same ; the same necessity would exist of a Saviour, a redemption,
and a renovation of the internal character by efficacious grace.
That the Saviour was, in his human nature, a decendant of
Adam, would not militate against his being a proper Redeemer
for all the races of mankind, any more than his being a descendant
of Abraham, Judah, and David, at all diminishes his perfection to
save us, " sinners of the gentiles.''
Some difficulties in the scripture-history would be taken away ;
such as — the sons of Adam obtaining wives not their own sisters ;
— Cain's acquiring instruments of husbandry, which must have
been furnished by miracle immediately from God upon the usual
supposition ; * — his apprehensions of summary punishment,
(" — any man that findeth me will slay me;') — his fleeing into
another region, of which Josephus so understands the text as to
affirm, that Cain obtained confederates and became a plunderer
and robber, implying the existence of a population beyond his own
family ; — and his building a " city," a considerable collection of
habitations, The characteristic differences of the great divisions of mankind,
physical and intellectual, would create no difficulty in our reason
ings : for instance, the mental distinctions laid down by Dr.
Morton : — " The Caucasian race ; distinguished for the facility
with which it attains the highest intellectual endowments. ' [Is
there no flattery here 1 Are the effects of centuries of cultivation
sufficiently considered ?— ] ' — The Mongolian ; — ingenious, imi
tative, and highly susceptible of cultivation. — The Malay ; active
and ingenious, and possessing all the habits of a migratory, pre-
daceous, and maritime people. — The American ; averse to cultiva-
* "He that speaks of tilling presupposes a great many other arts ; and he that
speaks of a husbandman presupposes a great many other artificers. But if there
was no artificer in thoBe days besides Cain, then certainly Cain was a very busy body.
Therefore he digged iron-mines, made furnaces, made his hammers and his anvil" [which
implies the previous possession of mighty hammers, &c ] "and other tools to make his
ploughshare, sharpened bis hatchets — to cut down timber to make his ploughs, &c. —
digged the quarry to make his mill to grind. " — From the anonymous book, " Prae-
Adamitas, sive Exercitatio super Rom. v. 12 — 14 ; et Systema-Theologicum ex eadem
Hypothesi ;" published in 1655, in which year there was also an English translation,
without any indication of place, from which this citation is taken. The author was Isaac
de la Perere, of Bordeaux. On account of this book he was prosecuted by the Inquisi
tion, but found means of escaping, went to Rome, having abjured Protestantism, recanted
bis book, and obtained the protection of Pope Alexander Vii. Our countryman, Mr.
Edward King, a zealous Christian, in his "Morsels of Criticism," vol. ii. 1800,
strenuously maintained the opinion of the plurality of human ancestry. [In 1835, Dr.
Thomas Arnold, that superlatively upright and candid man, wrote to Archbishop
Whately in terms indicating apprehension that " the physiological question is not yet
settled." " Life and Corresp " vol. i. p. 410.) A A 2

356 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
tion, slow in acquiring knowledge, restless, revengeful, fond of
war, and wholly destitute of maritime adventure. — The Ethiopian ;
joyous, flexible, and indolent ; the many nations which compose
this race presenting a singular diversity of intellectual character,
of which the far extreme is the lowest grade of humanity." The
hypothesis also will diminish our surprise, but not our sorrow,
that many fine nations of men have appeared incapable of being
persuaded by all the attempts of wisdom and humanity, as well as
the stern demands of want ; so that they prefer to perish by
inches, rather than to cultivate the soil and adopt those habits of
civilized life by which they might be preserved ; and that thus
they appear to have had no Bhare in the divine appointment to
" increase and multiply and replenish the earth." See reflections
upon this fact, at the close of a very interesting article, entitled
" The Red Man," in the Quarterly Review, March, 1840. In like
manner it would furnish a solution to the question, Why any
tribes of men Bhould refuse to fix themselves in climes, warm,
fertile, and comfortable, and in which there were no impediments
to their stay, and should push on to such countries as Terra del
Fuego, where they miserably exist, with scarcely shelter, clothing,
and food ? Even the purifying and ennobling influence of Christi
anity, of which the Americans in particular have shown them
selves powerfully susceptible, has not surmounted these difficulties.
But allowing to the utmost these confessedly very remarkable dis
agreements, Dr. Prichard is of opinion, that they afford no proof
of diversity of origin, and that differences equally great may be
pointed out as, not only characterizing individuals, but marking
families in the bosom of English society.
With regard to Acts xvii. 26, it cannot be proved that "one
blood " necessarily signifies descent from a common ancestry: for,
admitting a specific identity, though having proceeded from dis
tinct foci of creation, both the physical and the mental character
istics would be the same in all essential qualities.
Thus, if, contrarily to all reasonable probability, this great
question should ever be determined in the way opposite to what
we, now think the verdict of truth, the highest interests of man
will not be affected.
Third edition. Dr. Prichard has now (1841) published the third
volume, Part First (523 pages), of his Herculean work, the " Re
searches." This volume is occupied entirely with the Ethnography
of Europe, ancient and modern. The physiological characters of
those nations are considered, as much in detail as was requisite :
but the attention of the author is principally occupied with the
intellectual and moral indications of character, and those lines of
inquiry involve a large extent of investigation into the history
and antiquities of the European nations, their mythology, man
ners, and early literature. As few men can be thought of as

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 357
comparable to Dr. Prichard in the united qualifications of glosso-
graphic knowledge and natural science, it is the more a reason for
gratitude to the Author of every good and perfect gift, who has so
richly conferred those talents, and the disposition to make an
impartial use of them.
But this excellent philosopher has perhaps intermitted his
severer labour of the " Researches,'' for the composition of a work
expressly on the subject before us: "The Natural History of Man;
comprising Inquiries into the Modifying Influence of Physical and
Moral Agencies on the Different Tribes of the Human Family : "
with a splendid furniture of engravings, and six large charts or
maps ; 572 pages ; 1842. He has travelled through the physiology
of the case, in its length and breadth ; examining the doctrines of
Genus, Species, Variety, and Race, in their apphcation to plants
and animals, especially the domesticated. Hence physical prin
ciples are established, the application of which is pursued in
relation to all the nations and tribes of mankind; for the un
wearied enterprises and successful investigations 'in all the
branches of Geography, which have signalized the last thirty
years, render it no other than a sober supposition that all the
distinctions of the human race are known.
A part of the concluding paragraph will be a fit termination to
this Note.
"  We contemplate, among all the diversified tribes who
are endowed with reason and speech, the same internal feelings,
appetencies, aversions; the same inward convictions, the same
sentiments of. subjection to invisible powers ; and, more or less
fully developed, of accountableness or responsibility to unseen
avengers of wrong and agents of retributive justice, from whose
tribunal men cannot even by death escape. We find everywhere
the same susceptibility, though not always in the same degree of
forwardness or ripeness of improvement, of admitting the culti
vation of these universal endowments, of opening the eyes of the
mind to the more clear and luminous views which Christianity
unfolds, of becoming moulded to the institutions of religion and
of civilized life. In a word, the same inward and mental nature
is to be recognized in all the races of men. When we compare
this fact with the observations which have been heretofore fully
established, as to the specific instincts and separate psychical
endowments of all the distinct tribes of sentient beings in the
universe, we are entitled to draw confidently the conclusion that
all human races are of one species and one family."
[Jan. 17, 1846 : Capt. T. J. Newbold read a paper to the Asiatic
Society describing a number of rude sepulchral monuments, in
some western parts of the Indian peninsula, closely resembling
the cromlechs and kist-vaens of our Druidical ancestors ; he
adduces similar remains in Circassia and Tartary ; and " he con-

358 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
siders that these widely separated vestiges of the same family of
the human race, form a strong link in the chain of argument
which, independently of holy writ, conducts the migration of the
human race from one central point throughout all the world, and
carries us back to the remote period when ' the whole earth was
of one family and one speech.' " "Athenaeum," Jan. 24, 1846.
"  We have suffered habits of theory to mislead us. We
must find new and more comprehensive distinctions ; or allow that
locality, more or less of exposure to climate, idleness, severe labour,
quality of food, abundant or scanty or hard fare, have greater
influence on those [distinctions] which really exist than we have
yet been willing to allow. " Review of Horatio Hale's Ethnography
and Philol. of U. S. Exploring Exped. in the " Athenasum," Feb.
27, 1847.]
[May, 1847. Dr. Prichard has now completed his great work,
the " Researches," by the publication of the fifth volume. It con
tains the investigation of the Malayan, Polynesian, Australian,
and American nations : and the result of the whole is a tinal
confirmation of the conclusion just cited.]
[Jan. 1848. The inquiry into the Origin, Dispersion, and Con
nexion of Nations is now pursued in a manner demanding much
gratitude to Him from whom " all good counsels and right works
proceed," and esteem for those learned and indefatigable persons
in our own and other countries, to whom we are indebted for
laborious investigations in this which well claims to be a distinct
science, Ethnology. The " Ethnological Society," formed in 1843,
has produced auspicious results. The last Anniversary Address
(June, 1847,) by Dr. Prichard, is of deep interest. It is on
" The Relations of Ethnology to other Branches of Knowledge."
Its concluding paragraph, upon " the bearing of facts on the great
question of the unity or diversity of human families," is 
" that the farther we explore the various paths of inquiry which
lie open to our researches, the greater reason do we find for believ
ing that no insurmountable line of separation exists between the
now diversified races of men; and the greater the probability,
judging from such data as we possess, that all mankind are
descended from one family." " Jameson's Edinb. Philos. Journ. ,"
Oct. 1847, p. 335.
To conclude on this important subject, we may well repose on
the final judgment of one who, without injustice to any philo
sopher, may be regarded as personally the man of superlative
qualifications for the investigation. See (" Edinb. Rev.") Jan. 1848,
p. 172. ' '
" The general view of nature which I have endeavoured to pre
sent would be incomplete, were I to close it without attempting
to trace, by a few characteristic traits, a corresponding sketch of
man, viewed in respect to physical gradations, to the geographical

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 359
distribution of contemporaneous types, to the influences winch
terrestrial forces exercise on him, and to the reciprocal but less
powerful action which he in turn exerts on them. Subject, though
in a less degree than plants and animals, to the circumstances of
the soil and the meteorological conditions of the atmosphere, and
escaping from the control of natural influences by the activity of
mind and the progressive advance of intelligence, as well as by a
marvellous flexibility of organization which- adapts itself to every
climate, Man forms every where an essential portion of the life
which animates the globe.  Whilst attention was exclusively
directed to the extremes of colour and of form, the result of the
first vivid impressions derived from the senses was a tendency to
view these differences as characteristics, not of mere varieties,
but of originally distinct species. The permanence of certain
types in the midst of the most opposite influences, especially of
climate, appeared to favour this view, notwithstanding the short
ness of the time to which the historical evidence applied. But, in
my opinion, more powerful reasons lend their weight to the other side
of the question, and corroborate the unity of the human race. 1
refer to the many intermediate gradations of the tint of the skin
and the form of the skull, which have been made known to us by
the rapid progress of geographical science in modern times ; to
the analogies derived from the history of varieties, both do
mesticated and wild ; and to the positive observations collected,
respecting the limits of fecundity in hybrids. The greater part
of the supposed contrasts, to which so much weight was formerly
assigned, have disappeared before the laborious investigations of
Tiedemann on the brain of negroes and of Europeans, and the
anatomical researches of Vrolik and Weber on the form of the
pelvis. When we take a general view of the dark-coloured African
nations, on which the work of Prichard has thrown so much light,
and when we compare them with the natives of the Australasian
Islands, and with the Papuas and Alfourous (Harafores, Enda-
menes), we see that a black tint of skin, woolly hair, and negro
features, are by no means invariably associated." Alex, von
Humboldt ; " Cosmos," the translation of Mrs. Colonel Sabine ;
vol. i. pp. 350—352.
That distinguished master of physical science then quotes a
passage from "one ofthe greatest anatomists of our age, Johannes
Miiller, in his — " Physiologie des Menschen ;" — which brings out
the conclusion, that, " the different races of mankind are forms or
varieties of a single species.1'

360 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
[F.]
Referred to at pages 72 and 210.
DISSERTATION ON THE REASONS FOR ASSIGNING A VERT HIOH ANTIQUITY
IO THE EARTH.
The evidence of geological phenomena constrains us to the
behef that our earth has existed, has been the seat of life, and has
undergone many changes of its surface, through periods of time
utterly beyond human power to assign. That evidence is of
distinct and independent kinds, chiefly derived from the appear
ance of stratification and the remains of animal and vegetable
life : and, to *t least the most of those who have taken pains to
become competently acquainted with its nature and variety, it
produces the effect of an overpowering ocular and tangible de
monstration. At the same time, there is extreme difficulty in
communicating such a knowledge of the facts, to persons who
have not the sensible perceptions upon which it rests. I have
therefore felt it to be necessary, in the preceding lectures, to rest
my repeated assertions in reference to this object upon authority ;
pleading that the authority is of a kind sufficient to be the ground
of certainty, on account of the moral and intellectual character of
the witnesses, their scientific qualifications, their opportunities for
investigation upon the largest scale, their original prepossession
against this conclusion, and finally their number and diversity as
to country, party, religious denomination, and other circumstances
which are rational guarantees against prejudice. But this is not
sufficient to satisfy all. Some of our friends persist in rejecting
the conclusion, resting chiefly upon the fact of its denial by per
sons, who, though very few in number, possess some geological
knowledge and opportunities for personal observation. The diffi
culty is perhaps increased, and advantage is given to the objector
from the fact, that our most distinguished philosophers, avowedly
and much to their honour, decline the task of laying down any
common measure between geological time and our ordinary enu
merations of years and centuries. The best writers abound in
general expressions ; such as, " immense periods of time, — unde
fined, yet countless — ages, — a duration to which we dare not
assign a boundary,— a work infinitely slow, a space of time from
the contemplation of which the mind shrinks — a long succession
of monuments, each of which may have required a thousand ages
for its elaboration ; — successions of events, where the language of
nature signifies millions of years :— it is evident that no greater
folly can be committed, than to think to serve the cause of truth

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 361
by contracting the long periods of Geology into the compass of a
few thousand years."*
Opponents have not been backward to take notice of this style
of expression, and to make use of it for their own purposes. In
so doing, they act a very uncandid and unreasonable part : but we
can administer no remedy to them, so long as they persist in
refusing to provide themselves with the requisite preliminary
knowledge, and to examine the question with far more diligence
and patience, and I may add Christian honour too, than they
appear to have yet exercised.
We readily acknowledge that the problem, to represent geological
by astronomical lime, is of the greatest difficulty; perhaps it is
utterly beyond human power to resolve, in the present state of our
being.f Some approximation is all that we venture to hope for.
It is self-evident that the application of any continuous measure
of time, analogous to our common periods of multiples and pro
ducts, is utterly out of the question. It would be the height of
absurdity to imagine it : for each one of the phenomena whose
aggregate forms the whole case, must have occupied its own par
ticular portion of time destitute of any rule of conformity to
others. In the formation of strata, each process (transportation,
deposition, consolidation, elevation, and subsidence ; to be followed
by a renewal of similar actions under new conditions ; and that
several times repeated ;) might occupy a duration different from
that of the corresponding process in every other stratum or system
of strata. Yet this does not set aside the reality of a prevailing
analogy ; nor does it destroy the evidence of a general conclusion
from a multitude of particular facts, each one of which must have
required, for its consummation, a very long period ; we may in
most cases say, immensely long. This will appear, if we consider
a few of those facts.
1. The remains of human beings and of any vestiges of the arts
and operations of man, are discovered only upon or in those sur
faces and earthy masses which are demonstrably posterior to
all regular geological deposits ; and under circumstances indicating
the human species to have been among the most recent products of
the Creator's power. Disinterments of human bones have often
occurred, with articles characteristic of an age, one third, and in
• Mantell's "Wonders of Geology," i. p. 6, ii. 247. Maoculloch's "Geol." i. 455,
473. Sedgwick " on the Studies of Cambridge," p. 26. Lyell's " Principles," i. 117.
Phillips'B " Treatise in the Encycl. Brit." p. 293. Similar passages might be quoted
Indefinitely. f In 1834, the Council of the Royal Society announced the prize of one of the
Royal Medals, tbe gift of the Sovereign, to the author of the best paper, to be entitled
" Contributions towards a System of Geological Chronology, founded on the Examina
tions of Fossil Remains and their attendant phenomena." The period for such com
munication was fixed to expire in June, 1837. It did so expire, without producing
the result required. "The Geologists of England," remarks Prof, Phillips, " gave a
fair proof that hypotheses were out of fashion, when they declined to compete for the
medal." " Treat, on Geol." (in Cabinet Cyclop.) vol. i. p. 245.

362 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
the Egyptian relics one half, of the period back to the creation of
man ; but these are all in the superficial soil, or in situations
accessible from it. In peat produced by the growth of mosses,
and in the areas of felled or submerged forests, the bones and
utensils of men are found; and the remains of recent animals.
The limestones which are continually formed by the deposition of
the fine particles previously dissolved in water, coral formations
close to sea-shores, and sand and mud drifted into hollows, would
readily involve human remains ; so that it is rather a subject of
surprise that instances like that of the Guadaloupe skeleton, and
fragments of pottery in travertin, are not abundant. It seems
impossible to avoid the conclusion that such would have been the
case, if human beings had existed in any of the geological forma
tions, previous to the most recent surface. In clefts and cavities
of the older rocks, which have been upheaved and subsequently
shattered and laid bare, men have taken refuge, or their bodies
have been buried ; but the access to those hollow places, and the
various matters which have fallen or been carried into them, are
always of a resent character. In some countries, vast quantities of
mud brought down by mighty rivers and occasional floods, have
buried the persons and habitations of men ; and the same result
has been produced by terrible and sudden subsidences of land, and
slips on mountain-sides. The strata of mud and sand which have
necessarily been forming in the waters, ever since the present
distribution of sea and land was arranged by the power and wisdom
of the Most High, have been receiving, for at least three thousand
years, the bodies and the property of men, in wrecks without
number ; and many of the substances so sunk in the deep, when
encased as they sooner or later must be, are indestructible till the
internal fires shall prey upon them. Consequently, if ever those
strata be upheaved, and come to be quarried by the men of a future
age, what astonishing disclosures will be laid open to their view !
But nothing of this kind is brought to light in the stratification
of the earth, below the habitable surface, or that which it is
demonstrable has been recently detached from it : while those
strata contain the most astonishing multitudes of animal popula
tions ; not excluding the order (Quadrumana) which approaches
nearest to the human form, for fossil bones of at least two large
species of the monkey tribe were discovered in 1836, in the lower
part of the Himalayan mountains. Other remains of that order
have recently been found in France, in Brazil, and but this
summer (1839) in an apparently London clay formation, near
Woodbridge. Yet in no formation that can be called stratified,
even of the newest Tertiary beds, has any thing human been
discovered. Not in the mass . of fine loam which covers 3000
square miles of surface in the valley of the Rhine, and it is often
more than 200 feet in thickness ; nor in the Norfolk crag, nor in

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 363
our own London clay, often far more than 300 feet in depth ; nor
in the alternations of freshwater and seawater beds down to the
chalk ; nor in the chalk itself, or any earlier formation. This is
surely going low enough : and it demands to be considered on the
one hand, that the formations above the chalk occupy a small
proportion of distance which would be perpendicular, if all the
strata could be restored to strict horizontality ; in comparison
with the total amount of the lower stratified rocks, scarcely one
thirtieth part ; and, on the other, that Mr. Babbage, referring
probably to these Tertiary or supracretaceous beds, but certainly
never intending to go farther, regards it as a truth supported by
irresistible evidence, "  that the formation even of those strata
which are nearest the surface, must have occupied vast periods,
probably millions of years." *
I am sensible of the delicacy and danger of venturing upon
this ground ; but I will do no more than touch it. It Will be
going as far as in reason we can be desired to do, if we take the
general surface, with the drifts of sand and gravel, and whatever
masses of clay or loam may be fairly deemed of equal age with
an average of those drifts ; and regard them as representing the
period from the creation of man. That period, according to the
usually received chronology, is a little more than 5840 years ;
according to the late Dr. Hales's system, it is about 7250. Now
the average thickness of this superficial accretion is perfectly
inconsiderable, compared with the formations composing what is
commonly called the Tertiary series. If we were to say that each
of those formations, in number six or seven, should be considered
as requiring for its production some such term as we have men
tioned, we should be presuming upon a really contracted scale.
The probability is that several of those formations, if not each
one, must have singly required a length of time equal at least to
our present period ; consequently the product would be from
forty to fifty thousand years. But the whole bearing of the
evidence, upon considering its component parts, goes to mark that
conclusion as not furnishing a period sufficiently long for a pro
bable computation of the processes which it involves. Each
stratum and each group of strata has its limits in extent ; each
was deposited and otherwise affected under its own special cir
cumstances ; to each, correspondents or equivalents are generally
found upon other areas ; in each case, the mechanical and che
mical circumstances of production and alteration, recognizable in
their results, carry plain evidences of very great periods of time
for their action : but one formation cannot give law or precedent
to another, and to reduce those periods, or any one of them, to
the ordinary measures of time, is beyond our reach, simply be
cause the duration of human experience and observation is too
short to furnish a standard. • Ninth Bridgewater Treatise, p. 79.

364 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
Recently (June, 1840,) surprise has been excited by a statement,
in some of the Paris and London papers, that a large part of the
body of an infant, (head, trunk, and the commencement of the
shoulder-bone,) and this, not the skeleton, but the full form, had
been found petrified in silex, in a quarry near Brussels. That
city stands upon a formation equivalent to that of the London
basin, and consisting of sand and gravel, siliceous grits often
passing into flint, and friable limestones. Mr. Lonsdale, with
his characteristic urbanity, has Bhown me a good drawing of this
alleged petrifaction. It requires some fancy to make out a re
semblance to the human form. The thing itself is, however,
nothing but a large flint-concretion, such as are common in our
upper chalk. I have seen many of those flint-masses which bear
an equally good resemblance to portions of animals ; and I re
member one especially, which presented a far closer likeness to
the head of a lamb. This story would not be worth noticing,
but that serious consequences may have been drawn from it, by
persons who, perhaps, did not think of asking, whether a con
version of the soft parts of an animal into flint, or any other
mineral substance, had ever been heard of in the records of na'
tural history.
About twenty-five years ago, at St. Louis in the state of Mis
souri, on the worn limestone bed of the river Mississippi, near the
brink, were discovered two human footmarks, a right and a left,
having the appearance of having been impressed on the limestone,
now exceedingly compact, hard, and polished, by a person standing
with naked feet and expanded toes, characteristic of the tribes
which never used shoes, when that limestone was in a condition of
mud sufficiently soft to receive an exact impression, and yet suffi
ciently hard to prevent the feet from sinking more than one-sixth
of an inch, thus preserving a level surface. No other footmarks
or human impressions exist : so that, if these were made in the
manner just described, the person must have stepped once on the
yielding surface, and then, in some way, have been completely
withdrawn ; a supposition not easy to realize. The rock is {not
sandstone, as some cause of error had led Dr. Mantell to suppose,
" Wond. Geol." vol. i. p. 76,) but a fine crinoidal limestone, corre
sponding to our Mountain Limestone of the Carboniferous series.
The mass of stone was dug out in 1819, weighing above a ton,
and it is now in the possession of David Dale Owen, M.D. Of this
slab, which of necessity excited very great interest, so long as it
was thought by any to be a genuine impression, that gentleman
has given an ample history and description, with an engraving, in
the American Journal of Science, July, 1842, pp. 14 — 32. The
result of the investigation is a conviction, that the marks are arti
ficial, sculptured within the last two or three centuries, in the
style of that minute and patient labour which the natives of many

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.

365

uncivilized countries are wont to bestow in the carving of stones
and wood.
2. The whole series of strata, from the earliest of them to the
present surface of the globe, exhibits a body of evidence in favour
of our doctrine. Every stratum consists of a mass of earthy mat
ters which once formed the substance of rocks on elevated land :
partially excepting the limestones, for a reason to be presently
mentioned. Those portions of the rocks have been separated from
their parent masses, worn down, comminuted, transported often
to great distances by the force of water, deposited, consolidated,
elevated, and hardened. Operations of this kind have been
repeated many times, homogeneously and heterogeneously as to
the mineralogical constitution of the masses ; but the thickness,
the lamination, the joints and cleavage, and the embedded remains
of animal and vegetable beings, cannot be contemplated with due
attention, without producing a conviction, stronger than words
can express, of periods of time amazing and overwhelming to the
mind. The most prominent instances may be mentioned, and we
will begin with the earliest.
The first appearance of stratification is in the rock called Gneiss.
This is composed of the same materials as Granite, on the irregu
lar outline of which it rests. But, whereas in Granite the com
ponent ingredients are not only distinct, but preserve their
crystaline figure ; in Gneiss they are indeed perfectly distinguish
able, but their edges and corners are rounded off, and their
disposition with regard to each other may be called an arrange
ment lengthwise and leaf-like. Now, this is'precisely that state
which would be produced by an action upon the granitic surface,
whether unaltered or somewhat disintegrated, of wearing-off,
removal, rolling about, diffusion in water, subsiding by its own
weight, settlement at the bottom, and finally, disposition by the
straight direction of a current : in a word, it is that state which
those materials would necessarily acquire, in the way of being
worn and arranged by water working upon them, through a
long space of time ; also being further acted upon by the heat
transmitted from below. But, how long was that portion of time,
it would be too daring to conjecture. We know, from the ordi
nary way of such a process, which, in many cases, can be observed
and watched, that it would be extremely slow. The trituration,
depositing, and permanent fixation of a very few inches, would be
a liberal allowance for a hundred years. What then is the average
thickness of the gneissic rocks, in Scotland, Ireland, and other
countries where they have been brought up to view . On account
ofthe inteverntion of other rocks, they cannot be sufficiently
explored, and therefore surveys fall short of the full amount as to
magnitude ; but enough is exposed to demonstrate an exceedingly
great thickness. Professor Phillips, one of the most cautious of

366 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
geologists, says, " We may believe it to exceed many thousand
yards." *
Over the Gneiss, come the beds of Mica Schist, and Slates, to a
great amount as to number, and whose thickness is unknown from
the causes mentioned, but certainly very great. If we should
venture to estimate the united thickness of this class, added to the
gneissic, at three or even four miles, we could not be charged with
exaggeration. These are the Cumbrian and Cambrian series ; and
their mode of formation is proved, by the most striking characters,
to have been the same as that of the Gneiss, modified by the
increase and progressive composition of the materials. The
number of strata, and their subdivisions, is very great. Conse
quently, the periods of alternating action and comparative repose
must have been numerous. Could the reader with his own eyes
contemplate the finest exhibitions of them in the precipices of
Scotland, Cumberland, and Wales, he would be convinced of the
imperfection and poverty of verbal description ; and he could
scarcely fail to receive the sensible demonstration of indescribable
time, as necessary for these mighty operations of the omnipresent
Deity. He would see a new beauty in the words of inspired devo
tion, " Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised ; and his great
ness is unsearchable. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy
majesty, and of thy wondrous works ; — the might of thy terrible
acts."t These Slate-rocks bear evidence of having been subjected
to intense heat, after their deposition ; so that their constitution
is metamorphic, that is, original sediment altered by fire, producing
high incandescence, close coherence, partial fusion, and penetra
tion by both injection and sublimation. This point of geological
theory was illustrated by the Rev. David Williams and Professor
Sedgwick, at the Plymouth Meeting of the British Association,
July 30, 1841. See the Report, in the " Athenaeum," No. 720, p. 627.
Upon this class of rocks, an author distinguished for the extent
of his labours in aetual examination, the late Dr. Macculloch,
remarks : — " The thickness of these strata we know to be en
ormous. — These depths are discovered by geological observations
and inferences :  that they extend to many miles was also
proved.  We have every reason to know, from what is now
taking place on our own earth, that the accumulation of materials
at the bottom of the ocean, is a work infinitely slow. We are sure
that such an accumulation as should produce the primary strata,
as we now see them, must have occupied a space, from the con
templation of which the mind shrinks."!
It would be with a continued application of similar observations,
if we were to pursue our upward course through the numerous
beds of silieeous, slaty, and limestone aggregates to which the
• "Treatise" (Cabinet Cyclop.) vol. i. p. 117.
t Ps. cxlv. J " Syst. Geol." vol. i. pp. 472, 473.

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 367
name Silurian Si/stem is given by the distinguished geologist who
has devoted seven years of toil and study, with unsparing expense,
to their investigation. He has thus supplied some connecting
links, the absence of which had created difficulties and perplexing
inquiries, between the primary strata and the old red sandstone,
now better called the Devonian System :* and has poured a stream
of light generally upon British, or justly speaking European, and
still more extensive, stratification. Their united thickness is
about a mile and a half ; but the numeration of all the beds,
between which a boundary of separation is discernible, would
probably exceed human power : who, then, can calculate the
periods of their derivation from the older formations, their deposi
tion, their elevations and small distortions ; their convulsions,
penetrations, and alterations of the adjoining rocks, by frequent
outbursts from the fiery liquid below, and other movements, till
they were brought to their existing condition 1 1 It would seem
perfectly impossible for any person, but moderately acquainted
with the visible phenomena of volcanic regions, to escape the im
pression that myriads of ages must have been occupied in the
production of these formations, before the creation of man, and
the adaptation of the earth's surface for his abode. In short, the
Silurian System of formations contains within itself a compendious
body of instruction, examples, and demonstrations of Geological
truths. X
Evidence to the same effect would accumulate upon us to a vast
amount, in examining the Old Red Sandstone, a remarkable deposit
several thousand feet in thickness, found in some parts of Great
Britain, more abundantly in Ireland, and either in resemblance or
* Third ed. Mr. Conybeare has remarked, that the term " Devonian" savours too
much of localism, and would involve something of solecism when applied to the Old
Red in Herefordshire, Scotland, and Ireland : and he proposes the word Episilurian,
that is, over the Silurian. Brit. Assoc, ref. above. — But a similar objection might be
made to Silurian, as too local and national, and the same kinds of formation occur
largely in Russia and other countries.- Yet it is better to submit to some imper
fections and incongruities in nomenclature, than to be making frequent alterations.
A temperate middle course should be observed.
t Let the impartial inquirer study Mr. Murchison's " Silurian System," particularly
chapters xvi. xix. xl. xiii.
$ Will my reader accept of a little specimen ? — " Coupling the preceding observa
tions with what has been said concerning the Trap rocks, and the dislocations of Coal-
brook Dale and the Clee Hills, it may be affirmed that this district in Shropshire
furnishes proofB of the alternate play and repose of volcanic action during very long
periods. These evidences demonstrate :
" i. That volcanic Grits were formed during the deposition of the Lower Silurian
strata. "2. That the Upper Silurian rocks and Old Red Sandstone were accumulated
tranquilly, without a trace of contemporaneous eruptions.
" 3. That, after their consolidation, the last mentioned deposits were dismembered,
and set upon their edges, by vast outbursts of intrusive Trap.
" 4. That the Carboniferous System was deposited after the older strata had been
upheaved. " 5. That subsequent dislocations, including some of the most violent with which
we are acquainted, took place after the accumulation of the Coal Measures and the
Lower New Red Sandstone." Murchison, vol. i. p. 235

368 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
in equivalence in many foreign regions. Next we come to the
Mountain Limestone, consisting almost entirely of the shells and
coralline productions of sea animals, often a thousand and more
feet in thickness. In this and other Limestone the imbedding
part is not, as in other strata, a sediment from mere watery
mixture, but the deposit from solution of Carbonate of Lime in
water. This formation is frequently more or less interposed
among the beds of coal, composed of compressed vegetable matter,
underlaid and overlaid with shales and sandstones in every variety ;
often effecting a thickness of three thousand feet. The New Red
Sandstone, comprising many most interesting varieties of strata,
each involving great changes of condition in the modes of forma
tion, advances us about another thousand feet.
Other changes, implying probably some alteration in the dis
position and consequently the action of the fiery gulph below,*
marked the next great system, or series of rocks, to which, by a
convenient extension of meaning, the term Oolitic has been given.
Its general thickness can be little less than half a mile. It is filled
with the most convincing proofs of deposition from sea-water,
both shallow and deep, the mingled waters of river-mouths, and
perhaps even fresh water of rivers and lakes ; affording indications
that the depositions, in many varieties, both contemporaneous
and successive, were carried on through a very long period.
We arrive, in ascending, at the great masses of chalk, and its
accompaniments of peculiar clays and sands ; to the thickness of
a thousand feet or more. Though the lines of stratification are
not here so visible as in the underlying formations, the evidence
of deposition from watery mixture, and of very interesting effects
from molecular and ' chemical attractions, is so clear as to be
irresistible. In our country, and in some others, the Chalk
formation, like the Old Red Sandstone at the other end of an
immense series, may have been thought to form a kind of resting-
place, a term to mark the total cessation of one order of things,
and the commencement of another upon a different plan ; but it
would be a fallacy to suppose so. No formation of stratified
material is continuous over the whole globe. Both the Old Red
and the Chalk are of limited extent ; and, where they do exist,
there is not always an abruptness in the succession, below or
above. In the Eastern Alps, Professor Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison
have demonstrated a large series of a peculiar Limestone and
* "We have recently seen two of our first philosophers (Babbage and Herschel'
maintaining that, a central heat being granted, the necessary result of the increment
of fresh matter in one part and its abstraction in another (as is now taking place),
must produce such variations in the conducting media, that the result would be the
gradual elevation of some parts of the earth's surface, and the depression of others."
Murchison, i. 576. The statements referred to are letters of Sir John Herschel to
Mr. Lyell, in the " Proceedings of the Geological Society," May 17, 1837 and Jan. 31,
1838; and the "Ninth Bridgewater Treatise," pp. 225— 247.

