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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
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+
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #52973 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52973)
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Geology and Revelation, by 
-Rev. Gerald Molloy and J. D. Dana
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Geology and Revelation
-       or the Ancient History of the Earth, considered in the
-       geological facts and revealed religion.
-
-Author: Rev. Gerald Molloy
-        J. D. Dana
-
-Release Date: September 4, 2016 [EBook #52973]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GEOLOGY AND REVELATION ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Charlene Taylor, Wayne Hammond, Dr. Aya Katz
-for the Hebrew transcription, and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-[Transcriber's Note:
-
-This project uses utf-8 encoded characters. If some characters
-are not readable, check your settings of your reader and that
-you have a font installed that can display utf-8 characters.]
-
-
-
-
-GEOLOGY AND REVELATION.
-
-
-Sicut Augustinus docet, in hujusmodi quæstionibus duo sunt observanda.
-Primo quidem ut Veritas Scripturæ inconcusse teneatur. Secundo, cum
-Scriptura Divina multipliciter exponi possit, quod nulli expositioni
-aliquis ita præcise inhæreat, ut si certa ratione constiterit hoc esse
-falsum quod aliquis sensum Scripturæ esse credebat, id nihilominus
-asserere præsumat; ne Scriptura ex hoc ab infidelibus derideatur, et ne
-eis via credendi præcludatur.
-
-  S. THOMAS, _De Opere Secundæ Diei_; Summa, Pars 1, Quæst. 68, Art. 1.
-
-As Augustine teacheth, there are two things to be observed in questions
-of this kind. First, that the truth of Scripture be inviolably
-maintained. Secondly, since Divine Scripture may be explained in
-many ways, that no one cling to any particular exposition with such
-pertinacity that, if what he supposed to be the teaching of Scripture
-should turn out to be plainly false, he would nevertheless presume to
-put it forward; lest thereby Sacred Scripture should be exposed to the
-derision of unbelievers, and the way of salvation should be closed to
-them.
-
-  SAINT THOMAS, _On the Work of the Second Day_.
-
-
-
-
-  GEOLOGY AND REVELATION:
-
-  OR THE
-
-  Ancient History of the Earth,
-
-  CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF
-
-  GEOLOGICAL FACTS AND REVEALED RELIGION.
-
-  _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS._
-
-
-  BY THE
-
-  REV. GERALD MOLLOY, D. D.,
-  PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF ST. PATRICK, MAYNOOTH.
-
-
-  WITH AN INTRODUCTION
-
-  To the American edition; and a chapter on COSMOGONY, [by permission]
-  from the Manual of Geology, by Prof. J. D. DANA.
-
-
-  NEW YORK:
-  G. P. PUTNAM & SONS,
-  1870.
-
-
-
-
-  Stereotyped by LITTLE, RENNIE & CO., 645 and 647 Broadway, N. Y.
-
-  PRESS OF THE NEW YORK PRINTING COMPANY, 81, 83, and 85 Centre St., N. Y.
-
-
-
-
-  TO THE VERY REVEREND
-
-  CHARLES WILLIAM RUSSELL, D. D.
-
-  PRESIDENT OF SAINT PATRICK’S COLLEGE, MAYNOOTH,
-
-  _This Volume is Inscribed_,
-
-  WITH EVERY SENTIMENT OF AFFECTION AND RESPECT.
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE.
-
-
-The progress of modern Science has given rise to not a few objections
-against the truths of Revelation. And of these there is none which
-seems to have taken such a firm hold of the public mind in England,
-and, indeed, throughout Europe generally, as that which is derived from
-the interesting and startling discoveries of Geology. Accordingly,
-when I was engaged, some years ago, in explaining and defending the
-Evidences of Revealed Religion, I found myself brought face to face
-with Geological phenomena and Geological speculations.
-
-It was plainly impossible to consider, in a candid and philosophical
-spirit, the argument with which I had to deal, so long as I remained
-ignorant of the evidence on which it was based. I resolved, therefore,
-to make myself familiar with the leading principles and the leading
-facts of Geology. And thus I was drawn insensibly into the study of
-this science; to which I have devoted, for some years, the greater part
-of my leisure hours.
-
-Impressed with the conviction that no fact can be really at variance
-with Revealed Truth, I determined, in the first place, to ascertain the
-facts which have been brought to light by the researches of Geologists.
-The general principles, which might afterward appear to be clearly
-involved in these facts when duly classified and arranged, I was fully
-prepared to admit. And I hoped, in the end, to search out and discover
-the harmony which, I was satisfied, must exist between conclusions thus
-established and the Inspired Word of God.
-
-While occupied in working out this problem for myself, it was suggested
-to me that others, who had not time or opportunity to pursue the same
-line of inquiry, would, perhaps, be glad to share in the fruits of
-my studies. In deference to this suggestion I consented, not without
-misgivings, to write a series of papers on Geology in its relations
-with Revealed Religion, which have appeared, from time to time, in
-the _Irish Ecclesiastical Record_. From the attention these papers
-attracted, crude and fragmentary as they were, it soon became evident
-that the question was not without interest for a large class of
-readers. And I have been led to believe that a more full and mature,
-but at the same time a popular, Treatise on the subject would be a
-welcome accession to ecclesiastical literature, and would supply a want
-that has long been felt. Such a Treatise I have proposed to myself in
-the present Volume.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-In Geology I wish to disclaim at the outset, all pretension to original
-researches; which my opportunities did not permit, nor the scope of my
-Work demand. It was not my object to enlarge the bounds of Geological
-knowledge; but rather to ascertain what that knowledge is, and to set
-it before my readers in plain and simple words. For this purpose I have
-had recourse to the great masters of the science: and have endeavored
-to gather into a systematic form the phenomena upon which they are all
-agreed; to sketch in outline the general theory about which there is
-practically no dispute; and to draw out the line of reasoning by which,
-as it seems to me, this theory may be most effectively demonstrated.
-
-Exact references are given to the original authorities on all questions
-of importance, and on many points even of minor detail: partly that
-I might not seem to claim as my own what belongs to others; partly
-that I might consult for the convenience of those who should wish to
-investigate more minutely what I have but lightly touched. And here it
-may be well to observe, with regard to the two classic works of Sir
-Charles Lyell, his _Elements_ and his _Principles_, which have been
-reproduced so many times and in so many forms, that I have uniformly
-referred to the latest edition of each.
-
-The Woodcuts which illustrate the Volume will, I venture to hope, help
-to convey a clear and distinct impression of many natural objects which
-can be represented but imperfectly in words. Some of the most striking
-and effective are taken from the admirable Manual of Geology brought
-out some years ago by the Reverend Doctor Haughton, of Trinity College,
-Dublin. My best thanks are due to the learned author for the kindness
-with which he placed his Woodblocks at my disposal. I have also to
-express my acknowledgments to Sir Charles Lyell, who has allowed me
-to reproduce some of the drawings that embellish his works; and to
-the eminent publishers, Messrs. Bell and Daldy of London, and Mr.
-Nimmo of Edinburgh, who have, with great courtesy, furnished me with
-electrotypes of several figures from the works of Doctor Mantell and
-Mr. Hugh Miller.
-
-To my colleagues in Maynooth I am much indebted for their judicious
-suggestions and friendly assistance during the progress of the Work.
-In particular I desire to testify my obligations to our distinguished
-Professor of Scripture, the Reverend Doctor M’Carthy, for the unwearied
-kindness with which he has allowed me to draw at pleasure on his
-profound and extensive knowledge of the Sacred Text.
-
-  G. M.
-
-  SAINT PATRICK’S COLLEGE, MAYNOOTH,
-  _December 1st, 1869_.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.
-
-
-Dr. Molloy has, in the present work, made an important contribution
-to a department of scientific and theologic literature, which has
-already been enriched by the labors of several other Catholic Fathers,
-among whom must be mentioned CARDINAL WISEMAN,[1] FATHER PERRONE,[2]
-and FATHER PIANCIANI,[3] who, in Italy, maintain substantially, the
-same ground which, in England, has been sustained by DR. CHALMERS,
-DR. BUCKLAND, PYE SMITH, and HUGH MILLER, and we may now add with
-pleasure, by DR. MOLLOY. Names which, in the United States, find their
-counterparts in DR. HITCHCOCK, PROF. SILLIMAN, PROF. A. GUYOT, DR.
-THOMPSON, and J. D. DANA.
-
-Reviewing the progress of opinion touching the relations of Science
-to Revealed Religion, it is noteworthy that while many Protestant
-theologians and writers on both sides of the Atlantic have, until a
-recent period, treated the discoveries of science, and especially of
-Geology, so far as they affect theological dogmas, in a manner, if
-not of contempt, at least of distrust or unfairness: on the contrary,
-the Romanist writers who have discussed these themes, have done so,
-generally, in a spirit of broad catholicity well calculated to command
-the respect it merits. They have shown no sensitiveness or timidity
-lest, perchance, their exegesis might be disturbed by candidly
-admitting the changes demanded by the discoveries of Science.
-
-The author’s discussion of the principles of Geology evinces much
-familiarity both with the science and what is equally important, the
-necessities of the unscientific reader. He has presented, in the second
-part of his book, an interesting review, infused by copious quotations
-from the Christian Fathers, from the time of St. Augustine, showing
-that long before Geology had any existence as a science, and of course,
-when the discussions and doubts it has excited were unknown, the
-essential points respecting Time and the order of Creation had received
-careful attention from devout thinkers, and that the conclusions at
-which they arrived, on purely theological grounds, were, in most cases,
-much the same as those which the best writers of our time deduce from
-Geological evidence.
-
-It is now thirty-five years since (1835) CARDINAL, then DR. WISEMAN,
-delivered in Rome, before the English College, of which he was the
-head, his Lectures, already referred to, on the connection between
-Science and Religion, in the fifth and sixth of which he considers more
-particularly the Geological argument. The spirit of these lectures
-was a just rebuke to the narrow bigotry of such writers as MR. CROLY,
-FAIRHOLM, and GRANVILLE PENN, as well as certain American theologians,
-who, by means of arrogance and denunciation, sought to silence the
-voice of truth, as proclaimed in the language of discovery, announcing
-the nature and the extent of those changes in life and in physical
-development which are recorded in the Genesis of the Rocks, because
-they conceived these immutable truths must of necessity conflict with
-the Genesis of Moses; the real conflict being only with their narrow
-interpretations. With rare moral courage DR. WISEMAN grappled with the
-great questions discussed so well in his lectures, at a time when there
-prevailed, with reference to such themes, a very wide-spread distrust,
-even among men of moderate opinions. In fact, the candor and courtesy
-displayed by DR. WISEMAN in his lectures, presents an enviable contrast
-to the acrimony of many theologians, and worthy of all praise, and
-in harmony with the learning and good taste which characterize his
-writings.
-
-DR. MOLLOY is a worthy disciple of the same school, and we are glad to
-find in him the same candor and liberality which it is certainly to be
-hoped he will receive at the hands of those who may differ from him.
-His geological arguments and illustrations are very naturally drawn,
-chiefly from British authorities. It is evident that the condition
-of opinion upon these matters among religious teachers and readers
-in Great Britain is less advanced than it is in this country or in
-continental Europe. Our author has obviously but little familiarity
-with the American literature of this subject. The similarity in some
-parts of his book both in thought and style with the writings on this
-subject of the late PROFESSOR SILLIMAN, of Yale College, is quite
-noticeable. He has obviously not seen the writings of DR. HITCHCOCK, of
-GUYOT, of DANA, and of other American writers. We have therefore by the
-kind permission of the author reproduced in this edition the chapter
-on COSMOGONY from PROFESSOR DANA’S _Manual of Geology_.[4] The views
-set forth, in a very condensed form, in this chapter, embrace also the
-ideas of PROFESSOR ARNOLD GUYOT, of Princeton, as presented by him in
-his unpublished lecture upon the same subject.
-
-American readers will remember also that PROFESSOR DANA has discussed
-this subject much more at length in a series of papers published in the
-_Bibliotheca Sacra_,[5] in a review of DR. TAYLER LEWIS’S _Six Days of
-Creation_.[6] It is greatly to be desired that PROFESSOR DANA should
-soon make a revised edition of his various writings upon this subject,
-a work which would be received with interest on both sides of the
-Atlantic.
-
-We do not propose here to present the bibliography of this subject with
-any completeness, but we desire to mention, to those who have not seen
-it, a little volume of excellent spirit by DR. JOS. P. THOMPSON, of
-New York, entitled _Man in Genesis and Geology_,[7] which discusses
-chiefly the relations of man to creation, in seven lectures, the first
-of which is an “Outline of Creation in Genesis.” Even as we write
-another small volume on this subject comes to hand under the title of
-_Chemical History of the Six Days of Creation_,[8] by MR. JOHN PHIN,
-which also contains the substance of a series of lectures delivered by
-the author, who handles his theme in a spirit equally reverential and
-scientific, and well calculated to do good.
-
-Those who desire to know the best exposition of this subject at the
-hands of a modern theologian will read the first part of DR. LANGE’S
-_Genesis, or the First Book of Moses_,[9] in DR. TAYLER LEWIS’S
-translation, pp. 159-177. The candid and scholarly spirit of the
-learned authors of this work indicates a marked change in discussions
-of this nature when compared with similar literature of the last
-generation.
-
-These few suggestions, chiefly on the American literature of this
-subject, are offered in the belief that some readers may be glad to
-know where to turn for similar discussions, while DR. MOLLOY will
-certainly not misinterpret our kindly intentions in suggesting to him
-some contemporary sources of information to most of which he very
-probably had no means of access when his excellent work was prepared.
-
-JULY, 1870.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
-  INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
-
-                                                                   PAGE.
-
-  Scope of the Work explained--Geology looked on with Suspicion
-  by Christians--hailed with Triumph by Unbelievers--no Contradiction
-  possible between the Works of Nature and the Word of
-  God--Author not jealous of Progress in Geological Discoveries--Points
-  of Contact between Geology and Revelation--the
-  Question stated--the Answer--Division of the Work,                  25
-
-
-  PART I.
-
-  GEOLOGICAL THEORY AND THE EVIDENCE BY
-  WHICH IT IS SUPPORTED.
-
-
-  CHAPTER I.
-
-  THEORY OF GEOLOGISTS.
-
-  Geology defined--Facts and Theories--Recent Progress of Geology
-  --Stratification of Rocks--Aqueous Rocks; of Mechanical
-  Origin--of Chemical Origin--of Organic Origin--Igneous
-  Rocks, Plutonic and Volcanic--Metamorphic Rocks--Summary
-  of the Rocks that compose the Crust of the Earth--Relative
-  Order of Position--Internal Condition of the Globe--Movements
-  of the Earth’s Crust--Subterranean Disturbing Force--Uplifting
-  and Bending of Strata--Denudation and its Causes--Fossil
-  Remains--their Value in Geological Theory,                          30
-
-
-  CHAPTER II.
-
-  THEORY OF DENUDATION ILLUSTRATED BY FACTS.
-
-  Principle of Reasoning common to all the Physical Sciences--This
-  Principle applicable to Geology--Carbonic Acid an Agent of
-  Denudation--Vast Quantity of Lime dissolved by the Waters of
-  the Rhine and borne away to the German Ocean--Disintegration
-  of Rocks by Frost--Professor Tyndall on the Matterhorn--Running
-  Water--its Erosive Power--an active and unceasing Agent
-  of Denudation--Mineral Sediment carried out to Sea by the
-  Ganges and other great Rivers--Solid Rocks undermined and
-  worn away--Falls of the Clyde at Lanark--Excavating Power
-  of Rivers in Auvergne and Sicily--Falls of Niagara--Transporting
-  Power of Running Water--Floods in Scotland--Inundation
-  in the Valley of Bagnes in Switzerland,                             47
-
-
-  CHAPTER III.
-
-  THEORY OF DENUDATION--FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.
-
-  The Breakers of the Ocean--Caverns and Fairy Bridges of Kilkee--Italy
-  and Sicily--The Shetland Islands--East and South
-  Coast of Britain--Tracts of Land swallowed up by the Sea--Island
-  of Heligoland--Northstrand--Tides and Currents--South
-  Atlantic Current--Equatorial Current--The Gulf Stream--its
-  Course described--Examples of its Power as an Agent of
-  Transport,                                                          61
-
-
-  CHAPTER IV.
-
-  THEORY OF DENUDATION--CONCLUDED.
-
-  Glaciers--their Nature and Composition--their unceasing Motion
-  --Powerful Agents of Denudation--Icebergs--their Number
-  and Size--Erratic Blocks and loose Gravel spread out over
-  Mountains, Plains, and Valleys, at the Bottom of the Sea
-  --Characteristic Marks of moving Ice--Evidence of ancient Glacial
-  Action--Illustrations from the Alps--from the Mountains of
-  the Jura--Theory applied to Northern Europe--to Scotland,
-  Wales, and Ireland--The Fact of Denudation established--Summary
-  of the Evidence--This Fact the first Step in Geological
-  Theory,                                                             71
-
-
-  CHAPTER V.
-
-  STRATIFIED ROCKS OF MECHANICAL ORIGIN--THEORY DEVELOPED
-  AND ILLUSTRATED.
-
-  Formation of Stratified Rocks ascribed to the Agency of Natural
-  Causes--This Theory supported by Facts--The Argument
-  stated--Examples of Mechanical Rocks--Materials of which
-  they are composed--Origin and History of these Materials
-  traced out--Process of Deposition--Process of Consolidation
-  --Instances of Consolidation by Pressure--Consolidation perfected
-  by Natural Cements--Curious Illustrations--Consolidation of
-  Sandstone in Cornwall--Arrangement of Strata explained by
-  intermittent Action of the Agents of Denudation,                    87
-
-
-  CHAPTER VI.
-
-  STRATIFIED ROCKS OF MECHANICAL ORIGIN--FURTHER
-  ILLUSTRATIONS.
-
-  Impossible to witness the Formation of Stratified Rocks in the
-  Depths of the Ocean--On a small scale Examples are exhibited
-  by Rivers and Lakes--Alluvial Plains--their extraordinary Fertility
-  --Great Basin of the Nile--Experiments of the Royal Society--The
-  Mississippi and the Orinoco--Some Rivers fill up
-  their own Channels--Case of the River Po--Artificial Embankments--Large
-  Tract of Alluvial Soil deposited by the Rhone in
-  the Lake of Geneva--Deltas--The Delta of the Ganges and
-  Brahmapootra--Delta of the Nile,                                   100
-
-
-  CHAPTER VII.
-
-  STRATIFIED ROCKS OF CHEMICAL ORIGIN.
-
-  Chemical Agency employed in the Formation of Mechanical Rocks--But
-  some Rocks produced almost exclusively by the Action of
-  Chemical Laws--Difference between a Mixture and a Solution--a
-  Saturated Solution--Stalactites and Stalagmites--Fantastic
-  Columns in Limestone Caverns--The Grotto of Antiparos in
-  the Grecian Archipelago--Wyer’s Cave in the Blue Mountains
-  of America--Travertine Rock in Italy--Growth of Limestone
-  in the Solfatara Lake near Tivoli--Incrustations of the Anio
-  --Formation of Travertine at the Baths of San Filippo and San
-  Vignone,                                                           109
-
-
-  CHAPTER VIII.
-
-  STRATIFIED ROCKS OF ORGANIC ORIGIN--ILLUSTRATIONS FROM
-  ANIMAL LIFE.
-
-  Nature of Organic Rocks--Carbonate of Lime extracted from the
-  Sea by the Intervention of minute Animalcules--Chalk Rock--its
-  vast Extent--supposed to be of Organic Origin--A Stratum
-  of the same kind now growing up on the Floor of the Atlantic
-  Ocean--Coral Reefs and Islands--their general Appearance--their
-  Geographical Distribution--their Organic Origin--Structure
-  of the Zoophyte--Various Illustrations--Agency of the
-  Zoophyte in the Construction of Coral Rock--How the sunken
-  Reef is converted into an Island--and peopled with Plants and
-  Animals--Difficulty proposed and considered--Hypothesis of
-  Mr. Darwin--Coral Limestone in the solid Crust of the Earth,       118
-
-
-  CHAPTER IX.
-
-  STRATIFIED ROCKS OF ORGANIC ORIGIN--ILLUSTRATIONS FROM
-  VEGETABLE LIFE.
-
-  Origin of Coal--Evident Traces of Plants and Trees in Coal
-  Mines--Coal made up of the same Elements as Wood--Beds of
-  Coal found resting upon Clay in which are preserved the Roots
-  of Trees--Insensible Transition from Wood to Coal--Forest-covered
-  Swamps--Accumulations of Drift Wood in Lakes and
-  Estuaries--Peat Bogs--Beds of Lignite--Seams of pure Coal
-  with half Carbonized Trees, some lying prostrate, some standing
-  erect--Summary of the Argument hitherto pursued--Objection
-  to this Argument from the Omnipotence of God--Answer to
-  the Objection,                                                     141
-
-
-  CHAPTER X.
-
-  FOSSIL REMAINS--THE MUSEUM.
-
-  Recapitulation--Scope of our Argument--Theory of Stratified
-  Rocks the Framework of Geological Science--This Theory
-  brings Geology into Contact with Revelation--The Line of Reasoning
-  hitherto pursued confirmed by the Testimony of Fossil
-  Remains--Meaning of the Word Fossil--Inexhaustible Abundance
-  of Fossils--Various States of Preservation--Petrifaction--Experiments
-  of Professor Göppert--Organic Rocks afford
-  some Insight into the Fossil World--The Reality and Significance
-  of Fossil Remains must be learned from Observation--The
-  British Museum--Colossal Skeletons--Bones and Shells of
-  Animals--Fossil Plants and Trees,                                  156
-
-
-  CHAPTER XI.
-
-  FOSSIL REMAINS--THE EXPLORATION.
-
-  From the Museum to the Quarry--Fossil Fish in the Limestone
-  Rocks of Monte Bolca--in the Quarries of Aix--in the Chalk
-  of Sussex--The Ichthyosaurus or Fish-like Lizard--Gigantic
-  Dimensions of this Ancient Monster--its Predatory Habits--The
-  Plesiosaurus--The Megatherium or great Wild Beast--History
-  of its Discovery--the Mylodon--Profusion of Fossil
-  Shells--Petrified Trees erect in the Limestone Rock of Portland--Fossil
-  Plants of the Coal Measures--The Sigillaria--The
-  Fern--The Calamite--The Lepidodendron--Coal Mine of Treuil--Fossil
-  Remains afford undeniable Evidence of former Animal
-  and Vegetable Life--Their Existence cannot be accounted for
-  by the Plastic Power of Nature--nor can it reasonably be
-  ascribed to a Special Act of Creation,                             172
-
-
-  CHAPTER XII.
-
-  GEOLOGICAL CHRONOLOGY--PRINCIPLES OF THE SYSTEM EXPLAINED
-  AND DEVELOPED.
-
-  Significance of Fossil Remains--Science of Palæontology--Classification
-  of existing Animal Life--Fossil Remains are found to
-  fit in with this Classification--Succession of Organic Life--Time
-  in Geology not measured by Years and Centuries--Successive
-  Periods marked by Successive Forms of Life--The Geologist
-  aims at arranging these Periods in Chronological Order--Position
-  of the various Groups of Strata not sufficient for this purpose--It
-  is accomplished chiefly through the aid of Fossil
-  Remains--Mode of proceeding practically explained--Chronological
-  Table,                                                             198
-
-
-  CHAPTER XIII.
-
-  GEOLOGICAL CHRONOLOGY--REMARKS ON THE SUCCESSION OF
-  ORGANIC LIFE.
-
-  Summary of the History of Stratified Rocks--Striking Characteristics
-  of certain Formations--Human Remains found only in
-  superficial Deposits--Gradual Transition from the Organic Life
-  of one Period to that of the next--Evidence in favor of this
-  Opinion--Advance from Lower to Higher Types of Organic
-  Life as we ascend from the Older to the more Recent Formations
-  --Economic Value of Geological Chronology--Illustration--Search
-  for Coal--the Practical Man at Fault--the Geologist
-  comes to his aid, and saves him from useless Expense,              217
-
-
-  CHAPTER XIV.
-
-  SUBTERRANEAN HEAT--ITS EXISTENCE DEMONSTRATED BY FACTS.
-
-  Theory of Stratified Rocks supposes Disturbances of the Earth’s
-  Crust--These Disturbances ascribed by Geologists to the Action
-  of subterranean Heat--The Existence of Subterranean Heat,
-  and its Power to move the Crust of the Earth, proved by direct
-  Evidence--Supposed Igneous Origin of our Globe--Remarkable
-  Increase of Temperature as we descend into the Earth’s Crust--Hot
-  Springs--Artesian Wells--Steam issuing from Crevices
-  in the Earth--The Geysers of Iceland--A Glimpse of the subterranean
-  Fires--Mount Vesuvius in 1779--Vast Extent of
-  Volcanic Action--Existence of subterranean Heat an established
-  fact,                                                              233
-
-
-  CHAPTER XV.
-
-  SUBTERRANEAN HEAT--ITS POWERS ILLUSTRATED BY VOLCANOS.
-
-  Effects of subterranean Heat in the present Age of the World--Vast
-  Accumulations of solid Matter from the Eruptions of Volcanos--Buried
-  Cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum--Curious
-  Relics of Roman Life--Monte Nuovo--Eruption of Jorullo in
-  the Province of Mexico--Sumbawa in the Indian Archipelago--Volcanos
-  in Iceland--Mountain Mass of Etna the Product of
-  Volcanic Eruptions--Volcanic Islands--In the Atlantic--in the
-  Mediterranean--Santorin in the Grecian Archipelago,                244
-
-
-  CHAPTER XVI.
-
-  SUBTERRANEAN HEAT--ITS POWERS ILLUSTRATED BY
-  EARTHQUAKES.
-
-  Earthquakes and Volcanos proceed from the same common Cause--Recent
-  Earthquakes in New Zealand--Vast Tracts of Land
-  permanently upraised--Earthquakes of Chili in the present Century
-  --Crust of the Earth elevated--Earthquake of Cutch in
-  India, 1819--Remarkable Instance of Subsidence and Upheaval--Earthquake
-  of Calabria, 1783--Earthquake of Lisbon, 1755--Great
-  Destruction of Life and Property--Earthquake of Peru,
-  August, 1868--General Scene of Ruin and Devastation--Great
-  Sea Wave--A Ship with all her Crew carried a Quarter of a
-  Mile inland--Frequency of Earthquakes,                             258
-
-
-  CHAPTER XVII.
-
-  SUBTERRANEAN HEAT--ITS POWERS ILLUSTRATED BY UNDULATIONS
-  OF THE EARTH’S CRUST.
-
-  Gentle Movements of the Earth’s Crust within Historic Times--Roman
-  Roads and Temples submerged in the Bay of Baiæ--Temple
-  of Jupiter Serapis--Singular Condition of its Columns--Proof
-  of Subsidence and subsequent Upheaval--Indications
-  of a second Subsidence now actually taking place--Gradual
-  Upheaval of the Coast of Sweden--Summary of the Evidence
-  adduced to establish this Fact--Subsidence of the Earth’s Crust
-  on the West Coast of Greenland--Recapitulation,                    271
-
-
-  PART II.
-
-  THE ANTIQUITY OF THE EARTH CONSIDERED IN
-  RELATION TO THE HISTORY OF GENESIS.
-
-
-  CHAPTER XVIII.
-
-  STATEMENT OF THE QUESTION AND EXPOSITION OF THE AUTHOR’S
-  VIEW.
-
-  The General Principles of Geological Theory accepted by the Author
-  --These Principles plainly import the extreme Antiquity
-  of the Earth--Illustration from the Coal, the Chalk, and the
-  Boulder Clay--This Conclusion not at Variance with the Inspired
-  History of the Creation--Chronology of the Bible--Genealogies
-  of Genesis--Date of the Creation not fixed by Moses--Progress
-  of Opinion on this Point--Cardinal Wiseman, Father
-  Peronne, Father Pianciani--Doctor Buckland, Doctor Chalmers,
-  Doctor Pye Smith, Hugh Miller--Author’s View explained--Charge
-  of Rashness and Irreverence answered--Admonitions
-  of Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas,                               280
-
-
-  CHAPTER XIX.
-
-  FIRST HYPOTHESIS;--AN INTERVAL OF INDEFINITE DURATION
-  BETWEEN THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND THE FIRST
-  MOSAIC DAY.
-
-  The Heavens and the Earth were created before the First Mosaic
-  Day--Objection from Exodus, xx. 9-11--Answer--Interpretation
-  of the Author supported by the best Commentators--Confirmed
-  by the Hebrew Text--The Early Fathers commonly held
-  the Existence of created Matter prior to the Work of the Six
-  Days--Saint Basil, Saint Chrysostom, Saint Ambrose, Venerable
-  Bede--The most eminent Doctors in the Schools concurred
-  in this Opinion--Peter Lombard, Hugh of Saint Victor, Saint
-  Thomas--Also Commentators and Theologians--Perrerius,
-  Petavius--Distinguished Names on the other side, A Lapide,
-  Tostatus, Saint Augustine--The Opinion is at least not at
-  Variance with the Voice of Tradition--This Period of created
-  Existence may have been of indefinite Length--And the Earth
-  may have been furnished then as now with countless Tribes of
-  Plants and Animals--Objections to this Hypothesis proposed
-  and explained,                                                     300
-
-
-  CHAPTER XX.
-
-  SECOND HYPOTHESIS;--THE DAYS OF CREATION LONG PERIODS OF
-  TIME.
-
-  Diversity of Opinion among the Early Fathers regarding the Days
-  of Creation--Saint Augustine, Philo Judæus, Clement of Alexandria,
-  Origen, Saint Athanasius, Saint Eucherius, Procopius--Albertus
-  Magnus, Saint Thomas, Cardinal Cajetan--Inference
-  from these Testimonies--First Argument in favor of the
-  popular Interpretation; a Day, in the literal Sense, means a
-  Period of Twenty-four Hours--Answer--This Word often used
-  in Scripture for an indefinite Period--Examples from the Old
-  and New Testament--Second Argument; the Days of Creation
-  have an Evening and a Morning--Answer--Interpretation of
-  Saint Augustine, Venerable Bede, and other Fathers of the
-  Church--Third Argument; the Reason alleged for the Institution
-  of the Sabbath Day--Answer--The Law of the Sabbath
-  extended to every Seventh Year as well as to every Seventh Day--The
-  Seventh Day of God’s Rest a long Period of indefinite
-  Duration,                                                          318
-
-
-  CHAPTER XXI.
-
-  APPLICATION OF THE SECOND HYPOTHESIS TO THE MOSAIC HISTORY
-  OF CREATION--CONCLUSION.
-
-  Summary of the Argument--Striking Coincidence between the
-  Order of Creation as set forth in the Narrative of Moses and in
-  the Records of Geology--Comparison illustrated and developed--Scheme
-  of Adjustment between the Periods of Geology and
-  the Days of Genesis--Tabular View of this Scheme--Objections
-  considered--It is not to be regarded as an established Theory,
-  but as an admissible Hypothesis--Either the first Hypothesis
-  or the second is sufficient to meet the demands of Geology as
-  regards the Antiquity of the Earth--Not necessary to suppose
-  that the Sacred Writer was made acquainted with the long Ages
-  of Geological Time--He simply records faithfully that which
-  was committed to his charge--The Mosaic History of Creation
-  stands alone, without Rivals or Competitors,                       343
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
-
-
-                                                                    PAGE
-
-  1. Granitic Rocks off the Shetland Islands,                         63
-
-  2. Iceberg seen in mid ocean, 1400 miles from land,                 75
-
-  3. Block of Limestone Rock with Glacial-markings,                   78
-
-  4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Examples of living Zoophytes:
-          Campanularia Gelatinosa; Gorgonia Patula,                  131
-          Frustra Pilosa; Madrepora Plantaginea,                     132
-          Corallium Rubrum,                                          133
-
-  9, 10. Fossil Ferns from the Coal Measures,                        143
-
-  11. Trunk and roots of a forest tree; found erect in a Coal
-      Mine, near Liverpool,                                          152
-
-  12. Fossil Irish Deer,                                             163
-
-  13. Fossil Wood, showing the rings of annual growth,               171
-
-  14, 15. Fossil Fish from Monte Bolea in Italy,                173, 174
-
-  16. Group of several Fossil Fish in one block of Limestone,        176
-
-  17. Fossil Fish from the Chalk Rock of Sussex,                     177
-
-  18, 19. Two Skeletons of the Ichthyosaurus, from the Lias of
-      Dorsetshire, preserved in the Museum of Trinity College,
-      Dublin,                                                        179
-
-  20. Plesiosaurus Cramptonii, from the Lias of Yorkshire,
-      preserved in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society,           182
-
-  21. The Megatherium, or Great Wild Beast,                          185
-
-  22. The Mylodon Robustus,                                          186
-
-  23. Section of a Quarry in the Island of Portland, showing the
-      stumps of an ancient forest standing erect in the solid rock,  189
-
-  24. Calamite from the Coal Measures of Newcastle,                  191
-
-  25. Lepidodendron Sternbergii; a forest tree erect in a Coal Mine, 192
-
-  26. Lepidodendron Elegans; Stem and branches, from a Coal Mine,
-      near Newcastle,                                                193
-
-  27. Section of a Coal Mine near Lyons, showing an ancient forest
-      enveloped in Sandstone,                                        194
-
-  28. Bird’s-eye View of Santorin during the volcanic eruption
-      of 1866,                                                       255
-
-
-LIST OF TABLES.
-
-  Table of Stratified Rocks Chronologically arranged,                211
-
-  Table of Geological Formations, showing the first appearance on
-    the Earth of the various forms of Animal Life,                   226
-
-  Table exhibiting the Genealogies of Genesis according to the
-    various Readings of the three most ancient Versions, the
-    Hebrew, the Samaritan, and the Septuagint,                       291
-
-  Table representing a possible Adjustment of the Mosaic Days with
-    the Periods of Geology,                                          251
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-GEOLOGY AND REVELATION.
-
-
-
-
-_INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER._
-
-    _Scope of the work explained--Geology looked on with suspicion
-    by Christians--Hailed with triumph by Unbelievers--No
-    contradiction possible between the works of Nature and the
-    Word of God--Author not jealous of progress in Geological
-    Discoveries--Points of contact between Geology and
-    Revelation--The question stated--The answer--Division of the
-    work._
-
-
-Among the various pursuits that engage the human mind, there are few so
-attractive as Geology, none so important as Revelation. Each of these
-two studies has an interest peculiar to itself. The one is chiefly
-concerned about the world in which we are living: the other about the
-world to which we are hastening. Geology leads us down into the depths
-of the Earth, and there, unfolding to our view a long series of strange
-unwritten records impressed on lasting monuments by the hand of Nature,
-it proceeds to trace back the history of our Globe through myriads of
-ages into the distant past. Revelation, on the other hand, comes to us
-from above; and setting forth the far more wonderful records of God’s
-dealings with man, holds out the hope of another world “everlasting in
-the heavens”[10] which shall still remain when this earth and all the
-works that are therein shall have melted away with fervent heat.[11]
-
-But, it may be asked, why should two such incongruous topics be set
-down for discussion side by side? To answer this question is to explain
-the scope and design of the present work. We are not going to write a
-Manual of Geology; nor yet a Treatise on Revelation. Taken separately,
-these two subjects have been handled with eminent skill and ability;
-the one by the votaries of Science, the other by the friends of
-Theology. It is our purpose to consider them not so much in themselves
-as in their mutual relations: to compare the conclusions of Geology
-with the truths of Revelation; and to inquire if it be possible to
-accept the one and yet not to abandon the other.
-
-An uneasy apprehension has long prevailed among devout Christians, and
-a declared conviction among a large class of unbelievers, that the
-discoveries of Geology are at variance with the facts recorded in the
-Book of Genesis. Now, the historical narrative of Genesis lies at the
-very foundation of all Revealed Religion. Hence the science of Geology,
-has come to be looked on with suspicion by the simple-minded faithful,
-and to be hailed with joy, as a new and powerful auxiliary, by that
-infidel party which, in these latter days, has assumed a position so
-bold and defiant. It is now confidently asserted that we cannot uphold
-the teaching of Revelation, unless we shut our eyes to the evidence of
-Geology; and that we cannot pursue the study of Geology, if we are not
-prepared to renounce our belief in the doctrines of Revelation.
-
-Vet surely this cannot be. Truth cannot be at variance with truth. If
-God has recorded the history of our Globe, as Geologists maintain, on
-imperishable monuments within the Crust of the Earth, we may be quite
-sure He has not contradicted that Record in His Written Word. There
-may be for a time, indeed, a conflict between the student of Nature and
-the student of Revelation. Each is liable to error when he undertakes
-to interpret the record that is placed in his hands. Many a brilliant
-Geological theory, received at first with unbounded applause, has been
-dissipated by the progress of discovery even within the lifetime of its
-author. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that Theologians have
-sometimes imputed to the Bible that which the Bible does not teach.
-Learned and pious men--Protestants and Catholics alike--once believed
-that the Book of Joshua represents the succession of day and night
-as produced by the revolution of the Sun around the Earth: whereas
-it is now considered quite plain that the Book of Joshua, properly
-understood, teaches nothing of the kind; but that the Inspired Writer,
-in describing a wonderful phenomenon of Nature, simply employs the
-language of men according to the established usage of his time. We need
-not wonder, therefore, that a conflict of opinion should sometimes
-arise between the Geologist and the Theologian; but a conflict there
-cannot be between the story which God has described on His works and
-the story He has recorded in His Written Word.
-
-Though we come forward, therefore, among those whose duty and whose
-glory it is to uphold Revelation, we are by no means jealous of the
-wonderful ardor, and we may add, the wonderful success, with which the
-study of Geology has been lately pursued. We have too much confidence
-in the truth of our cause to apprehend that it can suffer in any way
-from the progress of Natural Science. It is our conviction, rather,
-that the more thoroughly the works of Nature are understood, the
-more perfectly they will be found to harmonize with the truths of
-Revelation. We are not afraid, therefore, to venture into the realms
-of Geology and to come face to face with its discoveries. Too long,
-perhaps, has this interesting and popular science been neglected by
-those who are ranged under the banner of Religion. Let it be ours to
-show that the study of God’s works is not incompatible with the belief
-in God’s Word; and that it is quite possible to investigate the ancient
-history of the world we inhabit without forfeiting our right to a
-better.
-
-The points of contact between Geology and Revelation are chiefly these
-two:--First, the Antiquity of the Earth; Secondly, the Antiquity of the
-Human Race. In the present Volume we shall confine our attention to the
-Antiquity of the Earth. The subject that offers itself for discussion
-may be stated in a few words. Geologists maintain that the Crust of the
-Earth has been slowly built up by means of a long series of operations
-which would require hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of years
-for their accomplishment: whereas the Bible narrative, it is alleged,
-allows but the short lapse of six or eight thousand years from the
-creation of the world to the present time. The Geological record, then,
-seems to contradict the Mosaic; and the question is, how this apparent
-contradiction is to be explained.
-
-Some have ventured to solve the problem by rejecting the historical
-narrative of the Bible: others by ignoring the plain facts of Geology.
-But there is a third class of writers, including many names of the
-highest eminence and authority, who contend that we may admit the
-extreme Antiquity of our Globe, which Geology so imperatively demands,
-without compromising in the smallest degree the truthfulness of the
-Mosaic story. They say that the Chronology of the Bible stops short
-with Adam, and does not go back to the beginning of the world. By
-means of the data which the Bible supplies we may calculate, at least
-roughly, the lapse of time from the Creation of Adam to the Birth of
-Christ. But from the first beginning of all created things, when God
-made the Heavens and the Earth, to the close of the Sixth Day when Adam
-was introduced upon the scene, that is an interval which, in the Bible
-narrative, is left altogether undefined and uncertain. This is the
-view which we hope to develop and to illustrate in the course of the
-following pages.
-
-Our task naturally divides itself into two parts. First, it will be
-our duty to consider the received theory of Geology, and to examine
-in detail some of the interesting and wonderful phenomena on which
-it is founded. This course of investigation, while it is plainly
-indispensable for the intelligent appreciation of our subject, cannot
-fail at the same time to unfold many new and striking views of the
-Power, and the Goodness, and the Providence of God. “For the invisible
-things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
-understood by the things that are made; even His eternal Power and
-Godhead.”[12]
-
-In the Second Part we shall consider the Antiquity of the Earth in
-reference to the History of Genesis. It will be our purpose to show
-that, as far as the Bible narrative is concerned, an interval of
-countless ages may have elapsed between the first creation of the
-Heavens and the Earth and the beginning of the Six Mosaic Days.
-Furthermore, we shall contend that, without any prejudice to the Sacred
-History, we may suppose these Days themselves to have been, not days
-in the ordinary sense of the word, but long and indefinite Periods of
-Time. If we succeed in establishing these views, it will be obvious
-to infer that, while the Bible enables us to determine, at least by
-approximation, the Age of the Human Race, it allows time without limit
-for the past history of the Earth.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-PART I.
-
-GEOLOGICAL THEORY AND THE EVIDENCE BY WHICH IT IS SUPPORTED.
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER I._
-
-THEORY OF GEOLOGISTS.
-
-    _Geology defined--Facts and Theories--Recent progress of
-    Geology--Stratification of Rocks--Aqueous Rocks; of Mechanical
-    Origin--of Chemical Origin--of Organic Origin--Igneous Rocks,
-    Plutonic and Volcanic--Metamorphic Rocks--Summary of the
-    Rocks that compose the Crust of the Earth--Relative order
-    of position--Internal condition of the Globe--Movements of
-    the Earth’s Crust--Subterranean disturbing force--Uplifting
-    and bending of Strata--Denudation and its Causes--Fossil
-    Remains--Their Value in Geological Theory._
-
-
-The object of Geology is to examine and record the appearances
-presented by the Crust of the Earth; and by the aid of these
-appearances, to trace out the long series of events by which it has
-been brought into its present condition. Geology, therefore, like
-all other natural sciences, is made up partly of fact, and partly of
-theory. It belongs to the Geologist first to investigate the phenomena
-which the Crust of the Earth exhibits to the eye. For this purpose he
-descends into the mine and the quarry; he visits the lofty cliff by
-the sea-shore, the deep ravine on the mountain side, the cutting of a
-railway; in a word, every spot where a section of the Earth’s Crust is
-exposed to view, either by the action of Nature or by the hand of man.
-He then retires into the silence of his closet, with his note-book and
-his specimens; and there, having arranged and classified the various
-phenomena which he has already examined with his eyes in the outer
-world, he proceeds to make his deductions, and to build up his theory.
-He seeks to explain how materials, so diverse in their composition,
-have come to be piled up together, with such admirable order, and yet
-with such endless variety; and how the solid rocks have come to be the
-repository of petrified trees and plants and bones and shells, which
-seem, as it were, to start up from their graves, and to tell strange
-stories of a bygone world.
-
-In the early days of Geology there were comparatively few who devoted
-themselves with patient industry to the collection and classification
-of facts: while the number was legion of those who, with a very
-meagre knowledge of facts, set themselves to build up systems. A
-vast multitude of different and conflicting theories were, in this
-way, brought into existence, and attracted for a time much public
-attention, each one being vehemently defended by its friends and as
-vehemently assailed by its enemies. These theories resting on no solid
-foundation, could not hold their ground against the advancing tide of
-new discoveries. They flourished for a brief space, and then gave way
-to others scarcely more substantial, which were destined in their turn
-to be likewise rejected and forgotten. Thus it came to pass, from the
-manifest instability of its principles, that Geology was long held
-in light repute, and practical men set little store by its boasted
-discoveries and startling revelations.
-
-But it would be unjust and unphilosophical to condemn the modern theory
-of Geologists because of their past errors. We must judge of this
-science, not according to what it once was in the feebleness of its
-infancy, but according to what it now is in the growing strength of its
-mature years. It seems to be in the nature of things that groundless
-speculations and wild conjectures go before, and sober Science follows
-in their wake. The visionary dreams of the Alchemist led the way to
-the science of Chemistry, and the idle fancies of the Astrologist have
-given place to the marvellous discoveries of Astronomy. So, too, amidst
-the confused mass of conflicting arguments and opinions, by which the
-phenomena of Geology were for a long time enveloped and obscured, the
-seeds of a new science were slowly germinating. New facts were eagerly
-sought after to support or to impugn the favorite theory of the hour;
-and though theory after theory passed away, yet the facts remained. In
-course of time this accumulation of facts became broad and deep and
-solid enough to form a sound basis for inductive reasoning; and thus
-almost within our own days Geology may be fairly said to have assumed
-the rank and dignity of a science.
-
-During the last quarter of a century it has been studied with a more
-ardent enthusiasm than, perhaps, any other science in England, in
-France, in Germany, and in America. It has been studied, too, upon
-better principles than before: less attention has been paid to the
-building up of theories, and far more pains and labor have been
-expended on the careful investigation of natural phenomena. There are
-still, no doubt, different schools of Geologists which are divided
-among themselves as regards many important details of theory; but
-there are some general conclusions upon which all Geologists are
-substantially agreed, and which, they assure us, are established by
-evidence that is absolutely irresistible. It is to these conclusions we
-wish to invite the attention of our readers; for they bear very closely
-on the question of the Antiquity of the Earth.
-
-Geologists tell us, then, that the materials of which the Earth’s
-Crust is composed, are not heaped together in a confused mass, but are
-disposed with evident marks of definite and systematic arrangement.
-This is an important truth, of which many examples are familiar to us
-all, though perhaps we do not all attend to their significance. Thus
-in a quarry, we see commonly enough first a bed of limestone, then
-above that a bed of gravel, and higher still a bed of clay: and even
-the limestone itself is not usually a compact mass, but is arranged in
-successive layers, something like the successive courses of masonry in
-a building. Now it appears that a very large proportion of the Earth’s
-Crust is made up in this way of successive layers, or _strata_, as
-they are called by Geologists. These _strata_ are composed of various
-substances, such as clay, chalk, sand, lime, and coal; and they present
-everywhere the same general appearances. They are known under the
-common name of Aqueous Rocks,[13] because it is believed that they
-were originally formed under water; and here it is that the professors
-of Geology first come into collision with the popular notions that
-formerly prevailed.
-
-They hold that these stratified rocks were not arranged as we see them
-now, when the Earth first came from the hands of its Creator, but have
-been formed, during the lapse of unnumbered ages, by the operation
-of natural causes. Nay more, they have divided the rocks into sundry
-classes, and they undertake to explain the particular process by which
-each several variety has been produced. First in order and importance
-are those which derive their existence from the mechanical force of
-moving water. The materials of which they are composed first existed in
-the form of minute particles, which were transported by the action of
-water from one place to another; then they were spread out over a given
-surface, just as we now see layers of sand, or mud, or gravel deposited
-near the mouths of rivers, or in the estuaries of the sea, or even upon
-the land itself during temporary inundations. Lastly, after a long
-interval came the slow but certain process of consolidation. The fine
-sand was cemented together and became sandstone; the loose gravel by a
-similar process was transformed into a solid mass, known by the name of
-Conglomerate or Pudding-stone; while the soft mud by simple pressure
-was converted into a kind of slaty clay, called Shale. Thus from age to
-age Nature was ever building up new strata, and consolidating the old.
-
-Next in order are the Aqueous Rocks, which owe their origin to the
-agency of chemical laws. To this class belong many of our limestone
-formations. Large quantities of carbonate of lime are held in solution
-by water charged with carbonic acid gas: when the carbonic acid, in
-course of time, passes off, the carbonate of lime can no longer be held
-in solution, and it is accordingly precipitated in a solid form to
-the bottom. In this manner was formed that peculiar kind of limestone
-called Travertine, which abounds in Italy, and which is well known
-to all who have visited Rome, as the stone of which the Coliseum was
-built. A still more familiar example, on a small scale, is seen in the
-case of Stalactites and Stalagmites. Water saturated with carbonic
-acid trickles down the sides, or drops from the roof of a limestone
-cavern. In its course it dissolves carbonate of lime, and holds it
-in solution; afterward, reaching the floor of the cavern, it slowly
-evaporates and leaves behind it a thin sheet of limestone which is
-called a Stalagmite; while the icicle-like pendants that are formed by
-a similar process, on the roof of the cavern, are called Stalactites.
-
-There is a third class of Aqueous Rocks which are supposed to be
-made up almost exclusively of the fragmentary remains of plants and
-animals, and are therefore called Organic. The well-known coral reefs,
-so dreaded by the sailor in tropical seas, are believed to be nothing
-more than a mass of stony skeletons belonging to the minute marine
-animalcules known among zoologists as Polyps or Zoophytes. These
-little creatures, existing together in countless multitudes, extract
-carbonate of lime from the waters of the ocean in which they dwell, and
-by the action of their living organs, convert it into a solid frame
-or skeleton, which is called coral. From generation to generation the
-same process has been going on during the long succession of Geological
-ages; and huge masses of coral rock, hundreds of miles in length, have
-thus been slowly built up from fathomless depths of the ocean to within
-a few feet of its surface. Our vast coal formations, on the other hand,
-afford a ready example of rocks which are chiefly composed of vegetable
-remains.
-
-So much for the Aqueous or Stratified Rocks. Geology next brings before
-us another and a very different group, of which the origin is ascribed
-to fire, and which are consequently designated by the title of Igneous
-Rocks. In their general appearance they are chiefly distinguished
-from the former by the absence of regular stratification; but they
-are, nevertheless, intersected by numerous planes of division, or
-joints, as they are called, and thus divided into blocks of various
-size and form. Geologists believe that these rocks were at one time
-reduced to a molten state by the action of intense heat, and afterward
-allowed slowly to cool and to crystallize. They are divided into two
-classes, the Plutonic and the Volcanic. The Plutonic Rocks are chiefly
-granite of some kind or another; and though they now often appear at
-the surface, they are supposed to have been produced originally at
-a considerable depth within the crust of the Earth, “or sometimes,
-perhaps, under a certain weight of incumbent ocean.”[14] The Volcanic
-Rocks have been formed at or near the surface of the Earth, and, as the
-name implies, they are usually ejected, in a state of fusion, from the
-fissures of an active volcano; though not unfrequently they assume the
-more imposing form of basaltic columns, as at the Giant’s Causeway in
-Ireland, or on the island of Staffa near the coast of Argyleshire in
-Scotland.
-
-One group of rocks yet remains to be noticed. They have been called
-by various names at different times, but are now generally designated
-by the term Metamorphic. In some respects they resemble the Aqueous
-Rocks, while, in others, they are more nearly allied to the Igneous.
-Like the former, they are stratified in their outward arrangement;
-like the latter, they are more or less crystalline in their internal
-texture. As to their origin, we are told that they were first deposited
-under water, like the Aqueous Rocks, and that afterward their internal
-structure was altered by the agency of subterranean heat. Hence the
-name Metamorphic, first suggested by Sir Charles Lyell, which conveys
-the idea that these rocks have undergone a _change of form_. To this
-group belong many varieties of slate, and also the far-famed statuary
-marble of Italy.
-
-Our readers will perceive from this brief outline that, if we follow
-the theory of Geologists, the rocks which compose the Crust of the
-Earth may be conveniently divided, according to their origin, into
-three leading groups, the Aqueous, the Igneous, and the Metamorphic.
-The Aqueous are formed under water, either by the mechanical force of
-the water itself when in motion, or by the agency of chemical laws,
-or by the intervention of organic life. Hence they are naturally
-subdivided into three classes, the Mechanical, the Chemical, the
-Organic. The Igneous Rocks are produced by heat, being first melted
-and then allowed to cool. When this process takes place under great
-pressure in the depths of the Earth, the result is granite; and the
-granite Rocks are called Plutonic: when near the surface, through the
-agency of a volcano, the Rocks so formed are called Volcanic. Lastly,
-the Metamorphic Rocks are nothing else than Aqueous Rocks, of which the
-texture has been altered by the action of intense heat.
-
-As regards the relative order of position amongst these various classes
-of rocks, the lowest place seems uniformly to belong to the granitic or
-Plutonic group. It is true that the granite will often appear at the
-surface of the Earth; but wherever there is a series of rocks piled one
-above the other, the granite will always be the lowest. This assertion
-is based on two broad facts; first, whenever we get to the bottom
-of the other rocks, they are always found to rest on granite; and
-secondly, no other rock has ever yet been found beneath it. From this
-circumstance granite is conceived to be the solid foundation of the
-Earth’s Crust, and so is often called fundamental granite. Above the
-granite the Aqueous Rocks have been slowly spread out layer by layer
-during the long lapse of ages, now in this part of the world, now in
-that, according as each in its turn was exposed to the action of water.
-The Volcanic Rocks do not occur in any fixed order of succession. They
-are distributed irregularly over almost every country of the globe,
-occurring sometimes in the form of cone-shaped mountains, sometimes in
-the form of stately pillars, and sometimes in the form of massive solid
-walls, called Dykes, forced right through the softer Aqueous Rocks,
-which were deposited on the surface of the Earth before the eruption.
-As to the Metamorphic Rocks, which are supposed to owe their peculiar
-character to the contact of molten mineral matter, wherever they occur,
-they are found in the immediate neighborhood of some Igneous Rock.
-
-The condition of the Earth beneath its thin external crust has never
-been the subject of direct observation; for Geologists have never yet
-been able to penetrate below the granite rocks. Nevertheless, this
-subject has been often discussed, and has offered a wide field for
-philosophical speculation. Upon one point all are agreed, that within
-the Crust of the Earth an intense heat very generally prevails;--a heat
-so intense that it would be quite sufficient, acting under ordinary
-circumstances, to reduce all known rocks to a state of igneous fusion.
-Hence it was a common opinion among the older Geologists that the
-condition of our globe is that of a vast central nucleus composed of
-molten mineral, and covered over with a comparatively thin external
-shell of solid rock. The most eminent Geologists, however, of the
-present day, hesitate to accept this opinion. They observe: (1) That
-we have not yet learned what the material is of which the interior
-of the Earth is composed; therefore we cannot tell for certain what
-degree of heat is sufficient to reduce that material to a liquid state.
-(2) It is uncertain how far the immense pressure at great depths may
-operate to keep matter in a solid state, even when raised to a very
-high degree of temperature. (3) There are certain astronomical and
-physical difficulties involved in this theory, which have not yet been
-fully cleared up. Modern Geologists, therefore, proceeding with more
-caution than their predecessors, while they regard the opinion as
-probable, refuse to set it down as conclusively demonstrated. But, that
-a very high temperature prevails in the interior of our globe, is a
-conclusion, they say, which is established by abundant evidence, and
-which may be regarded as morally certain.
-
-It may be asked how the various strata of Aqueous Rocks, which
-constitute the chief portion of the Earth’s Crust, have been lifted up
-above the level of the sea; for, according to our theory, they were all
-first deposited under water. This is a question that must inevitably
-occur to the mind of every reader, and Geologists are ready with an
-answer. They tell us that from the earliest ages the Crust of the Earth
-has been subject to disturbance and dislocation. At various times and
-in various places it was upheaved, and what had been before the bed of
-the ocean became dry land; again it sunk below its former level, and
-what had been before dry land became the bed of the ocean. Thus, in the
-former case a new stratum which had been deposited at the bottom of the
-sea, with all its varied remains of a bygone age, was converted for a
-season into the surface of the Earth, and became the theatre of animal
-and vegetable life: while in the latter case, the old surface of the
-Earth with its countless tribes of animals and plants,--its _fauna_
-and _flora_ as they are called,--was submerged beneath the waters,
-there to receive in its turn the broken up fragments of a former
-world, deposited in the form of mud, or sand, or pebbles, or minute
-particles of lime. Nor is this all; it is but a single link in the
-chain of Geological chronology. We are asked to believe that, in many
-parts of the globe, this upward and downward movement has been going on
-alternately for unnumbered ages; so that the very same spot which was
-first the bed of the ocean, was afterward dry land, then the bottom of
-an estuary or inland lake, then perhaps once more the floor of the sea,
-and then dry land again: and furthermore we are assured that, while
-it remained in each one of these various conditions, thousands and
-thousands of years may have rolled away.