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 369
other formations, making, in part at least, a transition from the
highest chalk-beds to the commencement of the Tertiary series ; *
according to the usual and convenient nomenclature. Also beds
occur near Maestricht, which hold the same intermediate position.
But whether or not these fill up the interval between the Secondary
and Tertiary Series of formations (for it is a mere dispute of words,
to which of the two they should be assigned), does not affect the
argument respecting time. If geologists have not yet arrived at
a complete acquaintance with the formations that effect, the passage
from the Chalk to the Sands and Clays commonly esteemed the
lowest of the Tertiaries ; if, from well ascertained discoveries in
countries not yet explored, it should turn out that some bed or
beds of distinct character are to be intercalated; it will be so
much of addition to the time necessary for these formations, —
their being deposited at the bottom of great waters, obtaining
their fossil inhabitants, being raised up, dried, hardened ; and these
processes being probably several times repeated. The whole lapse
of time, for so small a part of stratification as this, is astonishing;
to our faculties, in the present state, it is immense.
Our last stage of ascent comprehends that Tertiary Series; a
succession of beds, Clays, Sands, and Limes, variously intermixed,
occupying a thickness of some six or eight hundred feet, and
reaching up to the ground which we tread in our London basin; but
in neighbouring districts there are two or three later formations.
Stratification, generally undisturbed, though in some places strik
ingly otherwise, as in the Isle of Wight, is here marked in cha
racters impossible to be mistaken. When we have mounted to
the most recent of those later formations, immediately below the
soil on which we tread, we find enormous masses of gravel and
other transported materials; demonstrated by their position to
have been rolled along by mighty currents, subsequently to all the
lower formations. They are sometimes spread out upon extensive
horizontal areas ; but sometimes, from local causes, heaped tumul-
tuously together. If the reader will refer to what was advanced
in Lect. v. upon the distribution of Drift, he will perhaps see
reason to conclude that this operation cannot be assigned to an
epoch later than what I venture to call the Adamic creation ; but,
as it was of different ages, much of it must, in all probability, have
preceded that date.
Let me intreat a thoughtful person to meditate on the succes
sion, which we have thus rapidly and imperfectly reviewed. Let
him represent to himself a series of earthy materials, for the most
part dried and consolidated into hard rock, proved by the plainest
evidence of the senses to have been sediments from mixture in
water ; carrying in their texture and accompaniments the equally
manifest proofs of quiet, gradual and slow deposition ; altered at
* " Trans. Geol. Soc." Second Series, vol. iii. pp. 301 — 420.
B B

370 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
different and long distant times, by forces urging from below, often
and perhaps usually of very slow and gradual action, but frequently
by the intrusion of melted rock driven up with tremendous
violence ; and that the united thickness of the whole cannot be
less than five miles, but certainly, in extensive ranges, approach
ing to the double of that estimate. Let him ask, in each case,
whence were those earthy materials derived. He will find, that
they have been worn away from the surfaces of antecedent and
now underlying rocks and dry land. Let him then reflect upon
the time requisite for this repetition of operations so prodigious,
producing a series of many terms, requiring intervals of both
repose and action, to which it is difficult for the imagination to
soar. And let him consider, whether he can conceive the pos
sibility of those results having been effected, in less periods of
duration than such as bid defiance to our poor chronology.
But, still it may be asked, Can you give no sensible idea what
ever, to assist our conceptions % Is there nothing in nature that
may serve as a standard of approximation 1 Is this vague language
of magnitude and duration all that you can afford ? Why then
may we not compress the whole succession of stratifications, into
a space of six or seven thousand years ? At least you are bound to
demonstrate, that the lower numbers are inapplicable ; that the
position of the ordinary chronology is undoubtedly too short. Is
there no plain fact that may measure some defined part of the
series ; and set at rest this part of the question, the negation of
short time ?
I will derive an answer from an assiduous, sagacious, and emi
nently qualified observer ; a most extensive labourer in the field
of practical Geology ; and a zealous friend of revealed religion.
" Let us contemplate Time as it relates to the Creator, not to
ourselves, and we shall be no longer alarmed at that which the
history of the earth demands.  Every stratum of rock is the
work*of time, often of far more than we choose to contemplate ;
while, from what we see, we can approximate to that which we
know not how to measure. He who can measure and number the
strata from the first to the last, is prepared to solve this question
as it relates to the intervals of repose ; but of those only : not to
those of the revolutions. Let him ascertain the time required to
produce a stratum of a given depth ; let him seek it in the increase
of colonies of shell-fishes, in deposits of peat, and in the earthy
deposits of seas and lakes : and he has found a multiplier, not to
disclose " [i. e. entirely and precisely] "the truth, but to aid his
imagination.  Who indeed can sum this series ?  The data are
not in our power ; yet we can aid conjectures.
" The great tract of peat, near Stirling, has demanded two
thousand years ;* for its registry is preserved by the Roman works
* He puts a round number. It is 1760 years since the Romans invaded Scotland.
But the difference is inconsiderable in this argument.

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. '371
below it. It is but a single bed of coal : — shall we multiply it by
100 ?  We shall not exceed, — far from it,— did we allow 200,000
years for the production of the coal-series of Newcastle, with all
its rocky strata.* A Scottish lake does not shoal " [i. e. deposit
mud or marl to remain at the bottom,] " at the rate of half a foot
in a century ; and that country presents a vertical depth of far
inore than 3,000 feet, in the single series of the oldest sandstone.
No sound geologist will accuse a computer of exceeding, if he
allow 600,000 years for the production of this series alone.  And
yet, what are the coal-deposits, and what the oldest sandstone,
compared to the entire mass of the strata 1 
" If these views of the powers and the results of geological
investigation are alarming to feeble minds, they tend to exalt that
science in the estimation of those who neither fear to seek Truth,
nor dread it when found." +
I do not take upon me to affirm that these numbers are incon-
trovertibly correct ; but let it not be forgotten, that they proceed
from one of the most experienced and indefatigable of studious
observers and practical labourers in this field, besides that he was
an avowed and warm friend of revelation. If my advice, should
have the effect of inducing any of my young friends to read his
Description of the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland, in
four volumes ; his Geological Classification of Rocks, (though the
Classification, in the present advancement of discovery, requires
considerable correction), and his posthumous three volumes on
the Attributes of God, as proved and illustrated by the Physical
Universe ; — I am sure that they will not blame me. Yet it must
not be forgotten, that he did not live to acquire a proper know
ledge of Palaeontology.
3. There is a fact which may be made intelligible to an unin-
structed person, or even tp a child. In those stratified rocks
which are of a sandy constitution, it is common to find pebbles,
from the size of coriander-seeds to that of bird's eggs, and much
larger. These bear demonstrative evidence of having been derived
from more ancient rocks, by fracture and detachment, long rolling
on a hard bottom under water, dispersed through the loose sand
of a deposit, subsiding to the lower part if a tolerably free motion
were permitted, and then consolidated. To this portion of a sandy
formation, whose parts are thus agglutinated, the appropriate term
conglomerate is given. Let the Old Red Sandstone be our example.
— In many places the upper part of this vast formation is of a
closer grain, showing that it was produced by the last and finest
deposits of clayey and sandy mud, tinged, as the whole is, with
* The reader will observe that the author is speaking of the Newcastle coal-strata
alone ; not including the subsequent formations up to the present condition of the
earth. t Macculloch's " System of Geology," vol. i. pp, 506, 507.
Jl B 2

372 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
oxides and corbonates of iron, usually red, but often of other hues.
But frequently the lower portions, sometimes dispersed heaps, and
sometimes the entire formation, consist of vast masses of con
glomerate, the pebbles being composed of quartz, granite, or some
other of the earliest kinds ;. and thus showing the previous rocks,
from whose destruction they have been composed. Let any person
first acquire a conception of the extent of this formation, and of
its depth, often many hundreds and sometimes two or three
thousand feet ; (but such a conception can scarcely be formed
without actual inspection ;*) then let him attempt to follow out
the processes which the clearest evidence of our senses shows to
have taken place ; and, let him be reluctant and sceptical to the
utmost that he can, he cannot avoid the impression that ages
innumerable must have rolled over the world, in the making of
this single formation.
4. In the texture of the early stratified rocks, to which the
abundant evidence leads us to ascribe a vast antiquity, pieces of
granitic rocks are often found, of such forms as show that they
had been broken off from the crystallized formations : for, if they
had come from the injection of newly-formed granite, the marks
of elevation and intrusion in a fused state would not have been
wanting. Hence, it is plain that the parent rock, in any case,
existed before the formation of the derivative.
5. The earliest slate rocks, like all other strata, must have been
originally deposited in a position horizontal or nearly so. By
subsequent movements, not one, but evidently many, they have
been raised to all elevations, and bent to the utmost extent of
contortion : as is shown by the lines of stratification. But there
is another kind of division, first brought to light by Professor
Sedgwick ; that of lines of cleavage and intersecting joints, or
called by a general term, structural or divisional planes. These
are productive of signal benefit to the arts and convenience of
men : but they involve profound geological and mathematical
researches, and their causes can be explored only by going into
the deepest night of terrestrial antiquity. Those who are the best
qualified to form an opinion, impute this structure to an agency
(—call it electric, galvanic, magnetic, or chemical, — ) connected
with the grand and mysterious operations of the terrestrial
magnetism, operating upon a scale of magnitude and distance
which we cannot graduate, and requiring a proportionate vastness
of time for its taking effect ; probably the same agency that reigns
in the wonderful processes of crystallization, from points of invisi
ble minuteness to formations of indefinable greatness : — or some
parts of these phenomena may bo imputed to the slow action of
the heat from below, producing a general and regular contraction
of the argillaceous formations : — or the cause may be sought in
» The most convenient localities for us are in Herefordshire and Monmouthshire.

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 373
the change of cohesion in masses becoming solid from a state of
fluidity. The contraction mentioned is founded upon a known
property of argillaceous earth : all these causes act quite indepen
dently of the stratification : the jointed structure is found to affect
the crystalline rocks also : the stratification contains in itself the
evidence of having required periods, impossible indeed to be de
termined by any assignment of figures, but to which, judging from
all approximating evidence, our cycles of time afford none but a
totally defective measure of comparison. This branch of investiga
tion is indeed one of extreme difficulty ; and with which I acknow
ledge myself to possess but a very imperfeot acquaintance. The
expectation is with good reason indulged, that both the learned
Professor just mentioned, and another ornament of the same
University, Mr. Hopkins, who has long employed his rare mathe
matical powers upon the class of problems to which this belongs,
will confer upon the whole subject important elucidations, and open
its further connexions with the most recondite parts of geological
science.* — But the impression which the general view of the
phenomena makes upon me, is that of an unspeakable addition to
the reasons for Mr. Scrope's exclamation, — " Time ! Time ! —
Geology compels us to make unlimited drafts upon antiquity !"
It is established by such evidence as places the fact beyond con
tradiction, that by far the larger part, more probably the whole,
of the dry land, not excepting the highest mountains, has been
raised out of the bed of the sea. There is also evidence that the
process of elevation is extremely slow. The general proof accrues
from the ancient beaches, now far above the highest sea-level,
which abound on almost all bold coasts. But a favourable concur
rence of circumstances has brought the elevation of an extensive
portion ofthe Scandinavian peninsula, within the range of measure
ment ; and three feet in a century have been well established.
Now there are successions of such ancient sea-beaches, in several
of the glens of Scotland, at heights of eight, ten, twelve hundred
feet, and more, above the present sea-level. Mr. Darwin has
shown, by a series of very probable arguments, that these have
been all produced by the regular action of the ocean-waters upon
rocky shores, and the no less regular rising of the land, in its
bodily mass, over large areas, and with that extreme slowness of
which we have so many proofs. Applying then the example
of Sweden to the case before us, we bring out a period of thirty
thousand years, from the lowest and of course the latest elevation
* See Prof. Sedgwick's Remarks on the Structure of large Mineral Masses in the
"Trans. Geol. Soc." Second Ser. vol. iii. p. 461. Mr. Hopkins's Mem. in the "Trans,
Philos. Soc. Cambr." vol. vi. ; and the brief Sketch of his communication to the Geol.
Section of the British Assoc, at Bristol, in the Report for 1836, "Trans. Sect." p. 78.
Prof. Whewell's brief but interesting summary of the problems which Mr. Hopkins
has proposed, and the results to which he has already arrived, in his " Presidential
Address to the Geological Society," Feb. 15, 1839, p. 40.

374 . SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
to the formation of the present shore ; and from the time of the
highest elevation, the period is more than eighty thousand years.
But a period remains to be added to this, for the interval before
that highest beach was raised and while the upper part of the
mountains was slowly rising out of the waters : for this prior
period, no rule or approximation of estimate is known.*
I must cease ; or I had intended to push my argument farther,
and to ask some reflection to be bestowed upon the crystalline
rocks. — Can any man imagine that granite was created in its
characteristic state, a composition of visibly and palpably distinct
materials, scarcely mixed, only put loosely together .  It would
be almost as reasonable to affirm that the stomachs of the first
animals were created with bitten and masticated fragments of the
appropriate food in them. — - — Whence came the quartz, the mica,
and the felspar ; each a rock of separate existence 1 — Whence
the schorl, the augite, the steatite, and other interminglings ? 
Must we not pursue them to their chemical decomposition 1 Can
we stop short of believing that the original act of creation pro
duced the few primordial elements, by the combinations of which
all mineral and all organized matters have been formed ? — Then
we have gone back to the fathomless abyss of ages of ages. — But
this unutterable period !• — Compared with the infinite existence,
with the eternity of God,  it sinks to a moment. 
" Combining in our survey, then, the whole range of deposits,
from the most recent to the most ancient group, how striking a
succession do they present ! — So various, yet so uniform ! so vast,
yet so connected !  In thus tracing back to the most remote
periods in the physical history of our continents, one system of
operations as the means by which [so] many complex formations
have been successively produced, the mind becomes impressed
with the singleness of nature's laws ; and, in this respect at least,
Geology is hardly inferior in simplicity to Astronomy.  Need
we recapitulate those curious changes in the lithological character
of the deposits effected by igneous action ? Or endeavour to
rouse the mind to a sense of the greatness of those powers,
whatever they may have been, which produced the symmetrical
jointed structure of mountains, and carried countless lines of
parallel cleavage throughout regions of slaty rocks, in spite as it
were of the original forms of the strata ?" \
Thus far I have endeavoured to reason from the mineralogical
character of stratified masses, not so much from their constitution
or composition individually, as from their position above and
below each other. I have continually endeavoured to leave out
* Mr. Maclaren's Paper on the Parallel Roads of Glen Roy ; in Prof. Jameson's,
"Philos. Journ." Edinb. Oct. 1839, p. 395. Hee an additional remark at' the end of
this Supplementary Note.
f Murchison; "Silur. Syst."i. 574.

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 375
the consideration of Organic Remains, though it was impossible
to do so entirely. But it appeared probable that, for general
readers, the method of surveying the two lines of evidence apart,
might be the more favourable to a correct apprehension of the
whole. We must, therefore, now direct our attention to the
attractive department of Geology to which the name of Palaeon
tology has been appropriated. -
In all the terrene formations till we reach the very early ones,
we are met by the remains of creatures which once had life, and
were furnished by their Creator with the means of performing
functions and enjoying life, to the extent of their capacities. In
some of the strata, the number is comparatively small, but in the
greater part it is very considerable.
The first systems of stratification, gneiss, mica schist, and so on
to the lower part of the Cambrian beds, supply no vestiges of
vegetable or animal life. But it would be unwarrantable to
affirm absolutely that living creatures had no place in the waters
which once covered these rocks, and from which they were
deposited ; for the heat propagated from below, through the
substance of the granitic masses, and which has given a partially
fused and crystalline character to the gneissic, would be effectual
to dissipate all organized matter, had such existed before the high
temperature was produced.
In a citation before given from Professor Phillips * wo have
contemplated a sketch of the forms of organic life from the
earliest appearance in the slate mountains of North Wales and
Cornwall, to those of the present creation. To have the mind
duly impressed by a view at all approaching to completeness of
the little that is known, the study of many geological works, a
familiar acquaintance with collections, and an actual inspection of
the rocks themselves, are, if not necessary, yet highly desirable.
The first and second of these means are all that many studious
persons can command ; but for them let us be thankful, and by
the use of them we may acquire the qualifications which are
indispensable for enjoying the survey of nature upon a grand
scale, whenever it may be put into our power.
The earliest appearances of life are two or three species of
zoophytes, and casts (that is, impressions in mineral matter re
maining after the organized substance has been dissolved and
washed away,) of several species of shells which have been dis
covered t in the slate-rocks just mentioned. The structure of
those shells shows that their inhabitants stood higher in the scale
of organization than our cockles and oysters. But we should not
be warranted in supposing that these, should we call them twenty
» Pages 74—77.
t By the late Rev. John Josiah Conybeare, the Rev. Prof. Sedgwick, and Prof.
Phillips.

376 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
or thirty species, were the whole amount of the kinds of living
creatures at that remote era. It is a wonder that any have
escaped total obliteration. Besides these few corallines and hard
shells, there might be many species of many animal orders, the
remains of which have been entirely decomposed and absorbed.
The fossils referred to are arranged along the surfaces of deposit
in such positions and regularity as show that the animals lived
and died on the spots which have preserved their remains. An
indication is thus afforded of the lapse of time, which is very
impressive. An area of soft clay at the bottom of a primeval
ocean was deposited, and received its living tenants with their
shelly habitations ; from their first creation growing up to the
preservation of individual life, increasing and multiplying their
kinds, and generation succeeding generation till the species be
comes extinct. Though perfect knowledge is not possessed, yet
there are reasons for believing that the duration of life to tes-
tacean individuals of the present races is several years. But who
can state the proportion which the average length of life to the
individual mollusc or conchifer, bears to the duration appointed
by the Creator to the species ? Take any one of the six "or seven
thousand known recent species. Let it be a Buccinum, of which
120 species are ascertained, (one of which is the commonly known
whelk ;) or a Cyprsea, comprising about as many, (a well known
species is on almost every mantel-piece, the tiger-cowry ;) or an
Ostrea {oyster), of which 130 species are described. We have
reason to think that the individuals have a natural life of at least
six or seven years ; but we have no reason to suppose that any
one species has died out, since the Adamic creation. May we
then, for the sake of an illustrative argument, take the duration
of testacean species, one with another, at 1000 times the Ufe of
the individual? May we say, 6000 years? — We are dealing
very liberally with our opponents.  Yet, in examining the ver
tical evidences of the cessations of the fossil species, marks are
found of an entire change in the forms of animal life ; we find
such cessations and changes to have occurred many times, in the
thickness of but a few hundred feet of these slate-rocks. But the
homogeneous, or nearly homogeneous deposit consists of many
thousand feet ; and it is only one of several, perhaps four, great
formations which constitute this early system.
But when we rise to the Silurian formations, we find a long
succession of strata many thousand feet in thickness, and imbed
ding not fewer than 375 species belonging to the animal kingdom ;
corallines, encrinites, analogues of crab and lobster, bivalve and
univalve shells, and the skeletons and detached bones of fish.
The Old Red Sandstone, now called by a preferable name, the
Devonian system, had been thought to be- almost destitute of
organic remains; but recent researches, particularly in Scotland,

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 377
have brought to light numerous and highly interesting bones and
skeletons of fishes : but none of them are such as belong to the
present order of creation. They are all of species, and even genera,
not now existing ; and the same observation is to be made with
respect to the fishes which occur more abundantly in a very thick
and extensive formation which comes much later in the geological
series, the New Red Sandstone, and especially that which is usually
considered as one of its subordinate parts, the Magnesian Lime
stone. Between these two great yet very distinct and distant Red Sand
stone formations, there is, in many parts of Wales, England, and
Scotland, the Mountain Limestone, usually 900 and more feet in
thickness, and which consists of nothing else than the remains of
coralline and testaceous animals compressed into masses of stone,
hard and compact, often many miles in length and breadth. Over
that, and in many of the same localities, we have the coal-strata,
consisting entirely of compressed plants, with their sandstones,
shales, and iron-stones, full of land vegetables, and presenting some
fresh-water shells and fishes.
Above these, we are in the New Red just mentioned ; 2000 feet
of marl, clay, sand-rock, conglomerates, sulphate of time, rock-salt,
and magnesian lime-stone ; red of all hues, white, and variegated :
much less, in our country, replenished with the vestiges of living
creatures, than the preceding or the succeeding formations ; yet
not destitute of them. In the equivalent rocks of Germany and
France, organic remains are more frequent.
In one of the members of this formation, the first known appear
ance of reptile life presents itself, in several species of lizard-like
animals. But in the beds which come next in the ascending order,
the Lias, we are met by other and very different species, of the
same family, of appalling size, power, and armature,* besides other
orders; and through all the Oolitic strata, we find remains, in
great variety and abundance ; above fifty of plants ; of the animal
classes a number of species and forms of organization, which may
well fill us with astonishment, from the zoophytes upwards, but as
yet (so far as is known) only, as it were, just touching upon the
mammifers. Neither, amidst the crowds of other animals, till we
have risen over all the sandy, clayey, and chalk formations, do we
find any further appearances of that class. The thousands of
species, through whose periods we have thus in idea been passing
are all different from any in the now existing creation, thougl
possessing generic and family analogies : and yet (with the re
* The reader should not fail, if he can, to inspect the specimens which are in th»
Long Gallery of the British Museum : the figures, by Mr. Hawkins, who collected th>,
most of those specimens and chiseled them out of the rock -, (see the note at page 89; ,
and the reduced figures in Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater Treatise, with bis admirable
enucleations of the structure and habits of the animals.

378 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
markable and contested* exception just hinted at, the Stonesfield
fossil, and see p. 76,) no mammiferous animals. When we have
risen above tho chalk, we discover in the shell-fish a small begin
ning of existing species; and, in the subsequent formations, the
proportion increases till all the older species have successively
become extinct, and the land, the fresh waters, and the ocean,
come to be occupied by the present edition of creation. But many
deposits and very long periods, from the chalk" upwards, have
existed, till mammiferous animals are found (the various theria of
several regions ;) and they are all exceedingly different from living
species or even genera, Finally, in the formations immediately
preceding our own, we find animals falling into existing genera,
but specifically different ; and, as they gradually cease, our present
species succeed to their places.
This sketch, hasty and imperfect as it is, demonstrates a series
of changes in organic nature, adapted to the variations in tempe
rature, atmospheric constitution, and mineral composition, which,
upon independent grounds, we have reason to believe did take
place. The perfections of the Creator are conspicuous in all this
wondrous course of change. We see unity of purpose, harmony
of means and adaptations, and infinite variety in modes of de
velopment. " 0 Lord, how manifold are thy works ! In wisdom
hast thou made them all. The earth is full of thy riches : so is
this great and wide sea." (Ps. civ. 24.)
Upon this argument one might expatiate without limit ; but I
leave it to my studious and impartial readers, persuaded that, in
proportion to their mental cultivation and their assiduity in pur
suing these interesting objects of research, will be their conviction
of the immeasurable antiquity of our earth, and the whole created
system — immeasurable, indeed, but only so to our feeble faculties .¦
compared with the prior eternity of Jehovah, it sinks into a short
period. — Eternity ! — How awakening is the thought, that each
of us is born for a duration to which that word can be applied;
and that it depends upon ourselves, in the present stage of our
existence, whether it shall be an eternity of dignity and happiness
unspeakable, or of the most appalling degradation, and misery,
and despair !
There is one class to which, in this argument, the appeal may
be made with peculiar force of evidence; the students of Con-
chology. Their elegant science makes them familiar with probably
« Some eminent anatomists are of opinion that the few bones in question (only two
or three broken jaws, upon which the greatest men in this department have put forth
their utmost powers of discrimination) belonged not to a mammal, but to a small
reptile, of the lizard or iguana family, and to which those naturalists give the generic
name of amphitherium. Sec. ed. Yet Mr. Owen's repeated examinations, in which
his exquisite familiarity with Comparative Anatomy has been aided by microscopic
observation of the interior structure of teeth, have confirmed the belief of Dr. Buck-
land and other distinguished men, that the animal was a small mammal, of a kind
analogous to the opossum.

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 379
seven thousand species of creatures, the inhabitants chiefly of the
waters, in whose forms and organic provisions, and in their shelly
habitations, the wisdom and goodness of the Creator are displayed
with striking beauty. Of those species, the conchologist finds not
one in the former strata of the earth's crust, except with a rapidly
decreasing proportion, in the most recent formations;* — he finds
not one living species in the chalk and the older systems. Yet he
perceives identities of genera, but decreasing; and, where the
genera are different, there is the relation of analogy ; all exhibit
ing the presiding energy of the one Mind, with the admirable
adaptations of every circumstance in the organization to conditions
of temperature and the gaseous composition of the atmosphere.
The fossil conchologist finds above four thousand kinds, which
have had their respective periods of existence ; I speak not of the
individuals, but of the species or races, to each of which, from the
analogy of living nature, we must assign some thousands of years.
He sees those species at length ceasing : even whole genera going
out of existence; and others occupying the vacancies, always
adapted to altered conditions of the earth and the waters. " This
fact has now been verified, in almost all parts of the globe ; and
has led to a conviction, that at successive periods of the past, the
same area of land and water has been inhabited by species of
animals and plants as distinct as those which now people the
antipodes, or which now co-exist in the arctic, temperate, and
tropical zones. It appears, that from the remotest periods there
has been ever a coming in of new organic forms, and an extinction
of those which pre-existed on the earth; some species having
endured for a longer, others for a shorter time; but none having
ever re-appeared, after once dying out." (Lyell's Elements, p. 275.)
"General and particular results all agree in demonstrating that
the physical conditions of the ancient ocean must have been very
different, in some respects, from what obtain at present ; and that
these conditions were subject to great variation during the very
long periods which elapsed in the formation of the crust of the
earth. In the course of these changes, whole groups of animals
perished ; others were created, to perish in their turn ; and these
operations were many times repeated, not only before the present
races of animals were formed, but even before the relative numbers
in the leading groups approximated to the proportions which
* In the newest strata of our country, certain parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, and the
basin of the Thames, Mr. Lyell has determined the existence of 90 to 95 in the hun
dred of such species aa now live ; the same proportion as in the most recent beds of
Sicily. (Charlesworth's " Mag. Nat. Hist." July, 1839, p. 327. Lyell's " Princ " iii.
369, 370, 373, fifth ed., not repeated in the sixth, as Mr. Lyell proposes a separate
work on the Tertiary formations ; but a summary on this subject is in vol. i. 244-5.
" Elements," p. 284 — 290.) In the nearest older formations, the proportion of num
ber runs from 70 to 40 ; the Norfolk Crag, Red, 30 ; Coralline, 19 ; and in older beds
diminishing to 26, 17, and finally about three : till, in the Chalk, crowded with con-
chological as well as other remains, all existing species are found to have ceased.

330 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
appear in the actual sea." (Phillips's Geol. in Cabinet Cyclop.
vol. i. p. 84.)
Other distinct arguments might be adduced in support of our
position, the immense antiquity of the earth ; but they will
present themselves frequently and powerfully to the attentive
student, in his patient explorings for geological truth. This note
is too long already. Yet I thankfully avail myself of support to
its design from the eloquent address of the Rev. William Vernon
Harcourt, as President of the British Association, at the meeting
of this year (1839,) at Birmingham.
"No one, I think, can doubt that those who condemned the
Copernican system were justified in conceiving that the Scrip
tures speak of the earth as fixed, and the sun as the moving body.
Every one will allow also that this language is ill adapted to the
scientific truths of Astronomy. We see the folly of any attempt,
on this point, to interpret the laws of nature by the expressions of
Scripture ; and what is the ground of our judgment ? We are
not all competent to judge between the theory of Copernicus and
those which preceded it ; but we determine against the seeming
evidence of our senses, and against the letter of Scripture ; be
cause we know that competent persons have examined and decided
the physical question. Now, gentlemen, in Geology we are arrived
at the self-same point ; that is to say, a vast body of the best
informed naturalists have examined, by all the various lights of
science, and by undeniable methods of investigation, the struc
ture op the earth : and, however they may differ on less certain
points, they will agree in this : that the earth exhibits a succession
of stratification, and a series of imbedded fossils, which cannot be
supposed to have been so stratified and so imbedded in six days, in
a year, or in two thousand years, without supposing also such
numerous, such confused and promiscuous violations of the laws
and analogies of the universe, as would confound, not the science
of Geology alone, but all the principles of Natural Theology.
Here then is another point of discordance ; and in this case [also]
the discordance lies between the language of Scripture and the
truths of science. —
— " Who then would expect to find in Genesis the chronology
or sequence of creation ? Who can think that he upholds the
authority of Scripture by literal constructions of such a history ;
by concluding from them that the earth was clothed with trees
and flowers before the sun was created, or that the great work
was measured by six rotations of the earth upon her axis 1 It
scarcely needed the evidence of physical or geological science, to
teach' us that such a mode of interpreting the sacred writings
is utterly unsound. When the same author speaks of man as
' created in the image of God,' every one perceives that this is one

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES . 381
of the boldest figures which language can produce.* And in
what but a figurative light can we view the ' the days' of creation?
What can we find in such a description but this truth, that the
six grand classes of natural phenomena were, all and each, distinct
acts of divine power, and proceeded from the fiat of a single
Creator ?
"  All the conclusions of human science coincide with Re
vealed Religion ; and none more remarkably than that which
has been so falsely termed irreligious Geology : for as Astronomy
shows the unity of the Creator through the immensity of space,
so does Geology, along the track of unnumbered ages, and through
the successive births of beings ; still finding in all the uniform
design of the same almighty power, and the varied fruits of the
same unexhausted goodness." — " Report of the Ninth Meeting of
the British Association ;" page 18 — 20, also in the "Athenaeum,"
Aug. 31, 1839.
Upfm this noble generalization, I cannot refuse to cite one
passage more from the Christian philosopher of New England, so
frequently mentioned with respect in the preceding pages.
" Nor ought it to be forgotten, that these very principles and
deductions of Geology, that have excited so much of alarm and
opposition among some friends of rehgion, and so much of pre
mature and groundless exultation among its enemies, have never
theless, when taken in connexion with Astronomy, developed and
established a law of God's natural government of the Universe,
grand beyond all others known to man, and undiscovered, or only
dimly seen by the great minds of other generations. I refer to
the fact, that perpetual change is made the grand conservative and
controlling principle of the universe. Men have always seen and
felt this instability in respect to everything on earth ; and they
have regarded it as a defect, rather than as a wise law of the
natural world. But they now find it to be equally true of suns
and planets, as of plants and animals. ' Perpetual change, per
petual progression, increase and diminution, appear to be the rules
of the material world, and to prevail without exception.' (Prof.
Whewell's 'Bridgewater Treat.,' p. 158.) And this very insta
bility is the great secret of the permanence and constancy of
nature's operations, and of the adaptation of the external world to
the wants and happiness of organized beings. It is ' a principle
superior to those grand rules which we have been accustomed to
regard as constituting exclusively the laws of nature : from the
* It perhaps did not occur to the accomplished President, that we have divine
authority for understanding that expression as signifying the intellectual capacities
and moral excellence with which man was endowed, Eph. iv. 24 ; Col. iii. 10. AIbo
the connexion of the original passage (Gen. i. 26 — 281 conducts us to the idea, that
this "image of God" was intended to signify the dominion over the lower creatures
conferred upon mankind.

382 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
security, which we see in it, beyond the longest and apparently
most perfect periodical movements of our solar system." (Cordier,
' Sur la Temp, de l'lnterieure de la Terre ;' p. 84.) In fine, it is
probably the most splendid display of the divine skill which the
universe can furnish." Hitchcock's " Geol. of Massachusetts ;"
p. 251.
The importance of the subject of this Dissertation supersedes
any apology for its length. But, in relation to that subject, I am
under an obligation, the feeling of which is a pleasure : and thus
is rendered more incumbent the duty of acknowledging it. The
Rev. Professor Sedowick, whose liberality of mind and heart is
the fit accompaniment of his scientific eminence, has favoured me
with communications on this vital point, and with permission to
use them as I might think fit. But I cannot adorn myself with
another's robe ; I cannot incorporate his matter into my own,
without a sense of doing wrong. Yet to deprive the reader of the
satisfaction to be derived from the information and reasoning of
so high an authority,* I should feel to be an inexcusable offence.
It is also proper to mention that the Professor's letter was written
by him in haste, under the urgency of University engagements,
and when setting out on his geological tour this summer in France,
Belgium, and other countries.
"  The fossils demonstrate the time to have been long, though
we cannot say how long. Thus we have generation after genera
tion of shell-fish, that have lived and died on the spots where we
find them ; very often 'demonstrating the lapse of many years for a
few perpendicular inches of deposit. In some beds, we have large
cold-blooded reptiles, creatures of long life. In others we have
traces of ancient forests, and enormous fossil trees, with concentric
rings of structure marking the years of growth. Phaenomena of
this kind are repeated again and again : so that we have three or
four distinct systems of deposit, each formed at a distinct period
of time, and each characterized by its peculiar fossils. Coeval
with the Tertiary masses, we have enormous lacustrine deposits ;
sometimes made up of very fine thin laminse, marking slow
tranquil deposits. Among those laminae we can find sometimes
the leaf-sheddings and the insects of successive seasons. Among
them also we find almost mountain-masses of the Indusite tubu-
* To geologists it is unnecessary ; but to many otherwise well-informed persons, it
will be gratifying to know the terms in which Prof. Whewell has adverted to the
merits of his friend and colleague. " The classification of the rocks of this portion of
our island [the Cambrian] to which Prof. Sedgwick has been led,  is the fruit of the
vigorous and obstinate struggles of many years, to mould into system a portion of
Geology which appeared almost too refractory for the philosopher's hand : and which
Prof. Sedgwick grappled with the more resolutely, in proportion as others shrank away
from the task, perplexed and wearied.  A series of formations distinguished and re
duced to order by [his] indefatigable exertions and wide views.  It has been neces
sary to employ and improve all the best methods of geological investigation."  He
has traced *' the geographical continuity of the strata, almost mile by mile, from Cape
Wrath to the Land's End." " Presid. Addr. Geol. Soc." 1839, p. 25.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 383
laim* and other sheddings of insects, year after year. Again,
streams of ancient lava alternate with some of these lacustrine
Tertiary deposits.
" In Central Prance, a great stream of lava caps the lacustrine
limestone. At a subsequent period, the waters have excavated
deep valleys, cutting down into the lacustrine rock marble, many
hundred feet : and at a newer epoch, anterior to the authentic
history of Europe, new craters have opened, and fresh streams of
lava have run down the existing valleys. Even in the Tertiary
period, we have thus a series of demonstrative proofs of a long
succession of physical events, each of which required a long lapse
of ages for its elaboration.
" Again ; as we pass downwards from the bottom Tertiary beds
to the Chalk, we instantly find new types of organic life. The old
species, which exist in millions of individuals in the upper beds,
disappear : and new species are found in the chalk immediately
below. This fact indicates a long lapse of time. Had the chalk
and upper beds been formed simultaneously at the same period,"
[as the supporters of the diluvial theory represent,] " their organic
remains must have been more or less mixed : but they are not.
Again ; at the base of the Tertiary deposits resting on the chalk,
we often find great masses of conglomerate, or shingle, made up of
chalk-flints rolled by water. These separate the* chalk from the
overlying beds ; and many of the rolled flints contain certain
petrified chalk-fossils. Now every such fossil proves the following
points : —
" 1. There was a time when the organic body was alive at the
bottom of the sea.
" 2. It was afterwards imbedded in the cretaceous deposit.
" 3. It became petrified -. a very slow process.
" 4. The Chalk was, by some change of marine currents, washed
away, or degraded " [i. e. worn away under the atmosphere by the
weather and casualties, a process slow almost beyond description, '
* TheBe are cylindrical cases formed for its habitation by a six-legged insect-larva,
which inhabits ponds and small streams, creeping at the bottom. The cases are con
structed of small portions of leaves and stalks laid and finely joined together, aggluti
nated by a secretion of the insect, lined with a silky fibrous matter, and defended on
Ihe outside by small substances of a harder texture made to adhere by the insect's
gluten, suoh as minute bits of wood or bark, grains of sand and very small shells.
When it quits the larva state, it comes out a brownish, four-winged, moth-like insect.
Reaumaur calls them butterfly-flies. They are seen in clouds about ponds on summer
evenings. The generio name is Phryganea, but there are many Bpecies in England and
other countries. An excellent figure of the Phryganea rhombica, a common English
species, (which the author has forgotten to say is the size of life,) is in Lyell, vol. iv.
p. 153. ' In that place, Mr. L. has given an account of one instance of the rocky lime
stone-masses here alluded to by Prof. Sedgwick, with beautiful figures. The cases are
studded over with small water-snail shells, like those of Paludince, or LinnEBus's
Helices vivipara. Often ten or twelve of these well-loaded cases are packed up, as it
were, yet not broken, within the compass of a cubic inch.

1 Fifth ed. and " Elem." sec. cd. vol. i. p. 373.

384 SUPPLEMENTABY NOTES.
" and the solid flints and fossils " [thus detached from their imbed-
dings] " were rolled into shingles.
" 5. Afterwards, these shingles were covered up, and buried
under Tertiary deposits.
" In this way of interpretation, a section of a few perpendicular
feet indicates a long lapse of time : and the co-ordinate fact of the
entire change of organic types between the beds above and those
below, falls in with the preceding inference, and shows the lapse
of time to have been very lono. [ — But who can say, how long ?
Many thousands of years sink into a trifling period, for the passing
through of these processes.  ]
" If I travel in Greece, I may find monuments of ancient art
perhaps under the foundations of a Turkish house. If I compared
these works of art with those of the present day, I should be con
vinced at once (quite independently of history), that they belonged
to a different epoch in the annals of the human race. These
changes are partly due to the progress of civilization, the caprice
of man's will, and other moral causes ; still, however, subordinate
to certain laws. In the geological case, the total change in organic
forms has been brought about by the slow operation of physical
causes, not under the control of man. But he can observe them ;
and, because they are laws, that is, have the impress of mud upon
them, he can interpret them. Those who argue against you as
some of your opponents do, not only deprive man of his intellectual
privilege, but strip the God of nature of his honour."

See pp. 365 and 369. " The Old Red Sandstone often appears
as a new conglomerate, of great thickness, separating the old slate-
rocks from the Mountain Limestone. But, even in this form and
without fossils, it demonstrates that the older strata were solid
and perfected before the existence of the Mountain Limestone."
[Recent investigations have found it to be rich in fossils, of the
most peculiar and instructive character. See the close of this
Note. ]
" Again ; there was a total change in the inhabitants of the sea,
between the Limestone-beds and Coral-reefs of the Silurian and
Cambrian period, and the time when the Mountain Limestone was
deposited. Hence, we should conclude that there was a very long
lapse of time, between the period of the highest Silurian beds and
the period of the Mountain Limestone. This inference is confirmed
by very modern discoveries. In Scotland, in the country examined
by Mr. Murchison [the Silurian region], and above all in North
and South Devon, the Old Red Sandstone contains innumerable
regular beds, with fossils which have lived and died where we
find them ; that is, in the same relative situation, as of course
they [with the entire sea-bottom mass in which had been their

EUPPLEMENTABY NOTES. 885
habitation], had been lifted bodily out of the sea by elevatory
forces. Subordinate to it are lines upon lines of old Coral-reefs
and other caleareous masses, full of organic structures, and indi
cating most emphatically long periods of time. The organic types
[in this Old Red] are of an intermediate character, between the
types of the Silurian and Cambrian and the types of the Mountain
Limestone. " Everything indicates a very long and very slow progression : —
one creation flourishing and performing its part, and gradually
dying off as it has so performed its part ; and another actual
creation of new beings, not derived as progeny from the former,
gradually taking its place ; and again this new creation succeeded
by a third. — Nothing per saltum ; all according to law and order :
all bearing the impress of mind, a great dominant will, at the
bidding of which all parts of nature have their peculiar move
ments, their periods of revolution, their rise and fall,"

" These alternations of Limestone beds [see above, page 365], full
of fossils (shells and zoophytes), prove the slow progression of the
series. Each Limestone bed must have taken a long time for its
formation, yet many of them alternate with beds of Coal. There are
regular shell-beds in the Coal-strata, stretching scores of miles.
These shells often have both valves united, like common living
muscles on the sea-shore : and [thus it is shown that they] have
not been transported. They prove that a few inohes of strata
required a time equal to the lives of several generations of these
muscles. — Many of the fossil-plants appear not to have drifted
from the spots were they grew ; and we have enormous trees, with
rings of growth marking their great age : all in the Coal-fields.
Yet all the plants are absolutely of extinct species, though of a
structure that allows a botanist to reason on their habits. The
God of nature is ' without variableness or shadow of turning.*
Different species were created to suit different conditions of the
earth, air, and sea : but the organs of life were the same ; and of
their modes of growth, nutrition, reproduction, <fec, <fcc. animal or
vegetable, we can reason as well as if we saw them. For there are
great dominant laws of organic life which mark one mind ; the
very Mind that made us, and has given us eyes to see, and souls
in part able to comprehend the great Master-Mind himself, and
his ways of working out his will. To deny us the power of draw
ing inferences from God's laws, is to strip us of the best thing left
us in our fallen state, and all creation of its glory.
" In passing through the New Red Sandstone to the Oolitic
series of formations, again there is a complete change in all the
forms of organic life; and there is the same proof of a very long
lapse of time, that we have in descending from, the Tertiary to the

386 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
Chalk, or in passing [by ascending] from the Silurian to the Car
boniferous epoch.
"In the superficial gravel containing rolled blocks of stone,
coming from vast distances, we find bones of the elephant, rhino
ceros, hippopotamus, <fcc. <fcc. of extinct species, mingled with bones
of mammals of known species; but not a single fragment of a
human bone, or a single trace of any human work. Some have
referred this gravel to the Noachian Deluge. It cannot be of any
newer date : but the safest way is to draw no conclusions not
founded on physical evidence ; and, as different regions have been
elevated at different periods, it seems probable that there must
have been many periods for the formation of gravel, some, at least,
long anterior to that last act of creation, by which, a fit habitation
being at length prepared for him, man and a new creation of beings
were called into existence by that Hand which had ordained and
regulated all the previous movements."

The inquirer will do well to study Dr. Grant's (Prof. Compar.
Anat. Univ. Coll. Lond.) General View of the Characters and the
Distribution of the Extinct Animals; in the "British Scientific
Annual," edited by Dr. Thomson, for 1839, pp. 22—281. I cite
the concluding paragraph.
" The unity of the plan of organization, and the regular succes
sion of animal forms, point out a beginning of this great kingdom
on the surface of our globe, although the earliest stages of its
development may now be effaced: and the continuity of the series
through all geological epochs, and the gradual transitions which
connect the species of one formation with those of the next in
succession, distinctly indicate that they form the parts of one
creation, and not the heterogeneous remnants of successive king
doms begun and destroyed : so that, while they present the best
records of the changes which the surface of the globe has under
gone, they likewise afford the best testimony of the recent origin
of the present crust of our planet, and of all its organic inha
bitants." The observant reader will perceive that, in Dr. Grant's applica
tion of the word creation, he differs in phrase only, not in doctrine,
from the Professors Sedgwick and Phillips.
Third ed. A geological work has appeared, small in size, unpre
tending in spirit and manner, its oontents the conscientious and
accurate narration of fact, its style the beautiful simplicity of
truth, and altogether possessing for a rational reader an interest
superior to that of a novel : — "The Old Red Sandstone;" by Hugh
Miller; Edinb. 1841. _ Were I to express my sense of the value of
the book and the genius and talent of its author, I should seem to
be a flatterer. In his boyhood, the author began his untaught and

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 387
independent course of exploration, upon his native soil, the Old
Red of Caithness; and his sagacity of penetration and sound faculty
of induction have enabled him to draw forth a luminous picture
of God's wonderful works through the — "onward and ascending
march, the stages [of which] are slow, but the tread is stately;
and, to Him who has commanded and who overlooks it, a thousand
years are but as a single day, and a single day as a thousand
years." Page 269.
Mr. Miller sets before us many demonstrations, striking and
even overwhelming, of the incalculable periods indicated by the
stratifications of his district, and the living creatures which, in the
succession of origin, duration, and extinction, have characterized
the formations. I cannot indulge in citations, but I entreat the
possessor of these " New Walks in an Old Field," to study, in their
connexions, pages 113, 127, 223, 227, 228, 241, 260, and 269. The
book concludes thus : — " How well  to be enabled to look for
ward to the coming of a new heaven and a new earth, not in terror
but in hope ; to be encouraged to believe in the system of unending
progression, but to entertain no fear of the degradation or deposi
tion of man ! The adorable Monarch of the future, with all its
unsummed perfection, has already passed into the heavens, flesh
of our flesh, and bone of our bone ; and Enoch and Elijah are there
with Him, fit representatives of that dominant race which no other
race shall ever supplant or succeed, and to whose onward and
upward march the deep echoes of eternity shall never cease to
respond." Page 275.
At the Glasgow Meeting of the British Association, Dr. Buckland
said, that "he had never been so much astonished in his life, by
the powers of any man, as he had been by the geological descrip
tions of Mr. Miller.  That wonderful man described these objects
with a felicity which made him ashamed of the comparative
meagreness and poverty of his own descriptions in the Bridge-
water Treatise, which had cost him hours and days of labour.
He would give his right hand to possess such powers of descrip
tion as this man ; and, if it pleased Providence to spare his useful
life, he, if any one, would certainly render the science attractive
and popular, and do equal service to Theoloot and to Oeology."
Treating upon the Devonian formation, Mr. Richardson ob
serves, that it has been "described with so much ability and
eloquence by the Scottish historian of this deposit, that we must
refer to the graphic and highly interesting publication of Mr.
Hugh Miller,  which combines the instruction of a work of
science with the fascination of a romance, and the ability of a
writer of the very highest genius." "Geology for Beginners," p. 466.
I cannot but add the following passage, from the " American
Journal of Science," by Prof. Silliman, and his son Mr. Benjamin
Silliman ; July 1842, page 199. o c 2

388 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
" In our turn, we take leave to add, that this admirable work,
the production of a man who obtained his geological knowledge
while working day by day as a labourer in a quarry of the Old
Red Sandstone in the north-east part of Scotland, evinces talent
of the highest order, a deep and healthful moral feeling, a perfect
command of the finest language, and a beautiful union of philo
sophy and poetry. No geologist can peruse this volume without
instruction and delight. It affords an admirable synopsis of the
formations between the granitic schists and the coal-measures, and
indeed embraces an enlarged and highly philosophical view of
the science, and of its relation to the Creator."
A remarkable pamphlet has been recently published, which has
a strong claim upon the attention of both geologists and scrip
ture students; "A Catechetical Illustration of the First Chapter
of Genesis ;" by William Whyte, Latin Master in Watson's Hos
pital, 9 pages, Edinburgh, 1842. The object is to show that the
creation and subsequent history of the earth's strata, and of the
vegetable and animal tribes which have had their periods and
have become extinct, through countless ages, is represented in
the simple Hebrew style in Gen. i. 2 — 25 ;  -that the operations
themselves are the ordinary course of the works of God, from the
beginning, and still constantly proceeding, (thus acquiescing in a
chief principle of Mr. Lyell's works :)  and that " the only
peculiarity in all the narrative,"  is "the creation of a new
species, man ;"  and that the scenes of the operations are
the various portions of the earth's surface, which are thus pre
pared and suited for the habitation of vegetable and animal
tribes, either already in other regions enjoying life, or expressly
called into life, that is created, in order to the occupation of a
newly prepared region.  To say the least of this little work, it
is a, striking example of the extent to which learned and pious
men may depart from the commonly received interpretation of
the beginning of Genesis.
Fourth ed. At the twelfth meeting of the British Association,
(Manchester, 1842,) Prof. Agassiz presented a Report, compre
hensive, yet exact and specific, of the Fossil Fishes of the
Devonian system ; in which he involves a just tribute to the
originality, the scientific proceeding, and the remarkable success
of Hugh Miller, and the late accomplished, liberal, and amiable
Lady Gordon Cumming. Very few years have elapsed Bince it
was believed that this formation (then usually called the Old
Red) was nearly destitute of organic remains. Now, are deter
mined, in Scotland alone, besides two or three in Wales, at least
twenty genera, spreading out into about fifty species of Fish ;
whose configuration is of the most remarkable, and even astonish
ing kind. (See Lyell's " Elem.," sec. ed. vol. ii. ch. xxv. ; Ansted's
"Geol.," 1844 ; vol i, ch. x.) Over an area of Russia more ex-

SUPPLEMENTAEY ITOTES. 389
tensive than the whole of Great Britain and Ireland, in beds
identical with our Old Red, or equivalent to it, Sir Rod. Murchison
and his associates have exhumed in abundance the Fishes of
Scotland, and the shells of South Devon.
To the evidence on this subject, the following may be added : —
Mr. Lyell, with his lady, the participant in his scientific zeal,
made a tour in the United States, and the British possessions of
North America, in 1841-2 ; of which he has given a narrative in
two volumes, rich in interest, picturesque, literary, and politico-
economical, as well as geological. The investigations connected
with the river-bed and the falls of the Niagara, were fully carried
out. I cannot condense into a few paragraphs his luminous
descriptions and reasonings, concise as his style is. Of even
general readers, every person that can, should read the work. It
must suffice to say that, calculated upon rigidly cautious grounds
of evidence, the river cuts back the edge of the precipice over
which it falls, at the mean rate of one foot annually. The dis
tance which it has had thus to wear away, from the place of its
very probably ascertained ancient precipitation, is seven miles.
The process of erosion may and even must have varied, sometimes
being retarded, and sometimes accelerated ; but, as Mr. Lyell's
estimate is but a third of Mr. Bakewell's, it is the less likely to
exceed the truth. The result is, that this process has occupied
35,000 years. Yet this is one of the superficial, and, in com
parison of innumerable others, recent operations on the face of
the earth.
After enucleating, with his characteristic penetration and pre
cision, the changes which, upon the soil of this geographical
district, must have preceded the process, Mr. Lyell proceeds.
" The principal events enumerated in the above retrospect,
comprising the submergence and re-emergence of the Canadian
lake-district and valley of the St. Lawrence, the deposition of
fresh-water strata, and the gradual erosion of a ravine seven miles
long, are all so modern in the earth's history as to belong to a
period when the marine, the fluviatile, and the terrestrial shells
were the same or nearly the same as those now living. Yet if we
fix our thoughts on any one portion of this period,— on the lapse
of time, for example, required for the recession of the Niagara
from the escarpment to the Falls, — how immeasurably great will
its duration appear in comparison with the sum of years to which
the annals of the human race are limited !
"But, however much we may enlarge our ideas of the time
which has elapsed since the Niagara first began to drain the
waters of the upper lakes, we have seen that this period was one
only of a series, all belonging to the present geological epoch. 
If such events can take place, while the zoology of the earth re
mains almost stationary and unaltered, what ages may not be

390 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
comprehended in those successive tertiary periods during which
the flora and fauna of the globe have been almost entirely changed !
Yet, how subordinate a place in the long calendar of geological
chronology do the successive tertiary periods themselves occupy !
How much more enormous a duration must we assign to many
antecedent revolutions of the earth and its inhabitants ! JVo ana
logy can be found in the natural world to the immense scale of
these divisions of past time, unless we contemplate the celestial
spaces which have been measured by the astronomer. Some of
these within the limits of the solar system, as, for example, the
orbits of the planets, are reckoned by hundreds of millions of miles,
which the imagination in vain endeavours to grasp. Yet one of
these spaces, such as the diameter of the earth's orbit, is regarded
as a mere unit, a mere infinitesimal fraction of the distance which
separates our sun from the nearest star. By pursuing still further
the same investigations, we learn that there are luminous clouds,
scarcely distinguishable by the naked eye, but resolvable by the
telescope into clusters of stars which are so much more remote,
that the interval between our sun and Sirius may be but a fraction
of this larger distance. To regions of space of this higher order,
in point of magnitude, we may probably compare such an interval
of time as that which divides the human epoch from the origin of
the coralline limestone over which the Niagara is precipitated at
the Falls. Many have been the successive revolutions in organic
life, and many the vicissitudes in the physical geography of the
globe, and often has sea been converted into land, and land into
sea, since that rock was formed. The Alps, the Pyrenees, the Him
alaya, have not only begun to exist as lofty mountain chains, but
the solid materials of which they are composed have been slowly
elaborated beneath the sea, within the stupendous interval of ages
here alluded to.
" The geologist may muse and speculate on these events, until,
filled with awe and admiration, he forgets the presence of the
mighty cataract itself, and no longer sees the rapid motion of its
waters, nor hears their sound, as they fall into the deep abyss.
But, whenever his thoughts are recalled to the present, the tone
of his mind, the sensations awakened in his soul, will be found to
be in perfect harmony with the gradeur and beauty of the glorious
scene which surrounds him." — " Travels in North America," vol.
i. p. 50—53 ; 1845.
At the meeting of the British Association at Southampton, in
September, 1846, Mr. Lyell delivered a discourse, marked by his
characteristic comprehensiveness and perspicuity, upon the Delta
of the Mississippi, a narow promontory projecting into the Gulf of
Mexico. This is known to have been, and still to be, increasing
and advancing, from the constant action of the river in bearing
down mud and other matter of deposit. Observation and com-

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 391
parison, made during more than one hundred years, had directed
attention to the progress of deposit, and the consequent gain of
land advancing into the sea. But never before had the requisite
talents, the result of science and experience, been employed for
the resolution of the question. Mr. Lyell had the concurrent in
vestigation, and assent to his conclusions, of several American men
of science. The conclusion of the whole is, that the alluvial plain
from which the portion of land projects, with that portion itself,
after making great deductions to satisfy the most excessive caution,
has required more than one hundred thousand years. Yet the
operations effected in that period are insignificant, geologically
considered, when viewed in connexion with the underlying de
posits. Mr. Lyell concluded with the sentiment, that " the further
we extend our researches into the wonders of creation in time and
space, the more do we exalt, refine, and elevate our conceptions of
the Divine Artificer of the. universe." See the " Athenteum,"
Sept. 26, 1846 ; p. 992.
Among the delightful occurrences which indicate the wide diffu
sion and rapid progress of scientific observation, we may mention
a monthly publication, the " Journal of the Indian Archipelago,"
which commenced at Singapore in July last. Its introductory
article comprises a view of the geological phenomena, presented,
in characters so plain that " he may run who readeth " them, by
the formations and manifest succession of the tract from the
loftiest mountain-ridge on the globe (yet, like the Alps, compara
tively recent), the Himalaya, over the plain of Bengal, to the
innumerable islands, isles, and islets all along till beyond the last
east meridian. In this series of beauty and awful grandeur are
displayed the movements of elevation and depression, whether
gradual or sudden, eruption, denudation, dislocation, coral work
ings, and the wondrous variety of plutonic and volcanic forces,
He who, with some intelligence of the matter, surveys the sketch.
must be overwhelmed with the idea of incessant action, rising out
of illimitable antiquity, and perpetuated to the present moment.
Addition to the Note at p. 374. — In Jameson's "Edinburgh
Journal," Oct. 1847, is a memoir by the able geologist, Mr. David
Milne, giving the results of long, laborious, and accurate ex-
plorings of these so-called Parallel Roads. The proof seems to be
complete, that they are not sea-beaches, but beaches of ancient
lakes, which remained at different levels, after the successive
elevations of the district, the water having been pent up by the
mountain sides, till drained off by subsequent geological changes ;
the processes of which, with their causes and concomitants, must
have been extremely slow. This advance of discovery does not
affect my reasoning, except as it gives augmented strength to the
evidence of immense antiquity. A similar augmentation will

392 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
also accrue from another hypothesis, advanced by Sir George S,
Mackenzie, in the same Journal, Jan. 1848.

[G.]
Referred to at pages 89 and 321.
ON THE FOSSIL ANIMALCULES.
It is not in my power to say whence I derived this estimate.
Perhaps it was given from a general recollection of information in
different scientific works. I therefore lay before my readers an
extract from a paper of Dr. Ehrenberg himself, showing that,
while the numbers in one description of fossil-masses fall short of
my statement, those belonging to another are the double of what
I have given.
"The Polirschiefer [Polishing Slate] of Bilin in Bohemia oc
cupies a surface of great extent, probably the site of an ancient
lake, and forms slaty strata of fourteen feet in thickness, con
sisting almost entirely of an aggregation of the siliceous shields
of GaiUonella distans." (Dr. Buckland's Supplementary Notes to
his "Bridgewater Treatise ;" p. 17, or continuously 610- — 613.)
I have used, above, the general term shells ; but shields is the
more appropriate word, or cuirasses, as Dr. Buckland also calls
them. They are most beautiful armature-coverings, sometimes of
a single plate, sometimes double ; formed of the purest quartz or
rock-crystal, and therefore perfectly transparent.
The Raseneisen, which might be translated Iron-clod, is a mass
of fine earthy matter, strongly tinged with ochre, the peroxide of
iron ; probably the same, or nearly so, as what we call Bog Iron
Ore ; or not unlike the mud of our common chalybeate springs,
compressed and dried.
The QailloneUa distans is one of the species of the genus G. of
which some idea may be formed by comparing it to a piece of
candied Angelica : * but imagination is baffled in attempting to
* A figure is given of two species, in Mr. Lyell's " Elements," page 52 ; and in bis
"Principles," vol. iii. p. 271 (6th ed.) the 67. ferruginea, whose shields, composed of
silex and iron, constitnte the substance of Bog Iron Ore. The Noble President of the
Royal Society has made felicitous discoveries of many-chambered shells (Spirolinites,)
of several species, in the chalk-flints : of which figures are given by Dr. Mantell,
" Wond. Geol." vol. i. p. 322. Other naturalists have successfully pursued this line of
microscopic inquiry. In particular, the Eev. J. B. Keade, F.R.S., who has devoted
his powers of research to this empire of wonders ; "an investigation which," he
justly observes, " no right-minded man will prosecute without directing his thoughts
to Him who, of old, 'turned the hard rock into a standing water, and the flint-stone
into a springing well.' " Some of these interesting communications from Mr. Reade
may be consulted in the "Seventh Report of the British Assoc." (Liverpool, 1837;) in
the "Annals of Nat. Hist." Nov. 1838 ; and with figures and a comprehensive sum
mary in the " Wond. Geol." vol. i. and ii. and the Appendix. See also communications
from Ehrenberg, Meyen, Kersten, and Mr. Richard Taylor ; and extracts from Pro
fessors Whewell and Rymer Jones, on this subject, in " Ann. Nat. Hist." 1838 anil
1839.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 393
conceive of its diminutive size, as an extract will show which
shall follow in this Note.
Whoever has the opportunity should not fail to use it, for in
specting the superb German work, " The Infusorial Animalcules,
as Perfect Organizations ; a Glimpse into the Deeper Organic Life
of Nature;" by Dr. Christian Godfrey Ehrenberg, Leipzic, 1838.
It is an imperial folio, giving ample accounts of the families,
genera, and species of this astonishing region of the animal king
dom. The accompanying Atlas consists of sixty-four plates, of
which the drawing, engraving, and colouring are models of beauty.
Each plate contains many figures, magnified of course many hun
dreds and even thousands of times ; and all presenting 722 species.
The forms of these minute creatures are prodigiously varied, and
their organization richly diversified and complicated. Some of
them resemble the infusoria exhibited by the hydro-oxygen mi
croscope ; but many species are extremely different. They are
globular, or almost so, wheel-shaped, boat-shaped, legume-formed,
pear-shaped, funnel-shaped, and polyparious in a variety of forms.
Many are of brilliant hues, green, yellow, blue, crimson, and
fainter colours ; and often perfectly transparent, so that not only
the mouth, ciliary fringes, and numerous organs of progress and
prehension are seen, but the internal organs, such as the oesophagus,
the stomach and appendages, and canals with their inosculations.*
Ehrenberg "has discovered in. them muscles, intestines, teeth,
different kinds of glands, eyes, nerves, and organs of reproduction.
He finds that some are born alive, others produced by eggs, and
some multiplied by spontaneous divisions of their bodies into two
or more distinct animals." (Buckl. i. 446.)
Having given these as preliminary explications, I proceed to
the citation from "Remarks on the Real Occurrence of Fossil
Infusoria, and their Extensive Diffusion : by Prof. Ehrenberg :
read in the Royal Academy of Sciences, Berlin, July 7, 1836."
Translated by Mr. W. Francis, and published in Mr. Richard
Taylor's " Scientific Memoirs," vol. i. p. 400—413.
" The size of a single one of these Infusoria, which form the
Polirschiefer, amounts, upon an average and in the greater part,
to 5Ba of a liue, which equals \ of the thickness of a human hair,
reckoning its average size at ^ of a line. The globule of the
human blood, considered at jjjj, is not much smaller. The blood
globules of a frog are twice as large as one of these animalcules.
As the Polirschiefer of Bilin is slaty, but without cavities, these
animalcules lie closely compressed. In round numbers, about
twenty-three millions of animals would make up a cubic line,
* A compendious work, including the most essential parts of Ehrenberg's cosily
volume, has been published by Mr. Andrew Pritchard, "A History of Infusoria,
Living and Fossil," London, 1841; with twelve plates, containing 531 objects beauti
fully engraved and in their proper colours,

394l SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
and would in fact be contained in it. There are 1728 cubic lines
in a cubic inch ; and therefore a cubic inch would contain, on an
average, about 41,000 millions of these animals. On weighing a
cubic inch of this mass, I found it to be about 220 grains. Of
the 41,000 millions of animals, 187 millions go to a grain ; or, the
siliceous shield of each animalcule weighs about TS7 millionth part
of a grain.
" The animalcules of the Raseneisen are only ^ of a line in
diameter : or the ^r part of the thickness of a human hair, £ of
the diameter of a globule of the human blood, J of the blood
globule of a frog. A cubic line of such animal Iron-ochre would
thus, in the same relation, contain one thousand millions ; one
cubic inch, one billion ; and one cube of nine feet diameter, one
trillion, of living beings."
But I cannot so forget the obligations of reason and truth as to
end this Note without requesting my reader to do this subject the
justice of reading the impressing passage, which cannot be too
well known, the comparison of the moral argument from the
telescope and that from the microscope, in Dr. Chalmers's " Dis
courses on the Christian Revelation, viewed in Connexion with
the Modern Astronomy ;" p. 112 — 116. Yet, lest the book should
not be at hand, I will quote a few lines.
"  The one led me to see a system in every star : the other
leads me to see a world in every atom. The one taught me, that
this mighty globe, with the whole burden of its people and of its
countries, is but a grain of sand on the high field of immensity.
The other teaches me, that every grain of sand may harbour
within it the tribes and the families of a busy population. The
one told me of the insignificance of the world I tread upon. The
other redeems it from all its insignificance ; for it tells me that, in
the leaves of every forest, and in the flowers of every garden, and
in the waters of every rivulet, there are worlds teeming with life,
and numberless as are the glories of the firmament. The one has
suggested to me that, beyond and above all that is visible to man,
there may lie fields of creation which sweep immeasurably along,
and carry the impress of the Almighty's hand to the remotest
scenes of the universe. The other suggests to me that, within and
beyond all that minuteness which the aided eye of man has been
able to explore, there may be a region of invisibles ; and that,
could we draw aside the mysterious curtain which shrouds it
from our senses, we might there see a theatre of as many wonders
as Astronomy has unfolded, a universe within the compass of a
point so small as to elude all the powers of the microscope, but
where the wonder-working God finds room for the exercise of all
his attributes, where he can raise another mechanism of worlds,
and fill and animate them all with the evidences of his glory "
Fourth ed. An interesting appendage to this Note will be the

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 395
following paper, for which I am indebted to a work valuable for
both science and general literature, the " Bibliotheque Universelle
de Geneve ;" new series, vol. xxxi. p. 197 ; 1841.
" Summary View of the Inferences to be drawn from the Facts
observed by Prof. Ehrenberg upon the Infusorial Animalcules.
" 1. The greater number of microscopical animalcules are en
dowed with a complex organization.
" 2. They form, in their structure, two very distinct-classes.
" 3. Their geographical distribution over the globe follows the
same laws as those which govern other animals.
" 4. They impart particular colourings to large masses of water ;
and, by the light which they emit, they occasion specific varieties
of phosphorescence in the sea.
" 4. By their accumulation in a living state, they often form
what might be called animated earthly masses. As forty-one
thousand millions of individuals may often be ascertained in a
cubic inch of substance, their absolute number must certainly be
greater than that of all other animals taken together. It is even
probable that, in their collective volume, they exceed that of all
other animated beings.
" 6. They possess the greatest power of production that exists
in organic nature. A single individual can, in a few hours, pro
create many millions of beings like itself.
" 7- These animalcules form, by means of their siliceous cover
ings, earthy masses, stones, and rocks. Those substances then
become the components of many natural and artificial products,
as glass, floating bricks which were manufactured by the ancients,
polishing earths (tripoli, ochre, &c), manures, alimentary earths
as the fossil flour \_Bergmehf] used in the north [as a partial sub
stitute for food in some of the barren districts of Sweden and
Lapland], which fill the stomach without injuring it. Sometimes
these minute creatures are injurious, by vitiating the water, killing
the fish in ponds, and producing miasms [in marshes which have
no sufficient drainage] : yet it has not been proved that the plague,
cholera, and other contagious diseases are to be attributed to
them, as some have maintained.
-" 8. So far as observation has penetrated, these animalcules
appear never to sleep.
" 9. They exist in the bodies of men and other animals.
"10. They are themselves infested with still more minute para
sitical animalcules, which live in their insides ; and these also
have parasites which can be observed.
" 11. They are in general affected by external agents, in ways
very similar to what the superior classes of animals are suscepti
ble of.
" 12. As they are extremely light, the gentlest breath of air
raises them, and floats them off into the atmosphere.

896 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
"13. Some of these animalcules are capable of remarkable
changes in their form, but within certain limits to both the con
stancy and variations, so that the entire combination of phe
nomena can be referred to precise organic laws.
" 14. Their organization is comparatively very powerful, as is
especially manifested in the strength of their teeth and other
instruments of mastication. They appear also to have the same
organs of sense as other animals.
" 15. Observations of these microscopic beings has led to more
exact definitions of what constitutes an animal, and distinguishes
it from a vegetable ; thus leading to a more perfect knowledge of
the organic systems which are wanting to plants.
" 16. The complication of the organization of the microscopic
animalcules would alone serve to refute the theories and ill-made
observations which have ascribed to them a spontaneous genera
tion from brute matter. " I. M."
I solicit particularly my readers' attention to the last position.
This indefatigable explorer has subsequently applied his talent
as a microscopist to the mud and sand accumulated at the mouths
of great rivers, and driven, by the under-flow of the salt water, in
the direction contrary to the descending (lighter and therefore
superior) current of the fresh water, to great distances up the
rivers. He has thus examined the fine deposits of the Elbe up to
eighty English miles from its mouth ; also of the beds and plains
of the Weser, the Ems, the Mersey, the Liffy, and the same must
hold universally. These districts, forming the rich soils of the
great river valleys from their mouths to a vast extent upwards
and on each side, contain immense quantities of marine animal
cules, fresh and in all stages of dissolution, which have most
probably been killed by the mixing of the fresh with the sea water.
The proportion in mass of these animal accumulations, near
Hamburgh, is at least one-twentieth of the soil.
It is thus proved, that millions of the acres which minister the
most largely to human sustenance, owe their fertility, not merely
to the washings of animal and vegetable matter from the higher
grounds, but to the large intermixture of once living beings, whose
very existence is a recent discovery, which cannot be seen in
dividually without a high microscopical power, and which have
formed, in even many of the still existing species, immeasurable
masses of earthy and rocky matter, from the oolite, the chalk, and
all through the tertiary periods, countless ages before the creation
of the race for which God was thus providing. The same lesson
is taught us by the unfathomably more distant date of the coal
formation, and the universal diffusion of lime and iron. That
great Being thus teaches us, that mere words of admiration are
vapid and worthless, and that true piety is shown in the imitation
of his beneficence.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 397
The discoveries of unwearied microscopists have also established
another truth, the wide geographical range of many species. From
analogy, the same must be inferred of others ; and not improbably
the conclusion may be extended to the whole class of Microzoa.
Conglomerations of them, accumulated undoubtedly through mil-
lennaries, are ascertained to compose immense banks on the shores
and the bottoms of the seas ; and these, when upheaved by geolo
gical causes, have been solidified into mountains. There is good
reason for the belief that all chalk, and we may add all other
calcareous masses, are nothing but the corpses and habitations of
these infinitesimally minute creatures. This fact, with regard to
other rocks which had never been suspected to be anything but
mineral masses, has been mentioned in these Lectures, p. 89. — I
cite another excellent authority.
" It is a remarkable fact, that Ehrenberg detected in the chalk-
marls from Oran in Africa, Caltanisetta in Sicily, and certain parts
of Greece, no less than fifty-seven species, which are identical with
existing animalcules at Cuxhaven and other localities in the North
Sea ; making good the opinion entertained by geologists, that, in
the higher classes of fossil organic remains, no representative exists
on the earth, but, in the lower, the identity of many species is
perfectly established. — By the aid of the microscope, we have been
enabled to discover the universality of these creatures, for the
same are met with in the polar as are found in the tropical seas,
and those of both regions can be proved to have existed at the
earliest dawn of this world's existence." [Mr. Quekett probably
means the earliest organic system of our planet.] " — A striking
proof of the important part which these minute organisms were
created to perform in the deposition of materials for the earth's
surface, and how, by these imperceptible agents, such gigantic
consequences have resulted." [These facts] " stamp upon reflecting
minds that no creature, even the most minute, is formed without
special purposes ; and that the least in size of all, by [means of]
the organization given to them by the great Architect of the
universe, have been employed to carry out his unfathomable ir<*
tentions." Mr. Edwin J. Quekett, in " Lond. Physiol. Journ ''
Feb. 1844, p. 145.
Connected with this subject is a striking exemplification of the
Divine prospective benignity in the constitution of nature. It is,
indeed, only one out of the instances innumerable which investiga
tion brings to light, to an extent ever augmenting even in the
present state ; — how much more is reserved for the disclosures ofthe
holy heaven ! I derive it from a valuable article in the " Edinburgh
Review," (Oct. 1847,) on " Holland, its Rural Economy ;" p. 424.
"  In the water of the river, but especially in those of the
sea, there exist vast numbers of minute microscopic animalcules,
called by Ehrenberg, Infusorial Animals; which are fitted to live,

398 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
each class in its own special element only, and which therefore die in
myriads where the sweet and the salt waters mingle. It is almost
incredible, — how densely the water is sometimes peopled by these
creatures, how rapidly they multiply, in what countless numbers
they exist. Their skeletons and envelopes, consisting of calcareous
and siliceous matter extracted from the water, are almost im
perishable. They commix with the mud of the river ; and, with it,
they come to form the deposits of slime that fill up the channels,
raise the growing islands, or add to the belt of most fertile land
which increases seaward where the waters are still. As the tide
advances up its channel, the waters of the river spread and flow
over the surface ; so that, far up the stream, where the upper waters
are still sweet, the salt or brackish under-current carries the living
things which float in it to certain death, and leaves their bodies
behind it to add to the accumulating mud. The extensive mutual
surfaces of river and sea-water which in. this way are made to
meet, ensure a more rapid destruction of infusorial life than could
in almost any other way be brought about.
" Experiment has shown that, as far up as the tide reaches, the
so-called alluvial deposit in and along the channel of the river
abounds with the remains of these marine animalcules ; while above
the reach of the tide none of them are to be found. In the Elbe
they are seen as far as eighty miles above its mouth. About Cux-
haven and Gluckstadt, which are nearly forty miles from the open
sea, their siliceous and calcareous skeletons form from \ to \ of the
mass of the fresh mud, exclusive of the sand ; while, farther up the
river, they amount to about \ of this quantity. In the Rhine,
the Scheldt, the Mersey, the Liffey, the Thames, the Forth, the
Humber, and the Wash, the same form of deposit goes on : so
that, in the mouths of all tidal rivers, there are to be superadded
to the mechanical debris brought down by the upper waters, the
more rich and fertilizing animal spoils which the sea thus wonder
fully incorporates into the growing deltas and the banks of rising
mud. And thus it is seen that river-islands encroach upon the
ocean, not merely in proportion to the solid matters held in suspen
sion by the descending water, but in proportion also to the richness
of the sea in microscopic forms of life, and to the volume of fresh
water which the river can bring to mingle with it."

[Og-]
Referred to at page 111.
ON THE PEBBLES.

In the constitution of these common objects, the despised pebbles
our plains and the shingle of our coasts, there is much that

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 399
deserves attention. They consist very extensively of the fragments
of the older rocks, chiefly the igneous, called primary ; and these
often include distinct masses of very pure silex, both amorphous
and crystallized, from which the detached and rolled fragments
become pebbles of jaspar and chalcedony. In many of these, and
in the Flint nodules which characterize the Upper Chalk, there are
recondite wonders, not only of deep intrinsic interest, but carrying
us back to the view of a degree of heat affecting the ancient
surface of our globe, so high as to be immensely beyond the
capacity of the vegetables and animals of the present creation ever
to have sustained. That heat must have been such as, combined
with the pressure of an atmosphere, probably of carbonic acid gas,
and that made heavier by enormous condensation, enabled the
waters to hold in solution a quantity of pure siliceous earth, so
great as to have furnished the masses of pebbles (chert, flint, jasper,
and agate,) which so abound in many countries. It has long been
observed that many varieties of chalcedony (called moss-agates,
mocha- stones, and perhaps by other names,) show substances em
bedded and beautifully spread out, as if suspended in a fluid, or
like the finer sea-weeds {algce and confervee) as delicately displayed
in a lady's album or hortus siccus. These, after making all reason
able deduction for mineral infiltrations, are indubitably organized
bodies ; and which, with some exceptions from the insect tribes,
were referred to the Confervas, or other cryptogamic plants. See a
Memoir, with beautiful coloured plates, by the lat§ Dr. Mac Culloch,
in the " Geol. Transact." first series, vol. ii.
But the recent investigations of a distinguished Geologist and
Microscopist, Mr. James Scott Bowerbank, have thrown a satis
factory fight upon the constitution of the many species and
varieties of the well-known substance sponge, have established
its claim to belong to the animal kingdom, and have detected
numerous instances of spongeous bodies, in the fossil state, and
always embedded in flints, agates, or other siliceous stones. Now
sponges (and in some degree other Porifera, as the Alcyoniums,)
have in their internal structure minute aggregations of silica,
generally in the shape of needles or darts, and therefore called
spicula. There is a manner of action, we presume to call it a law,
which may be named homogeneous attraction ; the result of which,
in the waters of a former state of the globe, was that these phyto-
zoic bodies attracted around their own substance the silica dis
solved in the hot waters, bringing it more or less gradually, and
often it would appear most rapidly, into the solid state : in these
masses they themselves being enclosed. This subject has been
illustrated by Mr. Bowerbank, in various Memoirs, published in
the Geological and Microscopical Societies' "Transactions and
Proceedings," the "Annals and Magazine of Natural History,"
and the " Microscopical Journal ;" in the years 1841 and 1842,
and subsequently.