-
-But from what source does that mighty power come which can thus upheave
-the solid Earth, and banish the ocean from its bed? We are told in
-reply that this giant power dwells in the interior of the Earth
-itself, and is no other than the subterranean heat of which we have
-already spoken. This vast internal fire acts with unequal force upon
-different parts of the shell or Crust of the Earth, uplifting it in
-one place, and in another allowing it to subside. Now it is violent
-and convulsive, bursting asunder the solid rocks, and shaking the
-foundations of the hills: again it is gentle and harmless, upheaving
-vast continents with a scarcely perceptible undulation, not unlike the
-long, silent swell of the ocean. So it has been from the beginning,
-and so it is found to be even now, in this last age of the Geological
-Calendar. For even within historic times mountains have been suddenly
-upheaved from the level plain; and many parts of the Earth’s Crust have
-been subject to a slow, wave-like movement, rising here and subsiding
-there, at the rate of perhaps a few feet in a century. Sometimes,
-too, the fiery liquid itself has burst its barriers, and poured its
-destructive streams of molten rock far down into the peaceful, smiling
-valleys.
-
-This theory of an internal disturbing force, which from time to time
-produces elevations and depressions of the Earth’s Crust, serves to
-explain another phenomenon, that cannot fail to have struck even the
-least observant eye. The Aqueous Rocks of mechanical formation are
-said to have been composed of minute fragments, which were first held
-suspended in water, and afterward fell to the bottom. If this be true,
-it follows that these rocks, in the first period of their existence,
-must have been arranged in beds parallel to the horizon, or nearly
-so. But we now find them, as everybody knows, in a great variety
-of positions: sometimes they are parallel to the horizon, sometimes
-inclined to it, sometimes at right angles to it; sometimes, too, they
-are broken right across, sometimes curved and twisted after a very
-fantastic fashion. Now, all these appearances are the natural results
-of an upheaving force acting irregularly from below on the solid shell
-of the Earth. When the subterranean fire is brought to bear equally at
-the same time on a broad extent of surface, then the overlying strata
-are bodily lifted up, and preserve their horizontal position. But when
-the whole force acts with local intensity on a very contracted area,
-then, at that particular spot, the rocks above will be tilted up, and
-their position entirely changed. Sometimes they will be only bent and
-crushed together, sometimes dislocated and turned over; sometimes,
-perhaps, a mountain will be formed, and the rocks before parallel
-to the horizon, will afterward remain parallel to the slopes of the
-mountain.
-
-There is another process known by the name of Denudation, which we
-cannot pass over in silence, for it occupies a very important place in
-the Natural History of our globe. Since time first began Denudation
-has been ever going on at the surface of the Earth, and it has left
-its mark more or less distinctly upon every group of rocks, from the
-lowest to the highest. It includes all the various operations by which
-the old existing rocks are broken up into fragments, or ground into
-powder, or worn away by friction, or dissolved by chemical action,
-and then transported from their former site to become the elements
-of new strata. Hence the name Denudation; since by these operations
-the former surface of the Earth is carried away and a surface before
-covered is _laid bare_. The amount of destruction effected by this
-process in each successive age is always equal to the bulk of Aqueous
-Rocks formed within the same time. This will be at once understood
-when we remember that the Aqueous Rocks are produced, for the most
-part, by the deposition of sediment; and sediment is nothing else than
-the fragments, more or less minute, of pre-existing rocks. What is
-deposited on the bed of the ocean has been taken from the surface of
-the land; and the new strata are built up from the ruins of the old.
-When we see a great building of stone towering aloft to the sky, we
-are certain that somewhere else on the Earth a quarry has been opened,
-and that the amount of excavation in the quarry is exactly represented
-by the bulk of solid masonry in the building. Just in the same way,
-the mass of Aqueous Rocks is at once the monument and the measure of
-previous Denudation.
-
-The process of Denudation is the work of many and various natural
-causes. Heat and cold, rain, hail, and snow, chemical affinities,
-the atmosphere itself, all have a share in it; but the largest share
-belongs to the mechanical action of moving water. Every little rill
-that flows down the mountain side is charged with finely-powdered
-sediment which it is ever wearing away from the surface of its own
-bed. Every great stream, besides the immense quantities of mud and
-sand which in times of flood it carries along in its turbulent course,
-has its channel strewn over with pebbles at which it never ceases to
-work, rounding off the angles and polishing the surfaces; and these
-pebbles, what are they but the fragments of old rocks and the elements
-of new,--the rubble-stone of Nature’s edifice on its way from the
-quarry to the building? Then there are those mighty rivers, such as the
-Amazon, the Orinoco, the Mississippi, the Nile, the Ganges, discharging
-into the sea day by day their vast freight of mineral matter, millions
-of cubic feet in bulk, and thousands upon thousands of tons in weight.
-Often this ponderous volume of mud or sand is carried far out to sea by
-the action of currents, but sometimes it is deposited near the shore,
-forming what is called a Delta, and exhibiting an admirable example
-of stratified rock in the earliest stage of its existence. Lastly, we
-have to notice the giant power of the great ocean itself, acting with
-untiring energies on the coasts of continents and islands all over the
-world, excavating and undermining cliffs, rolling huge rocks hither and
-thither, and spreading out the divided fragments in a new order at the
-bottom of the sea.
-
-To apprehend fully the magnitude of the effects which may fairly be
-ascribed to this last-mentioned power, we must remember that, according
-to Geological theory, almost every portion of the Earth’s Crust has
-been more than once lifted up above the surface of the ocean, and
-afterward depressed below it. It is believed that this alternate
-rising and sinking was effected very often, perhaps most commonly,
-not by sudden convulsions, but rather by slow or gradual movements.
-Now, during this process, as the land was emerging from the waters
-or sinking beneath them, new surfaces would be presented in each
-succeeding century to the force of the ocean currents and the erosive
-action of the breakers; and it is not difficult to conceive that the
-accumulated ruins produced, in a long lapse of time, by destructive
-agents so powerful, so untiring, so universal, may have readily
-furnished the materials for a very large proportion of the Aqueous
-Rocks now in existence.
-
-Hitherto we have considered the Crust of the Earth as a great structure
-slowly reared up by the hand of Nature; we have spoken of the Rocks
-that compose it, of their origin and history, of the order in which
-they are disposed, and of the various agencies that have been at
-work to mould them into their present form and feature. We have now
-to contemplate this marvellous structure under a new aspect; for we
-are told by Geologists that it is a vast sepulchre, within which lie
-entombed the remains of life that has long since passed away. Each
-series of strata is but a new range of tombs; and each tomb has a story
-of its own. Here a gigantic monster is disclosed to view, compared
-to which the largest beast that now roams through the forest is puny
-in form and contemptible in strength: there, within a narrow space,
-millions of minute animal frames are found closely compacted together,
-each so small that its existence can be detected only by the aid of
-a powerful microscope. In one place whole skeletons are found almost
-entire, embedded in the bosom of the solid rock; in another, we have a
-boundless profusion of bones and shells; and again in another, neither
-the skeleton itself appears, nor yet its scattered bones, but simply
-the imprint of footsteps once left upon the sandy beach, and still
-remaining engraved on the stone into which the fine sand has been
-converted chiefly by the agency of pressure. There is no scarcity of
-relics in this wonderful charnel-house of Nature. For half a century
-the work of plunder has been going on without relaxation or remorse;
-the tombs have been yielding up their dead; every city in the civilized
-world has filled its museums, and the cabinets of private collectors
-are overflowing: but the spoils that have hitherto been carried away
-seem to bear a very small proportion to those which yet remain behind.
-
-These remains of animals and plants embedded in the Crust of the
-Earth are called Fossils; and Geologists maintain that the Fossils
-preserved in each group of strata represent the animals and plants
-that flourished on the surface of the Earth, or in the waters of the
-ocean, when that group of strata was in process of formation. There
-they lived, and there they died, and there they were buried, in the
-sand, or the shingle, or the mud that came down from the waters above.
-Their descendants, however, still lived on, and new forms of life were
-called into being by the voice of the Omnipotent Creator, making, as
-it were, a connecting link between the new age of the world that was
-coming in and the old one that was passing away. But they, too, died
-and found a tomb beneath the waters; for Nature, with unexhausted
-energies, was still busy collecting materials from the old rocks, and
-building up the new. And so that age passed away like the former, and
-another came; and every age was represented by its own group of strata;
-and each group of strata was, in its turn, covered over with a new
-deposit; and the tombs were all sealed up, with their countless legions
-of dead, their massive monuments of stone, their strange hieroglyphic
-inscriptions. At length came the last stage of the world’s history, and
-man appeared upon the scene; and it is his privilege to descend into
-this wonderful sepulchre, and to wander about amidst the monuments, and
-to strive to read the inscriptions. In our own days more especially,
-eager and enthusiastic students are abroad over the whole face of the
-globe, and are gathering together from every country the Fossil Remains
-of extinct worlds. By the aid of Natural History they seek to assign to
-each its own proper place in the ranks of creation; to trace the rise,
-the progress, and the extinction of every species in its turn; and even
-to describe the nature and the character of all the various forms of
-life that have dwelt upon the Earth from the beginning.
-
-Such is the theory of Geology as expounded at the present day by its
-most able and popular advocates. We have passed over a multitude of
-minor details that we might not weary our readers, and we have kept
-aloof from disputed points that we might not get entangled in a purely
-scientific controversy. Our object has simply been to gather together
-into a systematic form those more general conclusions which, however
-startling they may seem to practical men of the world, and even to many
-of those whose minds have been accustomed to the pursuit of science
-in other departments, are nevertheless regarded as certain by all
-who have devoted their lives to the study of Geology. It now remains
-to investigate the facts on which these conclusions are based, and
-to consider the line of argument by which so many able and earnest
-men have been led to accept them. In this vast field of inquiry we
-shall chiefly direct our attention to those points that bear upon the
-Antiquity of the Earth; and in attempting to bring home to our readers
-the nature and the force of Geological reasoning, we shall confine
-ourselves altogether to simple and familiar illustrations.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER II._
-
-THEORY OF DENUDATION ILLUSTRATED BY FACTS.
-
-  _Principle of reasoning common to all the physical sciences--This
-  principle applicable to Geology--Carbonic acid an agent
-  of denudation--Vast quantity of lime dissolved by the
-  waters of the Rhine and borne away to the German ocean--Disintegration
-  of rocks by frost--Professor Tyndall on the
-  Matterhorn--Running water--Its erosive power--An active
-  and unceasing agent of denudation--Mineral sediment carried
-  out to sea by the Ganges and other great rivers--Solid
-  rocks undermined and worn away--Falls of the Clyde at
-  Lanark--Excavating power of rivers in Auvergne and
-  Sicily--Falls of Niagara--Transporting power of running
-  water--Floods in Scotland--Inundation in the valley of
-  Bagnes in Switzerland._
-
-
-In the physical sciences it is a common principle of reasoning to
-account for the phenomena that come before us in nature, by the
-operation of natural causes which we know to exist. Nay, this principle
-seems to be almost an instinct of our nature, which guides even the
-least philosophical amidst us, in the common affairs of life. When we
-stand amongst the ruins of an ancient castle, we feel quite certain
-that we have before us, not alone the monument of Time’s destroying
-power, but also the monument of human skill and labor in days gone
-by. We entertain no doubt that ages ago the sound of the mason’s
-hammer was heard upon these walls, now crowned with ivy; that these
-moss-grown stones were once hewn fresh in the quarry, and piled up one
-upon another by human hands; and that the building itself was designed
-by human skill, and intended for the purposes of human habitation and
-defence. Or, if we see a footprint in the sand, we conclude that a
-living foot has been there; and from the character of the traces it has
-left, we judge what was the species of animal to which it belonged,
-whether man, or bird, or beast. It is true that God is Omnipotent.
-He might, if it had so pleased Him, have built the old castle at the
-creation of the world, and allowed it to crumble slowly into ruins: or
-he might have built it yesterday, and made a ruin begin to be where no
-castle had stood before; and covered the stones with moss, and mantled
-the walls in ivy. And as to the footprint in the sand, it were as easy
-for Him to make the impress there, as to make the foot that left the
-impress. All this is true: but yet if any one were to argue in this
-style against us, he would fail to shake our convictions; we should
-still unhesitatingly believe that human hands once built the castle,
-and that a living foot once trod the shore.
-
-Now, this principle of reasoning is the foundation on which the ablest
-modern Geologists claim to build their science. The untiring hand of
-Nature is ever busy around us: they ask us to come and look at her
-works, and to judge of what she has done in past ages, by that which
-she is now doing before our eyes. She is still, they say, building
-up her strata all over the globe, of limestone, and sandstone, and
-clay; she is still lifting up in one place the bed of the ocean, and
-in another submerging the dry land; she is still bursting open the
-Crust of the Earth by the action of internal fire, disturbing and
-tilting up the horizontal strata; she is still upheaving her mountains
-and scooping out her valleys. All these operations are open to our
-inspection; we may go forth and study them for ourselves; we may
-examine the works that are wrought, and we may discover, too, the
-causes by which they are produced. And if it should appear that a very
-close analogy exists between these works that are now coming into
-existence, and the long series of works that are piled up in the Crust
-of the Earth, it is surely not unreasonable to refer the latter class
-of phenomena to the action of the same natural causes which we know to
-have produced the former.
-
-It cannot be denied that this argument is deserving of a fair and
-candid consideration. Let us proceed, then, to examine how far it is
-founded on fact, and how far it can be justly applied to the various
-heads of Geological theory. We will commence with the origin and
-history of Stratified Rocks; for this constitutes, in a manner, the
-framework on which the whole system of Geology is supported and held
-together. It is alleged that the elements of which Stratified Rocks are
-composed are but the broken fragments and minute atoms of pre-existing
-rocks, carried off by the agents of Denudation, and spread out over
-some distant area in regular beds or layers; which, in progress of
-ages, were slowly consolidated into rocks of various quality and
-texture. With the view of testing this theory by the light of the
-principle just explained, we purpose, in the first place, to exhibit
-some examples of the many forms in which the process of Denudation
-is going on at the present day all over the world; and afterward, to
-show that out of the materials thus obtained Stratified Rocks of every
-description--Mechanical, Chemical, Organic--are being regularly built
-up in sundry places; and that these correspond in every essential
-feature with the Stratified Rocks in the Crust of the Earth.
-
-Among the chemical agents of Denudation, there is none more widely
-diffused than Carbonic acid gas. It is everywhere given out by dead
-animal and vegetable matter during the process of putrefaction; it is
-plentifully evolved from springs in every country; and it is emitted
-in enormous quantities from the earth in all volcanic districts, as
-well those in which the volcanoes are now extinct as those in which
-they are active. Now, it is well known from observation, that carbonic
-acid has the property of decomposing many of the hardest rocks,
-especially those in which felspar is an ingredient. This phenomenon
-is exhibited on a large scale in the ancient volcanic district of
-Auvergne, in central France. The carbonic acid, which is abundantly
-evolved from the earth, penetrates the crevices and pores of the solid
-granite, which being unable to resist its decomposing action, is
-rapidly crumbling to pieces. This mysterious decay of hard rock has
-been happily called by Dolomieu, “la maladie du granite.”[15]
-
-Again, all the water which flows over the surface of the land is highly
-charged with carbonic acid. The rain imbibes it in falling through the
-atmosphere; and the rivers receive still further accessions from the
-earth as they pursue their course to the sea. In this combination we
-discover a powerful agent of Denudation; for limestone rock will be
-dissolved by water which is impregnated with carbonic acid. Thus all
-the rivers and streams in the world, when they flow through a limestone
-channel, are constantly dissolving the solid rock and bearing away the
-elements of which it is composed. A single example will be sufficient
-to show the magnitude of the results which are thus produced. It has
-been calculated by Bischof, a celebrated German chemist, that the
-carbonate of lime which is carried each year to the sea by the waters
-of the Rhine, is sufficient for the formation of 32,000,000,000 of
-oyster shells; or, to view the matter in another light, it would be
-sufficient to produce a stratum of limestone one foot thick, and four
-square miles in extent.[16] If such be the yearly produce of one
-river, how great must be the accumulated effects of all the rivers in
-the world since our planet first came from the hand of its Creator!
-
-Passing from the chemical to the mechanical agents of Denudation, it
-is worth while to notice the immense power which is often generated by
-the agency of frost, especially in those countries that are subject to
-great vicissitudes of heat and cold. During a thaw, water finds its way
-into the clefts and joints by which all rocks are traversed, and when
-it is afterward converted into ice, it expands with a mechanical force
-that is almost irresistible. The hardest rocks are burst asunder, great
-blocks are detached from the mountain side, and sent rolling down its
-slopes, or tumbling over crags and precipices, until at length they
-come to rest in shattered fragments at the bottom of the valley. In
-this condition they await but the coming of the winter’s torrent to be
-borne still further on their long journey to the sea.
-
-The fearful havoc done in this way by the alternate action of sun and
-frost contributes in no small degree to the fantastic and picturesque
-forms assumed by the mountain peaks of Switzerland. Huge masses of
-rock have been literally hewn away, until nothing has remained behind
-but those splintered obelisks and tapering pinnacles so familiar to
-the eye amidst the sublime scenery of the Alps. Indeed one of the
-greatest perils encountered by the adventurous spirits whose ambition
-it is to rival one another in the danger of their exploits, and to
-climb whatever was before regarded as inaccessible, arises from the
-enormous fragments of rock which are rent almost unceasingly from the
-overhanging crags and hurled into the abysses below them. The following
-incident related by Professor Tyndall is very much to the point. “We
-had gathered up our things, and bent to the work before us, when
-suddenly an explosion occurred overhead. Looking aloft, in mid-air was
-seen a solid shot from the Matterhorn describing its proper parabola
-through the air. It split to pieces as it hit one of the rock-towers
-below, and its fragments came down in a kind of spray, which fell wide
-of us, but still near enough to compel a sharp look out. Two or three
-such explosions occurred afterward, but we crept along the back fin of
-the mountain, from which the falling boulders were speedily deflected
-right and left.”
-
-This occurred in 1862, on the occasion of an unsuccessful attempt
-to reach the highest peak of the Matterhorn. Six years later, when
-Professor Tyndall at length actually accomplished the object on which
-he seems to have set his heart, he found the work of destruction
-still going on. “We were now,” he says in his narrative, “beside a
-snow-gully, which was cut by a deep furrow along its centre, and
-otherwise scarred by the descent of stones. Here each man arranged his
-bundle and himself so as to cross the gully in the minimum of time. The
-passage was safely made, a few flying shingle only coming down upon us.
-But danger declared itself where it was not expected. Joseph Maquignas
-led the way up the rocks. I was next, Pierre Maquignas next, and last
-of all the porters. Suddenly a yell issued from the leader: ‘Cachez
-vous!’ I crouched instinctively against the rock, which formed a by no
-means perfect shelter, when a boulder buzzed past me through the air,
-smote the rocks below me, and with a savage hum flew down to the lower
-glacier.”[17]
-
-Even in our own country, every one is familiar with the efficacy of
-frozen water in producing landslips. The rain which soaks into the
-ground in winter, is converted into ice when frost sets in; and upon
-steep slopes or precipices, its expansive power bursts open the earth,
-and causes large masses of stones and clay to tumble headlong to the
-bottom.
-
-But moving water constitutes the most powerful, and, at the same
-time, the most universal agent of Denudation. And it is chiefly to the
-effects of moving water that we mean to direct attention; because its
-action is more striking to the eye, and more easily understood by the
-general reader. Every one is aware that the waters of the ocean are
-constantly passing off by evaporation into the higher regions of the
-atmosphere, and are there condensed into clouds. These clouds in course
-of time descend upon all parts of the earth, but especially on the high
-and mountainous districts. Then rivulets are formed which flow smoothly
-down the gentle slopes of the undulating country, or plunge headlong
-over the rocky mountain cliffs; and the rivulets uniting form streams,
-and the streams, receiving new tributaries as they advance, become
-rivers; and the rivers flow on to the sea, and discharge each day and
-each hour their enormous volumes of water back again into the ocean
-from which they came. Thus all the water of the world is constantly
-in motion, ever hurrying on, as it were, in one unending round of
-duty. This is the teaching of daily experience and observation. And
-we may add, it is the teaching of Sacred Scripture as well. The Wise
-Man said long ago: “All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea doth
-not overflow: unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they
-return to flow again.”[18]
-
-Now, the power of this moving water is a mighty wide-spread agent of
-change in the physical condition of the globe. For wherever water is in
-motion over the surface of the land, whether it be a rippling stream,
-or a mountain torrent, or a majestic river, it is surely wearing away
-the channel through which it flows, and carrying along in its course
-particles of clay, or sand, or gravel. This subject is illustrated with
-great force and great simplicity by Mr. Page. “Every person,” he says,
-“must have observed the rivers in his own district, how they become
-muddy and turbid during floods of rain, and how their swollen currents
-eat away the banks, deepen the channels, and sweep away the sand and
-gravel down to some lower level. And if, during this turbid state, he
-will have the curiosity to lift a gallon of the water, and allow it
-to settle, he will be astonished at the amount of sediment or solid
-matter that falls to the bottom. Now, let him multiply this gallon by
-the number of gallons daily carried down by the river, and this day
-by years and centuries, and he will arrive at some faint idea of the
-quantity of matter worn from the land by rivers, and deposited by them
-in the ocean. In the same way as one river grinds and cuts for itself a
-channel, so does every stream and rill and current of water. The rain
-as it falls washes away what the winds and frosts have loosened; the
-rill takes it up, and, mingling it with its own burden, gives it to the
-stream; the stream takes it up and carries it to the river, and the
-river bears it to the ocean.”[19]
-
-When the current is feeble, the greater part of this earthy material is
-thrown down upon the way, and forms a stratum of alluvial soil in the
-bed of the river, and also in the adjoining lowlands, during the time
-of temporary floods. But when several streams unite, then the carrying
-power of the current is enormously increased: huge stones are rolled
-along, and dashed one against another, and broken into fragments, and
-the fragments are rounded by friction, and become pebbles, and the
-pebbles become gravel, and the gravel, mud; and the mud is carried on
-to the mouth of the river, and there falling to the bottom, it forms a
-tongue of land which is called a delta; or else perhaps it chances to
-meet with some great ocean current, and then it begins a new journey,
-and is borne far away to be deposited in the profound and tranquil
-depths of the sea. It is not, however, mineral matter alone that is
-transported by the action of rivers. Trees that once were growing on
-the banks of the stream, and the bones of animals, and human remains,
-and works of art, are seen floating down with the current, and are
-found embedded in the sand and mud of the delta at the river’s mouth.
-
-These are some of the actual realities which all may witness, who will
-go and study for themselves the history of this wonderful element,
-from the time when it first soars aloft as vapor to the sky, until it
-returns to the bosom of its parent ocean laden with the spoils of the
-land. To some of our readers, perhaps, results of this kind may appear
-insignificant, when considered in relation to the enormous bulk of the
-stratified rocks. But it should be remembered that the force of which
-we speak is unceasing in its operation over the whole surface of the
-earth; and even though the work were small which is accomplished in
-each successive year, the accumulated effects produced in a lengthened
-period of time must be immensely great. Besides, it would be a very
-serious error to form our ideas on this subject, as many would seem to
-do, from the examples which are to be found within the narrow limits of
-our own island. We should rather seek for our illustrations among those
-mighty rivers that drain the vast continents of the world, and exhibit
-the erosive and transporting power of running water on the grandest
-scale.
-
-It happens, fortunately for our purpose, that an attempt has been
-made by scientific men to compute the amount of matter discharged
-into the sea, by some particular rivers within a given time. For such
-a computation it is necessary, in the first place, to calculate the
-volume of water that passes down the channel during that time; and
-then, by repeated experiments, to ascertain the average proportion of
-earthy matter which is held suspended in the water. This has been done
-with the greatest care by the Rev. Mr. Everest, in the case of the
-river Ganges; and it appears that during the rainy season, which lasts
-four months every year, from June to September, about 6,000,000,000
-cubic feet of mud are carried along by the stream past the town of
-Ghazepoor, near which the observations were made. Now this enormous
-bulk of mineral matter would be sufficient to form a stratum of rock
-one foot in height, and two hundred and eighteen square miles in
-extent. Or, to adopt the computation of Sir Charles Lyell, the amount
-which passes by every day is equal to that which might be transported
-by 2000 Indiamen, each freighted with a cargo of mud 1400 tons in
-weight. And it is important to remember that this estimate represents
-but a portion of the sediment which passes into the sea through the
-channel of the Ganges; for the observations of Mr. Everest were taken
-at a point which is 500 miles from the sea, and at which the river has
-not yet received the contributions of its largest tributaries.
-
-We are able, therefore, with some degree of confidence, to estimate
-the amount of Denudation which is every year effected by the Ganges.
-And, although the same calculations have not yet been applied with
-equal care to other great rivers, there is no reason to suppose that
-the Ganges is an exception. It is asserted on good grounds that the
-Brahmapootra, which unites with the Ganges close to the Bay of Bengal,
-carries with it an equal amount of earthy sediment. According to Sir
-Charles Lyell, the quantity of solid matter brought down each year by
-the Mississippi amounts to 3,702,758,400 cubic feet. And it is said
-that 48,000,000 cubic feet of earth are _daily_ discharged into the sea
-by the Yellow River in China, called by the natives the Hoang Ho.[20]
-Thus year after year the waste of the land is carried away by rivers,
-to be spread out over wide areas of the ocean, and perhaps to furnish
-the materials of future continents.
-
-The effects of running water in wearing away and transporting masses
-of solid rock are not less deserving of our notice. Every one who has
-followed the course of a great river when it flows through a rocky
-channel, must have observed large blocks projecting from the cliffs
-above, which, having been undermined by the action of the water, seem
-ready to tumble headlong into the stream; and others lying below, which
-had fallen before; and others again which had been already carried a
-considerable distance by the winter’s torrent. Even where the rocks
-are not displaced, they are gradually being worn away, partly by the
-friction of the water, but much more by the grinding action of the
-gravel which the water holds in suspension. Not only is the surface of
-the rocks thus rounded and polished, but large circular pits, called
-_pot-holes_, are formed by the whirling waters of an eddy carrying
-round and round a few grains of hard sand.
-
-At the falls of the Clyde near Lanark in Scotland, these various
-phenomena may be seen to great advantage. Good illustrations are to
-be found also in many volcanic regions. Some of the larger streams in
-Auvergne have in course of time forced their way through the solid lava
-rock, cutting out for themselves channels broad and deep. In Sicily
-too, we are told, the river Simeto, whose course was blocked up by a
-current of lava about the beginning of the seventeenth century, has
-since that time eaten its way through this compact and hardened mass,
-and now flows on to the sea through a rocky passage forty feet in depth
-and from fifty to several hundred feet in width.[21]
-
-But there is no part of the world yet explored where these effects
-are exhibited on the same gigantic scale as at the far-famed Falls
-of Niagara. The massive limestone rock from which the waters are
-precipitated is slowly but certainly disappearing. An enormous volume
-of water, more than a third of a mile in breadth, plunges in a single
-bound over a sheer precipice of one hundred and sixty-five feet. The
-soft slaty rocks upon which the limestone rests are soon eaten away
-by the action of the spray which rises from the pool below; and then
-the overhanging cliffs, left without any support, topple over, and
-are carried off by the torrent. The position of the Falls, therefore,
-is not stationary, but is receding by very sensible degrees in the
-direction of Lake Erie, from which the river flows. Speaking of this
-phenomenon, Sir Charles Lyell observes with much show of reason: “The
-idea of perpetual and progressive waste is constantly present to the
-mind of every beholder: and as that part of the chasm which has been
-the work of the last hundred and fifty years resembles precisely in
-depth, width, and character the rest of the gorge, which extends seven
-miles below, it is most natural to infer, that the entire ravine has
-been hollowed out in the same manner, by the recession of the cataract.
-It must at least be conceded, that the river supplies an adequate cause
-for executing the whole task thus assigned to it, provided we grant
-sufficient time for its completion.”[22]
-
-With a view to enable our readers to understand more fully the
-prodigious force which rivers have been known to exert in the
-transportation of rocks, it may be useful to draw attention to one or
-two principles of physical science. First, we have the well-known law
-of Archimedes, that _a solid body immersed in a liquid loses a part
-of its weight equal to the weight of the liquid displaced_. Now solid
-rock as compared with water, bulk for bulk, is rarely more than three
-times, and often not more than twice as heavy. Consequently, according
-to this law, almost all rocks will lose a third of their weight, and
-many will lose one-half, when immersed in water. Again, it has been
-established that _the power of water to move bodies that are in it
-increases as the sixth power of the velocity of the current_. Hence,
-if the velocity of a current is increased _two-fold_, its moving power
-will be increased _sixty-four fold_; if the velocity is increased
-_three-fold_, the moving power will be increased _seven hundred and
-twenty fold_; and so on.
-
-From these principles it follows, first, that a much smaller power is
-required to move a block of stone lying in the bed of a river, than if
-it were lying on the surface of the land; and secondly, that a very
-slight increase in the velocity of a current effects a very great
-increase in its moving power. We need not wonder, then, when we hear of
-the enormous masses of rocks and trees and mason-work which are carried
-away even by small rivers in times of flood.[23]
-
-Here are a few examples. In August, 1829, a fragment of sandstone,
-fourteen feet long, three feet wide, and one foot thick, was carried
-by the river Nairn, in Scotland, a distance of two hundred yards. On
-the same occasion the river Dee swept away a bridge of five arches,
-built of solid granite, which had stood uninjured for twenty years;
-the whole mass of masonry sunk into the bed of the stream and was
-seen no more. And the river Don, as we are assured on the authority
-of Mr. Farquharson, forced a mass of stones four or five hundred
-tons in weight up a steep inclined plane, leaving them in a great
-rectangular heap on the summit. A small rivulet called the College, in
-Northumberland, when swollen by a flood in August, 1827, “tore away
-from the abutment of a mill-dam a large block of greenstone-porphyry
-weighing nearly two tons, and transported it to the distance of a
-quarter of a mile.”[24] But it is needless to multiply examples of
-phenomena which are occurring every day around us, and of which many
-among our readers have probably been eye-witnesses.
-
-The transporting power of rivers must not always be estimated by the
-bulk and velocity of the current; for it is often greatly increased by
-some accidental obstruction, which for a time blocks up the channel
-through which the river flows. An instructive illustration is afforded
-by the river Dranse, which flows through the valley of Bagnes, in
-Switzerland, and empties itself into the Rhone above the lake of
-Geneva. In the year 1818 the avalanches which fell down from the
-mountain side formed a barrier across the valley, and thus effectually
-blocked up the course of the stream. The upper part of the valley was,
-in consequence, soon converted into a lake which gradually increased in
-size as the season advanced. When summer came, and the melting of the
-snows began, the ice barrier suddenly gave way with a tremendous crash,
-and the lake was emptied in half an hour. The mass of water, thus in
-a moment disengaged, burst with destructive violence over the lower
-valley, sweeping away rocks, forests, houses, bridges, and cultivated
-lands. Thousands of trees were torn up by the roots, fragments of
-granite as large as houses were rolled along, and the whole flood
-presented the appearance of a moving mass of ruins.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER III._
-
-THEORY OF DENUDATION--FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.
-
-    _The breakers of the ocean--Caverns and fairy bridges
-    of Kilkee--Italy and Sicily--The Shetland Islands--East
-    and south coast of Britain--Tracts of land swallowed up
-    by the sea--Island of Heligoland--Northstrand--Tides and
-    currents--South Atlantic current--Equatorial current--The Gulf
-    Stream--Its course described--Examples of its power as an agent
-    of transport._
-
-
-While the rain, the rivers, and the streams, are thus wasting away
-the mountains and plains of the interior country, the waves of the
-sea are exerting a power no less destructive on the coasts of islands
-and of continents. The breakers dashing against the foot of a lofty
-cliff, dissolve and decompose and wear away the lower strata; and
-the overhanging rocks, thus undermined, fall down in course of time
-by their own weight. With the next returning wave these rocks are
-themselves hurled back against the cliff; and so, as some one has
-happily remarked, the land would seem to supply a powerful artillery
-for its own destruction. The effects of the breakers are often very
-unequal, even on the same line of cliffs. Some parts of the rock are
-more yielding than others, or perhaps they are more exposed to the
-action of the waves, or perhaps they are divided by larger joints and
-more freely admit the destructive element. These parts will be the
-first to give way, while the harder and less exposed rock will be left
-standing: and in this way forms the most capricious and fantastic are
-produced.
-
-No finer examples could be wished for than those which are seen in the
-neighborhood of Kilkee, and along the promontory of Loop Head, in the
-county of Clare. Sometimes the ground is undermined with caverns, into
-which, when the tide is coming in, the waves of the Atlantic rush with
-resistless force, making new additions each day to the accumulated
-ruins of ages. Sometimes lofty pinnacles of rock are left standing in
-the midst of the waters, like giant sentinels stationed there by Nature
-to guard the coast. In one or two instances these isolated fragments
-are connected with the main land by natural arches of rock, which are
-called _fairy bridges_ by the people; but more commonly they appear as
-rocky islets, and answer exactly to the poet’s description--
-
-                            “The roaring tides
-    The passage broke that land from land divides;
-    And where the lands retired the rushing ocean rides.”
-
-It is interesting to observe in passing, that, in the original verses
-of the Æneid, of which these lines are Dryden’s translation, Virgil
-has recorded a belief which prevailed in his time, and which, upon
-scientific grounds, is now regarded as highly probable by Geologists,
-that the island of Sicily had been once connected by land with Italy,
-and was separated from it by the action of the waves:
-
-        “Hæc loca, vi quondam et vasta convulsa ruina,
-        Tantum ævi longinqua valet mutare vetustas!
-        Dissiluisse ferunt, quum protenus utraque tellus
-        Una foret; venit medio vi pontus et undis
-        Hesperium Siculo latus abscidit, arvaque et urbes
-        Litore deductas angusto interluit æsta.”
-
-        Æneid, iii., 414-19.
-
-But whatever may be thought of this opinion thus rendered immortal
-by the genius of the poet, we shall not stop to discuss its merits.
-For in the present stage of our argument, it is our object to deal,
-not with vague and uncertain traditions, nor even with philosophical
-speculations, but rather with the facts which are actually going on in
-nature, and which any one of our readers may examine for himself. With
-this object in view, we shall take a few examples from the Eastern and
-Southern coasts of Great Britain, which have been carefully explored by
-scientific men for the purpose of observing and recording the amount of
-destruction accomplished by the waves within recent times.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 1.--Granitic rocks to the south of Hillswick Ness,
-Shetland. From Lyell’s Principles of Geology.]
-
-The Shetland Islands, exposed to the whole fury of the Atlantic,
-present many phenomena not unlike those of Kilkee and Loop Head, but
-upon a far grander scale. Whole islands have been swept away by the
-resistless power of the waters, and of others nothing remains but
-massive pillars of hard rock, which have been well described as rising
-up “like the ruins of Palmyra in the desert of the ocean.” Passing
-to the mainland, it is recorded that in the year 1795 a village in
-Kincardineshire was carried away in a single night, and the sea
-advanced a hundred and fifty yards inland, where it has ever since
-maintained its ground. In England, almost the whole coast of Yorkshire
-is undergoing constant dilapidation. On the south side of Flamborough
-Head the cliffs are receding at an average rate of two yards and a
-quarter in the year, for a distance of thirty-six miles along the
-coast. This would amount to a mile since the Norman Conquest, and
-to more than two miles since the occupation of York by the Romans.
-It is not surprising, therefore, to learn that many spots marked in
-the old maps of the country as the sites of towns or villages, are
-now sandbanks in the sea. Even places of historic name have not been
-spared. The town of Ravenspur, from which, in 1332, Edward Baliol
-sailed for the invasion of Scotland, and at which Henry the Fourth
-landed in 1399, to claim the throne of England, has long since been
-swallowed up by the devouring element.
-
-On the coast of Norfolk it was calculated, at the beginning of the
-present century, that the mean loss of the land was something less
-than one yard in the year. The inn at Sherringham was built on
-this calculation in 1805, and it was expected to stand for seventy
-years. But unfortunately the actual advance of the sea exceeded the
-calculation. Sir Charles Lyell, who visited this spot in 1829, relates
-that during the five preceding years seventeen yards of the cliff had
-been swept away, and nothing but a small garden was then left between
-the building and the sea. The same distinguished writer tells us that
-in the harbor of this town there was at that time water sufficient to
-float a frigate where forty-eight years before had stood a cliff fifty
-feet in height with houses built upon it. And remarking upon these
-facts, he says, that “if once in half a century an equal amount of
-change were produced suddenly by the momentary shock of an earthquake,
-history would be filled with records of such wonderful revolutions of
-the earth’s surface; but if the conversion of high land into deep sea
-be gradual, it excites only local attention.”
-
-In the neighborhood of Dunwich, once the most considerable seaport on
-the coast of Suffolk, the cliffs have been wasting away from an early
-period of history. “Two tracts of land which had been taxed in the
-time of King Edward the Confessor, are mentioned in the Conqueror’s
-survey, made but a few years afterward, as having been devoured by the
-sea.” And the memory of other losses in the town itself--including a
-monastery, several churches, the town-hall, the jail, and many hundred
-houses--together with the dates of their occurrence, is faithfully
-preserved in authentic records. In 1740 the sea reached the churchyard
-of Saint Nicholas and Saint Francis, so that the graves, the coffins,
-and the skeletons, were exposed to view on the face of the cliffs.
-Since that time the coffins, and the tombstones, and the churchyard
-itself, have disappeared beneath the waves. Nothing now remains of this
-once flourishing and populous city but the name alone, which is still
-attached to a little village of about twenty houses. The spot on which
-the Church of Reculver stands, near the mouth of the Thames, was a
-mile inland in the reign of Henry the Eighth; in the year 1834 it was
-overhanging the sea; and it would long ago have been demolished, but
-for an artificial causeway of stones constructed with a view to break
-the force of the waves. It is estimated that the land on the northeast
-coast of Kent is receding at the rate of about two feet in the year.
-The promontory of Beachy Head in Sussex is also rapidly falling away.
-In the year 1813 an enormous mass of chalk, three hundred feet in
-length and eighty in breadth, came down with a tremendous crash; and
-slips of the same kind have often occurred, both before and since.
-
-To these examples from Great Britain we may add one or two from the
-German Ocean. Seven islands have completely disappeared within a very
-narrow area since the time of Pliny; for he counted twenty-three
-between Texel and the mouth of the Eider, whereas now there are but
-sixteen. The island of Heligoland, at the mouth of the Elbe, has been
-for ages subject to great dilapidation. Within the last five hundred
-years three-fourths of it have been carried away; and since 1770 the
-fragment that remains has been divided into two parts by a channel
-which is at present navigable for large ships. A still more remarkable
-instance of destruction effected by the waves of the sea occurred in
-the island of Northstrand, on the coast of Schleswig. Previous to the
-thirteenth century it was attached to the mainland, forming a part
-of the continent of Europe, and was a highly cultivated and populous
-district about ten miles long, and from six to eight broad. In the year
-1240 it was cut off from the coast of Schleswig by an inroad of the
-sea, and it gradually wasted away up to the seventeenth century, when
-its entire circumference was sixteen geographical miles. Even then the
-industrious inhabitants,--about nine thousand in number,--endeavored to
-save what remained of their territory by the erection of lofty dykes;
-but on the eleventh of October, 1634, the whole island was overwhelmed
-by another invasion of the sea, in which 6000 people perished, and
-50,000 head of cattle. Three small islets are all that now remain of
-this once fertile district.[25]
-
-The breakers of the ocean receive no small aid in their work of
-destruction from the action of tides and currents which co-operate with
-the winds to keep the waters of the sea in constant motion. And though
-the winds may sleep for a time, the tides and currents are always
-actively at work, and never for a moment cease to wear away the land.
-But they are even more powerful auxiliaries as agents of transport. If
-it were not for them, the ruins which fall from the rocks to-day would
-to-morrow form a barrier against the waves, and the work of destruction
-would cease. But Nature has ordained it otherwise. When the tide
-advances, it rolls the broken fragments toward the land, and when it
-recedes, it carries them back to the deep; and so by unceasing friction
-these fragments are worn away to pebbles, and then, being more easily
-transported, they are carried off to sea and deposited in the bed of
-the ocean: or else, perhaps, they are cast up on the sloping shore, to
-form what is so familiar to us all under the name of a shingle-beach.
-
-This is a subject on which it is needless to enlarge. Every one
-knows that the tides have the power of transporting solid matter;
-though most of us, perhaps, do not fully appreciate the magnitude of
-their accumulated effects, working as they do with untiring energies
-upon the coasts of islands and continents all over the world. It is
-not, however, so generally known that the ocean is traversed in all
-directions by powerful currents, which, from their regularity, their
-permanence, and their extent, have been aptly called the rivers of
-the ocean. We do not mean here to inquire into the causes of these
-currents, upon which the progress of physical science has thrown
-considerable light: neither can we hope to describe even the principal
-currents that prevail over the vast tracts of water which constitute
-about three-fourths of the entire surface of our globe. We shall
-content ourselves with tracing the course of one great system, which
-may serve to give some idea of their general character and enormous
-power.
-
-This system would seem to have its origin with a stream that flows from
-the Indian Ocean toward the southwest, and then doubling the Cape of
-Good Hope, turns northward along the African coast. It is here called
-the South Atlantic Current. When it encounters the shores of Guinea, it
-is diverted to the west, and stretches across the Atlantic, traversing
-forty degrees of longitude until it reaches the projecting promontory
-of Brazil in South America. In this part of its course it is known as
-the Equatorial Current, because it follows pretty nearly the line of
-the Equator: it varies in breadth from two hundred to five hundred
-miles, and it travels at the mean rate of thirty miles a day, though
-sometimes its velocity is increased to seventy or eighty. Next, under
-the name of the Guyana Current, it pursues a northwesterly direction,
-following the line of the coast; and passing close to the island
-of Trinidad, becomes diffused, and almost seems to be lost, in the
-Caribbean Sea. Nevertheless, it again issues with renewed energy from
-the Gulf of Mexico, and rushing through the Straits of Florida at the
-rate of four and five miles an hour, it issues once more into the broad
-waters of the Atlantic. From this out it is called the Gulf Stream, and
-is well known to all who are concerned in Transatlantic navigation;
-for it sensibly accelerates the speed of vessels which are bound from
-America to Europe, and sensibly retards those sailing from Europe to
-America.
-
-The Gulf Stream, however, does not set out on its Transatlantic voyage
-directly that it issues from the Straits of Florida. It keeps at
-first a northeasterly course, following the outline of the American
-continent, passing by New York and Nova Scotia, and brushing the
-southern extremity of the great Newfoundland Bank. Then taking leave
-of the land, it sweeps right across the Atlantic. After a time it
-seems to divide into two branches, one inclining to the south, and
-losing itself among the Azores, the other bending toward the north,
-washing the shores of Ireland, Scotland, Norway, and reaching even to
-the frozen regions of Spitzbergen. The breadth of the Gulf Stream,
-when it issues from the Straits of Florida, is about fifty miles, but
-it afterward increases to three hundred. Its color is a dark indigo
-blue, which, contrasting sharply with the green waters of the Atlantic,
-forms a line of junction distinctly visible for some hundreds of miles:
-afterward, when this boundary line is no longer sensible to the eye, it
-is easily ascertained by the thermometer; for the temperature of the
-Gulf Stream is everywhere from eight to ten degrees higher than that of
-the surrounding ocean.[26]
-
-We leave our readers to infer from this brief description how immense
-must be the power of transport which belongs to such currents as
-these. They sweep along the shores of continents, and carry away the
-accumulated fragments of rock, which had first been rent from the
-cliffs by the waves of the sea, and then borne out to a little distance
-by the tides: they pass by the mouths of great rivers, and receiving
-the spoils of many a fertile and populous country, and the ruins of
-many an inaccessible mountain ridge, they hurry off to deposit this
-vast and varied freight in the deep abysses of the ocean. There is one
-circumstance, however, which we ought not to pass over in silence; for
-it is of especial importance to the Geologist, and might easily escape
-the notice of the general reader. It is a well ascertained fact that
-plants and fruits and other objects from the West Indian Islands are
-annually washed ashore by the Gulf Stream on the northwestern coasts of
-Europe. The mast of a man-of-war burnt at Jamaica was after some months
-found stranded on one of the Western Islands of Scotland;[27] and
-General Sabine tells us that when he was in Norway, in the year 1823,
-casks of palm-oil were picked up on the shore near the North Cape,
-which belonged to a vessel that had been wrecked the previous year at
-Cape Lopez on the African coast.[28] It seems most probable that these
-casks of oil must first have crossed the Atlantic from east to west in
-the Equatorial Current, then described the circuit of the West Indian
-Islands, and finally coming in with the Gulf Stream, recrossed the
-Atlantic, performing altogether a journey of more than eight thousand
-miles. From these facts it is clear that, by the agency of ocean
-currents, the productions of one country may be carried to another
-that is far distant. And Geologists do not fail to make use of this
-important conclusion when they find the animal and vegetable remains of
-different climates associated together in the same strata of the Earth.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER IV._
-
-THEORY OF DENUDATION--CONCLUDED.
-
-    _Glaciers--Their nature and composition--Their unceasing
-    motion--Powerful agents of denudation--Icebergs--Their
-    number and size--Erratic blocks and loose gravel spread out
-    over mountains, plains, and valleys, at the bottom of the
-    sea--Characteristic marks of moving ice--Evidence of ancient
-    glacial action--Illustrations from the Alps--From the mountains
-    of the Jura--Theory applied to northern Europe--To Scotland,
-    Wales, and Ireland--The fact of denudation established--Summary
-    of the evidence--This fact the first step in geological theory._
-
-
-The next agent of Denudation to which we invite the attention of our
-readers, is one of which our own country affords us no example, but
-which may be seen in full operation amidst the wild and impressive
-scenery of Switzerland. And we know not how we can better introduce the
-subject than by the solemn address of a great poet, in whom an ardent
-love of nature was blended with a deep sense of religion. As he stood
-in the midst of the snow-clad mountains that shut in the valley of
-Chamouni, his spirit, “expanded by the genius of the spot,” soared away
-from the scenes before him to the Great Invisible Author of all that is
-beautiful and sublime in nature, and he poured forth that well-known
-hymn of praise and worship in which he thus apostrophizes the massive
-glaciers of Mont Blanc:--
-
-    “Ye ice-falls! ye that from the mountain’s brow
-    Adown enormous ravines slope amain--
-    Torrents, methinks, that heard a mighty voice,
-    And stopped at once amid their maddest plunge!
-    Motionless torrents! silent cataracts!
-    Who made you glorious as the gates of Heaven
-    Beneath the keen full moon? Who bade the sun
-    Clothe you with rainbows? Who with living flowers
-    Of loveliest blue, spread garlands at your feet?
-    God! let the torrents, like a shout of nations,
-    Answer! and let the ice-plains echo, God!
-    God! sing ye meadow-streams with gladsome voice!
-    Ye pine-groves, with your soft and soul-like sounds!
-    And they too have a voice, yon piles of snow,
-    And in their perilous fall shall thunder, God!”[29]
-
-A Glacier is an enormous mass of solid ice filling up a valley, and
-stretching from the eternal snows which crown the summits of the
-mountains, down to the smiling cornfields and rich pastures of the
-plains. It is constantly fed by the accumulated snows of winter,
-which, slipping and rolling down the slopes of the mountains, lodge
-in the valleys below, and are there converted into ice. For it must
-be remembered that the Glacier properly so called does not commonly
-extend much higher than 9000 feet above the level of the sea. Beyond
-that elevation the compact and massive ice gradually passes into
-frozen snow, called by the French Nevé, and by the Germans Firn. The
-change which takes place in the condition of the snow as it descends
-into the valley is chiefly owing to these two circumstances: first,
-it is closely compacted together by the weight of the snowy masses
-pressing down upon it from above; and secondly, in the summer months
-it is thawed upon the surface during the day by the heat of the
-sun, and frozen again at night. On a small scale this process is
-practically familiar to every school-boy. When he makes a snow-ball he
-is practically converting a mass of snow into ice, and that by a series
-of operations very closely resembling those which Nature employs in the
-manufacture of a Glacier.
-
-In Switzerland the Glacier is often two or three miles in breadth,
-from twenty to thirty miles in length, and five or six hundred feet in
-depth. Though so vast in its bulk and so solid in its character, it is
-not, as might be supposed, a fixed, immovable mass. On the contrary, it
-is moving incessantly, but slowly, down the valley which it occupies,
-at the rate of several inches--sometimes one or two feet, and even
-more--in the day. In Greenland a Glacier explored by Doctor Hayes, in
-his expedition to the North Pole, was found to move for a whole year at
-the average rate of a hundred feet a day. It may be thought, perhaps,
-that this fact requires further confirmation; but at all events it is
-certain that the language of the poet, when he addresses the Glaciers
-as “motionless torrents,” though it conveys an accurate and beautiful
-idea of the appearance they present to the eye, is not rigorously true
-in a scientific sense. Indeed, it is just because the Glaciers are not
-motionless that they serve as instruments of Denudation.
-
-Their agency in this respect “consists partly in their power of
-transporting gravel, sand, and huge stones, to great distances,
-and partly in the smoothing, polishing, and scoring of their rocky
-channels, and the boundary walls of the valleys through which they
-pass. At the foot of every steep cliff or precipice in high Alpine
-regions, a sloping heap is seen of rocky fragments detached by the
-alternate action of frost and thaw. If these loose masses, instead
-of accumulating on a stationary base, happen to fall upon a Glacier,
-they will move along with it, and, in place of a single heap, they
-will form in the course of years a long stream of blocks. If a Glacier
-be twenty miles long, and its annual progression about five hundred
-feet, it will require about two centuries for a block thus lodged upon
-its surface to travel down from the higher to the lower regions, or
-to the extremity of the icy mass. This terminal point usually remains
-unchanged from year to year, although every part of the ice is in
-motion, because the liquefaction by heat is just sufficient to balance
-the onward movement of the Glacier, which may be compared to an endless
-file of soldiers, pouring into a breach, and shot down as fast as they
-advance.
-
-“The stones carried along on the ice are called in Switzerland the
-_moraines_ of the Glacier. There is always one line of blocks on each
-side or edge of the icy stream, and often several in the middle, where
-they are arranged in long ridges or mounds of snow and ice, often
-several yards high. The reason of their projecting above the general
-level, is the non-liquefaction of the ice in those parts of the surface
-of the Glacier which are protected from the rays of the sun, or the
-action of the wind, by the covering of the earth, sand, and stones.
-The cause of _medial moraines_ was first explained by Agassiz, who
-referred them to the confluence of tributary Glaciers. Upon the union
-of two streams of ice, the right lateral moraine of one of the streams
-comes in contact with the left lateral moraine of the other, and they
-afterward move on together, in the centre, if the confluent Glaciers
-are equal in size, or nearer to one side if unequal.
-
-“Fragments of stone and sand which fall through crevasses in the ice,
-and get interposed between the moving Glacier and the fundamental rock,
-are pushed along so as to have their angles more or less worn off, and
-many of them are entirely ground down into mud. Some blocks are pushed
-along between the ice and the steep boundary rocks of the valley,
-and these, like the rocky channel at the bottom of the valley, often
-become smoothed and polished, and scored with parallel furrows, or
-with lines and scratches produced by hard minerals, such as crystals of
-quartz, which act like the diamond upon glass. The effect is perfectly
-different from that caused by the action of water, or a muddy torrent
-forcing along heavy stones; for these not being held like fragments of
-rock in ice, and not being pushed along under great pressure, cannot
-scoop out long rectilinear furrows or grooves parallel to each other.
-The discovery of such markings at various heights far above the surface
-of existing Glaciers, and for miles beyond their present terminations,
-affords geological evidence of the former extension of the ice beyond
-its present limits in Switzerland and other countries.”[30]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 2.--Iceberg seen in mid-ocean 1400 miles from any
-known land.]
-
-Sometimes, however, it happens, especially in extreme northern and
-southern latitudes, that the glacier valley leads down to the sea.
-In such cases, huge masses of ice are floated off, and, with their
-ponderous burden of gravel, mud, and rocks, are carried away by
-currents toward the equator. Immense numbers of these floating islands
-of ice, or Icebergs, as they are called, are seen by mariners drifting
-along in the Northern and Southern oceans. In 1822 Scoresby counted
-five hundred between the latitudes 69° and 70° N., many of which
-measured a mile in circumference, and rose two hundred feet above the
-surface of the sea.[31] The annexed drawing, copied by kind permission
-of the author from Sir Charles Lyell’s Principles of Geology, affords a
-good idea of the appearance that such Icebergs present to the eye. The
-one represented in the fore-ground was supposed to reach a height of
-nearly three hundred feet, and was observed with many others floating
-about in the Southern Ocean at a distance of 1400 miles from any known
-land. An angular mass of rock was visible on the surface. The part
-exposed was twelve feet high and from five to six broad: but it was
-conjectured, from the color of the surrounding ice, that the greater
-part of the stone was concealed from view.
-
-How enormous must be the magnitude of those ponderous masses may be
-learned from the fact that the bulk of ice below the level of the water
-is about eight times as great as that above: and in point of fact,
-Captain Sir John Ross saw several of them aground in Baffin’s Bay,
-where the water was 1500 feet deep. It has been calculated that the
-beds of earth and stones which they carry along cannot be less than
-from 50,000 to 100,000 tons in weight. Sir Charles Lyell, writing in
-1865 from the results of the latest investigations on this subject,
-says: “Many had supposed that the magnitude commonly attributed to
-icebergs by unscientific navigators was exaggerated; but now it appears
-that the popular estimate of their dimensions has rather fallen within
-than beyond the truth. Many of them, carefully measured by the
-officers of the French exploring expedition of the Astrolabe, were
-between 100 and 225 feet high above water, and from two to five miles
-in length. Captain d’Urville ascertained one of them, which he saw
-floating, to be _thirteen miles long_, and a hundred feet high, with
-walls perfectly vertical.”[32]
-
-They have been known to drift from Baffin’s Bay to the Azores, and
-from the South Pole to the Cape of Good Hope.[33] As they approach the
-milder climate of the temperate zones, the ice gradually melts away,
-and thus the moraines of arctic and antarctic glaciers are deposited
-at the bottom of the deep sea. In this way, submarine mountains
-and valleys and table-lands are strewn over with scattered blocks
-of foreign rocks, and gravel, and mud, which have been transported
-hundreds of miles across the unfathomable abysses of the ocean.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Though we are chiefly concerned with Glaciers and Icebergs as agents
-of Denudation, yet we cannot pass away from the subject without
-referring to the Geological theory of an ancient Glacial Period. This
-little digression from the main purport of our present argument will
-not be unacceptable, we hope, to our readers. The theory is in itself
-interesting and ingenious; and it offers an admirable illustration
-of the kind of reasoning by which Geologists are guided in their
-speculations.
-
-It is well known that the action of moving ice leaves a very peculiar
-and characteristic impress on the surface of the rocks, and even on the
-general aspect of the country over which it passes. This is no mystery
-of science, but a plain fact which any one that chooses may observe
-for himself. Every Glacier carries along in its course a vast quantity
-of loose gravel, hard sand, and large angular stones. A considerable
-proportion of these materials in course of time fall through crevasses
-in the ice, and become firmly embedded in the under surface of the
-Glacier. Then, as the moving mass slowly descends the valley, they
-are shoved along under enormous pressure, and the surface of the
-rocks beneath is furrowed, scratched, and polished, in a remarkable
-and unmistakable manner. The furrows and scratches are rectilinear
-and parallel to an extent never seen in the marks produced by any
-other natural agency: and they always coincide more or less in their
-direction with the general course of the valley. A reciprocal action
-often takes place: the large blocks of stone, frozen into the under
-surface of the Glacier, are themselves scored and polished by friction
-against the floor and sides of the valley.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 3.--Block of Limestone furrowed, scratched, and
-polished, from the Glacier of Rosenlaui, Switzerland. (Lyell.)