400 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
The inference to Geological theory from these facts is a strength
ening of the general argument for believing in a high antiquity
of the earth ; from its having existed and been the abode of
organized creatures, whilst it was under conditions incompatible
with the life of its present inhabitants.
A similar fact we have which, though not bearing in the same
way on the estimate of past time, is highly interesting as a proof
of the abundant solution of silica, in the heated waters of a
former terrestrial condition. This is the Marquis of Northamp
ton's discovery of microscopic shells of the nautilaceous family, in
the heart of flint-pebbles. See the preceding Note.

[H.]
Referred to at page 119.
ON ANCIENT GLACIERS AND THEIR EFFECTS.
At the time when the second edition of this book was published)
Dr. Lewis Agassiz was exploring the northern mountains and val
leys of our island, and applying the hypothesis which he had built
upon the foundations of MM. Venetz and De Charpentier, of the
presence of extensive glaciers, and their action in glazing and
marking the surfaces of rocks, and in the transport and arranged
deposition of pebbles, bowlders, and masses of stone retaining the
edges and angles, thus showing that they had not been much if
at all rolled. He detailed many of his observations and opinions
to the Geological Section of the British Association, at Glasgow, in
September, 1840. Similar communications he also made to the
Geological Society of London. In the same year he extended his
laborious researches, aided and in great part accompanied by Dr.
Buckland, Mr. Lyell, Mr. Charles Maclaren, and other eminent
Geologists, in Scotland, the north of England, and in some parts
of Ireland ; applying the principles which he had derived from
the study of his native Alps. In the autumn he published at
Neuchatel his interesting work, " Etudes sur les Glaciers ; with an
Atlas of magnificent plates, executed with rigid accuracy as well
as beauty. Most or all of our great authorities gave their appro
bation to his theory, to some extent ; on the degree however of
that extent, they varied. All viewed their frank and pleasing
visitor with honour and esteem ; all admired his extensive and
minute knowledge, his indefatigable laboriousness, his prompt and
lively talents in communication, and his ability in supporting his
doctrines. Without presumption, I trust, it may be said that
those doctrines and their application will stand the test of time to
a considerable extent, but not so far as the distinguished man

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 401
carries them. Many rock-surfaces, polished, scored or grooved,
and many arcuated aggregations of travelled stones, are well
proved to be in such conditions as authorize the belief, that
glaciers had formerly existed in the higher latitudes of the British
Isles, producing similar results to those now observed in the Alps ;
and that an elevation of climatic temperature, immediately pre
ceding the creation of the present tribes of nature, obliterated the
cause and left us the effects.
A chief temptation of accomplished yet sanguine minds is the
pushing too far of a good principle : and this temptation finds
scarcely anywhere more scope and occasion than in relation to
Geology. It can scarcely be doubted that Agassiz has rested too
much upon the simple glacial action, the dry movement ; and has
not sufficiently introduced the evidences of the same action urged
by torrents and tides. The principal Geologists of the continent,
including Switzerland, have the most severely impugned this
theory : and, in our country and America, its claims are a good
deal limited : yet with great liberality to its talented advocate.
Mr. Charles Maclaren of Edinburgh is the author of a com
pendious summary of Dr. Agassiz's volume, and his other com
munications on this subject : " The Glacial Theory of Professor
Agassiz ; — being an Outline of the Pacts and Arguments adduced
by him to prove that a Sheet of Ice enveloped the Northern Parts
of the Globe at a recent Geological Epoch." Edinb. 1841. But
this small treatise is not a mere analysis or abridgment of the
"Etudes;" it contains judicious observations upon the theory,
and a testing application of it to geological phenomena in the
neighbourhood of Edinburgh. The author observes, " These very
original and ingenious speculations of Professor Agassiz must be
held for the present tp be under trial. They have been deduced
from a limited number of facts, observed by himself and others,
and skilfully generalized ; but they cannot be considered as fully
established till they have been brought to the test of observation
in distant parts of the world, and under a great variety of cir
cumstances. Supposing the theory to be substantially sound, the
magnitude of the consequences it involves will undoubtedly bring
objections to light, which may render modifications necessary, both
in its principles and its details. In the meantime, it assists us in
resolving some difficulties. It contributes, in a greater or less
extent, to explain the dispersion of erratic blocks, the bizarre
situations they occasionally occupy, the banks of clay and gravel
found on the sides and at the mouths of valleys, the strice, polish
ing, and grooving, observed on the surface of rocks in situ, and of
large stones in the till " [a Scottish term for superficial deposits of
clay, sand, and gravel] ; " and it promises to throw light on what
is at present a very obscure subject, the origin of the older and of
the newest alluvium." Page 38. D D

402 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
Professor Hitchcock urges the necessity of taking a larger
account of aqueous power, and judges it " extremely probable that
all the phenomena of what has been called Diluvial Action, are
the result of the joint agency of ice and water ; the water result
ing from the melting of the ice." " Elementary Geology," sec.
ed. p. 192.
More recently, Dr. Hitchcock says — "It will need important
modifications — I doubt whether any one [of the American Geo
logists] is ready to adopt the unmodified glacier theory of Agassiz :
although doubtless many will admire the ingenuity and indo
mitable perseverance of that distinguished naturalist, and thank
him for the great light which his labours have cast upon the
phenomena of drift.'' " Amer. Journ. of Science ;" Oct. 1842,
page 398.
All must regard Mr. Murchison as peculiarly qualified to hold
the balances, and mark the preponderance of argument on any
geological question. In addition to his great attainments in
geological knowledge, his tact in judging of facts and opinions,
and his practical skill in exploring and observing, he has, in
the two years 1840 and 1841, travelled over large tracts in the
northern part of the Russian Empire, both European and Asiatic,
employing his practised eye and patience, expressly for the ad
vancement of this branch of natural science. In his Discourse as
President of the Geological Society, delivered February 18, 1842,
he has discussed the Glacial Theory at considerable length. I
select a few extracts, the briefest possible in consistence with the
requisite perspicuity.
" — The Glacier Theory, as extended by its author, in proving
too much, may be said to destroy itself. Let it be limited to such
effects as are fairly deducible from the Alpine phenomena so
clearly described by Agassiz, and we must admire in it a vera
causa of exceeding interest. But, once pass the bounds of legiti
mate induction from that vera causa, and try to force the many
and highly diversified superficial phsenomena of the surface of the
globe into direct agreement with evidences of the action of ice
under the atmosphere ; and you will be driven forward, like the
ingenious author of the theory, so to apply it to vast tracts of the
globe, as, in the end, to conduct you to the behef that not only
both the northern and southern hemispheres, but even quasi tro
pical regions, were shut up during a long period in an icy mantle."
 [Unless, framing hypothesis upon hypothesis,] " we also build
up former mountains of infinitely greater altitude than any which
bow exist, we have no adequate centres for the construction of
the enormous glaciers which imagination must create in many
regions to account for the phaenomena.  The observations
of M. Bohtling, — (a young Russian naturalist of great pro
mise, but, alas ! prematurely carried to the grave, — ) give the"
—result, upon a very grand scale— in the Northern territories of

BUPPLEMENTABY NOTES. 403
Russia ; — that the Scandinavian mountains, as a whole, had pro
duced exactly the same detrital result as the Alps, having poured off
their detritus in all directions from a common centre, the northern
chain differing only from that of central Europe by the much
wider range to which its blocks and boulders were transmitted.
" My own belief — [is] — that by far the greatest quantity of
boulders, gravel, and clay distributed over our plains, and occupying
the sides of our estuaries and river banks, was accumulating beneath
the waters of former days. Throughout large tracts of England, we
can demonstrate this to have been the case, by the collocation of
marine shells of existing species with far-transported materials. —
Wide researches, during the last two years, have strongly confirmed
[these] my early views.
"  Dr. Buckland abandons, to a great extent, the theory of
Agassiz, and admits fully the effects of water as well as of ice, to
account for many of the long disputed phaenomena.
"  We cannot quit the glacial subject without avowing our
obligations to Venetz, Charpentier, and Agassiz, and above all to
the last, for having brought the agency of ice more directly into
consideration, as a vera causa, to explain many phaenomena on the
surface. — He was the first person who roused our attention to the
effects produced by the bottom of an advancing glacier : and, if
geologists should eventually be led to believe that certain parallel
scratches and strice on the rocks were, in some instances, due to
glaciers moving overland, but in many other cases were produced
by icebergs, — we must remember that the fertile mind of Agassiz
has afforded us the chief means of experimentally solving the
problem." In the Edinburgh Review, No." 151, April, 1842, is an article
which enters both comprehensively and deeply into this subject, and
discusses it with consummate ability. It carries strong presump
tive evidence of having proceeded from Professor Forbes. Though
published after the delivery of Mr. Murchison's Presidential
Address, it was probably written before it, and certainly without
any knowledge of the contents of that Address. It will richly
reward the being diligently studied. Its concluding paragraph is,
— " To maintain the Glacier Theory still requires some confidence,
some courage. We have not dissembled its difficulties. But, by
presenting it as we have endeavoured to view it, with unprejudiced
eyes, as fully entitled to rank among geological probabilities, we
place it on its most defensible ground, and we venture to predict,
at least abroad, a speedy reaction in its favour. Its evidences are
such as must be seen, and carefully studied without prejudice, in
order to be appreciated ; and such evidences, though often required
to be sought for, and difficultly to be found, are not less conclusive
when attained. We have constructed a formidable panoply out of
the missiles of its adversaries : — will they not yield to their own.
dd 2

401 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
weapons 1 If they pronounce the theory imperfect, we acknowledge
it ; but we may safely challenge them to produce a better or loss
improbable one, from amongst tlfbse already proposed. If they
have a new one, we are ready to consider it."
Yet the arguments, objections, replies, and renewed examina
tions, on this fruitful subject, are not exhausted. Ample and able
disquisitions have been published during the years 1841 and 1842,
in the " Proceedings and Transactions ofthe Geological Society," the
" Philosophical Magazine," the " Biblotheque Universelle" of Geneva,
other French and German scientific journals, and the " Edinburgh
New Philosophical Journal," by Professor Agassiz himself, the late
Mr. Bowman, Sir George Mackenzie, Mr. Darwin, Professor Brown,
Professor Forbes, and others. The general result seems to be,
that the Glacier Theory cannot be accepted to the extent for
which Agassiz pleads ; and that, besides other modifications, float
ing icebergs must be regarded as, no less than the sliding of glaciers
on dry land, essential to the solution of the interesting and com
plicated problem.
The subject was discussed at great length, at the Third Annual
Meeting of the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists,
April 20 to 30, 1842, at Boston ; upon papers by Prof. Hitchcock,
and Mr. Couthouy, and in the oral communications of Mr. Lyell
(whose scientific zeal and liberality has led him to cross the
Atlantic, and devote a year and a half to the geological exploration
of large districts in the United States, thus accomplishing the wish
expressed with no less ardour than judgment in one of our national
periodicals ("Edinb. Rev." vol. lxix. p. 440), by Professors Silliman
and H. D. Rogers, and others.
The prevalent opinion appeared to be favourable to the course of
sentiment above cited from Mr. Murchison ; with which however
it was scarcely possible that the writers and speakers could be
acquainted.

[L]
Referred to at page 13i.
PBOQBESS OF CHRISTIAN PIETY IN THE VOLCANIC DISTRICT OT THE
PUT DE DOME.
As the design of these Lectures is to serve the highest interests
of mankind, I need no apology for introducing some parts of a
letter, which has appeared in some of the public papers of London
and Paris. The writer was a well known and highly respected
clergyman of the English Church, who died lately (January, 1844)
Hie veracity is unquestionable, and his narrative cannot fail to give

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 405
pleasure to those who are the best friends of mankind and sincere
disciples of Christ.
" Amongst the hills of Auvergne and in the Department of the
Puy de Dume, is situated the town of Thiers. It is celebrated for
its picturesque position, being planted on the steep declivities of
rooks and mountains, which are adorned with chesnut-trees, wal
nuts, oaks, and other striking ornaments of the forest. In front,
and at no great distance, is the pyramidal Puy de Dome, with the
whole chain of mountains of Mont d'Or and the Cantal ; beneath
them is the beautiful plain of Clermont, with the silver stream of
the Dore winding its way through the midst, and all around the
rugged peaks and deep dark mountain ravines stand in striking
contrast with sloping hills clothed with vines and corn-fields. The
population of this town, computed at 15,000, is almost entirely
employed in the manufacture of cutlery. One universal sound,
the hammer clinking on the anvil, and the file rasping on the vice,
continually strikes the ear in every street, and no other noise has
disturbed, from time immemorial, the dull uniformity of Thiers.
During the terrible convulsions of the Revolution and the Empire,
this place, indeed, as all others in France, had to deplore its youth
sacrificed in foreign fields ; and the monotony of human life was
then arrested by the news of some falling by the lake of Mantua,
others at the walls of Saragossa, and others on the plains of
Germany.* But the regrets of such calamities have long since
ceased to agitate the hearts of survivors, and nothing seems to
occupy attention but to partake of food, to labour for its acquisi
tion, and to die. About two years ago, however, the quiet of the
scene was disturbed by a most novel occurrence. The report was
circulated, ' There are Protestants arrived at Thiers ; they are
selling Bibles ; they are praying, reading, conversing at the Boullet.'
This intelligence acted like an electric shock on the somnolent
population. Out rushed no less, it is asserted, than 2,000 persons
towards the place, where one of the colporteurs of the Geneva
Society was explaining in his simple manner the great truths of
the Gospel. So furious was the mob, such their threats, their
gesticulations, and their spirit, that the most serious consequences
were apprehended. Not only had the colporteur to escape with
the utmost haste by a way removed from the tumult, but even the
commissaire de police and the gens d'armes had to interfere most
promptly to prevent evil. The riot of this day will ever be a
memorable fact in the history of Thiers !
" It might have been supposed that truth, meeting with such
opposition on its first arrival, would have retired in dismay from
the whole region : but such an opinion would have been most
erroneous. It has pleased the God of mercy to pour out his Holy
* " It is positively asserted, that no less than 150 young men, belonging to a single
and small quarter of the town, perished in ten or fifteen years."

406 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
Spirit so remarkably on this place, that a considerable number of
persons are not only reading with attention the Holy Scriptures,
and affording good hopes of eventual conversion, but an infant
church of Protestant Christians has been already formed ; and at
the first sacrament no less than twenty-seven persons, all of them,
in the judgment of charity, sincerely seeking eternal salvation,
were partakers.
" I have been residing in the midst of this little flock about a
fortnight, and I am deeply affected with admiration at the work
of divine grace which is here exhibited. Eighteen months ago
the very name of Protestant was scarcely known in the neighbour
hood, no right views of Christ and his salvation were in existence,
the grossest superstitions of popery, and the most reckless infidelity
divided the territory between them ; in short, a moral midnight
brooded over the whole population : now a religious impression
has been produced of the most extensive character ; not a family,
perhaps, can be found, which has not conversed, and thought, and
felt, either favourably or unfavourably, on this great subject. Up
to this hour the Protestant labours are the theme of universal and
perpetual conversation. To my own observation, the twenty-seven
communicants above-mentioned, and several others, have been
' brought from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan
unto God ;' and it is known to God alone how far eventually the
blessing of the Gospel will be diffused in this region.
" It is most interesting to mark the new converts, to observe
their diligent study of the Bible, some of them even in old age
beginning to read, that they may peruse the sacred pages ; to
listen to them singing delightfully the praises of God, in the
beautiful hymns and tunes of our Geneva brethren ; to hear with
what simplicity and unction they lead the prayers of the congrega
tion when invited to do so ; and, above all, to notice that ' where
sin abounded, grace doth much more abound.' The habitual de
portment of the converts is highly consistent ; the world cannot
reproach them with ill-conduct ; some of their number, who had
been notorious for drunkenness and other sins, are now eminent
examples of temperance and holiness; and 'the peace of God
which passeth all understanding,' reigns over the whole Church.
I was exceedingly struck with the expression of countenance of
many persons amongst them. There is a calm, sohd happiness
portrayed on their features, which no principle, no ideas, no
events, however prosperous in life, nothing but the assurance of
eternal glory, through the sacrifice of Christ our Redeemer, could
ever produce.
"John Hartley.
" Thiers, Puy de Dome, August 5th, 1839,"

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 407
Referred to at page 139.
An objection to these reasonings from the extinct volcanoes of
Auvergne has been advanced in the " Quarterly Review," vol.
lxxiv. p. 295 ; 1844. It is grounded upon one of the numerous
Epistles of Caius Sollius Apollinaris Sidonius (the correct order of
his names, often mistaken), who was Bishop of Clermont, in
Auvergne, from 472 to 467. In that epistle, addressed to Mamer-
tus, the Bishop of Vienne, he describes phenomena which had
taken place some fifteen years previously. Allusions also are
adduced from one of the homilies of Avitus, the successor of
Mamertus, of which the date is about another fifteen years later.
From those writers are drawn accounts, evidently exaggerated, of
terrifying prodigies driving the inhabitants out of fhe city of
Vienne, noises underground, earthquakes, and fires bursting out,
buildings thrown down, and their ruins covered with a mountainous
mass of ashes, animals fleeing into the city for protection, combined
with the efficacy of relics and the bishop's saintly presence and pro
cessions, as affording preservation and deliverance. Now, be it
observed, that Vienne is a hundred miles from the extinct volca
noes ; that Sidonius says not a word about that region, his own
residence ; that he is a remarkably extravagant and bombastic
writer, strongly inclined to turn the poetical into the historical
( — he represents Homer as an historian, — " G. J. Vossius de
Histor. Latin." 1651, p. 515 : — ) and that he, Mamertus, and
Avitus were credulous devotees of superstition. Hence, we could
not rely upon the accuracy of his statements, if even they did
refer to the tract of country in question ; and we are compelled to
regard his testimony as irrelevant.
Mr. Lyell has examined these allegations, with his characteristic
aeuteness and fairness, in a lecture at the Royal Institution in
April last ; and he adds, — " Although the epistle proves Sidonius
to have had a fair share of the credulity of his age, in respect to
both miracles wrought in favour of a contemporary saint and the
efficacy of relics, it would be unfair to charge him with a belief in
the occurrence of a volcanic eruption at or near the site of the
city of Vienne, which the investigation of the ablest government
surveyors, to whom the construction of a Geological Map of France
has been entrusted, has entirely disproved. There are, in fact, no
monuments of volcanoes, ancient or modern, in Dauphiny," [Mr. L.
must include the Viennois ;] "and, if there had been, they would
not throw light on the date of the eruptions in Auvergne." Re
ported in the " Athenaeum," May 15, 1847. My readers will study
the article with great advantage. They will find much further
evidence of the antiquity of the Auvergne volcanoes, an antiquity
immeasurable when compared with our historical periods, yet
small in its relation to the anterior geological formations.

408 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
[L.]
Referred to at pages 148 cf 267.
ON THE LONGEVITY OF TREES.
This is a subject of great interest. There are species which, in
this respect, strongly attract our attention. The tree, called in our
version an oak, but we have reason to believe that it was the
terebinth,* under which Joshua deposited the ratification of the
covenant made by his countrymen, was probably the very tree
made memorable by events in the life of Abraham and that of
Jacob. Our English oak attains to the age of a thousand years,
and instances have been ascertained of one thousand five hundred.f
To the yew more than two thousand, even above three thousand
years are on good grounds attributed.! But there are other trees
possessing a higher longevity, and individuals of which have been
ascertained to go back from our times to dates long prior to the
Noachian deluge. Of the Baobab (Adansonia digitata), a tree of
stupendous magnitude § growing in Senegal and other parts of
* Pistacia terebinthus ; elon, unhappily rendered plain in Gen. xii. 6, and other
places. t Prof. Henslow'a "Princip. of Descr. and Physiol. Botany," p. 248 : 1835.
% lb. p. 245 ; and a paper, by the lamented John Eddowes Bowman, Esq. (who died,
after thiee days' illness occasioned by inadvertent exposure to cold, Dec. 4, 1841,)
on the Yew, in " Charlesworth's Magazine" for 1837 ; in which the admirable methods
of obtaining sections for determining the age of trees, without injuring them ma
terially, are clearly described. That paper was read, in an abridged form, at the
meeting of the British Association at Bristol, August, 1836 ; where it excited great
interest. — With regard to the application of the trephine-saw to such tree-trunks as
those here mentioned, it may be apprehended that to penetrate to the heart, 14 or 15
feet, and to extract the cylinder, are hopelessly beyond the power of art, I reply that
the ingenuity of British engineers has overcome greater apparent difficulties than
these ; and that a cylinder of 12 inches, should none longer be obtained, would supply
very good data for a safe inference, considering the other known parts of the case.
§ Called by Dr. Lindley, "the largest tree in the world;  the trunk has been
found with a diameter of 3tf*feet." "Nat. Syst. Bot." sec. ed. p. 94. The traveller,
M. Russeger, in the interior of Africa, as far as 10° N. L., saw "Adansonias mea
suring 56 feet in circumference,  exciting the astonishment of the beholder."
" Charlesworth's Mag. Nat. Hist." Feb. 1838, p. 108. Second ed. ** The first account
of this tree occurs in "Cadamosto's Travels" (Ramusio. col. 1, f. 118, 6,) to this pur
port. The Venetian Navigator, Cadamosto, by command of the Portuguese Prince
Henry in 1456, visited the Cape Verd Islands and the western coast of Africa. There
he discovered the monstrous Baobab, whose trunk was 17 ells [about 30 English feet]
in diameter. Adanson (" Families des Plantes," tome i. p. 216,) estimates the age of
thiB tree upon a ground which does not appear perfectly secure, since he fancied that
there were letters cut in the bark which indicated the 14th century ; whereas those
regions had not been visited at that time. [This is not absolutely certain ; some
Genoese or other vessel might have been driven so far to the south, and its crew never
return, from being wrecked.] But it is the fact that he ascertained one of these trees
to be the individual which Thevet observed in 1555 ; and it was 6 feet in diameter.
Now Adanson calculates that this tree muBt have been, in Thevet's time, from 3 to 4
feet In diameter, and that consequently the increase in 200 years must have been from
2 to 3 feet. Hence he reasons that a tree of this species would, acquire a diameter of
10 feet in 550 years ; in 1050, 14 feet ; in 2,800, 20 feet ; and 30 feet in 5150 years. As
there are now trees of 27 feet in diameter, they must have an age of 4280 years 
Of this tree we know only one species, [called by the natives], tbe Baobab, or Ape's
bread tree ; or [the appellation very properly given by Europeans,] Adansonia digitata.
It is the stoutest tree in the world, though it has not a very remarkable height. Its
diameter is 25 to 27 feet. Adanson saw some which were from 75 to 78 feet in circum-

STTPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 409
Africa within the tropics, one specimen has been subjected to the
process which scientific men of the first ability have invented, and
the age has been brought out to be 5232 years, and there is every
reason to expect many centuries of further life to this tree and itB
congenerates. A still higher antiquity is claimed for the Taxodium
{Gypressus disticha), an American tree, which attains the height of
seventy feet and a circumference of thirty. It is stated by Pro
fessor Henslow to possess a longevity of 4000 to about 6000 years.
One now growing in the churchyard of Santa Maria de Tesla, near
Oaxaca in Mexico, and which was observed as a tree of wondrous
magnitude by the Spanish conquerors of that country, is affirmed
by M. De Candolle to "go back certainly to the origin of the
present state of the world ; an epoch," he says, " of which it is the
most indisputable monument."* With regard to the period that
has flowed since the creation of man, the Christian world generally
consents to use Archbishop Usher's system, because to depart from
it would perplex us in our ordinary reading ; yet most educated
men are aware that the evidence runs in favour of a longer period.
Perhaps no man has laboured on this subject with greater assiduity
than the late Dr. Wm. Hales, in his Analysis of Ancient Chrono
logy. According to him, we are now in the 7250 th year from the
creation ; and the, 4994th from the deluge.
Now the physical argument is, that the flood could not be uni
versal, because these trees exhibit an age which, for the Baobab,
goes upon the common chronology to 1 045 years before the date
of the deluge ; and, acocrding to Hales, to 238 years : and, for
the Taxodium, each of these numbers is increased by some
centuries. Will it be contended, that these trees might live, submersed
in water for near 300 days 1 Certainly it is impossible to try
the experiment : "but all analogy, all physiological reasoning from
the functions of vegetable life, decide in the negative, and deter
mine that elephants, and oxen, and men, might live so long under
water, almost as well as dicotyledonous trees.
Mr. Rhind meets the argument by questioning its premises. He
affirms that, "in tropical regions, some dicotyledonous plants
never show indications of annular circles at all, while many have
them very irregular ; whilst it is far from improbable that some
ference. Barrow [Sir John ?] saw a specimen at St. Jago, 56 feet in circumference and
80 feet high. The magnitude of the tree is effected not so much by the trunk as bj
the branches, for they grow to be 50 or 60 feet in length. In their spreading around
they bend towards the earth, and so each tree forms a wood, or a monstrous foliage, of
150 feet in diameter. The usual height is 60 to 70 feet." Sprengel, Prof. Bot, at
Halle, cited in Ersch and G rubo'a " Encyclop." L -ipz, 1819.
* " 11 remonte certainoment h l'origine du monde actuel, C'est le monument le plus
irrecusable d'une epoque sur laquelle l'opinion des savans n'est pas entierement
fixe"e. " " Bibliothfeque Universello ; Sciences ;" Geneva, vol. xlvi. p. 393 : 1831. He
6robably alludes to the difficulties of Chronology, arising from the discrepancies of tha.
icbrew text, the Samaritan, the Septuagint, Josephus, &c.

410 SUPPLEMENT ABY NOTES.
species may produce more than one woody circle in a year. * — •
The assertion, upon irregularity, is indeed true ; but in such a
manner as rather to bear against Mr. R.'s conclusion ; for, when
irregularity exists, it is in the way of weakness and deficiency. In
a feeble tree or an unfavourable season, a layer may be unusually
thin and even with difficulty discernible : so that in careful count
ing, a ring or two might be omitted, diminishing the estimate by
so many years.
The late Mr. De Candolle, whom all revere as one of the princes
of Botanical science,t has expressed himself upon this point in
the clearest and strongest manner. He shows at considerable
length that there is not a law of nature on whose invariable vali
dity we may with greater confidence rely, than in this instance.
All that is wanted is ability and care in making the observation.
Any variations that may occur are in the earliest stages of growth;
afterwards the greatest regularity is established as to number
of layers, though extraordinary coldness or dryness of a season
prevents the usual degree of thickness in the formation of the
layer for that year.J In young trees the liability to error leads to
an excess of calculation, but the tendency is the reverse in the
more advanced stages of growth.
Sec. ed. It is incumbent on me to state, that the late Sir J. E.
Smith objected to some part of this reasoning ; and that Dr.
Lindley has written upon it the following important passage : —
" Each zone of the vascular system of an exogenous stem being
the result of a single year's growth, it should follow that, to count
the zones apparent in a transverse section is sufficient to deter
mine the age of the individual under examination ; and further
that, as there is not much difference in the average depth of the
* " Age of the Earth," p. 120.
f Third ed. This eminent r.aturalist, distinguished for his benevolence and his
amiable delight in communicating, especially to young inquirers, out of the rich stores
of his knowledge, died on Sept. 9, 1841, aged 64. As a memorial of justice, and an
excitement to imitation, I transcribe a part of Dr. Roget's eulogy. " The activity and
powers of De Candolle's mind were displayed in a multitude of objects of public
utility, the furtherance of which ever called forth in him the most lively interest;
whether it was the improvement of Agriculture, the cultivation of the Fine Arts, the
advancement of Public Instruction, the diffusion of Education, or amelioration of the
Legislative Code. Feeling deeply of what vast importance to the welfare of mankind
it is, that sound principles of Political Economy should be extensively promulgated
and well understood by all ranks of men, De Candolle never failed to develop and
enforce those principles, in h.s lectures and popular discourses, as well as in his official
Agricultural Reports. On these subjects, and especially with respect to the immense
advantages which would accrue to the community from the unrestricted freedom, of com
merce, his views were those of the most enlightened policy, and exhibited a sagacity in
advance of the times in which he lived." "Address to the Royal Society " Nov. 30
1841. { "Biblioth. Univ. Sciences," vol. xlvii. p. 49, &c. 1831. Mr. Darwin records his
own observation confirmatory of this fact. " Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle,"
vol. hi. p. 157. Mr. Babbage has also given us an instructive example of reasoning
upon our very subject, from this law of the vegetable economy, in the "Ninth
Bridgewater Treatise," p. 256— 264. J

, SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 411
zones in very old trees, a certain rate of growth being ascer
tained to be peculiar to particular species, the examination of a
mere fragment of a tree, the diameter of which is known, should
suffice to enable the botanist to judge with considerable accuracy
of the age of the individual to which it belonged. It is true,
indeed, that the zones become less and less deep as a tree advances
in age ; that, in cold seasons, or after transplantation, or in conse
quence of any causes that may have impeded its growth, the
formation of wood is so imperfect as scarcely to form a perceptible
zone : yet De Candolle has endeavoured to show in an able paper,
" Sur la Longevity des Arbres," that the general accuracy of calcu
lations is not much affected by such accidents, occasional inter
ruptions to growth being scarcely appreciable in the average of
many years. This is possibly true in European trees, and in those
of other cold or temperate regions in which the seasons are dis
tinctly marked. In such, the zones are not only separated with
tolerable precision, but do not vary much in annual dimensions.
But, in many hot countries, the difference between the growing
season, and that of rest, if any occur, is so smaE that the
zones are as it were confounded, and the observer finds himself
incapable of distinguishing with exactness the formation of one
year from that of another. In the wood of Guaiacum, Phlomis
fruticosa, Metrosiderus polymorpha, and many other Myrtacese,
for instance, the zones are extremely indistinct : in some Bauhi-
nias, they are formed with great irregularity : and in Stauntonia
latifolia, some kinds of Ficus, certain species of Aristolochia (as
A. labiosa,) and many other plants, they are so confounded that
there is not the slightest trace of annual separation. It is also to
be remarked, that in Zamias we seldom find more than two or
three zones of wood, whatever may be the age of the individual ;
and yet it appears from Eckton's observations, that a zamia with
a trunk only four or five feet high can scarcely be less than 200 or
300 years old.*
" With regard to judging of the age of a tree by the inspection
of a fragment, the diameter of tho stem being known, a Httle
reflection will show that this is to be done with great caution,
and that it is liable to excessive error. If, indeed, the zones upon
both sides of a tree were always of the same or nearly the same
thickness, much error would not perhaps attend such an investi
gation. But it happens that, from various causes, there is often
a great difference between the growth of the two sides ; and con
sequently that a fragment taken from either side must necessarily
lead to the falsest inferences. [Prof. Lindley then gives examples.]
 When we hear of the Baobab trees of Senegal being 5150
years old as computed by Adanson; and the Taxodium distichum
* "According to Decaisno ("Comptes "Rendus," v. 393,} the zones of wood, in
MeniBpermacea', each result from the growth of several years.

412 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
still more aged, according to the ingenious calculations of Al-
phonse ( ? ) De Candolle ; it is impossible to avoid suspecting
that some such error as that just explained has vitiated their
conclusions." " Introd. to Botany ; " p. 94—96. Third edition,
1839. It would be absurdly presumptuous in me to maintain with
positiveness any opinion upon a question which thus divides the
most profoundly scientific Botanists in the world. I may however
acknowledge myself unable to perceive that the suspicion just
mentioned is unavoidable. The vast size and structure of the
trees referred to would seem likely to protect them completely
from atmospheric or any other external causes, by which weakness
or material irregularity could be induced so as to affect the woody
deposits on one side of the trunk more than on the opposite. It
appears also, from Dr. Lindley's statements, that, though the
liability to error may run in either direction, yet that the incom
pleteness of the data is far more likely to affect the result by
bringing out too short a period than one that exceeds the reahty.
But, in this age of universal exertion, it must be hoped that some
of the many scientific travellers, who are labouring for the service
of mankind, will set about the determining of this question, by the
best possible examination of the trees, in their places of growth.
To saw one through, or to cut it down, manual labour would be
ineffectual ; and it may be long before the requisite European
machinery will be transported into those regions. But it is not too
sanguine to expect, that Mr. Bowman's method of taking out
cylinders on opposite sides of the tree, by means of a circular saw
like a surgeon's trephine, will be applied : and this will give
results so complete that it would be idle scepticism to doubt them.
It should also be observed, that Mr. Bowman, after many obser
vations and experiments, arrived at a general conclusion that M.
de Candolle's calculations tended, and would even of necessity
operate, to make old trees seem younger than they really are ; and
consequently, in the cases before us, to bring out a result short of
the truth.
Third ed. Since the publication of the former editions, a work
has commenced, anonymous indeed, but bearing in a very high
degree the indications of accurate knowledge, independent re
search, and fine judgment ; the " Popular Cyclopaedia of Natural
Science." Its plan comprehends the most important branches of
Natural History, and to a certain extent Natural Philosophy, and
it will have the advantage of proceeding all from one mind. Two
volumes, in small octavo, are published ; the first on " Vegetable
Physiology," 1841 ; the second on "Systematic Botany," 1842. It
is greatly to be desired that the remaining parts of the series
should be given to the world as speedily as may consist with the
sustaining of its manifest superiority. In the first of those volumes

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 413
a passage occurs which I feel it a duty to cite, not only as a step
leading to further knowledge, but as due in justice to Mr. Rhind ;
see page 346.
" There are some trees of tropical climates, which completely
lose their leaves two or three times in every year, appearing as
bare as in winter ; and these are speedily replaced by a new crop.
It is probable (though it has not been certainly ascertained) that,
in such trees, a new woody layer would be formed by every crop
of leaves." Vol. i. p. 189.
Upon this subject, seeking information where I believed it might
most safely be had, I applied to a friend in whose researches and
ability of judgment I could place full confidence. Dr. William B.
Carpenter, the author, besides many valuable contributions to
medical science, of two works which confer singular advantage
upon the student ; " The Principles of General and Comparative
Physiology," 1841 ; and " The Principles of Human Physiology,"
1842. To my application Dr. Carpenter courteously replied : — " In
regard to the question you put to me, I have much pleasure in
stating my opinion.  All our knowledge of the formation of-
wood leads us to refer it to an action of the leaves ; and we know
that, when a tree loses its leaves, the formation is checked. In
this country we find one new layer added every year ; and this
corresponds with the annual renewal of the leaves. I am not
aware of any evidence which leads to the belief that the layers are
annual in themselves ; all that we can say is, that they are so in
those trees of whioh the renewal of the leaves is annual. Now,
that many trees renew their leaves two or even three times a year
in tropical climates, is a fact which I have myself ascertained by
inquiry in the West Indies, where I spent a few months some years
ago. I saw a tamarind-tree come out into full leaf, within six
weeks after it had been entirely bared by the deciduation of the
previous crop ; and I was told that this happened three times in a
year, or five times in two years. Now I cannot myself imagine
but that the interruption must have been marked in the stem by a
distinct line, in each of these instances. — I have in my possession
sections of wood, of this country, in which a very thin ring inter
venes between the ordinary annual layers ; a ring so thin that no
degree of unfavourableness of the season could account for it, sup
posing it to be of a year's growth." [Dr. Carpenter alludes to the
phenomenon occasionally observed in this country, in a mild winter,
especially after a remarkably dry summer, that some trees put
forth leaves and blossoms, and bear fruit, though not well ripened.
Usually, in such cases, the powers of the tree exhibit signs of ex
haustion in the following year.] — "Por the word years, in the
ordinary statement, I should be inclined to read epochs of vegeta
tion." July 26, 1841.

414 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
Yet I cannot but question whether the hard-wooded trees, of
which remarkable species exist in hot climates, do not, in the
periods of leafing, form exceptions to the rule of my accomplished
friend. Few of those who may read this book can consult the Genevese
periodical work, " La Bibliotheque Universelle ;" and therefore I
do not hesitate to conclude this Note with another citation from
A. P. De Candolle's papers.
 " I have reason to beheve that there now exist in our
countries [Switzerland, Prance, England, &c] oaks of fifteen to
sixteen centuries old.  Of all European trees, the yew appears
to me to be that which attains the greatest age. [ — Examples
are given whence the author concludes that, through its first
period of 150 years, the yew increases a little more than a line,
i. e. one-tenth of an inch, a year, and, in the next period of 100
years, a little less than a line. — ] If then, for very old yews, we
take the mean of one line a year, it is probable that we are below
the truth, and that, in reckoning the number of their years of age
as equal to that of their lines of diameter, we make them younger
than they are. Now I have become acquainted with the measure
ments of four celebrated yews in England. That of Fountain
Abbey, near Ripon in Yorkshire, of which we have historical
notices in 1133, was, according to Pennant, in 1770, 1214 lines in
diameter, which will give above twelve hundred years of age.
That in the churchyard of Crowhurst, Surrey, is stated by Evelyn,
in 1660, to be 1287 lines of diameter. If still standing, as I am
informed it is, the age will be fourteen centuries and a half. That
of Fotheringall in Scotland had, in 1770, a diameter of 2588 lines,
and its age is consequently 25 to 26 centuries. That in the
churchyard of Braburn in Kent had, in 1660, a diameter of 2880
lines ; if then it be still in existence, it must have reached three
thousand years.
"  1 [am anxious to] call the attention of travellers to the
massive trees which have very hard wood ; such as the Mahogany,
which commonly attains to seven feet in diameter ; the Courbaril
of the Antilles, said to reach twenty feet of diameter, and which
is so hard that we must admit of an extreme slowness in its
growth ; the different kinds of trees known under the name of
iron-wood;  <fcc.  But above all, I would recommend the
verification of the accounts of the Taxodium {Cupressus disticha
of Linnaeus) of Mexico. Is this vast tree of Chapultepec, which
is said to attain a circumference of 117 feet and ten inches, really
one tree, or a union of several ?  1 earnestly recommend a new
examination of this gigantic tree, perhaps the most ancient vege
table on the globe.  " "Biblioth. Univ. Sciences;" vol. xlvii.
p. 65—67
In " The Phytologist" for January, 1843, is an interesting ac-

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 415
count of the Adansonia, embodying almost all the existing in
formation concerning it, by Mr. George Luxford ; with a strikingly
picturesque figure of the tree, and figures of its leaves, flowers,
and fruits. " The Phytologist" and its companion the " Zoologist,"
are publications both very cheap and highly valuable to the
students of nature.
Fourth ed. Our idea of the tree is aided by two sentences in
Sir James Ross's admirable work, " Voyage of Research and Dis
covery in the Southern and Polar Regions in 1839 — 43 ;" 2 vols.,
1847. " Not far from the town [Port Praya, Madeira] we saw a
fine specimen of the gigantic tropical tree of Africa, the Baobab
{Adansonia digitata). Its short, pear-shaped trunk, not more
than ten feet high, exceeded 38 feet in circumference, and at this
period its fruit was forming." Vol. I. p. 11. No doubt this is a
young tree : perhaps but two or three centuries old ! 1

[M.]
Referred to at page 201.
UPON DK. YOUNG'S SCRIPTURAL GEOLOGY.
In perusing this book, I have been not. a little grieved at the
sight which it presents of a pious and amiable man, struggling to
give credit and currency to opinions which, to my full conviction,
cannot be supported by evidence ; but the advocacy of which is
likely to mislead some, and to confirm the sceptical prejudices of
others. It appears a duty to offer a few observations ; but to go
over the whole ground which he has opened, would require a
treatise of considerable lengtfe. Erroneous statements and falla
cious arguments can seldom be duly examined, and refuted satis
factorily, without much expenditure of time and labour. I shall
select what appear the principal parts of the argument.
A layer of oyster-shells, with the valves separated, and ex
hibiting other marks of water-transport, is found in the Whitby
lias extending for many miles along the coast, and ten or twelve
into the interior ; and Dr. Y. lays this instance as a principal
foundation for the inference of a diluvial origin to shelly beds
generally ; and he extends his conclusion to vertebrated animals.
(p. 15.) Yet he says not a word upon a fact, of which he seems
to have had a glimpse a dozen years ago,* that beds occur of a
peculiar valve, which all confess to be a stranger to the present
condition of the seas, Gryphaa incurva, presenting the clearest
* " Geol. Survey of the Yorkshire Coast," p. 242. After briefly describing the
species, Dr. Y. says, " Numbers are often found clustering together." This 1 call a
glimpse of the truth. It deserved to have been followed out.

416 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
evidence that the shells had never been drifted, and that the
countless individuals lie, as family groups, in their native seats ; —
and that these beds may be traced, in the same geological position,
from Whitby northward to the mouth of the Tees, and southward
to the lias of Dorsetshire, and further appearing on the western
coast of Scotland, and again extensively in Germany and in France.
If the worthy author could make so much of his seam of dipsarted
oyster-shells, washed over a small piece of land, what ought he
not to have concluded from the case of the opposite character,
and covering an area a thousand times more extensive 1
In like manner, because it is probable that some, or let us say
even a large proportion, of the coal-beds, and their sandy and
shaly accompaniments, have been the results of transportation,
he reasons as if all the coal had been formed in this manner.
(pp. 10, 14.) But there are eminent geologists who attribute
only the smaller proportion of coal formations to this mode of
origin ; and conceive that the greater masses have been derived
from trees of vast size and close contiguity, submerged in their
native seats, without being removed from their place of growth,
and marking their scarcely disturbed prostration by the well-
known impressions, on the shale-roofs and bottoms, of their most
delicate parts, which would have been greatly defaced or quite
obliterated by even a little tossing and drifting. Detached pieces
of trunks do indeed occur, whose denuded and broken state sug
gests a derivation from neighbouring high land, and whose forms
and position prove them to have been accidental intruders ; but
the idea of masses of such vegetation as composes the coal-beds
having floated from different quarters, and then, which must have
been of necessity, irregularly and confusedly heaped together, ap
pears to be absolutely irreconcileable with the facts exhibited in
the impressions of the plants upon the shale, just now mentioned.
My kind readers will give themselves pleasure and do justice to
the argument, by consulting the specimens of this kind in most
of the Museums of Natural History, .which happily are multiplied
in our country. An excellent suite is in the Adelaide Gallery,
presented by my young friend, Mr. Edward Charlesworth, a gen
tleman whose devotedness to Natural History from his very child
hood has produced important results, and promises more. For
this purpose, I cannot but also wish that studious attention were
given to the accurate and beautiful figures in the Fossil Flora of
Great Britain, by Dr. Lindley and Mr. William Hutton ; and in
Mr. Artis's Antediluvian Phytology.— "That any considerable part
of the plants which formed the beds of coal were drifted at all,
appears — to be highly improbable : that they should have been
brought by equatorial currents from the regions of the tropics, is
perfectly chimerical." " Fossil Flora," vol. ii. pref. p. xxi. In the
same splendid work, an accumulation of facts is brought in proof

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 417
of this doctrine, and to illustrate the alternations of material in
the coal measures, a circumstance on. which Dr. Y. lays great
stress, (p. 11,) but which those eminent naturalists account for
in a way which his objections do not touch. "Foss. Flor." vol.
iii. pp. 28 — 35. On the other hand, Prof. Phillips deems it "the
most probable view, that the plants forming coal were, with the
arenaceous and argillaceous substances, swept into the sea by
inundations from the land, and subsided into strata on the bed of
the sea." " Treatise in Cabinet Cyclop." vol. i. p. 160. But it is
important to consider that this must have been from neighbouring
land, probably clusters of islands overgrown by succulent trees
of exceedingly great magnitude, resembling families chiefly crypto-
gamic, which now exist in only small species, except in hot
climates, and which we have great reason to think must have
flourished in an atmosphere essentially different from that which
is necessary to animal life, under the existing system of creation :
all of which conditions will agree with Mr. Phillips's hypothesis,
understanding a very small distance of removal by the flooding
off. On the contrary, Dr. Y.'s object is to establish that all this
vegetation had grown in the sixteen or seventeen centuries before
the deluge, and that the coal-beds are due to its being floated
away and deposited by the diluvial waters ; and his whole reason
ing seems to imply the transport from considerable distances.
This is the object for which he proposes his theory. But apart
from all the reasons furnished by the phenomena of stratification
and animal remains, those naturalists whom all reason binds us to
regard as the best qualified to form a correct judgment, draw the
opposite conclusion. . " That the face of the globe has successively
undergone total changes, at different remote epochs, is now a fact
beyond all dispute ; as also that, long anterior to the creation of
man, this world was inhabited by races of animals to which no
parallels are now lo be found ; and those animals themselves made
their appearance, after the lapse cf ages, during which no warm
blooded creatures had an existence. It has been further remarked
by zoologists, that the animals which first appeared in these lati
tudes were analogous to such as now inhabit tropical climates
exclusively ; and that it was only at a period immediately ante
cedent to the creation of the human race, that species similar to
those of the existing asra began to appear in northern latitudes.
Similar peculiarities have been also found to mark the vegetation
of correspondent periods." " Foss. Flor.," vol. i. pref. ix. x.
I annex a passage from a high American authority : — " Coal,
being peculiarly limited in its local relations, and often contained
in basins, it seems probable that it generally arose from local cir
cumstances, with all its attendant and alternating strata of shales,
sandstones, limestones, clays, iron ores, pudding-stones, <fec, and,
as these depositions are often repeated several times in the same
E E

418 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
coal-basin, and the mines are occasionally worked to a great
depth, (even to 1200 feet, in some places in England,) it is plain
that no sudden and transient event, like the deluge, could have
produced such deposits, although it might bury wood and trees,
which, in the course of time, might approximate to the condition
of lignite, or bituminized, or partially mineralized, wood, which is
often found under circumstances indicating a diluvian origin."
Prof. Silliman's " Outline of Geology," p. 122.*
The phenomena of the coal-formations have been ably argued
by Mr. Murchison, in a series of considerations, which prove both
the intensity of action and the long succession of periods that are
marked in the structure and alterations of the crust of the earth.
" How have the coal-fields been rendered accessible to man's use ?
Have we not shown that many have been forced to the surface by
volcanic action ; and that some have assumed a basin shape, in
consequence of their margins having been thrown into that form
by a number of violent upcasts of the subjacent solid masses,
which, wrenched from their original position, now converge to
wards a common centre 1" " Silur. Syst." i. 574.
Our respected author appears not seldom to fall into the be
setting error of controversialists, misapprehension of the opinions
which he opposes, or of some part of their relations. For ex
ample ; he seems to think it a fatal objection to the doctrines
generally held by geologists, that the Tertiary Strata " occupy but
a small space in the crust of the earth, yet three or four ages
have been assigned to them ;" that " the whole Tertiary Strata
cover but a small portion of the face of our globe, and each of the
four sections" [the Eocene, the Miocene, the older Pliocene, and
* Third ed. A remarkable instance of tbis phenomenon has been communicated
to the Royal Society, (in a letter read April 1, 1641,} by Mr. Mac Cormick, one of the
band of scientific men whom Her Majesty 's enlightened and judicious government had
sent upon the Antarctic expedition under Capt. James Ross. It is a description of
Kerguelen'8 Land, two very small islands with a few islets, at so high a latitude as
must, in that hemisphere, ensure perpetual storms and cold, producing no vegetation
above lichens, mosses, and a few grasses and water-plants. " From its sterility," says
Capt. Cook, " I should with great propriety call it the Island of Desolation, but that I
would not rob M. de Kerguelen of the honour of its bearing his name." These isles
are masses of basaltic rock, vtith fossilized wood imbedded in it, aud coal, beds or seams
overlaid by it. Thus there is evidence that the locality was once an extent of dry
land on which grew large trees, that the climate must have been much warmer than
is its present condition, that submergence took place, and then pressure under stra
tified deposits, that such a succession was effected at least once, perhaps oftener, and
that, at laBt, an outburst of melted rock from the fiery gulf below elevated, shattered,
enwrapped, and overtopped the whole.
Fourth ed. The best and most recent account, historical and descriptive, is given in
Sir James Clark Ross's interesting volumes, "Voyage of Discovery and Research iu
the Southern and Antarctic Regions," chap. iv. Mr Mac Cormick, who gives the geo
logical descriptions, says : " The most remarkable geological feature in the island is
the occurrence of fossil-wood and cOal ; and, what is still more extraordinary, im
bedded in the igneous rocks. The wood, which for the most part is highly silicified,
is found inclosed in the basalt, whilst the coal crops out in ravines, in close contact
with the overlying porphyritic and amygdaloidal greenstone." Vol. i. p. 74. "The
numerous seams of coal vary in thickness from a few inches to four feet" P. 71.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 419
the more recent Pliocene] " can claim but a few patches ; yet to
these patches a whole age is assigned !" (Pp. 19, 20.) On the
scale of reason, this is much the kind of argument which infidels
employ, when they object to Christianity that it is not universal.
Does our objector suppose that topographical extent is a measure
of duration ? Is it not of the very essence of the case, that these
" patches " (which, be it remarked, cover thousands of square
miles in Europe, Asia, and America,) should occupy the situations
which, by the laws of nature, belong to them 1 They consist of
the wearings away and washings down of older rocks, derived from
the elevations and projections of 'innumerable eras; and they
must of necessity have been received and retained in the inter
vening hollows. This is one of the striking instances of the
Creator's wisdom and goodness ; that, by a series of slow opera
tions, effected according to the known laws and methods of phy
sical action, diversified results are brought to pass which are in
the highest degree beneficial to the animated tribes, and pre
eminently to the race of man. The" very processes are marked
with the indications of very long periods of time, which (if I may
express my humble opinion) our imaginations are more in danger
of unduly contracting than of immoderately extending.
Yet, after all, Dr. Young makes a surrender of the chief posi
tion ; and therefore all the other parts of the field are fairly
debateable without mutual prejudice, however we may feel con
vinced that he has unhappily undertaken the defence of posts
which cannot be maintained. He says, "Many are of opinion,
that as, without contradicting Scripture, we may believe in the
existence of numerous planetary worlds, all furnished with their
respective inhabitants ; so also we may be allowed to think that
numerous creations might exist on our globe, long before the
creation recorded by Moses ; the sacred pages making no mention
of the one, any more than of the other. To a certain extent, this
may be conceded. I agree with my learned friend Dr. Buckland,
that the narrative of Moses does not necessarily preclude the
supposition, that the materials of our globe might pre-exist under
another form, and that this world may have been constructed out
of the wreck and ruins of a former creation." (Pp. 40, 4JL)
Yet under the reservation clause "to a certain extent," he at
tempts to render this concession of little value. He is willing to
admit of a previous condition of the earth, provided it may be a
state of darkness and confusion, devoid of life and beauty. He
thinks that, how the supposition of " a goodly world  can be
reconciled with the scripture narrative, it is difficult to conceive."
* May we not reasonably ask, Why should this be difficult ? The
scripture narrative relates (according to our views of its meaning)
an adjustment of a suitable district of our globe for the reception
of a new order of creation ; and, to make this known in the
E e 2

420 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
manner best adapted to the comprehension of the early ages of
mankind, and to the religious benefit of all generations, was the
gracious intention of that page in the records of revelation. I
am unable to perceive any inconsistency in this with the belief,
that the bountiful Creator had before made ample use of this part
of his works, to be one of innumerable other seats of life, intel
ligence, and happiness. Rather should I think, that we might
regard this arrangement as a case included under the grand pro
position, " By faith we understand that the worlds were arranged
\Karr)priaOai rotig aiuivag, which might be rendered, the vast periods
adjusted.] by the word of God,' to the effect that the objects seen
[rd jiXfKoptva'] did not come into existence out of those which
are manifested."*
Dr. Young's mode of reasoning about stratification appears to
me surprising. From a partial, trivial, and much exaggerated
case which he alleges, of the action of the waves on a soft sea-
beach, he draws conclusions extravagantly large. A few feet or
yards of sand and marl may be washed down by a flood, or torn
off by a storm ; and almost immediately afterwards redeposited in
sorted, forms : and this occurrence which, in the very conditions
of the case, can take place only on a small scale, he applies
unlimitedly by simple multiplication, and infers thirty feet of
strata in a day, and nine hundred in a month. But he takes no
notice of the extremely slow rate of deposit, in those circum
stances which constitute the general course of nature ; and which
is demonstrated by facts innumerable in estuaries, in deltas, or in
fresh-water lakes.
He exhibits the crude impertinence of a few foreign sophists,
whose day in this respect is passed, representing the succession of
organized beings as becoming gradually more complete and per
fect, so as to indicate an improvement by practice in the Creator's
skill ; and he notices not the fact, that all the great geologists
repudiate such a notion with abhorrence, and give physical evidence
of its falsehood.
With respect to this subject, it should not be forgotten that,
on account of the perishable suhstance of their structure, many
species of both animal and vegetable creatures must have failed to
perpetuate any memorials of themselves, in all the periods of the
earth's antiquity. The more profoundly anatomical investigations
are carried on, the more abundantly is it evinced that, within the
range of the animal remains presented even in the earhest fossili
ferous strata, the remark will hold, as a general truth, which has
been made, by eminently qualified judges, in relation to the
vegetable kingdom: — "The result of this investigation is well"*
worthy of attention. It shows that, so far from ' a gradual per
fection of organization having been going on from the remotest
* Heb. xi. 3. I have ventured to give the closest translation.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 421
period, till the latest geological epoch,' [the words of an able
adverse writer,] some of the most perfect forms of each of the three
great classes of the vegetable kingdom were among the very first
created ; and that, either the more simple plants of each class did
not appear till our own asra, or that no trace of them at an earlier
period has been preserved." Lindley and Hutton's "Fossil Flora;"
vol. i. pref. p. xix.
It would appear almost incredible that Dr. Y. should say,
" Fishes, zoophytes, ammonites, belemnites, terebratulae, <fec, occur
in almost every portion of them [the secondary strata] : but those
in the inferior strata have as much similarity to the living races
as those in the superior." P. 9. An assertion full of extreme
inaccuracies ! Can he, for example, push out of sight a most
remarkable circumstance in the caudal prolongation of the back
bone, which distinguishes all the fish of the Magnesian limestone,
and the earlier formations from the subsequent ; and from almost
all existing species 1 This, and many other striking peculiarities
in the fossil ichthyology, were discovered by the distinguished in
vestigator, M.. Agassiz. See Lyell's " Elements," p. 417. And
who ever heard of ammonites or belemnites of " living races 1"
I thankfully avail myself of the authority ( — can there be a
higher ? — ) and testimony of Mr. Murchison. " — The fossils of
the Silurian system here represented, and amounting in all to
about 350 species, are, with the exception of a very few (chiefly
doubtful casts),- essentially distinct from any of the numerous and
well-defined fossils of the Carboniferous System ; and further, that
the Old Red Sandstone which separates these two systems is also
characterized by fossils peculiar to it.  Having for a series of
years collected fossils from every stratum of the Silurian rocks,
throughout a large region, in which the stratigraphical order is
clear, I now present the results. Professor Phillips had previ
ously completed a valuable monograph of the organic remains of
the Carboniferous System ; [in his " Illustrations of the Geology
of Yorkshire ;" vol. ii. 1 836. J If the naturalist will compare the
figures in these, the only two works yet published upon the older
fossilliferous rocks, which combine geological description with
zoological proofs, he will at once see the truth of my position.
" Beginning with the vertebrata ; Are not the fishes of the Old
Red Sandstone as distinct from the Carboniferous System on the
one hand, as from those of the Silurian on the other 1 M. Agassiz
has pronounced that they are so.
" Are any of the crustaceans, so numerous and well-defined
throughout the Silurian rocks, found also in the Carboniferous
strata 1 I venture to reply, not one.
" Are not the remarkable cephalopodous mollusea, the Phragmo-
ceras, and certain forms of Lituites, peculiar to the older system ?
" Is there one species of the Crinoidea figured in this work,
known in the Carboniferous strata ?

422 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
" Has the Serpuloides longissimum, or have those singular bodies
the Graptolites, or, in short, any zoophytes of the Silurian System,
been detected in the well-examined Carboniferous rocks ?
" And, in regard to the corals, which are so abundant that they
absolutely form large reefs, is not Mr. Lonsdale, who has assidu
ously compared multitudes of specimens from both systems, of
opinion that there is not more than one species common to the
two epochs ? —
" Such evidences are — additional supports of the important
truth which Geology has already established ; that each great
period of change, during which the surface of the planet was essen
tially modified, was also marked by the successive production and
obliteration of certain races." " Silur. Syst." pp. 581, 582.
With astonishment I read in Dr. Y., " The general conformity
of the strata and their undisturbed succession indicate that they
must have been deposited about the same era." P. 23. He admits
indeed of some exceptions, but he confines them to the elevating
force of " volcanic agency." One might almost fancy that the
worthy author had never fixed his eyes upon any rocks but those
of his own Yorkshire coast, and that he had explored even them
but cursorily. That all strata were at their origin deposited hori
zontally, or nearly so, is not the question. But, is it possible for
him to be ignorant of the instances innumerable, in almost all
parts of the world, where the formations of the secondary series,
and many even of the third, follow with most remarkable discon-
formity ] How often a deposit has been laid, long after the under
lying one has been raised and bent and broken 1 The Sections
published in the Geological Society's Transactions, and innumer
able other works of unquestionable authority, furnish the most
ample proofs of the contrary to Dr. Y.'s assertion.
If possible, I am still more surprised to read, " The breaks, or
faults, in the strata affect the whole mass of rocks, in almost every
instance where they occur ; instead of being limited by the boun
daries of particular formations." P. 24. So far as, in a subject
including many and various conditions, one can lay down general
positions, I must say that what he affirms is not the fact, and
what he denies, and builds largely upon his denial, is the fact.
It is painful to me to remark thus upon the writing of a very
estimable friend ; and to be obliged to acknowledge that to me
his book appears to abound in misconceptions of the sentiments
of -others, and wrong imputations to them, in assertions positively
made, but often hazardous or decidedly erroneous, in narrow in
vestigation and defective induction, and in too rapid conclusions
from imperfect premises. I should not, however, have brought
forward these observations, which might be considerably extended,
but for this reason ; Dr. Young's character as a Christian and a
minister of the Gospel, gives weight and currency to his opinions,

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES'? 423
and some persons have not failed to display his authority as if it
were a sufficient refutation of the doctrines commonly maintained
by geologists.
Fourth ed. Returning to the part of the preceding Note which
respects the Coal-formations, I now add that Mr. E. W. Binney,
than whom few persons can be better qualified, from scientific
knowledge and extensive observation, to give an opinion upon
this subject, has published a Disquisition " On the Origin of
Coal ;" in the " Memoirs of the Lit. and Philos. Society of Man
chester," vol. viii. and reprinted separately, 1847. He examines
the subject minutely and comprehensively, and arrives at the
following principal conclusions ; that the vegetable matter now
forming coal had grown in vast marine swamps, subjected to a
series of subsidences with long intervals of repose ; that the trees
and perhaps smaller plants were submerged under tranquil water,
in the places of their growth ; and that very inconsiderable
portions, if any, of the beds are owing to drifting.

[N.]
Referred to at page 209.
OH THE COMPARISON OF IHE EGYPTIAN AND THE MOSAICAL COSMOGONIES.
In Mr. Lyell's "Principles of Geology," Book I. chap, ii., under
the title "Oriental Cosmogony," he has given ample and interest
ing descriptions of the doctrines held by the ancient Hindoos and
Egyptians, and those brought from the east into Greece and Italy
by Pythagoras, concerning the changes which the surface of our
globe has undergone. Now, as every reader knows that, under
the name Oriental, the documents of the Hebrew Scriptures can
not but be included, the expectation is raised (I might say almost
necessarily) that some direct and specific notice will be taken of the
Mosaic Cosmogony This expectation is strengthened by the fact,
that certain writers of the German antibiblical school have main
tained that Moses derived his materials for the commencement of
the Pentateuch from Egyptian sources. From these considera
tions I cannot but fear, that the total silence upon what most
readers will think the chiefly interesting branch of the subject,
will be construed into the inference, that the author deemed the
Hebrew account to be no more than a human production, and to
be justly thrown into the same class with the allegorical, mytho
logical, or fabulous traditions of the grossest idolaters. It would
have been happy and signally beneficial, if Mr. Lyell had pointed
out the differences between the Egyptian and the Phoenician Cos
mogonies, and the simple, beautiful, and majestic description of

424 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
the Hebrew Genesis ; and if, which he might have briefly done
without entering into philological discussions, he had said that
the Scripture account of the creation is susceptible of a fan-
interpretation, in perfect consistency with the facts disclosed by
Geological research.
With respect to the identity or similarity alleged by the critics
just adverted to, I may remark, that it is assumed by them in a
way little better than a gross begging of the question. Because
Moses was educated as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess,
and must therefore, they say, have been instructed in all the his
tories, traditions, and doctrines of the Egyptian priests ; as also
the first martyr testifies concerning him, that he " was educated
\iiraiScvQtj] in all the wisdom of the Egyptians ;" and because
Simplicius (a Greek philosopher of the sixth century, zealously
adherent to the expiring cause of heathenism, ) calls the relation
of Moses concerning the origin of the universe, " a certain mythic
tradition, drawn from the Egyptian Mythi ;" the inference is
boldly drawn, that he made that tradition the basis of his narra
tive, simplifying and accommodating it to his fundamental doc
trines, the unity of God, and the creation by him and dependence
upon him of all other existences. But, if we look at the earliest
authorities that we have, (and they are 1400 years later than
Moses,) Diodorus Siculus and Plutarch, we find but a scanty
resemblance ; and so much as does obscurely appear, suggests the
idea of being a far-removed and adulterated cast of traditions,
derived from that primeval fountain of knowledge, which had
flowed down to Moses in its original purity; The passage of
Diodorus, (who was an industrious compiler rather than an inde
pendent historian or judicious collector,) which, in the opinion of
the best critical philosophers, details the Egyptian doctrines, is
the following. " Concerning the race of all men, and the things
which have been effected in the parts of the habitable earth sub
jected to our knowledge, so far as is possible in relation to objects
so ancient, we shall write accurately, beginning with the earliest
times. With regard then to the first production of men, two
opinions have been proposed by the most distinguished inquirers
into nature and history. One party, assuming the world to be
without beginning and to be incapable of destruction, maintain
that the human race has existed from eternity, having never had
a commencement of child-bearing. The other party, supposing
the world to have had a beginning and to be destructible, affirm
that mankind, like the other parts of the universe, had a first
production, in fixed periods of time.'' [This is the Egyptian
theory.] " They suppose that, at the original constitution of all
things, heaven and earth possessed one uniform appearance, their
respective natures being mixed up together. But after this, the
material substances, [aiipara] separating from each other, the

BUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 425
world" [evidently meaning the solid earth, as distinguished from
the atmosphere,] " took the entire constitution which is now seen
in it, and the air acquired a perpetual motion. Hence, on the
one hand, the fiery part of the air ran into one mass in the higher
regions of the atmosphere, its nature being such as would be
borne upwards on account of its lightness ; from which cause
also both the sun and the remaining multitude of the stars became
involved in the universal rotation : and, on the other hand, the
earthy and dark miry part, combining with the moist substances,
sank down to the lowest situation, in consequence of their weight.
This mass then being compressed within itself, and continually
rolled round, from the watery portions was produced the sea, and
from the more solid the land, which was as yet clayey and quite
soft. By the heat of the sun acting upon this earthy body, it
first received consolidation ; and afterwards fermentation taking
place on the surface, in consequence of the heat, some of the
moist matter swelled up into bubbles in many places, and around
them putrescent pieces were produced inclosed in thin membranes.
Such an effect is, even in the present condition of the earth,
sometimes brought to our view, in bogs, and such low places as
are continually turned into marshes by the irruption of water ;
when, while the ground is cooled, the air suddenly becomes very
hot, not being with sufficient rapidity susceptible of the change
of temperature. In this way, those moist spots became, by means
of the heat, impregnated with animal life \riva rS>v vypZv — Swoyo-
vovjjl'ividv\ ; receiving nutriment by night out of the mist which
fell from the surrounding air, and being made firm and strong by
the heat in the day-time. At last, these embryos [KvoQopovptva]
having acquired their full growth and the enveloping membranes
being dried up and bursten, all the various forms of animals were
brought forth. Of these, those kinds which had partaken of the
greatest heating went away to the higher regions, becoming birds :
those which retained the earthy constitution were reckoned into
the order of creeping animals, and the other kinds which live
upon the earth : those which had gotten the greater abundance
of a moist nature, ran together to the place of the same watery
constitution, and these are called swimmers. The earth being
thus continually more and more dried and hardened, by the heat
of the sun and the action of the winds, in the end became inca
pable of procreating the larger animals : and consequently hence
forth all the kinds of animated beings were produced by sexual
union with each other."
Here, in some manuscripts, a pretty long paragraph follows, in
tended to confirm the preceding statements, by affirming that the
Egyptians down to the present time produce instances of such
generation, in that, after an abundant overflow of the Nile, when
it has subsided and the sun has acted upon the putrescent surface,

426 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
an innumerable multitude of mice is brought forth out of the
mud. But this passage, though no doubt very ancient, the best
critics reject as spurious ; its matter is however taken, almost
word for word, from a subsequent part of the same book. The
historian then proceeds :
" And such are the declarations which we have received con
cerning the first production of all things ; [ij vrpwj-jj rmv oAaiv
ytvto-ic.] The human creatures produced from this beginning, are
said to have existed in a way of life disorderly and brute-like ;
wandering dispersed over the verdant plains, and for food seizing
upon the plants which they found most agreeable to the taste,
and the spontaneous fruits of the trees. Being attacked by wild
beasts, they were taught by the sense of mutual advantage to aid
each other ; and, being driven by fear to associate, they learned,
by slow degrees, to understand one another."  Diod. Sic. lib. i.
cap. vii. viii
The next authority appealed to by the German antibiblicists, is
" Plutarch's Treatise on Isis and Osiris." But the reference must
have been handed from writer to writer, in the hope that readers
would seldom take the trouble of examining it. That tedious
treatise consists almost entirely of ridiculous and disgusting tales
concerning Osiris and Isis, TyphoD, Horus, Anubis, and their cog
nates : and these the moralist declares to be utterly worthless
and contemptible, unless regarded as fables, and as he interprets
them in a variety of physical, historical, and moral significations.
I can discover but two short passages, in which there are any
ideas of a cosmogony that could, in even a Blight degree, be
imagined to possess affinity to the Mosaic narrative. That the
reader may judge, I will cite them.
" He who is God is the originating principle," [«ipxi) 6 0t6V yet
I fear, Plutarch took the term generally, and without a clear
recognition of the Only God : — ] " but every originating principle,
by its productive power, multiplies that which issues from itself :
and the idea of multiplication we usually denote by the numeral
three; as when we use " [the phrases of Homer] " Thrice happy !
and Fetters indeed thrice so many numberless wrap all around him.
[Odyss. vii. 340.] Unless it were the fact that the ancients by
such expressions meaned literally the number three ; since the
natural quality of moisture, being the beginning and producing
principle [a'pxij /cat ytviaig] of all things from the beginning, made
the three primary bodies, earth, air, and fire."  "One might
suppose that the Egyptians were peculiarly fond of comparing
the nature of the universe to the most beautiful of triangles,"
[a right angled one :]  " one line the male,  another the
female,  and the hypothenuse the offspring of both : and so,
Osiris is to be considered as the beginning, Isis as the principle of
reception, and Horus as the complete effect." — Then follow some

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 427
allegorizings of the numbers, three, four, and five ; and of the
Egyptian names of Horus and Isis ; summed up by saying 
" The matter of the world is full, and is composed of the good,
the pure, and the well-arranged. It is probable also that Hesiod
entertained the same views of producing principles, [apxaf'] mak
ing the primary existences [rA wpfflro irdvrd] to be chaos and
earth, and tartarus, and love ; since, of these names, we may
understand that of the earth to belong to Isis, that of love to
Osiris, that of Tartarus to Typhon ; for chaos seems to be put
under the whole [or, the universe, to ttov,] as space and place."
" Plutarchi Moralia ;" ed. Wyttenbach, vol. ii. pp. 497, 532.
Diodorus the Sicilian flourished about 50 years b. o. Plutarch,
more than a century later. All the value of their statement de
pends therefore upon the authenticity of their sources, which are
unknown, though no doubt, mediately or immediately, they were
from Egypt: but they are far too late to have the stamp of
authority, and we well know that, many centuries before, the
ancient learning of the Egyptians had been metamorphosed into
fables and allegories. Diogenes Laertius, Porphyry, and Macro-
bius, who lived still later, have only repeated less completely what
we have already.
I have written this long and tiresome note, that my readers
may determine for themselves, whether the allegation is not de
void of all evidence and probability, that the Mosaic narrative
was an offshoot of the Egyptian mythology : the one shining in
the most beautiful and majestic simplicity ; the other, artificial,
low and paltry, absurd and degrading. Much more reasonable
appears the supposition, that the traditions which came from the
family of Noah, in the line of the Mizraim (a plural name), were
the ground-work upon which the Egyptian priests, after the pre
valence of polytheism, built up their system of perversion and
disguise.