-
-_aa_, White streaks or scratches. _bb_, Furrows.]
-
-Similar effects are produced by Icebergs; not of course when drifting
-about in the deep sea, but when they come into contact with a
-gently-shelving coast and grate along the bottom. These mountains of
-ice, laden with the débris of the land, are often carried along with
-the velocity of from two to three miles an hour; and before their
-enormous momentum can be entirely destroyed, an extensive surface of
-rock must have been rounded, grooved, and scarred, pretty much in the
-same way as by the action of a Glacier. There can be no failure of
-the grinding materials. During the process of melting, the Iceberg is
-constantly turning over according as the centre of gravity shifts its
-position; and thus a new part of its surface, with fresh angular blocks
-of stone, together with fresh masses of sand and gravel, is constantly
-brought into contact with the floor of the ocean. And this is not mere
-theory. All these phenomena may be witnessed any day on the shores of
-Baffin’s Bay and Hudson’s Bay, and along the coast of Labrador.
-
-Again, the evidence of glacial action may be discovered in the
-materials themselves which have been transported by ice. Many of the
-large erratic blocks, after having travelled immense distances, exhibit
-the same sharp angular appearance as if they had only just fallen
-down from the cliff on the mountain side. By this circumstance they
-are at once distinguished from blocks of stone transported by running
-water; for in these the angles are sure to be rounded off by friction.
-Sometimes, too, they are deposited not only far away from the same
-rock, but in regions where no rock of the same kind exists. In the
-case of Icebergs, they are not unfrequently carried many hundreds of
-miles before being dropped into the depths of the ocean, and, in the
-course of their long journey, borne over the lofty ridges of submarine
-mountain chains.
-
-Furthermore, it often happens that a Glacier shrinks backward up the
-valley, and sometimes even disappears altogether. When the melting of
-the ice at the lower extremity exactly balances its onward progress,
-then the Glacier seems stationary to the eye, and occupies from year to
-year the same position. But, when a number of hot seasons follow one
-another in immediate succession, the ice is melted more rapidly than
-the Glacier advances, and in consequence it gradually becomes shorter,
-and seems to the eye to recede toward the upper parts of the valley. In
-this case the long lines of moraines, which before had rested on the
-ice, are left spread out on the plains or deposited on the slopes of
-the mountain. Immense blocks of stone are by this means frequently set
-down on the summits of lofty crags, and in such like positions to which
-they could not be brought by any other natural agency. These Perched
-Blocks, as they are called, and also those long regular mounds of earth
-and stones abound in several of the Swiss valleys, and constitute a
-very striking feature of Alpine scenery.
-
-Now, it appears that all these various characteristic marks of glacial
-operations can be distinctly traced in many countries where the action
-of moving ice has been unknown within the period of history. And on
-this fact is founded the Geological theory of an ancient Glacial
-Period. We are confidently assured that a great part of Northern
-Europe, including even our own islands, not to speak of America and
-other countries as well in the northern as in the southern hemisphere,
-were, in some far distant age, the scene of those same phenomena
-which are witnessed at the present day amid the solemn grandeur of
-the Alps, and in the frozen wastes of the Arctic regions. In that age
-enormous Glaciers moved slowly downward from the snow-clad heights over
-innumerable valleys now rich with the fruits of the earth; ponderous
-Icebergs floated over wide areas of the ocean, where now the dry land
-appears; and vast piles of promiscuous rubbish, with great angular
-blocks of stone, were deposited on the slopes and crests of submarine
-mountains that now tower hundreds of feet above the level of the sea.
-
-To illustrate this theory, we would begin with a country where the
-vestiges of glacial operations in past times may be studied side by
-side with the glacial phenomena of the present day. In Switzerland
-it needs but little skill to discern many marks and tokens of moving
-ice where moving ice is no longer found. In descending, for example,
-the valley of the Hasli or the valley of the Rhone, the intelligent
-traveller can hardly fail to observe how the rocks all around are
-scarred and furrowed, precisely after the same fashion as the rocks in
-the higher parts of the same valleys are now being scarred and furrowed
-by the Glacier of the Aar and the Glacier of the Rhone. At intervals,
-too, may be seen long mounds of unstratified gravel and mud, with large
-fragments of rock, in every way resembling the terminal moraines now
-daily accumulating at the extremities of existing Glaciers. When these
-facts are once distinctly brought home to the mind, it is impossible to
-resist the conclusion that several of the Alpine Glaciers once extended
-far beyond their present limits down the valleys of Switzerland.
-
-If we proceed a little distance to the mountains of the Jura, now
-wholly devoid of Glaciers, we shall find that the same glacial
-phenomena with which we have become so familiar in the Alps, are still
-everywhere presented to the eye. And we feel instinctively impelled to
-pursue the same line of inductive reasoning. Moving ice, we know from
-abundant observation, is capable of producing these effects: nor have
-we ever seen effects of this kind produced by any other cause: nay,
-there is no other natural agent known that is capable of producing such
-effects: it is therefore reasonable to infer that moving ice was the
-cause of these effects; and that, in some bygone age, great masses of
-ice moved slowly over the valleys of the Jura as they now move slowly
-over the valleys of the Alps.
-
-Another circumstance may here be noticed which is well worthy of
-consideration. The Alps are composed of granite, gneiss, and such like
-crystalline rocks: the Jura, of limestone and various other formations,
-altogether different from those of the Alps. Now, scattered loosely
-over the valleys of the Jura, and perched upon its lofty crests, we
-find immense angular blocks--some of them as large as cottages--of
-the Alpine rocks. The question naturally arises, how have they been
-transported to their present site. Certainly not by the action of
-water; for in that case the projecting angles would have been rounded
-off, and the sharp edges worn away. But the work might have been easily
-accomplished by the power of moving ice, and could not have been
-accomplished by any other natural agency with which we are acquainted.
-Thus we are led to conclude that the Glaciers of the Alps must, by some
-means or another, have once made their way northward across the great
-valley of Switzerland, fifty miles wide, and deposited their ponderous
-burdens of gravel, sand, and erratic blocks on the mountains of the
-Jura.
-
-It would carry us too far from our present purpose to draw out this
-theory in all its details. But we cannot for-bear briefly to touch upon
-some of the bold and startling conclusions to which it has led. The
-Geologist having, by patient and varied exercise, in the regions of
-existing Glaciers, trained his eye and his judgment in the observation
-of those phenomena that mark the action of moving ice, soon begins to
-discover that they are not wanting in other countries. They are not
-to be found, indeed, beneath the burning sun of Africa, nor on the
-borders of the Mediterranean Sea. But as he travels northward they
-begin by degrees to appear; and when at length he reaches the shores
-of the Baltic, they are spread out profusely before him as they were
-in the bosom of the Alps. All this had puzzled Geologists for years;
-but the clue has been found at last. What is going on to-day in
-Switzerland, and in Greenland, and on the shores of Labrador, must have
-been going on, ages ago, in Germany, and in Denmark, and on the shores
-of the Baltic. We may argue from the effect to the cause. Here are the
-moraines, the erratics, the perched blocks, and the surfaces of rock
-furrowed and scratched with ice: at some past time there must have been
-the moving Glaciers and the floating Icebergs.
-
-Following out this line of argument, and applying it to countries
-nearer home, Geologists have come to the conclusion that the Grampian
-Hills in Scotland, the mountains of Kerry in Ireland, the Snowdonian
-heights in Wales, and many other ranges of hills in these islands,
-were in former times subjected to the action of moving ice. Nay, it
-is contended, with much show of reason, that these islands must have
-been, for a considerable time, in great part submerged beneath the
-sea, and traversed by floating Icebergs. When large erratic blocks are
-found in the immediate neighborhood of the formation from which they
-have been derived, then it is easy to explain their origin and to trace
-their course. But it often happens that the nearest rock of the same
-mineral composition, and therefore, the nearest rock from which they
-can possibly have been derived, is separated from the site which they
-now occupy by a lofty chain of mountains. By what means, then, have
-they been transported hither? Not by moving water, for their sharp
-edges and projecting angles are still preserved. Not by Glaciers; for
-a Glacier cannot climb a steep mountain ridge. It would seem, indeed,
-that in the present geographical distribution of land and water, there
-is no natural cause which could carry them from the parent rocks to
-their present position. But if we suppose that in some long past age of
-the world, Great Britain and Ireland were submerged beneath the sea,
-and that Icebergs floated in the waters above, the problem is solved
-at once. The fragments of far distant rocks frozen into the Icebergs
-might then have been carried over the summits of what are now lofty
-mountains, and as the ice melted away, might have been deposited all
-along their slopes and even on their highest crests.
-
-The presence of marine shells, belonging chiefly to species which now
-exist only in the arctic seas, affords a strong confirmation of this
-hypothesis. For they are found intimately associated with the erratic
-blocks, not merely in valleys, to which the sea might be supposed
-to have had access in times of extraordinary flood, but upon lofty
-mountains at a height of five hundred, six hundred, and even thirteen
-hundred feet above the level of the sea. There is no difficulty in
-accounting for this phenomenon if we suppose the country to have been
-at one time submerged, and the glacial drift in which the shells are
-found embedded to have been deposited by Icebergs on the floor of the
-ocean. If we refuse to make this supposition the difficulty is simply
-insurmountable.[34]
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-But it is somewhat beside our purpose to wander so far into the region
-of theory and speculation. Our main object in these chapters has been
-to establish the fact that Denudation is actually taking place to an
-almost incredible extent, in the present age of the world. For this
-purpose we have enumerated the principal agents by which this process
-is carried on; and we have endeavored to show from the authenticated
-researches of travellers and scientific men that they have been at work
-within the period of history, and are still at work around us. Our
-summary is, indeed, brief; but it is still sufficient to demonstrate
-that, even during the present age, the whole surface of the Globe has
-been ever in a constant state of change; that mountain heights have
-been worn away, and valleys have been scooped out, and lofty cliffs
-have disappeared, and bold headlands have been rent in twain, and rocks
-and earths have day by day been broken up and dissolved and decomposed,
-by the never ceasing operation of natural causes; and that the broken
-fragments are at every moment moving along over the surface of the land
-or through the depths of the sea.
-
-Now Geologists tell us that these are the raw materials of a new
-building which is going on in these latter times under the guiding hand
-of Nature. Indeed, they say it is not so much a new building as the
-uppermost story of an old building. If we descend into the Crust of
-the Earth we may trace this building even from the foundations, which
-are laid upon the solid granite, up through each successive stage of
-limestone, and sandstone, slate, conglomerate, and clay, until we come
-to the surface, where new strata, composed of the same elements, and
-exhibiting the same general characteristics, are slowly growing up
-before our eyes. Thus will the idea gradually steal upon the mind, that
-the works of ages long gone by are reproduced once again in our own
-days, and that we may study the history of the past in the mirror of
-the present which nature holds up to our view.
-
-This is the branch of Geological argument upon which we are now about
-to enter. We have visited Nature, as it were, in her quarry, and we
-have seen how she collects her materials, how she fashions them to
-her purpose, how she transports them to the place for which they are
-designed. If it be true, as alleged, that with these materials she is
-actually engaged, at the present moment, in building upon the existing
-surface of our Globe a new series of stratified rocks, which are the
-exact counterpart of those beneath, this fact affords at least a very
-strong presumption in favor of one very important principle in the
-theory of Geologists. Let us, then, follow the course of her operations
-and judge for ourselves.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER V._
-
-STRATIFIED ROCKS OF MECHANICAL ORIGIN--THEORY DEVELOPED AND ILLUSTRATED.
-
-    _Formation of stratified rocks ascribed to the agency of
-    natural causes--This theory supported by facts--The argument
-    stated--Examples of mechanical rocks--Materials of which they
-    are composed--Origin and history of these materials traced
-    out--Process of deposition--Process of consolidation--Instances
-    of consolidation by pressure--Consolidation perfected by
-    natural cements--Curious illustrations--Consolidation of
-    sandstone in Cornwall--Arrangement of strata explained by
-    intermittent action of the agents of Denudation._
-
-
-The Stratification of Rocks is one of the most remarkable features
-which the Crust of the Earth presents to our notice; and the principles
-by which this phenomenon is explained belong to the very foundation of
-Geological theory. It is now universally agreed that the successive
-layers or strata, which constitute such a very large proportion of the
-Earth’s Crust, and which cannot fail to attract the notice even of the
-most careless observer, have been slowly built up during a long series
-of ages by the action of natural causes. In support of this bold and
-comprehensive theory, geologists appeal to the operations which are
-going on in nature at the present day, or which have been observed and
-recorded within historic times. There is a vast machinery, they say,
-even now at work all over the world, breaking up the rocks that appear
-at the surface of the Earth, transporting the materials to different
-sites, and there constructing new strata, just the counterpart of those
-which we see piled up one above the other, wherever a section of the
-Earth’s Crust is exposed to view. It is given to us, therefore, on the
-one hand to contemplate the finished work as it exists in the Crust
-of the Earth, and on the other, to examine the work still in progress
-upon its surface; and if both are found to agree in all their most
-remarkable characteristics, it is not unreasonable to infer that the
-one was produced in bygone ages by the very same causes that are now
-busy in the production of the other.
-
-In the examination of this argument we first turned our attention to
-the numerous and powerful agents that are now employed in the breaking
-up and transporting of existing rocks. It was impossible within our
-narrow limits to enumerate them all. But we selected those which are
-at the same time the most familiar in their operations, and the most
-striking in their results:--mighty rivers discharging daily and hourly
-into the sea the accumulated spoils of vast continents; the breakers
-of the ocean dashing with unceasing energy against all the cliffs and
-coasts of the world; the tides and currents of the sea taking up the
-ruins which the breakers have made, and carrying them far away to the
-lonely depths of the ocean; the frozen rain bursting massive rocks
-asunder with its expansive force, and sending the fragments over lofty
-cliffs and steep precipices to become the prey of roaring mountain
-torrents, or perhaps, more fortunate, to find a place of tranquil rest
-on the bosom of the glittering Glacier; then this wondrous Glacier
-itself, a moving sea of ice, bearing along its ponderous burden from
-the summits of lofty mountains far down into the smiling plains, and
-meanwhile, with tremendous power, grinding, and furrowing, and wearing
-away the floor of the valley, and leaving behind it an impress which
-even time cannot efface; and lastly, the massive Icebergs which stud
-the northern and southern seas, drifting along like floating islands
-above the fathomless abysses of the ocean, and scattering their huge
-boulders over the surface of submarine mountains and valleys.
-
-All these phenomena have been learned from actual and repeated
-observation. They are not philosophical speculations, but ascertained
-facts. We cannot doubt, therefore, that the work of demolition is going
-on; it remains for us now to inquire about the work of reconstruction.
-
-The reader will remember that Geologists divide the stratified rocks
-into three distinct classes, Mechanical, Chemical, and Organic. This
-distinction, they say, is founded on the actual operations of Nature.
-From a close examination of the natural agents now at work in the
-world, it appears that some strata are being formed chiefly by the
-action of mechanical force; others chiefly by the influence of chemical
-laws; and others again chiefly by the intervention of organic life.
-Thus we have three distinct classes of rock at present coming into
-existence, each exhibiting its own peculiar characteristics, and each,
-moreover, having its counterpart among the strata that compose the
-Crust of the Earth. We shall now proceed to set forth some of the
-evidence that may be advanced in favor of these important conclusions,
-beginning with those rocks that are called Mechanical.
-
-And first it is important to have, at least, a general idea of the
-appearance which Mechanical Rocks present to the eye. We shall
-take three familiar examples, Conglomerate, Sandstone, and Clay.
-Conglomerate, or Pudding-stone as it is sometimes called, is composed
-of pebbles, gravel, and sand, more or less compacted together, and
-generally forming a hard and solid mass. The various materials of
-which it is composed, though united in the one rock, nevertheless
-remain their own external forms, and may be distinctly recognized even
-by the unpractised eye. Sandstone, as the name implies, is made up of
-grains of sand closely compressed and cemented together. The quality
-and appearance of this rock vary very much according to the size and
-character of its constituent particles. Often the grains of sand are
-as large as peas, or even larger; sometimes they are so minute that
-they cannot be distinguished without the aid of a lens. For the most
-part they consist of quartz, with grains of limestone intermixed; and
-they are usually rounded, as if by the action of running water. Clay
-is a rather vague and general term, now commonly employed to denote
-any finely-divided mineral matter which contains from ten to thirty
-per cent. of Alumina, and is thereby rendered plastic, and capable,
-when softened with water, of being moulded like paste with the hand.
-It occurs in many different forms among the strata of the Earth,
-according to the different minerals that enter into its composition
-and the different influences to which it has been subjected. Marl and
-Loam may be taken as well-known illustrations: the former is a clay in
-which there is a large proportion of calcareous matter; the latter is
-a mixture of clay and sand. Sometimes by pressure clay is condensed
-into a kind of slaty rock called Shale, which has the property of being
-easily split up into an immense number of thin plates or laminæ.
-
-It should be remembered that there is not always a perfect uniformity
-in the structure of these rocks. In Conglomerate, for example, the
-pebbles may be as large as cannon balls, or they may be only the size
-of walnuts. So, too, we have every variety of fineness and coarseness
-in the quality of Sandstone. Again, both Conglomerate and Sandstone
-are often largely adulterated with clay, and on the other hand, clay
-will sometimes contain more than its usual proportion of sand or lime.
-Lastly, these materials are in one place compacted into hard and solid
-rock, in another they are found in a loose and incoherent condition.
-
-But amidst all these varieties of form and texture, the rocks we have
-been describing generally preserve their peculiar characteristics,
-and with a little experience can be easily recognized. They are found
-to constitute a very large part, perhaps we might say the larger
-part, of the stratified rocks in every country that has hitherto been
-explored by Geologists. Wherever we go we are met by the same familiar
-appearances;--beds of Conglomerate, Sandstone, Clay, Marl, Shale,
-recurring again and again through a series of many hundred strata,
-sometimes in one order, and sometimes in another; sometimes without any
-formation of a different kind intervening, and sometimes alternating
-with limestone or other rocks of which we shall speak hereafter.
-
-Such is the general character and appearance of those strata which are
-known among Geologists as Aqueous Rocks of Mechanical origin. Now,
-it must at once strike the reader, that these rocks are made up of
-just those very materials--the same both in kind and in form--that we
-have already shown to be daily prepared and fashioned by a vast and
-complex machinery in the great workshop of Nature. He will remember
-how enormous blocks are detached from the mountain side, or from the
-cliffs on the seashore, and broken up into fragments; how the fragments
-in time become pebbles, sand, and mud; and how these are caught up by
-rivers, tides, and currents, and carried far away to sea. Here we have
-certainly all the materials that are necessary for the building up of
-Conglomerate, Sandstone, and Shale. We have seen how they are prepared
-by the hand of Nature, how they are moulded into shape, how they are
-transported from place to place. Let us now pursue the sequel of their
-history, and follow them on to the end.
-
-It is plain they cannot remain forever suspended in water; sooner
-or later they must fall to the bottom. Yet they will not all fall
-together. For though all are carried downward by the one force of
-gravity, those materials that are smaller and lighter will be more
-impeded by the resistance of the water. The pebbles and coarse gravel
-will be the first to reach the bottom, then the sand, and last of all
-the fine, impalpable mud. Thus, as the current sweeps along in its
-course, the sediment which it bears away from the land will be in a
-manner sorted, and three distinct layers of different materials will
-be deposited in the bed of the ocean;--first, nearest to the shore,
-a layer of pebbles and coarse gravel, then a layer of sand, and last
-of all a layer of fine mud or clay. This is the first step in the
-construction of stratified rock. To complete the work nothing more
-is necessary than the consolidation of these loose and incoherent
-materials. If this could be accomplished, then we should have a solid
-stratum of Conglomerate, a solid stratum of Sandstone, and a solid
-stratum of Shale formed in the bed of the ocean.
-
-With regard to this operation, however, we cannot hope for the
-advantage we have hitherto enjoyed, of actual observation. The process
-of consolidation, if it take place at all, is going on in the depths of
-the Sea. But though it is thus removed beyond the reach of our senses,
-it is not beyond the reach of our intelligence. We may borrow the torch
-of Science, and search even into the hidden recesses of Nature’s secret
-laboratory.
-
-In the first place, a partial consolidation of clay and sand, and
-even of gravel, may take place under the influence of pressure alone.
-Many of us are familiar with this truth, but few, perhaps, are aware
-how extensively it is illustrated in the practical arts of life. Here
-are some curious and interesting examples. The minute fragments of
-coal which are produced by the friction of larger blocks against one
-another, and which may be obtained abundantly in the neighborhood of
-every coal mine, are now manufactured into a solid patent fuel by the
-simple process of forcible compression. Again, the dust and rubble
-of black lead, formerly cast aside as useless, are now carefully
-collected, and by no other force than pressure are converted into a
-solid mass, fit to be employed in the manufacture of lead-pencils. “The
-graphite or black lead of commerce,” says Sir Charles Lyell, “having
-become very scarce, Mr. Brockedon contrived a method by which the
-dust of the purer portions of the mineral found in Borrowdale might
-be recomposed into a mass as dense and as compact as native graphite.
-The powder of graphite is first carefully prepared and freed from
-air, and placed under a powerful press on a strong steel die, with
-air-tight fittings. It is then struck several blows, each of a power
-of a thousand tons; after which operation the powder is so perfectly
-solidified that it can be cut for pencils, and exhibits, when broken,
-the same texture as native graphite.”[35] An instance yet more to our
-purpose occurs in the experiments made to try the force of gunpowder.
-Leathern bags filled with sand are put into the mortar that is to
-receive the cannon-ball at a distance of fifty feet from the mouth of
-the gun; and the sand is often compressed by the percussion of the
-ball into a solid mass of Sandstone.[36] Now the deposits of which we
-are speaking cannot fail to be subjected to a very powerful and a very
-constant compressing force. For, since the process of deposition is
-always going on, the matter which is deposited to-day will to-morrow be
-covered with a new layer, and in the course of ages it may lie beneath
-an immense pile of mineral matter, hundreds or even thousands of feet
-in thickness.
-
-But in fact there is another and more important agent at work. When
-the harder and more compact blocks of Conglomerate and Sandstone are
-subjected to a close analysis in the laboratory of the chemist, it is
-found that they are strongly cemented together, sometimes by a solution
-of lime filling up the interstices between the grains or pebbles,
-sometimes by a solution of silica, sometimes by a solution of iron. Now
-this discovery affords a useful clue when we come to study the present
-operations of Nature. It is to the agency of a mineral cement we must
-look for the perfect consolidation of Mechanical Rocks. Let us see if
-such a cement can be found.
-
-It is well known that the water of rivers, lakes, and springs, is
-more or less charged with carbonic acid gas; and therefore, when it
-comes in contact with limestone, it dissolves a portion of the lime
-and holds it in solution. Hence it follows that in every part of the
-world there exists an abundant store of calcareous cement. Again, our
-readers must have observed the brownish, rusty color sometimes produced
-by streams on the surface of rocks and herbage. This is the result of
-the iron with which the streams are impregnated: and we are informed by
-scientific inquirers that water containing a solution of iron prevails
-very generally in almost all countries. The solution of silica in water
-is not so common; because pure silica cannot be dissolved by water
-except at a very high temperature. Nevertheless, it has been clearly
-demonstrated by observation, that silica, where it occurs in certain
-combinations with other mineral substances, may be dissolved readily
-enough: for instance, in the decomposition of felspar, and of all rocks
-in which felspar is an ingredient, silica is carried off in a state of
-solution.[37] And since these rocks are very numerous, and distributed
-over every part of the earth, we may fairly conclude that a solution of
-silica exists very abundantly in nature.
-
-Now when we bear in mind that we have on the one hand in the Crust of
-the Earth, solid strata of Conglomerate and Sandstone, exhibiting the
-evident operation of these mineral cements; and on the other hand, near
-the surface, the loose materials of Conglomerate and Sandstone as if
-ready to be cemented, and close at hand the cementing mineral itself in
-a convenient form, it is not unreasonable to assume that the process
-should actually take place;--that water highly charged with iron, or
-lime, or silica, should filter through the loose gravel and sand,
-depositing its mineral cement as it passes along, and converting the
-newly-formed strata into compact and solid rock.
-
-But this conclusion does not rest upon antecedent probability alone.
-We have proof unquestionable that a process such as we have described
-is actually going on. In the dredging of the river Thames large masses
-of solid Conglomerate are found from time to time, firmly compacted
-together by a ferruginous cement. And there is internal evidence that
-the process of solidification has been effected by natural causes
-within historic times; for it happens not unfrequently that Roman coins
-and fragments of pottery are found embedded in the solid block of
-stone. Similar discoveries were made in deepening the bed of the river
-Dove in Derbyshire, about the year 1832. Thousands of silver coins were
-found about ten feet under the surface, firmly cemented into a hard
-Conglomerate. Several of these coins bear dates of the thirteenth and
-fourteenth centuries; and therefore the pebbles which form the rock
-must have been deposited and converted into a solid mass since that
-time. But we must not suppose that so long an interval is necessary for
-the consolidation of rocks. In the early part of the present century
-a vessel called the Thetis was wrecked off cape Frio on the coast of
-Brazil. A few months afterward, when an attempt was successfully made
-to recover the dollars and other treasures which had gone to the
-bottom with the wreck, they were found completely enveloped in solid
-masses of quartzose Sandstone. The materials of the newly-formed stone
-were in this case manifestly derived from the granite rocks of the
-Brazilian coast.[38]
-
-In many parts of the Mediterranean, and along its shores, this process
-is known to be going on with equal rapidity. “The new-formed strata
-of Asia Minor,” writes Sir Charles Lyell, “consists of stone, not of
-loose, incoherent materials. Almost all the streamlets and rivers,
-like many of those in Tuscany and the south of Italy, hold abundance
-of carbonate of lime in solution, and precipitate Travertine, or
-sometimes bind together the sand and gravel into solid Sandstones
-and Conglomerates; every delta and sandbar thus acquires solidity,
-which often prevents streams from forcing their way through them, so
-that their mouths are constantly changing their position.”[39] In the
-Museum at Montpelier is exhibited a cannon embedded in a crystalline
-calcareous rock which was taken up from the bed of the Mediterranean
-near the mouth of the Rhone.[40]
-
-To these examples of the solidification of rock within recent times
-we are tempted to add one more, taken from a Memoir published by the
-late Dr. Paris in the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of
-Cornwall. “A sandstone occurs in various parts of the northern coast
-of Cornwall, which affords a most instructive example of a recent
-formation, since we here actually detect Nature at work in converting
-loose sand into solid rock. A very considerable portion of the northern
-coast of Cornwall is covered with calcareous sand, consisting of minute
-particles of comminuted shells, which in some places has accumulated
-in quantities so great, as to have formed hills of from forty to
-fifty feet in elevation. In digging into these sand-hills, or upon
-the occasional removal of some part of them by the winds, the remains
-of houses may be seen; and in places where the churchyards have been
-overwhelmed, a great number of human bones may be found. The sand is
-supposed to have been originally brought from the sea by hurricanes,
-probably at a remote period. It first appears in a state of slight but
-increasing aggregation on several parts of the shore in the Bay of St.
-Ives; but on approaching the Gwythian River it becomes more extensive
-and indurated.... It is around the promontory of New Kaye that the
-most extensive formation of Sandstone takes place. Here it may be seen
-in different stages of induration, from a state in which it is too
-friable to be detached from the rock on which it reposes, to a hardness
-so considerable that it requires a very violent blow from a sledge to
-break it. Buildings are constructed of it; the church of Cranstock is
-entirely built with it; and it is also employed for various articles of
-domestic and agricultural uses.”
-
-No reasonable doubt can therefore remain that the loose beds of gravel,
-sand, and clay, which, as we have already seen, are deposited from day
-to day, and from year to year, and from century to century, beneath
-the waters of the ocean, may be converted in the course of time by
-natural agents into solid rocks of Conglomerate, of Sandstone, and of
-Shale. But this is not enough. It yet remains for us to explain how
-these solid rocks come to be arranged in a series of distinct layers
-or strata. The reader will remember that the supply of materials in
-any given area of the ocean is not fixed and continuous, but, on the
-contrary, variable and intermittent. During the periodical rains within
-the tropics, and during the melting of the snows in high latitudes or
-in mountain regions, the rivers become enormously swollen, and carry
-down a far greater quantity of sediment than at other seasons. The
-waste of cliffs, too, by the action of the waves, is much greater in
-winter than in summer. Thus, while at one season a particular river
-or current may be comparatively free from sediment, at another it
-will carry along in its turbid course an almost incredible freight of
-mineral matter. We have a notable example in the case of the Ganges.
-The bulk of earthy matter which this river discharges into the sea
-during the four months of rain, averages about 50,000,000 of cubic feet
-per day; whereas the daily discharge during the three months of hot
-weather is considerably less than one hundredth part of that amount.[41]
-
-Besides this variety in the quantity of materials carried, there is
-also a great variety in the velocity both of rivers and of currents;
-and therefore they will not always carry the same materials to the same
-distance; for the less rapid the stream, the sooner will the sediment
-fall to the bottom. We may add that currents, as is well known, often
-change their direction from various causes, and thus at different times
-they will carry the waste of the land to different parts of the ocean.
-
-From these considerations two conclusions may be fairly deduced:
-First, that the process of deposition may often go on very rapidly
-for a time over a given area, and then altogether cease, and after an
-interval begin again. In this way time may be allowed for one deposit
-to acquire more or less consistency before the next is superimposed;
-and thus a succession of distinct beds will be produced. Secondly, we
-may infer that the same precise materials will not always be deposited
-over the same area; at one time it will be sand, at another gravel,
-at another clay, at another some combination of these or other
-mineral substances. And thus it may happen that the strata deposited
-in successive periods of time shall not only be distinct one from the
-other, but composed of different materials;--that there shall be,
-in fact, as we so often see that there are, beds of Conglomerate,
-Sandstone, Clay, Marl, and other rocks, succeeding one another in every
-variety of order.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER VI._
-
-STRATIFIED ROCKS OF MECHANICAL ORIGIN--FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.
-
-    _Impossible to witness the formation of stratified rocks in the
-    depths of the ocean--On a small scale examples are exhibited
-    by rivers and lakes--Alluvial plains--Their extraordinary
-    fertility--Great basin of the Nile--Experiments of the Royal
-    Society--The Mississippi and the Orinoco--Some rivers fill
-    up their own channels--Case of the river Po--Artificial
-    embankments--Large tract of alluvial soil deposited by the
-    Rhone in the Lake of Geneva--Deltas--The delta of the Ganges
-    and Brahmapootra--Delta of the Nile._
-
-
-The argument set forth in the last chapter is simple, ingenious,
-and persuasive. Nay, we must fairly confess that to us it seems
-conclusive. We do not mean to say that it amounts to a rigorous
-demonstration. But it affords at least a strong presumption that the
-process of deposition, the process of consolidation, and the process of
-stratification, are going on to a vast extent beneath the waters of the
-ocean; and that, in these latter ages of the world’s history, Aqueous
-Rocks are slowly growing up under the influence of natural causes,
-which resemble in every important feature those that are now attracting
-so much attention within the Crust of the Earth. We are therefore
-prepared to accept this conclusion, if it be not found at variance with
-any well-established fact, or with any known and certain truth. But in
-matters of physical science the evidence of our senses is, after all,
-the most satisfactory argument. And our readers, no doubt, would like
-to witness, if possible, with their eyes, the building up of Stratified
-Rocks. Now, though it is not given to us to see this process in all its
-colossal magnitude as it goes on within the depths of the mighty ocean,
-it is yet possible to behold it exhibited, as it were, in miniature, in
-certain cases where the sediment of rivers is deposited within reach of
-observation.
-
-Every one is familiar with the fact that many rivers overflow their
-banks at certain seasons, and spread themselves out over a wide area,
-sometimes reaching to the foot of the hills that bound the valleys
-through which they flow. This is the origin of those Alluvial Plains
-so remarkable for their surpassing richness and fertility. In each
-successive year a thin film of sediment is deposited on the surface
-of the land; and thus in the course of ages a soil is formed capable
-of producing, season after season, the most luxuriant crops without
-manifesting any symptoms of exhaustion. The soil of the Alluvial Plain
-near St. Louis, on the Mississippi, is thus spoken of by a modern
-traveller: “As to the quality of the land, any given number of crops
-might be grown off it. Corn has been raised on it for a hundred years
-together--as far back as the settlement is known. To inquire about the
-system of farming in the West is not productive of information which
-would be of service on the continent of Europe. There is no system: the
-farmer scratches the ground and throws in the seed, and his bountiful
-harvests come up year after year without further thought or trouble.
-Thousands of centuries have made the soil for him, and it defies him to
-make too heavy demands upon it. It gives him all he asks, and is never
-known to disappoint or fail.”[42]
-
-The great basin of the Nile offers an admirable example of an
-Alluvial Plain on a scale of considerable magnitude. Even in the days
-of Herodotus, Egypt was regarded as the “gift of the Nile:” and the
-correctness of this opinion has been placed beyond all reasonable
-doubt by the investigations of modern science. The river bears along
-in its current, especially during the flood season, a large quantity
-of fine earthy sediment obtained by the process of Denudation from the
-mountains of central Africa. Once a year, between the months of July
-and November, it overflows its banks, and this sediment is deposited on
-the adjoining plains. Thus a new layer of rich soil is spread out every
-year over the existing surface; and the whole country is, in a manner,
-growing upward at the average rate, according to a rough estimate, of
-about six inches in the century. Near Cairo, where excavations have
-been made, the successive layers of annual deposit are distinctly
-visible to the eye. And it is worthy of remark that, although each one
-of these is no thicker than a sheet of paste-board, the stratum of
-alluvial soil which overlies the sands of the desert, and which to all
-appearance has come into existence by the very same process, is often
-forty, fifty, and even sixty feet in depth.
-
-A series of interesting observations and experiments have been recently
-made under the auspices of the Royal Society, which afford some useful
-information on this subject. The colossal statue of Rameses, near
-Memphis, was found to be partly embedded in a stratum of mud which
-had gradually accumulated around it. Upon sinking a shaft, it was
-discovered that from the present surface of the plain to the base of
-the pedestal is a distance of nearly ten feet. Now, Rameses flourished,
-according to Lepsius, about one thousand three hundred and sixty years
-before the Christian Era; and therefore, since that time, or within a
-space of 3200 years, it is pretty clear that a thickness of ten feet
-has been added at this spot to the Alluvial Plain of the Nile. It is
-hard to resist the conclusion that the next stratum of ten feet as we
-proceed downward, which, in every respect, resembles the first, must
-have been produced in the same way by natural causes; and so on till we
-reach the barren sand of the desert, which is here just forty-two feet
-below the present level of the plain.[43]
-
-It should seem, therefore, that Egypt is nothing more than a great
-Alluvial Plain, slowly built up in the long lapse of ages, by the
-annual inundations of the Nile. Vast tracts of the same kind are to
-be found in other parts of the world. The Mississippi, which drains
-about one-seventh of the whole North American continent, has formed an
-Alluvial Plain more than a thousand miles in length, and from thirty
-to eighty in breadth. And in South America, the Orinoco once a year
-spreads out its swollen and turbid waters over an area not unfrequently
-seventy miles broad; leaving behind, when it subsides, a substantial
-layer of muddy sediment to enrich the soil.[44] It would be easy to
-accumulate examples. But we shall be content with having referred
-the reader to the Great Basin of the Nile, which affords special
-opportunities for the study of alluvial phenomena; being illustrated at
-once by the historical monuments of remote antiquity and the scientific
-researches of recent times.
-
-There is another process by which Alluvial Plains are formed. It often
-happens that a river fills up the channel in which it has been moving
-for years, and is forced to shift its course and seek a new passage
-to the sea. In progress of time this channel is filled up like the
-former and deserted, and then a third, and then a fourth. At each
-change a new stratum is formed, almost always distinguished for its
-extraordinary fertility. This phenomenon is chiefly to be looked for
-when an extensive and almost level plain lies between some lofty range
-of mountains and the sea. In such a case, the river which bears away
-the waste of the mountains, will move onward in its course with a
-sluggish current, and will, of necessity, deposit the greater part of
-its burden on the way. There is scarcely a country in the world that
-does not abound in formations of this kind; and we could point to many
-notable instances in which herds of cattle are now grazing on the very
-spot where, within quite recent times, the turbid waters of some great
-stream flowed sullenly along.
-
-The river Po, which receives through a thousand mountain torrents
-an enormous quantity of mineral sediment from the Alps, affords an
-instructive example. Since the beginning of the fifteenth century it
-has many times changed its course, often committing great devastations,
-and always leaving behind unmistakable traces of its movements. Several
-towns that once stood on the left bank of the river are now on the
-right. In some instances parish churches and religious houses were
-pulled down when the devouring stream was seen slowly to approach,
-and then rebuilt with the same materials at a greater distance. An
-old channel may be easily recognized at the present day near Cremona,
-which bears the name of Po Morto, and another called Po Vecchio, in the
-territory of Parma.
-
-It may be interesting to our readers to learn that these movements have
-been checked in modern times. By a system of artificial embankment the
-waters of the river are now confined within definite and narrow limits:
-thus the velocity of the current is increased and a very considerable
-portion of the sediment is carried on to the sea. Nevertheless, much
-is still deposited in the bed of the river, which is, in consequence,
-raised higher and higher each successive year. Hence it has become
-necessary, in order to prevent inundations, to add every season to
-the height of the embankments, so that the river now presents the
-appearance of an enormous aqueduct, of which some idea may be formed
-from the fact that, in the neighborhood of Ferrara, the surface of
-the stream is higher than the roofs of the houses. This system of
-embankment is carried on very extensively in Northern Italy to check
-the overflowing of rivers, and to prevent them from changing their
-courses. It is as old as the time of Dante, who tells us that the
-inhabitants of Padua erected barriers along the Brenta when the snows
-began to melt and the season of the floods was approaching,
-
-        “Per difender lor ville e lor castelli,
-        Anzi che Chiarentana il caldo senta.”
-
-        _Inferno_, Canto xv.
-
-As a river sometimes fills up its own channel, so too may it fill up
-a lake through which it flows, and convert it likewise into a great
-Alluvial Plain. Thus it is said several extensive lakes have been
-transformed into dry land in modern times near Parma, Piacenza, and
-Cremona. Elsewhere the process may be seen in actual operation. The
-Rhone when it enters the lake of Geneva is a turbid discolored stream;
-the natural consequence of the immense quantity of earthy sediment
-with which it is charged. But as it slowly moves along, the sediment
-falls to the bottom, and when, at length, “by Leman’s waters washed,”
-it emerges at the town of Geneva, and shoots beneath the magnificent
-bridge that joins the opposite shores, it has already assumed that
-beautiful azure blue which travellers love to gaze on, and poets love
-to sing. The sediment left behind goes to form a great alluvial tract
-which is slowly but steadily advancing into the lake. An ancient town
-called Port Vallais, which, eight centuries ago, stood at the water’s
-edge, is now a mile and a half inland. And if the world were to last
-long enough, and the natural agents at present in operation were to
-remain unchanged, the time would come, we can scarcely doubt, when the
-whole lake of Geneva would have been converted into an Alluvial Plain
-of vast extent and inexhaustible fertility.
-
-This last example leads us on to the phenomenon of Deltas, which
-afford, perhaps, the best opportunity of observing the actual formation
-of stratified rocks. Some large rivers, as we have already seen, enter
-the sea with such extreme velocity as to bear away their sediment to a
-distance of several hundred miles from the land. But in other cases the
-onward rush of the stream is much sooner arrested, and the sediment,
-if it be not caught up by ocean currents, is deposited near the mouth
-of the river, and forms a triangular tract of alluvial land. This kind
-of deposit is called a Delta, from the resemblance it bears to the
-letter (Δ) of that name in the Greek Alphabet. The apex of the triangle
-points up the stream, the base is toward the sea. Hence, when a Delta
-is formed the river naturally divides into two branches, one flowing to
-the right, the other to the left. In progress of time new channels are
-almost always made, and the great stream empties itself into the sea by
-many mouths.
-
-The Delta formed in the Bay of Bengal by the two great rivers of
-India, the Ganges and the Brahmapootra, offers an illustration of
-this phenomenon on a scale of unusual magnitude. Indeed, strictly
-speaking, it is not one Delta only, but rather two Deltas lying side
-by side; the one deriving its origin from the Ganges, the other from
-the Brahmapootra. This double Delta extends its base for two hundred
-and fifty miles along the Bay of Bengal, and stretches inward into the
-continent of India to an almost equal distance. Here, then, is a vast
-tract of country manifestly composed of earthy sediment, obtained by
-the process of Denudation from the Himalayan mountains, and afterward
-transported to its present site by the agency of moving water. But
-the deposition of earthy matter does not suddenly come to an end when
-we reach the present line of the coast. The sea is visibly discolored
-by the sediment far beyond the actual base of the Delta; and a sloping
-bank of mud is found to stretch beneath the waters of the Bay to a
-distance of a hundred miles.
-
-Even within the short period of a man’s life the domain of dry land
-is often visibly enlarged. Sandbanks are first formed in some of
-those numerous winding channels through which the two rivers find
-their way to the sea. The sandbanks, receiving fresh accessions
-during each succeeding flood, in a short time become islands; and
-the islands have been known, in a few years, to attain a superficial
-extent of many square miles. Then begins to appear a wild and
-luxuriant vegetation--reeds, long grass, shrubs, and trees; and those
-impenetrable thickets are formed, to which the buffalo, the rhinoceros,
-and the tiger soon resort for shelter. A very extensive tract of this
-kind, adjoining the sea-coast, and known as the Sunderbunds, is said to
-be as large as the principality of Wales.
-
-The Delta of the Nile, though not quite one-half as large as the
-Delta of the Ganges, presents nevertheless some features of peculiar
-interest. In many places where a vertical section is exposed to view,
-the phenomenon of stratification may be distinctly recognized. The
-upper part of the deposit belonging to each year is composed of earth
-of a lighter color than the lower part; and the whole forms a distinct
-layer of hardened clay, which may be easily separated from those above
-and below. This formation, therefore, corresponds exactly with those
-strata of shale which we so often meet with in the Crust of the Earth.
-Again, many of the old channels through which the Nile made its way
-to the sea in ancient times, have been since filled up and converted
-into solid land. The two extreme arms of the river, which formerly
-enclosed the Delta, were two hundred miles apart where they entered
-the Mediterranean. But these channels are now Alluvial Plains, and the
-base of the Delta is but ninety miles in length. Hence, though the
-quantity of land which has been formed by the sediment of the Nile is
-much greater now than it formerly was, the size of the Delta properly
-so called has not been increased but diminished.
-
-If we turn to the great continent of America, we are met by results
-not less striking and important. The Delta of the Mississippi is two
-hundred miles in length, and one hundred and forty in breadth. This
-vast stratum of mud is between five and six hundred feet thick, and
-covers an area twelve thousand square miles in extent. Each year it
-receives from the great _Father of Rivers_ a new accession of sediment
-which is computed at 3,700,000,000 of cubic feet. And besides this
-annual deposit of inorganic matter, we must not omit from our estimate
-the countless trees of various species and of gigantic size, which
-are torn up by the floods, carried along by the impetuous stream, and
-buried at last with the bones of animals, and works of human art,
-and other spoils of the land, in the mud of the Delta at the river’s
-mouth.[45]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER VII._
-
-STRATIFIED ROCKS OF CHEMICAL ORIGIN.
-
-    _Chemical agency employed in the formation of mechanical
-    rock--But some rocks produced almost exclusively by the
-    action of chemical laws--Difference between a mixture
-    and a solution--A saturated solution--Stalactites and
-    Stalagmites--Fantastic columns in limestone caverns--The grotto
-    of Antiparos in the Grecian Archipelago--Wyer’s cave in the
-    Blue Mountains of America--Travertine rock in Italy--Growth of
-    limestone in the Solfatara Lake near Tivoli--Incrustations of
-    the Anio--Formation of travertine at the baths of San Filippo
-    and San Vignone._
-
-
-The Aqueous Rocks of which we have spoken in the last two chapters are
-called by Geologists Mechanical; inasmuch as they owe their existence
-chiefly to the agency of Mechanical force. It should be observed,
-however, that a very considerable share in the production of these
-rocks must be ascribed, not unfrequently, to Chemical influence.
-Chemical action helps to prepare the materials of which they are
-composed; and Chemical action likewise furnishes the calcareous,
-siliceous, and other mineral cements by which they are, in a great
-measure, consolidated. There is, however, a second class of Aqueous
-Rocks which are produced almost exclusively by the operation of
-Chemical laws, and which we have accordingly denominated Stratified
-Rocks of Chemical Origin. It is of these that we purpose to speak in
-the present chapter. They constitute a much smaller proportion of the
-Earth’s Crust than either the Mechanical or the Organic Rocks. But the
-history of their formation is curious and instructive. We shall confine
-ourselves to one or two simple and familiar illustrations.
-
-In the course of these illustrations we shall have a good deal to say
-about Carbonate of Lime in a state of solution; and it may perhaps be
-useful to explain, first of all, what is meant by a solution, in the
-technical language of Chemistry. If a spoonful of salt is put into a
-tumbler of water, the particles of salt, after a little time, cease to
-cohere together, and become so diffused through the water as to be no
-longer visible to the eye, although their presence in every part may be
-easily discerned by the taste. The salt is then said to be _dissolved_,
-and the water in which it is dissolved is called a _solution_ of salt.
-It is important to distinguish the case of a solution from the case of
-a mere mechanical mixture. If, instead of the salt, we were to put into
-the tumbler of water a spoonful of very fine sand, then we should have
-a _mixture_ but not a _solution_. By stirring briskly the contents of
-the tumbler we might, indeed, effect a very close union between the
-particles of water and the particles of sand: but this union would be
-altogether different in kind from the union that was observed in the
-former case between the particles of water and the particles of salt.
-First, the sand would remain visible to the eye, making the water
-turbid and discolored; whereas the salt entirely disappeared, leaving
-the water limpid and transparent as before. Again, if the water be
-allowed to rest, the sand will in time fall to the bottom, whereas the
-salt will not.
-
-But there is a limit to the capacity of water for holding salt in
-solution. If spoonful after spoonful be added, it will be found, when a
-certain point has been reached, that the water can at length dissolve
-no more. It is then called a _saturated solution_ of salt. If, in
-this case, a portion of the water were to pass away by evaporation,
-it is clear, we should have the same quantity of salt as before, in
-a smaller quantity of water. The consequence would be that _all_ the
-salt could not then be held in solution, and some of it would fall to
-the bottom; or, in chemical language, a precipitate of salt would be
-formed on the bottom of the tumbler. Now, according to the theory of
-Geologists, many rocks, hundreds of feet thick, and solid enough to
-form the walls of our palaces, our churches, and our castles, have been
-produced in the Crust of the Earth by just such a process as this.
-In support of their theory we are about to show that the process is
-actually going on in our own time, and is open to the examination of
-all who may desire to study it for themselves.
-
-We shall begin with the formation of Stalactites and Stalagmites. The
-mode in which these singular masses of rock are brought into existence
-is very clearly explained, and the picturesque appearance they so often
-present to the eye is very graphically described, by Dr. Mantell,
-in his Wonders of Geology, from which the following passages are
-taken:--“One of the most common appearances in limestone caverns is the
-formation of what are called Stalactites, from a Greek word signifying
-distillation or dropping. Whenever water filters through a limestone
-rock it dissolves a portion of it; and on reaching any opening, such as
-a cavern, oozes from the sides or roof, and forms a drop, the moisture
-of which is soon evaporated by the air, and a small circular plate or
-ring of calcareous matter remains; another drop succeeds in the same
-place, and adds, from the same cause, a fresh coat of incrustation. In
-time, these successive additions produce a long, irregular, conical
-projection from the roof, which is generally hollow, and is continually
-being increased by the fresh accession of water, loaded with calcareous
-or chalky matter: this is deposited on the outside of the Stalactite
-already formed, and, trickling down, adds to its length by subsiding
-to the point, and evaporating as before; precisely in the same manner
-as, during frosty weather, icicles are formed on the edges of the eaves
-of a roof. When the supply of water holding lime in solution is too
-rapid to allow of its evaporation at the bottom of the Stalactite, it
-drops on the floor of the cave, and drying up gradually, forms in like
-manner a Stalactite rising upward from the ground, instead of hanging
-from the roof; this is called for the sake of distinction Stalagmite.
-
-“It frequently happens, where these processes are uninterrupted, that a
-Stalactite hanging from the roof, and a Stalagmite formed immediately
-under it from the super-abundant water, increase until they unite, and
-thus constitute a natural pillar, apparently supporting the roof of the
-grotto. It is to the grotesque forms assumed by Stalactites and these
-natural columns, that caverns owe the interesting appearances described
-in such glowing terms by those who witness them for the first time. One
-of the most beautiful stalactitic caverns in England is at Clapham,
-near Ingleborough. In the Cheddar Cliffs, Somersetshire, there has been
-discovered a similar cave richly incrusted with sparry concretions.
-There are others in Derbyshire.
-
-“The grotto of Antiparos in the Grecian Archipelago, not far from
-Paros, has long been celebrated. The sides and roof of its principal
-cavity are covered with immense incrustations of calcareous spar, which
-form either Stalactites depending from above or irregular pillars
-rising from the floor. Several perfect columns reaching to the ceiling
-have been formed and others are still in progress, by the union of the
-Stalactite from above with the Stalagmite below. These, being composed
-of matter slowly deposited, have assumed the most fantastic shapes;
-while the pure, white, and glittering spar beautifully catches and
-reflects the light of the torches of the visitors to this subterranean
-palace, in a manner which causes all astonishment to cease at the
-romantic tales told of the place--of its caves of diamonds and of its
-ruby walls; the simple truth, when deprived of all exaggeration, being
-sufficient to excite admiration and awe.
-
-“Sometimes a linear fissure in the roof, by the direction it gives to
-the dropping of the lapidifying water, forms a perfectly transparent
-curtain or partition. A remarkable instance of this kind occurs in a
-cavern in North America called Wyer’s Cave. This cave is situated in
-a ridge of limestone hills running parallel to the Blue Mountains.
-A narrow and rugged fissure leads to a large cavern, where the most
-grotesque figures, formed by the percolation of water through beds of
-limestone, present themselves, while the eye, glancing onward, watches
-the dim and distant glimmers of the lights of the guides--some in the
-recess below, and others in the galleries above. Passing from these
-recesses, the passage conducts to a flight of steps that leads into
-a large cavern of irregular form and of great beauty. Its dimensions
-are about thirty feet by fifty. Here the incrustations hang just like
-a sheet of water that was frozen as it fell; there they rise into a
-beautiful stalactite pillar; and yonder compose an elevated seat,
-surrounded by sparry pinnacles. Beyond this room is another more
-irregular, but more beautiful; for besides having sparry ornaments in
-common with the others, the roof overhead is of the most admirable and
-singular formation. It is entirely covered with Stalactites, which
-are suspended from it like inverted pinnacles; and they are of the
-finest material, and most beautifully shaped and embossed. In another
-apartment an immense sheet of transparent Stalactite, which extends
-from the floor to the roof, emits, when struck, deep and mellow sounds
-like those of a muffled drum.
-
-“Farther on is another vaulted chamber, which is one hundred feet
-long, thirty-six wide, and twenty-six high. Its walls are filled with
-grotesque concretions. The effect of the lights placed by the guides
-at various elevations, and leaving hidden more than they reveal, is
-extremely fine. At the extremity of another range of apartments, a
-magnificent hall, two hundred and fifty feet long, and thirty-three
-feet high, suddenly appears. Here is a splendid sheet of rock-work
-running up the centre of the room, and giving it the aspect of two
-separate and noble galleries. This partition rises twenty feet above
-the floor, and leaves the fine span of the arched roof untouched.
-There is here a beautiful concretion, which has the form and drapery
-of a gigantic statue; and the whole place is filled with stalagmitical
-masses of the most varied and grotesque character. The fine perspective
-of this room, four times the length of an ordinary church, and the
-amazing vaulted roof spreading overhead, without any support of pillar
-or column, produce a most striking effect. In another apartment, which
-has an altitude of fifty feet, there is at one end an elevated recess
-ornamented with a group of pendant Stalactites of unusual size and
-singular beauty. They are as large as the pipes of a full-sized organ,
-and ranged with great regularity: when struck they emit mellow sounds
-of various keys, not unlike the tones of musical glasses. The length of
-this extraordinary group of caverns is not less than one thousand six
-hundred feet.”
-
-In the case of Stalactites and Stalagmites the actual formation of
-limestone by the influence of Chemical action is brought home forcibly
-to the mind, and, in a manner, made palpable to the senses. We shall
-now pass to other examples in which the process is scarcely less
-open to observation, and in which the limestone assumes a somewhat
-more massive and rock-like form. Every one who has been in Italy is
-familiar with the limestone rock called Travertine. It is seen in the
-ancient walls and the venerable temples of Pæstum, which have withstood
-unharmed the wasting hand of time for upward of twenty centuries.
-In Rome, too, this stone is associated in our minds as well with the
-enduring monuments of antiquity, as with the imposing splendor of
-Christian art. The Coliseum, the most stupendous of ruins, and St.
-Peter’s, the most sublime of temples, are built of Travertine. In fact
-it seems to have been, in every age, the chief building stone employed
-in the architecture of the Eternal City; and the quarries from which
-it was taken in ancient times may still be seen at Ponte Lucano, near
-Tivoli. Now it is an interesting fact, that close to this very spot,
-at the Solfatara lake on the one side, and at Tivoli itself on the
-other, the formation of Travertine is going on in our own time, by the
-precipitation of lime from a state of solution.
-
-The Solfatara lake, situated about fourteen miles from Rome, on the
-road to Tivoli, is supplied with an unfailing stream of tepid water,
-impregnated with carbonic acid gas and saturated with carbonate of
-lime. The amount of carbonate of lime which the water is capable of
-holding in solution depends chiefly on three things: first, on the
-presence of carbonic acid; secondly, on the high temperature of the
-water; and thirdly, on its quantity. Now the carbonic acid is ever
-rising in bubbles to the surface and passing away; the temperature
-of the water is lowered by contact with the cooler atmosphere; and
-its quantity is diminished by evaporation. Thus the capacity which
-the water at first had for holding the carbonate of lime in solution
-is notably diminished, and a part of the lime is precipitated to the
-bottom in a solid form, or clings to the vegetable matter with which it
-comes in contact.
-
-A very simple and interesting experiment, made in the early part of
-the present century by Sir Humphrey Davy, will illustrate the rapidity
-with which the formation of solid stone is even now taking place. In
-the month of May he fixed a stick in the bed of the lake, and left
-it standing until the following April, when he found that it was
-covered with an incrustation of limestone several inches thick.[46] In
-precisely the same way new layers of Travertine are annually deposited
-in the bed of the lake, and incrusted on its rocky margin; and so the
-lake itself is becoming smaller and smaller from year to year. We are
-told that in the middle of the seventeenth century it was a mile in
-circuit, and now it is a little more than a quarter of a mile.[47]
-Here, therefore, we have an immense mass of compact limestone rock,
-built up by natural agents within the last two centuries.
-
-At Tivoli, about four miles beyond the Solfatara, and two miles from
-the quarries of Ponte Lucano, phenomena of the same kind are exhibited.
-The waters of the Anio, which are saturated with carbonate of lime,
-form incrustations of Travertine on the banks of the river; and at the
-celebrated falls, where the whole volume of the stream leaps at a bound
-from a height of three hundred and twenty feet, the most beautiful
-stalactites are formed by the foam.