[0.]
Referred lo at page 209.
ON SOME PASSAGES IN MR. LYELL'S PRINCIPLES 07 GEOLOGY.
The allusion here is to some remarks upon Mr. Lyell's chapter
v. of book i., published in the " Christian Observer," April, 1843 ;
p. 200. It is in no captious spirit, but with sincere respect and
solicitude, that I would ask this eminently gifted man, why, in
his beautiful chapter (the eighth of book iii.) on the Introduc
tion, Extinction, and Vicissitudes of Species, he has made so
slight mention of the Almighty Creator 2 He has not said in-

428 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
deed, or implied, that a new species has ever, in the world's his
tory, come into being without God as its cause*; but it is painful
to see the semblance of reserve on so soul-stirring a theme. He
speaks of "admiration — strongly excited, when we contemplate
the powers of insect life, in the creation of which nature has
been so prodigal."— Nature ? — Creation? 0, why did not his
heart grow warm within him, and bound with joy, at the op
portunity of doing some homage to the God of glorious majesty 1
Sec. ed. It would have afforded me great pleasure to have can
celled the whole of the preceding Note. But my best reflection
induces me to let it remain, with a shght alteration, because its
silent withdrawal would have left an unwelcome impression with
out correction ; and I could scarcely have made intelligible
the expression of satisfaction and gratitude that, in the sixth
edition Mr. Lyell has in this place put " the Author of Nature :"
because also that I could not have expressed my concern at having
given pain to the mind of this distinguished philosopher ; since he
cannot admit the justice of the censure involved, and he must feel
it to be unwarrantably severe and presumptuous to insinuate
against him, a Christian and a member of the Church of England,
a design of covertly assailing the evidences of Revealed Rehgion.
Indeed I cannot charge myself with having made such an insinua
tion ; my expressions having imported only the sorrow of heart
which I did and still do feel, that his reserve in one respect, and
his expressions in another, were likely to be laid hold of by a too
numerous class of persons who wish to live without piety and
religious self-government, and to whom it is a great object of
desire to shake off the authority of Christianity by abrading its
evidences. To have it in their power to plead either the concession
or the reserve of such a man as Mr. Lyell, is an advantage which
ought not to be given them ; for their cause, standing opposed to
the clearest moral evidence, to the highest interests of mankind,
the purest blessings of the present state, and our noblest expecta
tions in the future, is not entitled to such a benefit.  Upon the
substitution, unhappily so frequent with authors on natural science,
of the word Nature for the God of nature, I am desirous of putting
the best possible construction, (yet I beg attention to the Note at
page 96 ;) especially if authors and readers would take care not to
forget the exposition of the term which Lamarck himself has
given : — " An order of things constituted by the Supreme Being,
and subject to laws which are the expressions of his will." This
definition is complete and satisfactory. See the Addenda to these
Notes. On the other hand, we ought not to pass with slight disapproba
tion, the practice of making references to the Deity with a frequency
and hastiness which border upon familiarity, and tend to produce
either presumption or hypocritical affectation.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 429
With respect to the paper in the "Christian Observer," (excellent
in its spirit and design, though I am compelled, by what appears
to me evidence, to think its writer greatly in error,) I fear that
Mr. Lyell never saw it. What he had expressed in the unguarded
manner which " laid him open to painful imputations " was, I am
assured, intended to apply to the heathen and, popish pretences to
miracles, and to the numerous forms of vulgar superstition.
Upon the general subject of these observations, it would be
unjust in me not to point out that, in the chapter (III. viii.) which
stirred up my painful feelings, the author explicitly calls us to
observe the beneficent care of " Providence " which has " put
causes in operation" for checking the destruction to men and
many animal and vegetable species, from the natural multiplication
of Lepidopterous larvae. I will also take out of their connexion
(the limits of this note not permitting fuller citations) a few clauses
which 1 take blame to myself for not having observed, as fought to have
done, before publishing the first edition. — " In no scientific works
in our language can more eloquent passages be found, concerning
the fitness, harmony, and grandeur of all the parts of creation,
than in those of Playfair. They are evidently the unaffected
expressions of a mind which contemplated the study of nature as
best calculated to elevate our conceptions of the attributes of the
First Cause." — Referring to certain cosmological hypotheses, Mr.
L. observes, "they had not the smallest foundation, either in
Scripture or in common sense." — " When the Author of nature
created an animal or a plant, all the possible circumstances in
which its descendants are destined to live, are foreseen, and an
organization conferred upon it" conformable to the design. — "If
the Author of nature had not been prodigal of those numerous
contrivances, — <fcc. . . if He had not ordained that the fluctua
tions of the animate and inanimate creation should be in perfect
harmony with each other, — " &c. "In whatever direction we
pursue our researches, whether in time or space, we discover every
where clear proofs of a Creative Intelligence, and of his foresight,
wisdom, and power." — " To assume that the evidence of the
beginning or end of so vast a scheme lies within the reach of our
philosophical inquiries, or even of our speculations, appears to be
inconsistent with a just estimate of the relations which subsist
between the finite powers of man, and the attributes of an Infinite
and Eternal Being." — " The geologist can bring new and original
arguments from fossil remains, to bear on that part of Natural
Theology which seeks to extend and exalt our conceptions of the
Intelligence, Power, Wisdom, and Unity of design manifested in
the creation.  We can prove that man had a beginning, and
that all the species now contemporary with man, and many others
which preceded, had also a beginning : consequently, the present
state of the organic world has not gone on from all eternity, as

430 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
some philosophers had maintained.  Why should we expect to
find any resting place for our thoughts, or nope to assign a limit
to the periods of past time, throughout which it has pleased an
Omnipotent and Eternal Being to manifest his creative power J"
' Principles" B. L ch. iv. vol. i. p. 102 ; B. III. ch. ii. III. 30 ; B. III.
ch. x. III. 209 ; B. III. ch. xviii. III. 406. Presidential Address
to the Geol. Soc. 1837, in Proceed, vol. ii. p. 523. The references
in this volume to Mr. Lyell's " Princip. Geol." were adjusted to the
sixth edition, as soon as it became practicable, for a part of this
book was printed before that was published; but, to facilitate
reference to the former editions, the Book and Chapter are also
mentioned ; which yet may not always answer, because some of
the Chapters are transposed or are new.
Third ed. With peculiar pleasure I have read Professor Silli-
man's observations on the character and labours of Mr. Lyell, in
his " Address to the Association of American Geologists and
Naturalists," at Boston, April 24, 1842. From it I quote the
following paragraph.
¦" To him more than to any other or all other writers on Geology,
we owe our recovery from the illusions of dreams and visions
regarding imaginary powers supposed formerly to exist ; but to
have become exhausted, of greatly enfeebled, or even extinct in
modem times. He has proved to us, that the powers of nature
are the same now that they have ever been : that, except the act
of creation, and the first outbreak of the new-born elements and
energies, there was nothing in the geological laws of former ages
different from the present ; and that the causes now in operation,
acting with greater or less intensity, are sufficient to produce the
effects of earlier epochs."

Referred to at page 241.

SENTIMENTS OF THE ELDER ROSENMULLER, BISHOP BIRD SUMNER, AND THE
REV. DR. CONYBEARE, DEAN OF LLANDAFF, ON THE INITIAL PORTION OF
THE BOOK OF GENESIS.
The following extracts are valuable and interesting, as they show
the impression made upon the mind of an able Bible critic, the
elder Rosenmuller, at a time when geological researches were httle
known, and when Werner, at the age of 25, was just beginning
his career. He was far from the opinion which his son promul
gated, fifteen years after, treading in the steps of Simplicius (in
the sixth century), and Hetzel, Hase, and others in our own times
that Moses derived his history of the creation from the Egyptians.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 431
Whatever resemblance may be assumed or supposed, it is much
more rationally accounted for, by supposing that the Egyptian
and Phoenician traditions had flowed from a common source, the
family of Noah ; and that Moses, under the direction of divine
inspiration, placed at the commencement of his great work the
very written documents of primeval men which had descended in
the Abrahamic line, and which were the genuine records whence
the other traditions had been derived.
" The enemies of religion act a very inequitable part when they
require of us such explications of all chronological and historical
difficulties, as should leave no portion of doubt remaining. Can
it surprise any man that, in the most ancient of all writings, many
things should be obscure to us, who live in times so extremely
remote 1  In consequence of the great advances which have
been made in modern times, in Hebrew and Greek philology and
the languages and antiquities of the east, no small number of dark
and difficult passages have been satisfactorily elucidated, so as to
make it perfectly clear that most objections have been engendered
by ignorance.  Every good writer must be presumed to speak
according to the custom of the men among whom he lived, and
their common use of language.  1 shall not meddle with the
question, whether the contents of the beginning of Genesis were
by God revealed immediately to Moses ; or that he derived them
from more ancient records.  The style, and the entire manner
of the description, involve evidence of the highest antiquity. At
every step we perceive proofs of that extreme simplicity which
must have been the character of our race in its very infancy.
With respect to divine subjects, in particular, the first step of
human knowledge must undoubtedly have consisted in conceptions
of God, derived from our own nature ; ascribing to the Deity the
same properties and perfections which men perceived in them
selves, but in modes and degrees infinitely more perfect. Upon
this principle are founded the representations of God which are
given in the books of Moses, and many other parts of the Old
Testament. Indeed this is, in my judgment, a very plain argu
ment, not only of the genuineness and truth of those books, but of
their divine origin ; seeing that they present to us a method of
description concerning God and divine things, perfectly suited to
the capacity of men in the earliest times, and yet the most sublime,
and, when fairly and candidly interpreted, in perfect accordance
with spiritual truth. The scoffers at revealed religion, philosophers
as they please to call themselves, betray an almost unpardonable
ignorance, when they make stumbling-blocks out of those con
stantly occurring expressions of the Old Testament, which speak
ofthe Deity [anthropopathicis locutionibus] in language borrowed
from human properties and actions. What can be a grosser
absurdity, and even folly, than to require that Moses and the

432 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
prophets should have spoken of divine truths, in the very infancy
of the human race, according to the philosophy of Descartes,
Newton, or Wolfs —
" In the beginning God created this universe ; the heavens and
the earth. But, with respect to this earthly globe, it was not at
once the abode of men and animals, as it is now : but there was a
period during which it was utterly destitute of such a furniture of
things as it now possesses : it did not enjoy the light of the sun,
and it was completely covered with water. Whether, at its first
being brought into being, it possessed a constitution like that of
comets,* being consequently uninhabitable ; or whether it was
reduced into its actual state, after a vast space of time, by some
kind of universal inundation of water, with the concurrence of
other causes both natural and extraordinary ; cannot be with cer
tainty determined from the Mosaic narrative. But this detracts
nothing from the truth and dignity of the narrative. It never
was in the mind or intention of Moses, to unfold physical causes,
of which he was most probably ignorant, and which it was no
part or object of his divine commission to make known. Nor
could the Israelites, for whose immediate benefit this history was
intended, have comprehended such matters : for who can suppose
that they knew anything of the nature of comets, or the planetary
constitution ofthe earth?'' J. G. Rosenmulleri " Antiquissima
Telluris Historia, 4 Mose Gen. 1° descripta;" Ulm, 1776 ; pp. 6,
10, 11, 12, 71.
It is with peculiar pleasure that I copy the following passages
of the learned and pious Bishop of Chester ; and they are the more
estimable as they were written before 1814, at a time when geo
logical facts and doctrines were less accurately known than they
are at present.
"¦ — Any curious information as to the structure of the earth,
ought still less to be expected, by any one acquainted with the
general character of the Mosaic records. There is nothing in
them, either to gratify the curiosity or repress the researches of
mankind, when brought, in the progress of cultivation, to cal
culate the motions of the heavenly bodies, or speculate on the
formation of the globe. The expressions of Moses are evidently
accommodated to the first and familiar notions derived from the
sensible appearances of the earth and heavens : and the absurdity
of supposing that the literal interpretation of terms in Scripture
ought to interfere with the advancement of philosophical inquiry,
would have been as generally forgotten as renounced, if the
oppressors of Galileo had not found a place in history.  No
rational naturalist would attempt to describe, either from the
brief description in Genesis or otherwise, the process by which
* One cannot but observe here the working of a sagacious mind, and the approach
which it makes, though on principles purely conjectural, to the Nebular Hypothesis.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 433
our system was brought from confusion into a regular and habit
able state. No rational theologian will direct his hostility against
any theory which, acknowledging the agency of the Creator, only
attempts to point out the secondary instruments he has em
ployed." Dr. Bird Sumner on the " Records of Creation ;" vol. i
pp. 270, 283.
Let us hear another distinguished clergyman.
" As to the first point [the antiquity of the earth,] — not the
mere theoretical views of geologists alone, but the conclusions
which appear, by the most cogent logical necessity, to result from
the phenomena of the structure of the earth's surface, and the
variety and order of the very numerous successive series of or
ganic remains imbedded in the strata, do undoubtedly appear to
require periods of very considerable duration; and to indicate
that very many ages had elapsed before ( — ' the diapason closing
full in man,' — ) a new exertion of the Creative Energy made, in
its own image, a being of higher intellectual and moral capacities,
as the head of its other terrestrial works. Now the evidence of
geological phenomena most satisfactorily agrees with the scrip
tural record, in assigning to this last great event a very recent
epoch : and it is surely very valuable as an independent testi
mony to this most important fact, which clearly involves the
necessary admission of an interference with the previous order of
nature, by a new and direct exertion of creative power, and there
fore strikes at once at the root of every sceptical argument against
Miracles. It is surely nowise inconsistent with the fullest re
ception of revelation, to maintain that it professedly confines
itself to the exposition of the dispensations of the great Creator,
as they concern his final intellectual creation ; that, in a word, the
Bible is exclusively the history of the dealings of God towards men."
The Rev. W. D. Conybeare, now (1847) Dean of Landaff : in the
" Chr. Obs.," May, 1834, p. 308.

[Q-]
Referring to page 243.

EXTRACTS FROM PROFESSORS WISEMAN AND HITCHCOCK, ON THE B.EFERENCH
OF THE MOSAICAL RECORDS TO GEOLOGICAL TRUTHS.
" The modern geologist must and gladly will acknowledge the
accuracy of the statement, that after all things were made, the
earth must have been in a state of chaotic confusion; in other
words, that the elements, which later were to combine in the
present arrangement of the globe, must have been totally dis
turbed and probably in a state of conflicting action. What the
duration of this anarchy was, what peculiar features it presented,
whether it was one course of unmodified disorder, or was inter-

434 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
rupted by intervals of peace and quiet, of vegetable and animal
existence, the Scripture has concealed from our knowledge ; while
it has said nothing to discourage such investigation as may lead
us to any specific hypothesis regarding it. Nay, it would seem as
though that indefinite period had been purposely mentioned, to
leave scope' for the meditation and the imagination of man."
Wiseman's " Connexion of Science and Rev. Relig.," vol. i. p. 295.
"So far then from finding, in the facts and conclusions of
Geology, any objections to the Mosaic records, I find in them a
striking evidence of the benevolence of the Deity. For, during
the long period above spoken of, the globe was evidently prepar
ing for the residence of Man and the other animals that now
inhabit it. Before their creation, its temperature was too high,
and its surface too liable to be broken up by volcanoes, and
drenched by deluges, to be a secure and happy abode for the more
perfect races of animals that now inhabit it. But it was adapted
to the nature and habits of such animals as we now find entombed
in the rocks. The overflowing benevolence of the Deity, therefore,
led him to place such beings upon it ; and thus to communicate a
vast amount of happiness, which seems to be a grand object in all
his plans and operations. The vegetables that existed in those
early periods have been converted, in the course of time, into the
various species of coal now dug from the bowels of the earth ;
while the remains of the animals of those times have become
changed into limestone. Even those violent volcanic agencies by
which the successive races of plants and animals have been sud
denly destroyed, have probably introduced into the upper part of
the earth's crust, various metallic veins very important to human
happiness. And in all this, we see indications of that same bene
volent foresight and care for supplying the wants of his creatures,
to which our daily — experience of God's goodness testifies."
Hitchcock's " Geol. of Massachusetts ;" p. 250.
Prof. Hitchcock,'having adduced strong evidence to prove that
an extensive denudation has, at some time, taken place in the
New Red Sandstone on the Connecticut river, proceeds to say :
" The immense period requisite to wear away such a mass of rock,
as this theory supposes to have once occupied the whole valley of
the Connecticut, will seem to most minds the strongest objection
against its adoption : I mean, supposing it to have been effected
by such causes as are operating at present. But this is not a
solitary example, in which geological phenomena indicate the
operation of existing causes, through periods of duration inconceiv
ably long. We may, in this case indeed, as I have already shown,
suppose the occurrence of numerous deluges in the earlier periods
of our globe. Still, even with the aid of such catastrophes, the
work must have been immensely protracted. And why should we
hesitate to admit the existence of our globe through periods as

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 435
long as geological researches require ; since the sacred record does
not declare the time of its original creation ; and since such a
view of its antiquity enlarges our ideas of the operations of the
Deity in respect to duration, as much as Astronomy does in regard
to space ? Instead of bringing us into collision with Moses, it
seems to me that Geology furnishes us with some of the grandest
conceptions of the Divine attributes and plans to be found in the
whole circle of human knowledge." lb. p. 226.

[R]
Referred to at pages 249 and 259.
ON THE SOLUTION OF DIFFICULTIES RESPECTING THE MOSAIC NARRATIVE
PROPOSED BY PROFESSOR BADEN POWELL.
The learned Savilian Professor, in his " Supplement to Tradition
Unveiled," has honoured me by making some observations on the
interpretation of the Mosaic narrative, which I have endeavoured
to support. This he has done in a spirit so generous and kind, as
to merit my warmest thanks. But he would be one of the last
men in the world to allow that personal esteem should obstruct
the freedom of discussion. I am sure, therefore, of having his
cordial approbation of an attempt to survey and compare the two
modes of understanding this portion of the sacred writings.
I. There is no controversy between us as to the divine authority
of the book of Genesis. Whether it was entirely and originally
written by Moses, the unimpeachably faithful narrator of truth,
and consequently of the divine communications, and other facts
on which revealed truth must rest ;* or whether it consists, in a
great measure, of more ancient documents, running back to the
earliest periods of human history, of which, I think, there is
evidence (see p. 184) ; we hold that the book of Genesis is a part
of "the Holy Scripture ;" that "the Old Testament is not con
trary to the New :" and that " it is not lawful so to expound one
place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another." (39 Articles,
6, 7, 20.) To quote the clear and decisive words of Galileo, (see
p. 242,) " It is therefore the duty of competent and diligent ex
positors, to bring forth, in every instance, the true meaning, and to
explain the ground and reason of their having been expressed in
the words which are presented to us." The Reverend Professor
has also avowed his resolution (and I am equally bound as a Chris
tian minister,) to " be ready, with all faithful diligence, to banish
and drive away" [propulsare et amoliri, certainly by no means
except those of fair argument and kind dispositions, t] " all errone-
* See pp. 181—184.
f Here I cannot but entreat my reader to study the cogent reasoning of my candid
and noble-minded remarker, in " Tradition Unveiled," pp. 49 — 53 ; and the recent
volume of Archbishop "Whately, (a work which every thinking man should read,)
"Essays on some of the Dangers to Christian Faith," pp. 154 — 220.
r p 2

436 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
ous and strange doctrines, contrary to God's word." ("Ordin.
Presb.") II. The difference between Mr. Powell and me appears to lie in
this chief point : that I regard the true meaning of the narrative,
elicited not by "hardly strained" wire-drawing of old words, or
any sort of " critical refinement," but by the fair rules of inter
pretation, to be really in accordance with natural truth ; while he
considers the two as insuperably discrepant, palpably contradictory ;
and that, therefore, " this magnificent composition " was " not in
tended for an historical narrative, not designed for literal history,"
but is constructed of " the most sublime and unrivalled imagery —
the language of figure and poetry — mythic poetry." " Connex. of
Natural and Div. Truth," pp. 250—260 ; " Suppl. to Trad. Unv."
p. 36.
III. In opposition, therefore, to any littleness of mind, which
would torture the phraseology of the sacred narrative, gloss over
some difficulties, and evade others by vague general remarks, the
Professor thinks it impossible that " any reader of ordinary sense,
not prepossessed in favour of a theory, can understand the descrip
tion (whether in the shorter form of the Decalogue, or the more
expanded of Genesis,) considered simply as to its terms, otherwise
than as presenting a magnificent picture of Almighty power, and
embodying the representation of one, original, entire, simple,
universal act of Divine interposition, at once and for the first
time framing and calling into being and operation, out of previous
universal darkness and confusion, the heavenly bodies, as well as
the earth, and all the races of organized beings upon it, in the
actual progressive stages assigned to the six days specially de
scribed as literally such."
IV. With irresistible force of reasoning, the Professor remon
strates against the notion that Moses, or any other inspired writer,
could have known in his own mind, or could have ever intended
to convey, or even have imagined, those significations and applica
tions of words, which men have excogitated, in order to make this
primitive document speak the language of modern philosophy.
In truth, a charge of moral delinquency is involved in the supposi
tion, that a divinely inspired writer should wrap up his meaning
in expressions which all men of plain sense and honest minds
would understand in one way, while he had the intention of their
being understood in a sense quite different, covertly and enigma
tically conveying notions which would not be elicited till above
three thousand years had rolled away.
V. I submit a few observations, though in them it may be ne
cessary again to introduce sentiments brought forward in former
pages. (i.) The Holy Scriptures^ contain the records, historically de
duced, of the wise and gracious methods which God has employed

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 437
for remedying the greatest evils which could have befallen his in
telligent creation, ignorance and sin, the causes of untold misery.
The revelation given in the Bible was therefore intended and
adapted for the universal use and benefit of mankind, in all
countries and all times.
(ii.) Like all the other works of God known to us, this grand
design has been and is carried on in the way of gradual disclosure;
improving at every step in the comprehension of matter, and the
clearness of exhibition. May I be allowed to refer to remarks on
this characteristic feature of the plan of Revelation, in "Scrip
ture Testim. to the Messiah," vol. i. p. 218 ; ii. 413, 415 ; third
ed? Also, we ought to observe the great deficiencies of doctrinal
knowledge obvious in the Old Testament, especially the infre-
quency and obscurity of reference to a future life, and the low
feeling and errors, to our minds most revolting, which had undis
puted possession of the Israelitish opinion upon some of the most
important points of practical morality ; as with regard to mar
riage and divorce, retaliation, the usages of war, the manner of
treating captives, the dreadful massacres, and the permission of
the master-evil, war itself. Can any disciple of Christ avoid being
convinced that these provisions and concessions -are irreconcilably
contrary to the doctrines, the precepts, the very spirit and genius
of Christianity 1 Yet Christianity does not abjure Mosaism.
" The law was not against the promises of God," but subsidiary
and preparatory to their accomplishment ; " our schoolmaster, to
bring us to Christ ; having a shadow of good things to come."
See also observations on the progressive character of Revelation,
in the Second Disc. p. i. of Dr. Davison's " Warburton Lecture on
Prophecy," Oxf. 1839 ; a volume which will richly reward its
diligent study.
(iii.) The vehicle of this series of communications has, of evi
dent necessity, been human language, including any of the modes
which have been employed among men as signs of ideas ; conse
quently, symbols, significant actions, and figurative language.
That this way of giving expression to thought, by a great variety
of analogical representations drawn from objects of sense, was
employed to make known divine and spiritual objects, was amply
Bhown in Lecture VII.
(iv.) It may well be supposed, it seems even to be a necessary
result of the preceding positions, that the best and holiest men
under the patriarchal and the Mosaic dispensations, not excepting
those who were the inspired messengers of the Divine will, would
have been unable to unfold and expound their own sayings and
writings. Our Lord affirms the superiority of John his forerunner
above all the prophets, and yet pronounces "the least in the
kingdom of heaven," — the gospel dispensation,— to be " greater
than he," and, consequently, than they; referring, probably, to

438 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
the clearness and fulness of divine knowledge possessed by the
ordinary class of Christians, if they be such, not in name merely,
but in heart and practice. The apostle Peter describes the pro
phets themselves, (by whom " the Spirit of Christ testified before
hand" the sufferings and the subsequent glories which were to
belong to him,) as " inquiring and searching" into those subjects,
evidently under great deficiencies of both the knowledge itself,
and the understanding needful for building upon it.
(v.) I must, therefore, disclaim the supposition, that " the narra
tive in Genesis is intended to describe" any series of phenomena
anticipative of modern discovery in astronomy, or geology, or any
other branch of knowledge ; and " that this is what Moses really
intended to say." Might I be indulged with a flight of imagina
tion, and suppose myself in the heavenly state, and permitted to
ask, " Faithful prophet ! when you gave forth your account of the
creation, what was your own belief and understanding i What
did you know, what did you intend to convey, concerning the an
tiquity and extent of the universe ; concerning the heavenly
bodies, their number, order, magnitudes, motions, and distances ;
concerning light and air, land and water, plants and animals j
Had you any idea of the natural knowledge which would be
acquired, under the leading and blessing of Jehovah Elohim,
thirty-three centuries after you ?" He would reply, " Most cer
tainly not. In all those things I partook of the general know
ledge of my contemporaries. I knew no more of the philosophical
reahties of nature, than I did of the most abstract spirituality of
God, when I spoke of Him as looking, seeking, trying, learning,
improving in knowledge, repenting, grieving, changing his mind,
coming and going, and having the bodily organization of a man.
If questions ever rose in my mind upon these subjects, I remem
bered my ignorance and weakness, and I said, with duteous hu
mility, Behold, God is great, and I know him not; with God is
terrible majesty : touching the Almighty, I cannot find him out.*
God spake to me mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in
dark speeches ; and the similitude of the Lord I did behold, t I
spoke and wrote, as I was moved by the Holy Ghost. J I wrote
the things which I was directed to write ; but I could not have
made a comment upon them."
* The reader will perceive that, in presuming to form this speech, I have put into
the mouth of Moses words taken from Elihu ; because I know not of any expressions
in the Pentateuch fliat convey the same sentiments so free from anthropomorphism.
This appears to yield an argument against the hypothesis that Moses was the author,
or even translator, of the book of Job.
t Numb. xii. 8. This remarkable passage is couched in the same anthropomorphitio
expressions upon which we have had to bestow attention, and which stands at its
highest degree in the writings of Moses ; but the sentiment manifestly is, that the
communications of divine knowledge and precept were made to him in a more im
mediate manner than had been granted to any other person.
} 2 Pet. i. 21.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 439
(vi.) But as we believe this narrative to have come, immediately
>r mediately, from " the Father of lights," the ultimate inquiry
arises, and by far the most important, What did He design us
to understand by it ? What was the intention of the Author of
inspiration 1
Of one thing we are certain : His design was not to teach
error. But we also know that his modes of teaching are not bound
to any prescribed model : he exercised the sovereignty of his
wisdom in this, as in every other part of His rectoral system.
And we further know that, in all the Mosaic writings, the per
fections, purposes, and acts of Deity are represented in language
which, though of the lowest condescension, yet is not arbitrary :
for the usage rests upon a common principle, analogy, and it is,
therefore, capable of being explained upon sure grounds.
Justice to my estimable remarker requires that we should hear
his answer to this question.
" Many eminent divines have even admitted that current opin
ions and prejudices, though erroneous, might yet be adopted, and
turned into a vehicle of moral and religious instruction to those
to whom they were habitual, without derogation to the inspired
authority of the teacher.* On such a ground we might certainly
be permitted to regard the first chapter of Genesis,t as embodying
what were the commonly received ideas among the Jews, borrowed,
perhaps, from some poetical cosmogony, and which Moses was
inspired to adapt and apply to the ends of religious instruction ;
to the assertion of the majesty, power, and unity of the Creator,
and the prohibition of the worship of the false gods, especially of
those animals and other material objects which were peculiarly

* Eelinquishing instances less clear, the following may be mentioned as indubitable
examples of our Lord and his apostles acting in this manner ; that is, for the sake
of arguing with men upon their own principles, conceding for the moment some
assumption of the opponent, though by no means really admitting it. Matt. v. 19, the
Pharisaical division of God's commandments into greater and less— a notion very
likely to lead into theological and practical error upon the obligations of religion, ib.
22, referring to the process of the Jewish law-courts, xii. 27, seeming to admit the
pretenceB of the Jewish exorcists, though they were fraudulent and very pernicious,
ib. 43, alluding to the ignorant and superstitious tales of the Jews, about evil spirits
haunting lonely and hot sandy deserts, and prowling about to find springs of water ;
(see in Apochrypha, Tobit viii. 3, and Baruch iv. 35, derived from a gross misinterpre
tation of Isaiah xiii. 21 ; xx. 23 ;) not correcting the error concerning the nature of
the Messiah's kingdom, but giving it a turn to a just application, which, at the time,
was not likely to be understood ; Luke xxii. 30, quite in the style of those common
errors, but which our Lord disarmed of their danger, by converting them to a purpose
of spiritual truth, to be afterwards disclosed, GaL iv. 24, " which things are alle.
gorized," (unhappily in the English version rendered allegory,) according to a favourite
practice of the Jews. We may add, from the Old Testament, the dominion which the
Most High exercises over the invisible world represented by a picture, or parable,
formed from the scenes of an Asiatic sovereign's court, Job i. and ii. and 1 Kings
xxii. 19—23. J. P. S.
t With the first three verses of chap. ii. See the much needed instructions of the
Archbishop of Dublin, on the evils arising from the preposterous subdivision of the
Bible into chapters and'Verses,— " Dangers to Faith," pp. 225—235. J. P. s.

440 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
pointed out as being merely the creatures of the true God ; and
this, doubtless, in a more particular enumeration, because they
were especially the objects of that idolatrous worship into which
the Israelites were so prone to relapse. The entire description being
thus divested of the attributes of a real history, the concluding por
tion of it (the account of the solemnization of the seventh day as
the sabbath) is, of course, equally divested of an historical charac
ter ; and thus cannot be understood as referring to any primaeval
institution ; and can, therefore, only be regarded as having been
designed for the more powerful enforcement of that institution
among the Jews. And this, indeed, would be no more than ac
cords with the opinion of many of the most approved commen
tators, who, on quite independent critical and theological grounds,
have regarded the passage (Gen. ii. 3) conveying that institution,
as correctly to be understood in a proleptical or anticipatory sense."
(" Connex. Nat. and Div. Truth," p. 257.)
This is the hypothesis, taking the whole connected description,
" as couched in the language of mythic poetry," yet " not laid down
dogmatically, but simply suggested." I offer the following re
marks, also begging the reader to refer to page 1 79.
1. We have before pointed out that, in this narrative, there is a
measure of the anthropomorphitic style ; pp. 222, 257.
2. The style of speaking used here with regard to natural ob
jects, is similar to that which has been exemplified from other
parts of the Old Testament, describing natural phenomena, (pp.
227 — 240), and which might be illustrated by many other ex
amples. The whole may be considered as constituting the nomen
clature of the natural philosophy of the Hebrews. It is evidently
the expression of what were the universally received opinions
concerning the sun, moon, and stars, the earth, the seas, and the
atmosphere, motion and the results of motion ; and every person
moderately informed on natural subjects is perfectly aware that
those opinions were widely erroneous. Yet this mode of expres
sion enters largely into the descriptive parts of the Bible. Being
a part of the current language of the Israelites, it was used, by
Divine condescension, as the vehicle for the conveyance of spiritual
Uuth ; and this principle of condescension we have found to reign
throughout the whole domain of revelation.
3. Our duty, then, is to draw the line of distinction between the
imperfect vehicle, and the treasure which it carries. This can be
effected only by intelligence and consideration. We must urge
the fire ; the foreign matter, necessary as a flux, will separate, and
the gold will remain at the bottom of the crucible. The process
will probably be as follows. In the clauses which attribute human
forms, affections, and infirmities to the Deity, we drop all that is
human, all that savours of defect or limitation ; and that which
remains is the pure truth of the Divine perfections, and their

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 441
actings. We remove the idea of the Deity's speaking, giving
commands to air, land, and water, and pronouncing blessings upon
the fishes and the birds ; his watching the subsequent proceeding,
as if he were uncertain of its success : and then, after finding the
result to be according to the intention, declaring his satisfaction.
" God saw that it was good. God saw everything that he had
made, and behold, it was very good." We renounce all pretension
to the finding of astronomical correctness, in relation to the
heavenly bodies ; plainly perceiving them to be set forth merely
as luminaries, and notaries of time to men. We take up the
classification of plants and animals, not as an arrangement making
the smallest claim to either completeness or accuracy, but as that
which followed the notions of the time. We withdraw the attri
buting of repose to Him who "fainteth not, neither is weary,"
(Is. xl. 28), though the expressions carry the unequivocal impli
cation of previous fatigue.*
We have therefore made these subtractions ; but what have we
subtracted ? Nothing but form and mode ; the substance of the
things remains untouched. Then our great question is, What is
that substance ? This is the point at issue between me and my
respected opponent. • In his view, it is the assertion of the Unity
and the Infinite Perfections of God the Creator, and the prohibi
tion of idolatry ; in mine it annexes the further declarations, that,
whatever number of creations may have been, each had its point
of commencement, and some one was pre-eminent, as having been
strictly " in the beginning," the first in the order of time, and
generically comprehending the principle or germ of all following ;
and that the part of the world to which man is immediately allied,
and which alone would be understood by the writer and original
readers of this composition, did, in six natural days, pass through
a series of changes, effected, immediately and mediately, by the
Divine power, and here described in the phraseology of the people
and the time.t
* Learned and pious commentators are often careful to assure us that the intention
of the expression is not that of rest after weariness, but merely that of cessation from
action. This is their assertion ; but it has no support of evidence. The word occurs
in the Pentateuch many times, indubitably denoting the repose of men and cattle after
the week's labour ; and that the same idea is ascribed to the Creator, is determined by
Exod. xxxi. 17, " In Bix days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day
he rested, and was refreshed." Besides, the resort is itself fallacious ; for it would be
contrary to theological truth to suppose that the Infinite Being ever ceases from
action. Perfect and unremitted activity iB included in the necessary attributes of
the Divine Nature. It was a maxim of the old divines, that conservation is a con
tinued creation. " My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." John v. 17.
f It may be objected that I commit a fallacy in laying down these two predicates,
since the terms of verse 4th are manifestly intended to comprehend all the heavenly
bodies. I reply, that the mention of them is only such as arises from their relation to
man, to furnish light, and to be indications for agricultural and social life. Even to
the heat of the sun no reference is made — the most vital of its influences ; for it
would be absurd to expect any notice of the mechanism of the solar system ; yet, upon
the hypotheses of some persons, this was the most to be expected, as being of the
highest possible importance, more essential to life than even light. It is also worthy

442 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.
Upon the hypothesis of the learned Professor, " the entire de
scription is divested of the attributes of a real history ;" " was
not intended for an historical narrative ; " " cannot have been
designed for literal history ;" and, " taken as a whole, it may be
understood as couched in the language of mythic poetry — "
A few observations arise.
(1.) Mr. Powell does not deny, or question, but expressly affirms
the sacred character and divine authority of this scriptural por
tion. He regards it "as embodying commonly received ideas,
which Moses was inspired to adapt and apply to the ends of
religious instruction." (" Connex." p. 257.) I request that this
fact may be particularly observed, with reference to the remarks
in Lect. VI. pp. 179—182.
(2.) Though he has unfortunately, as it appears to me, adopted
the term "mythic poetry," he must not be understood as symboliz
ing with the men who have filled Germany, and, in a considerable
degree, other countries, with their parade of mythi.
All nations have had their traditions of events preceding history,
adorning their respective countries and remote ancestors with
gods and heroes, and deeds of wonder. A word (jivBoc.) which at
first signified any interesting speech, came to be applied to these
national stories, in the common use of the Greeks.* Sixty to
seventy years ago, Heyne led the van to a generalizing of the fact,
in a manner so broad, as to imply a rejection of all the primeval
revelations from the Deity — the first finks in the unbroken chain
which led down to the " grace and truth by Jesus Christ." Soon
he found eager followers among his countrymen, always dying of
thirst for ri Kaivortpov. Schelling, Eichorn, Gabler, Bauer, and a
multitudinous host at their heels, betook themselves to the trum
peting abroad that, as the old Egyptians and Persians, Greeks and
Romans, Celts, Goths, and Scandinavians, had their stories of heroic
times — their mythi, so, beyond a doubt, the ancient Hebrews had.
Learning and fancy — aye, talent and genius, too — ran mad.
Parallels were found in Grecian fable to all the chief facts in the
Old Testament history. Hardened in impiety, and drunken with
self-flattery, these adventurers pushed on, till they dreamed that
of observation that, in the places of scripture (about twelve) in which any mention
occurs of this part of the sun's influence, it is generally under the idea of physical
evil, from tho excess of heat. This was quite natural in such countries as Palestine
and Arabia, admitting the style of writing to have been what I plead for ; but quite
unnatural upon the principles of those who ascribe philosophical accuracy to the lan
guage of the Bible. I am aware of only two places in which a beneficial influence is
attributed to the sun's heat, Job viii. 16, Ps. xix. 6 ; and it is not clear that the first
of these does not refer to the withering and burning action, and the second to the
penetrating power of excessive heat, as sometimes painful.
* 3Lq$lo. Se
K\^iPT€A -n-apdyoura MY0OIS.
" And wisdom with her mythi, gently beguiles." Find. Nem. vii. 33.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 443
they had stormed the citadel, had exploded either the death or the
resurrection of Jesus, (it mattered not which ;) and so had only to sit
down on the ruins of human hope, and proclaim the reign of anti-
supernaturalism, soon to be followed by nominal pantheism and
real atheism. " Mythi," said they, " are historical tales [sagen]
concerning the most ancient history of the earth and of men,
particularly of single tribes or nations, united with conjectures
and theories in the garb of histories, upon cosmogony and geogony,
the physical causes of things, and the objects of sense, all worked
up into the miraculous, and by degrees dressed out in a variety of
ways."* Another of the same school is pleased to say, " Every
system of religion which professes to be derived from a superna
tural and immediate revelation of the Deity, was enrapt in mythic
representations."t I feel no little pleasure in saying, that not only am I persuaded
that my excellent opponent (  shall I call him 1 — or rather,
fellow-helper in the attempt to elucidate a confessedly difficult part
of Scripture,) — is not to be involved in these representations. Far,
very far from it. He maintains the inspiration of the narrative,
and, pf course, the divine commission of Moses, its author or
editor. Neither can I give up to the disguised infidel party, the
long-ago deceased Alexander Geddes, the learned, nobly upright,
and richly instructive man, notwithstanding eccentricities much
to be lamented, — who wrote thus upon the passage before us. "I
believe it to be a most beautiful mythos, or philosophical fiction,
contrived with great wisdom, dressed up in the garb of real
history, adapted to the shallow intellects of a rude barbarous
nation, and perfectly well calculated for the great and good
purposes for which it was contrived ; namely, to establish the
belief of One Supreme God and Creator, in opposition to the various
and wild systems of idolatry which then prevailed ; and to enforce
the observance of a periodical day, to be chiefly devoted to the
service of that Creator, and the solacing repose of his creatures."
He then enlarges upon the propriety and convincing power of
introducing in this manner the created beings, which the narrative
particularizes, as they were those which the Israehtes had seen to
be the especial objects of the Egyptian idolatry : — and he adds, —
"This hypothesis of a mere poetical mythos, historically adapted
to the senses and intellects of a rude unphilosophical people, will
remove every obstacle, obviate every objection, and repel every
sarcasm ; whether it come from a Celsus or Porphyry, a Julian, or
a Frederic, a Boulanger or a Bolingbroke." ("Transl. of the
* " Hebraische Mythologie, u. s. f.") " Hebrew Mythology of the Old and New Testa
ment," by Geo. Laur. Bauer, Prof, of Logic (!) and Oriental Languages in the Univ. oi
Altdorf, [afterwards at Heidelberg,] 2 vols. Leipzig, 1802, vol. i. p. 3. He died in 1805.
f " QuEevis religionis doctrina, a supernaturali et immediata quadam numinis
revelatione repetita, mythis involuta fuit." Wegscheider, " Instit. Theol." cap. i. § 8.
Halle, 1829.