-
-The formation of Travertine is going on with no less activity in
-other parts of the Italian Peninsula. At the baths of San Filippo, in
-Tuscany, there are three warm springs which contain a very large amount
-of mineral matter in solution. The water which supplies the baths falls
-into a pond, where it has been known to deposit a solid stratum of rock
-_thirty feet thick_ in twenty years. In the same neighborhood are the
-mineral baths of San Vignone. The source from which the water flows is
-situated on the summit of a hill not more than a few hundred yards from
-the high road between Sienna and Rome; and so rapid is the formation
-of stone, that half a foot of solid Travertine is deposited every year
-in the pipe that conducts the water to the baths. At this spot we have
-a very good illustration of the argument we are now considering. As
-the stream of water flows down the slopes of the hill, a thin layer
-of Travertine rock is produced on the surface of the earth, almost
-before our eyes; and so it was previous to our own time, and so it has
-been for ages, as history and tradition testify. The quantity produced
-in each year and in each century is comparatively small, but we can
-have no doubt that it _has_ been produced by the means described.
-Now, beneath the surface of the Earth, immediately below these modern
-formations, of which we have so clearly ascertained the origin, we find
-strata of the same kind, composed of the same materials, and arranged
-in the same way, layer resting upon layer, down to a depth of two
-hundred feet: and the Geologist accounts for the formation of the one
-according to the same laws which he has seen at work in the production
-of the other.[48]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER VIII._
-
-STRATIFIED ROCKS OF ORGANIC ORIGIN--ILLUSTRATIONS FROM ANIMAL LIFE.
-
-    _Nature of organic rocks--Carbonate of lime extracted from the
-    sea by the intervention of minute animalcules--Chalk rock--Its
-    vast extent--Supposed to be of organic origin--A stratum of
-    the same kind now growing up on the floor of the Atlantic
-    ocean--Coral reefs and islands--Their general appearance--Their
-    geographical distribution--Their organic origin--Structure
-    of the zoophyte--Various illustrations--Agency of the
-    zoophyte in the construction of coral rock--How the sunken
-    reef is converted into an island and peopled with plants and
-    animals--Difficulty proposed and considered--Hypothesis of Mr.
-    Darwin--Coral limestone in the solid crust of the earth._
-
-
-We now pass to the third division of Aqueous Rocks, those, namely,
-which are believed to have come into existence chiefly through the
-agency of animal and vegetable life, and are therefore called Organic.
-The study of these rocks has been prosecuted with no inconsiderable
-ardor during the last thirty years; and the facts which have been
-brought to light are certainly amongst the most curious and interesting
-in the whole range of physical science. Indeed we are convinced that
-a simple narrative of the researches which have recently been made
-upon this subject, and the discoveries to which these researches
-have led, would be no less attractive, and scarcely less wonderful,
-than a fairy tale. But it is not for us to wander at large over this
-vast and tempting field of inquiry. We must be content with one or
-two examples, which may help to illustrate the process of inductive
-reasoning upon which the general principles of geological science are
-founded.
-
-It is argued, then, that the present operations of Nature afford
-the best key for the interpretation of her works in bygone times.
-We observe various beds of rocks now in course of formation on the
-surface of the Earth; and within the Crust of the Earth we discover
-corresponding strata of the self-same rock already complete, and laid
-by, as it were, in Nature’s storehouse. Side by side, therefore, we
-may study and compare the finished work and the work that is yet in
-progress; and if, on a close examination, they are found to agree in
-all essential characters, we have doubtless a strong presumption,
-that the same causes which are now producing the one, must in former
-times have produced the other. This line of argument we have already
-considered in reference to those two classes of Aqueous Rocks, which
-are said to be respectively of Mechanical and of Chemical origin. We
-now proceed to show that it is no less applicable to those which are
-called Organic. And although we may not hope to unfold all the secret
-wonders of Nature’s laboratory, that have come to light in recent
-times, yet we may afford a passing glimpse at her operations, which can
-scarcely fail to be interesting and instructive.
-
-We have shown how strata of solid rock are sometimes formed in lakes by
-the precipitation of lime from a state of solution. Now this process
-cannot take place in the sea; for though lime is present in the sea,
-the quantity of carbonic acid with which it is there associated, is
-far more than sufficient to render its precipitation impossible.[49]
-But Nature has another contrivance for gathering together the solid
-elements of her building. The depths of the ocean are teeming with
-life; and countless tribes of minute animals are furnished with the
-power of extracting the lime from the waters they inhabit, and of
-reproducing it under a new form. Sometimes, through this mysterious
-operation of organic life, the lime is converted into a calcareous
-shell, like that of the oyster; sometimes into a stony skeleton, as
-in the case of the numerous families of coral-producing animalcules.
-After death the soft, fleshy substance of these animals melts away
-and disappears; but the limestone shells and skeletons remain,
-accumulating during the long course of ages to an almost incredible
-extent. And, if we are to believe Geologists, out of these accumulated
-materials, sometimes preserving their original form and structure,
-sometimes altered more or less by chemical action, sometimes broken
-up into fragments by mechanical force, has been produced a very large
-proportion of the limestone rocks which occur so abundantly in the
-Crust of the Earth.
-
-No better illustration can be found than the white earthy limestone,
-familiar to every one under the name of chalk. An undulating stratum
-of Chalk Rock, attaining not unfrequently a thickness of one thousand
-feet, may be said, speaking roughly, to underlie the southeastern half
-of England. Sometimes it appears at the surface: sometimes it dips
-downward, and forms a kind of great basin, over which are regularly
-spread out various other groups of Stratified Rocks. On the southern
-coast it rises to a height of several hundred feet above the level of
-the sea in a line of perpendicular cliffs, conspicuous from a distance
-by their dazzling whiteness. But the White Chalk of England is only an
-insignificant part of a great rock-formation, which may be traced over
-extensive areas throughout all Europe, from Ireland to the Crimea, from
-the Baltic Sea to the Bay of Biscay; and which everywhere preserves in
-a remarkable degree the same mineral character, and presents to the eye
-the same general appearance.
-
-Now it had often been suggested by Geologists that this wide-spread
-formation derived its existence chiefly from the accumulated remains
-of organic life. For in many instances the broken shells of minute
-animalcules could be distinctly observed to constitute a part of the
-rock. And even where the organic structure could not be so clearly
-traced, the carbonate of lime composing the Chalk presented just
-that appearance which would naturally result from the decomposition
-of such shells. This theory, however, was long put forward with
-diffidence and received with incredulity. Even scientific men found
-it hard to persuade themselves that a solid rock of such great extent
-and thickness could have been the work of agents apparently so
-insignificant. But it has been confirmed and illustrated in a very
-interesting and unexpected manner within the last few years.
-
-When the project of connecting Europe and America by a telegraph
-cable was first set on foot, it became necessary to ascertain, as far
-as possible, the general configuration of the ocean bottom and the
-exact nature of the bed on which the cable was to lie. Accordingly
-in the year 1857 an expedition was fitted out for this purpose under
-the command of Captain Dayman; and a careful series of soundings was
-taken between Valentia, on the West Coast of Kerry, and Trinity Bay on
-the shores of Newfoundland. It was found that the floor of the ocean
-between Ireland and America is a vast irregular plain, and that by
-far the greater part is covered over with a kind of soft mud or ooze.
-Samples of this ooze were scooped up, even at the most profound depths,
-by means of an ingenious apparatus attached to the sounding-lines, and
-brought undisturbed to the surface. Afterward they were carried home to
-England and submitted for examination to Professor Huxley. The result
-has been to show that the materials of a limestone rock, resembling in
-every essential feature the White Chalk of Europe, are being spread out
-at the present day over an area of immense extent on the floor of the
-Atlantic Ocean.
-
-With the permission of our readers we shall allow Professor Huxley, as
-far as may be, to tell his own story.[50] As to the ocean floor itself,
-“It is,” he says, “a prodigious plain--one of the widest and most even
-plains in the world. If the sea were drained off, you might drive a
-wagon all the way from Valentia to Trinity Bay. And, except upon one
-sharp incline about two hundred miles from Valentia, I am not quite
-sure that it would even be necessary to put the skid on, so gentle are
-the ascents and descents upon that long route. From Valentia the road
-would lie down hill for about two hundred miles to the point at which
-the bottom is now covered by 1700 fathoms of sea-water. Then would come
-the central plain, more than a thousand miles wide, the inequalities
-of the surface of which would be hardly perceptible, though the depth
-of water upon it now varies from 10,000 to 15,000 feet; and there are
-places in which Mont Blanc might be sunk without showing its peak
-above water. Beyond this the ascent on the American side commences,
-and gradually leads for about three hundred miles, to the Newfoundland
-shore.”
-
-The central plain here described, which has been since found to extend
-many hundred miles north and south of the cable line, is covered almost
-everywhere by that soft, mealy sort of mud of which we have already
-spoken; and this, it is now confidently believed, is nothing else than
-a stratum of Chalk Rock in an early stage of formation. When thoroughly
-dried it assumes a whitish color, and exhibits a texture which even
-to the superficial observer appears closely to resemble fine chalk.
-Nay, we are told that if so disposed, one may take a bit of it in his
-fingers and write with it upon a blackboard. Like chalk, too, when
-chemically analyzed it is found to be almost pure carbonate of lime.
-
-But there is a yet more striking analogy between the mud of the
-Atlantic and the White Chalk of Europe. Both have been submitted to
-the magnifying power of the Microscope; and, after an examination
-conducted with scrupulous care, a wonderful and almost startling
-identity of mineral, or rather we should say of organic, composition
-has been established between them. To the naked eye Chalk is simply a
-soft, earthy sort of stone. But when a thin transparent slice is placed
-under the Microscope, the general mass is found to be made up of very
-minute particles, in which are embedded a vast number of other bodies
-possessing a well-defined form and structure. These are of various
-sizes, but on a rough average may be said not to exceed a hundredth
-of an inch in diameter. Hundreds of thousands of them are sometimes
-contained in a cubic inch of Chalk, together with countless millions of
-the more minute granules.
-
-Professor Huxley succeeded in separating these bodies from the mass of
-granules in which they were embedded, and by examining them apart, he
-has ascertained still more fully their exact structure and composition.
-“Each one of them,” he says, “is a beautifully constructed calcareous
-fabric, made up of a number of chambers communicating freely with one
-another. They are of various forms. One of the commonest is something
-like a badly-grown raspberry, being formed of a number of nearly
-globular chambers of different sizes congregated together. It is called
-Globigerina; and some specimens of Chalk consist of little else than
-Globigerinæ and granules.”
-
-Previous to 1857 the Globigerinæ of the Chalk were a matter of no small
-controversy among Geologists and Naturalists. Some contended that
-they were the organic remains--the shells or skeletons--of ancient
-animalcules. Others were disposed to regard them simply as aggregations
-of lime, which, so to speak, chanced to assume the form of these
-little chambered bodies; though it was not easy to explain, on this
-hypothesis, how these chance concretions, however much they varied
-in size, preserved over the whole of Europe the same exact form and
-structure. But the controversy is now at an end. The specimens of the
-Atlantic ooze brought home by Captain Dayman, when examined under the
-higher powers of the Microscope, are found, like Chalk, to be composed
-almost entirely of Globigerinæ. And that no doubt may remain as to
-their organic origin, a portion of the fleshy integument of the little
-animalcules is seen, in many cases, still adhering to the calcareous
-skeleton.
-
-“Globigerinæ of every size,” we are told, “from the smallest to the
-largest, are associated together in the Atlantic mud, and the chambers
-of many are filled by a soft animal matter. This soft substance is,
-in fact, the remains of the creature to which the Globigerina shell,
-or rather skeleton, owes its existence--and which is an animal of
-the simplest imaginable description. It is, in fact, a mere particle
-of living jelly, without defined parts of any kind--without a mouth,
-nerves, muscles, or distinct organs; and only manifesting its vitality
-to ordinary observation by thrusting out and retracting, from all
-parts of its surface, long filamentous processes which serve for arms
-and legs. Yet this amorphous particle, devoid of everything which, in
-the higher animals we call organs, is capable of feeding, growing,
-and multiplying; of separating from the ocean the small proportion of
-carbonate of lime which is dissolved in sea-water; and of building up
-that substance into a skeleton for itself, according to a pattern which
-can be imitated by no other known agency.”
-
-That the same process is going on in other parts of the ocean appears
-by observations made by Sir Leopold M’Clintock during the cruise of
-the Bulldog in 1860. He discovered that a calcareous ooze having the
-consistency of putty is spread out over extensive areas between the
-Faroe Islands and Iceland, and also between Iceland and Greenland. Of
-this mud about ninety-five per cent. is composed of Globigerinæ, which
-in some instances were brought up actually living to the surface, and
-busily engaged in secreting, by their vital powers, carbonate of lime
-from the waters of the sea.[51]
-
-Professor Huxley goes yet one step further in following out the
-resemblance between the Chalk Rock that exists in the Crust of the
-Earth and the stratum of Chalk that is now growing up in the depths
-of the Atlantic. Not only are the Globigerinæ, of which the one is in
-great part composed, identical with the animalcules that make up about
-nine-tenths of the other, but even the minute granules that constitute
-the residue of each formation, correspond in a very remarkable manner.
-“In working over the soundings collected by Captain Dayman, I was
-surprised to find that many of what I have called the Granules of
-that mud were not, as one might have been tempted to think at first,
-the mere powder and waste of Globigerinæ, but they had a definite
-form and size. I termed these bodies Coccoliths, and doubted their
-organic nature. Doctor Wallich verified my observation, and added the
-interesting discovery that, not unfrequently, bodies similar to these
-Coccoliths were aggregated together into spheroids, which he termed
-Coccospheres. So far as we knew, these bodies, the nature of which is
-extremely puzzling and problematical, were peculiar to the Atlantic
-soundings.
-
-“But a few years ago Mr. Sorby, in making a careful examination of the
-Chalk by means of thin sections and otherwise, observed, as Ehrenberg
-had done before him, that much of its granular basis possesses a
-definite form. Comparing these formed particles with those in the
-Atlantic soundings, he found the two to be identical; and thus
-proved that the Chalk, like the soundings, contains these mysterious
-Coccoliths and Coccospheres. Here was a further and a most interesting
-confirmation, from internal evidence, of the essential identity of the
-Chalk with modern deep-sea mud.”
-
-We may, therefore, set it down as certain, first, that the formation
-of Chalk Rock is going on very extensively at the present day; and
-secondly, that the chief agency employed in its production is no other
-than the vital action of minute animalcules. This is no longer merely
-a plausible theory or an ingenious hypothesis: it is simply a matter
-of fact ascertained by direct observation. If then it is just and
-philosophical to ascribe like effects to like causes, the conclusion is
-plain that the White Chalk of Europe came into existence in some far
-distant age by just such a process as that which is now in operation on
-the bed of the Atlantic Ocean.
-
-From the Chalk mud of the Atlantic we will now pass to the Coral Reefs
-that are growing up beneath the waters of the Pacific and the Indian
-Oceans. Every one has heard of Coral Reefs and Coral Islands; yet we
-fancy many persons have but vague and indefinite notions about them.
-We shall, therefore, in the first place, give a brief account of their
-general appearance, their extent, and their geographical distribution.
-Afterward we shall give some of the evidence which goes to show that
-these huge masses of rock owe their existence to the organic powers of
-minute living animalcules.
-
-The Coral Reef is familiar to the navigator of tropical seas under a
-great variety of forms, and in many different stages of development.
-In one case it is a chain of hidden rocks rising not quite to the
-level of the sea; in another it appears just above the waters, but is
-washed over by each returning tide; while in another it rises up beyond
-the reach of the waves, is clothed with luxuriant vegetation, and
-inhabited by various species of animals, even by man himself. Again
-there is great diversity of outline among these rocks, whether they are
-sunk beneath the surface of the waters or lifted above them. But all
-may be reduced to four classes, of which we propose to give a short
-description.
-
-First is the Atoll, or lagoon island. It is a circular strip of
-limestone rock enclosing a shallow lake within, and surrounded by a
-deep and often unfathomable ocean without. The scene presented by
-some of these circular reefs is described by travellers as equally
-striking for its singularity and its beauty. “A strip of land a few
-hundred yards wide is covered by lofty cocoa-nut trees, above which
-is the blue vault of heaven. This band of verdure is bounded by a
-beach of glittering white sand, the outer margin of which is encircled
-with a ring of snow-white breakers, beyond which are the dark heaving
-waters of the ocean. The inner beach encloses the still clear water
-of the lagoon, resting in its greater part on white sand, and, when
-illuminated by a vertical sun, of a most vivid green.”
-
-These lagoon islands are often found in groups stretching, with little
-interruption, for many hundred miles across the ocean. The Maldives,
-for example, which lie a little distance to the southwest of Hindostan,
-form a continuous chain, running due north and south, four hundred and
-seventy miles in length and fifty miles in breadth. Each successive
-link in this chain does not consist, as might be supposed, of a single
-circular reef, but it is rather a ring of small coral islets, sometimes
-more than a hundred in number, each of which is itself a perfect Atoll
-or lagoon island such as we have just described. Of these miniature
-islets many are from three to five miles in diameter; while the larger
-rings of which they form a part are from thirty to fifty. The Laccadive
-islands, a little more to the north, exhibit a similar arrangement,
-and indeed would seem to be a continuation of the same group. In the
-Pacific are found some chains of coral islands yet more extensive;
-as for instance the Dangerous Archipelago, which is upward of eleven
-hundred miles in length, and from three to four hundred in breadth; but
-the islands within these spaces are thinly scattered, and insignificant
-in size.
-
-Sometimes the annular strip of coral rock encloses within itself a
-lofty island, which rises up from the centre of the lagoon. In this
-case it is called an Encircling Reef; the lagoon being simply a broad
-channel surrounding the island in the centre, and encompassed itself by
-the coral rock. An example occurs in the island of Vanikoro, celebrated
-for the shipwreck of La Peyrouse, where the Encircling Reef runs at a
-distance of two or three miles from the shore, the channel between it
-and the land having a general depth of between two and three hundred
-feet. The well-known mountainous island of Tahiti in the South Pacific
-Ocean is also encompassed by an Encircling Reef, from which it is
-separated by a broad belt of tranquil water.
-
-A third class of Coral Reefs consists of those which run parallel to
-the shores of continents or great islands, from which they are cut off
-by a broad channel, to which the sea has free access through certain
-open passages in the rock. They are called Barrier Reefs; and differ
-from the former only in this, that they do not surround the land, but
-run parallel to it at a distance of some miles. The Great Barrier Reef
-of Australia offers a noble example. It has been described as a huge,
-massive, submarine wall or terrace, fronting the northeastern coast
-of that continent, varying from ten to ninety miles in breadth, and
-extending, with some trifling interruptions, to a length of 1250 miles.
-Another reef of the same kind, 400 miles in length, faces the western
-coast of the long narrow island of New Caledonia.
-
-When a chain of Coral rocks approaches close to the shore, so as to
-leave no intervening channel of deep water, they are called Fringing
-Reefs; and these constitute the fourth and last class of the Coral
-formation. They prevail everywhere in tropical regions, and appear as
-banks of Coral encrusting the rocky shores of islands and continents.
-
-As regards the geographical distribution of Coral Reefs, the first
-circumstance that claims our notice, is that they are exclusively
-confined to the warmer regions of the globe. They exist in great
-profusion within the tropics, and are rarely to be found beyond the
-thirtieth parallels of latitude on each side of the Equator. The only
-remarkable exception is in the case of the Bermuda Islands in 32° north
-latitude; but here, it is to be observed, the ocean is warmed by the
-waters of the Gulf Stream. Another singular fact is the almost total
-absence of Coral Reefs from the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, the Bermudas,
-we believe, constitute here again the only exception. The Pacific,
-on the contrary, is wonderfully productive of coral; also the Indian
-Ocean, the Persian and Arabian Gulfs, and the Red Sea.
-
-It may gratify, perhaps, the curiosity of some readers, if we add a
-word on the Red Coral which is now so favorite an ornament in the
-fashionable world. Though it never attains to the magnitude of those
-reefs and islands we have been describing, it partakes nevertheless of
-the same peculiar structure; and no doubt is entertained that, like
-them, it derives its existence from animal life, in the manner we shall
-presently explain. It is produced chiefly in the Mediterranean, in the
-Red Sea, and in the Persian Gulf; and is brought up from the great
-depths by means of a grappling apparatus attached to boats. The largest
-pieces have a shrub-like branching form, and are supposed to grow to
-the height of one foot in about eight years.[52]
-
-So much for the existence of the Coral Formation. Next comes the
-question of its origin, with which, of course, we are chiefly
-concerned. It is now the received belief of all distinguished
-Naturalists, that these huge and wide-spread masses of limestone rock,
-against which the breakers of the ocean are ever thundering in vain,
-are the work of tiny marine animalcules, and chiefly of those seemingly
-insignificant creatures known by the name of Polyps or Zoophytes. The
-Zoophyte, they tell us, is a mason who himself produces the stones
-that he employs in his building. “He has neither plane, nor chisel,
-nor trowel; there is no sound of hammer in his city. He erects mighty
-and enduring edifices, yet has no mechanical power by which to raise
-his rocks to their summits. He can answer thee nothing--no tongue, no
-eyes, no hands, no brains has he--yet from the caves of old ocean has
-he raised that which fills you with admiration.”[53] Surely if all this
-be true, these countless myriads of animalcules call aloud to us from
-the depths of the ocean in language that cannot be mistaken: “Know
-ye that the Lord He is God; it is He that hath made us, and not we
-ourselves.”[54]
-
-The Zoophyte belongs to the simplest form of the animal creation. Its
-body consists merely of a pouch or stomach, with tentacles arranged
-round the margin, which it can extend at pleasure to supply itself with
-food. In many species the individuals grow together on a common stem,
-from which new members are constantly shooting forth like buds from
-the branches of a tree. Hence the origin of the name Zoophyte, which
-literally means a plant-like animal. The common stem on which they grow
-is sometimes composed of a horny substance, but more generally it is
-pure carbonate of lime, which they secrete by the powers of organic
-action from the waters of the sea. It forms, therefore, a kind of
-internal skeleton or framework, to which the soft, gelatinous parts of
-the animal adhere, pretty much as, in the case of other animals, the
-flesh adheres to the bones. Thus we have, as it were, a community of
-living creatures, growing together upon one common stony framework,
-called a Polypidom or Polyp edifice, which they themselves build by the
-very fact of living.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 4.--Campanularia Gelatinosa.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 5.--Gorgonia Patula.]
-
-The peculiar structure of these wonderful little communities may
-perhaps be made more intelligible by the aid of a few illustrations.
-Figure 4 exhibits the branching skeleton and, at the extremities of
-the branches, the several Polyps by whose vital action the skeleton
-has been constructed. Some of the animalcules are shown in a state of
-activity, with their tiny arms spread out in search of food: others
-are withdrawn within their cells, and appear in a state of repose.
-This species of Zoophyte, which is highly magnified in the figure,
-flourishes abundantly on the shores of Ireland and England. It has
-received the name of Campanularia, from the bell-like form of its
-cells. Our next cut represents a Gorgonia from the Mediterranean,
-which is also considerably magnified. The fleshy integument of this
-specimen is of a brilliant red color: the Polyps are arranged in rows
-on each side of the stem, and are shown in a state of expansion.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 6.--Frustra Pilosa.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 7.--Madrepora Plantaginea.]
-
-A mass of Coral animalcules, which are known by the name of Frustra
-Pilosa, is represented of the natural size in Figure 6. To the
-naked eye it seems like a piece of fine net-work, disposed around a
-fragment of sea-weed, which may be observed protruding in the upper
-part of our illustration. With the aid of an ordinary magnifier the
-net-like surface is seen to abound in minute pores arranged with much
-regularity. Each of these pores is the cell of a Zoophyte. And if
-a fragment of Frustra be examined with a powerful microscope, when
-immersed in sea-water, the curious little inhabitants themselves may be
-seen darting in and out of their cells, expanding and contracting their
-long feelers, and exhibiting altogether a wonderful activity. In the
-adjoining woodcut, Figure 7, is shown another interesting species of
-the arborescent Zoophyte. It belongs to the family of Madrepores, and
-abounds in almost all Coral Reefs. Alive under water it appears clothed
-in a gelatinous coating of rich and varied hues. But when removed from
-its native element this gelatinous coating, which is the living animal
-substance, quickly melts away; and, in some instances, runs off from
-the calcareous skeleton in a kind of watery slime.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 8.--Corallium Rubrum.]
-
-A good idea of the celebrated red and pink Coral of commerce, so much
-admired for its brilliant color, and the high polish of which it is
-susceptible, may be gathered from our next illustration. As in the
-other species to which we have referred, the calcareous skeleton is
-enveloped in a living gelatinous substance, from which the Zoophytes
-seem to shoot out like buds from the bark of a tree. Several of these
-animalcules are exhibited in our figure, in the active enjoyment of
-life; gathering in, with their expanded tentacles, the elements of
-their stony edifice from the surrounding waters. After death the fleshy
-integument is wasted away by the action of the sea; and the framework
-that remains behind, washed ashore by the waves, or hooked up by the
-coral fisherman, is wrought into brooches, bracelets, necklaces, and
-other ornaments of various kinds.
-
-Not a few varieties of the Coral-producing Zoophytes are to be found
-in actual living reality on our own coasts, where the curious student
-may examine for himself their habits and general structure. But it
-is in the warmer regions of the Earth that they are developed in the
-greatest numbers, and decked in the brightest hues. Those who have seen
-them through the crystal waters of tropical seas, swarming in countless
-multitudes on the clear white sand below, speak with enthusiasm of
-their luxuriant profusion and of their striking beauty. Combining to
-a picturesque elegance of form a rich variety and pleasing harmony of
-colors, they present to the eye a scene which has been compared to
-a magnificent garden, laid out in diverse beds of rare and splendid
-flowers.
-
-So far we have spoken only of the Polypidom, that is to say, the
-community of Polyps living together on a common stem of their own
-construction. Now this Polypidom is the first element of the Coral
-Reef. In some species of Zoophytes, the Red Coral for instance, the
-calcareous stem never attains a size greater than that of a diminutive
-shrub. But in others, and they are very numerous, especially in
-tropical seas, there seems to be no limit to the growth of the solid
-stony framework. As the existing generation of Zoophytes is dying out,
-new individuals are ever budding forth, which continue unceasingly to
-secrete carbonate of lime, as their predecessors had done before them,
-from the waters of the ocean; and thus the tree-like form spreads its
-branching arms on every side, growing upward and outward day by day.
-The soft gelatinous parts of those generations that have passed away
-are, in a short time, dissolved, and the stony skeleton alone remains
-behind. Ages roll on: the calcareous framework, ever increasing in
-size, becomes at length a formidable rock; and this rock is the Coral
-Reef.
-
-Let it not be supposed we are here advancing a theory: we are only
-stating a fact that has been established by close and repeated
-observations. All the phenomena exhibited in the development of the
-Polypidom, are exhibited no less plainly in every Coral Reef that
-has yet been examined. On the surface of the Reef are the living
-Zoophytes, clinging to the calcareous skeleton which is ever growing
-larger through the unconscious action of their vital functions; while
-immediately beneath may be seen the same stony skeleton, already
-divested of its fleshy integument, and beginning to assume the
-appearance of compact and massive rock. We can behold, therefore, the
-mason at work on the upper story of his building, and the structure
-already finished below. And so we have little less than ocular
-demonstration that the Coral Reef is the work of the Zoophyte.
-
-It must not be supposed, however, that in every part of the Coral Reef,
-the form and outline of the stony skeleton are exactly preserved.
-Fragments of the rock are broken off by the force of the waves, and
-mixed up with the comminuted shells of oysters, mussels, and other
-crustaceous animals inhabiting the same waters. In this way a sort of
-calcareous gravel, sometimes a calcareous paste, is formed, which fills
-up the interstices, and connects the tree-like coral into a compact
-rock.
-
-We have yet to explain how the Coral Reefs come, in many cases, to
-rise above the surface of the ocean, and to form dry land: for it has
-been found that the reef-building Zoophytes require to be continually
-immersed in salt water, and therefore, by their own efforts, they
-cannot raise their structure above the ordinary level of the sea.
-This question was for a long time involved in obscurity; but it has
-been cleared up by the actual observations of Naturalists in modern
-times. The following description, which is given to us by Chamisso,
-the companion of Kotzebue on his voyages, will convey a good idea of
-the process by which a sunken reef is often converted into a smiling,
-fruitful island. “When the reef is of such a height that it remains
-almost dry at low water, the corals leave off building. Above this
-line a continuous mass of solid stone is seen, composed of the shells
-of mollusks and echini, with their broken-off prickles and fragments
-of coral, united by calcareous sand, produced by the pulverization of
-shells. The heat of the sun often penetrates the mass of stone when it
-is dry, so that it splits in many places, and the force of the waves is
-thereby enabled to separate and lift blocks of coral, frequently six
-feet long and three or four in thickness, and throw them upon the reef,
-by which means the ridge becomes at length so high that it is covered
-only during some seasons of the year by spring tides. After this the
-calcareous sand lies undisturbed, and offers to the seeds of trees
-and plants cast upon it by the waves, a soil upon which they rapidly
-grow, to overshadow its dazzling white surface. Entire trunks of trees,
-which are carried by the rivers from other countries and islands, find
-here at length a resting place after their long wanderings: with these
-come some small animals, such as insects and lizards, as the first
-inhabitants. Even before the trees form a wood, the sea-birds nestle
-here; stray land-birds take refuge in the bushes; and, at a much later
-period, when the work has been long since completed, man appears and
-builds his hut on the fruitful soil.”[55]
-
-Another question that seems to call for some explanation is suggested
-by the well-known habits of the Zoophytes themselves. From the
-observations of Kotzebue and Darwin it appears that those species
-which are most effective in the construction of Reefs cannot flourish
-at a greater depth than twenty or thirty fathoms; whereas the coral
-rocks rise up in many cases from the bottom of an unfathomable
-ocean. How, then, it may be asked, have the foundations of these
-wonderful structures been laid? This question opens a wide field for
-philosophical speculation; and we freely admit that no theory of
-Coral Reefs can be regarded as complete and satisfactory, which does
-not furnish a reasonable answer. But so far as the purpose of our
-argument is concerned, it is quite sufficient if a stratum of solid
-limestone, twenty fathoms thick, has been formed mainly through the
-agency of these minute animalcules. And this conclusion, so abundantly
-demonstrated by facts, is left quite untouched by the difficulty to
-which we now refer.
-
-It will be interesting, however, to notice in passing the explanation
-of this phenomenon first suggested by Mr. Darwin, and now very
-generally accepted. He maintains that the whole Coral Reef--foundations
-and superstructure alike--is, in most cases, the result entirely of
-organic agency. The reef-building Zoophyte always begins his labors in
-water that is comparatively shallow. But as he is building upward, it
-often happens that the bed of the sea is sinking downward in pretty
-nearly the same proportion; and thus the reef is ever increasing in
-height from its original base, while the living mass of Zoophytes on
-its upper surface remains in about the same depth of water as when the
-building first began.
-
-This theory is supported by a vast amount of curious and ingenious
-reasoning. In the first place, there is nothing more remarkable in the
-physical conformation of the Globe, than the immense predominance of
-water over land throughout those extensive tracts of ocean where Coral
-Reefs abound. Now this is just what we should naturally expect if the
-hypothesis of Mr. Darwin were admitted; for wherever the Crust of the
-Earth has been subsiding for many ages on a large scale, the domain of
-the sea must of necessity have been considerably enlarged, and that
-of the land contracted in proportion. Again, this hypothesis will be
-found to harmonize most perfectly with all the phenomena of Fringing
-Reefs, Barrier Reefs, Encircling Reefs, and Lagoon Islands. The
-Fringing Reef represents, as it were, the first stage of progress. The
-building operations have just commenced near the shore of some island
-or continent, and but little space intervenes between the land and the
-incrusting wall of coral. Then, as the Crust of the Earth gradually
-subsides, the water encroaches on the land, and forms a channel between
-it and the reef. Meanwhile the Zoophytes are at work, and the coral
-rock is growing upward as the foundation on which it rests is sinking
-downward: each year it is higher from the bed of the sea, and yet no
-nearer to the surface of the waters. And when at length the channel,
-which is ever growing wider and wider, has reached a certain limit, the
-Fringing Reef becomes a Barrier Reef, or if it encompasses an island,
-an Encircling Reef. Lastly, the Encircling Reef will finally become
-a Lagoon Island, when the highest peaks of the land it encloses have
-slowly disappeared beneath the surface of the waters.
-
-In confirmation of this reasoning Mr. Darwin has pointed out numerous
-examples to illustrate each intermediate stage through which, according
-to his hypothesis, the Coral Reef must pass in the progress of its
-construction. He traces the gradual transition from the low bank of
-coral incrusting a rocky shore to the Encircling Reef that compasses
-round a lofty island, like Tahiti, with a broad channel between.
-Then he shows how this channel insensibly becomes wider and wider,
-encroaching more and more upon the land, until at length only a few
-high peaks remain above water. Finally he leads us on to the case of a
-perfect Atoll, within which no trace of land remains to be seen; and
-the channel, now become a lagoon, is encompassed by a Reef of Coral
-Rock that rises steeply from an unfathomed ocean.
-
-We do not mean to dwell upon this ingenious speculation, which would
-carry us too far from the object at which we are aiming. It seems to
-us, however, that the arguments in its favor are at least deserving of
-careful consideration; and we may add that they receive new strength
-from the facts we shall have occasion hereafter to bring forward, when
-we come to speak of the undulating movements to which the Crust of the
-Earth has been subject at many different times, and in many different
-localities, even within the historic period.
-
-The formation and structure of existing Coral Reefs being once fairly
-established, Geologists have little difficulty in ascribing a similar
-origin to many of the limestone strata that are found in the Crust
-of the Earth. For though the internal texture has been considerably
-modified in the long course of ages, by chemical and other influences,
-nevertheless the stony skeletons of the reef-building Zoophytes can be
-distinctly recognized in great abundance. Indeed it is not an uncommon
-thing to meet with limestone rock exhibiting plainly to the eye all
-the appearance of Coral Reefs lifted up from the bed of the ocean.
-“The Oolite,” says Doctor Mantell, “abounds in corals, and contains
-beds of limestone which are merely coral reefs that have undergone
-no change but that of elevation from the bottom of the deep, and the
-consolidation of their materials. The Coral-rag of Wilts presents in
-fact all the characters of modern reefs: the polypifera belong chiefly
-to the Astræidæ, the genera of which family principally contribute to
-the formations now going on in the Pacific. Shells, echinoderms, teeth,
-and bones of fishes, and other marine exuviæ, occupy the interstices
-between the corals, and the whole is consolidated by sand and gravel,
-held together in some instances by calcareous, in others by siliceous
-infiltrations. Those who have visited districts where the Coral-rag
-forms the immediate subsoil, and is exposed to view in the quarries
-or in natural sections, must have been struck with the resemblance of
-these rocks to modern coral banks.”[56]
-
-Even in many of our finest marbles the coral skeletons may be traced
-distinctly enough, and contribute not a little to that variegated color
-which is so much admired. Nay, it is recorded by Mr. Parkinson that he
-discovered in a piece of solid marble, the _animal membrane itself_ by
-which the lime was originally abstracted from the sea. He immersed the
-marble in dilute muriatic acid; and he relates with delight how, as
-the calcareous earth dissolved, and the carbonic acid gas escaped, he
-observed the animal tissue begin distinctly to appear in the form of
-light, elastic membranes.[57]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX.
-
-STRATIFIED ROCKS OF ORGANIC ORIGIN--ILLUSTRATIONS FROM VEGETABLE LIFE.
-
-    _Origin of coal--Evident traces of plants and trees in
-    coal-mines--Coal made up of the same elements as wood--Beds
-    of coal found resting upon clay in which are preserved
-    the roots of trees--Insensible transition from wood to
-    coal--Forest-covered swamps--Accumulations of drift-wood in
-    lakes and estuaries--Peat bogs--Beds of Lignite--Seams of
-    pure coal with half-carbonized trees, some lying prostrate,
-    some standing erect--Summary of the argument hitherto
-    pursued--Objection to this argument from the Omnipotence of
-    God--Answer to the objection._
-
-
-As animals, by organic action, extract lime from the waters of the
-ocean they inhabit, which, being converted in the first instance into
-minute shells, or stony skeletons, afterward passes into a compact
-and solid rock, so in like manner do plants and trees extract carbon
-from the atmosphere in which they vegetate, and convert it into coal.
-No reasonable doubt can now be entertained that coal derives its
-existence, almost entirely, from the woody tissue of sunken swamps and
-forests. Though the nature of the process by which this transformation
-takes place, is yet but imperfectly understood, and is, indeed, at
-the present moment a subject of much discussion and controversy,
-nevertheless the _fact_ that the change _has_ taken place is fully
-accepted by all as an established truth, and is supported by an
-accumulation of evidence which it is not easy to resist.
-
-The first circumstance to which we shall call attention, is the
-wonderful profusion of vegetable life that is always associated with
-coal. Every one who has descended at any time into a coal mine, or
-who has examined the specimens usually exhibited in a well-furnished
-museum, must have been struck by the countless forms of trees and
-plants, which still remain vividly impressed on this black and
-unsightly mineral. Dr. Buckland has described this phenomenon with
-much vigor and beauty in his celebrated Bridgewater Treatise: “The
-finest example I have ever witnessed is that of the coal mines of
-Bohemia just mentioned. The most elaborate imitations of living foliage
-upon the painted ceilings of Italian palaces, bear no comparison with
-the beauteous profusion of extinct vegetable forms with which the
-galleries of these instructive coal mines are overhung. The roof is
-covered as with a canopy of gorgeous tapestry, enriched with festoons
-of most graceful foliage, flung in wild irregular profusion over every
-portion of its surface. The effect is heightened by the contrast of
-the coal-black color of these vegetables with the light ground-work
-of the rock to which they are attached. The spectator feels himself
-transported, as if by enchantment, into the forests of another world;
-he beholds trees of forms and characters now unknown upon the surface
-of the earth, presented to his senses almost in the beauty and vigor of
-their primeval life; their scaly stems and bending branches, with their
-delicate apparatus of foliage, are all spread forth before him, little
-impaired by the lapse of countless ages, and bearing faithful records
-of extinct systems of vegetation, which began and terminated in times
-of which these relics are the infallible historians.”
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  Fig. 9.--Pecopteris Adiantoides.      Fig. 10.--Sphenopteris Affinis.
-
-Fossil Ferns found in the Coal Measures of Europe and America.]
-
-The next important fact that points to the vegetable origin of
-Coal is, that wood and Coal are both composed of the same ultimate
-elements--carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. This analogy is the more
-remarkable when we are told that no other rock except Coal exhibits
-anything approaching to this composition. It is true that the elements
-just enumerated do not exist in the same proportions in wood and in
-Coal. But the difference, when rightly understood, rather tends to
-confirm our theory that the one is derived from the other. There is
-more Carbon in Coal than in wood; while there is less oxygen and less
-hydrogen. To explain how this may have come to pass during the process
-of transition, we must call in the assistance of the chemist. It
-appears from the researches of Liebig that, when vegetable matter is
-buried in the earth, exposed to moisture, and partially or entirely
-excluded from the air, the process of decomposition sets in, and that
-under this process carbonic acid gas and carburetted hydrogen gas are
-slowly evolved. At the same time a portion of the oxygen when set free
-would naturally enter into a new combination with a portion of the
-hydrogen, and form water. The result of these several changes would
-necessarily be, that the accumulation of vegetable matter buried in the
-earth would part, in course of time, with no small share of its carbon,
-its hydrogen, and its oxygen, but not with all in the same proportions:
-for the new combinations would use up more of the oxygen than of the
-hydrogen, and more of the hydrogen than of the carbon.[58] In other
-words, if the process should have gone on for a sufficient lapse of
-ages, these elements would no longer exist together in the proportions
-which are necessary to constitute wood, but would rather exist in the
-proportions which are found to constitute coal.[59]
-
-This explanation is confirmed by a fact with which our readers are
-no doubt familiar. According to the explanation, carbonic acid and
-carburetted hydrogen are evolved during the process by which coal is
-produced from wood. We should therefore expect to find these gases
-closely associated with Coal. If they are _not_ so associated, their
-absence is a serious objection against our theory; but if they _are_
-so associated, their presence is a strong evidence in its favor. Now
-on this point, as every one knows, practical miners bear testimony
-that the fact corresponds exactly with our theory. They tell us that
-reservoirs of Choke-damp, which is carbonic acid, and of Fire-damp,
-which is carburetted hydrogen, are found very commonly pent up in the
-crevices and cavities of coal beds, and are the cause, when tapped, of
-many of the accidents which take place. They even assure us that some
-beds of coal are so saturated with gas that, when cut into, it may
-be heard oozing from every pore of the rock, and the coal is called
-_singing coal_ by the colliers.[60]
-
-To sum up, then, what we have said on this point: it appears, first,
-that the same constituent elements are found in wood and Coal;
-secondly, though they do not exist in the same proportions in the two
-substances, the difference is fully accounted for by the changes which
-we should naturally expect to take place when large accumulations of
-vegetable matter are buried in the earth; thirdly, in the hypothesis of
-these changes, carbonic acid and carburetted hydrogen would certainly
-be developed; and in point of fact, these gases are found intimately
-associated with Coal all over the world.
-
-There is another remarkable fact which fits in most admirably with our
-theory. Coal is found at the present day in the Crust of the Earth,
-disposed in thin seams or beds, and each bed is almost uniformly
-found to rest upon a stratum of fine clay, sometimes several feet in
-thickness. This is just what our theory would lead us to expect. If
-coal is produced from plants and trees, these plants and trees must
-have grown upon some suitable soil; and, therefore, in this hypothesis
-we should expect, ordinarily speaking at least, to find a bed of clay
-beneath every bed of coal. But this is not all. When we examine more
-closely the stratum on which the coal reposes, we find the roots and
-stems of trees mingled with the clay in the greatest profusion. In
-the Welsh coal field, in a depth of twelve thousand feet, there are
-from fifty to a hundred beds of coal, each lying on a stratum of clay
-abounding in these remains.[61]
-
-We now come to an argument of a practical kind which appeals to common
-sense and common experience. Let us suppose that a person wholly
-unacquainted with the art of manufacturing paper, were to enter a
-paper-mill when the workmen are away, and the process of manufacture
-for a time suspended. At first sight he would probably find it
-difficult to persuade himself, that the piles of clean white paper,
-which attract his notice at one end of the building, are produced
-from the heaps of filthy rags which he sees accumulated at the other.
-But if he be a sagacious observer, he will soon find evidence to
-convince him that this is really the case. For he will perceive, upon
-close examination, that the self-same material is exhibited in every
-intermediate state of progress from one extreme to the other. First,
-there is the great chest with its numerous compartments, in which the
-rags are seen carefully sorted, according to their various degrees of
-quality and texture. Next comes the fulling-mill, where they are washed
-and bleached. Then the revolving cylinder, furnished on the exterior
-surface with sharp blades or cutters; and the vat in which it moves is
-filled with the rags, which now assume the form of a thin liquid pulp.
-Advancing still further he will see this pulp evenly spread out upon
-a wire-gauze frame, and now at last it is beginning to exhibit some
-likeness to the form and substance of paper. Further on it is seen
-pressed and dried; and last of all cut into sheets and laid aside in
-lofty piles.
-
-Now it seems to us that we are placed in somewhat of the same
-position, as regards the manufacture of Coal. We cannot observe the
-process actually going on; for though, in this process, the work is
-never suspended, the workmen never at rest, yet extending as it does
-over a space of many centuries, it is too slow to be sensible; and
-besides it is conducted in great part beneath the surface of the
-Earth. Nevertheless, we can trace the progress of change through
-each intermediate stage of the transition, from one extreme to the
-other,--from the primeval swamps and forests through the numerous
-varieties of the Peat and Lignite to the richest beds of pure Coal.
-
-First, then, we have the great forest-covered swamps, like those which
-now occupy the valley and delta of the Mississippi. They are composed
-in many cases of pure vegetable matter without any intermixture of
-earthy sediment. A dense growth of reeds, and shrubs, and herbage of
-every kind, covers the whole surface of the land, mixed up with the
-decaying leaves and prostrate trunks of forest-trees. Sir Charles Lyell
-mentions a very remarkable fact observed in the swamps of Louisiana.
-During an unusually hot season, when any part of a swamp is dried up,
-if the surface be set on fire, a pit is burned into the ground many
-feet deep, in fact, as far down as the fire can descend without meeting
-water; and it is then found that scarcely any residuum or earthy matter
-is left.[62]
-
-Vegetable strata of this kind are produced, not only upon dry land by
-the growth and decay of forests, but also beneath the waters of lakes
-and estuaries, by the accumulation of Drift-timber borne along in the
-current of swollen rivers. The Mackenzie River, which drains a great
-part of Northwestern America, affords many admirable illustrations.
-Flowing as it does from south to north, it is subject to annual
-inundations when the snows begin to melt in the higher parts of its
-course, while the channel lower down, situated in colder latitudes, is
-still blocked up with ice. At this season then it overflows its banks,
-and sweeping through vast forests, carries away thousands of uprooted
-trees in its impetuous torrent.
-
-“As the trees,” says Dr. Richardson, “retain their roots, which are
-often loaded with earth and stones, they readily sink, especially
-when water-soaked; and accumulating in the eddies, form shoals, which
-ultimately augment into islands. A thicket of small willows covers
-the new-formed island as soon as it appears above water, and their
-fibrous roots serve to bind the whole firmly together. Sections of
-these islands are annually made by the river; and it is interesting to
-study the diversities of appearances they present according to their
-different ages. The trunks of the trees gradually decay until they
-are converted into a blackish-brown substance resembling peat, but
-still retaining more or less of the fibrous structure of the wood; and
-layers of this often alternate with layers of clay and sand, the whole
-being penetrated, to a depth of four or five yards or more, by the
-long fibrous roots of the willows. A deposition of this kind, with the
-aid of a little infiltration of bituminous matter, would produce an
-excellent imitation of Coal, with vegetable impressions of the willow
-roots.
-
-“It was in the rivers only that we could observe sections of these
-deposits; but the same operation goes on, on a much more magnificent
-scale, in the lakes. A shoal of many miles in extent is formed on the
-south side of Athabasca Lake by the Drift-timber and vegetable débris
-brought down by the Elk River; and the Slave Lake itself must in
-process of time be filled up by the matters daily conveyed into it from
-Slave River. Vast quantities of Drift-timber are buried under the sand
-at the mouth of the river, and enormous piles of it are accumulated on
-the shores of every part of the lake.”
-
-Not unfrequently it happens that these strata of vegetable matter, with
-the roots and trunks of trees, their branches, fruits, and leaves, more
-or less perfectly preserved, are covered over by subsequent deposits.
-Such accumulations, we are assured by Doctor Mantell, have been found
-deep in the soil on the coast of England, in places that are still
-subject to periodical inundations. “The trees are chiefly of the oak,
-hazel, fir, birch, yew, willow, and ash; in short, almost every kind
-that is indigenous to this island occasionally occurs. The trunks and
-branches are dyed throughout of a deep ebony color by iron; and the
-wood is firm and heavy, and occasionally fit for domestic use; in
-Yorkshire and elsewhere, timber of this kind is sometimes employed in
-the construction of houses.”[63] Here, then, is the first stage of
-the conversion of wood into Coal,--a stratum more or less compacted
-together of vegetable matter, spread out sometimes over the surface of
-the dry land, sometimes on the floor of lakes and estuaries, and often
-buried beneath an accumulation of subsequent deposits.
-
-The next stage in the process of transformation may be represented by
-those Peat Bogs which constitute one of the most remarkable physical
-characteristics of Ireland, covering as they do an area equal to
-one-tenth of the whole island. In these the vegetable matter is more
-closely condensed, but the structure of the plants from which the
-Peat is derived is still preserved, and may be distinctly recognized
-by the naked eye. Nay, we have still the prostrate trunks of trees
-lying around on every side as they fell to the ground in their ancient
-forests. The researches recently pursued upon this subject have brought
-to light a fact which is very much to our present purpose; for it
-seems to prove our thesis by direct evidence. “In Limerick, in the
-district of Maine, one of the States of North America, there are Peat
-Bogs of considerable extent, in which a substance exactly similar to
-_cannel coal_ is found at the depth of three or four feet from the
-surface amidst the remains of rotten logs of wood and _beaver sticks_:
-the peat is twenty feet thick, and rests upon white sand. This coal
-was discovered on digging a ditch to drain a portion of the bog, for
-the purpose of obtaining peat for manure. The substance is a true
-bituminous coal, containing more bitumen than is found in any other
-variety. Polished sections of the compact masses exhibit the peculiar
-structure of coniferous trees, and prove that the coal was derived from
-a species allied to the American Fir.”[64] A similar phenomenon was
-observed by Doctor Dieffenbach in the Chathain Islands. In the same
-bed of peat he was able distinctly to trace a gradual transition from
-pure vegetable matter to a mineral substantially identical with common
-coal.[65]
-
-But though Peat may thus, as it should seem, pass directly into pure
-Coal, there are many cases in which it first assumes a more imperfect
-form, known under the name of Lignite. This substance is described
-as of a brownish color, “soft and mellow in consistence when freshly
-quarried, but becoming brittle by exposure, the fracture following
-the direction of the fibre of the wood.”[66] It clearly occupies an
-intermediate position between Peat and Coal. Like the former, it still
-exhibits the stems and woody fibre of the plants from which it is
-derived, very little altered in their structure; while on the other
-hand it is already beginning to acquire some of the consistency and
-density of Coal; to which also it approaches much more closely in its
-chemical composition. It should be remembered, moreover, that Lignite
-does not designate a substance of a fixed, invariable character. On the
-contrary, under the one general name are comprised a definite number of
-varieties, leading from one extreme to the other by a series of almost
-insensible gradations; the extreme variety on one side being scarcely
-distinguishable from Peat, while the extreme variety on the other is
-practically identical with ordinary Coal. It can hardly be doubted,
-therefore, that Coal must have the same origin as Lignite, while it is
-at least equally certain that Lignite has been derived from Peat; and
-we have already seen what overwhelming evidence may be adduced to show
-that the origin of Peat is to be sought for in the sunken swamps and
-forests of a long past age.
-
-Lastly, when we come to examine the texture of Coal itself, we find
-much to confirm the conclusion at which we have thus arrived. In beds
-of pure Coal the remains of many species of plants have been detected,
-and sometimes in such abundance as to constitute visibly the bulk of
-the Coal. Even large trees are sometimes found standing erect in the
-Coal fields, with their bark actually converted into this mineral. The
-annexed Figure represents a portion of the stem, together with the
-roots of a tall forest tree, Sigillaria, discovered not long ago in a
-Coal mine at Saint Helens, near Liverpool. The stem, which was nine
-feet high, was found erect in the seam of Coal, while the roots, ten
-in number, stretched away into the vegetable soil beneath.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 11.--Stem and roots of a Forest Tree, Sigillaria.
-From a Coal-mine, near Liverpool.
-
-  _a_, The trunk traversing a bed of Coal.
-
-  _b_, The roots spreading out in the underclay.]
-
-Not less than thirty such trees, some of them four or five feet in
-diameter, and all incrusted with Coal, were laid bare a short time
-since, in a Colliery near Newcastle, within an area of fifty yards
-square. “In 1830,” writes Sir Charles Lyell, “a slanting trunk was
-exposed in Craigleith quarry, near Edinburgh, the total length of which
-exceeded sixty feet. Its diameter at the top was about seven inches,
-and near the base, it measured five feet in its greater, and two feet
-in its lesser, width. The bark was converted into a thin coating of
-the purest and finest Coal.” Again, “in South Staffordshire, a seam of
-Coal was laid bare in the year 1844, in what is called an open work
-at Parkfield Colliery, near Wolverhampton. In the space of about a
-quarter of an acre, the stumps of no less than seventy-three trees,
-with their roots attached, appeared, some of them more than eight feet
-in circumference. The trunks, broken off close to the root, were lying
-prostrate in every direction, often crossing each other. One of them
-measured fifteen, another thirty feet in length, and others less. They
-were invariably flattened to the thickness of one or two inches, and
-converted into Coal. Their roots formed part of a stratum of Coal ten
-inches thick, which rested on a layer of clay two inches thick, below
-which was a second forest resting on a two-foot seam of Coal. Five feet
-below this again was a third forest, with large stumps of Lepidodendra,
-Calamites, and other trees.”[67]
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-We have now brought to a close a very important line of argument in
-the Science of Geology. We have pointed out that, in the strata which
-compose the Crust of the Earth, there are rocks of various kinds,
-distinguished from one another as well by the nature of the materials
-which compose them, as by the manner in which these materials are
-arranged together; and we have shown that rocks presenting the same
-general appearances, and composed of exactly the same materials, are
-being produced in the present age upon the Surface of the Earth,
-through the agency of natural causes. Moreover, we have closely
-examined, in certain cases, the nature of the process by which the
-formation of these rocks is accomplished at the present day; and we
-have seen how difficult it is, when the facts of the case are once
-clearly before us, to resist the conclusion that the rocks which we now
-find buried in the Earth, were produced in some former age, by the same
-causes which are still at work. We shall next proceed to inquire how
-far this conclusion is confirmed by the independent evidence of Fossil
-Remains.
-
-But before entering on a new line of argument, it is fit we should
-take notice of an objection which has sometimes been urged against the
-reasoning we have hitherto pursued, and which has done much to create
-and to keep alive a prejudice unfavorable to the Science of Geology.
-Religious writers have not unfrequently insinuated, and sometimes have
-plainly asserted, that, in ascribing the present structure of the
-Earth’s Crust to the operation of natural causes, Geologists would
-seem to make no account of God’s Omnipotence. A moment’s reflection
-will convince the reader that this charge is utterly unphilosophical.
-Is it not plain that the more fully we appreciate and acknowledge the
-wonderful works of Nature, the more deeply must we become impressed
-with the power and wisdom of Him who is the Author and Ruler of Nature?
-To say that secondary causes exist, and to point out the monuments that
-bear witness to their operation in long passed ages, is not to deny,
-but rather to affirm the existence of a Great First Cause, upon whom
-they all depend for their existence, their preservation, and their
-guidance.
-
-We are everywhere reminded by abundant evidence, that it has pleased
-the Great Creator to employ the agency of His creatures in the
-fashioning and the adorning of this material universe. He does not
-create at once, as He well might do, the great oak of the forest; but
-He allows the seed to sink into the earth, where it is watered by the
-gentle dews of Heaven, and fructified by the genial warmth of the sun;
-soon it puts forth a tender germ; the germ, in time, imbibing the
-elements of its support from the air and the earth, becomes a sappling,
-and the sappling a tree, which spreads its huge branches on every side,
-and serves for many purposes of ornament and of use. Or let us take
-the case of the honeycomb, that most curious and ingenious work, at
-once the palace and the storehouse of a vast and busy community. It is
-not produced in a moment by a simple act of creation. God has not made
-it Himself, but He has taught the bee to make it. In like manner He
-has provided for the little birds, not by building their nests, but by
-infusing into their nature that mysterious instinct which prompts them
-to build, and guides them in their work.
-
-Geologists, therefore, when they undertake to explain the existence
-of Stratified Rocks, not by the immediate action of the Creator, but
-by the intervention of natural causes, are not on that account to be
-accused of impiety. They do not disparage, but rather magnify His
-glory, when they expatiate upon the endless variety of agents which,
-according to their theory, He has employed in the structure of the
-material world. If the honeycomb, as a work of contrivance and design,
-excites the wonder and admiration of the philosopher, what must we
-think of the contrivance and design exhibited by Him who has made, not
-the honeycomb only, but the bee that builds the honeycomb? And so, too,
-we get novel and unexpected views of God’s Omnipotence, when, through
-the science of Geology, we come to understand the vast and harmonious
-series of secondary causes by which he has brought the Crust of the
-Earth into its present form and shape. The impress of His hand is
-stamped upon His works; and all that is wonderful and attractive in
-Nature is but the token of His power and the shadow of His beauty. And
-so our national poet has sung:
-
-    “Thou art, O GOD, the life and light
-      Of all this wondrous world we see;
-    Its glow by day, its smile by night,
-      Are but reflections caught from Thee.