444 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
Bible," vol i. " Critical Remarks :" inserted also in Bees's Cyclo
paedia, art. " Creation ;" and in Mason Good's " Life of jieddes,"
p. 344.)
(3.) The capital point in question i3 thus ably displayed. After
touching upon other proposed elucidations of Gen. i., the Professor
proceeds : — " To this list we have now to add the interpretation
just stated," [that of these pages,] " differing in its details indeed,
but still founded upon the like critical distinctions, put forth as
what Moses intended to say. Now, as in referring to those former
instances, so in the present, I enter into no question, whether the
word rendered 'create' may not more properly be translated
'mould' or 'arrange;' whether 'light' signify illumination from
one source or another ; whether ' darkness ' means the absence of
hght, or only a partial obscuration. With all these, and the like
questions, I have no concern. Let the whole narrative, taken
together, be read through by any unbiassed person of common
capacity and the most ordinary degree of taste and feeling ; and
let him be asked, I do not say whether the ordinary acceptation
of every word be rigidly correct ; but whether the entire impres
sion of its tenor be not something wholly at variance with all such
laboured verbal criticisms ; whether the matchless sublimity of
the whole representation, when simply received, be not such as to
leave on the mind little less than a sense of disgust, when we hear
attempts thus made to refine away all that is most majestic in its
imagery, as well as most strikingly appropriate to the particular
object for which it was designed. It is only necessary once to
read the comment along with the simple text, to feel the former
equally at variance with common sense and correct taste."
(" Suppl. to Trad. Unveiled," p. 33.)
Let me be heard in reply.
{a.) There are some oversights in the sketch of particulars held
forth as characters of my " critical distinctions," if they must be
so called. I do not stop to point them out : if the reader please,
he can compare them with the passages alluded to. For further
explanation, I beg recurrence to a former part of this note, and to
page 183.
(b.) I cannot perceive that the impression of grandeur and sub
limity, upon readers of taste and feeling, is weakened, or that
common sense is shocked, when in reading this document we
believe that those to whom it was first given understood it accord
ing to their own ideas of the forms and motions and extent of the
universe ; ideas suited to the infancy of the human race. To
perceive its magnificence, to enjoy its picturesque beauty, am I
obliged to fly to one or other extreme ; to take it, either as in
every part literally true, or as merely a visionary tablet 1
(c.) Much more should I conceive that the feelings of admira
tion at what is great and sublime, are enhanced by superadding

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 445
those of love and reverence for truth ; and that those feelings
would be repressed and broken, to a most distressing degree, by
the notion intruding, that this unique composition, this model of
unrivalled simplicity, the product of Divine inspiration, the portal
to the temple, the beginning of those writings by which Infinite
Benevolence is enlightening us and guiding us to eternity ; — that
this composition possesses no historical truth, and is only a mythus,
a parable, a fable ! Let me entreat my excellent remarker to con
sider in his own impartial manner, what would have been the
effect upon an ingenuous Hebrew child, of being told that the
reason given, in the name of God himself, " for the more powerful
enforcement" of the sabbatic institution, represented no true fact,
and therefore was only an instructive parable.
{d.) I can imagine no reason why we should be warned off from
this plot of sacred ground, and prohibited to apply to it the same
means of understanding and interpreting which we do to all
ancient writings, and in particular to the Scriptures. This is all
that I have done ; and the reasons are, at every step, laid open to
the reader.
(e.) That a description which is immediately adapted to the
confined knowledge of a rude people, should yet, without any
enigmatical device, but when only analysed and impartially ex
pounded, be found not contradictory to the discoveries of the
most advanced age ; — surely may be regarded as not unworthy of
the Author of knowledge, and as even what it would be natural
to anticipate in any documents of written revelation. Some such
position as this is the correlate of the great duty of " searching
the Scriptures." The greatest theological mind (we tpoi SoksX) of
modern times wrote, nearly a century ago, " The Scriptures, in all
their parts, were made for the use of the Church here on earth ;
and it seems reasonable to suppose that God will, by degrees,
unveil their meaning to his Church. It [the meaning] was made
mysterious, in many places having great difficulties ; that his
people might have exercise for their pious wisdom and study, and
that his Church might make progress in the understanding of it ;
as the philosophical world makes progress in the understanding of
the book of nature, and in the unfolding of its mysteries." (Pres.
Jonath. Edwards.) The divinely designed relation of the more
advanced parts of revelation to the early and imperfect, requires
us to generalize the axiom, which one of the ornaments of Oriel
has propounded with regard to the Mosaic ritual : " Its ' dumb
elements' are made animated and eloquent, when the Truth comes
to act upon them with its light. They are like the statue, which
had its chords wrought within, but was mute till the morning sun
struck upon them." (Davison on " Proph." p. 139.)
(/.) If any want of judgment, taste, or ieeling attach to the
considering of the first sentence in this narrative as an indepen-

44G SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
dent proposition, this defect has belonged to others before me, or
they have closely approached to it ; ancients and moderns, Chris
tian fathers, Roman Catholics and Protestants, Churchmen and
Dissenters, divines and philosophers. (See pp. 164 — 168 ; Rees'B
Cyclop. Art. Creation ; Good's " Life of Geddes," pp. 333, 345.)
I must own that, to my conception, the grandeur and sublimity
are increased by this insulation of the sentence. The eminent
Bible-scholar and orthodox divine, Seiler, distinguishes the text in
this manner; and he was a man of no common judgment and
taste in literature. (" Grossere Biblische Erbauungsbuch," i. 3.)
{g.) The Professor has said, — "The sure monuments which we
derive from the study of organic remains, disclose to us evidences
of 'a series of gradual changes and repeated creative processes,
going on without any one sudden universal intervention or crea
tion of the existing world out ofthe ruins of a former." ("Connex.
p. 254.) Now, I cannot perceive that the language of Gen. i. is
inconsistent with this view. The first verse, " the general propo
sition," affirms that there was a beginning, " an epoch, a point in
the flow of infinite duration, when the whole of the dependent
world, or whatever portion of it first had existence, was brought
into being, — by the will, wisdom, and power of the One and Only
God." (P. 244 of this book.) The Professor, when he speaks of
" creative processes," unquestionably understands interventions of
the Deity, direct acts of power essentially different from any kind
of generative evolutions. Why, then, may not the recited occur
rences of the six days have been such a series, extending over that
portion of the earth's surface in which man, with his appropriate
attendance of organized creatures, was to receive " life and breath,
and all things " from his Creator j — I can perceive in this no
infringement of common sense, no invasion of taste, no sacrifice
of the beautiful, or frittering away of the sublime. The proposi
tion remains, that there is One Universal Creator, whatever may
have been the periods of time, or parts of space, or spots on our
earth, in which it has pleased him thus to "manifest forth his
glory." Professor Powell has referred, with high but merited encomium, '
to the Address of the Rev. W. Vernon Harcourt, (mentioned in
the notes at pp. 259 and 380,) as maintaining, " in its grand
principles," the view which he had given. In this edition, I have
enlarged the previous quotation from that address, so as to include
the passage alluded to. (See Supplementary Note F, p. 380.) The
reader may see in that extract, that Mr. Harcourt appears to have
been directing his discourse chiefly to the confutation of such as
imagine that they find time enough for the successive stratifica
tions and the imbedded fossils, in the six days, or in a year, or in
two thousand years ; probably referring to those who regard the
duration of Noah's deluge, or the antediluvian period, as adequate

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.

447

for the purpose. He considers the days as a figurative expression,
denoting six classes of phenomena, each class being an act of the
Creator's power. This is not a total denial of historical truth in
the narrative : it is interpretation, and it is giving an exposition to
the words. It seems very different from regarding the six days as
fiction and fable, the machinery of mythic poetry. A definite
signification is assigned to the days: each day denotes a class; and
each class is an act. This is what I do not understand. That a
class of phenomena should be an act, seems incongruous : but, no
doubt, the intention was to signify the effect of acts of power. It
would not be easy to make the classifications supposed, for there
are at least ten distinct objects, or groups of objects, enumerated
in the text. But, be that as it might, the proposed explication
refers to certain actual facts, assumed to have taken place sepa
rately and successively. I think it lies open to the principle of
Mr. Powell's objection, as much as mine does. Mr. W. Harcourt
supposes each day to signify an act, inadvertently confounding
the idea of time with the ideas of space and motion. My supposi
tion is, that, in making fit and suitable the portion of the earth
designed for the original seat of the human family, the Creator
was pleased to distribute the operations into six successive and
properly connected daily portions ; having the wisest reasons for this
arrangement. This involves no perplexity about time requisite
for chemical or electric action, or any development whatever of
second causes : for, admitting and maintaining their action, the
principal object to be considered is the creative cause, which we
all, I trust, agree to be the immediate action of the Demy. The
mode of such action must be inconceivable by us : but we are sure
that it oan be no other than worthy of Infinite Perfection ; and
that, whether the casual act be instantaneous, or through any
succession of moments, it is the best adapted to the end, and
infallibly efficient of that end. Upon the distribution of opera
tions, and the dramatic style of narration (found in Herodotus,
Homer, and all archaic compositions,) in which this " excellency of
the power " is expressed, see pp. 257 and 295.
Notwithstanding Mr. Harcourt's flood of splendid eloquence,
and the acclamations which it instantaneously drew from the vast
auditory, — (of which, how many were qualified to judge, and that
in a moment, upon a question of Biblical philology 1) — I must
confess my conviction that his argument failed. He adduced pas
sages from the book of Job, those cited in p. 231 of this volume,
with others, for a literal understanding of which no person con
tends ; he observed that " here we have the first account of the
Creation of the World, proceeding, as it were, from the mouth of
the Creator himself;'' and then his,, reasoning was that, since
this must be taken as entirely figurative, we are authorized and
bound to understand figuratively the description in " that other

448 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
most ancient book" — the Genesis. That I may not deprive the
argument of any measure of its force, I annex the passages ad
ditional to those already in my pages, and a few lines of the im
passioned appeal which followed.
"  It speaks of Him ' who hangeth the earth upon nothing,'
who ' maketh a weight for the winds, and weigheth the waters by
measure.'  In that book, I say, we have the first account of the
creation of the world, proceeding as it were from the mouth of
the Creator himself. ' The Lord answered Job out of the whirl
wind, and said, Where wast thou, when I laid the foundations of
the earth < Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid
the measures thereof, if thou knowest 1 Or who hath stretched
the line upon it ? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened 1
Or who laid the corner-stone thereof; when the morning stars
sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy ? Or who
shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth as if it had issued
from the womb 1 When I made the cloud the garment thereof,
and thick darkness a swaddling band for it ; and brake up for it
my decreed place, and set bars and doors, and said, Hither shalt
thou come, but no further ; and here shall thy proud waves be
stayed.' (Job xxxviii.) Take, then, these 'thoughts that breathe,
and words that burn ;' and compress them, if you can, into some
true or some fanciful system of science. Teach us where to find
'the house wherein darkness dwelleth,' to 'bind the sweet influ
ence of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion.' Explain to us,
with respect to one of God's creatures, what the natural process
is, by which he ' drinketh up a river and hasteth not ;' and of
another, how ' his breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of
his mouth.' — Then take credit to yourself for vindicating the truth
of Scripture : and, when you have thus illustrated a composition
by the side of which, till you touched it, the images of Homer and
Pindar seem but as prose, go on ; instruct us how to interpret
that other most ancient book, recorded, it has been thought, by
the very same hand." —
Now the fallacy, into which the deservedly honoured philosopher
had fallen, lies plainly in his having overlooked the change of
meaning in one of his terms. All agree that metaphors are not
to be understood literally ; and, that these passages in the book
of Job are metaphors, is evident. The conclusion then, with re
gard to them, is good. But, in applying this to the verse of
Genesis, he has assumed what cannot be granted him ; sliding in
a change of his middle term. The middle jterm, in the valid
syllogism, is metaphorical language ; but, in the second case, it is
the phraseology repeated six times in Gen. i. — " And it was evening,
and it was morning, day the first, — second," <fec. It was necessary
to have proved that this phraseology is metaphorical: but the
orator has not so proved, nor do I think that he would assert it, or

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 449
that he can for a moment hesitate to admit that the phraseology
is the plainest enunciation of a bare fact. It occurs in a compo
sition which, grand and sublime as it is, especially in its com
mencement, is not given in poetical diction or form, but in simple
prose. He also slides in another idea, evidently with the inten
tion of strengthening his argument; that Moses was the writer
of the book of Job : a conjecture of some biblicists, but destitute
of evidence, and opposed by a great amount of reasons. — Yet let
us not forget that^the observance of critical and cold precision
is not to be required, in the ardour of public speaking, on such
an occasion, and before an audience of three thousand lovers of
science. (/*.) It is impossible to separate a consistent faith in the divine
origin and authority of the Christian religion, from a reception of
Moses as a messenger of God, especially accredited by miraculous
evidence, that he might be the founder of a peculiar dispensation
which should be the rudiment of Christianity. Jesus Christ re
cognized Moses in this light, (Matt. v. 17, 18 ; Luke i. 27 ; John
v. 46, 47 ; vii. 19 ;) and we have, in a speech and the epistles of
the apostle Paul, references to this very initial part of the book of
Genesis, in such expressions as seem to imply the historical sense,
and can, by no fair means of interpretation or of analogical argu
ment, be made compatible with a mythic character. " Turn from
these vanities unto the living God, who made heaven and earth,
and the sea, and all things that are therein." (Acts xiv. 15.)
" God,— commanded the light to shine out of darkness." (2 Cor.
iv. 6.) Allusions to the terms of this narrative, so far as respects
the high endowments with which man was invested upon his
creation, occur in Eph. iv. 24, and Col. iii. 17.
Upon all these grounds I indulge the hope that the views which,
from my opinion of their being true, I have put forth in this
volume, are not a following in the wake of arbitrary interpreta
tion, contrivance to serve a purpose, shifting and changing as
exigencies arise, attributing to Moses or other men of old, know
ledge which they could not possess, secret meanings, and equivocal
phrases. I trust that I have adduced sufficient evidence that tha
design of Divine Revelation was higher and greater than to teach
physical philosophy ; while yet its declarations are misunderstood,
if their fair interpretation be conceived to contradict natural
truth.

In another work of Professor Powell's, for which, in my humble
opinion, the whole nation is under no little obligation to him,* he
has the following paragraph.
* "State Education, considered with respect to Prevalent Misconceptions on He-
Hglous Grounds." 1840, p. 29. o a

450 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
"  There is one point to which it may be perhaps thought I
am going quite out of my way to allude ; yet it strikes me as one
which must, in the present age, force itself more and more on our
attention : — In what light are we to teach children to view the Old
Testament account of the Creation, whether in Genesis or in the
Decalogue 1 Are they to be early habituated to take it in its
literal sense, and to hold it historically true as an article of faith ?
And then, when they afterwards come to hear (as we must expect
all educated persons will), the facts of the case elicited by geo
logical research, so wholly at variance with the reception of it
as history, are they to be left exposed to the inferences of the
sceptic, and the attacks which the advocates of infidelity will not
fail to found on the contradiction 1 Are they to be thus made
the victims of a timid prejudice, and weak dread of meeting
the question fairly ? "
My friends, especially those of my own religious connexions,
who have so long and assiduously laboured in the benevolent work
of educating the poor, (though this is a question which belongs
equally to all orders of society), will not think it irrelevant to the
designs of the Congregational Lecture, that I intreat their most
serious consideration to this question. Either we must trample
upon the conclusion to which the men have come, who have had
the best means of judging, of all countries and classes, with scarcely
an exception ; and thus be accessory to the fearful state of minds
which Mr. Powell has set before us : or we must so modify our
catechetical and other instructions as to prevent the collision
between faith and reason, as our adversaries would not fail to call
it. My own conviction is, that we ought to say, in the shortest
and plainest manner, that this description was written for the use
of those who could not have the knowledge which God has since
enabled men to attain, and that it referred only to such parts of
the Creator's works as those persons were acquainted with. [With
this view, I especially recommend Mr. Whyte's " Catechetical
Illustrations," mentioned at p. 388.]
Surely also, it is proper to set before our children and congre
gations that, in the Fourth Commandment, the clause is given as
a reason for the sabbatic rest, viz. that even the Creator was
fatigued and needed repose ; explaining to them the principle of
condescension to the minds of uncultivated men, so abundantly
appearing in the earlier parts of the Old Testament : also that, in
the repetition of the Ten Commandments, given forty years after
in a written form, Moses omitted this reason, and introduced
another, not as a part of the Commandment, but as a gloss or
comment, founded upon the feeling of equitable sympathy : Deut.
v. 15. Above all, we should take the requisite pains to make them
understand that the unspeakable privilege of the Christian Lord's
day and the duty of observing it, stand, not upon the Israelitish

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 451
positive law of the seventh-day-sabbath, but npon moral reasons,
analogical and inferential, arising from the primary facts of Chris
tianity, and the benefits to piety and morality of this inestimable
weekly season. '*  Si quid novisti rectius istis,
Candidus jmperti  "
[S.]
Referred to at pages 249 and 254.
ON THE DUTY OF THESE INVESTISATIONS, AND IN VINDICATION OP
DR. BUCKLAND.
The following letter was courteously admitted into the " Ma
gazine of Popular Science," more than three years ago. It was
intended to obviate some remarks, in a Review of Dr. Buckland's
Treatise, which the writer thought to be of an unhappy tendency.
It is republished here, in the hope of its being useful, partly as
giving a short view of some principal sentiments maintained in
this volume, partly for the sake of representing the importance of
the discussion, and partly also, to call attention to the interpreta
tion of Gen. i. 2, which is maintained in these lectures, and for
the suggestion of which I am under obligation to the Rev. Baden
Powell. Sir, — With cordial approbation of the design and the general
execution of your article, in the last month, upon Dr. Buckland's
Bridgewater Treatise, I request your candid indulgence of some
brief remarks.
[Some of your] observations appear to me capable of being mis
understood, or of being construed injuriously in various ways to
the interests of both science and religion. The tendency of those
observations appears to be, First, to assume (or at least to warrant
the assumption) that the Holy Scriptures contain allegations and
implications with respect to the natural history of our earth,
which are contradicted and disproved by the demonstrations of
modern Geology ; and, Secondly, that it is the duty of a philoso
pher to abstain from any discussion of this discrepancy, and from
any inquiry whether it be real or only apparent ; as if it were
said, Let these two branches of knowledge be kept far away from
each other : let philosophers and geologists pursue their own
course, and let theology and religion practise their own duties,
and watch over their own interests ; but let neither interfere
with the other ; let no inquiry ever be made whether they are in
accordance or in opposition.
This short way of dismissing the matter has, indeed, been
adopted by some eminent men ; but I appeal, Sir, to your impar
tial reflection whether it is not absurd and impracticable.
a a 2

452 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
1. It is absurd. Truth, throughout her whole domain, illimit
able as is its extent, is one in principle, and harmonious in details.
It is no other than the having our conceptions in accordance with
the reahty of things. And Truth in expression (= veracity) is the
adapting of our language, written or spoken, to the honest
utterance of our conceptions. A mere child, if he will reflect a
moment, perceives that a proposition cannot be true and false,
under the same circumstances ; unless there be some artifice
practised in* the use of terms. An assertion cannot be true in
theology, and false in geology, or any department whatever of
scientific knowledge ; nor inversely. It really is an insult to men's
understandings, to admit indirectly, that there are affirmations or
doctrines in the records of revealed religion, which are disproved
by the clearest evidence of science ; and then to proscribe investi
gation, with a solemn pretence of mysteries not to be inquired
into, an hypocritical tone of reverence for sacred things. The
veil is transparent ; no man can be deceived by it : but it is
lamentable that any should attempt to deceive by it. We greatly
wrong the interests of knowledge, and prejudice our own improve
ment, when we but seem to admit that theology is an insulated
portion of science, which may be safely pursued by itself, and which
yields no advantages to other departments. True theology, on the
contrary, attracts to itself, illustrates, and harmonizes all other
knowledge. It is the science which relates to the Author and
Preserver of the whole dependent universe ; whatever may be
known concerning Him, for the noblest purposes of intellectual
improvement, of personal virtue, and of diffusive happiness. It
is formed by strict induction from the works and the word of
God ; natural notices, and positive revelation. It is the friend
of all science ; it appropriates all truth ; it holds fellowship with
no error.
2. It is impracticable. This kind of ban upon a reasonable, an
inevitable query, is never submitted to by any person of sound
understanding. Either he receives the assumption, — and, as its
consequence, he rejects covertly or openly the truth and authority
of the Bible ; or he searches out the matter fairly and fully, and
then he learns that the assumption is false.
Is it then the fact, that such fair and impartial inquiry will
bring out this result ? Is it, after all, an erroneous assumption,
that the declarations of Scripture and the sensible demonstrations
of geological science, pointedly contradict each other ? Does not
the Bible teach that the moment of the Supreme Being's first
putting forth his creating power, was only about six thousand
years ago t And do not the undeniable phenomena of stratification,
and other facts, demonstrate that our globe (to say nothing of the
rest of the solar system, and the astral universe,) has existed, has
passed through countless changes, such as are continually in pro-

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 453
gress, and others of a more intense character, which rational
estimation must suppose to have required a period for their pro-
duction'so vast as to fill us with astonishment, — which no calculator
ventures to lay down, — which probably amounts to millions and
millions of years ?
Fully admitting the assumptions in the last query, I deny that
of the preceding one.
It is to be lamented that the common habits of expression
nourish the opinion, that the authority of Scripture maintains the
commencement of dependent nature to have been as has been
stated : and it is scarcely less to be lamented, that theories have
been propounded for conciliating the facts of nature and the
Scripture narrative, which rest upon either a defective acquaint
ance with those facts, or a disregard to the plain use of language
in that narrative. Of the former kind are the schemes for finding
the time requisite for the terrene formations, in the period from
the creation of the first man to the Noachian Deluge ; of the
latter, those which interpret the days of successive operation,
laid down in the primeval record, as if they were indefinite periods.
It will appear evident to any one who will reflect upon the case,
that the records of revelation must have been written in the
phraseology and idioms of the people, and the age to which they
were given ; or they would have been unintelligible. Upon this
principle we account for the manner in which natural phenomena
are currently described ; and for the expressions which impute to
the Infinite Spirit the form, the organs, and the mental affections
of a human being ; and various other characteristics of the
parabolic style of the Hebrew Scriptures. Such language was a
condescension to the infirmities of mortals, and best adapted to
the instruction of the general mass of mankind : but it is self-
evident, that it must be interpreted in a manner congruous with
the perfect attributes of the Deity, and the reality of things.
A philological survey of the initial section of the Bible (Gen. i. 1,
to ii. 3,) brings out the result : —
i. That the first sentence is a simple, independent, all-compre
hending axiom, to this effect — that matter elementary or combined,
aggregated only or organized, and dependent sentient and intellectual
beings, have not existed from eternity, either in self-continuity or
succession, but had a beginning ; that their beginning, took place
by the all-powerful will of One Being, the Self-existent, Indepen
dent, and Infinite in all perfections ; and that the date of tha .
beginning is not made known.
ii. That, at a recent epoch, our planet was brought into a state o.
disorganization, detritus, or ruin, (perhaps we have no perfectly
appropriate term,) from a former condition.*
* I beg that this position may be understood .in the way which the preceding Lec
tures explain. Prof. Powell's volume awakened my closer attention and directed my

454 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
iii. That it pleased the Almighty, Wise, and Benevolent Supreme,
out of that state of ruin, to adjust the surface of the earth to its
now existing condition ; partly by the operation of the mechanical
and chemical causes (what we usually call Laws of Nature), which
Himself had established ; and partly, that is, whenever it was
necessary, by His own creative power, or other immediate inter
vention ; the whole extending through the period of six natural
days. It has been indeed maintained, that the conjunction and, with
which the next sentence begins, connects the succeeding matter
with the preceding, so as to forbid the intercalating of any con
siderable space of time. To this we reply, that the Hebrew con
junction, agreeably to the simplicity of ancient languages, expresses
an annexation of subject or a continuation of speech, in any mode
whatever, remote as well as proximate. For denoting such different
modes of annexation, the Greek and other languages have a variety
of particles ; but their use is in Hebrew compensated by the shades
of meaning which the tone in oral speech, and the connexion in
writing, could supply. To go no further than the first two leaves
of the Hebrew Bible, we find this copula rendered in our author
ized version, by thus, but, now, and also.
This interpretation is what I have been labouring to diffuse for
more than thirty years, in private and in public, by preachiDg, by
academical lecturing, and by printing. But it is not my interpreta
tion, though I believe that I originally derived it from the sole study
ofthe Bible-text. Clemens of "Alexandria, Origen, Basil, Chrysostom,
and Augustine, among the fathers (though not in a truly philoso
phical way, which was not to be expected), departed from the
vulgar notion: and some judicious interpreters of the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries have done the same, in particular,
Bishop Patrick and Dr. David Jennings. Of modern Scripture
critics I say nothing ; for prejudice, justly or unjustly, may lie
against them. Not that the question is to be settled by human
authority. Our only appeal for decision is to the Bible itself,
fairly interpreted. But the mention of venerable names may be
useful, to allay the apprehensions of some good persons, who only
hear obscurely of these subjects, and have not the means of fi/rm-
ing an independent judgment on solid grounds.
I, therefore, with many, feel greatly obliged to Dr, Buckland for
mind to what I regard as the more accurate interpretation of this verse, and which is
therefore maintained in these Lectures. Referring to the preceding paper, of which
he speaks in kind and courteous terms, he has represented me as conceiving "that
the beginning means an indefinitely long period, during which the successive formations
recognized by Geology may have taken place." " Connex. of Nat. and Div. Truth," p.
297. But I am persuaded that this representation arose from oversight. My intention
was to apply that word, not to a period, but to the first term of a period, the commence
ment of a series of operations ; and that therefore the verb created is to be understood
ifnsu prcegnanti, as the Hebrew grammarians say.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 455
having come in aid of this, which I believe to be, the true sense and
meaning of the sacred writers. I am framing no hypotheses in
Geology ; I only plead that the ground is clear, and that the dictates
of Scripture interpose no bar to observations and reasonings upon
the mineralogical constitution of the earth, and the remains of
organized creatures which its strata disclose. If those investiga
tions should lead us to attribute to the earth, and to the other
planetary and astral spheres, an antiquity which millions or ten
thousand millions of years might fail to represent, the divine
records forbid not their deduction. Let but the geologist maintain
what his science so loudly proclaims, that the universe around us
has been forhfed, at whatever epoch, or through whatever succes
sion of epochs, to us unknown, by the power and wisdom of an
Almighty First Cause. Let him but reject the absurdities of pre-
existent matter, of an eternal succession of finite beings, of forma
tions without a former, laws without a lawgiver, and nature with
out a God. Let him but admit that man is but of yesterday, and
that the design of revelation is to train him to the noblest purity
and happiness in the immortal enjoyment of his Creator's benefi
cence ; and he will find the doctrines of the Bible not an impedi
ment, but his aid and his joy.
I have written much more than I anticipated, and I will tax
your indulgence no longer ; otherwise, confirmation and illustra
tion might be brought from various passages of Scripture, and it
would plainly appear that a just interpretation of the idioms of
the Hebrew language, marked with archaic simplicity, would
show them to be susceptible of an unforced accommodation to
philosophical truth : just as, in every modern language, phrases
of current parlance, which, literally taken, would be absurd, are
continually used by the masters of science as well as by common
men. In such cases, error is neither given nor taken, und to
affect philosophical precision would be miserable pedantry. This
general principle may, I humbly think, be satisfactorily applied
to the account of the Noachian Deluge, and to the obviating of
some of its difficulties, though others will probably remain as a
proper test of our disposition to rely implicitly on ihe infinite
wisdom, goodness, and power of the glorious Author and Preserver
of all things ; " in whose hand are the deep places of the earth,
and the strength of the hills is His also." J. P. S.
Dec. 10, 1836.

456 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
[T.]
Referring to page VIZ.
ON MOUNT ARARAT.
M. Eugene Bore was sent by the French Academy of Inscrip
tions and Belles Lettres, on an oriental expedition for literary and
scientific purposes. He has lately sent home from Persia a Report
upon Chaldsea and its ancient and modern inhabitants. It has been
published in the " Revue Francaise," vol. xii.; and a large extract
is given in the "Semeur" of Oct. 2, 1839. From this article,
which contains much philological and historical information, I
extract a few sentences, tending to support the idea that the
resting-place of the ark was in some less elevated part of the
great mountain region to which the name of Ararat was anciently
given. " The Chaldeans inhabited the mountains whose extended chain
over Mossoul, Diarbekir, Van, and Suleimania, covers the country
with its innumerable ramifications. Secluded there and entrenched
as in an impregnable fortress, they have constantly maintained
themselves in their independence and wild liberty, which they
have ever prized above every other enjoyment. Those mountains
anciently bore the names of the Gorduian [Gordyasan f], Carduian,
or Cardou. — The Syriac Version of the Old Testament does not
say that the ark rested upon Mount Ararat, but on the top of
Mount Cardou.* On the place here pointed out by tradition, the
early Christians built the edifice which they called the Monastery
of the Ark ; in which they kept up an annual commemoration of
the patriarch with his family coming out of the ark. The Mahom-
medan dervishes to the present day maintain in this place a
perpetually burning lamp, in an oratory. — The mountains Cardou,
Macis as called by the Armenians, and Ararat, are only links of
the immense chain of the Taurus."

[U.]
Referred to at page 310.
THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY VINDICATED FROM MISREPRESENTATIONS.
In a recent publication, " The Stranger's Intellectual Guide to
London, for 1839-40," an account is given of the Geological
Society ; and in it occurs the following passage.
* The Syriac has Cardu, the Arabic Carda ,- but the difference is not essential, as
every one acqua..;ted with the Shemitic languages must know. The bearing of this
evidence is to support the opinions that the name Ararat in the Hebrew text was
intended to comprehend the whole mountainous district ; and that the ark rested in
Borne part of the lower, but yet hilly, region which lies eastward, and is called ia
Arrowsmith's maps, Karadaugh. The Latin Vulgate renders Arrarat by Armenia.

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 457
" The meetings of the Geological Society are perhaps the most
popularly interesting to their attendants of any in town, and each
member having the opportunity of admitting two visitors, the
capacious meeting-room is generally well fijled. The principal
interest of these meetings is however derived from the discussions
which arise after the papers are read, and which sometimes do
not assume a very scientific character. Geology is not generally
popular with the pubhc, and has not as yet sufficient claims to
make it so, the opinions of its advocates being split into party
theories, and the papers that are read before the Society giving
rise to discussion neither the most rational nor acceptable. What
is wanted in the reason is made up for in the jocularity of the
discussions, and sallies of wit usurp the place of the grave delibera
tions of science : what is wanted in argument made up from
deductions from close investigation, is met with in the sophistry
of the forum or debating-room. Sometimes it is to be lamented
that these discussions take a different character, being directed
against the fundamentals of revealed religion, and have a tendency
to subvert those doctrines which are the basis of our modern
civilization. From these circumstances the Society takes especial
care that their proceedings shall not be reported : the attendance
of every person from whom these might emanate being carefully
excluded from the meetings. Their own reports indeed appear
carefully worded, and supplied by their own secretaries, in the
' Literary Gazette' and the ' Athenaeum,' but in these accounts
all allusion to their discussions is avoided. In these respects the
Geological Society does not court the freedom of public discussion,
which, through the medium of the press, is allowed by every other
Society in the metropolis." — Pp. 77, 78.
It may be requisite to assure the reader that this paragraph is
copied with literal accuracy. The writer's representation of the
general character of Geology may be very safely left to itself,- as
an instance of the ancient practice not yet become uncommon,
that persons " speak evil of the things which they understand
not." But it contains insinuations and assertions which call for
attention : and I should think myself wanting in the observanoe
of moral duty, were I to neglect the opportunity afforded by the
publication of this volume, of bearing testimony to truth, and so
of counteracting injurious representations. To any candid thinker
it must appear an unreasonable expectation, that any person that
pleases should be allowed to take notes of the papers, conversa
tions, and discussions of any scientific or literary institution, and
to publish them. No Society of respectability and honour would
submit to such an intrusion. Besides other obvious objections,
this one immediately presents itself; the contingency, -not to call
it a certainty, that mistakes and misrepresentations would be

458 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
committed, and those often of the most serious import, even by
well-intentioned reporters.
The impropriety of this complaint is, however, a small thing, in
comparison with other parts of the passage. The writer does not
say, that some instance may have occurred, or even more than
one, in which a speaker had uttered sentiments irreconcileable to
reason or piety. The reflection would then have arisen, that no
society to whose objects unreserved discussion is essential, could
prevent such an occurrence, or ought to be held answerable for it,
unless it had manifested approbation, or at least connivance. I
do not say this as an apology for any known fact, for I have never
heard of such an occurrence. But the writer evidently strives to
produce the impression, that scientific investigation is not the
chief object of the Society's meetings, that it is made only a mask
for the effecting of other purposes, that the most momentous
truths of religion are assailed with scoffs, in the guise of witticism
and sophistry as the substitute for argument, that infidel and
immoral principles are bandied about, and that the Society gives
encouragement and protection to such a course of proceeding.
I feel it my duty to declare that, to the best and utmost of my
knowledge, these accusations are contrary to truth and exceedingly
unjust. My great affliction, extreme deafness, restricts my advan
tage, in attending the meetings of the Geological Society, almost
entirely to the inspection of the specimens, sections, and figures.
Yet I am a constant attendant : and, if infidel or otherwise irreli-
gous and immoral sentiments were propounded by any of the
speakers, I am not unprovided with the means of receiving in
formation ; and those means would not have been ineffectual. I
am well assured that, even if in any long past time it may have
happened that opinions or insinuations have been broached, of the
character which this author alleges, the blame has rested on the
offending person, and could, upon no principle of equity, have
been imputed to the Society : and, from my own knowledge, I am
persuaded that, were such a thing to occur, it would be met by
a strong expression of disapprobation from the chair, and by the
general sense of the meeting. But I can go farther. I have sought
information from some of the oldest, most active, and most influ
ential Fellows of the Society ; and upon good authority I am
enabled to say that the accusations are not true. One of those
gentlemen, whose means of knowledge are ample to a degree that
few men can obtain, has written to me: "I can fully bear testi
mony to the entire correctness of what is stated in your Note, in
contradiction of the calumnious assertions with regard to the
discussions at the Geological Society. — I can truly say, that no
discussions or observations hostile to Revealed Religion, or treating
it with levity, have ever been heard by me at the Society's meet
ings ; nor do I believe that in so large and respectable an assembly,

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 459
generally attended and often presided over by Ministers of religion,
any such would be for a moment attempted or permitted."
The abstracts of papers read in the Society are printed for the
use of its members, under the title of " Proceedings ;" and brief.
statements, with the approbation of the Society, are sent to the
two journals mentioned, by a gentleman in whose ability and
accuracy the fullest confidence may be placed. By this method,
the public is furnished with correct information, instead of being
left to the reports of incompetent persons, which could scarcely
be any other than defective and misrepresenting.
Sec. ed. This testimony is confirmed by one of the brightest
ornaments of the Society, who has written thus, Nov. 16, 1839.
"  1 was greatly surprised at your extract [from the book
referred to in this Note], for its shameless untruth. During more
than twenty years I have been a member of the Geological
Society, and very frequently have attended its meetings ; and I
never once heard an expression directed against the fundamentals
of religion, nor would any sneer at Revealed Truth be tolerated
for one instant. And what does this vituperative author mean,
when he says that our Society ' does not court the freedom of
public discussion which is allowed by every other Society in the
metropolis ?' These words at least prove that ignorance and
malevolence often go together. The other chartered philosophical
Societies of London, so far as I know them, have no discussion or
debate upon the Memoirs submitted to them. Our debates are
the exception, not the rule ; and I am certain we do right in
excluding reporters, who would mangle what we now say in the
utmost confidence of a mutual good understanding.  "

ADDENDA.