-    Where’er we turn, Thy glories shine,
-    And all things fair and bright are Thine.”
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER X._
-
-FOSSIL REMAINS--THE MUSEUM.
-
-    _Recapitulation--Scope of our argument--Theory of
-    stratified rocks the framework of geological science--The
-    theory brings geology into contact with revelation--the
-    line of reasoning hitherto pursued confirmed by the
-    testimony of fossil remains--Meaning of the word
-    fossil--Inexhaustible abundance of fossils--Various states
-    of preservation--Petrifaction--Experiments of Professor
-    Göppert--Organic rocks afford some insight into the fossil
-    world--The reality and significance of fossil remains must
-    be learned from observation--The British Museum--Colossal
-    skeletons--Bones and shells of animals--Fossil plants and
-    trees._
-
-
-Reader, you are beginning to suspect us. ‘How long do we propose to
-detain people?’ For anything that appears we may be designing to write
-on to the twentieth century. ‘And _whither_ are we going?’ Toward what
-object? which is as urgent a quære as, _how far_? Perhaps we may be
-leading you into treason. You feel symptoms of doubt and restiveness;
-and like Hamlet with his father’s ghost, “you will follow us no further
-unless we explain what it is that we are in quest of.”
-
-These words of Thomas De Quincey to his readers, in the middle of one
-of his discursive essays, which, interesting as they certainly are in
-all their parts, yet sometimes beget a feeling of weariness from the
-uncomfortable apprehension that they will not come to an end, are,
-perhaps, scarcely less appropriate in our own case. It may be that our
-readers have been left too long in the uneasy state of suspense and
-hope deferred. They came to our pages to look for a practical solution
-of the question, Is Geology at variance with the Bible? And what avails
-it, they may ask, to discourse to them of the Gulf Stream, and Rivers,
-and Glaciers, and Alluvial Plains, and Coral Rocks, and Coal Mines?
-With painful steps they have been toiling after us through tedious
-disquisitions, straining their eyes to see the end, but the end is not
-yet in sight. Well, then, if they will rest for a few minutes by the
-way, we will pause, too, and tell them what we are about, and try to
-bring out more clearly the object at which we are aiming.
-
-Our design from the beginning was to consider the points of contact
-between Geology and Revelation; to examine the relations that exist
-between these two departments of knowledge,--one resting upon reason
-and observation, the other given to us from Heaven; and to inquire
-how far it may be possible to adopt the conclusions of the former,
-while we adhere, at the same time, with unswerving fidelity, to the
-unchangeable truths of the latter. With this end in view, we proceeded
-at once to sketch out the more prominent features of Geological theory;
-not the particular theory of one writer, or of one school, but that
-more general theory which is adopted by all writers, and prevails in
-every school. This theory, we were all well aware, is in many points
-widely at variance with the common notions of sensible and even
-well-informed men who have not devoted much attention to the study of
-Physical Science. And it occurred to us that, possibly, many of our
-readers might be disposed to cut the controversy short by rejecting,
-in a summary way, the whole system of Geology, and treating it as an
-empty shadow or an idle dream. This, we were convinced, would be a
-mistaken and mischievous course. Geology is not a house of cards that
-it may be blown down by a breath. It is a hypothesis, a theory, if you
-will; but no one can in fairness deny that behind this theory there are
-facts,--unexpected, startling, significant facts; that these facts,
-when considered in their relation to one another, when illustrated
-by the present phenomena of Nature, and skilfully grouped together,
-as they have been by able men, disclose certain general truths, and
-suggest certain arguments, which do seem to point in the direction of
-those conclusions at which Geologists have arrived.
-
-It follows that he who would investigate fairly the claims of Geology,
-must first learn to appreciate the significance of these facts, and
-to estimate the value of these arguments. And this is precisely what
-we have been trying to do. We are not writing a treatise on Geology.
-Certainly not: it would be presumptuous in us, with our scanty
-knowledge, to attempt it. Besides, Geology has it own professors, and
-its lecture-halls, and its manuals. Neither do we mean to assume the
-character of the advocates or champions of Geology. It does not ask
-our services; in its cause are enrolled no small proportion of the
-most illustrious names which for the last fifty years have adorned the
-annals of Physical Science. Nor do we want even to enforce upon our
-readers that more general theory of Geology which we are endeavoring to
-explain and illustrate. Our purpose is merely to collect from various
-sources, and to string together, the evidence that may be adduced in
-its favor; that so, when we come hereafter to consider this theory
-in its relation with the History of the Bible, we may not incur the
-risk of discomfiture by denying that which has been proved by facts,
-but rather approach the subject with such knowledge as may help us to
-discover the real harmony that we know to exist between the truths
-inscribed on the works of God, and those which are recorded in His
-Written Word.
-
-In the accomplishment of this task we have devoted ourselves chiefly to
-the study of the Aqueous or Stratified Rocks. According to Geologists,
-these rocks, such as we find them now, were not the immediate work of
-creation, but were slowly produced in the long lapse of ages, and laid
-out one above another, by a vast and complex machinery of secondary
-causes. The elements of which they are composed were gathered together
-from many and various sources; from the ocean, from the air, from other
-pre-existing rocks; and, for aught we know, may have had a long and
-eventful history before they came to assume their present structure
-and arrangement. Thus, for example, the Conglomerates, and Sandstones,
-with which we are so familiar, are made up of broken fragments derived
-from earlier rocks, and then transported to distant sites by the
-mountain torrents, or the stately rivers of vast continents, or the
-silent currents of the sea; the Limestone with which we build our
-houses is the work of living animals that once swarmed in countless
-myriads beneath the waters of the ocean; and the Coal which supplies
-the motive power to our manufactories, our railways, our ships of war
-and commerce, is but the modern representative of ancient swamps and
-forests, which, having been buried in the earth, and there, by the
-action of chemical laws, endowed with new properties, were laid by for
-the future use of man in the great storehouse of Nature.
-
-This mode of accounting for the origin and formation of Stratified
-Rocks constitutes in a manner the framework that supports and binds
-together the whole system of Geology. If it be once fairly established,
-Geology is entitled to take high rank as a Physical Science. If on
-the contrary it should prove to be without foundation, then Geology
-is no longer a science, but a dream. Moreover, it is this theory of
-stratification which, from the first, has brought Geology into contact
-with Revelation. For Geologists have been led to infer the extreme
-Antiquity of the Earth, from the immense thickness of the Stratified
-Rocks on the one hand, and, on the other, the very slow and gradual
-process by which each stratum in the series has been, in its turn,
-spread out and consolidated. Those likewise who claim for the Human
-Race a greater Antiquity than the Bible allows, seek for their proofs
-in the supposed origin and antiquity of those superficial deposits, in
-which the remains of Man or of his works are sometimes found entombed.
-
-It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that the theory of Stratified
-Rocks should engage the largest share of our attention when we
-undertake to discuss the relation in which Geology stands to Revealed
-Religion. For the present we say nothing about the conclusions that
-flow from this theory, or the errors to which it has led when hastily
-or ignorantly applied: we are only investigating the evidence by which
-it is supported. In our former chapters we have drawn out at some
-length the line of reasoning which is derived from the character of
-the Aqueous Rocks themselves when considered in the light of Nature’s
-present operations. We have shown that Stratified Rocks of many
-different kinds, just such as those which compose the Crust of the
-Earth, have been produced by natural causes within historic times; and
-we have explained some of the more simple and intelligible parts of
-that complex machinery, which, even now, is busily at work gathering,
-sorting, distributing, piling up together, and consolidating the
-materials of new strata all over the world. These considerations, as
-we took occasion to point out, beget a strong presumption in favor
-of Geological theory. Here we have Nature at work, actually bringing
-into existence a stratum of rock before our eyes. And there, in the
-Crust of the Earth, we find another stratum of precisely the same kind
-already finished. What can be more reasonable than to ascribe the one
-to the action of the same causes which we see at work upon the other?
-And thus, by extending the area of our observations from one class
-of Aqueous Rocks to another, the idea gradually grows upon us that
-these rocks have been spread out, stratum upon stratum, during many
-successive ages, by the agency of secondary causes similar to those
-which are still in operation; and that each stratum, in its turn, as it
-first came into existence, was for a time the uppermost of the series.
-
-In support of this conclusion we are now about to bring forward a new
-and independent argument founded on the testimony of Fossil Remains. An
-eminent writer has summed up in a few words the value and importance
-of Fossil Remains in reference to Geological theory. “At present,”
-he says, “shells, fishes, and other animals are buried in the mud or
-silt of lakes and estuaries; rivers also carry down the carcases of
-land animals, the trunks of trees, and other vegetable drift; and
-earthquakes submerge plains and islands, with all their vegetable and
-animal inhabitants. These remains become enveloped in the layers of mud
-and sand and gravel formed by the waters, and in process of time are
-petrified, that is, are converted into stony matter like the shells
-and bones found in the oldest strata. Now, as at present, so in all
-former time must the remains of plants and animals have been similarly
-preserved; and, as one tribe of plant is peculiar to the dry plain,
-another to the swampy morass; as one family belongs to a temperate,
-another to a tropical region, so, from the character of the embedded
-plants, we are enabled to arrive at some knowledge of the conditions
-under which they flourished. In the same manner with animals: each
-tribe has its locality assigned it by peculiarities of food, climate,
-and the like; each family has its own peculiar structure for running,
-flying, swimming, plant-eating, or flesh-eating, as the case may be;
-and by comparing Fossil Remains with existing races, we are enabled to
-determine many of the past conditions of the world with considerable
-certainty.”[68]
-
-On this branch of our subject we do not mean to offer much in the
-way of argument strictly so called. We shall content ourselves
-with a simple statement of facts, and leave them to produce their
-own impression. It will be necessary at the outset to explain some
-technical matters, that what we have to say hereafter may be the better
-understood: and if in this we are somewhat dry and tiresome, we will
-try to make amends by the curious and interesting story of Nature’s
-long buried works, which we hope in the sequel to unfold.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-When the word _Fossil_ was first introduced into the English language,
-it was employed to designate, as the etymology suggests, whatever is
-_dug out of the earth_.[69] But it is now generally used in a much
-more restricted sense, being applied only to the remains of plants
-and animals embedded in the Crust of the Earth and there preserved
-by natural causes. When we speak of remains, we must be understood
-to include even those seemingly transient impressions, such as
-foot-prints in the sand, which having been made permanent by accidental
-circumstances, and thus engraved, as it were, on the archives of
-Nature, now bear witness to the former existence of organic life.
-
-Now in every part of the world where the Stratified Rocks have been
-laid open to view, remains of this kind are found scattered on all
-sides in the most profuse abundance. In Europe, in America, in
-Australia, in the frozen wastes of Siberia, in the countless islands
-scattered over the waters of the Pacific, there is scarcely a single
-formation, from the lowest in the series to the highest, that, when it
-is fairly explored, does not yield up vast stores of shells, together
-with bones and teeth, nay, sometimes whole skeletons of animals; also
-fragments of wood, impressions of leaves, and other organic substances.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 12.--Fossil Irish Deer (County Fermanagh). In the
-Museum of Trinity College, Dublin. From Haughton’s Manual of Geology]
-
-These Fossil Remains do not always occur in the same state of
-preservation. Sometimes we have the bone, or plant, or shell, in its
-natural condition; still retaining not only its own peculiar form and
-structure, but likewise the very same organic substance of which it was
-originally composed. Examples innumerable may be seen in the British
-Museum, or, indeed, in almost any Geological collection: the fine
-skeletons of ancient Irish Deer, which are exhibited in the Museum of
-Trinity College, Dublin, and of which all the bones are in excellent
-preservation, must be familiar to many of our readers.
-
-It happens, however, more frequently that the organic substance itself
-has disappeared, but has left an impression on the rock, that now
-bears witness to its former presence. Thus, for instance, when a shell
-has been dissolved and carried away by water percolating the rock,
-it has very often left after it, on the hard stone, a mould of its
-outer surface and a cast of its inner surface, with a cavity between
-corresponding to the thickness of the shell. In such cases we have
-the form, the size, and the superficial markings of the organic body,
-but we have no part of its original substance, and no traces of its
-internal structure. This form of fossilization, as Sir Charles Lyell
-has well put it, “may be easily understood if we examine the mud
-recently thrown out from a pond or canal in which there are shells.
-If the mud be argillaceous, it acquires consistency in drying, and
-on breaking open a portion of it, we find that each shell has left
-impressions of its external form. If we then remove the shell itself,
-we find within a solid nucleus of clay, having the form of the interior
-of the shell.”[70] In many cases the space first occupied by the shell
-is not left empty when the shell has been removed, but is filled up
-with some mineral substance, such as lime or flint. The mineral thus
-introduced becomes the exact counterpart of the organic body which
-has disappeared; and has been justly compared to a bronze statue,
-which exhibits the exterior form and lineaments, but not the internal
-organization nor the substance of the object it represents.
-
-There is a third form more wonderful still, in which Fossil Remains
-are not uncommonly found. The original body has passed away as in the
-former case, and yet not only does its _outward shape_ remain, but even
-its _internal texture_ is perfectly preserved in the solid stone which
-has taken its place. This kind of change is exhibited most remarkably
-in the vegetable kingdom. Fossil trees of great size have been
-discovered of which _the whole substance has been changed from wood
-to stone_: yet with such exquisite skill has the change been effected
-that the minute cells and fibres, and the rings of annual growth, may
-still be clearly traced; nay, even those delicate spiral vessels which,
-from their extreme minuteness, can be discerned only by the aid of the
-microscope. Thus the tree remains complete in all its parts; but it is
-no longer a tree of wood; it is, so to speak, a tree of stone.
-
-The mystery of this extraordinary transformation has not yet been
-fully cleared up by scientific men; but the general principle, at
-least, is sufficiently understood. It is thus briefly explained by
-Sir Charles Lyell: “If an organic substance is exposed in the open
-air to the action of the sun and rain, it will in time putrefy, or be
-dissolved into its component elements, consisting usually of oxygen,
-hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon. These will readily be absorbed by the
-atmosphere or be washed away by rain, so that all vestiges of the dead
-animal or plant disappear. But if the same substances be submerged
-in water, they decompose more gradually; and if buried in the earth,
-still more slowly, as in the familiar example of wooden piles or
-other buried timber. Now, if as fast as each particle is set free by
-putrefaction in a fluid or gaseous state, a particle equally minute of
-carbonate of lime, flint, or other mineral is at hand and ready to be
-precipitated, we may imagine this inorganic matter to take the place
-just before left unoccupied by the organic molecule. In this manner
-a cast of the interior of certain vessels may first be taken, and
-afterward the more solid walls of the same may decay and suffer a like
-transmutation.”[71] This exposition, so simple and luminous in itself,
-may, perhaps, be rendered still more intelligible to the general reader
-by an ingenious illustration of Mr. Jukes. “It is,” he says, “as if
-a house were gradually rebuilt, brick by brick, or stone by stone, a
-brick or a stone of a different kind having been substituted for each
-of the former ones, the shape and size of the house, the forms and
-arrangements of its rooms, passages, and closets, and even the number
-and shape of the bricks and stones, remaining unaltered.”[72]
-
-This singular kind of petrifaction, by which not only the external
-form, but even the organic tissue itself, is converted into stone,
-has been illustrated, in a very interesting way, by Professor Göppert
-of Breslau. With a view to imitate as nearly as he could the process
-of Nature, “he steeped a variety of animal and vegetable substances
-in waters, some holding siliceous, others calcareous, others metallic
-matter in solution. He found that in the period of a few weeks, or even
-days, the organic bodies thus immersed were mineralized to a certain
-extent. Thus, for example, thin vertical slices of deal, taken from the
-Scotch fir, were immersed in a moderately strong solution of sulphate
-of iron. When they had been thoroughly soaked in the liquid for several
-days, they were dried and exposed to a red heat until the vegetable
-matter was burnt up and nothing remained but an oxide of iron, which
-was found to have taken the form of the deal so exactly that casts even
-of the dotted vessels peculiar to this family of plants were distinctly
-visible under the microscope.”[73]
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-If we have succeeded in making ourselves understood, the reader will
-now have a pretty accurate notion of what is meant, in modern Geology,
-by Fossil Remains. They are the remains or impressions of plants and
-animals, buried in the earth by natural causes, and preserved to our
-time in any one of the three forms we have just described. Either
-the body itself remains, still retaining its own natural substance,
-together with its external form and its internal structure. Or
-secondly, the organic substance and the organic structure have both
-disappeared, but the outward form and the superficial markings have
-been left impressed on the solid rock. Or thirdly, the substance of the
-body has been converted into stone, but with such a delicate art, that
-it is in all respects, outwardly and inwardly, still the same body,
-with a new substance. We should observe, however, that these three
-different forms of fossilization, which we have successively described,
-are not always clearly distinct in actual fossil specimens, but are
-often curiously blended together according as the original organic
-substance has been more or less completely displaced, or the process of
-petrifaction has been more or less perfectly accomplished.
-
-It will probably have occurred to the intelligent reader that we have
-already had some insight into the Fossil world, when investigating the
-origin of Organic Rocks. We have seen, for instance, that Coal is the
-representative to our age of swamps and forests which once covered the
-earth with vegetation; that Mountain Limestone is in great part formed
-from the skeletons of reef-building corals; that the White Chalk of
-Europe is almost entirely derived from the remains of marine shells.
-But it should be observed that these and such like rocks, while they
-afford us much valuable information about the ancient organic condition
-of our planet, are not, strictly speaking, Fossil Remains. For, not
-only does the substance of the organic bodies they represent exhibit
-an altered character, but the internal structure has been in great
-part effaced, and even the outward forms and superficial markings have
-disappeared. They contain, it is true, great multitudes of Fossils.
-In the Coal, for example, are found, as we have seen, trunks of trees,
-together with the impressions of plants and leaves: in the Chalk and
-Mountain Limestone, fragments of shells and corals are often discovered
-in a state of perfect preservation. But the bulk of these formations
-is made up not so much of Fossil Remains, as of that into which Fossil
-Remains have been converted. Coal, for instance, is something more than
-Fossil wood; Chalk, and Limestone, and Marble, are something more than
-Fossil shells and corals.
-
-Fossil Remains properly so called present a very much more lively
-picture of the ancient inhabitants of our Globe. But it is a picture
-that can but faintly be conveyed to the mind by the way of mere
-verbal description. He who would appreciate aright the reality and
-the significance of Fossil Remains must gather his impressions from
-actual observation. Let him go, for instance, to the British Museum,
-and walk slowly through the long suite of noble galleries which are
-there exclusively devoted to this branch of science. He will feel
-as if transported into another world, the reality of which he could
-scarcely have believed if he had not seen it with his own eyes. Before
-him, and behind him, and on each side of him, as he moves along, are
-spread out in long array forms of beasts, and birds, and fish, and
-amphibious animals, such as he has never seen before, nor dreamt of in
-his wildest dreams. Yet much as he may wonder at these strange figures,
-he never for a moment doubts that they were once indued with life, and
-moved over the surface of the earth, or disported in the waters of
-the deep. Nay more, though the forms are new to him, he will be at no
-loss, however inexperienced in Natural History, to find many analogies
-between the creation in the midst of which he stands, and the creation
-with which he has been hitherto familiar. There are quadrupeds, and
-bipeds, and reptiles. Some of the animals were manifestly designed to
-walk on dry land, some to swim in the sea, and some to fly in the air.
-Some are armed with claws like the lion or the tiger, others have the
-paddles of a turtle, and others again have the fins of a fish. Here is
-an enormous beast that might almost pass for an elephant, though an
-experienced eye will not fail to detect an important difference; and
-there is an amphibious monster that suggests the idea of a crocodile;
-and again a little further on is an unsightly creature which unites
-the general characteristics of the diminutive sloth with the colossal
-proportions of the largest rhinoceros.
-
-If left to mere conjecture, the visitor would perhaps suppose that
-these uncouth monsters had been brought together by some adventurous
-traveller from the remote regions of the world. But no: he will
-find on inquiry that the vast majority belong to species which for
-centuries have not been known to flourish on the Earth; and that many
-of the strangest forms before him have been dug up almost from beneath
-the very soil on which he stands,--from the quarries of Surrey, of
-Sussex, and of Kent, and from the deep cuttings on the many lines of
-railway that diverge from the great metropolis of London. The life
-they represent so vividly is, indeed, widely different from that which
-flourishes around us; but it is the life not so much of a far distant
-country as of a far distant age.
-
-It must not be supposed, however, that such skeletons as those which
-first arrest the eye in the galleries of the British Museum--so
-colossal in their proportions and so complete in all their
-details--fairly exhibit the general character of Fossil Remains.
-Perfect skeletons of gigantic animals are rarely to be found. They are
-the exception and not the general rule,--the magnificent reward of long
-and toilsome exploration, or, it may be, the chance discovery that
-brings wealth to the humble home of some rustic laborer. Very different
-are the common every day discoveries of the working Geologist.
-Disjointed bones and skulls, scattered teeth, fragments of shells,
-the eggs of birds, the impressions of leaves,--these are the ordinary
-relics that Nature has stored up for our instruction in the various
-strata of the Earth’s Crust: and these likewise constitute by far
-the greater part of the treasures which are gathered together in our
-Geological Museums.
-
-We will suppose, then, that the visitor has gratified his sense of
-wonder in gazing at the larger and more striking forms, few in number,
-that rise up prominently before him, and seem to stare at him in return
-from their hollow sockets: he must next turn his attention to the cases
-that stand against the walls, and to the cabinets that stretch along
-the galleries in distant perspective. Let him survey that multitude of
-bones of every shape and size, and those countless legions of shells,
-and then try to realize to his mind what a profusion and variety of
-animal life are here represented. And yet he must remember that this
-is but a single collection. There are thousands of others, public and
-private, scattered over England, France, Germany, Italy, and beyond
-the Atlantic, on the continent of America, and even in Australia; all
-of which have been furnished from a few isolated spots,--scarcely more
-than specks on the surface of the Globe,--where the interior of the
-Earth’s Crust has chanced to be laid open to the explorations of the
-Geologist.
-
-Lastly, before he leaves this splendid gallery, let him take a passing
-glance at the Organic Remains of the vegetable world. There is no
-mistaking the forms here presented to his view. He will recognize
-at once the massive and lofty trunks of forest trees with their
-spreading branches; the tender foliage of the lesser plants; and, in
-particular, the graceful fern, which cannot fail to attract his eye by
-its unrivalled luxuriance. But if the forms are familiar, how strange
-is the substance, of this ancient vegetation! The forest tree has been
-turned into sandstone; many of the plants are of the hardest flint;
-and the rich green of the fern has given place to the jet black color
-of coal. Let him take a magnifying glass and scrutinize the internal
-structure of these mineralized remains; for the more closely they are
-examined the more wonderful do they appear. He can observe without
-difficulty their minute cells and fibres, the exact counterpart of
-those which may be seen in the plants that are now growing upon the
-earth; he may detect the little seed-vessels on the under surface of
-the coaly fern; nay, if he gets a polished transverse section of the
-sandstone tree, he may count the rings that mark its annual growth, and
-tell the age it attained in its primeval forest.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 13.--Fossil Wood, from the Carboniferous Limestone
-of Mayo, showing the rings of Annual Growth.]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER XI._
-
-FOSSIL REMAINS--THE EXPLORATION.
-
-    _From the museum to the quarry--Fossil fish in the limestone
-    rocks of Monte Bolca--In the quarries of Aix--In the chalk
-    of Sussex--The ichthyosaurus or fish-like lizard--Gigantic
-    dimensions of this ancient monster--Its predatory
-    habits--The plesiosaurus--The megatherium or great wild
-    beast--History of its discovery--The mylodon--Profusion
-    of fossil shells--Petrified trees erect in the limestone
-    rock of Portland--Fossil plants of the coal measures--The
-    sigillaria--The fern--The calamite--The lepidodendron--Coal
-    mine of Treuil--Fossil remains afford undeniable evidence
-    of former animal and vegetable life--Their existence cannot
-    be accounted for by the plastic power of nature--Nor can it
-    reasonably be ascribed to a special act of creation._
-
-
-From the galleries of the Museum we must now descend into the
-subterranean recesses of the mine and the quarry. For it is not enough
-to be familiar with the appearance of Fossil Remains, as they are laid
-out for show by human hands: we must see them also as they lie embedded
-in the successive strata of the Earth’s Crust, which are the shelves
-of Nature’s cabinet. We shall begin with the celebrated quarries of
-Monte Bolca, in Northern Italy, not far from Verona. Here, in the hard
-limestone rock, fifty miles from the nearest sea, entire skeletons
-of many different species of fish are found embedded in profuse
-abundance, and in a wonderful state of preservation. They lie parallel
-to the layers of the rock; and, though flattened by pressure, still
-retain their scales, bones, fins, nay, even their muscular tissue,
-undisturbed and unharmed. Their color is a deep brown, which forms
-a remarkable contrast with the creamy hue of the limestone in which
-they are enveloped. The quarries have been worked only by students of
-Natural History for the sake of Organic remains, and are, therefore,
-of very limited extent; yet so abundant are these fossil treasures
-that upward of a hundred different species have been discovered,
-and thousands of specimens have been dispersed over the cabinets
-of Europe. So closely are they sometimes packed together that many
-individuals are contained in a single block.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 14.--Platax Papilio.
-
-From the limestone of Monte Bolca.]
-
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 15.--Semiophorus Velicans. From the limestone of
-Monte Bolca.]
-
-From these facts Geologists have been led to conclude:--that the
-strata in question were deposited on the bed of an ancient sea in
-which these fishes swam; that the waters of the sea were suddenly
-rendered noxious, probably by the eruption of volcanic matter; that the
-fishes in consequence perished in large numbers, and were then almost
-immediately embedded in the calcareous deposits of which the strata
-are composed. These views receive no small confirmation from a very
-remarkable phenomenon to which we may be allowed, in passing, to call
-attention. In the year 1831 a volcanic island was suddenly thrown up in
-the Mediterranean between Sicily and the African coast; and the waters
-of the sea were at the same time observed to be charged with a red mud
-over a very wide area, while hundreds of dead fish were seen floating
-on the surface. Is it not pretty plain that when the mud subsided many
-of the fish were enveloped in the deposit, and thus preserved to future
-times? If so, then, we should have an exact modern parallel to the
-fossil fishes of Monte Bolca. But for the present it is our purpose
-rather to describe facts than to develop theories.[74]
-
-Near the town of Aix, the ancient capital of Provence, in the south
-of France, is a group of strata, consisting chiefly of Conglomerate,
-Marl, Gypsum, and Limestone, which has earned for itself no small fame
-in the annals of Geology. Besides many curious relics of an extinct
-vegetation, these strata yield also an abundance of Fossil Insects,
-which emerge from the rocky bed in which they have slept for ages, with
-a surprising freshness and a life-like reality. But the quarries of
-Aix, like those of Monte Bolca, are chiefly famous for their Fossil
-Fish. And in this case, too, as in the former, it would seem as if vast
-multitudes had suddenly perished together from some mysterious cause,
-and were then as suddenly entombed. They exhibit no mark of mechanical
-violence: and yet they are found, not unfrequently, crowded together
-as closely as they can fit, in every variety of position, on the same
-slab of limestone. A good example of such a block is represented in our
-woodcut.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 16.--Fossil Fish from Aix.]
-
-The White Chalk Rock of Sussex has been rendered classical to the
-students of Geology by the skilful and laborious researches of the late
-Doctor Mantell. Previous to his time the Fish of the Chalk were known
-only by their teeth and bones, which abounded in every quarry. But he
-succeeded in bringing to light many whole skeletons, and disengaging
-them without injury from their chalky envelopment. In many cases these
-Fossil Fish appear to have suffered little from compression: the body
-still retains its rounded form; and even the most delicate scales and
-fins are as little disturbed or distorted as if the original had been
-surrounded by soft Plaster of Paris while floating in the water. For
-many years Doctor Mantell devoted himself, with indefatigable zeal,
-to the gathering of these interesting remains; and his magnificent
-collection now adorns the Galleries of the British Museum. In the
-annexed illustration is figured a specimen belonging to one of the
-most abundant species. It is closely allied to the common perch; and
-is popularly called Johnny Dory by the quarrymen of Sussex, but is
-entitled Beryx Lewesiensis by the learned.[75]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 17.--Beryx Lewesiensis, from the Chalk, near Lewes.]
-
-From Fossil Fish we now turn to Fossil Reptiles. Many of our readers
-have, perhaps, heard or read something about an important group of
-rocks known by the name of the Lias. This formation is well developed
-in England, and has received much attention from Geologists. It
-stretches in a belt of varying width from Whitby on the coast of
-Yorkshire to Lyme Regis on the coast of Dorsetshire; passing in its
-course through the counties of Leicester, Warwick, Gloucester, and
-Somerset. It is composed chiefly of Limestone, Marl, and Clay; and is
-celebrated for the number and size of its great Fossil Reptiles. Of
-these the most remarkable is the Ichthyosaurus or Fish-like Lizard.
-
-This monster of the ancient seas combined, as its name denotes, the
-essential characters of a reptile with the form and habits of a fish.
-No such creature has been known to exist within historic times;
-nevertheless, all the various parts of its complicated structure
-have their analogies, more or less perfect, in the present creation.
-It had the head of a Lizard, the beak of a Porpoise, the teeth of a
-Crocodile, the back bone of a Fish, and the paddles of a Whale. In
-length it sometimes exceeded thirty feet; it had a short thick neck,
-an enormous stomach, a long and powerful tail. This last appendage,
-together with four great paddles or fins, constituted the chief organs
-of motion. But of all its parts the head was perhaps the most wonderful
-and characteristic. In the larger species the jaws were six feet long,
-and were armed with two rows of conical sharp-pointed teeth,--a hundred
-below, a hundred and ten above. The cavities in which the eyes were set
-measured often fourteen inches across, and the eyeballs themselves must
-have been larger than a man’s head.
-
-Now what we want particularly to impress upon our readers is, that
-the remains of this singular aquatic reptile abound throughout the
-whole extent of the Lias Formation in England. Far down below the
-surface of the earth they are found embedded in the marls, and clays,
-and limestones of Dorsetshire, and Gloucester, and Warwick, and
-Leicester, and Yorkshire. Sometimes whole skeletons are found entire,
-with scarcely a single bone removed from the place it occupied during
-life; but more frequently the scattered fragments are found lying
-about in a state of confused disorder; skulls, and jaw-bones, and
-teeth, and paddles, and the joints of the vertebral column and of the
-tail. The neighborhood of Lyme Regis is a perfect cabinet of these
-curious treasures. In some of the specimens there exhumed, a singular
-circumstance has been observed, which is deserving of special notice.
-We should naturally have expected, from the prodigious power of this
-animal, from the expansion of his jaws and the immense size of his
-stomach, that he preyed upon the other fish and reptiles that had the
-misfortune to inhabit the waters in which he lived. And so indeed it
-was. For here enclosed within his vast ribs, in the place that once was
-his stomach, are still preserved the remains of his half-digested food;
-and amidst the débris we can distinguish the bones and scales of his
-victims. Nay, in some of the more colossal specimens of this ancient
-monster, we can distinctly recognize the remains of his own smaller
-brethren; which, though less frequent than the bones of fishes, are
-still sufficiently numerous to prove that, when he wanted to appease
-his hunger, he did not even spare the less powerful members of his own
-species.[76]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 18.--Ichthyosaurus Platyodon. Museum of Trinity
-College, Dublin. Found in the Lias of Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 19.--Ichthyosaurus Communis. Museum of Trinity
-College, Dublin. Found in the Lias of Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire.]
-
-It is with facts like these, which are revealed by the Crust of the
-Earth all over the world, that Geologists are called upon to deal. When
-they meet with skeletons and bones such as we have been describing,
-buried deep in the hard rock, hundreds of feet beneath the green grass,
-and the waving corn, they cannot help but ask the question: Where did
-these creatures come from? When did they live? And by what revolutions
-were they embedded here, and lifted up from beneath the waters of the
-deep?
-
-In the same formation are found the remains of another ancient
-reptile, called the Plesiosaurus, that is to say, nearly allied to
-the Lizard. Of this extraordinary monster Cuvier observed that its
-structure was the most singular and anomalous that, up to his time,
-had been discovered amid the ruins of the ancient world. It is
-chiefly distinguished from the Ichthyosaurus, to which it has no small
-affinity, by the enormous length of its neck, which, in some species,
-resembles the body of a serpent. Dr. Buckland tells us that in the
-Plesiosaurus Dolichodeirus the neck is longer than the trunk; the one
-being five times, the other only four times, as long as the head. Our
-illustration, for which we are indebted to the kindness of Doctor
-Haughton, represents a fine specimen of Plesiosaurus Cramptonii, which
-was found in the Lias Beds of Kettleness, near Whitby, in Yorkshire,
-and which is now a prominent object in the Museum of the Royal Dublin
-Society.
-
-The habits and character of the Plesiosaurus have been thus sketched
-out by Mr. Conybeare:--“That it was aquatic is evident, from the form
-of its paddles; that it was marine is almost equally so, from the
-remains with which it is universally associated; that it may have
-occasionally visited the shore, the resemblance of its extremities to
-those of the turtle may lead us to conjecture. Its motion, however,
-must have been very awkward on land; its long neck must have impeded
-its progress through the water; presenting a striking contrast to the
-organization which so admirably fits the Ichthyosaurus to cut through
-the waves. May it not therefore be concluded (since, in addition to
-these circumstances, its respiration must have required frequent access
-of air), that it swam upon or near the surface; arching back its long
-neck like the swan, and occasionally darting it down at the fish which
-happened to float within its reach. It may perhaps have lurked in shoal
-water along the coast concealed among the sea-weed, and raising its
-nostrils to a level with the surface from a considerable depth, may
-have found a secure retreat from the assaults of dangerous enemies;
-while the length and flexibility of its neck may have compensated for
-the want of strength in its jaws, and its incapacity for swift motion
-through the water, by the suddenness and agility of the attack which
-they enabled it to make on every animal fitted for its prey, which came
-within its reach.”[77]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 20.--Plesiosaurus Cramptonii. Museum of the Royal
-Dublin Society.]
-
-The Pampas of South America are not less famous in Geology for the
-remains of Gigantic quadrupeds, than the Lias of England for its
-colossal marine reptiles. These vast undulating plains, which present
-to the eye for nine hundred miles a waving sea of grass, consist
-chiefly of stratified beds of gravel and reddish mud; and it is in
-these beds that the remains of many unshapely but powerful terrestrial
-animals have been found embedded. So abundant are they, that it is said
-a line drawn in any direction through the country would cut through
-some skeleton or bones. Indeed, Mr. Darwin is of opinion that the whole
-area of the Pampas is one wide sepulchre of these extinct animals.
-It will be enough for our purpose to describe one in particular,
-which, from its prodigious bulk, has received the appropriate name of
-Megatherium, or the Great Wild Beast.
-
-The Megatherium, like the Ichthyosaurus and the Plesiosaurus, had
-many affinities with the existing creation. In its head and shoulders
-it resembled the sloth which still browses on the green foliage of
-the trees in the dense forests of South America; while in its legs
-and feet it combined the characteristics of the Ant-Eater and the
-Armadillo. But it was eminently distinguished from these and all the
-other modern representatives of the family to which it belonged by
-its colossal proportions. It was often twelve feet long and eight
-feet high; its fore-feet were a yard in length and twelve inches in
-breadth, terminating in gigantic claws; its haunches were five feet
-wide, and its thigh bone was three times as big as that of the largest
-elephant. “His entire frame,” as Dr. Buckland has admirably observed
-and carefully demonstrated, “was an apparatus of colossal mechanism,
-adapted exactly to the work it had to do; strong and ponderous, in
-proportion as this work was heavy, and calculated to be the vehicle of
-life and enjoyment to a gigantic race of quadrupeds, which, though they
-have ceased to be counted among the living inhabitants of our planet,
-have, in their fossil bones, left behind them imperishable monuments
-of the consummate skill with which they were constructed,--each limb,
-and fragment of a limb, forming co-ordinate parts of a well adjusted
-and perfect whole; and through all their deviations from the form and
-proportions of the limbs of other quadrupeds, affording fresh proofs
-of the infinitely varied and inexhaustible contrivances of Creative
-Wisdom.”
-
-“This Leviathan of the Pampas, as it has been justly called, became
-first known in Europe toward the close of the last century. In the year
-1789 a skeleton was dug up, almost entire, about three miles southwest
-of Buenos Ayres, and was presented by the Marquis of Loreto to the
-Royal Museum at Madrid, where it still remains. Since that time other
-specimens, besides numerous fragments, have been discovered, chiefly
-through the zeal and energy of Sir Woodbine Parish; by the aid of which
-the form, structure, and consequently the habits of this clumsy and
-ponderous animal have been fully ascertained. The complete skeleton
-which forms so prominent an object of attraction in the British Museum,
-and which is represented in the woodcut on the adjoining page, is
-only a model; but it has been constructed with great care from the
-original bones, some of which are to be found in the wall-cases of the
-same room, and others in the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of
-Surgeons.”[78]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 21.--The Megatherium. From the British Museum.
-Length 12 feet; Height 8 feet.]
-
-Closely allied to the Megatherium, but somewhat less colossal in its
-dimensions, is the Mylodon. Its remains are found associated with those
-of the Megatherium and other great animals of the same family, in
-the superficial gravels of South America. A splendid specimen, which
-measures eleven feet from the fore part of the skull to the end of the
-tail, was dug up, in the year 1841, a few miles north of Buenos Ayres.
-It is well figured in the adjoining woodcut, which we reproduce, by
-kind permission of the Author, from Dr. Haughton’s admirable Manual of
-Geology.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 22.--Mylodon Robustus, from Buenos Ayres.]
-
-Passing from the petrified fish, and the reptiles, and the quadrupeds,
-that thus come forth, as it were, from their graves to bring us tidings
-of an extinct creation, we must next turn our attention for a moment to
-Fossil Shells. These relics of the ancient world, which are scattered
-with profuse abundance through all the strata of the Earth’s Crust,
-may seem, indeed, of little value to the careless observer; but to
-the practised eye of science they are full of instruction. They have
-been aptly called the Medals of Creation; for, stamped upon their
-surface they bear the impress of the age to which they belong; and they
-constitute the largest, we may say, perhaps, the most valuable part of
-those unwritten records from which the Geologist seeks to gather the
-ancient history of our Globe.
-
-As regards the prodigious abundance of Fossil Shells preserved in
-the Crust of the Earth, it is unnecessary for us here to speak. We
-have already seen that the great mass of many limestone formations is
-composed almost exclusively of such remains, broken up into minute
-fragments, and more or less altered by chemical agency; and besides,
-there are quarries within the reach of all, where they may collect
-at pleasure these interesting relics of the olden time. But there
-are one or two facts of peculiar significance connected with Fossil
-Shells, which it may be useful briefly to set down. In the first place,
-we would remind our readers that there is a marked and well-known
-difference between the shells of those animals that can live only in
-the sea, of those that inhabit rivers, and of those, finally, that
-frequent the brackish waters of estuaries. Now it has been made clear
-beyond all reasonable doubt, by the explorations of Geologists, that
-sea-shells abound in great numbers far away from the present line
-of coast, in the heart of vast continents. And they are found, not
-merely on the surface, but buried deep in the Crust of the Earth, and
-overlaid, in many cases, by numerous strata of solid rock, thousands
-of feet in thickness. It is also to be observed that they occur at
-all heights above the level of the ocean; having been discovered at an
-elevation of eight thousand feet in the Pyrenees, ten thousand in the
-Alps, thirteen thousand in the Andes, and above eighteen thousand in
-the Himalaya.[79] Such are the phenomena which are constantly forcing
-themselves on the attention of the Geologist, and which involve a
-number of problems that he cannot help attempting to investigate and
-explain. He is instinctively impelled to ask himself, how can the
-shells of marine animals have come to exist so far away from the sea?
-how have they been buried in the Crust of the Earth? how have they been
-lifted up to the highest pinnacles of lofty mountains?
-
-Our subterranean exploration would be incomplete if it did not
-illustrate the Vegetable as well as the Animal Life of the ancient
-world. Let the reader then descend in fancy into the celebrated
-quarries of Portland on the south coast of England, and he will see
-the fossilized remains of a long past vegetation exhibited in a
-very striking manner. In one, of these quarries a vertical section,
-extending from the surface downward to the depth of about thirty feet,
-presents the following succession of strata arranged in horizontal
-layers:--first, a light covering of vegetable soil, beneath which are
-thin beds of cream-colored limestone, forming a stratum of solid rock
-ten feet thick; then a bed of dark-brown loam, mixed with rounded
-fragments of stone, and varying in thickness from twelve to eighteen
-inches. This is known to the quarrymen by the name of Dirt-bed, and
-seems, in former ages, to have supported a luxuriant vegetation; for
-all around are scattered the petrified fragments of an ancient forest.
-The prostrate stems and shattered branches of great trees are met at
-every step; but what is most striking and peculiar is, that, in many
-cases, the petrified stumps are still standing erect, with their roots
-fixed in the thin stratum of loam, and their trunks stretching upward
-into the hard limestone rock. Immediately below the Dirt-bed is another
-thick stratum of limestone, and below this again is a stratum of the
-famous Portland stone, so highly prized for building purposes. As the
-quarries of Portland are worked chiefly for the sake of this building
-stone, little attention is paid to the Dirt-bed and its contents, which
-are commonly thrown aside by the quarrymen as rubbish.
-
-[Illustration: Vegetable soil.
-
-Fresh-water Limestone.
-
-Clay.
-
-Laminated fresh-water Limestone.
-
-Dirt-bed with fossil trees and plants.
-
-Fresh-water Limestone.
-
-Bed of Clay.
-
-Portland building-stone full of marine shells.
-
-Fig. 23.--Section of a Quarry in the Island of Portland. Total
-thickness about thirty feet.]
-
-The scene of this petrified forest is thus described by Doctor
-Mantell:--“On one of my visits to the island the surface of a large
-area of the Dirt-bed was cleared preparatory to its removal, and the
-appearance presented was most striking. The floor of the quarry was
-literally strewn with fossil wood, and before me was a petrified
-forest, the trees and plants, like the inhabitants of the city in
-Arabian story, being converted into stone, yet still remaining
-in the places which they occupied when alive! Some of the trunks
-were surrounded by a conical mound of calcareous earth, which had,
-evidently, when in the state of mud, accumulated round the roots. The
-upright trunks were generally a few feet apart, and but three or four
-feet high; their summits were broken and splintered, as if they had
-been snapped or wrenched off by a hurricane at a short distance from
-the ground. Some were two feet in diameter, and the united fragments
-of one of the prostrate trunks indicated a total length of from thirty
-to forty feet; in many specimens portions of the branches remained
-attached to the stem.”[80]
-
-The Coal Measures of Europe and America offer to the student of Geology
-a boundless field for the investigation of Fossil Plants and Trees.
-We have already had occasion to notice the Sigillaria. This ancient
-tree, remarkable for its beautiful sculptured stem, has no exact
-representative in the vegetable kingdom of the present day. But it
-abounds everywhere in the Coal Measures; and there seems little doubt
-that several great seams of Coal are composed almost entirely of its
-carbonized remains. Indeed the ancient soil, which commonly constitutes
-the floor on which the bed of Coal reposes, is often as thickly crowded
-with the branching roots of the Sigillaria, as the soil of a dense
-forest with the roots of the trees by which it is covered. The stem
-itself, when converted into Coal, generally assumes the form of long
-narrow slabs; having been flattened by pressure during the process of
-mineralization. Sometimes, however, it is found uncompressed and erect.
-In this case the interior of the trunk is usually observed to have been
-filled up with sand or clay: and thus the forest tree, still retaining
-its external shape and character, is transformed into a cylindrical
-shell of carbonized bark without, and a solid cylinder of sandstone or
-shale within. An interesting example is exhibited in our illustration,
-Figure 11.
-
-Every Coal mine, too, is adorned with the imprint of the graceful Fern,
-which constitutes one of the most attractive features in the Flora of
-the ancient world. Not unfrequently it assumes a tree-like character,
-as it often does even now in tropical countries; and then, indeed, it
-is an object of striking beauty, reaching to a height of forty or fifty
-feet, and expanding at the summit into an elegant canopy of foliage.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 24.--Calamites Nodosus. From the Coal Measures of
-Newcastle.]
-
-The Calamite is another plant in which the Coal abounds. Its true
-botanical character is not yet clearly ascertained; but it bears a
-general resemblance, except for its gigantic dimensions, to the common
-Horse-tail of our swamps and marshy grounds. It is a reed-like, jointed
-stem, sometimes thirty feet in length, hollow within, and curiously
-jointed without.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 25.--Lepidodendron Sternbergii; a Fossil Tree, 39
-feet high. From a Coal Mine near Newcastle.]
-
-Scarcely less conspicuous than the Sigillaria, the Fern, and the
-Calamite, is the Lepidodendron or Scaly Tree, one of the most curious
-and interesting among the plants of the Coal-bearing period. Like the
-Sigillaria and the Calamite, it has been, and still is, a puzzle to
-the student of Botany. But it needs not the eye of science to see that
-it is unmistakably a stately forest tree, shut up in the Crust of the
-Earth, encased in a solid framework of indurated Shale, or Sandstone,
-or Coal, as the case may be, and overlaid with massive strata of rock
-hundreds of feet in thickness. Such a specimen as that represented
-in our woodcut was laid bare some years ago in Yarrow Colliery, near
-Newcastle.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 26 Lepidodendron Elegans. Portion of Stem and
-branches; Coal Mine, Newcastle.]
-
-In the same neighborhood was found a portion of the stem and branches
-of another variety, Lepidodendron Elegans, which will enable the reader
-to form a more complete idea of the appearance presented by this
-ancient tree as it stood in its primeval forest.
-
-An unusually favorable illustration of our present subject may be
-seen at the colliery of Treuil, in France, not far from the city of
-Lyons. The beds of Coal are overlaid by a kind of slaty sandstone,
-ten feet thick; and this sandstone is traversed by the vertical stems
-of enormous petrified plants, chiefly Calamites. Here, then, to all
-appearance, we have an ancient forest enveloped in sandstone. We must
-suppose that the forest was submerged while the trees were still erect;
-that in this condition it received the sedimentary deposits carried
-down by the current of some great river; and finally, that these
-deposits were, in the course of ages, compacted into sandstone by a
-process already explained. It would seem that after the sandstone had
-been partially, at least, consolidated, it was subjected to a sliding
-movement here and there, by which the continuity of the stems was
-broken; the upper part being pushed on one side, as shown in our Figure.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 27.--Section of a Coal sandstone at Treuil, near
-Lyons. Showing the erect position of Fossil Trees. (Alex. Brongniart.)]
-
-It is time we should bring to a close our survey, meagre and imperfect
-as it is, of Fossil Remains. Those who desire to pursue the inquiry
-for themselves will easily find an opportunity of doing so. There are
-few, we should suppose, who may not, occasionally, have access to one
-or other of those splendid Museums of Geology, which have been set up
-in all the great towns of Europe. And the still more extensive cabinets
-of Nature’s Museum, spread out beneath our feet, are within the reach
-of all.
-
-But even the scanty facts which have been set forth faithfully, we
-trust, though perhaps feebly, in these pages, are sufficient to satisfy
-all reasonable minds that the bones, the skeletons, the trunks and
-branches of trees, which have been exhumed from the Stratified Rocks
-are really the remains of Organic Life that once flourished on the
-earth, or in the waters of the ancient seas. Obvious, however, as this
-fact must appear to all who have fully realized the character and
-appearance of Fossil Remains, it has been often vigorously assailed and
-vehemently denounced. In the early days of Geology phenomena of this
-kind were ascribed, not uncommonly, to the “plastic power of Nature,”
-or to the influence of the stars. Such notions, however, meet with
-little support among modern writers. They were nothing more than wild
-fancies, without any foundation either in the evidence of facts or
-in the analogy of Nature. The “plastic power of Nature” was a phrase
-that sounded well, perhaps, in the ears of unreflecting people; but no
-one ever undertook to show that Nature really possesses that “plastic
-power” which was so readily imputed to her. No one ever undertook to
-show that it is the way of Nature to make the stems, and branches,
-and leaves of trees, without the previous process of vegetation; or
-to make bones and skeletons which have never been invested with the
-ordinary appendages of flesh and blood. Yet surely this is a theory
-that requires proof; for all our experience of the laws of Nature
-points directly to the opposite conclusion. And as for the influence of
-the stars, we may be content to adopt the language of the celebrated
-painter Leonardo da Vinci:--“They tell us that these shells were
-formed in the hills by the influence of the stars; but I ask where
-in the hills are the stars now forming shells of distinct ages and
-species? and how can the stars explain the origin of gravel occurring
-at different heights and composed of pebbles rounded as if by the
-action of running water? or in what manner can such a cause account for
-the petrifaction in the same places of various leaves, sea-weeds, and
-marine crabs?”[81]
-
-In modern times the form of objection has been somewhat changed. We
-are told by some writers that, when we seek to explain the existence
-of Fossil Remains by the action of natural laws, we seem to forget the
-Omnipotence of God. They urge upon us, with much solemnity, that He
-could have made bones, and shells, and skeletons, and petrified wood,
-though there had been no living animal to which these bones belonged,
-and no living tree that had been changed into stone. And if He made
-them, might He not disperse them up and down through His creation, on
-the lofty mountains, in the hidden valleys, and in the profound depths
-of the sea? and buried them in limestone rocks and in the soft clay?
-and arranged them in groups, or scattered them in wild confusion as He
-best pleased?
-
-To this line of argument we must be content to reply, that we have no
-wish to limit the power of God. But we have learned from our daily
-experience that in the physical world He is pleased to employ the
-agency of secondary causes; and when we know that for many ages a
-certain effect has been uniformly produced by a certain cause, and not
-otherwise, then if we again see the effect, we infer the cause. When
-a traveller in the untrodden wilds of Western America, comes upon a
-forest of great trees, or a herd of unknown animals, surely he never
-thinks of supposing that the wild beasts and the forest trees came
-directly from the hand of the Creator, in that state of maturity in
-which he beholds them. And why? for it might be argued that the power
-of God is unbounded, and he might have created them as they now are
-if He had so pleased. Is it not that the traveller is impelled, by an
-instinct of his nature, to interpret the works of God which he now
-sees for the first time, according to the analogy of those with which
-he has been long familiar? Now this is just the principle for which we
-are contending. According to all our experience of the works of God
-in the physical world, the living body comes first, and the skeleton
-afterward; the living tree comes first, and afterward the prostrate
-trunk and the splintered branches. Therefore when we meet with a
-skeleton, we conclude that it was once a living body; and when we find
-the petrified stems, and branches, and leaves of trees, we have no
-doubt that they are the remains of an ancient vegetation.
-
-But, in truth, if any one, with all the facts of the case fully before
-his mind, were deliberately to adopt this theory, that Fossils, as
-we find them now, were created by God in the Crust of the Earth, we
-candidly confess we have no argument that we should think likely to
-shake his conviction; just as we should be utterly at a loss if he
-were to say that the Pyramids of Egypt, or the colossal sculptures
-of Nineveh, or the ruins of Baalbec, were created by God from the
-beginning. The evidence of human workmanship is certainly not more
-clear in the one case than is the evidence of animal and vegetable
-life in the other. We believe, however, that no such persons are
-to be found; that theories of this kind have their origin, not so
-much in false reasoning, as in imperfect knowledge of facts; and we
-have, therefore, judged it most expedient not to spend our time in a
-discussion of philosophical axioms, but to set forth the facts, and
-leave them to speak for themselves.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER XII._
-
-GEOLOGICAL CHRONOLOGY--PRINCIPLES OF THE SYSTEM EXPLAINED AND DEVELOPED.
-
-    _Significance of fossil remains--Science of
-    Palæontology--Classification of existing animal
-    life--Fossil remains are found to fit in with this
-    classification--Succession of organic life--Time in Geology not
-    measured by years and centuries--Successive periods marked by
-    successive forms of life--The Geologist aims at arranging these
-    periods in chronological order--Position of the various groups
-    of strata not sufficient for this purpose--It is accomplished
-    chiefly through the aid of fossil remains--Mode of proceeding
-    practically explained--Chronological table._
-
-
-The existence of Fossil Remains is, then, a fact. Go where you will
-through the civilized world, and every chief town has its Museum, into
-which they have been gathered by the zeal and industry of man; descend
-where you can into the Crust of the Earth,--the quarry, the mine,
-the railway cutting,--and there, notwithstanding the plunder which
-has been going on for two centuries or more, you will find that the
-inexhaustible cabinets of Nature are still teeming with these remains
-of ancient life.
-
-When we are brought, for the first time, face to face with these
-countless relics of a former world, we are impressed with a sense of
-wonder and bewilderment. That the skeletons before us, though now dry
-and withered, were once animated with the breath of life; that the
-trees now lying shattered and prostrate, and shorn of their branches,
-once flourished on the earth, we cannot for a moment hesitate to
-believe. But beyond this one fact, all is darkness and mystery. These
-gaunt skeletons, these uncouth monsters, these petrified forests, are
-silent, lifeless, as the rocks within whose stony bosoms they have
-lain so long entombed. Had they speech and memory, they could tell us
-much, no doubt, of that ancient world in which they bore a part, of
-its continents, and seas, and rivers, and mountains; of the various
-tribes of animals and plants by which it was peopled; of their habits
-and domestic economy; how they lived, how they died, and how they
-were buried in those graves from which, after the lapse of we know
-not how many ages, they now come forth into the light of day. As it
-is, however, we can but gaze and wonder. We have nothing here but the
-relics of death and destruction: there is no feeling, no memory, no
-voice, in these dry bones; no living tenant in these hollow skulls, to
-recount to us the history of former times.
-
-So thinks and reasons the ordinary observer. But far different is the
-language of the Geologist. These dry and withered bones, he tells us,
-_are_ gifted with memory and speech; and, though the language they
-speak may seem at first unfamiliar and obscure, it is not, on that
-account, beyond our comprehension. Like the birds, reptiles, fish, and
-other symbols, inscribed on the obelisks of ancient Egypt, these bones
-and shells stored up in the Crust of the Earth, have a hidden meaning
-which it is the business of Science to search out and explain. They are
-Nature’s hieroglyphics, which she has impressed upon her works to carry
-down to remote ages the memory of the revolutions through which our
-Globe has passed; and when we come to understand them aright, they do
-unfold to us the story of that ancient world to which they belonged.
-
-The interpretation of Fossil Remains is, then, an important department
-of Geology. Of late years it has been admitted to the rank of a
-special science, under the name of Palæontology, which means, as the
-word denotes--παλαιῶν ὄντων λόγος--the science which is concerned
-about the organic remains of ancient life. The honor of having been
-the first to place this science on a solid basis, in fact we may say
-the honor of having brought it into existence, is justly accorded to
-the distinguished Cuvier, whose name shed a lustre upon France during
-the early years of the present century. It is therefore still in its
-infancy; but it has already rewarded the zeal of its students by many
-wonderful and unexpected revelations. We purpose in the first place to
-examine the principles on which it is founded, and then to take a rapid
-glance at the conclusions to which it has led.
-
-At the outset it is worthy of notice that the very existence of Fossil
-Remains, buried deep in the Crust of the Earth, forcibly confirms the
-Geological theory of Stratified Rocks. These rocks, as the reader will
-remember, are said to have been slowly spread out, one above another,
-during the lapse of many ages, by the operation of natural causes; and
-we have seen how this doctrine is supported by arguments founded on an
-examination of the rocks themselves,--of the materials that compose
-them, and of the way in which these materials are piled together. Now
-let us observe how clearly the testimony of Fossil Remains seems to
-point in the same direction.
-
-First, the bones and shells which we now find in such profusion, far
-down beneath the superficial covering of the Earth, must have belonged
-to animals which, when living, flourished on what was then the surface.
-Yet now they are buried in the bosom of the hard rock, and covered over
-with beds of solid limestone, and sandstone, and conglomerate, hundreds
-and thousands of feet in thickness. How can we explain this fact,
-unless we suppose that these animals, when they perished, were embedded
-in some soft materials, which afterward became consolidated, and above
-which, in the course of ages, more and more matter was deposited, until
-at length that lofty pile of strata was produced, beneath which the
-remains are now found buried?
-
-Again, it is part of our theory that the formation of Stratified Rocks
-took place, for the most part, under water. The Organic Remains,
-therefore, which we should naturally expect to find preserved in the
-strata of the earth, would be those of aquatic animals; or, if the
-remains of land animals were to be looked for, it should be of those
-chiefly which live near the banks of rivers and estuaries, and which,
-after death, might have been carried down by the current and buried in
-the silt and mud with which almost all rivers are charged at certain
-seasons of the year. We know as a fact that such animals are buried at
-the present day in the Deltas of the Ganges and the Mississippi; and
-it would be reasonable to suppose that the same should have occurred
-in former ages. Now here again the evidence of Fossil Remains exactly
-fits in with our theory. For the vast bulk of them are manifestly the
-remains of animals that lived in water: and the terrestrial animals,
-comparatively few, whose bones are preserved in the Crust of the Earth,
-are such as frequent the banks of great rivers or the marshy swamps of
-estuaries.
-
-Thus much we may learn even from a cursory glance at Fossil Remains.
-But these curious monuments of ancient times have a deeper meaning,
-which cannot be unfolded without a more minute and laborious
-investigation. Our readers are aware that all the animals at present
-existing on the face of the Earth have been scientifically grouped
-together, according to certain well-marked characteristics, into
-various Kingdoms, Classes, Genera, and Species. Thus, for example, the
-horse and the dog are two different Species, belonging to the same
-Class of Mammalia; the eagle and the sparrow are two different Species
-of the same Class called Birds. Then again the Class of Mammalia and
-the Class of Birds both belong to the one common Kingdom of Vertebrata;
-because, though different in many other respects, they agree in this,
-that all the members of both Classes have a vertebral or spinal column,
-to which the other parts of the internal skeleton are attached.
-
-Now when Cuvier began to examine closely the Organic Remains of former
-times, to which his attention was called by the bones dug up in the
-gypsum quarries of Montmartre, near Paris, about the close of the last
-century, he brought with him to the task a very large acquaintance with
-the various forms of life that, in the present age, prevail throughout
-the world. And he was greatly struck with the marked difference between
-those living animals with which he had been long familiar, and those
-with which he now became acquainted for the first time. The more
-he extended his researches, the more manifest did this difference
-appear; until at last it became quite clear that the great bulk of
-the animals whose remains are preserved in the Crust of the Earth,
-have no representatives now living on its surface. Nevertheless, he
-observed that, though the Species no longer exists, it often happens
-that we have still other Species of the same Genus; or if the Genus,
-too, be extinct, we have other Genera of the same Class. Here, then,
-is the first great truth at which Cuvier arrived, and which has been
-since confirmed by extensive observations:--that the animals which
-formerly dwelt on this Earth of ours, were, for the most part, widely
-different from those by which it is now inhabited: and yet there is a
-well-defined likeness between them; that both have been created on a
-plan so strictly uniform, that the one and the other naturally find
-their place in the same system of classification.
-
-As the science of Palæontology progressed, and new facts were day by
-day accumulated, another truth, not less important, was gradually but
-certainly developed. In the distribution of Fossil Remains through
-the various strata of the Earth, there is a certain order observed,
-a certain regular law of succession, which cannot have been the mere
-result of chance, and which it is the business of science to unravel
-and explain. The facts are these. If we follow a particular set of
-strata _in a horizontal direction_, we find that the same fossils
-continue to prevail over hundreds of square miles, nay, often over a
-space as large as Europe, though beyond certain limits this uniformity
-of Fossil Remains will gradually be observed to disappear. But when we
-penetrate _in a vertical direction_ through the strata, the forms of
-animal and vegetable life that we meet with are constantly changing.
-After a few hundred yards at the most, we find ourselves in the midst
-of a group of fossils, altogether different from those which we have
-passed in the beds above: and so on, as we proceed downward, _each
-particular set of strata is found to have an assemblage of fossils
-peculiar to itself_.[82]
-
-There can be no reasonable doubt as to the truth of these facts. They
-have been established and confirmed by the positive testimony of a
-whole host of Geologists, whose researches have extended to all parts
-of the globe. And we have besides a kind of negative evidence on the
-subject which is scarcely less convincing than the positive. Nothing
-is more easy than to refute a universal proposition if it is false. If
-it is not a fact that each group of strata, as we proceed downward,
-exhibits a collection of Fossils peculiar to itself, the assertion may
-be at once disproved by pointing out two or three different groups
-with the same Fossils. There are thousands of practical Geologists at
-work all over the world, eager for fame; and any one of them would
-make his name illustrious if he could overturn a theory so generally
-received. Now, when a statement of facts can be easily disproved if
-untrue; and when, at the same time, there is a large number of men
-whose interest it would be to disprove the statement if possible;
-and when it is nevertheless _not_ disproved; this circumstance, we
-contend, is a convincing argument that the alleged facts _are_ true.
-And such precisely is the case before us. We therefore think it would
-be unreasonable not to accept the facts.
-
-Let us next examine what is their significance. Each group of strata,
-be it remembered, represents to us the animal life that flourished
-on the Earth during the period in which that particular group was
-in progress of formation. It is, as it were, a cabinet in which are
-preserved for our instruction certain relics or memorials of that age
-in the world’s history. Of course it is not a perfect collection; but
-only a collection of those remains that chanced to escape destruction,
-and by some natural embalming process to be saved from dissolution.
-When we learn, then, that there is a marked uniformity in the
-assemblage of Fossils that are spread over a large horizontal area, in
-any group of strata, we conclude that, when that group was in course
-of formation, there was a certain uniformity in the animal life that
-extended over the corresponding area of the globe; just as, at the
-present day, the same species of animals are found to flourish over
-a great part of Europe, or America. And if this uniformity of Fossil
-Remains does not extend horizontally to an indefinite distance, this is
-precisely what we should have expected from the analogy of the existing
-creation: for, when we examine the present distribution of animal life
-over the earth, we find a marked diversity to exist between countries
-that are removed from one another; as, for instance, between Europe and
-Australia.
-
-In the next place, we are told that, as we proceed _downward_ into the
-Crust of the Earth, each successive group of strata has an assemblage
-of Fossils clearly distinct in character from those of the group above
-and of the group below. The conclusion to which this fact points is
-obvious enough. If, in the former case, we inferred that the animal
-life of any one period, considered in itself, was the same over
-extensive areas, in this case we must infer that the animal life of
-each successive period was _peculiar to that particular age_; being
-altogether distinct in its character from the animal life of the period
-that went before and of the period that followed. It would appear,
-therefore, as Sir Charles Lyell puts it, “that from the remotest
-period 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; while none have ever
-reappeared after once dying out.”[83]
-
-Now, from these principles, Geologists have been gradually led to build
-up a system of Geological Chronology; in other words, to determine the
-order of time in which the numerous groups of strata that make up the
-Crust of the Earth have been formed, and thus to fix the age of each
-group in reference to the rest. This Chronology is not reckoned by the
-common measures of time which are used in history, but rather by the
-successive periods during which each group of rocks was in its turn
-slowly deposited on the existing surface of the globe. For example,
-the Coal-measures that so abound in the North of England are very much
-older than the bluish clay of which London is built. But if we ask
-what is the difference between the age of the one and of the other,
-the answer is given not in days and years and centuries, but in the
-number of different Formations that intervened between the two. We are
-told that the Coal-measures belong to the Carboniferous Formation;
-that this Formation was followed by the Permian, and that again in
-succession by the Triassic, the Jurassic, and the Cretaceous; and that,
-upon this last was spread out the Eocene, to which the London clay
-belongs. Indeed, as regards the precise length of any given period,
-Geologists can offer nothing but the wildest conjectures. Some form
-their estimates in thousands of years; others in millions. And the
-wisest amongst them fairly confess they have no sufficient data to
-make an accurate computation. Nevertheless, they are all agreed in
-this, that the ages of which the memory is preserved in history, that
-is to say, the last six thousand years, are but a small part of one
-Geological period. Compared to the voluminous chronicles laid up in the
-Crust of the Earth, the records inscribed by human hands constitute but
-an insignificant fraction of the world’s history. Our readers will be
-glad to learn something of the way in which this startling system of
-Geological Chronology is constructed and developed.
-
-At first sight, perhaps, it might be imagined that the order of time
-in which the various strata were deposited, can be easily learned from
-the relative position in which they lie. Since each stratum, when first
-produced, was spread out on the existing surface of the globe, it is
-clear that the one which lies uppermost in the series must be the
-newest, then that which lies next below, and so on till we reach the
-lowest of the pile, which must be the oldest of all. Nothing could be
-more satisfactory than this reasoning, if each stratum was spread out
-over the whole Earth, and if, after having been once deposited, it was
-never afterward removed. We might then regard each stratum as a volume
-in the Natural History of the Globe, which, when it was finished, was
-laid down upon that which contained the chronicles of the preceding
-age; and thus the position of every stratum would be in itself a
-sufficient evidence of the age to which it belonged.
-
-But such is not the case. Nowhere does the Crust of the Earth exhibit
-a complete series of the Stratified Rocks laid out one above another.
-In any given section we can find but a few only of the long series of
-groups that are familiar to Geologists. And if we follow them on, in a
-horizontal direction, we shall invariably find that some of the strata
-will _thin out_ and disappear, while new strata will gradually be
-developed between two groups that were before in immediate contact. Let
-it be observed, in passing, that this fact fits in most perfectly with
-the theory we have been all along defending. The Stratified Rocks were
-deposited under water; therefore, the strata of any given period were
-not _spread out over the whole Globe_, but at most over those parts
-only which, for the time, were submerged. With the next period came a
-change in the boundaries of land and water; and the formation of strata
-ceased in some localities and began in others: and so on from epoch to
-epoch. Thus the areas over which the process has been going on, have
-been, in every age, of limited extent, and have been ever shifting
-from place to place over the surface of the earth. Moreover, there is
-the opposite process of Denudation. Many of the strata deposited in
-the depths of the ocean must have been afterward swept away by the
-breakers, as they slowly emerged from the waters; or at a later time,
-reduced to their original elements, and carried back to the sea, by the
-action of rivers, rain, and frost. It should seem, therefore, as well
-from the _fact_, which is obvious to any one who will examine it, as
-from our _theory_, which harmonizes so completely with the fact, that
-the strata which we meet with in any given section of the Earth’s Crust
-present to us but a very broken and imperfect series of monuments. They
-are, as it were, but odd volumes of a long series, and though they lie
-in juxtaposition, they may belong, nevertheless, to Geological epochs
-widely removed from each other.
-
-Hence, in order to construct a complete system of Geological
-Chronology it is necessary to collect together these odd volumes, as
-they may be called, of the Great Geological Calendar, and to assign to
-each one its proper place in the series. This difficult and complicated
-task is accomplished chiefly by the aid of Fossil Remains. We have
-already shown that the Fossil Remains which are found embedded in
-each group of strata, represent the organic life of the period during
-which that group of strata was in progress of formation. Moreover,
-we have seen that each period was marked by the existence of an
-animal and vegetable creation peculiar to itself. If, therefore, we
-find that the Fossils of two different districts exhibit the same
-general character, we may conclude that the beds in which they are
-preserved were deposited about the same age, and consequently belong
-to the same Geological Period. Whereas, on the other hand, if, within
-certain limits, we discover two groups of strata, each of which has
-a collection of Fossils totally different from the other, it is a
-proof that these two groups were _not_ deposited in the same age, and
-must, consequently, be referred to different Epochs of the Geological
-Calendar. Let us now see in what manner the practical Geologist
-proceeds to apply these general principles.
-
-He takes first some one country, say England, and in that country he
-selects some one particular district to begin with. Here he examines
-a number of different sections, and makes himself familiar with all
-the strata of the neighborhood, and with the order in which they lie.
-Let us suppose that he finds three different groups spread out one
-above another, and let us call these groups A, B, and C; A being the
-lowest, B immediately above A, and C above B. The chronological order
-of these strata will be, therefore, A, B, C. He will study next the
-Fossil Remains which he finds embedded in each group. For convenience
-we may designate the Fossils of A by the letter a, those of B by b,
-and those of C by c. Now, according to the principles above explained,
-these three collections of Fossils will be specifically distinct from
-one another, each collection being characteristic of one particular set
-of strata. Our Geologist next goes into a neighboring district, and
-there examines a number of sections as before. Let us suppose that he
-encounters again the groups A and B. He may, perhaps, have been able
-to trace the beds from one district to the other, by observations made
-upon his line of route: or it may be that the nature of the country
-has rendered such observations impossible; or the observations may
-have been so imperfect that from _them_ he could arrive at no certain
-conclusion regarding the identity of the strata. But, at all events, if
-the new district yield an abundant supply of Fossils, he cannot long
-be at a loss. He will recognize the group A by the Fossils a, and the
-group B by the Fossils b. An important fact, however, soon attracts his
-attention. Group C has entirely disappeared, and is not to be found in
-this district; while between A and B there is a new group of rocks that
-he has not seen before, with a collection of Fossils different from a,
-b, and c. We will call this new group X, and its Fossils x. It is clear
-that the formation of X must have intervened between the formation of
-A and B; and the chronological order now stands A, X, B, C. In like
-manner another district may disclose a fourth group of strata, say Y,
-intervening between B and C. The chronological order will then stand A,
-X, B, Y, C. And thus the Geologist pursues his explorations until he
-has gone through the whole country, and arranged the principal groups
-of strata according to the order of time in which they were deposited.
-
-In this way the whole of England has been minutely explored during the
-last half century. The task was first undertaken by William Smith,
-who is justly called the Father of English Geology. After multiplied
-researches, extending over a space of many years, during which he
-travelled the whole country on foot, this eminent man published in
-1815 his Geological Map of England and Wales with part of Scotland; a
-work which is described by Sir Charles Lyell as “a lasting monument of
-original talent and extraordinary perseverance.” Hundreds followed in
-the same course, exploring every day new districts, and, by the new
-facts which they brought to light, supplying what was wanting in the
-work of Smith, correcting what was faulty, and confirming what was
-true; until at length, in our day, it may be said that the Stratified
-Rocks of England are almost as well known and as completely mapped out
-as are its counties and its towns, its rivers, lakes, and mountains.
-
-Meanwhile, Geologists were not idle in other parts of the world.
-Germany, France, Italy, even many districts of America and
-Australia, have been diligently explored according to the same
-principles as England. And by a comparison of the observations
-made, the Chronological order of strata over a considerable part
-of the Earth, but more particularly of Europe, has been now pretty
-fairly ascertained. This order we have attempted to set forth in an
-intelligible and sensible form by means of the table here annexed.
-
-In the Woodcut are represented the strata hitherto examined by
-Geologists, laid out one above another, according to the order of time
-in which they are supposed to have been produced. The whole series
-is divided into a number of Formations, the names of which are given
-in the first column, together with an approximate estimate of their
-thickness, in feet. These Formations are distinguished from each other
-in the drawing by a difference of shading. Each of them, according
-to Geological theory, is believed to have come into existence by the
-accumulation of solid matter at the bottom of the sea; and the Period
-of time occupied in its production is usually designated by the
-same name as the Formation itself. Thus we read of the Carboniferous
-Formation and the Carboniferous Period: by the former phrase is meant
-certain groups of strata contemporaneously deposited over various parts
-of the Earth’s surface; and by the latter, the Period of time during
-which these groups of strata were spread out. In like manner, when we
-hear of the Carboniferous Fauna and Flora, we are to understand the
-animal and vegetable life that flourished during the Carboniferous
-Period. And again, when Geologists talk of the Cretaceous sea, and tell
-us that it rolled over a great part of what is now called Europe, they
-mean to speak of that sea on the bottom of which the Cretaceous rocks
-were deposited.
-
-[Illustration: TABLE OF STRATIFIED ROCKS,
-
-CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED.]
-
-Most of the Formations comprise various groups of strata; and these
-groups are made up of different varieties of rocks, which are again
-divided into layers or beds of varying thickness. Even in these beds
-themselves we can often distinguish an indefinite number of laminæ or
-plates, scarcely thicker than a sheet of paper, which correspond to
-the periodical depositions of matter by which the rock was originally
-formed. These numerous subdivisions may be conveniently illustrated
-from the Carboniferous Formation. It is divided into two leading groups
-of strata; the Mountain Limestone below, the Coal Measures above. The
-upper group is the larger as well as the more important. It attains
-a maximum thickness in South Wales of 12,000 feet; and consists of
-numerous strata of Sandstone and Shale, with thin seams of Coal
-occasionally interposed. In one remarkable instance a hundred distinct
-layers of Coal, varying in thickness from six inches to ten feet,
-have been counted in one Coal-field, each resting on a bed of Shale,
-called in mining phraseology the Underclay. This Shale itself naturally
-divides into an indefinite number of thin plates, just like the stratum
-of mud accumulated by the annual inundations of the river Nile, and
-constituting the present soil of Egypt.
-
-We have not attempted to represent in our Woodcut these various
-divisions and subdivisions of Stratified Rocks. But the names of some
-important and well-known groups we have had engraved, to impress more
-vividly on the mind the place to which they are to be referred in the
-Geological Calendar. Thus the reader may see at a glance the respective
-ages of the Coal and the Chalk; of the Lias, in which are preserved the
-remains of extinct gigantic reptiles, and the Glacial Drift, in which
-the elephant, the rhinoceros, and the hippopotamus are found entombed;
-of the Mountain Limestone, which is often nothing else than vast beds
-of Coral uplifted from beneath the waters of the ocean, and the Oolite,
-which includes the Portland quarries, where the petrified stems of
-ancient forest trees are found standing erect in the solid rock.
-
-As the series of Stratified Rocks is divided by Geologists into a
-certain number or systems or Formations, so these are again grouped
-into still larger classes, called Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary;
-that is to say, first, second, and third, in the order of formation.
-These larger classes correspond to the Great Epochs or Ages of
-Geological time, each comprising within itself many distinct Periods.
-The Primary rocks are also called Palæozoic--παλαιὁν, ancient, and
-ξῶον, an organic being--because they contain the oldest forms of
-organic life: in like manner the term Mesozoic--μεσον, middle, and
-ξῶον--is applied to the Secondary strata, inasmuch as they contain
-the middle or intermediate forms of organic life: and the name
-Kainozoic--χαινὁν, new, and ξῶον--is given to the Tertiary, which
-contain the newest forms of organic life.
-
-The term Post-Tertiary has recently been adopted to designate those
-superficial deposits which are subsequent to the Tertiary Age. They are
-divided into two groups; the Recent, which corresponds with the period
-of history, and the Post-Pliocene which precedes it. Some writers seem
-to think that these deposits, being so very insignificant and so very
-modern when compared with the long series of Stratified Rocks, are not
-truly Geological. But this, we should say, is a mistaken view of the
-question. It seems to us that even the minute layer of mud that is
-deposited every day at the mouth of the Ganges or the Mississippi, is
-linked on to the long chain of events which have brought the Crust of
-the Earth into its present condition; and, therefore, truly belongs
-to the science of Geology, and is deserving of its proper place in
-Geological classification.
-
-We may here observe that the names of the great Geological Epochs are
-descriptive names; that is to say, the obvious meaning of the words
-corresponds to the character of the strata they are used to represent.
-Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, mean First, Second, and Third, in the
-order of formation: Palæozoic, Mesozoic, and Kainozoic, signify
-that the strata so called are characterized by Ancient, Middle, and
-Modern, forms of organic life. But it is very often quite otherwise
-with the names of the several Formations: and this is a point of
-no small importance to the student of Geology. These names must be
-regarded simply _as names_ employed to designate the strata formed in
-each successive period, and not exactly to describe their character.
-They generally had their origin in some accidental circumstance, or
-were derived from some particular locality; and afterward, being
-perpetuated, gradually came to receive a much more extended application
-than that which the words themselves would seem to suggest. Thus, for
-instance, the Cretaceous Formation is so called from the remarkable
-stratum of white chalk (creta) which was deposited during that period
-over a great part of Europe; but it would be a mistake to suppose that
-the whole Formation is made up of chalk. On the contrary, in different
-localities it is composed of very different materials; near Dresden,
-for example, it is a gray quartzose sandstone, and in many parts of the
-Alps it is hard compact limestone.[84] Again, the Devonian Formation
-derives its name from Devonshire, where the rocks of the Devonian
-period were first minutely examined; but we must not therefore infer
-that this Formation is peculiar to the county of Devon; it is to be
-found in many other parts of England, also in Ireland, and on the
-continent of Europe. So, too, another Formation has received the name
-of Carboniferous, which literally means Coal-bearing (carbo fero)
-because of the beds of Coal which are sometimes associated with its
-strata; yet this Formation is often found quite destitute of Coal over
-a very extensive area.
-
-In looking over our Table of strata the reader must have noticed that
-the successive spaces in the Woodcut are not proportioned to the
-actual thickness of the successive Formations for which they stand.
-The Secondary and Tertiary Rocks taken together are scarcely one-third
-as thick, in reality, as the Primary; yet they occupy an equal space
-in the engraving: and, more remarkable still, the Cretaceous system
-is allowed double the space of the Laurentian, though less than half
-as thick. This circumstance calls for a passing word of explanation.
-In the early annals of a country there is generally a great scarcity
-of authentic records; and, from a simple dearth of facts, the history
-of a whole century is compressed, not unfrequently, into a few
-pages: whereas, in later times, when documentary evidence begins to
-accumulate, the historians will often spread out the events of two or
-three years over several chapters. Something of the same kind takes
-place in Geology. The Fossil Remains, from which, as from authentic
-documents, the Geologist chiefly derives his information regarding the
-history of the Earth’s Crust, are scanty in the earlier Formations,
-and abundant in the more recent. And thus it happens that the older
-Geological Periods, notwithstanding the vast thickness of the rocks by
-which they are represented, do not occupy a very prominent position
-in the annals of Geology, and are compressed into a comparatively
-insignificant space in its Tables. Nevertheless, the immense depth of
-the earliest Stratified Rocks must be taken into account in any attempt
-to estimate the comparative duration of the several Geological Periods.
-We have, therefore, set down, under the name of each Formation, an
-approximate estimate of its actual thickness, taken chiefly from the
-works of Doctor Haughton and Sir Charles Lyell.
-
-Before bringing this chapter to an end we would observe that the
-system of classification we have here endeavored to explain does not
-pretend to be final and complete. It is, on the contrary, little
-more than a temporary expedient to render intelligible the results
-at which Geologists have hitherto arrived; and is liable to manifold
-modifications in proportion as their acquaintance with the records they
-have undertaken to interpret becomes more extensive and more minute.
-All that they now contend for is this: that the successive Formations
-represent successive Periods of time, which followed one another in
-the order here set forth, and during which the Earth was peopled with
-certain species of Plants and Animals, for the most part peculiar to
-their respective eras.[85]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER XIII._
-
-GEOLOGICAL CHRONOLOGY--REMARKS ON THE SUCCESSION OF ORGANIC LIFE.
-
-    _Summary of the history of stratified rocks--Striking
-    characteristics of certain formations--Human remains found
-    only in superficial deposits--Gradual transition from the
-    organic life of one period to that of the next--Evidence
-    in favor of this opinion--Advance from lower to higher
-    types of organic life as we ascend from the older to the
-    more recent formations--Economic value of geological
-    chronology--Illustration--Search for coal--The practical man
-    at fault--The geologist comes to his aid, and saves him from
-    useless expense._
-
-
-With this sketch of Geological Chronology before us, we can now more
-fully realize to our minds the story we are told about the formation of
-the Earth’s Crust. In the earliest age to which Geologists can trace
-back the history of the Aqueous Rocks--for they do not profess to trace
-it back to the beginning--this Globe of ours was, as it is now, partly
-covered with water, and partly dry land. The formation of stratified
-rocks went on in that age, as it is still going on, chiefly over those
-areas that were under water--not indeed throughout the entire extent of
-such areas, but over certain portions of them to which mineral matter
-happened to be carried by the action of natural causes. And the Earth
-was peopled then as now, though with animals and plants very different
-from those by which we are surrounded at the present day. Some of these
-happened to escape destruction, and to be embedded in the deposits of
-that far distant age, and have thus been preserved even to our time.
-And these strata with their Fossils are the same that we now group
-together under the title of the Laurentian Formation: which being the
-oldest group of stratified rocks we can recognize in the depths of the
-Earth’s Crust, occupies the lowest position in our table of Chronology.
-Ages rolled on; and the Crust of the Earth was moved from within by
-some giant force, the bed of the ocean was lifted up in one place,
-islands and continents were submerged in another, and so the outlines
-of land and water were changed. With this change the old forms of life
-passed away; a new creation came in; and the Laurentian period gave
-place to the Cambrian. But the order of nature was still the same as
-before. The deposition of stratified rocks still continued, though the
-areas of deposition were, in many cases, shifted from one locality to
-another. And the organic life that flourished in the Cambrian times
-left its memorials behind it buried in the Cambrian rocks. Then that
-age, too, came to an end, and gave place in its turn to the Silurian:
-and this was, again, followed by the Devonian. Thus one period
-succeeded to another in the order set forth in our table; and every
-part of the globe was, in the course of ages, more than once submerged,
-and covered with the deposits of more than one age, and enriched with
-the Organic Remains of more than one creation.
-
-As we advance upward in the series of Formations we soon perceive that
-the Fossil Remains, which, in the earlier groups were scanty enough,
-become profusely abundant, until even the unpractised eye cannot
-fail to mark the peculiar character of each successive period;--the
-exuberant vegetation of the Carboniferous, with its luxuriant herbage
-and its tangled forests, its huge pines, its tall tree-ferns, and its
-stately araucarias: the enormous creeping monsters of the Jurassic,
-the ichthyosaurs, the megalosaurs, the iguanodons, which filled its
-seas, or crowded its plains, or haunted its rivers; and higher up in
-the scale, the colossal quadrupeds of the Miocene and the Pliocene, the
-mammoths, the mastodons, the megatheriums, which begin to approximate
-more closely to the organic types of our own age. But amidst these
-various forms of life, the eye looks in vain for any relic of human
-kind. No bone of man, no trace of human intelligence, is to be found
-in any bed of rock that belongs to the Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary
-Formations. It is only when we have passed all these, and come to the
-latest formation of the whole series, nay, it is only in the uppermost
-beds of this Formation, that we meet, for the first time, with human
-bones, and the works of human art.
-
-Thus it appears pretty plain, even from the testimony of Geology, that
-man was the last work of the creation; and that, if the world is old,
-the human race is comparatively young. These broken and imperfect
-records, which have been so curiously preserved in the Crust of the
-Earth, carry us back to an antiquity which may not be measured by
-years and centuries, and then set before us, as in a palpable form,
-how the tender herbage appeared, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit
-according to its kind; and how the Earth was afterward peopled with
-great creeping things, and winged fowl, and the cattle, and the beasts
-of the field; and then, at length, they disclose to us how, last of
-all, man appeared, to whom all these things seem to tend, and who was
-to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the fowl of the air, and
-every living thing that moveth upon the earth. We do not mean to dwell
-just now upon this view of the history of creation so clearly displayed
-in the records of Geology. But we shall return to it hereafter when we
-come in the sequel to consider how admirably the genuine truths of this
-science fit in with the inspired narrative of Moses.
-
-It may here, very naturally, be asked, if the records of Geology
-give us any information as to the manner in which each period of
-animal and vegetable life was brought to an end? Did the old organic
-forms gradually die out, and the new gradually come in to take their
-places? or were the one suddenly extinguished and the others as
-suddenly produced? This question has been a subject of controversy
-among Geologists themselves; and therefore it is somewhat outside our
-scope, since we propose to exhibit only that more general outline of
-Geological theory which is accepted by all. Nevertheless, as it is a
-question that must needs occur to the mind of every reader, it seems to
-call for a few words of explanation as we pass along. In the early days
-of Geology, it was commonly held that each great period was brought
-to an end by a sudden and violent convulsion of Nature. The Crust of
-the Earth was burst open in many places all at once; the bottom of the
-ocean was upheaved with a tremendous shock; the waters, driven from
-their accustomed bed, rushed with furious impetuosity over islands and
-continents; and the whole existing creation perished in a universal
-deluge. Then succeeded an interval of chaotic confusion, and when at
-length the waters subsided, and dry land again appeared, a new age
-in the history of the Globe was ushered in, and the Earth was again
-peopled by a new creation.
-
-But this old theory has gradually given way as the Stratified Rocks
-have been more and more fully examined, and at the present day it
-is almost universally abandoned. Geologists have observed that the
-same species of Fossil Remains which prevail in the upper beds of one
-Formation, are met with also in the lower beds of the next, though in
-less numbers and mixed up with new species; and that, as we ascend
-higher and higher into the later Formation, the old species gradually
-become more and more scarce, while the new gradually become more and
-more numerous; until at length the characteristic forms of one age
-have disappeared altogether, and those of the succeeding age have
-attained their full development.
-
-For this important fact, which was brought to light within the last
-half century, we are mainly indebted to the unwearied researches and
-great ability of Sir Charles Lyell. Speaking of the Formations of the
-Tertiary Epoch, to which, as is well known, he has principally devoted
-himself, this distinguished writer thus sums up the result of his long
-investigation:--“In passing from the older to the newer members of
-the Tertiary system we meet with many chasms, but none which separate
-entirely, by a broad line of demarkation, one state of the organic
-world from another. There are no signs of an abrupt termination of one
-fauna and flora, and the starting into life of new and wholly distinct
-forms. Although we are far from being able to demonstrate geologically
-an insensible transition from the Eocene to the Miocene, or even from
-the latter to the recent fauna, yet the more we enlarge and perfect our
-general survey, the more nearly do we approximate to such a continuous
-series, and the more gradually are we conducted from times when many of
-the genera and nearly all the species were extinct, to those in which
-scarcely a single species flourished which we do not know to exist at
-present.”[86] Hence he concludes, and his conclusion is now the common
-doctrine of Geologists, that the extinction and creation of species has
-been “the result of a slow and gradual change in the organic world.”[87]
-
-It was long argued against this view, that we often meet, especially
-in the Primary and Secondary Formations, two groups of strata in
-immediate contact, in which there is a perfectly sudden transition
-from one set of Fossil Remains to another altogether different. Each
-group contains a countless variety of species, and yet there is not a
-single species common to the two. Does it not appear that in such a
-case the organic life of one period was suddenly destroyed, and that
-of the next as suddenly introduced? Not so; there is one link wanting
-in the argument. It must be shown that these two strata which are
-now in _immediate contact_ were originally deposited in _immediate
-succession_. But this it is impossible to prove: nay, it must needs be
-very often false. We have before observed that the areas of deposition
-were limited in every age, and were ever shifting from one locality to
-another. Therefore it must have been a frequent occurrence that, after
-one bed of rock was formed, the process of deposition ceased altogether
-in that locality, and did not begin again for many ages. Thus a long
-lapse of time often intervened between the deposition of two strata,
-which were laid out one immediately above the other. Furthermore, we
-have also seen that whole groups of strata may in any age be swept away
-by Denudation; and then the rocks which are next deposited in that
-locality, will be in immediate contact with strata indefinitely more
-ancient than themselves. From these considerations it is plain that two
-groups of strata which are now found in juxtaposition, may have been
-deposited in two Geological ages widely remote from each other. And
-consequently a sudden transition from the Organic Life of one group to
-the Organic Life of the other affords no proof of a sudden transition
-from the Organic Life of one Geological Period to the Organic Life of
-that which next succeeded. We may observe, however, that the recent
-researches, which have contributed so much to fill up the interstices
-of the Geological Calendar, have conduced in no small degree to fill up
-likewise some of the more remarkable gaps or chasms in the succession
-of Organic Life. It is, therefore, not unreasonable to suppose that, as
-our knowledge of the Earth’s Crust becomes more and more minute, the
-sudden breaks in the continuity of the scale will be still further
-diminished and the successive stages of gradual transition will be made
-more clearly apparent.
-
-This subject has been very happily illustrated by Sir Charles
-Lyell:--“To make still more clear the supposed working of this
-machinery [for the deposition of Stratified Rocks and the preservation
-of Organic Remains], I shall compare it to a somewhat analogous case
-that might be imagined to occur in the history of human affairs. Let
-the mortality of the population of a large country represent the
-successive extinction of species, and the birth of new individuals, the
-introduction of new species. While these fluctuations are gradually
-taking place everywhere, suppose commissioners to be appointed to
-visit each province of the country in succession, taking an exact
-account of the number, names, and individual peculiarities of all the
-inhabitants, and leaving in each district a register containing a
-record of this information. If, after the completion of one census,
-another is immediately made on the same plan, and then another, there
-will, at last, be a series of statistical documents in each province.
-When these belonging to any one province are arranged in chronological
-order, the contents of such as stand next to each other will differ
-according to the length of time between the taking of each census. If,
-for example, there are sixty provinces, and all the registers are made
-in a single year, and renewed annually, the number of births and deaths
-will be so small in proportion to the whole of the inhabitants, during
-the interval between the compiling of two consecutive documents, that
-the individuals described in such documents will be nearly identical;
-whereas, if the survey of each of the sixty provinces occupies all the
-commissioners for a whole year, so that they are unable to revisit
-the same place until the expiration of sixty years, there will then
-be an almost entire discordance between the persons enumerated in two
-consecutive registers in the same province.
-
-“But I must remind the reader that the case above proposed has no
-pretentions to be regarded as an exact parallel to the Geological
-phenomena which I desire to illustrate; for the commissioners are
-supposed to visit the different provinces in rotation; whereas the
-commemorating processes by which organic remains become fossilized,
-although they are always shifting from one area to the other, are yet
-very irregular in their movements. They may abandon and revisit many
-spaces again and again, before they once approach another district; and
-besides this source of irregularity, it may often happen that, while
-the depositing process is suspended, Denudation may take place, which
-may be compared to the occasional destruction by fire or other causes
-of some of the statistical documents before mentioned. It is evident
-that where such accidents occur, the want of continuity in the series
-may become indefinitely great, and that the monuments which follow next
-in succession will by no means be equi-distant from each other in point
-of time.
-
-“If this train of reasoning be admitted, the occasional distinctness
-of the fossil remains, in formations immediately in contact, would be
-a necessary consequence of the existing laws of sedimentary deposition
-and subterranean movement, accompanied by a constant mortality and
-renovation or species.”[88]
-
-There is another and a very striking fact in the succession of ancient
-organic life, which claims from us a moment’s notice. As we proceed
-upward through the series of Stratified Rocks, from the oldest to the
-newest, we find a gradual advance in the types of animal organization
-therein preserved, from the humbler and more simple forms of structure
-to those of a higher and more perfect character. That form of
-organization is regarded among Zoologists as the more perfect in which
-there is “a greater number of organs specially devoted to particular
-functions.” Now all the forms of animal life with which we are
-acquainted, may be reduced to two great divisions, the Vertebrate and
-the Invertebrate,--the former having a _vertebral_ or spinal column,
-the latter having none: and it is agreed in conformity with the notion
-set forth above, that the Vertebrate animals as a class exhibit a more
-perfect organization than the Invertebrate. Again, among the Vertebrate
-themselves there is a gradation; the Reptiles are ranked higher than
-the Fish, the Birds higher than the Reptiles, and the Mammalia higher
-again than the Birds.
-
-All this we learn from Zoologists, who have pursued their
-investigations without any reference whatever to the science of
-Geology. It is, therefore, not a little remarkable that we should
-discover this very order and gradation of animal life in the successive
-groups of Stratified Rocks. All the Remains hitherto discovered in the
-earliest Geological Formations belong to Invertebrate animals, while
-the Vertebrate, which appear for the first time in the latter part
-of the Silurian Period, are, from that age on, more and more fully
-developed down to the present day, and now constitute, if not the most
-numerous, at least the most important part of the animal creation.
-Moreover, it is to be observed that the Vertebrate animals do not all
-make their appearance at once, but come in successively according to
-the same scale of organic perfection,--the Fish appearing first, then
-the Reptiles, then the Birds, and lastly the Mammalia. Even among
-the Mammalia a well-defined order of progressive succession has been
-observed, which finally culminates in the appearance of Man, the last
-created and the most perfect of animals.
-
-[Illustration: TABLE OF GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS,
-
-SHOWING THE FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE EARTH OF THE VARIOUS FORMS OF
-ANIMAL LIFE.]
-
-This remarkable succession of animal life in the history of the
-Earth’s Crust will be more readily understood by means of the annexed
-Table. The remains of Invertebrate animals have been traced as far
-back as the Lower Laurentian Rocks. The Vertebrate first become
-manifest in the Ludlow beds of the Upper Silurian; where they are
-represented by the bones of Fish, the lowest class belonging to the
-Province of Vertebrates. Next in order come the Reptiles: the oldest
-known Reptile having been found in the Coal Measures of Saarbrück
-between Strasburg and Treves. The skeletons of Birds are rare in the
-Stratified Rocks. It is supposed that their powers of flight have in
-all ages secured them, to great a extent, from being carried away by
-floods, like other land animals, and buried in the sedimentary deposits
-of rivers and estuaries. Nevertheless their presence in the ancient
-world is frequently attested by their footsteps, impressed originally
-on the sandy beach, and still preserved now that the soft sand has
-been converted into solid rock. Such traces have been discovered in
-great abundance on the New Red Sandstone of the Connecticut River in
-America; and afford the earliest evidence we possess in the records
-of Geology regarding the existence of the feathered tribe. This group
-of strata belongs to the lower Trias. In the higher beds of the same
-Formation we meet with the first relic of ancient Mammals. It was found
-near Stuttgardt, in 1847, and belongs to the more imperfect form of
-Mammalian life, the Non-Placental. Similar remains have been since
-discovered in the Upper Trias of Somersetshire. The Placental, or more
-perfect form of animal life in the same class, first appears in the
-Eocene Formation: and the bones of Man, the highest of the Placental,
-are found for the first time in the upper deposits of the Post-Tertiary
-Age.
-
-Let it be remembered that we are here but stating the facts which have
-been hitherto brought to light by the researches of Geologists. It
-may be, it is indeed most probable, that new discoveries will lead to
-numerous modifications in our Table. There is no reason to suppose that
-Geologists have yet exhumed the earliest remains of Vertebrates or
-Invertebrates preserved in the Crust of the Earth: that Fish may not
-hereafter be traced back beyond the Silurian, or Reptiles beyond the
-Carboniferous Period: that Birds may not be found among the Primary
-Rocks, and Placentals among the Secondary. But in a science which
-depends mainly upon observation, it is better to register the facts
-we have than to speculate idly about those we have not. And, having
-registered them, we cannot fail to be struck with the succession of
-animal life on the Earth, to which they seem to point. It is certainly
-deserving of notice that, as far as the Organic Remains hitherto
-discovered may be taken as a guide, Invertebrates and Vertebrates,
-Fish, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals, Non-Placentals and Placentals,
-follow one another in the ascending series of Geological Formations
-exactly in the same order as they follow one another in the ascending
-scale of Zoological Classification.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-And so Geologists go on ever searching out new phenomena, and grouping
-them together into classes, until from particular facts they lead us
-to general truths. Then starting with these general truths as the
-groundwork of their science, they proceed to sketch out the Natural
-History of our Globe from the remotest ages of the past down to
-the present time. They first study the stratified deposits of each
-succeeding age, and analyze the Fossil Remains embedded therein;
-afterward they make their inferences, and they compile their history.
-They describe the forms, the character, the habits, of the plants
-and animals that flourished of old in this world of ours; they tell
-us where the deep sea rolled its waves in each succeeding age, and
-where the dry land appeared; they point out the Deltas of its ancient
-rivers, they measure the breadth of its Estuaries, they trace the
-course of its Glaciers, they mark the outlines of its Mountain chains.
-But with these and such like speculations we are not here concerned.
-Many of them are open to controversy, and not a few are at this moment
-warmly disputed among Geologists themselves: besides, whether true or
-false, they do not in any way affect the relations between Geology and
-Revealed Religion. We shall be quite content, and it is all that our
-present scope demands, if we have made intelligible the general theory
-of Geological Chronology, and the kind of evidence on which it rests.
-
-Before taking leave of this subject, however, we will venture to offer
-what seems to us an interesting illustration of the principles we
-have been explaining in the last two chapters;--one that will help
-to confirm the conclusions for which we have been contending, and
-that will also bring home to many minds the practical advantage to be
-derived from a thorough knowledge and just application of Geological
-science. Perhaps, too, it may help to revive the flagging attention
-of our readers; for the subject of our illustration is _Coal, and the
-way to find it_. In this age of manufactories and steam-engines,--when
-the atmosphere of great towns is heavy with smoke, and the quiet
-solitude of the country is so rudely disturbed by the shrieking of the
-railway-whistle and the snorting of the sooty locomotive,--this black,
-dirty mineral has acquired a value and importance, which may succeed
-in rousing even the practical money-making man to pay some heed to the
-lessons of science.
-
-Coal might have been produced in any Geological Period; and in point of
-fact, beds of coal have been discovered in many different Formations.
-But in England, and in Western Europe generally, it has been found by
-long experience that the Coal-beds of the Carboniferous Formation are
-more abundant, and of better quality, than those of any other. Indeed
-the beds of Coal that occur in other Formations are so thin, and of
-such inferior quality, that they cannot be worked with profit. It is
-therefore of the highest importance in the search for Coal, before
-going to the enormous expense of sinking deep shafts, to discover
-whether or no the rocks in which the search is to be made belong to
-the Carboniferous Period. In this matter the more _practical man_ is
-often seriously at fault. Coal-bearing strata generally consist pretty
-largely of dark-colored clay, black shales, and similar deposits. This
-is a fact which, as it strikes the eye, is perfectly familiar to all
-who are engaged in the working of Coal mines. Hence it happens, not
-unfrequently, that the practical man, when he meets with strata of this
-kind, is apt at once to infer that Coal is near at hand. The Geologist,
-on the contrary, knows well that such strata are not peculiar to the
-Carboniferous rocks, but are often found in other Formations in which
-there is no Coal at all, or at least no Coal that will repay the
-expense of working; and therefore he will pronounce it most rash to
-undertake costly works on the strength of these appearances. He has
-learned, however, that there are certain species of animals and plants
-which are found in the Carboniferous rocks and in them alone; he will
-search for these in the strata which it is proposed to explore, and
-by their presence or their absence he will know whether the strata in
-question belong to the Carboniferous Formation or not.
-
-Again, it will often happen that, in the midst of an extensive region
-well known to abound in Coal, the rocks which appear at the surface in
-one particular locality, are not wholly devoid of Coal, but exhibit no
-resemblance either in mineral character or in Fossil Remains to the
-Coal-bearing strata. A question then arises of the highest practical
-importance. May it be that the Coal-bearing strata are spread out
-beneath this uppermost bed of rocks? and is it worth the expense to
-sink a shaft through the one in the hope of reaching the other? The
-practical miner has no very clear or certain principles to help him
-in the solution of this problem; and thus it has often happened that
-thousands upon thousands of pounds have been expended in sinking shafts
-to look for Coal, where, as it afterward proved, there was not the
-slightest chance of finding it. Now, though Geology cannot tell if we
-shall succeed in finding Coal beneath these rocks, it _can_ tell if
-there is a _good chance_ of succeeding. It can tell whether there is
-a reasonable hope, by penetrating into the Crust of the Earth at this
-particular spot, of reaching the Carboniferous Formation; and if we can
-reach the Carboniferous Formation in the midst of a Coal district, it
-is very likely we shall meet with beds of Coal.
-
-His first object will be to ascertain what is the Formation to which
-the superficial rocks belong. If it be a Formation earlier in date than
-the Carboniferous,--the Silurian, for instance, or the Devonian,--he
-knows that it would be simply waste of money to look for Coal beneath
-them; because the Carboniferous rocks cannot possibly be found
-underneath the rocks of an earlier age. And so the Geologist can tell
-beforehand what the mere practical man would find out only when he had
-spent his money. If, on the other hand, the rocks which appear at the
-surface belong to a period later than the Carboniferous, the Geologist
-will not always conclude that it is expedient to sink a shaft in
-search of Coal. For though the Carboniferous rocks may, in this case,
-be underneath, they may be so far down in the Crust of the Earth that
-we should have no chance of ever reaching them. Suppose, for example,
-that the strata which appear at the surface belong to the Cretaceous
-Formation. He knows from his Chronological table that the Carboniferous
-age is separated from the Cretaceous by three intermediate
-Periods,--the Permian, the Triassic, the Jurassic. Therefore, when he
-finds the Cretaceous rocks at the surface in any locality, it is quite
-possible, though of course not certain, that before the Carboniferous
-Formation could be reached it would be necessary to bore through
-thousands of feet of Jurassic, Triassic, and Permian rocks. And even
-then there would be no certainty of meeting with the Coal-bearing
-strata. Perhaps they were never deposited over this area of the earth’s
-surface; or, if deposited, perhaps they were subsequently swept away
-by Denudation. Hence our Geologist would reasonably conclude that, the
-probable expense of the search being so enormous, and the chance of
-success so remote, it would be much wiser not to make the attempt.
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIV.
-
-SUBTERRANEAN HEAT--ITS EXISTENCE DEMONSTRATED BY FACTS.
-
-    _Theory of stratified rocks supposes disturbances of the
-    earth’s crust--These disturbances ascribed by geologists
-    to the action of subterranean heat--The existence of
-    subterranean heat, and its power to move the crust of the
-    earth, proved by direct evidence--Supposed igneous origin of
-    our globe--Remarkable increase of temperature as we descend
-    into the earth’s crust--Hot springs--Artesian wells--Steam
-    issuing from crevices in the earth--The geysers of Iceland--A
-    glimpse at the subterranean fires--Mount Vesuvius in 1779--Vast
-    extent of volcanic action--Existence of subterranean heat an
-    established fact._
-
-
-In developing the modern theory of Geology, we have all along assumed
-that the Crust of the Earth has been subject to frequent disturbances
-from the earliest ages of the world. Again and again, in the course
-of our argument, we have talked of the bed of the sea being lifted
-up, and converted into dry land; and, on the other hand, of the dry
-land being submerged beneath the waters of the sea. We have not even
-hesitated to suppose that these two opposite movements of upheaval and
-submersion often took place by turns over the same area; nay, that
-there is scarcely a region on the surface of the Globe which has not
-been several times submerged, and several times again upheaved.
-
-Yet all this has not been taken for granted without proof. Our readers
-have seen what a long array of sober reasoning may be drawn out to
-show that the Stratified Rocks have been, for the most part, deposited
-_under water_:--first, from the nature and arrangement of the materials
-which compose them; secondly, from the character of the Organic Remains
-they contain. And since they are now _above water_, it is plain that
-either they have been lifted or the ocean has subsided. Furthermore, if
-we find, as we often do, two strata in immediate succession, the one
-underneath, exhibiting the trees of an ancient forest still standing
-erect with their roots attached, the other above, abounding in the
-remains of aquatic animals; we must conclude that when the ancient
-forest flourished this portion of the Earth’s Crust was above the
-level of the sea; that afterward it was submerged, and a new deposit,
-in which the marine remains were embedded, was spread out above the
-earlier vegetation; and that, last of all it again emerged from the
-waters, and became once more dry land. Finally, when a vertical section
-of the Earth’s Crust exhibits a continued series of such strata
-alternating with each other, it affords a proof that this particular
-area must have been several times under water, and several times again
-dry land, in the long course of ages.
-
-These conclusions are now all but universally received among
-Geologists. The Crust of the Earth, we are assured, is not that
-unyielding and immovable mass which men commonly take it to be. On the
-contrary, it has been from the beginning ever restless and in motion,
-rising here and subsiding there, sometimes with a convulsive shock
-capable of upturning, twisting, distorting hard and stubborn rocks as
-if they were but flimsy layers of pliant clay; sometimes with a gentle,
-undulating movement, which, while it uplifts islands and continents,
-leaves the general aspect of the surface unchanged, the arrangement of
-the strata undisturbed, and even the most tender Fossils unharmed.
-Disturbances of this kind have been going on in various parts of the
-world even within the period of history; and they may be distinctly
-traced to the action of subterranean Heat. In support of a theory so
-startling and unexpected, Geologists appeal to the direct evidence of
-facts: and we now propose to bring some of these facts under the notice
-of our readers.
-
-At the outset, however, it is important to set forth clearly the
-doctrine we hope to illustrate and confirm. With the origin of the
-internal heat that prevails within the Crust of the Earth we have no
-concern. This is still an unsettled point among Geologists themselves.
-Some conjecture that our Globe, when first launched into space, was
-in a state of igneous fusion; that is to say, that all the solid
-matter of which it is composed was held in a molten condition by the
-action of intense heat; that, in course of time, as this heat passed
-off by radiation, the surface gradually cooled and grew hard; that
-an external shell of solid rock was thus formed, which has been ever
-growing thicker in proportion as the Earth has been growing cooler; and
-that the actual condition of our planet is the result of this process
-continued down to the present day,--a fiery mass of seething mineral
-within, and a comparatively thin crust of consolidated rock without.
-Others suppose that the internal heat of the Globe is developed by the
-agency of chemical changes constantly going on in the depths of the
-Earth; and others, again, look for a cause to the action of electricity
-and magnetism. But these and such like speculations are still under
-discussion, and not one of them can be regarded as anything more, at
-best, than a satisfactory hypothesis. Anyhow, it is not about the
-causes of internal heat that we are just now interested, but about
-the fact of its existence, and the nature of its effects. Is it true
-that an intense heat prevails very generally beneath the superficial
-covering of the Globe? and is that heat capable of producing those
-stupendous changes which are ascribed to it in our theory of Geology?
-These are the questions to which we mean to devote our chief attention.
-
-It is a very significant fact, that _the deeper we penetrate into the
-Crust of the Earth, the hotter it is_. At first, no doubt, for a short
-distance, the reverse is the case. When we begin to descend we find it
-cooler below than above, because the further we depart from the surface
-the more we are removed from the influence of the Sun. But at a certain
-point--in our climate at about fifty feet below the surface--the
-influence of the Sun’s heat ceases to be sensibly felt. When this limit
-is passed, the temperature begins to rise, and thenceforth the deeper
-we go the hotter the earth becomes.
-
-This broad and general fact has been tested by experiments in every
-part of the world, and has been found true in all countries, in
-all climates, in all latitudes, whether in coal-pits, or mines, or
-deep subterranean caves. “In one and the same mine,” says Sir John
-Herschel,[89] “each particular depth has its own particular degree of
-heat, which never varies: but the lower always the hotter; and that
-not by a trifling, but what may well be called an astonishingly rapid
-rate of increase,--about a degree of the thermometer additional warmth
-for every ninety feet of additional depth,[90] which is about 58° per
-mile!--so that, if we had a shaft sunk a mile deep, we should find in
-the rock a heat of 105°, which is much hotter than the hottest summer
-day ever experienced in England.” Now if the temperature continue
-to increase at this rate toward the centre of the Earth, it is quite
-certain that, at no very great distance from the surface, the heat
-would be sufficiently intense to reduce the hardest granite and the
-most refractory metals to a state of igneous fusion.
-
-Again, every one is familiar with the existence of hot springs,
-which come up from unknown depths in the Earth’s Crust, and which,
-appearing as they do in almost all parts of the world, testify in
-unmistakable language to the existence of internal heat. At Bath,
-for instance, in England, the water comes up from the bowels of the
-Earth, at a temperature of 117° Fahrenheit; and in the United States,
-on the Arkansas River, there is a spring at 180°--not much below the
-boiling point. This remarkable phenomenon, however, may be more closely
-investigated in the case of Artesian Wells, so called from the province
-of Artois, in France, where they first came into use. These wells are
-formed artificially, by boring down through the superficial strata of
-the Earth, sometimes to enormous depths, until water is reached. It
-has been found in every case that the water coming up from these great
-depths is always hot; and, furthermore, that the deeper the boring the
-hotter the water. A well of this kind was sunk in 1834 at Grenelle, in
-the suburbs of Paris, to a depth of more than 1800 English feet, and
-the water, which rushed up with surprising force, had a temperature
-of 82° Fahrenheit; whereas the mean temperature of the air in the
-cellars of the Paris Observatory is only 53°. The water has ever since
-continued to flow, and the temperature has never varied. At Salzwerth,
-in Germany, where the boring is still deeper, being 2,144 feet, the
-water which rises to the surface is 91° of our scale.
-
-Then we have, in many countries, jets of steam which issue at a high
-temperature from crevices in the Earth, and which tell of the existence
-of heated water below, as plainly as the steam that escapes from the
-funnel of a locomotive or from the spout of a tea-kettle. Phenomena of
-this kind are very common in Italy, where they are sometimes exhibited
-at intervals along a line of country twenty miles in length. But in
-Iceland it is that they are displayed in the highest degree of splendor
-and power. On the southwest side of that island, within a circuit of
-two miles, there are nearly a hundred hot springs called Geysers, from
-some of which, at intervals, immense volumes of steam and boiling water
-are violently projected into the air. The Great Geyser is a natural
-tube, ten feet wide, descending into the Earth to a depth of seventy
-feet, and opening out above into a broad basin, from fifty to sixty
-feet in diameter. This basin, as well as the tube which connects it
-with the interior of the Earth, is lined with a beautifully smooth
-and hard plaster of siliceous cement, and is generally filled to the
-brim with water of a clear azure color, and a temperature little
-below boiling point. The ordinary condition of the spring is one of
-comparative repose, the water rising slowly in the tube and trickling
-over the edge of the stony basin. But every few hours an eruption takes
-place. Subterranean explosions are first heard, like the firing of
-distant cannon; then a violent ebullition follows, clouds of steam are
-given out, and jets of boiling water are cast up into the air. After a
-little the disturbance ceases, and all is quiet again. Once a day, or
-thereabouts, these phenomena are exhibited on a scale of extraordinary
-grandeur: the explosions which announce beforehand the approaching
-display are more numerous and violent than usual; then such volumes of
-steam rush forth as to obscure the atmosphere for half a mile around;
-and, finally, a vast column of water is projected to a height of from
-one to two hundred feet, and continues for a quarter of an hour to play
-like an artificial fountain. Geysers scarcely less grand and striking
-are to be seen in New Zealand, from which the water is thrown up at a
-temperature 214° Fahrenheit, or two degrees above boiling point.
-
-Such are the evident symptoms of subterranean heat,--hot springs, jets
-of steam, fountains of boiling water,--which are manifested unceasingly
-at the surface of the Earth in every quarter of the Globe. But it is
-sometimes given us to behold, as it were, the subterranean fire itself,
-and to contemplate its power under a more striking and awful form. From
-time to time, in the fury of its rage, the fiery element bursts asunder
-the prison-house in which it is confined, and rushes forth into the
-light of day; then flames are seen to issue from the surface of the
-Earth, yawning chasms begin to appear on every side, the roaring of
-the furnaces is heard in the depths below, clouds of red-hot cinders
-are ejected high into the air, and streams of incandescent liquid rock
-are poured forth from every crevice, which, rolling far away through
-smiling fields and peaceful villages, carry destruction and desolation
-in their track. These are the ordinary phenomena of an active volcano
-during the period of eruption; and even while we write, most of them
-may be witnessed actually taking place for the hundredth time, on the
-historic ground of Mount Vesuvius. Our typical example, however, we
-shall take from the eruption of that mountain in the year 1779. It
-was not, indeed, especially remarkable for its violence or for the
-catastrophes by which it was attended; but it had the good fortune
-to be accurately recorded by an eye-witness, Sir William Hamilton,
-who, at that time, represented the English Government at the Court of
-Naples; and we are thus more minutely acquainted with all its various
-circumstances than with those of any other eruption of equal importance.