In addition to the observations which conviction of duty and, I
must say, painful feeling, led me to make in pp. 96 and 429, upon
the common practice of seeming to deify Nature, I beg attention
to some remarkable passages from the Chevalier de Lamarck, (who
died a few years ago, at the age of near 90,) to whose talents as a
zoologist and a botanist, every person does homage, but whose
doctrine of the production of all the species of organized beings,
from " appetency," and in the way of " progressive development,"
it may be hoped has not many adherents. May it answer good
purposes, as an admonitory specimen of the hallucinations in
highly gifted minds ! — Mr. Lyell felt it necessary, after giving a
lucid exposition of that hypothesis, to assure his readers that his
sketch was " no exaggerated picture." " Princip." iii. 22. B. iii.
ch. 1.
It is no wonder that Lamarck has been charged with atheism.
But, unless we impute to him hypocrisy and fraud, (for which I
believe that no just ground could be laid,) great regard is due to
both his arguments and the language in which he clothes them,
upon the absurdity of identifying Nature with God.
I first avail myself of Mr. Lyell's summary. "Nature — is not
an intelligence, nor the Deity ; but a delegated power, — a mere
instrument, — a piece of mechanism acting by necessity, — an order
of things constituted by the Supreme Being, and subject to laws
which are the expressions of his will. This Nature is obliged to
proceed gradually in all her operations."
The following passages are from the celebrated work, " His-
toire Naturelle des Animaux sans Vertfebres ;" 8 vols. Paris,
1815—1822. " In all that belongs to nature, every thing is connected, every
thing is dependent, every thing is the result of a common plan,
followed constantly, but varied infinitely in its parts and details."
Vol. i. " Introd." p. 259.
" Man, having acquired sufficient knowledge to elevate himself
to the Supreme Being, by reflection, aided by the observations of
nature or by any other methods, this grand sentiment has become
the stay of his hope, and has inspired him with religious feelings,
and directed him to the duties which they enjoin." P. 298.
"  That intelligent and infinite power which has brought into
existence all the physical beings that we observe." P. 305.
" The different bodies " [elementary, or components of the organ-

SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES. 461
ized — ?] "that we are acquainted with, — showing themselves to be
(according to all appearance) the same, in all times, and with the
same qualities or faculties, must be as old as nature herself, and
must have derived their existence from the same cause which gave
nature hers." P. 308.
Nature is, " in one word, a power which itself exists only by the
will of a power which is superior and infinite, and which as being
the founder, is really the author of all that proceeds from it, that
is, of all that exists." P. 311.
" The physical universe will subsist as it is, so long as the will of
its sublime author shall permit." P. 316.

Fourth ed. Upon this subject I gladly offer to the benefit of
those upon whom my remarks may have seemed to verge on severity,
a passage from Herder, " the great man, — the citizen, the philo
sopher, the poet, — all whose endeavours were characterized by the
purest and noblest humanity." {Menzel.)
" Let no man distress himself, for this reason or any approach to
it, that I sometimes make a personified use of the name of Nature.
Nature is no independent being; but God is all, in his works.
My desire at least was, that I might not, by too frequent use, in
which I might fail to maintain its sanctity, misuse the most holy
name ; which no one deserving to be called a rational creature
should utter without the deepest reverence. Let the man, to
whom the word Nature, as employed by many writers of our age,
has become unmeaning and low, put mentally in its place the
Almighty Power, Wisdom, and Goodness ; and in his soul
worship that Invisible Being to whom no language of earth can
give the right and full name." " Ideen zur Philosophie der
Geschichte der Menschen ;" Vorrede, p. 16. Carlsruhe, 1790.

The following remarks of the eminent Palaeontologist, Agassiz,
have a striking interest. They refer to the succession of the forms
of animal life in the fossiliferous strata, through periods incalculably
vast. Let the reader compare with p. 252 the supplementary
Note F. " The progressive concatenation [enchainement] of the
four classes of Vertebrata is a fact which, in all respects and in a
manner very remarkable, consists with the uniform and parallel
development of all the classes of Invertebrata. The gradation of
the Vertebrata is even the more remarkable as it is joined on
immediately to the introduction of the human species [d la venue
de VhommeJ] whom we may regard as not only the term but also
the object [but] of all this development." "Poissons Fossiles;"
p. xix. 

462 SUPPLEMENTAEY NOTES.
On this final page, I copy the prayer with which Bacon begins
and concludes his " Instauratio Magna;" beseeching all my readers
to join me in its sincere aspiration.
"  Si quid profecerimus, non alia sane ratio nobis viam
aperuit quam vera et legitima spiritus humani humiliatio. 
Quamobrem,  ad Deum Petrem, Deum Verbum, Deum
Spiritum, preees fundimus humillimas et ardentissimas, ut
humani generis serumnarum memores et peregrinationis istius
vitas in qua dies paucos et malos terimus, novis suis eleemosynis
per manus nostras familiam humanam dotare dignetur. Atque
illud insuper supplices rogamus, ne humana divinis officiant;
neve ex reseratione viarum sensus et accensione majore luminis
naturalis, aliquid incredulitatis animis nostris erga divina mysteria
oboriatur ; sed potius, ut ab intellectu puro a phantasiis et vani-
tate repurgato et divinis oraculis nihilominus subdito et prorsus
dedititio, fidei dentur quae fidei sunt : postremo, ut scientiae veneno
a serpente infuso quo animus humanus tumet et inflatur deposito,
nee altum sapiamus nee ultra sobrium, sed veritatem in charitate
colamus."

INDEX.

Adanson, Michael, the eminent natu
ralist, on the Baobab tree, 408.
Agassiz, Prof. ; his hypothesis of an
ancient low temperature of the north
ern hemisphere, 70. On the fishes of
the Old Red Sandstone, 889. On the
glaciers, 400. On the gradations of
fossil animal species, 400.
Agency, Divine, in intellectual greatness,
313.
American aborigines : their moulding in-
fant's sculls, 348.
Animalcules, fossil, 89, 392.
Animals ; what kinds, provided for in the
ark, 144, 266, 272. Estimated number
of existing species, 145.
Annihilation of any thing, an unfounded
opinion, 203.
Antediluvian hypothesis, and objections
to it, 188.
Antiquity of the Earth, 69, 211, 360.
Arabs, proposed as the standard human
figure, 350.
Ararat, mount, 273, 456.
Asia, districts of; their low level, 275.
Astronomy, its alliance with geology, 14.
Evidence from, to the immense anti
quity of creation, 329.
Athenians ; their popular notion of their
own origin, 354.
Auvergne, volcanic region of, 134, 383.
407. Christian piety in that district,
404. Erroneous statements from Sido
nius, 407.
Babbage, Charles, Esq. ; on the supposed
contradiction of Geology and tbe Bible,
10. On the antiquity of the earth, 72,
1 06, 362. On the Mosaic account of the
creation, 177. On the responsibility of
man, and its eternal consequences, 301.
On the mechanical effect of the central
heat, 368. On the rings of growth in
fossil-trees, 410.
Baily, Francis ; the late eminent astrono
mer, 43.
Baxter, Richard ; on the possibility of an
antecedent world, 294.
Biblicus Delvinus, an anonymous writer
on Geology, 200.

Binney, E. W., Esq. : on the origin of coal
423.
Blumenbach, John Fred., Prof, PhyBiol.
Gotting ; his belief of the unity of the
human species, 65.
Botany, recommended as the beginning of
studies in Natural History, 288.
Bowman, J. E. Esq. ; on the longevity of
trees, 400.
Brown, Rev. J. Mellor ; his strictures on
the author of this book, 9. His
charges against Geology, 173. His
fallacious and pernicious reasonings.
174.
Buckland, Rev. "William, D.D., Dean of
Westminster ; on the connexion of sci
ences, 4. His Bridgewater Treatise re
commended, 35, 153, 827, 377, 451. On
valleys of denudation, 109. On diluvial
formations, 123. On supposed conces
sions, 153. On " the Sentence of
Death," 268. On microscopic Bhells,
892.
Burnett, Dr. Thomas ; his Theory of the
Earth, 88.
Csesar, his notice of country round Cler
mont, in the Puy de Dome, 139.
Calvin, on the right and duty of examina
tion, 151. On Genesis, i., 166. On
Rom. viii. 21, 205.
Carnivorous animals; designed by the
Creator, 263. Their use, 88. Their ex
istence in all periods of life upon the
earth, 819, 322.
Carpenter, \V. B., M.D. ; his Principles
of Physiology, 890. On the woody
layers, 413.
Cause, the Supreme : 22, 34, 244, 308,
374, 378, 885, 391, 394, 429, 438, 461.
Chalk formation, 368, 383.
ChalmerB, Rev. Dr. j his application of the
doctrine of chances, 19. On the anti
quity of the earth, 31, 259. On the dis
closures by the microscope, compared
with telescopic discoveries, 894.
Change, perpetual, in the universe, 32,
306.
Chaos, universal, not admitted, 73, 247,
250.

464

INDEX,

Characterism of rocks and organic re
mains, 57.
Charlesworth, Edw., Esq ; his Magazine
of Natural History, on the early efforts
of William Smith, 57. His merits as a
naturalist, 416.
Christian Observer ; on the futility of an-
tigeological objections, 170, 189, 199,
211. On the duty of studying the great
questions in Geology, 294. On the law
of death, 329.
Christianity not necessarily committed
to the belief of only one race of men,
354.
Chronology ; Bystems of Usher, and Halen,
and Wallace, 188, 409. Geological ; its
difficulties, 360.
Cleavage and joints, 372.
Coal-formations, 370, 385, 414, 415, 420,
422.
Cockburn, Dr. Wm,, Dean of York ; his
Letter to Professor Buckland, 196.
Cold and heat, extreme ; ability of men
to bear, 65.
Cole, Rev. Henry ; his writings against
Geology, 156.
Conchology ; its peculiar interest, and re
lation to Geology, 379.
Ob-nybeare, late Rev. John Josias ; his
discovery of the Snowdon early fossil-
casls, 375.
 , Rev. W- D., D.D., Dean of
Llandaff, on ascertained Geological
factB, 25. His description of the sub
sidences near Lyme, 51. His and Mr.
William Phillips's Outlines of English
Geology, recommended, 327. On the
moral tendency of Geology, 432.
Copernican system ; opposed by divines,
both Roman Catholic and' Protestant,
232, 235.
Coral Reefs, 61.
Cosmogony ; the Egyptian system of com
pared with the Mosaic, 423.
Creation, not universal at any one point
of time, 64. The Mosaic account, 16.
176, 185, 219, 237, 243, 249, 438, 441,
448, 453. Not proceeding from any
single centre, 82. The Adamic ; con
ceived to relate only to one region of
the earth, 250, 253. Successive opera
tions, 251, 255. The heavenly bodies,
v.56. The animal structure, 258. The
human female, 259. "Vegetable life,
252. Animals, 253. Statement in the
fourth commandment, 244. No intrin
sic reason for supposing the recent com
mencement of creation, 292.
Cumbrian and Cambrian rocks, 366.
Cuvier, Baron George ; hint of his geolo
gical views, 31. On the Deluge, 39.
His sagacity and anticipations in rela
tion to Geology, 104, 107. On Dr. Buek-
land's researches in bone caves, 108.
His geological character, 107. Hia death
and genera! character, 105.

Dana, Rev. Dr. *, on Scripture difficulties
295.
Darwin, Charles. Esq. ; on the South
American shingle formation, 114, 133.
On the longevity of trees, 411. On ele
vations of land, 373. On the crust of
the earth, 334.
Davison, Rev. Dr. ; his Discourses on
Prophecy "referred to, 437, 443.
Death ; necessary in a system of organic
life, 86, 260, 263, 320. Demonstrated
geologically, 89, 319, 329. Attaching
to the infra-human animals, while man
remained innocent, 262, 325. How man
before the fall was exempted from death,
263.
De Candolle, Augustin Pyramus, Prof.
Genev. ; on vegetable regions, 64. On
the longevity of trees, 410, 414*
De la Beohe, Sir Henry Thomas ; his
works recommended, 35. On drift in
Jamaica, 133. On the organic remains
in the earlier fossiliferous rocks, 337.
De Larrey,on the human prototype, 350, 352.
Deluge, 89, its moral reason, 90, 189.
Scripture Narrative, 90, 91. Its date,
187. The fact evinced by history and
national traditions, 92. Its relation to
geological considerations, 94, 100, 102,
107, '109, 125, 127, 131, 132, 138, 143,
144, 147. Not extending over the whole
globe, 133, 140, 276. Summary of argu
ments against the common opinion, 264.
Examination of the terms in which it is
described, 268, 281.
Denudation, 54. An instructive instance,
371-
Deshayes, M„ on the separate groups of
fossil animals, 78, 130.
Devonian system of formations, (Old Red
Sandstone,) 366, 371, 377, 384, 387.
Didelphys Bueklandi, 76. Controversy
upon, 378.
Diodorus Siculus, on the Egyptian mythi,
424.
Districts, animal, 62, 85 : botanical, 64.
D'Orhigny, on the Geology of South Ame
rica, 66.
Drift, or diluvium, 62, 321. Extensive, 11L
Of different ages, 113, 386. Silurian,
114. North British, 115. Eastern, 1J7.
North European, 119. North American,
119. In Jamaica, 133. Patagonian, ib.
Extensively produced by currents at the
bottom of the ocean, 134.
Earth ; importance of its Natural History,
34. Extent of our acquaintance with
its structure, ib. Elevation and frac
turing. 39, 49. Advantages of such dis
locations, 39. Interior constitution, 42,
171,303. Specific gravity, 42. Thickness
of its crust, ib. 334. Primary condition,
249. Constancy of its axis, 336. Mean
ings of the term in the Hebrew Scrip
tures, 270. Its immense antiquity 69.
72, 110, 170, 211, 292, 317, 325, 360.

IUDEX.

465

Edinburgh. Review ; on successions of
creatures and geological disclosure, 107.
Its excellent articles on James Hutton.
Buckland, and Lyell, 47. On Cuvier,
107.
Edwards, Pres., on progressive knowledge
of the Scriptures, 445.
Ehrenberg, Prof. Berl., on the microscopic
animalcules, 322. Summary of his dis
coveries, by I. M. of Geneva, 395.
More recent researches. 396.
Elevation of land, 49, 276, 303, 323, 369,
434.
Erratic blocks ; see Drift.
Evidence, sensible, 17. Moral, 18. To be
faithfully followed, 19, 300.
Fairholme, George, Esq. ; his writings on
Geology, 192.
Fathers, the early Christian writers ; their
general repugnance to physical re
searches, 231. Upon the interpretation
of Genesis i., 163, 454.
Fichte, John Gottl. ; on the first human
beings, 220.
Fitton, William Henry, M.D. ; his " Ge
ology of Hastings," recommended, 35.
Fleming, Rev. Dr. John ; on the speedy
obliteration of traces of the Deluge,
101.
Flourens ¦(Seer. Acad. Sc. Par.), on human
races, 351.
Forbes, Edw. Prof. ; on the former climate
of Britain, 70.
Francis, G. W. Esq. ; his Botanical works
recommended, 289.
Galileo ; observations upon his case, 282.
His views of Bible interpretation, 242.
Geddes, Dr. Alexander, on Genesis i., 167,
444.
Genesis, the sacred hook ; comprises seve
ral distinct compositions, 184. Illus
trations of its commencing portion, 159,
163, 185, 198, 220, 224, 229, 237, 243,
256, 259.
Geological Society vindicated from mis
representation, 457.
Geological time, not as yet reducible to
our common measures, 136, 325, 360,
362, 366, 370, 373, 376, 377, 382.
Geologists, distinguished; their credibi-
litj', 6. Instances of their fidelity to
evidence, 110. Charges against them
repelled, 157, 163, 175, 457.
Geology ; its nature as a study, its objects
and design, 1. Relation to other
branches of science, 7, 24. Intentions
and value, 2, 15, 24, 291, 299. Pre
requisites for the study, 3. Objections
against, 7. Apparent discrepance with
the Scriptures, 7, 68, 152, 323. Wrong
fulness and injurious effect of such an
opinion, 9, 11, 25, 163, 175, 453. Com
prehension of our knowledge respecting,
41, 66. Vindicated against ignorant
and assuming misrepresentation, 157,
163, 209, 297. Especial importance of H

this study to Christian ministers,* 2D9.
Recommendations, with respect to it,
35, 326. Its moral tendency, 1, 384,
386, 387, 434, 455.
Gifts, extraordinary; in the Apostolic
Churches, 149.
Gisborne, Rev. Thomas, Preb Durham J
his " Considerations on Modern Theo
ries of Geology," 195.
Glacier Theory, 400.
Gneissic rocks, 365.
Gon ; his necessary perfections, 22, 215,
242, 374. Represented in Scripture by
condescending imagery, 217, 241. To
bo acknowledged in all scientific pur
suits, 97, 309, 386. Our knowledge of
the Deity rests upon analogy, 215.
That analogy is in various forms, 217,
221, 226.
Granitic rocks, 43, 365.
Grant, Rob., E-, M.D., Prof.; on the plan
of creation, 386.
Greenough, George B., Esq.; his Geolo
gical Map, 35. His change of senti
ment with regard to the Deluge, 129.
Harcourt, Rev. William Vernon ; his vin
dication of Geology, 259.
Harris, John, D.D. ; his "Pre-Adamite
Earth" recommended, 35.
Hartley, Rev. J ohn ; on the moral state
of Thiers, in the Puy de Dome, 404.
Hawkins, Thomas, Esq. ; on the Ichthy
osauri and Plesiosauri, 89, 377.
Heat, internal, of the earth ; 42, 46, 171,
303.
Hebrew language ; well understood, 178.
Its conjunctive prefix, 248. Idioms for
a great and indefinite number, 236.
Henslow, Rev. Prof. ; on vegetable- re
gions, 64. On the longevity of trees,
409.
Herschel, Sir William ; on celestial dis- ¦
tances, 329. On the number of heavenly
bodies, 330.
Herschel, Sir John William Fred. ; on
the harmony of truth, 20. On Mr. Lyell's
" Principles of Geoloy," 209. On the
necessity of Mathematics to Natural
Philosophy, 287. , On the working of the
earth's internal heat, 368.
Hitchcock, Rev. Edw , LL.D., Prof. ; on
the ignorance and unfairness of dis
tinguished opponents of Geology, 28.
His " Elementary Geology," recom
mended, 35. His judgment of Fair-
holme, Kirby, and Granville Penn, 28,
193. On deluges and drift, 132. On
the grand law of the world, 381. On
the relation of Geology to the Divine
Government, 434.
Hopkins, William, Esq- ; his application
of the highest mathematics to geological
investigation, 24, 335, 373. ,-
Human petrifaction of Brussels, a mistake,
364.
Human species, varieties of, 347.

466

Hutton, James, M„D.,; his merits in Geo-
' ' logy. 4£. '
¦ Hutton, William, Esq., of Newcastle-
*upon-Tyne ; joint authpr wfth Prof.
Lindley, ofthe " Fpssil F^ora," 416.
Iceland ; the seat of tremendous volcanic
action, 304,
Induction ; cautious, at length successful,
'52.
Jameson, Robert Esq., Professor ; on, the
non-existence of vestiges of the Deluge,
101,
Jarchi, Rabbi Solom., on Gen. i. 166, 266.
Java ; volcanic eruptions of awful violence
in that island, 305.
Jennings, Rev., Dr. David ; on the Mosaic
description ofthe Creation, 166.
Job, scripture poetical book of ; passages
of emphatic sublimity, 216, 229, 230.
Joshua ; the sun and the moon standing
stilj, 145.
Judasa ; its advantages as a country, 32.
Kennedy's Scripture Chronology, on the
'Mosaic account of the heavenly bodies,
245..
King, Edward, Esq. ; on the time of
creation, 167- On the primary ancestry
of mankind, 355.
Knowledge, human ; its imperfection, 286.
Lactantius ridicules the idea of the sphe-
ricity'of the earth, 231.,
Lamarck, . M., on the application of the
word Nature, 428, 46,6.
Lawrence, John, Esq. ; on the rete muco-
sum, 353. On the unity of the human
Bpecies, 354.
Leibnitz ; his scientific anticipations, 99.
Life, animal; earliest appearance of, 74,
375.
Light, before the Adamic, Creation, 78.
Periods of its transmission, 331, 333.
Li^ht oot, Dr., on 2 Pet. iii., 205.
Lindley, Dr. and Professor; his recom
mendation of Botanical studies and
works to promote them, 289. His ad
monition to young botanists, ib. His
and Mr. W. Hutton's " Fossil Flora,"
416, 421. On the formation of Coal,
418. On the Adansonia digitata (Bao
bab) 410. On the relative antiquity of
organic remains, 41,8, 421.
Link, Prof., on the unity of, the human

London, University of ; its requirements
for matriculation, 288.
Longevity of trees, 148, 408.
Lonsdale, William, Esq. ; his discoveries
of fossil microscopic shells, 321. On the
number and magnitude of the early fos
sils, 338.
Luther ; on the right and duty of inde
pendent inquiry, 151. His exposition
of the Mosaic narrative of the Crea
tion, 160. His sound judgment and
moderation ; and vindication of rational
inquiry, ib.

Lyell, Charles, junr , Esq ; his works re
commended, 35,, 209„327,392- .Dr. Silli-
man's eulogy, 430- On the deposit of
the Ganges, 60. On the, earth's suscep
tibility of conflagration, 205. Remarks
op his " Principles .of Geology," 208,
423, 427- On the proportions' , of fossil
and .recent shells,. 379. On successions
of species, 378. , Travels in N,qrth Ame
rica,. 132,*"389., On the Niagara, ib. On
the Delta, of the Mississippi, 390. On
the errors drawn from Sidonius, 407,,
Mac Combie (1842), on the physical, state
of our first parents before the fall,
260.
Macculloch, John, M.D.; his works re
commended, 328, 370. On the early
strata, 366. On the immensity of the
geological periods, 370.
Maclaren, Charles, Esq. ; his Geology of
Fifeshire and the Lothians, 36, 72, 202.
On the ancient beaches of Glen Roy,
374.
Man ; only one speeies, 65, 347. Belongs
to the most recent epoch of creation,
361, 387, 434.
Mantell, G. Algernon, Esq. LL,D ; his
geological works recommended, 35, 246,
392.
Microscopic fossil animalcules, 88, 392.
Miller, Hugh ; his illustrations of Drift,
117. On the old red sandstone, 387-
Mines ; the deepest, 37-
Miracles ; not to be rashly assumed, 79,
81, 140. 146, 147- Their nature, 79.
Their design, propriety, and importance,
80. Supported by argument from Geo
logy, 433.
Morton, Dr. ; on skulls of American
nations, 348.
Moses ; his fidelity and, divine mission
inseparable from Christianity, 182, 184,
273, 431, 435, 438, 445, 449. His man
ner of conveying divine -truths, 224,
250, 256—258, 440, 445, 446.
Motion ; constant, but regulated, 33, 296,
306.
Mountains ; the highest, 37, 147.
Mucous membrane of the human skin,
351.
Murchison, Sir Roderick Impey ; his works
recommended, 35. On successive crea
tions, 67. His eulogium on Cuvier, 105.
Illustrations of Drift, 119. On the or
ganic remains of the early fossiliferous
systems, 337. On the moral impression
from geological phenomena, 250, 374.
On the succession of fossils, 421. His
"Silurian System," 337, 366, 374, 418.
Mythic hypothesis of the German Anti-
supernaturalists, 442.
Mythology; Egyptian, 424.
Nature ; on using, the term as a substitute
for the Deity,, 96, 460.
Nearider^Aisg. Prof, Berl. ; on the errors
of anthropomorphism, 228.

INDEX.

467

Nebular hypothesis ; Prof. Nichol upon,
246.*
Northampton, Marquis of; his micro
scopic discoveries, 392.
Obligation, moral, 22, 301.
Oolitic formations, 377.
Organic remains, 54, 58, 74.
 — t in the strata of the earth,
54, 319—321, 337, 367, 375, 379, 382, 385,
420, 422, 358, 460.
Owen, Dr. John ; on 2 Pet. iii., 206.
 , Prof. Richard, M.D. ; his researches
in fossil anatomy, 378.
Patrick, Bishop ; on Genesis i„ 165.
Penn, Granville, Esq. ; his theories, 191.
Perere ; his PrsB- Adamites, 355.
Phillips, Prof. John; his works recom
mended, 35, 327- His geological map,
45. On the unbroken series of creations,
66. On the coal-beds, 417. On the
gneiss, 366. On changes of species, 380.
Philosophy; ignorant declamation against,
161.
Phryganea ; their habits, 383.
Phrygia, volcanic region of, 139.
Plutarch ; on the Egyptian mythology, 426.
Poole, the commentator ; on the Deluge,
277.
Population, antediluvian ; not great, 272.
Its seat, 275, 277.
Powell, Rev* Prof. ; his belief of a. reli
gious spirit in philosophers, 48. His
hypothesis on the Mosaic earliest re
cords, 178, 179, 435. His valuable con
tributions to theology, 177. His remon
strance to objectors against the long
periods established by Geology, 296.
His protest against formal and tra
ditional religion, 311. The author's
obligation to him, 453. On explaining
the fourth commandment, 449. His
works on Tradition and Education, re
commended, 178, 450.
Prichard, James Cowles, M.D.; on ani
mal regions, 64. On the unity of the
human species, 65, 347, 356, 357. 'His
inclination of opinion on the Deluge,
279. On affinities of remote nations, .
'347, 358. His "Natural History of
Man," 357.
Frideaux, Bishop ; on 2 Pet. iii. 205.
Puy de. Dome ; see Auvergne.
Quadrumanous fossil remains, 362.
Quarterly Review, on the volcanic region
of Auvergne, 136, 407.
Quekett, Edwin J., Esq., on the Infusoria,
397.
Raffles, Sir T. S. ;¦ his account of volcanic
devastation in Sumbawa, 305.
* To that Note, page 247, add :— For the more extensive information, and other rich
treasures of . Stellar and Solar Astronomy, consult Sir John Herschel's magnificent
work, which presents 73 accurate and beautiful figures of nebulas, — " Results of
Astronomical Observations made during the years 1834, 5, 6, 7, 8, at the Cape of Good
Hope ; being the completion of a Telescopic survey of the whole Surface of the Visible
Heavens, commenced in 1825 : " royal quarto, 472 pages, London, 1847

Reade, Rev. Joseph Bancroft; on the
microscopic animalcules, 392.
Red Sandstone, Old ; see Devonian.
Red Sandstone, New, 368, 377.
Redemption ; its importance and glory, 82.
Redford, Rev. Dr. ; on the antiquity of
creation, 168.
Regions of apimal and vegetable nature ;
fossil, 59. Recent, 63, 83.
Religion; its necessary connexion with
Theology, 13. The dignity and happi
ness of man, 149, 283. Its pure nature,
297. Its attractions, 308, 311.
Responsibility, 301, 310.
Revelation ; its evidence, 14, 23. Its
necessity,, 32. Harmonious with science,
yet using the then current style, 14,
178, 218, 227, 230, 236, 241, 257, 269, 282,
Its style and illustrations, adapted to the
capacities of men, 220. Its employment
of imagery derived from human nature,
to represent the Deity, 217- Finally
completed by Christianity, 242. Neces
sity of studying, with serious applica
tion, 298, 309.
Rhind, Mr. William ; on the age of the
earth, 201. His opinion upon vegetable
structure, 409.
Richardapn's (G. F. Esq.) "Geology for
Beginners," recommended, 36.
Rocks ; pyrogenpus, 41, 374. Stratified,
44 ; see Stratification.
Roget, P. Mark, M.D. ; on using the term
Nature, 97.
Romaine, Rev. W. ; on the manner in
which the Deity is.revealed, 281.
Rosenmuller, the elder; on the Mosaic
records, 431,
Ross, Sir James Clarke ; his Antarctic
Voyage ; and on the Baobab, 415. On
the coal of Kerguelen's Island, 418-
Russeger, on the Baobab, 408.
Science ; connexions of, 3, 6. Duty of
cultivating, 283 ; by personal effort, 288.
Its benefits, 298. Its tendency to reli
gion, 378-
Scientific men ; their advantages and re
sponsibility, 309. Their high motives
to piety, 310.
Scripture ; the genuine sense to be sought,
23, 214, 227, 282, 453. , Dissonance with
Geology, only in superficial appearance,
68, 152, 281, 308. Not designed to con
vey philosophical knowledge, 181, 257,
461. Its certain truth, 214. Its con
descending manner, 217. Its style with
regard to natural objects, 228, 233, 237,
239, 256, 258, 380. Its manner and style
in describing the Deity, 220, 227, 280.

468

rBTDEX.

Injurious effects of not Justly interpret-
ing its figurative language, 296, 432.-
'Scrbpe, C. Poulett, Esq.; on the geological
phenomena of Central France, 137. On
the antiquity of the earth, 373.
Sea. depth of, 36.
Sea-beaches, 113, 373.
Sedgwick, Rev. Prof. ; on the opponents
of Geology, 28, 382. On its general cha-
racterandinterest, 29,291. On diluvium
and deluges, 126, 385. On Mr. Lyell's
principal work, 210. On the misunder
standing of the figurative language of
Scripture, 242. On symmetrical divi
sions of early rocks, 373. Observations
in the Alps, 368. The author's obliga
tions to him, 382. On the evidence of
the earth's antiquity, ib.
Sediment, deposited by water, 60, 365, 368,
371, 418.
Sheppard, John, Esq. ; his lecture on
Fossil Osteology, and other works, re
commended, 204.
Silliman, Benj. M.D., Prof. Yale College;
on the duty of Christian ministers to
become acquainted with Geology, 299.
On Coal-formations, 417.
Silurian System of rocks, 366, 367, 376,
421.
Smith, Dr. William ; his services to Geo
logy, 56.
Soinerville, Mrs.; on the distribution of
plants, 85.
Species of animal remains*, their range,
57. Number and proportion, 54, 57,
337, 379. Different regions, 59, 63.
Vertical penetration, 62. Position, ib.
Species, h-.iraan; varieties of, 347. Model
race, 350. Characteristic differences,
355.
Sprongel, Kurt, M.D., distinguished for his
extraordinary attainments in classical
and oriental learning, and in natural
science ; — his account of the Adansonia,
408.
Stillingfleet, Bishop ; on the Deluge, 276.
Stonesfield fossil, 75, 383.
Strabo's opinions on some geological phae
nomena, 95.
Stratification ; 39, 45, 50, 52, 323, 365, 369,
372, 383. Order, 39, 56, 211. Disposition
and Texture, 45. Influenced by heat,
46. Erroneous reasoning upon, 418, 422.
Strickland and Hamilton, on the extinct
volcanoes of Western Phrygia, 138.
Strove, F. G. W., Prof. Univ. of Poltawa ;
on the transmission of the stellar light,
338.
Subsidence, 49. At Axmouth, &c. 51.
Sumner, Dr John Bird, Bishop of Chester;
on concessions mutually of Geology and
Biblical Science, 153. On the relation
of the Mosaic records to Geology, 432

Swainson, William, Esq. ; on animal
regions, 64.
Targum of Uzziel; on the creation w
Man, 352.
Taxodium, an American tree, 409.
Taylor, Rich., Esq.; Scientific Memoirs,
393.
 Dr. W. C. ; on the Egyptian anti
quities, 352.
Tertiary strata ; their constitution and
extent, 369, 418. Their organic remains, '
383.
Theology ; Its mental and practical nature,
13. Its alliances with all knowledge,
and its harmony with sound philosophy,
452.
Time ; its reference to Geology, 69, 72, 210,
360, 370, 373—376, 380, 383, 387, 388, 434.
Truth ; scientific and religious, ever con
sistent, 23, 24. Its nature and various
aspects, 18.
Turner, Edward, M.D. ; his merits in geo
logical and other science ; his character,
and his death, 311.
 Sharon, Esq. ; his observations on
geological subjects, 197.
Universal geological formations ; not ad-
" mitted, 63.
Universe ; dependent, 21. Distinction
from the Independent Cause, 22.
Vegetation ; simple primitive distribution
252.
Volcanic action, 39, 42, 43, 303.
Volcanoes of Auvergne, &c. 134.
Von Sehouw ; on vegetable regions, 64.
Wardlaw, Rev. Dr. ; on the antiquity oi.
Creation, 167.
Ware, Prof. Henry; on the Astral Uni
verse, 334.
Water, fresh and salt, effects of, 146.
Watson, Rev. Richard; on the Mosaic
descriptions, 279.
Whately, Dr., Archbishop of Dublin ; re
commendation of his works, 435, 439.
Whewell, Rev. Prof., D.D.; his general
character of Geology, 292. On the law
of change throughout the dependent
universe, 381. On the labours and
merits of Professor Sedgwick, 382.
Whyte; on the beginning of Genesis, 388.
Wilks, Rev. Samuel Charles ; on geological
doctrines, 189. His Poem, "The Fossil
Shell," 200.
Wiseman, Dr., Rom. Cath. Bish. ; on the
opinions of the Fathers upon Genesis i.
165. On geological doctrines generally,
207. On the previous condition of the
earth, 433.
Y ung. Rev. Dr. George; his geological
opinions, 201. On universal express
sions, 271- Observations on his boot,
"Scriptural Geology," 415.

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