-
-For two years before, the mountain had been in a state of excitement
-and disturbance. From time to time rumbling noises were heard
-underground, dense masses of smoke were emitted from the crater, liquid
-lava at a white heat bubbled up from crevices on the slopes of the
-mountain, and through these crevices a glimpse could be had here and
-there of the rocky caverns within, all “red-hot like a heated oven.”
-But in the month of August, 1779, the eruption reached its climax.
-About nine o’clock in the evening of Sunday the eighth, according to
-the graphic description of Sir William Hamilton, “there was a loud
-report, which shook the houses at Portici and its neighborhood to
-such a degree as to alarm the inhabitants and drive them out into
-the streets. Many windows were broken, and, as I have since seen,
-walls cracked, from the concussion of the air from that explosion.
-In one instant, a fountain of liquid transparent fire began to rise,
-and, gradually increasing, arrived at so amazing a height, as to
-strike every one who beheld it with the most awful astonishment. I
-shall scarcely be credited when I assure you that, to the best of my
-judgment, the height of this stupendous column of fire could not be
-less than three times that of Vesuvius itself, which, you know, rises
-perpendicularly near 3,700 feet above the level of the sea. Puffs of
-smoke, as black as can possibly be imagined, succeeded one another
-hastily, and accompanied the red-hot, transparent, and liquid lava,
-interrupting its splendid brightness here and there by patches of
-the darkest hue. Within these puffs of smoke, at the very moment of
-their emission from the crater, I could perceive a bright but pale
-electrical light playing about in zigzag lines. The liquid lava, mixed
-with scoriae and stones, after having mounted, I verily believe, at
-least 10,000 feet, falling perpendicularly on Vesuvius, covered its
-whole cone, and part of that of Somma, and the valley between them. The
-falling matter being nearly as vivid and inflamed as that which was
-continually issuing fresh from the crater, formed with it a complete
-body of fire, which could not be less than two miles and a half in
-breadth, and of the extraordinary height above mentioned, casting a
-heat to the distance of at least six miles around it. The brushwood of
-the mountain of Somma was soon in a flame, which, being of a different
-tint from the deep red of the matter thrown out from the Volcano,
-and from the silvery blue of the electrical fire, still added to the
-contrast of this most extraordinary scene. After the column of fire
-continued in full force for nearly half an hour the eruption ceased at
-once, and Vesuvius remained sullen and silent.”[91]
-
-The existence, then, of intense heat within the Crust of the Earth
-may be regarded as an established fact where-ever an active Volcano
-appears at the surface. Now let us consider for a moment, the very
-extensive scale on which these fiery engines of Nature are distributed
-over the face of the Globe. First, on the great continent of America.
-The whole chain of the Andes--that stupendous ridge of mountains which
-stretches along the western coast of South America, from Tierra del
-Fuego on the south to the isthmus of Panama on the north--is studded
-over with Volcanos, most of which have been seen in active eruption
-within the last 300 years. Passing the narrow isthmus of Panama, this
-line of Volcanos may still be traced through Guatemala to Mexico, and
-thence northward even as far as the mouth of the Columbia River. Here
-is a vast volcanic region extending fully 6,000 miles in length, and
-spreading out its fiery arms, we know not how far, to the right and to
-the left. At Quito, just on the Equator, a branch shoots off toward the
-northeast, and, passing through New Granada and Venezuela, stretches
-away across the West India Islands, taking in St. Vincent, Dominica,
-Guadaloupe, and many others; while, in the opposite direction, it is
-certain that the volcanic action extends westward, far away beneath the
-waters of the Pacific, though we have no definite means of ascertaining
-where its influence ceases to be felt.
-
-Another vast train of active Volcanos is that which skirts the eastern
-and southern coasts of Asia. Commencing on the shores of Northwestern
-America, it passes through the Aleutian Islands to Kamtschatka; then,
-in a sort of undulating curve, it winds its course by the Kurile
-Islands, the Japanese group, the Philippines, and the northeastern
-extremity of the Celebes, to the Moluccas. At this point it divides
-into two branches; one going in a southeasterly direction to New
-Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Friendly Islands, and New Zealand; the
-other pursuing a northwesterly course through Java and Sumatra into the
-Bay of Bengal.
-
-There is a third great line of volcanic fires which has been pretty
-well traced out by modern travellers, extending through China and
-Tartary to the Caucasus; thence over the countries bordering the Black
-Sea to the Grecian Archipelago; then on to Naples, Sicily, the Lipari
-Islands, the southern part of Spain and Portugal, and the Azores.
-Besides these there are numerous groups of Volcanos not apparently
-linked on to any regular volcanic chain, nor reduced as yet by
-scientific men to any general system; Mount Hecla, for instance, in
-Iceland, the Mountains of the Moon in Central Africa, Owhyhee in the
-Sandwich Islands, and many others rising up irregularly from the broad
-waters of the Pacific.
-
-From this brief outline some idea may be formed of the magnificent
-scale on which volcanic agency is developed within the Crust of the
-Earth. It must be remembered, however, that any estimate based upon
-the enumeration we have given, would be, in all probability, far
-below the truth; for we have mentioned those Volcanos only which
-have attracted the notice of scientific men, or which have chanced
-to fall under the observation of travellers. Many others, doubtless,
-must exist in regions not yet explored, and in the profound depths
-of the seas and oceans, which cover nearly two-thirds of the area
-of our planet. Moreover, we have said nothing at all of _extinct_
-Volcanos--such as those of Auvergne in France, and of the Rocky
-Mountains in America--which have not been in active operation within
-historical times; but in which, nevertheless, the hardened streams of
-lava, the volcanic ashes, and the cone-shaped mountains terminating in
-hollow craters, tell the story of eruptions in bygone ages, not less
-clearly than the blackened walls and charred timbers of some stately
-building bear witness to the passing wayfarer of a long extinguished
-conflagration.
-
-We contend, therefore, that the doctrine of intense subterranean heat
-is not a wild conjecture, but is based on a solid groundwork of facts.
-First, there is presumptive evidence. In every deep mine, in every deep
-sinking of whatever kind, the heat of the earth increases rapidly as we
-descend. Hot water comes from great depths, and never cold. Sometimes
-it is boiling: sometimes it has been converted into steam. All this is
-found to be the case universally, whenever an opportunity has occurred
-for making the trial; and it seems to afford a strong presumption that
-if one could go still deeper, the heat would be found yet more intense,
-and would at length be capable of reducing to a liquid state the solid
-materials of which the earth is composed. Next, there is the direct
-testimony of our senses. A channel is opened from the depths below,
-flames are seen, red-hot cinders are cast up, and molten rock is poured
-out over the surface of the Earth in a liquid stream of fire. This
-evidence, however, though direct and conclusive as far as it goes, is
-not universal. It proves that an intense white heat prevails within the
-Crust of the Earth, not everywhere, but at least in those numerous and
-extensive regions where active Volcanos exist. So stands the case, as
-it seems to us, for the doctrine of subterranean heat as far as regards
-the fact of its existence.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER XV._
-
-SUBTERRANEAN HEAT--ITS POWERS ILLUSTRATED BY VOLCANOS.
-
-    _Effects of subterranean heat in the present age of the
-    world--Vast accumulations of solid matter from the eruptions
-    of volcanos--Buried cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum--Curious
-    relics of Roman life--Monte Nuovo--Eruption of Jorullo in the
-    province of Mexico--Sumbawa in the Indian Archipelago--Volcanos
-    of Iceland--Mountain mass of Etna the product of volcanic
-    eruptions--Volcanic islands--In the Atlantic--In the
-    Mediterranean--Santorin in the Grecian Archipelago._
-
-
-Having now sufficiently demonstrated the existence of intense
-subterranean heat, diffused, if not universally, at least very
-generally, beneath the superficial shell of the Earth, we shall next
-proceed to inquire if it is capable of effecting those physical
-changes which are ascribed to it in Geology;--of producing land where
-none before existed, of upheaving the solid Crust of the Earth, of
-driving the ocean from its bed, of dislocating and contorting solid
-masses of rock. The argument is still an appeal to facts. Such effects
-as these have been produced by the agency of internal heat, under
-actual observation, in the present age of the world; and it is not
-unreasonable to attribute to the same cause similar phenomena in ages
-gone by.
-
-We will not run the risk of dissipating the force of this reasoning
-by attempting to expand it. It will be enough for us to state the
-facts: we shall leave it to our readers to estimate for themselves the
-value of the argument. There are three forms, more or less distinct,
-though closely associated, under which the subterranean fires have
-exerted their power in modern times to disturb and modify the Physical
-Geography of the Globe;--(1) the Volcano, (2) the Earthquake, (3) the
-gentle Undulation of the Earth’s Crust. Of these we shall speak in
-order.
-
-In the case of Volcanos, as we have already sufficiently conveyed, the
-hidden furnaces of the Earth find a vent for their surplus energies;
-and when this vent is once established, that is to say, when the active
-Volcano has begun to exist, it seems probable that there is little
-further upheaval, properly so called, of the surface. Nevertheless,
-Volcanos contribute largely to the formation of land by the vast
-accumulation of ashes, mud, and lava, which they vomit forth. The
-destruction of Herculaneum and Pompeii is a case in point. For eight
-days successively, in the year 79, the ashes and pumice stone cast
-up from the crater of Vesuvius, fell down in one unceasing shower
-upon these devoted cities; while at the same time floods of water,
-carrying along the fine dust and light cinders, swept down the sides
-of the mountain in resistless torrents of mud, entering the houses,
-penetrating into every nook and crevice, and filling even the very wine
-jars in the underground cellars.
-
-At the present moment the layers of volcanic matter beneath which
-Pompeii has been slumbering for centuries, are from twelve to fourteen
-feet over the tops of the houses. Loftier still is the pile that
-overlies the buried Herculaneum. This city, situated nearer to the base
-of the Volcano, has been exposed to the effects of many successive
-eruptions; and accordingly, spread out over the mass of ashes and
-pumice by which it was first overwhelmed, in the time of Pliny, we now
-find alternate layers of lava and volcanic mud, together with fresh
-accumulations of ashes, to a height, in many places, of 112 feet, and
-nowhere less than 70. Nor was this ejected matter confined to these two
-populous towns. It was scattered far and wide over the country around,
-and has contributed in no small degree to that extraordinary richness
-and fertility for which the soil of Naples is so justly famed.
-
-As regards the production of land where none before existed, here is
-one fact of singular significance. At the time of the eruption, in 79,
-Pompeii was a seaport town to which merchantmen were wont to resort,
-and a flight of steps, which still remains, led down to the water’s
-edge: it is now more than a mile distant from the coast, and the tract
-of land which intervenes is composed entirely of volcanic tuff and
-ashes.
-
-Gladly would we linger over the reminiscences of these luxurious and
-ill-fated cities. By the removal of the ashes, Pompeii is now laid
-open to view for at least one-third of its extent; and a strange
-sight it is, this ancient Roman city thus risen as it were from the
-grave,--risen, but yet lifeless,--with its silent streets, and its
-tenantless houses, and its empty Forum. Wherever we turn we have before
-us a curious and interesting picture, ghastly though it is, of the
-social, political, and domestic life of those ancient times, of the
-glory and the shame that hung around the last days of Pagan Rome;--in
-the theatres and the temples, in the shops and the private houses, in
-the graceful frescoes, in the elaborate mosaics, and, not least, in
-the idle scribblings on the walls, which, with a sort of whimsical
-reverence, have been spared by the destroying hand of Time. Then again,
-what a host of singular relics are there to be wondered at:--articles
-of domestic use and luxury, kitchen utensils and surgical instruments;
-female skeletons with the ornaments and vanities of the world, rings
-and bracelets and necklaces, still clinging to their charred remains;
-and strangest perhaps of all, eighty-four loaves of bread, which were
-put into the oven to bake 1800 years ago, and were taken out only
-yesterday, with the baker’s brand upon them, and the stamp of the
-baker’s elbow still freshly preserved in the centre of each. No subject
-could be more tempting to a writer, none more attractive to a reader.
-But our present purpose is to show the effects of Volcanos in elevating
-the level of the land; and so we must turn our back on the buried
-cities, and crossing the Bay of Naples, seek for a new illustration in
-the formation of Monte Nuovo, a lofty hill overlooking the ancient town
-of Pozzuoli.
-
-About one o’clock at night, on Sunday, the twenty-ninth of September,
-1538, flames were seen to issue from the ground close to the waters of
-the beautiful bay of Baiae. After a little, a sound like thunder was
-heard, the earth was rent asunder, and through the rent large stones,
-red-hot cinders, volcanic mud and volumes of water, were furiously
-vomited forth, which covered the whole country around, reaching even
-as far as Naples, and disfiguring its palaces and public buildings.
-The next morning it was found that a new mountain had been formed by
-the accumulation of ejected matter around the central opening. This
-mountain remains to the present day, and is called the Monte Nuovo.
-In form it is a regular volcanic cone, four hundred and forty feet
-high, and a mile and a half in circumference at its base, with an open
-crater in the centre, which descends nearly to the level of the sea. An
-eye-witness who has left us a minute account of this eruption, relates
-that on the third day he went up with many people to the top of the new
-hill, and looking down into the crater, saw the stones that had fallen
-to the bottom, “boiling up just as a caldron of water boils on the
-fire.” The same writer informs us--and it is very much to our present
-purpose to note the fact--that immediately before the eruption began,
-the relative position of land and sea was materially changed, the coast
-was sensibly upraised, the waters retired about two hundred paces, and
-multitudes of fish were raised high and dry upon the sand, a prey to
-the inhabitants of Pozzuoli.[92]
-
-The Monte Nuovo is but a type of its class. If we travel westward 8,000
-miles from Naples to the more stupendous Volcanos of the New World,
-we may witness the same phenomena on a still grander scale. In the
-province of Mexico, there is an elevated and extensive plain called
-Malpais, where for many generations the cotton plant, the indigo, and
-the sugar-cane, flourished luxuriantly in a soil richly endowed with
-natural gifts, and carefully cultivated by its industrious inhabitants.
-Everything was going on as usual in this smiling and prosperous region,
-and no one dreamed of danger, when suddenly, in the month of June,
-1759, subterranean sounds were heard, attended with slight convulsions
-of the earth. These symptoms of internal commotion continued until the
-month of September, when they gradually died away, and tranquillity
-seemed to be restored. But it was only the delusive lull that precedes
-the fury of the storm. On the night of the twenty-eighth of September
-the rumbling sounds were heard again more violent than before. The
-inhabitants fled in consternation to a neighboring mountain, from the
-summit of which they looked back with wonder and dismay upon the utter
-annihilation of their homesteads and their farms. Flames broke out
-over an area half a square league in extent, the earth was burst open
-in many places, fragments of burning rock were thrown to prodigious
-heights in the air, torrents of boiling mud flowed over the plain, and
-thousands of little conical hills, called by the natives Hornitos or
-Ovens, rose up from the surface of the land. Finally a vast chasm was
-opened, and such quantities of ashes and fragmentary lava were ejected
-as to raise up six great mountain masses, which continued to increase
-during the five months that the eruption lasted. The least of these is
-300 feet high, and the central one, now called Jorullo, which is still
-burning, is 1600 feet above the level of the plain. When Baron Humboldt
-visited this region just forty years after the eruption had ceased, the
-ground was still intensely hot, and “the Hornitos were pouring forth
-columns of steam twenty or thirty feet high, with a rumbling noise like
-that of a steam boiler.”[93] Since that time, however, the face of the
-country has become once more smiling and prosperous; the slopes of the
-newly-formed hills are now clothed with vegetation, and the sugar-cane
-and the indigo again flourish luxuriantly in the fertile plains below.
-
-On the opposite side of the Globe, 10,000 miles from Mexico, we have
-had, almost in our own time, an exhibition of volcanic phenomena not
-less wonderful than those we have been describing. The island of
-Sumbawa lies about two hundred miles to the east of Java in the Indian
-Archipelago; and it belongs to that remarkable chain of Volcanos which
-we have already described as stretching, with little interruption,
-along the coast of Asia from Russian America to the Bay of Bengal. In
-the year 1815, this island was the scene of a calamitous eruption, the
-effects of which were felt over the whole of the Molucca Islands and
-Java, as well as over a considerable portion of Celebes, Sumatra, and
-Borneo. Indeed, so extraordinary are the incidents of this eruption,
-that we might well hesitate to believe them if they had not been
-collected on the spot with more than ordinary diligence, and recorded
-with an almost scrupulous care. Sir Stamford Raffles, who was at
-the time governor of Java, then a British possession, required all
-the residents in the various districts under his authority to send
-in a statement of the circumstances which occurred within their own
-knowledge; and from the accounts he received in this way, combined with
-other evidence, chiefly obtained from eye-witnesses, he drew up the
-narrative to which we are mainly indebted for the following facts.
-
-The explosions which accompanied this eruption were heard in Sumatra,
-at a distance of 970 geographical miles; and in the opposite direction
-at Ternate, a distance of 720 miles. In the neighborhood of the Volcano
-itself, immense tracts of land were covered with burning lava, towns
-and villages were overwhelmed, all kinds of vegetation completely
-destroyed, and of 12,000 inhabitants in the province of Tomboro,
-only twenty-six survived. The ashes, which were ejected in great
-quantities, were carried like a vast cloud through the air, by the
-southeast monsoon, for 300 miles in the direction of Java; and, still
-farther to the west, we are told that they formed a floating mass in
-the ocean two feet thick and several miles in extent, through which
-ships with difficulty forced their way. It is recorded, too, that they
-fell so thick on the island of Tombock, 100 miles away, as to cover
-all the land two feet deep, destroying every particle of vegetation,
-insomuch that 44,000 people perished of the famine that ensued. “I have
-seen it computed,” writes Sir John Herschel, “that the quantity of
-ashes and lava vomited forth in this awful eruption would have formed
-three mountains the size of Mont Blanc, the highest of the Alps; and
-if spread over the surface of Germany, would have covered the whole
-of it two feet deep.” Finally, it appears that this eruption was
-accompanied, like that of Monte Nuovo, by a permanent change in the
-level of the adjoining coast; in this case, however, it was a movement,
-not of upheaval, but of subsidence: the town of Tomboro sunk beneath
-the ocean, which is now eighteen feet deep where there was dry land
-before.[94]
-
-Once more we will ask our readers to take a rapid flight over the map
-of the world, passing, this time, from the Indian Archipelago to the
-island of Iceland,--that “wonderful land of frost and fire.” Besides
-the famous Volcano of Hecla, there are five others scarcely less
-formidable, all of which have been in active eruption within modern
-times. Of these the most celebrated is that of Skaptar Jokul. In the
-year 1783, this Volcano poured forth two streams of lava, which, when
-hardened, formed together one continuous layer of igneous rock, ninety
-miles in length, a hundred feet in height, and from seven to fifteen
-miles in breadth. The phenomena which accompanied the eruption are
-thus vividly described by Sir John Herschel:--“On the tenth of May
-innumerable fountains of fire were seen shooting up through the ice
-and snow which covered the mountain; and the principal river, called
-the Skapta, after rolling down a flood of foul and poisonous water,
-disappeared. Two days after, a torrent of lava poured down into the bed
-which the river had deserted. The river had run in a ravine 600 feet
-deep and 200 broad. This the lava entirely filled; and not only so,
-but it overflowed the surrounding country, and ran into a great lake,
-from which it instantly expelled the water in an explosion of steam.
-When the lake was fairly filled, the lava again overflowed and divided
-into two streams, one of which covered some ancient lava fields; the
-other re-entered the bed of the Skapta lower down, and presented the
-astounding sight of a cataract of liquid fire pouring over what was
-formerly the waterfall of Stapafoss. This was the greatest eruption on
-record in Europe. It lasted in its violence till the end of August,
-and closed with a violent earthquake; but for nearly the whole year a
-canopy of cinder-laden cloud hung over the island: the Faroe Islands,
-nay, even Shetland and the Orkneys, were deluged with ashes; and
-volcanic dust and a preternatural smoke which obscured the sun, covered
-all Europe as far as the Alps, over which it could not rise. The
-destruction of life in Iceland was frightful: 9,000 men, 11,000 cattle,
-28,000 horses, and 190,000 sheep perished; mostly by suffocation. The
-lava ejected has been computed to amount in volume to more than twenty
-cubic miles.”[95]
-
-With these very significant facts before us, it is hard to resist the
-conclusion that the great mountain mass of Etna, 11,000 feet high and
-ninety miles in circumference, is formed entirely of volcanic matter
-ejected during successive eruptions. For the whole mountain is nothing
-else than a series of concentric conical layers of ashes and lava, such
-as have been poured out more than once upon its existing surface in
-modern times. Just, then, as Monte Nuovo was produced by an outburst
-of volcanic power in a single night, and the far larger mountain of
-Jorullo in the course of a few months, so may we believe that the more
-stupendous Etna is the work of the same power operating through a
-period of many centuries. And applying this conclusion to many other
-mountains throughout the world of exactly the same structure, we come
-to form no very mean estimate of the permanent changes wrought on the
-physical geography of our Globe by the operations of volcanic agency.
-
-We must remember, too, that volcanic eruptions are not confined to the
-land; they often break out in the bed of the sea. In such cases the
-waters are observed in a state of violent commotion, jets of steam and
-sulphurous vapor are emitted, light scoriaceous matter appears floating
-on the surface, and not unfrequently the volcanic cone itself slowly
-rises from the depths below, and continues to grow from day to day,
-until at length it becomes an island of no inconsiderable magnitude.
-Sometimes when the violence of the eruption has subsided, the new
-island, consisting chiefly of ashes and pumice-stone, is gradually
-washed away by the action of the waves; but in the other cases, these
-lighter substances are compacted together by the injection of liquid
-lava, and being thus able to withstand the erosive power of the ocean,
-assume the importance of permanent volcanic islands. Many examples of
-the former kind are recorded within the last hundred years. In 1783 an
-island was thrown up in the North Atlantic Ocean, about thirty miles to
-the southwest of Iceland. It was claimed by the King of Denmark, and
-called by him Nyöe or New Island; but before a year had elapsed, this
-portion of his Majesty’s dominion disappeared again beneath the waves,
-and the sea resumed its ancient domain. A cone-shaped island of the
-same kind, called Sabrina, three hundred feet high, with a crater in
-the centre, appeared amongst the Azores in 1811, but was quickly washed
-away again.
-
-A more interesting example, because the circumstances are more minutely
-recorded, is the island which made its appearance in the Mediterranean,
-off the southwest coast of Sicily, in the year 1831. During its brief
-existence of three months, it received from contemporary writers seven
-different names; but the name of Graham Island seems to be the one by
-which it is most likely to be known to posterity. “About the tenth
-of July,” writes Sir Charles Lyell, “John Corrao, the captain of a
-Sicilian vessel, reported that, as he passed near the place, he saw a
-column of water like a waterspout, sixty feet high, and eight hundred
-yards in circumference, rising from the sea, and soon afterward a
-dense steam in its place, which ascended to the height of 1800 feet.
-The same Corrao, on his return from Girgenti, on the eighteenth of
-July, found a small island, twelve feet high, with a crater in the
-centre, ejecting volcanic matter and immense columns of vapor; the sea
-around being covered with floating cinders and dead fish. The scoriae
-were of a chocolate color, and the water, which boiled in the circular
-basin, was of a dingy red. The eruption continued with great violence
-to the end of the same month, at which time the island was visited by
-several persons, and amongst others by Captain Swinburne, R. N., and M.
-Hoffman, the Prussian Geologist.”[96] By the fourth of August the new
-island is said to have attained a height of 200 feet, and to have been
-three miles in circumference. Yet this was nothing more than the top of
-the volcanic cone; for, a few years before, Captain W. H. Smyth, in his
-survey, had found a depth of 600 feet at this very spot; and therefore
-the total height from the base of the mountain must have been 800
-feet. From the beginning of August it began to melt away; and at the
-commencement of the following year, nothing remained of Graham Island
-but a dangerous shoal.
-
-But even of the islands that occupy a prominent place on the map of
-the world, there is not wanting evidence to show that a large number
-derive their origin from the action of volcanic power. Among these may
-be mentioned many of the Molucca and Philippine groups, also several
-in the Grecian Archipelago, and not a few of the Azores and the
-Canaries,--in particular the lofty peak of Teneriffe, rising 12,000
-feet above the level of the sea. In some cases, indeed, the actual
-process of their birth, and of their subsequent growth and development,
-has been minutely observed. A remarkable example occurs among the
-Aleutian Islands already referred to. In the year 1796 a column of
-smoke was seen to issue from the sea; then a small black point appeared
-at the surface of the water; then flames broke out, and other volcanic
-phenomena were exhibited; then the small black point grew into an
-island, and the island increased in size until it was at last several
-thousand feet high, and two or three miles in circumference. And such
-it remains to the present day.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 28.--Bird’s-eye view of Santorin during the
-volcanic eruption of February, 1866. (Lyell.)
-
-  _a._ Therasia.
-  _b._ The northern entrance, 1068 feet deep.
-  _c._ Thera.
-  _d._ Mount St. Elias, rising 1887 feet above the sea.
-  _e._ Aspronisi.
-  _f._ Little Kaimeni.
-  _g._ New Kaimeni.
-  _h._ Old Kaimeni.
-  _i._ Aphroessa.
-  _k._ George.]
-
-The neighborhood of Santorin in the Grecian Archipelago has been noted
-from very remote times as the theatre of submarine eruptions. This
-island, which is itself to all appearance the crater of a vast volcano,
-has the form of a crescent, and, with the aid of two smaller islands
-which stretch across between the horns of the crescent, encloses an
-almost circular bay. We learn from Pliny that in the year 186 before
-Christ, within this bay an island rose up which was called Hiera or
-the Sacred island. It was twice enlarged during the Christian era, once
-in 726, and again in 1427, and still exists under the name of Palaia
-Kaimeni, that is to say, the Old Burnt Island. In 1573 a second island
-made its appearance, and received the name of the Little Burnt Island,
-Mikra Kaimeni. In 1707 and 1709, a third island was thrown up, and was
-distinguished from the other two as Nea Kaimeni, the New Burnt Island.
-Lastly, in 1866 the hidden volcanic power again became active, and
-two new vents were formed, called respectively Aphroessa and George.
-“At the end of January,” writes Sir Charles Lyell, “the sea had been
-observed in a state of ebullition off the southwest coast, and part
-of the Channel between New and Old Kaimeni, marked seventy fathoms
-in the Admiralty chart, had become, on February the eleventh, only
-twelve fathoms deep. According to M. Julius Schmidt, a gradual rising
-of the bottom went on until a small island made its appearance called
-afterward Aphroessa. It seems to have consisted of lava pressed upward
-and outward almost imperceptibly by steam, which was escaping at every
-pore through the hissing scoriaceous crust. ‘It could be seen,’ says
-Commander Lindesay Brine, R. N., ‘through the fissures in the cone
-that the rocks within were red hot, but it was not till later that an
-eruption began.’ On February the eleventh the village of Vulcano on the
-southeast coast, where there had been a partial sinking of the ground,
-was in great part overwhelmed by the materials cast out from a new vent
-which opened in that neighborhood, and to which the name of George was
-given, which finally, according to Schmidt, became about two hundred
-feet high.
-
-“Commander Brine having ascended on February the twenty-eighth, 1866,
-to the top of the crater of Nea Kaimeni, about three hundred and fifty
-feet high, looked down upon the new vent then in full activity. The
-whole of the cone was swaying with an undulating motion to the right
-and left, and appeared sometimes to swell to nearly double its size and
-height, to throw out ridges like mountain spurs, till at last a broad
-chasm appeared across the top of the cone, accompanied by a tremendous
-roar of steam and the shooting up from the new crater, to the height of
-from fifty to a hundred feet, of tons of rock and ash mixed with smoke
-and steam. Some of these which fell on Mikra Kaimeni, at a distance of
-six hundred yards from the crater, measured thirty cubic feet. This
-effort over, the ridges slowly subsided, the cone lowered and closed
-in, and then, after a few minutes of comparative silence, the struggle
-would begin again with precisely similar sounds, action, and result.
-Threads of vapor escaping from the old crater of Nea Kaimeni proved
-that there was a subterranean connection between the new and the old
-vents. Aphroessa, of which the cone was at length raised to a height
-of more than sixty feet, was united in August with the main island.
-This was due in part at least to the upheaval of the bottom of the sea,
-which is now only seven fathoms deep in the channel dividing the New
-and Old Kaimenis, whereas in the Admiralty chart the soundings gave a
-hundred fathoms.”[97]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER XVI._
-
-SUBTERRANEAN HEAT--ITS POWERS ILLUSTRATED BY EARTHQUAKES.
-
-    _Earthquakes and volcanos proceed from the same common
-    cause--Recent earthquakes in New Zealand--Vast tracts of
-    land permanently upraised--Earthquakes of Chili in the
-    present century--Crust of the Earth elevated--Earthquake of
-    Cutch in India, 1819--Remarkable instance of subsidence and
-    upheaval--Earthquake of Calabria, 1783--Earthquake of Lisbon,
-    1755--Great destruction of life and property--Earthquake
-    of Peru, August, 1868--General scene of ruin and
-    devastation--Great sea wave--A ship with all her crew carried a
-    quarter of a mile inland--Frequency of earthquakes._
-
-
-The chief effect of volcanic eruptions on the Geological structure of
-our Globe consists in the accumulation of cinders and molten rock,
-either upon the Surface of the Earth, or in the crevices and caverns
-that abound within its solid Crust. Sometimes, indeed, the operations
-of an active Volcano are accompanied by a movement of upheaval or
-of subsidence. Thus for instance, we have seen that a portion of
-the Italian coast was elevated when Monte Nuovo was thrown up, that
-the town of Tomboro was submerged on the occasion of the eruption
-of Sumbawa, and that the bottom of the sea was notably upheaved by
-the last outbreak of the volcanic fires of Santorini. Nevertheless
-it appears to be generally the case that when the Crust of the
-Earth is once burst open, and a means of escape thus afforded to
-the fiery agent below,--in other words, when the active volcano is
-established,--the process of upheaval gives place to that of eruption.
-But when, as is often the case, no such safety-valve is offered to the
-surplus energies of the subterranean fires, then the giant power of
-heat, in its struggle to escape, shakes the foundation of the hills,
-and uplifts the superincumbent mass of solid rocks.
-
-This theory which ascribes the phenomena of Earthquakes and Volcanos
-to the same common cause, acting under different circumstances, is
-now almost universally adopted by Geologists; and it may be briefly
-enforced by the following considerations. First, though Earthquakes
-have sometimes occurred far away from any known volcanic region,
-yet they are more frequent in the neighborhood of active or extinct
-Volcanos. Secondly, almost all volcanic eruptions are preceded by
-Earthquakes; and the Earthquakes generally cease, or, at least become
-less violent, when the subterranean fire breaks out in the form of a
-Volcano. And, Thirdly, it is plain that the condensed steam which is
-generated by internal heat, and the expansive power of the heat itself,
-must, of necessity, when pent up in the caverns of the Earth, tend to
-produce those very phenomena by which Earthquakes are distinguished.
-
-Let it be observed, however, that while we explain the phenomena in
-question by the agency of subterranean heat, this doctrine is by no
-means necessary for the main purpose of our present argument. Whatever
-may be the cause from which the Earthquake shock proceeds, it is
-enough for us to show that the Crust of the Earth has been from time
-to time upraised, and dislocated, and rent asunder in modern times,
-just as it is supposed in Geological theory, to have been upraised, and
-dislocated, and rent asunder from time to time in by-gone ages. We will
-set down a few out of the many examples observed and recorded during
-the last hundred and twenty years.
-
-When the English colonists settled in New Zealand, about fifty years
-ago, they were told by the natives that they might expect a great
-Earthquake every seven years. This alarming prediction has not been
-literally fulfilled; but it is fully admitted that the total number of
-such disturbances within the last half century has not fallen short of
-what it should have been according to the above estimate. During the
-years 1826 and 1827 several shocks were felt in the neighborhood of
-Cook Strait, after which it was observed that the sea-shore had been
-uplifted on the north side of Dusky Bay. So transformed was the outline
-of the coast that its former features could no longer be recognized;
-and a small cove called the Jail, which had previously afforded a
-commodious harbor to vessels, engaged in seal fishing, was completely
-dried up.
-
-But the most memorable convulsion took place on the night of January
-the twenty-third, 1855. A tract of land, about as large as Yorkshire,
-on the southwest coast of the North Island, was permanently upraised
-from one to nine feet. The harbor of Port Nicholson, together with
-the valley of the Hutt, was elevated four to five feet; and a sunken
-rock, regarded before as dangerous to navigators, has remained since
-the Earthquake three feet above the level of the water. The shock was
-felt by ships at sea a hundred and fifty miles from the coast; and it
-is estimated that the whole area affected was not less than three times
-the extent of the British Islands.
-
-The whole coast of Chili has been subject to great disturbances and
-changes of level during the present century. In November, 1837, the
-town of Valdivia was destroyed by an Earthquake, and at the same
-moment, a whaling vessel, a short distance out at sea, was violently
-shaken, and lost her masts. The bottom of the sea was afterward
-found to have been raised in some places more than eight feet; and
-several rocks appeared high above the water which had previously
-been covered at all times by the sea. Two years before, in 1835, the
-town of Conception and several others were reduced to ruins by a like
-visitation. After the first great convulsion the Earth remained for
-many days in a state of commotion. More than three hundred lesser
-shocks were counted from the twentieth of February to the fourth of
-March. On this occasion, too, the bed of the sea was upheaved; and the
-whole island of Santa Maria, seven miles in length, was lifted up from
-eight to ten feet above its former level.
-
-The Earthquake of 1822 was more violent, perhaps, and more striking in
-its effects, than either of those just mentioned. On the nineteenth of
-November in that year a sudden convulsive shock was simultaneously felt
-over a space 1200 miles in length. At Valparaiso, and on either side
-for a considerable distance, the coast was permanently upheaved. When
-Mrs. Graham, who was then living on the spot, and who has left us an
-account of the Earthquake, went down to the shore on the following day,
-she “found the ancient bed of the sea laid bare and dry, with beds of
-oysters, mussels, and other shells adhering to the rocks on which they
-grew, the fish being all dead, and exhaling most offensive effluvia.”
-Some idea may be formed of the gigantic power here in operation, when
-it is remembered that to uplift the coast of Chili, it was necessary
-to move the mighty chain of the Andes, and, amongst the rest, the
-colossal mass of Aconcagua, 24,000 feet in height. How far this process
-of upheaval extended out to sea, beneath the bed of the ocean, has not
-been accurately ascertained: but certain it is that, for a considerable
-distance, the soundings were found to be shallower than before the
-Earthquake. It is roughly estimated that the Crust of the Earth was
-elevated over an extent of 100,000 square miles, or about half the area
-of France.
-
-On the western coast of India, near the mouth of the river Indus, is
-the well-known district of Cutch. In the month of June, 1819, this
-extensive territory, not less than half the size of Ireland, was
-violently shaken by an Earthquake, several hundred people were killed,
-and many towns and villages were laid in ruins. The shocks continued
-for some days, and ceased only when the outburst of a Volcano seemed to
-open a vent for the troubled spirit within. But what is particularly
-worthy of note is that when the Earthquake had passed away, a permanent
-change was found to have been effected in the level of the surrounding
-country. The town and fort of Sindree, situated on the eastern arm of
-the Indus, together with a tract of land 2,000 square miles in extent,
-were submerged beneath the waters. The principal buildings, however,
-still remained standing, with their upper parts above the surface; and
-many of the inhabitants, who had taken refuge in one of the towers
-attached to the fort, were saved in boats when the Earthquake had
-ceased. On the other hand, within five miles and a half of this very
-spot, the level surface of the Earth was upheaved, so as to form a long
-elevated bank, fifty miles in length and sixteen in breadth, which
-has been called the Ullah Bund, or the Mound of God. Nine years after
-this event, Sir Alexander Burnes went out in a boat to the ruins of
-Sindree, and standing on the summit of the tower, which still rose two
-or three feet above the surface of the water, he could see nothing
-around him but a wide expanse of sea, save where a blue streak of land
-on the edge of the horizon marked the outline of the Ullah Bund. Here
-was a striking illustration, on a small scale, of those changes which
-Geologists suppose to have been going on since the world first began;
-the dry land had been converted into the bed of the sea, and the level
-plain had been elevated into a mountain ridge.
-
-Toward the close of the last century the province of Calabria, in
-Southern Italy, was the scene of an Earthquake which offers a very
-apposite illustration of our present argument. This celebrated
-convulsion is not, however, chiefly remarkable for its violence, or
-for its duration, or for the extent of the territory moved. In all
-these respects it has been surpassed by many Earthquakes, experienced
-in other countries, within the last hundred and fifty years. But the
-Calabrian Earthquake has an especial claim on our attention, mainly
-from this unusual circumstance, that the region of disturbance was
-visited, as Sir Charles Lyell tells us, “both during and after the
-convulsions, by men possessing sufficient leisure, zeal, and scientific
-information, to enable them to collect and describe with accuracy such
-physical facts as throw light on geological questions.”
-
-The shocks were first felt in February, 1783, and continued for nearly
-four years. Over a very considerable area of country all the common
-landmarks were removed, large tracts of land were forced bodily down
-the slopes of mountains; and vineyards, orchards, and cornfields were
-transported from one site to another; insomuch that disputes afterward
-arose as to who was the rightful owner of the property that had thus
-shifted its position. Two farms near Mileto, occupying an extent of
-country a mile long and half a mile broad, were actually removed for
-a mile down the valley; and “a thatched cottage, together with large
-olive and mulberry trees, most of which remained erect, was carried
-uninjured to this extraordinary distance.” In other places the surface
-of the Earth heaved like the billows of a troubled sea; many houses
-were lifted up above the common level, while others subsided below it.
-Again and again the solid Crust of the Earth was rent asunder, and
-chasms, gorges, ravines, of various depths, were suddenly produced,
-in less time than it takes to tell it. Sometimes when the strain was
-removed, the yawning gulf as quickly closed again, and then houses,
-cattle, and men were swallowed up in the abyss, leaving not a trace
-behind. It has even been recorded--strange though it may seem--that
-when two shocks rapidly followed one another at the same spot, the
-people engulphed by the first, were again cast forth by the second,
-being literally disgorged alive from the jaws of death. About 40,000
-persons perished in this dreadful visitation, the greater number being
-crushed to death beneath the ruins of the towns and villages, others
-swallowed up in the yawning fissures as they fled across the open
-country, and others again burned in the conflagrations which almost
-always followed the shocks of Earthquake.
-
-Everyone has heard of the famous Earthquake of Lisbon. It is chiefly
-memorable for the extreme suddenness of the shock, for the immense
-extent of the area affected, and for the amount of havoc and
-destruction done. On the morning of the fatal day--it was the first
-of November, 1755--the sun rose bright and cheerful over the devoted
-city, no symptom of impending danger was visible in the sky above or
-on the Earth below, and the gay-hearted people were pursuing their
-accustomed rounds of pleasure or business, when, suddenly, at twenty
-minutes before ten o’clock, a sound like thunder was heard underground,
-the Earth was violently shaken, and in another moment, the greater part
-of the city was lying in ruins. Within the brief space of six minutes,
-60,000 people were crushed to death. The mountains in the vicinity
-of the town were cleft asunder. The waters of the sea first retired
-from the land, and then rolled back in a huge mountain-like wave fifty
-feet above the level of the highest tide. A new quay, built entirely
-of marble, had offered a temporary place of refuge to the terrified
-inhabitants as they fled from the tumbling ruins of the city. Three
-thousand people are said to have been collected upon it, when, all
-at once, it sunk beneath the waves, and not a fragment of the solid
-masonry, not a vestige of its living freight, was ever seen again. The
-bottom of the sea where the quay then stood is now a hundred fathoms
-deep.
-
-From Lisbon as a centre the shock of this Earthquake radiated over an
-area not less than four times the extent of Europe. Like a great wave
-it rolled northward, at the rate of twenty miles a minute, upheaving
-the Earth as it moved along, to the coasts of the Baltic Sea and the
-German Ocean. The waters of Loch Lomond, in Scotland, were violently
-disturbed from beneath, and at Kinsale, in Ireland, the sea rushed
-impetuously into the harbor without a breath of wind, and mounting over
-the quay, flooded the market-place. Eastward the convulsion was felt as
-far as the Alps, and westward it extended to the West India Islands,
-and even to the great lakes of Canada. On the north coast of Africa the
-disturbance was as violent as in Spain and Portugal; and it is recorded
-that at a distance of eight leagues from Morocco, the earth opened and
-swallowed up a considerable town with its inhabitants, to the number of
-eight or ten thousand people.
-
-Even on the high seas the shock was felt no less distinctly than on
-dry land. “Off St. Lucar,” says Sir Charles Lyell, “the captain of the
-ship Nancy felt his vessel so violently shaken, that he thought she
-had struck the ground, but, on heaving the lead, found a great depth
-of water. Captain Clark, from Denia, in latitude 36° 24´ N., between
-nine and ten in the morning, had his ship shaken and strained as if she
-had struck upon a rock, so that the seams of the deck opened, and the
-compass was overturned in the binnacle. Another ship, forty leagues
-west of St. Vincent, experienced so violent a concussion, that the men
-were thrown a foot and a half perpendicularly up from the deck.” It
-is worthy of note that this, the most destructive Earthquake recorded
-in history, was not attended with any volcanic eruption; which goes
-to confirm our theory that the active Volcano serves as a kind of
-safety-valve for the escape of the struggling powers confined within
-the Crust of the Earth.[98]
-
-We must not bring our notice of Earthquakes to an end without at least
-some brief account of one which has startled the world even since we
-began to put together the materials of this Volume. On the Western
-Coast of South America there is a long, narrow strip of land, lying
-between the lofty crests of the Andes and the shores of the Pacific
-Ocean, which from the earliest times has been the familiar home of
-Earthquakes. Toward evening on the thirteenth of August, 1868, this
-fated region was the scene of a convulsion the most appalling and
-destructive that has been recorded within the present century. The
-disturbance was felt in its extreme violence for a distance of 1500
-miles along the coast; from Ibarra one degree north of the Equator
-to Iquique more than twenty degrees south. In ten minutes from the
-first shock, 20,000 people perished, and a vast amount of property,
-roughly estimated at sixty millions sterling, was utterly destroyed.
-Many thriving towns--Iquique, Mexillones, Pisagua, Arica, Ylo, Chala,
-and others--were levelled to the ground. Even the very ruins were not
-spared. The sea rushed in when the Earthquake shock had ceased, and
-carried everything before it in one universal wreck: so that in some
-cases not a vestige remained behind to tell the dismayed survivors
-where their homesteads once had stood. It might be fancied perhaps
-that the cities seated aloft in the security of the Eternal Hills were
-beyond the reach of the convulsion that shook the plain below. But no:
-Arequipa, far up on the slopes of the western Cordillera, and Pasco,
-the highest city in the world, situated on a level with the snowy
-summit of the Jungfrau, were shattered into fragments with the same
-violence as the cities of the coast.
-
-The various incidents recorded by the survivors are full of fearful
-interest. At Iquique, according to one account, about five o’clock in
-the evening of the thirteenth of August, a rumbling noise was heard,
-then the earth shook violently for some minutes, then the sea, with
-a great moan, retired from the shore, and rearing itself up into a
-tremendous wave, rushed back upon the land and swept away the town.
-“I saw,” says one writer, “the whole surface of the sea rise as if a
-mountain side, actually standing up. Another shock, accompanied with
-a fearful roar, now took place. I called to my companions to run for
-their lives on to the Pampa. Too late! With a horrid crash the sea was
-on us, and at one sweep--one terrible sweep--dashed what was Iquique on
-to the Pampa. I lost my companions, and in an instant was fighting with
-the dark water. The mighty wave surged and roared and leaped. The cries
-of human beings and animals were dreadful. A mass of wreck covered me
-and kept me down, and I was fast drowning when the sea threw me on to
-a beam, but a nail piercing my coat, the timber rolled me again under,
-and I lost all sense. I suppose, as in all such cases, I must have
-struggled after sensation had left me, for when returning consciousness
-came I was grasping under one arm a large plank. Looking round, all was
-wreck and desolation. In a moment I was by a returning wave swept into
-the bay, and meeting a mass of broken timber, I was struck a fearful
-blow on the chin, and the broken end of the plank passed through my
-thigh. I knew no more until I found myself on the Pampa, and all dark
-around me. I was without trousers, coat, shoes, or hat. Trying to
-collect myself, I thought of another wave, and crawled away to the
-mountain side, scooped a hole in the ground, and got in; here, wet and
-shivering, I spent the night. My wound bled freely. In the morning
-I looked out and found Iquique gone, all but a few houses round the
-church.”
-
-A good deal of shipping was lying in the bay of Arica. When the waters
-first receded the vessels were all carried out to sea, chains, cables,
-and anchors snapping asunder like packthread. A moment, afterward they
-were borne back irresistibly by the returning wave, and dashed to
-pieces on the coast. One more fortunate than the rest, the Wateree, a
-vessel of war belonging to the United States Government, was caught up
-on the crest of the wave, and with the loss of only one man, was landed
-high and dry among the sand-hills a quarter of a mile from the shore.
-
-Before the Earthquake, Arequipa was a prosperous town of 30,000
-inhabitants. It enjoyed a considerable trade, and, in importance as
-well as size, it was regarded as the third city of Peru, being inferior
-only to Lima and Cuzco. The houses were constructed with especial
-regard to security against the shock of Earthquakes. They were but
-one story high, built of solid stone, and massive to an extraordinary
-degree. But these precautions, though the fruit of long experience,
-were all of no avail. At Sunset on the fatal thirteenth of August the
-populous and thriving city of Arequipa was little better than a heap of
-ruins. “Not a church is left standing,” writes an eye-witness, “not a
-house habitable. The shock commenced at twenty minutes past five in the
-afternoon, and lasted six or seven minutes. The houses being solidly
-built and of one story, resisted for one minute, which gave the people
-time to rush into the middle of the streets, so that the mortality,
-although considerable, is not so great as might have been expected. If
-the Earthquake had occurred at night, few indeed would have been left
-to tell the story. As it is, the prisoners in the public prison, and
-the sick in the hospital, have perished. The Earthquake commenced with
-an undulating movement, and as the shock culminated, no one could keep
-his feet: the houses rocked as a ship in the trough of the sea, and
-came crumbling down. The shrieks of the women, the crash of falling
-masonry, the upheaving of the earth, and the clouds of blinding dust,
-made up a scene that cannot be described. We had nineteen minor shocks
-the same night, and the earth still continues in motion. Nothing has as
-yet been done toward disinterring the dead; but I do not think any are
-buried alive, as certain death must have been the fate of all those who
-were not able to get into the street. The earth has opened in all the
-plains around, and water has appeared in various places.”[99]
-
-These are a few typical examples of the more violent convulsions by
-which the Crust of the Earth has been disturbed within little more
-than a century; and they leave no doubt as to the kind of changes
-which may fairly be ascribed to similar agency in the past history of
-the Globe. Nor must it be supposed that, because our examples are few
-in number, the Earthquake is itself a rare and exceptional event. On
-the contrary, the state of partial disturbance and convulsion would
-seem to be the natural and ordinary condition of our planet. From the
-interesting Catalogue drawn up by Mr. Mallet, it appears that, in our
-own times, the number of Earthquakes actually observed and recorded
-is, on an average, not less than from two to three every week. Now
-this catalogue cannot represent more than one-third of the Globe: for
-the disturbances which take place in the profound depths of the ocean
-must for the most part escape observation, and many parts even of the
-inhabited Earth are still beyond the reach of scientific researches.
-It is, therefore, quite a reasonable speculation of Sir Charles
-Lyell, that “scarcely a day passes without one or more shocks being
-experienced in some part of the Globe.”
-
-Moreover, in Mr. Mallet’s Catalogue no account is taken of those minor
-vibrations or tremblings of the Earth’s Crust, which are not attended
-by any striking or noteworthy event. And yet such phenomena, when
-often repeated, may produce a very important change of level, and
-are far more frequent than most persons would be likely to suppose.
-In our quiet region of the Globe people are too apt to take for
-granted the general stability of the Earth: but in other countries
-the inhabitants, warned by long experience, are no less deeply
-impressed with a conviction of its instability. Sir John Herschel says
-that, in the volcanic regions of Central and Southern America, “the
-inhabitants no more think of counting Earthquake shocks, than we do of
-counting showers of rain:” nay, he adds that, “in some places along
-the coast a shower is a greater variety.” And in Sicily, we are told
-they make provision against movements of the Earth’s Crust, just as
-we make provision against lightning and storms; so much so that it
-is quite a common thing for architects to advertise their houses as
-Earth-quake-proof.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER XVII._
-
-SUBTERRANEAN HEAT--ITS POWERS ILLUSTRATED BY UNDULATIONS OF THE EARTH’S
-CRUST.
-
-    _Gentle movements of the Earth’s Crust within historic
-    times--Roman roads and temples submerged in the bay of
-    Baiæ--Temple of Jupiter Serapis--Singular condition
-    of its columns--Proof of subsidence and subsequent
-    upheaval--Indications of a second subsidence now
-    actually taking place--Gradual upheaval of the coast of
-    Sweden--Summary of the evidence adduced to establish this
-    fact--Subsidence of the Earth’s Crust on the west coast of
-    Greenland--Recapitulation._
-
-
-SO far we have spoken of the disturbance of the Earth’s Crust in
-modern times by sudden and violent convulsions. But there are many
-phenomena with which the Geologist is familiar, that cannot be fairly
-accounted for unless by supposing that the surface of the Earth was
-often elevated and depressed in ancient times, without any sudden
-shock, by a slow and almost insensible movement. And, accordingly,
-gentle undulations of this kind enter largely into that general theory
-of Geology which we have been attempting to draw out and illustrate.
-It may be asked, therefore, if we are able to support this part of our
-system by examples of similar phenomena occurring within the period
-of history. In reply, we shall endeavor to set forth, as briefly as
-we can, some of the evidence which has recently come to light on
-this subject, and which seems to us not less conclusive than it is
-interesting and unexpected.
-
-In the bay of Baiæ, to the west of Naples, two ancient Roman roads may
-be distinctly traced, at the present day, for a considerable distance,
-permanently submerged beneath the waters. There are, also, in the same
-neighborhood, the ruins of the temple of Neptune and of the temple of
-the Nymphs, both likewise submerged. “The columns of the former edifice
-stand erect in five feet of water, the upper portions just rising
-to the surface;[100] the pedestals are supposed to be buried in the
-mud below.” Again, on the opposite side of Naples, near Sorrento, “a
-road with fragments of Roman buildings, is covered to some depth by
-the sea;”[101] and in the island of Capri, at the opening of the bay
-of Naples, one of the palaces of Tiberius is also under water. Here,
-therefore, it is clear that the Crust of the Earth has subsided over
-a very considerable area; since what is now the bed of the sea, was
-in the days of the Romans dry land, traversed by roads, and dotted
-over with buildings. That the subsidence was slow and gradual may be
-inferred, partly from the absence of any record or tradition of a
-sudden convulsion producing such a change, and partly, too, from the
-unshaken and undisturbed condition of the monuments themselves.
-
-But while this conclusion falls in most happily with our present
-argument, it would seem on further examination to bring with it a very
-serious difficulty. For, while those ancient monuments testify that
-the Crust of the Earth in this locality has _subsided_, the structure
-of the sea-coast, interpreted according to Geological principles,
-would indicate, on the contrary, that the Crust of the Earth has
-been _upheaved_. Close to the sea, at the present day, on the bay of
-Baiæ, there is a low, level tract of fertile land, and at a little
-distance inland, a lofty range of precipitous cliffs, eighty feet high,
-parallel to the line of the coast. This fertile tract, lying between
-the sea-beach and the perpendicular cliffs, is about twenty feet
-above the sea level, and is composed of regularly stratified deposits
-abounding in marine shells of recent species, together with works of
-human art, such as tiles, squares of mosaic pavement, fragments of
-bricks, and sculptured ornaments. Upon these facts a Geologist would
-pronounce without hesitation:--First, that at some period since the
-district around Naples was first inhabited by man, the waters of the
-sea washed the base of the perpendicular cliffs; secondly, that the
-strata in which we now find the recent marine shells, and the remains
-of man’s workmanship, were formed during that period by the process
-of deposition at the bottom of the sea; and thirdly, that at some
-subsequent time, by an upheaval of the Earth’s Crust, these strata were
-lifted up so as to form a pretty considerable area of dry land, fit for
-agriculture and the arts of life.
-
-Does it not seem, therefore, that we have here a direct contradiction
-between the evidence of ancient Roman buildings and the inferences of
-modern Geology? Doubtless, they both agree in the main point about
-which we are concerned just now, that the Crust of the Earth has
-been moved in recent times on the shores of the bay of Naples; but
-according to the testimony of the Roman temples, now covered by water,
-this movement has been one of _subsidence_, while, according to the
-inferences of Geological theory, it has been one of _upheaval_. This
-apparent contradiction seems to call for some elucidation.
-
-If we were left in this matter to mere conjecture, we might offer
-the following hypothesis as a fair and reasonable solution. We might
-suppose that since the days of the Roman Empire, there have been _two
-successive movements_ of the Earth’s Crust in the neighborhood of
-Naples; first, a movement of subsidence, by which the ancient temples
-and roads were submerged to a considerable depth beneath the sea;
-afterward, a movement of upheaval, by which the marine strata were
-lifted up. If this second movement were exactly equal to the first,
-it is plain that the ancient roads and buildings would have been just
-restored to their former level. But let us suppose that the amount of
-upheaval was something less than the amount of previous subsidence,
-and we should have these roads and buildings still submerged, as they
-are in point of fact, in a few feet of water. By such an hypothesis,
-therefore, the two classes of phenomena might be brought into perfect
-harmony.
-
-But we are not obliged to take refuge in hypothesis: for it is now
-distinctly proved by a very curious kind of evidence, that the Crust of
-the Earth in and about the bay of Baiæ, has been successively depressed
-and upraised since the third century of the Christian era; nay more,
-that the subsidence in the first case was greater than the subsequent
-upheaval. Near Pozzuoli, on the level tract of land which, as we
-have said, intervenes between the sea and the lofty range of inland
-cliffs, are to be seen at the present day the ruins of a splendid
-Roman edifice, usually called the temple of Jupiter Serapis, though,
-according to some writers, it was not a temple at all, but a public
-establishment for baths. These ruins first attracted attention about
-the middle of the last century. Three magnificent marble columns were
-still standing erect, with their lower parts buried in the stratified
-deposits already described, and their upper portions, which projected
-above the surface of the land, partly concealed by bushes. When the
-soil was removed the original plan of the building could be distinctly
-traced. “It was of a quadrangular form, seventy feet in diameter, and
-the roof had been supported by forty-six noble columns, twenty-four
-of granite and the rest of marble.” Many of the pillars have been
-shattered in the course of time, and lie strewn in fragments on the
-pavements. The three which are still standing erect, are upward of
-forty feet in height, each carved out of a solid block of marble; and,
-what is chiefly to our purpose, they exhibit, curiously inscribed on
-their surface, memorials of the physical changes in which they have
-borne a part.
-
-The base of these lofty columns is, at present, slightly below the
-level of the sea. Their outer surface is smooth for about twelve
-feet above the pedestals; then, for the next nine feet the marble is
-everywhere bored by a well-known species of mussel, which it is certain
-can live only in the sea. Above this band of perforations the pillars
-again present a smooth surface, and continue smooth to the top. The
-first inference from these facts is, that the columns in question
-must have been at one time submerged to a height of twenty-one feet
-above the pedestals; otherwise they could not have been bored at that
-height by a species of animal that can only exist in sea-water. Since
-that time, therefore, the land at this spot must have been upraised
-twenty-one feet. Furthermore, the temple of Jupiter was certainly not
-built at the bottom of the sea, but upon dry land; therefore, after
-the temple had been built, the Crust of the Earth must have subsided
-at least twenty-one feet. Once more: as the floor of the temple is now
-somewhat below the level of the sea, and as it is not very likely it
-was at first so built, we may fairly infer that it is now lower than it
-originally stood; and consequently, that the total amount of upheaval
-has not been equal to the total amount of subsidence. Though we cannot
-fix the exact date at which the subsidence began, it was probably not
-earlier than the third century; for in the atrium of the temple is an
-inscription recording that it was adorned with precious marbles by the
-emperor Septimus Severus.
-
-It cannot be supposed for a moment that these changes were effected
-by a rise and fall in the level of the sea rather than by a movement
-of the Earth’s Crust. A permanent change in the level of the
-Mediterranean, in any given locality, would, of necessity, imply a
-change of level over its entire extent; and therefore, if the phenomena
-exhibited in the bay of Baiæ arose from such a cause, we should meet
-with phenomena of the same kind along the whole length of the Italian
-coast. Now, in point of fact, no such changes of level are elsewhere
-apparent; and consequently, they must be ascribed in the bay of Baiæ,
-not to an upward and downward movement of the sea, but to an upward and
-downward movement of the land.
-
-We must not omit to state, before leaving the subject, that it is now
-ascertained, by a series of accurate observations, that the Crust
-of the Earth in this interesting locality is once again slowly and
-gradually subsiding. At the beginning of the century the platform of
-the temple stood at about the level of the sea; it is now more than
-a foot below it. Nay, this second subsidence appears to have begun
-even before the present century. “In the year 1813,” writes a modern
-traveller, “I resided for four months in the Capuchin convent of
-Pozzuoli, which is situated between the road from Naples and the sea,
-at the entrance of the town of Pozzuoli. In the Capuchin convents
-the oldest friar is called ‘il molto reverende,’ and the one who
-then enjoyed the title in this convent was ninety-three years old.
-He informed me that, when he was a young man, the road from Naples
-passed on the _seaward side_ of the convent; but that, from the
-gradual sinking of the soil, the road was obliged to be altered to
-its present course. While I was staying at the convent, the refectory
-as well as the entrance gate, were from six inches to a foot under
-water whenever strong westerly winds prevailed, so as to cause the
-waters of the Mediterranean to rise. Thirty years previously, my old
-informant stated, such an occurrence never took place. In fact, it is
-not probable that the builder of the convent would have placed the
-ground-floor so low as to expose to inundation as it now is.”[102]
-
-On the shores of the Baltic Sea we find another illustration of
-our theory upon a more extended scale. About a century and a half
-ago the Swedish naturalist, Celsius, expressed a belief that a
-remarkable change of level was taking place along the eastern coast
-of Scandinavia; and he ascribed the change to a subsidence of the
-waters of the Baltic Sea. This opinion was received at first with
-no small amount of incredulity; but the arguments of Celsius were
-plausible and attractive enough to excite a controversy, and the
-controversy once aroused was not easily set at rest. Accordingly,
-since his time the facts upon which he relied have been more strictly
-examined, difficulties have been started and investigated, many new
-facts, at first unknown or unnoticed, have been brought to light, and
-the whole question has been rigorously discussed by scientific men.
-It would be tedious to go through the history of the discussion, or
-to develop at any length the arguments which in the end have proved
-successful, involving as they do a multitude of minute observations and
-nice measurements, made at a great variety of different places with
-hard-sounding names. But the general result may be readily stated and
-as readily understood.
-
-It appears that numerous sunken reefs, well known to navigators, have,
-within the last two centuries, become visible above water; that many
-ancient ports have become inland towns; that many small islands have
-become united to one another and to the mainland by grassy plains;
-that rocky points which in former times just peeped above the water,
-and afforded refuge only to a solitary sea-bird, are now grown into
-little islets; and that several of the old fishing grounds are now
-deserted for their shallowness, nay, in some cases, altogether dried
-up. From these facts the inference is plain; either the solid Crust of
-the Earth has been uplifted, or the waters of the sea have subsided.
-Now it is certain there has been no subsidence of the sea; for such
-a subsidence, as we before observed, if it took place at all, should
-have been general; whereas there are many points on the shores of the
-Baltic, especially along the coasts of Denmark and Prussia, where it
-can be proved that no change of level has taken place for centuries.
-And therefore the phenomena above described we must attribute to an
-upheaval of the Earth’s Crust.[103]
-
-Such is the kind of reasoning with which this inquiry has been pursued;
-and it may now be set down as a received and established fact, that a
-slow and gradual process of upheaval is going on, at the present day,
-on the shores of the Baltic Sea, at the rate of from two to four feet
-in a century; and this is over an area of unknown breadth, and not less
-than 1000 miles in length. Evidence of a similar kind has lately been
-adduced to prove that the west coast of Greenland is just now gradually
-subsiding for a space of more than 600 miles from north to south.
-“Ancient buildings on low, rocky islands, and on the shore of the
-mainland, have been gradually submerged, and experience has taught the
-aboriginal Greenlander never to build his hut near the water’s edge.
-In one case the Moravian settlers have been obliged more than once to
-move the poles upon which their large boats were set, and the old poles
-still remain beneath the water as silent witnesses of the change.”[104]
-
-It should seem, therefore, that the Crust of the Earth is not that
-fixed and immovable mass of unyielding rock which it is often supposed
-to be. Whatever the gigantic power is which lies shut up within it,
-and which seems, clearly enough, to be developed in some way or
-another--perhaps in many ways at once--from internal heat, that power
-exercises a mighty influence from age to age on the outward form of
-our planet. Like the wind, indeed, it bloweth where it listeth, and
-we cannot tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth; but we can hear
-the sound thereof, and witness its effects when it breaks out now in
-this quarter of the world, and now in that, bursting open the massive
-rocks, and furiously vomiting forth whole mountains of smouldering
-ashes and molten mineral; or again, when, failing to find a vent, it
-shakes the foundations of the hills, and shivers into fragments the
-most enduring works of man--castles, temples, palaces,--filling every
-heart with terror and dismay; or, in fine, when it gently upheaves the
-bottom of the ocean, or by withdrawing the strain, allows the Crust of
-the Earth to subside, with a movement so gradual and insensible as to
-escape the notice of the multitudes who are toiling in the busy cities
-on its Surface. That phenomena of this kind have been going on in all
-past ages, is now universally assumed in the speculations of Geology:
-that they are going on in the present age, we have here endeavored to
-prove by the evidence of facts. If we have succeeded according to our
-expectations, the reader will be prepared to admit that, on this point
-at least, it is not the Geologist who may fairly be charged with having
-recourse to the inventions of his fancy, but rather those who, assuming
-as a first principle that Geology is false, perseveringly shut their
-eyes to the physical changes that are going on around them.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-PART II.
-
-THE ANTIQUITY OF THE EARTH CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO THE HISTORY OF
-GENESIS.
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER XVIII._
-
-STATEMENT OF THE QUESTION AND EXPOSITION OF THE AUTHORS VIEW.
-
-    _The general principles of geological theory accepted by the
-    author--These principles plainly import the extreme antiquity
-    of the earth--Illustration from the coal, the chalk, and the
-    boulder clay--This conclusion not at variance with the inspired
-    history of creation--Chronology of the Bible--Genealogies of
-    Genesis--Date of the creation not fixed by Moses--Progress of
-    opinion on this point--Cardinal Wiseman, Father Perrone, Father
-    Pianciani--Doctor Buckland--Doctor Chalmers, Doctor Pye Smith,
-    Hugh Miller--Author’s view explained--Charge of rashness and
-    irreverence answered--Admonitions of Saint Augustine and Saint
-    Thomas._
-
-
-The reader has now before him a general outline of Geological theory,
-together with some familiar illustrations of the evidence by which it
-is supported. We shall not attempt to enforce this evidence by any
-remarks of our own. Indeed it is of a kind that can derive but little
-aid from the arts of logic or rhetoric. It needs but to be fairly
-understood, and if it does not altogether compel our assent, it begets
-at least a presumption so strong as to leave little room for doubt or
-hesitation.
-
-Nobody, so far as we know, has ever hesitated to believe that the
-Round Towers of Ireland are the work of human hands. And yet if some
-incredulous skeptic were to raise the cry against this common opinion,
-were to argue that it is a mere hypothesis, and call for proof, we
-should be embarrassed how to answer him. We could only say that these
-monuments have all the characteristic marks of man’s handiwork;
-and that buildings of this kind have never been known to come into
-existence except through the agency of Man. But should our vexatious
-skeptic contend that they were possibly produced by a freak of Nature;
-or that they were built in the beginning by the Creator of the World,
-who certainly might have made them had He been so minded, we should
-think him very unreasonable, and probably not feel much disposed to
-prolong the discussion. In like manner the theory of Geology which we
-are defending, cannot be established by a rigid demonstration; but we
-believe there is not one man of sense and judgment, who, being fully
-master of the evidence on which it rests, hesitates to accept that
-theory, at least in its more general outlines. No doubt many able and
-eminent men are to be found arrayed against Geology; but it would
-be easy to show from their writings that they have never thoroughly
-examined the facts about which they talk so flippantly, and which they
-often set aside so lightly.
-
-For ourselves, therefore, we frankly avow that while we attach
-but little importance to the mere conjectures and speculations of
-Geological writers; while we look with doubt and suspicion on many
-plausible theories commonly enough adopted at the present day; and
-while we consider that the discoveries of modern times, wonderful
-though they are, have given rise to far more problems than they are
-yet able to solve; yet we do fully assent to those general principles
-which we have been attempting to develop and to illustrate in this
-Volume. Absolutely metaphysical certainty we have not; but we have a
-firm and rational conviction. We feel quite satisfied that the great
-Creator of the Universe did not bring suddenly into existence the
-withered remains and broken fragments of animals which had never lived;
-that He did not stamp upon the massive rocks, buried in the profound
-recesses of the earth, the impress of a luxuriant vegetation which had
-never flourished; that He did not, in short, create under millions of
-forms, the delusive appearances of things which had never been, and
-scatter them through this world of ours in wild profusion, well knowing
-that after many centuries they would come to light to bewilder human
-reason, and to lead it into error. This conclusion, of course, we are
-prepared to abandon if it should be found to clash with any certain
-truth or with any demonstrated fact. But, in the mean lime, it seems
-to us as well grounded and as fairly established as the conclusions
-we are accustomed to accept without hesitation in the matter of other
-sciences, and in the common business of life.
-
-It is argued, however, that Geological theory is, in fact, at variance
-with the very highest order of truth; with that truth which comes to
-us on the authority of God Himself. The Bible tells us that the world
-first came into existence about six or eight thousand years ago:
-Geology, on the contrary, tells us that six or eight thousand years are
-but as yesterday in the history of the revolutions through which our
-Globe has passed. This is the argument to which we are now about to
-address ourselves; and it well deserves our best attention, not only
-from its intrinsic importance, but also from the interesting nature of
-the discussion to which it has given rise.
-
-In the first place, we fully admit that the extreme Antiquity of the
-Earth is a necessary consequence of our theory. Setting out from the
-present stage of the world’s existence, Geology carries us back from
-epoch to epoch, through a long succession of ages, each extending over
-many thousand years, until the mind is lost in the seeming infinity of
-the past. It may be asked, perhaps, in what way Geology can testify to
-the great length of each successive period in the history of the Globe.
-A familiar example will furnish the most convenient reply to such a
-question.
-
-Let the reader call to mind what we have already explained about the
-origin and formation of Coal; and then let him examine the structure
-of the Carboniferous Rocks. In the great Coal-fields of Wales, for
-instance, he will find, in a depth of 12,000 feet, from fifty to
-a hundred distinct beds of coals, spread out one above another,
-with intervening strata of clay several feet thick. Now each one of
-these beds represents an ancient forest which must have grown up
-and flourished and decayed; or else an immense and varied mass of
-Drift-wood, transported from a distance by the action of moving water,
-and deposited near the mouth of some great river. In either case a
-considerable lapse of time would have been necessary for such an
-accumulation of vegetable matter as would furnish the elements even of
-a single seam of Coal. And, when that period came to an end, only one
-little stage in the long series had been accomplished: one stratum of a
-few feet had been laid down in that great Formation which was to reach
-at length a height of more than two miles. A new condition of things
-then ensued. This layer of vegetable matter, sunk below the waters, was
-gradually covered over with a thick deposit of clay, which, in course
-of time, was to emerge, and become dry land, and give birth to a second
-forest, destined in its turn to wither and decay. Or, at least, when
-the stratum of clay had been deposited, it was to be overlaid, in some
-way or another, with a second layer of vegetable matter sufficient
-for the production of a second bed of coal. And so this process must
-have gone on, doubtless with many and long interruptions, for a hundred
-times in succession.
-
-Then it must be remembered that the Coal-bearing strata represent
-but one of many periods, and that not the longest in the Geological
-Calendar. Before the age of the Coal, England was for centuries at the
-bottom of the sea, while the Old Red Sandstone was slowly spread out
-over its existing surface. And after the age of the Coal, England was
-again submerged, and gigantic Ichthyosaurs with their companions of the
-deep, sported in the waters that rolled over her plains and covered
-the tops of her mountains; and, when they had run their course, left
-their remains buried in the clays of Oxfordshire and Warwickshire and
-Dorsetshire.
-
-Furthermore, the beds in which these monstrous reptiles are entombed
-were overlaid by a stratum of calcareous ooze, now forming a solid
-mass of Chalk Rock, often a thousand feet in thickness. This Chalk,
-as we have seen, is nothing else than a vast accumulation of shells,
-so minute that millions of them would fit together on the blade of a
-small pen-knife, and hundreds of millions are carried about by every
-carpenter in his waistcoat pocket. How many generations of animalcules
-it took to pile up such an immense thickness of rock, by the action of
-their vital powers, and how many ages were consumed in the process it
-is beyond the reach of science to calculate, almost beyond the power
-of imagination to conceive. And yet the Chalk itself was followed by
-the various Formations of the Tertiary Age; while the last of these is
-separated by the Drift and Boulder Clay from the superficial deposits
-which correspond with the period of history, and which go by the name
-of Recent.
-
-This topic has been illustrated in a lively and striking manner by
-Professor Huxley, in a Lecture delivered not long ago before the
-working-men of Norwich. “At Cromer,” he says, “one of the most
-charming spots on the coast of Norfolk, you will see the Boulder Clay
-forming a vast mass, which lies upon the Chalk, and must consequently
-have come into existence after it. Huge boulders of chalk are, in fact,
-included in the clay, and have evidently been brought to the position
-they now occupy by the same agency as that which has planted blocks of
-syenite from Norway side by side with them.
-
-“The Chalk, then, is certainly older than the Boulder Clay. If you ask
-how much, I will again take you no further than the same spot upon
-your own coasts for evidence. I have spoken of the Boulder Clay and
-Drift as resting upon the Chalk. That is not strictly true. Interposed
-between the Chalk and the Drift is a comparatively insignificant layer,
-containing vegetable matter. But that layer tells a wonderful history.
-It is full of stumps of trees standing as they grew. Fir-trees are
-there with their cones, and hazel-bushes with their nuts; there stand
-the stools of oak and yew trees, beeches and alders. Hence this stratum
-is appropriately called the Forest-bed.
-
-“It is obvious that the Chalk must have been upheaved and converted
-into dry land before the timber trees could grow upon it. As the trunks
-of some of these trees are from two to three feet in diameter, it is no
-less clear that the dry land thus formed remained in the same condition
-for long ages. And not only do the remains of stately oaks and
-well-grown firs testify to the duration of this condition of things,
-but additional evidence to the same effect is afforded by the abundant
-remains of elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, and other great
-wild beasts, which it has yielded to the zealous search of such men as
-the Reverend Mr. Gunn.
-
-“When you look at such a collection as he has formed, and bethink
-you that these elephantine bones did veritably carry their owners
-about, and these great grinders crunch in the dark woods of which the
-Forest-bed is now the only trace, it is impossible not to feel that
-they are as good evidence of the lapse of time as the annual rings of
-the tree-stumps.
-
-“Thus there is a writing upon the wall of cliffs at Cromer, and whoso
-runs may read it. It tells us with an authority which cannot be
-impeached, that the ancient bed of the Chalk sea was raised up and
-remained dry land until it was covered with forest, stocked with the
-great game whose spoils have rejoiced your Geologists. How long it
-remained in that condition cannot be said; but the ‘whirligig of time
-brought its revenges’ in those days as in these. That dry land, with
-the bones and teeth of generations of long-lived elephants hidden away
-among the gnarled roots and dry leaves of its ancient trees, sank
-gradually to the bottom of the icy sea, which covered it with huge
-masses of Drift and Boulder Clay. Sea-beasts, such as the walrus,
-now restricted to the extreme north, paddled about where birds had
-twittered among the topmost twigs of the fir-trees. How long this state
-of things endured we know not, but at length it came to an end. The
-upheaved glacial mud hardened into the soil of modern Norfolk. Forests
-grew once more, the wolf and the beaver replaced the reindeer and the
-elephant; and at length what we called the history of England, dawned.
-
-“Thus evidence which cannot be rebutted, and which need not be
-strengthened, though, if time permitted, I might indefinitely increase
-its quantity, compels you to believe that the Earth from the time of
-the Chalk to the present day, has been the theatre of a series of
-changes as vast in their amount as they were slow in their progress.
-The area on which we stand has been first sea and then land for at
-least four alternations, and has remained in each of these conditions
-for a period of great length.
-
-“Nor have these wonderful metamorphoses of the sea into land, and of
-land into sea, been confined to one corner of England. During the Chalk
-Period not one of the present great physical features of the Globe was
-in existence. Our great mountain ranges, Pyrenees, Alps, Himalayas,
-Andes, have all been upheaved since the Chalk was deposited, and the
-Cretaceous sea flowed over the sites of Sinai and Ararat.
-
-“All this is certain, because rocks of Cretaceous or still later
-date have shared in the elevatory movements which gave rise to these
-mountain chains, and may be found perched up, in some cases, many
-thousand feet high upon their flanks. And evidence of equal cogency
-demonstrates that, though in Norfolk the Forest-bed rests directly upon
-the Chalk, yet it does so, not because the period at which the forest
-grew immediately followed that at which the Chalk was formed, but
-because an immense lapse of time, represented elsewhere by thousands of
-feet of rock, is not indicated at Cromer.
-
-“I must ask you to believe that there is no less conclusive proof that
-a still more prolonged succession of similar changes occurred before
-the Chalk was deposited. Nor have we any reason to think that the first
-term in the series of these changes is known. The oldest sea-beds
-preserved to us are sands and mud and pebbles, the wear and tear of
-rocks which were formed in still older oceans.”[105]
-
-It is needless to pursue this subject further, or to seek for other
-illustrations. We may reject Geology if we will: but if we put any
-faith even in its main principles, we must believe that the Crust of
-the Earth has passed through an indefinite series of revolutions,
-during which the Stratified Rocks were slowly built up by the action of
-natural causes. And it would be utterly ridiculous to suppose that the
-history of these revolutions can be compressed into the narrow compass
-of six thousand years.
-
-Turning now to the other side of the question, we maintain that this
-extreme Antiquity of the Earth, which we have learned from Geology,
-is perfectly consistent with the historical narrative of the Bible.
-The Bible, indeed, does fix the Chronology of the Human Race at a
-comparatively recent period; but as for the Chronology of the World
-itself, the Bible simply tells us that, “In the beginning God created
-the Heavens and the Earth.” For all that appears to the contrary, this
-Earth of ours may have been in existence for millions of years before
-man was introduced upon the scene; and during that time may have been
-peopled with those countless tribes of plants and animals which play
-so important a part in the records of Geology. This view, which is not
-only fully tolerated by the Church, but now largely supported by her
-Divines and Commentators, we hope to bring home clearly to our readers
-in the following pages; and thus to satisfy them that, as regards
-the Antiquity of the Earth, the discoveries of Geology can offer no
-prejudice to our religious belief.
-
-At the outset it is of some importance to understand clearly the
-nature of that system of Chronology which is gathered from the Bible.
-Nowhere in the Sacred Text is the age of the human race explicitly set
-forth. But various data are found scattered here and there through
-the historical narrative, which afford us sufficient materials to
-compute the years that elapsed from the Creation of Adam to the Birth
-of Christ. Unfortunately, however, these data are in some respects
-obscure, and in some respects uncertain. And thus it has come to pass
-that many different systems of Chronology have come into vogue, even
-amongst those who profess to be guided entirely by the authority of the
-Bible.
-
-The whole period may be conveniently divided into two parts;--from the
-Creation of Adam to the Call of Abraham; and from the call of Abraham
-to the Birth of Christ. As regards the latter interval, the difference
-of opinion between Chronologists is not very substantial; the length
-of the period may be roughly set down at about 2,000 years. But in the
-computation of the former interval a very wide difference prevails,
-arising from a diversity of reading in the earliest versions of the
-Pentateuch.
-
-The materials for the computation are derived from two genealogical
-lists, one extending from Adam to Noah,[106] the other from Noah to
-Abraham.[107] In these lists we have not only the direct line of
-descent from father to son, extending through the whole period in
-question, but, moreover, we have the age of each individual member of
-the genealogy at the time when the next in succession was born. As,
-for example:--“Adam lived _a hundred and thirty years, and begot a
-son_ to his own image and likeness, and called his name Seth. And the
-days of Adam, after he had begot Seth, were eight hundred years: and
-he begot sons and daughters. And all the time that Adam lived came to
-nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. Seth also lived _a hundred
-and five years, and begot Enos_. And Seth lived, after he begot Enos,
-eight hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. And all
-the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died. And
-Enos lived _ninety years, and begot Cainan:_”[108] and so on. Now it
-is plain, according to this statement, that from the Creation of Adam
-to the birth of Seth was a hundred and thirty years; to the birth of
-Enos, a hundred and thirty, more a hundred and five years; to the
-birth of Cainan, a hundred and thirty, more a hundred and five, more
-ninety years. And in this way, following the genealogies of the Book
-of Genesis, we may easily compute the time from the Creation of Adam
-to the Birth of Abraham. Adding seventy-five years to this period, we
-reach the epoch known as the Call of Abraham; for we are told that
-“Abraham was seventy and five years old when he went forth from
-Haran.”[109]
-
-Now every one knows that when a long catalogue of names and numbers is
-copied and recopied from age to age, errors are very likely to creep in
-and be perpetuated. And so it has been in the present case. The three
-earliest versions of the Pentateuch are the Hebrew, the Samaritan, and
-the Septuagint: and between these three versions there is a very great
-discrepancy with regard to the figures in question; so great, indeed,
-as to make up, on the whole, a difference of 1500 years, or more, in
-the age of the human race. In the table that appears on the following
-page, for which we are mainly indebted to the work of a modern
-writer,[110] this diversity of reading is set forth in a very simple
-and intelligible form.
-
-It is plain that of these three different versions, one only can
-represent the true age of the human race when Abraham went forth, at
-the command of God, from his country and his kindred and his father’s
-house, to go into the land of Canaan: and at this distance of time,
-it is impossible to determine with anything like certainty, which of
-the three has the greatest claim on our acceptance. The Church has not
-pronounced upon the subject; and the question is freely discussed among
-Biblical scholars. But the details of this controversy have little to
-do with our present argument. Enough it is for us to know that, from
-the Creation of Adam to the Birth of Christ, cannot have been more than
-six thousand years at the highest computation, nor much less than four
-thousand at the lowest. Adding 1869 years of the Christian Era, the
-present age of the Human Race according to the data of the Bible would
-seem to lie between six and eight thousand years.
-
-
-GENEALOGIES OF GENESIS.
-
-  LIST OF                             AGE OF EACH WHEN THE NEXT
-  PATRIARCHS.                                WAS BORN.
-
-                                             ACCORDING TO
-                                     Septuagint. Hebrew. Samaritan.
-
-  Adam,                                 230        130     130
-  Seth,                                 205        105     105
-  Enos,                                 190         90      90
-  Cainan,                               170         70      70
-  Malaleel,                             165         65      65
-  Jared,                                162        162      62
-  Henoch,                               165         65      65
-  Mathusala,                            167        187      67
-  Lamech,                               188        182      53
-  Noe,                                  500        500     500
-  Sem,                                  100        100     100
-  From the creation of Adam to the   } ----       ----    ----
-  birth of Arphaxad, two years after } 2242       1656    1307
-  the Flood,[111]                    } ----       ----    ----
-  Arphaxad,                             135         35     135
-  Cainan,[112]                          130         --      --
-  Sale,                                 130         30     130
-  Heber,                                134         34     134
-  Phaleg,                               130         30     130
-  Reu,                                  132         32     132
-  Sarug,                                130         30     130
-  Nachor,                                79         29      79
-  Thare,                                 70         70      70
-  Abraham called by God,                 75         75      75
-                                       ----       ----    ----
-  From the Flood to the Call of }      1145        365    1015
-  Abraham,                      }      ----       ----    ----
-  From the Creation of Adam to  }
-  the Call of Abraham,          }      3387       2021    2322
-
-The Bible, then, does determine, though with some vagueness and
-uncertainty, the age of the Human Race. We have now to consider
-whether, in fixing the age of the Human Race, it fixes likewise the age
-of the World itself. For this purpose we must turn our attention to the
-first chapter of Genesis, in which is briefly set forth the origin and
-early history of our Globe from the Creation of the Heavens and the
-Earth in the beginning to the Creation of Man at the close of the Sixth
-Day. If it should appear that these two events were comprised within a
-very narrow limit of time, as is not unfrequently supposed, then indeed
-the age of the world must agree pretty nearly with the age of the Human
-Race. But if on the other hand, between these two events the Sacred
-Record allows us to suppose an interval of indefinite length, then it
-plainly follows that the age of the Human Race, as set forth in the
-Bible Genealogies, can afford no evidence against the Antiquity of the
-Earth. The question is thus brought within very narrow limits. We have
-simply to take up the First Chapter of Genesis, and inquire whether or
-no it is there conveyed that the Creation of Man, which is described
-toward the close of the chapter, followed after the lapse of only a few
-days upon the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth, which is recorded
-in the first verse.
-
-For many centuries this question received but little attention from
-the readers of the Bible. It was commonly assumed that, as the various
-events of the Creation are traced out in rapid succession by the
-Inspired Writer, and strung together into one continuous narrative, so
-did they follow one another, in reality, with a corresponding rapidity,
-and in the same unbroken continuity. The progress of Physical Science
-had not yet shown any necessity for supposing a lengthened period of
-time to have elapsed between the Creation of the World and the Creation
-of Man: nor was there anything in the narrative itself to suggest such
-an idea. Thus it was generally taken for granted, almost without
-discussion, that when God had created the Heavens and the Earth in the
-beginning, He _at once_ set about the work of arranging and furnishing
-the universe, and fitting it up for the use of man; that He distributed
-this work over a period of six ordinary days, and at the close of the
-sixth day, introduced our First Parents upon the scene: and that,
-therefore, the beginning of the Human Race was but six days later than
-the beginning of the World.
-
-These notions about the history of the Creation continued to prevail
-almost down to our own time. It is to be observed, however, that they
-were not founded on a close and scientific examination of the Sacred
-Text. The hypothesis of a long and eventful state of existence prior to
-the Creation of Man may be said rather to have been overlooked, than
-to have been rejected, by our Commentators. There was no good reasons
-for entertaining such a speculation, and so they said nothing about
-it. But now that the world is ringing with the wonderful discoveries
-of Geology, which seem to point more and more clearly every day to
-the extreme Antiquity of the Earth, it becomes an imperative duty to
-examine once again with all diligence and care the Inspired narrative
-of the Creation, and to consider well the relation in which it stands
-with this new dogma of Physical Science.
-
-We are not the first to enter upon the inquiry. Already it has engaged
-the attention and stimulated the industry of Theological writers
-for more than half a century. Many eminent men, distinguished alike
-for their extensive acquirements and for their religious zeal, have
-protested warmly against the opinion of Geologists, concerning the
-Antiquity of the Earth, as one that cannot be reconciled with the
-historical accuracy of the Bible. But, on the other hand, there are
-writers no less illustrious, and no less sincerely attached to the
-cause of religion, who contend that there is nothing in the Sacred
-Text to exclude the supposition of a long and indefinite interval--an
-interval if necessary of many millions of years--between the first
-creation of matter and the creation of man. Thirty years ago this
-opinion was defended by Cardinal Wiseman with great learning, and
-with great felicity of illustration, in his famous Lectures on the
-Connection between Science and Revealed Religion. The eminent Roman
-Jesuit, Father Perrone, has followed the same line of argument in his
-Prælectiones Theologicæ, which, as every one knows, has long since
-become a classic work in schools of Theology. It has been yet more
-fully discussed, and supported by more elaborate reasoning, in a work
-entitled Cosmogonia Naturale Comparata col Genesi, lately published in
-Rome at the press of the Civiltà Cattolica, by another distinguished
-Jesuit, John Baptist Pianciani. Amongst Protestant writers, too, this
-view of the Mosaic narrative has found no inconsiderable number of able
-advocates. It is defended by Doctor Buckland, the eminent Geologist,
-in his celebrated Bridgewater Treatise, by Doctor Chalmers in his
-Evidences of the Christian Revelation, by Doctor Pye Smith in his
-dissertations on Geology and Scripture, by the eloquent and original
-Hugh Miller in his interesting work on the Testimony of the Rocks; and
-by a host of others scarcely less distinguished than these.
-
-But these learned writers are not altogether of one accord as to the
-precise point in the First Chapter of Genesis, at which we may suppose
-a long interval of time to have intervened. Some, with Doctor Buckland,
-Doctor Pye Smith, and Doctor Chalmers, consider that this interval may
-best be introduced between the beginning of all time, when God created
-the Heavens and the Earth, and the beginning of the First Day, when
-He set about preparing the world as a dwelling-place for man. Sacred
-Scripture, they say, simply records these two events, (1) that “In
-the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth,” and (2) that,
-at some subsequent time, “God said: Let there be light: and light
-was made.” But Sacred Scripture does not tell us what length of time
-elapsed between these two great acts of Divine Omnipotence. For aught
-we know from Revelation, it may have been but a single day, or it may
-have been a million of years. Others again, as for instance Pianciani,
-prefer to suppose that each one of the Six Days may have been itself a
-period of indefinite, nay of almost inconceivable duration. So that,
-between the beginning of the world and the creation of man six great
-ages of the Earth’s history may have rolled by, each one distinguished
-by a new manifestation of God’s power, and the introduction of new
-forms of life. These writers even fancy that they can discover a close
-analogy between the successive acts of creation recorded in Genesis,
-and the gradual development of organic life exhibited in the great
-Epochs of Geology.
-
-To us it seems that either one or the other of these two systems, or
-both together, may be fairly admitted without any undue violence to the
-text of the Inspired narrative: and this, we would observe in passing,
-is the opinion to which Cardinal Wiseman appears to have inclined,
-thirty years ago, in his Lectures on the Connection between Science and
-Religion. We maintain, then, in the first place, that there is nothing
-in the Mosaic narrative, when carefully examined, at variance with the
-hypothesis of an indefinite interval between the creation of the world
-and the work of the Six Days. And, in the second place, we contend that
-it is quite consistent with the usage of Sacred Scripture to explain
-these Days of Creation as long periods of time.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-It may appear, perhaps, to some of our readers that this is dangerous
-ground on which we are about to venture. They may have been accustomed
-all their lives to view the history of Creation through the medium
-of those notions that commonly prevailed before the discoveries of
-Geology: and from the influence of long association they may have
-come, in the end, to regard their own interpretation with scarcely less
-veneration than the Inspired Text itself. Such persons will naturally
-be disposed to look upon our undertaking with disfavor and suspicion.
-They will think us guilty of irreverence toward Holy Scripture when
-we seek to modify our views about its meaning, in deference to the
-conclusions of Physical Science; and they may be tempted even to charge
-us with putting the idle interpretations of men into the balance
-against the Inspired Word of God.
-
-To this line of objection we would answer, that we cannot be guilty of
-irreverence to the Holy Scripture, when we are only striving, with due
-submission to the authority of the Church, to discover the true meaning
-of an obscure and difficult passage, on which the Church has pronounced
-no definite judgment. Nor can we be said to make light of the Word
-of God, when we are but attempting to defend its unerring veracity
-from the assaults of infidel writers. Furthermore we would add, that,
-if it is a dangerous thing to modify the received interpretation of
-certain parts of Scripture, when the progress of science enables us to
-see physical phenomena under a new light, it is a far more dangerous
-thing to persist in imputing to Scripture a doctrine that, in a very
-short time, may be proved to be false, beyond the possibility of
-contradiction.
-
-These sentiments are not altogether our own. They have come to us, in
-great part, from an illustrious Doctor of the Church; and we are glad,
-at this early stage of our discussion, to be able to shelter our humble
-efforts under the authority of his venerable name. It is now more than
-fourteen centuries and a half since Saint Augustine set about the
-literal interpretation of Genesis, which he accomplished in a Treatise
-of twelve books. Toward the close of the first book he expatiates at
-some length on the difficulty of his undertaking, and on the variety of
-diverse interpretations, which prevailed even in his time. From this
-he takes occasion to warn his readers that, “if we find anything in
-Divine Scripture that may be variously explained without any injury to
-faith, we should not rush headlong by positive assertion either to one
-opinion or the other; lest, if perchance the opinion we have adopted
-should afterward turn out to be false, our faith should fall with it;
-and we should be found contending, not so much for the doctrine of the
-Sacred Scriptures as for our own; endeavoring to make our doctrine
-to be that of the Scriptures, instead of taking the doctrine of the
-Scriptures to be ours.”[113] And a little further on he again exposes
-the imprudence of such a proceeding, in words that cannot but be
-considered peculiarly applicable to our present subject:--
-
-“It often happens that one who is not a Christian hath some knowledge
-derived from the clearest arguments or from the evidence of his senses
-about the earth, about the heavens, about the other elements of this
-world, about the movements and revolutions, or about the size and
-distances of the stars, about certain eclipses of the sun and moon,
-about the course of the years and the seasons, about the nature of
-animals, plants, and minerals, and about other things of a like kind.
-Now it is an unseemly and mischievous thing, and greatly to be avoided,
-that a Christian man speaking on such matters, as if according to the
-authority of Christian Scripture, should talk so foolishly that the
-unbeliever, on hearing him, and observing the extravagance of his
-error, should hardly be able to refrain from laughing. And the great
-mischief is, not so much that the man himself is laughed at for his
-errors, but that our authors are believed by people without the Church
-to have taught such things, and so are condemned as unlearned, and
-cast aside, to the great loss of those for whose salvation we are so
-much concerned. For, when they find one belonging to the Christian
-body falling into error on a subject with which they themselves are
-thoroughly conversant, and when they see him, moreover, enforcing
-his groundless opinion by the authority of our Sacred Books, how are
-they likely to put trust in these Books about the resurrection of the
-dead, and the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, having
-already come to regard them as fallacious about those things they had
-themselves learned from observation or from unquestionable evidence?
-And, indeed, it were not easy to tell what trouble and sorrow some
-rash and presumptuous men bring upon their prudent brethren, who, when
-they are charged with a perverse and false opinion by those who do
-not accept the authority of our Books, attempt to put forward these
-same Holy Books in defence of that which they have lightly and falsely
-asserted; sometimes even quoting from memory what they think will suit
-their purpose, and putting forth many words, without well understanding
-either what they say, or what they are talking about.”[114]
-
-And many ages after, Saint Thomas, the great luminary of the schools,
-appeals to this wise admonition of Saint Augustine, and applies it
-to the circumstances of his own times. Writing about the work of
-the Second Day, he says that “in questions of this sort there are
-two things to be observed. First, that the truth of Scripture be
-inviolably maintained. Secondly, since Scripture doth admit of diverse
-interpretations, that we must not cling to any particular exposition
-with such pertinacity, that if what we supposed to be the teaching of
-Scripture should afterward turn out to be clearly false, we should
-nevertheless still presume to put it forward; lest thereby we should
-expose the Inspired Word of God to the derision of unbelievers, and
-shut them out from the way of salvation.”[115]
-
-Under the sanction of two such illustrious Saints and Doctors we
-need not hesitate to proceed in our attempt to reconcile the Inspired
-narrative of the Creation with the doctrine of the Antiquity of the
-Earth, as set forth by the advocates of Geology. Let it be remembered,
-however, that we do not undertake to prove the extreme Antiquity of
-the Earth from the language of Scripture; but simply to show that
-the language of Scripture leaves the Antiquity of the Earth an open
-question. The Geologist holds that this Globe of ours has been in
-existence for hundreds of thousands, perhaps for millions of years; and
-our object is to show that, while maintaining this opinion, he may,
-nevertheless, accept the historical truth of the Bible narrative.
-
-As before explained, two points arise for discussion: first, can we
-suppose an interval of indefinite length to have elapsed between the
-Creation of the World, and the work of the Six Days? and secondly, is
-it lawful to explain these Days in the sense of long periods? We shall
-take these two questions in succession, dealing with each upon its own
-merits; and if we fail to enforce conviction, we hope, at least, to
-vindicate our right to toleration.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIX.
-
-FIRST HYPOTHESIS;--AN INTERVAL OF INDEFINITE DURATION BETWEEN THE
-CREATION OF THE WORLD AND THE FIRST MOSAIC DAY.
-
-    _The heavens and the earth were created before the first Mosaic
-    day--Objection from Exodus, xx. 9-11--Answer--Interpretation of
-    the author supported by the best commentators--Confirmed by the
-    Hebrew text--The early fathers commonly held the existence of
-    created matter prior to the work of the Six Days--Saint Basil,
-    Saint Chrysostom, Saint Ambrose, Venerable Bede--The most
-    eminent doctors in the schools concurred in this opinion--Peter
-    Lombard, Hugh of Saint Victor, Saint Thomas--Also commentators
-    and theologians--Perrerius, Petavius--Distinguished names
-    on the other side, A Lapide, Tostatus, Saint Augustine--The
-    opinion is at least not at variance with the voice of
-    tradition--This period of created existence may have been of
-    indefinite length--And the earth may have been furnished then
-    as now with countless tribes of plants and animals--Objections
-    to this hypothesis proposed and explained._
-
-
-The opening verses of the Mosaic history may be rendered thus literally
-from the Hebrew Text:--
-
-(1) “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth.
-
-(2) “And the Earth was waste and empty; and darkness was upon the face
-of the deep; and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
-
-(3) “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.
-
-(4) “And God saw the light that it was good; and God divided the light
-from the darkness.
-
-(5) “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
-And the evening was, and the morning was, the first day.”
-
-Now it appears to us that the great event with which this narrative
-begins, the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, is not represented
-as a part of the work that was accomplished within the Six Days. It
-is not said that _on the first day_ God created the Heavens and the
-Earth, but _in the beginning_. Besides, the Sacred writer, uniformly
-throughout the chapter, employs one and the same peculiar phrase to
-introduce the work of each successive day. In describing the operations
-of God on the second day, he begins: “_And God said_, Let there be a
-firmament in the midst of the waters:” on the third day, “_And God
-said_, Let the waters that are under the Heavens be gathered together
-into one place:” on the fourth, “_And God said_, Let there be lights
-in the firmament of the Heavens to divide the day from the night:” on
-the fifth, “_And God said_, Let the waters bring forth the creeping
-thing having life:” on the sixth, “_And God said_, Let the earth bring
-forth the living creature after its kind.” Hence, when we meet this
-same phrase for the first time in the third verse, “_And God said_,
-Let there be light,” we may reasonably suppose that the work of the
-first day began with the decree which is set forth in these words. If
-so it plainly follows that we may allow the existence of created matter
-before that particular epoch of time which, in the language of Moses,
-is styled the First Day: for, before the creation of light, the Heavens
-and the Earth were already in existence, and the Earth was waste and
-empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit of
-God moved upon the face of the waters.
-
-An objection is sometimes raised from the words of God in the
-promulgation of the third commandment:--“Six days shalt thou labor
-and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord
-thy God; thou shalt do no work on it.... For _in six days the Lord
-made the Heavens and the Earth_ and the sea, and all that is in them,
-and resteth the seventh day.”[116] It is argued that the creation of
-the Heavens and the Earth is here set forth as a part of the work
-accomplished within the Six Days; which is directly against our
-opinion. This difficulty would be simply insurmountable, if it could be
-proved that the text refers to that _first act of creation_ by which
-the Heavens and the Earth were brought into existence out of nothing.
-We think, however, that the phrase may fairly be understood to mean,
-in six days the Lord _fashioned_ the Heavens and the Earth; that is to
-say, gave to them that form and shape and outward character which they
-now possess. In this sense the words would apply, not to the first act
-of creation out of nothing, but rather to that subsequent series of
-operations by which the Earth was fitted up and furnished for the use
-of man.
-
-And this interpretation is supported by the authority of our best
-Commentators. Perrerius formally discusses the point, and maintains
-that God may truly be said to have made the Heavens and the Earth in
-Six Days, although the Heavens and the Earth, as far as regards their
-substantial matter, had been created before the First Day: for it was
-only within the Six Days that they were adorned and completed and
-perfected. Tostatus is not less explicit. In this passage, he says, the
-word _made_ is very properly employed; for the Heavens and the Earth
-which are here referred to, and the other things that are included
-under this general designation, were all _made from matter already
-existing_, but this matter itself was not _made_, it was _created_.
-Petavius also adopts this view in his remarks upon the fourth verse of
-the second chapter of Genesis.[117]
-
-We may add that this mode of explaining the passage receives no small
-support from the Hebrew text. When it is said, in the first chapter
-of Genesis, that “In the beginning God _created_ the Heavens and the
-Earth,” the word used by the Sacred writer is ‏ברא (_Bara_), which
-strictly means to create out of nothing; whereas, in describing the
-operations of the Six Days, he commonly uses the word עשה (_Hasah_),
-which means to _form_ and _fashion_, or to produce something out of
-pre-existing materials.[118] Now, in the text of Exodus we find the
-word עשה (_Hasah_), to _fashion_ or _produce_, and not the word ברא
-(_Bara_), to _create_. We do not want to insist very rigorously upon
-this distinction between the two words ברא (_Bara_) and עשה (_Hasah_),
-nor would we deny that they are sometimes interchanged as regards their
-meaning. We think they are related to one another pretty nearly as the
-corresponding words to _create_ and to _make_ in English, and we know
-that the distinction between these two words is not always strictly
-observed. Thus, we sometimes say that God _made_ the world, meaning
-that he brought it forth from nothing, and we speak of the _creation_
-of peers; and Shakspeare says:--
-
-    “Now is the time of help; your eye in Scotland
-    Would _create_ soldiers, make our women fight
-    To doff their dire distresses.”--_Macbeth_, Act iv., Sc. iii.
-
-Nevertheless, when we compare two such passages as these:--“In the
-beginning God _created_ the Heavens and the Earth,” and “In Six Days
-the Lord _made_ the Heavens and the Earth and the sea, and all that in
-them is,” we think the studied contrast of expression is a fair ground
-for supposing that, while the one refers to the Divine decree by which
-matter was first brought into existence out of nothing, the other may
-be understood of those subsequent operations by which it received its
-present form and shape.
-
-We see no difficulty, then, as far as the Sacred Text is concerned,
-in supposing a condition of created existence prior to the period of
-the Six Days. But since this opinion is the foundation on which our
-whole argument rests, we should wish to show, moreover, even at the
-risk of being tedious, that it has been put forward and defended by
-the most eminent writers in every age of the Church. Amongst the early
-Fathers, Saint Basil reasons after this manner when commenting upon the
-passage, “There was evening and there was morning the first day:”--“The
-evening is the common term of day and night; and, in like manner, the
-morning is the point of union between night and day. Wherefore, in
-order to signify that to the day belonged the prerogative of being the
-first begotten, the sacred writer first commemorates the close of day,
-and afterward the close of night; implying thereby that _the day was
-followed by the night_. As to the condition of the world _before the
-formation of light_, that is not called Night, but simply Darkness;
-whereas that period which is distinguished from day and opposed to it,
-is called night.”[119] This great Doctor, therefore, teaches that the
-First Day began with a period of light which is called day, and ended
-with a period of darkness which is called night; and he recognizes a
-previous state of existence which was no part of the First Day. So,
-too, Saint Chrysostom, in his third Homily upon Genesis, lays down that
-the Earth was first created a rude and shapeless mass, without form or
-ornament; that _afterward_ light was made, and that, _with the creation
-of light, the First Day began_.[120]
-
-In the Western Church, Saint Ambrose adopts the same line of
-interpretation. He sets forth that God first created the world, in the
-beginning; and afterward during the Six Days furnished and adorned it;
-just as a skilful workman first lays the foundation of a building,
-and afterward raises the superstructure, and superadds the ornament.
-And elsewhere, he says that, when the voice of God went forth, “Let
-light be made,” in the same moment the First Day began. It follows,
-therefore, that the world existed before the beginning of the First
-Day. In another place he gives a new turn to the same idea, telling
-us that in the beginning God made the world; and with the world, time
-began. But not with time did the First Day begin: for the First Day is
-not the beginning of time, it is rather an epoch of time.[121]
-
-Passing on to the middle ages, we find our view supported by the
-authority of Venerable Bede, in several parts of his writings. His
-notion is that, during the Six Days, God formed and fashioned the
-world out of shapeless matter; but, before the Six Days began, He
-had made this shapeless matter itself out of nothing. “Two things,”
-he says, “did God make before all days, the angelical nature, and
-shapeless matter.” And again, he dresses up this opinion in the form
-of a dialogue:--“_Disciple._ Tell me the order in which things were
-made throughout the Six Days? _Master._ First, in the very beginning
-of created existence, were made heaven and earth, the angels, air, and
-water. _Disciple._ Continue the order of creation? _Master. In the
-beginning of the First Day_ light was made; on the second was made the
-firmament,” etc.[122] Nothing can be more plain than the distinction
-here set up between the beginning of all time, when the Heavens and the
-Earth were made, and the beginning of the First Day, when light was
-made.
-
-And when we come to still more recent times, we find this
-interpretation was taken up and defended by the great masters in the
-schools of Theology. Peter Lombard, the famous Magister Sententiarum,
-referring to the first verse of Genesis, says that “in the beginning
-God created Heaven, which means the Angels, and the Earth, which means
-confused and unshapely matter, the same that is called Chaos by the
-Greeks; _and this was before any day_.” Not less clearly speaks out
-Hugh of Saint Victor, who for his profound and varied erudition, was
-called the second Augustine. In explaining the history of the Six Days,
-he says: “The first of the Divine operations was the creation of light.
-But the light was not then created from nothing, it was formed from
-pre-existing matter. This was the work that was accomplished on the
-First Day: but the material of this work had been created _before the
-First Day_. Directly with the light the day began; for before the light
-it was neither night or day, though time already existed.”[123]
-
-Later still, St. Thomas himself clearly leans to this view when he
-says: “It is better to maintain that the creation was before any day.”
-And Perrerius, the most learned, perhaps, of all our commentators
-on Genesis, argues with us that the world was created before the
-production of light, and before the commencement of the First Day. Nay,
-he adds that he cannot tell how long that primeval state of existence
-may have endured before the Six Days began; nor does he think it can
-be known except by a special revelation. Petavius, too, is with us.
-He does not indeed accept our interpretation of the first verse. When
-it is said, “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth,”
-he holds that these words do not describe any one particular act of
-God, but represent, as it were in a brief summary, the whole work
-of creation. Thus we are informed, at the outset, that the Heavens
-and the Earth as we see them now are the work of God; and afterward,
-the various parts that make up this great whole are described, and
-the order in which they were accomplished is set forth. According to
-Petavius, then, the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, recorded in
-the first verse, was not a distinct act from the operations of the Six
-Days, but rather includes them all. Nevertheless, he maintains, as we
-do, that the earth, at least, and water, were in existence before the
-creation of light; and that, therefore, some period of time must have
-elapsed before the beginning of the Six Days. Furthermore, he says in
-the same spirit as Perrerius, that it is beyond our power to conjecture
-how long that period may have lasted.[124]
-
-Our opinion, then, is not open, in the slightest degree, to the
-imputation of novelty or singularity. On the contrary, it would seem
-rather to reflect the prevailing tradition of the Church. We think
-it right, however, to add that there are great names against us. A
-Lapide, for instance, who considers that the Heavens and the Earth
-were created at the beginning of the First Day.[125] And Tostatus, who
-incidentally notices our view, and contents himself with saying that it
-is unreasonable. For himself he seems to waver between two opinions. He
-thinks the primeval darkness, described in the second verse, may have
-been the night belonging to the First Day; and that during that night,
-which probably lasted about twelve hours, we may suppose the Heavens
-and the Earth to have been created. Or else, he says, we may allow that
-the First Day of the Mosaic narrative began with the creation of light;
-but in that case we must hold that the Heavens and the Earth were
-created at the same time with light.[126]
-
-Saint Augustine, too, we must reluctantly give up; or, at least, we
-must be content to regard him as neutral. If he is not a decided
-opponent, he is certainly not a consistent advocate, of our opinion.
-No doubt he is often quoted in its favor; and it would be easy to
-select passages from his works which seem to enforce it in the plainest
-terms. As for example: “In the beginning, O my God, _before any day_,
-Thou didst make the Heavens and the Earth.”[127] But, in truth, this
-opinion is utterly irreconcilable with the well known and very singular
-teaching of Saint Augustine concerning the creation of the world.
-He held that all the great works recounted in the first chapter of
-Genesis were, in fact, accomplished in a single instant. There was no
-real succession, according to him, in the order of time, between the
-production of the Heavens and the Earth, of light and the firmament,
-of the sun, moon, and stars, of plants, trees, and animals. In one and
-the same instant of time all these came into existence together. As to
-the description given by Moses, it is accommodated to the capacity of
-a rude people; and the succession there set forth is intended only to
-exhibit the several parts of a great whole, in the manner best suited
-to the conceptions of human intelligence.[128]
-
-This view of the creation is repeated again and again by Saint
-Augustine in his numerous works upon Genesis, and illustrated in
-diverse ways, so as to leave no doubt that he held it deliberately
-and persistently. With regard to such passages as that quoted above,
-in which he says that God created the Heavens and the Earth _before
-any day_, it may be maintained that Saint Augustine was not always
-consistent with himself, and that he held different opinions at
-different times; or even that he put forward opposite opinions at the
-same time, not setting them forth as true, but only as possible and
-legitimate.[129]
-
-We think, however, that his consistency, in this case at least, can be
-defended, and that he has himself sufficiently explained in what sense
-he wished these passages to be understood. He tells us that we must
-distinguish two kinds of succession: succession in the order of time,
-and succession in the order of our conceptions. Thus, for example,
-in the order of time there is no succession between the sound of the
-voice in singing and the musical note that is sung: the sound is, in
-fact, the note, and the note is the sound. But in the order of our
-conceptions we first apprehend a thing according to its substance, and
-then according to its qualities. We first conceive the sound itself, as
-a sound, and then we conceive it as having that peculiar quality which
-makes it a musical note. Such as this is the succession Saint Augustine
-seems to admit in the order of the creation. He tells us, no doubt,
-that God first created shapeless matter, and afterward gave to it form
-and beauty: and certainly this statement, if standing alone, would,
-according to the ordinary use of language, imply a real succession
-in the order of time. But then, a little further on, he expressly
-repudiates the idea of a succession in point of time, and says that
-the priority he ascribes to shapeless matter is only a priority in
-the order of our conceptions. We must first conceive matter to exist
-before we can conceive it to have this or that particular form; and the
-Inspired Writer follows the order of our conceptions, in order to adapt
-his narrative to the mental feebleness of our present condition.[130]
-
-With the truth or falsehood of these views we are not concerned just
-now. We have dwelt upon them rather from an honest desire of showing
-that Saint Augustine is not so clearly on our side in this question,
-as might be supposed from some isolated passages of his writings. He
-says indeed that the world was created before light, and before the
-beginning of the First Day; but then again he tells us that this is
-only a way of speaking, and that, in reality, all things were created
-together.
-
-But although these high authorities--A Lapide, Tostatus, Saint
-Augustine--and some others less illustrious than these, are unfavorable
-to our interpretation, we think it is supported by a preponderance of
-the best interpreters, both in ancient and modern times. At all events,
-with such an array of venerable names as we have been able to bring
-forward in its behalf,--and they are but a few chosen out of many,--no
-one can deny that we are fairly entitled to hold it without any note of
-censure, without any suspicion of Theological error. Setting out, then,
-from this point, that there was a state of created existence prior to
-the Six Days of the Mosaic history, the question naturally arises, how
-long did that state of existence endure? Was it for an hour? a day?
-a week? a month? a century? a million of years? We cannot tell. To
-these questions the Sacred Text gives no reply. It simply records that
-in the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth, and that, at
-some subsequent epoch of time, His decree again went forth, Let there
-be light, and light there was. One thing, however, is plain, that, if
-this period existed at all, it might just as well have lasted a hundred
-millions of years as a hundred seconds. It would be folly to attempt to
-measure the succession of God’s acts, when he does please to produce
-effects in succession, according to our petty standards of time. “One
-day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
-day.”[131]
-
-And it is not a little remarkable that, long before the discoveries of
-Geology had suggested any necessity for allowing the lapse of many ages
-between the first creation of the world and the creation of man, the
-sagacity of our commentators led them to observe that the duration of
-this interval is left undefined in the Sacred Record. “How long that
-interval may have lasted,” says Petavius, “it is absolutely impossible
-to conjecture.” And Perrerius, as we have seen, declared that it
-could not be known except by a special revelation. And five centuries
-earlier, at the very dawn of Scholastic Theology, Hugh of Saint Victor
-raised the same question, and expressed his opinion that it could not
-be solved from Scripture. Citing the passage, In the beginning God
-created the Heavens and the Earth, he says, “From these words it is
-plain that in the beginning of time, or rather with time itself, the
-original matter of all things came into existence. But how long it
-remained in this confused and unshapely condition the Scripture clearly
-does not tell us.”[132]
-
-We may go further still. If we are at liberty to admit an interval of
-indefinite length between the creation of the world and the work of the
-Six Days, there is certainly nothing which forbids us to suppose that,
-during this period, the earth should have undergone many revolutions,
-and have been peopled by countless tribes of plants and animals, which,
-as age rolled on after age, came into existence, and died out, and
-were succeeded by new creations. We cannot, perhaps, see the use of
-all this, nor can we penetrate the motives the Great Creator might
-have had in bringing into existence such a boundless profusion of
-organic life. Granted: but then we have studied the Sacred Text to
-little purpose if we have not yet realized the solemn truth that, to
-our poor and feeble intellects, His judgments are incomprehensible,
-and his ways unsearchable. Did He not set His stars in the remotest
-regions of space, far beyond the reach of unaided human vision, and did
-they not shine there for ages, though man could see them not? And for
-ages, too, did not the wild flowers spring up, and bloom, and decay, in
-many a fair and favored spot of this beautiful Earth, where there was
-none to admire their splendor, none to inhale their sweetness? Then
-again, look at that marvellous kingdom of minute animalcules, in number
-almost infinite, which only within the last few years the microscope
-has revealed to our wondering eyes. They swarm around us in the air,
-in the earth, in the water. Millions of them would fit in the hollow
-of your hand; many hundreds might swim side by side, without crowding,
-through the eye of a cambric needle. And they too, we can hardly doubt,
-must have flourished for centuries in countless myriads, unseen and
-unknown by man. It is impossible for us, in our present imperfect
-state, to understand the motives of an All-wise Creator in this profuse
-expenditure of his goodness, this lavish display of His power. How
-then can we presume to say that He may not have good reasons, though
-inscrutable to us, for peopling this Earth with many tribes of plants
-and animals, through a long cycle of ages, before it pleased Him to fit
-it up for the habitation of man? “Who is he among men that can know
-the counsel of God? or who can find out His designs? For the judgments
-of mortal men are hesitating, and uncertain are our thoughts. For the
-corruptible body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly dwelling
-presseth down the mind that museth upon many things. And hardly do we
-guess aright at things that are upon earth: and with labor do we find
-the things that are before us. But the things that are in heaven who
-shall search out?”[133]
-
-We have heard it sometimes objected that plants and animals could
-not have existed without light; and that light was not created until
-the beginning of the First Mosaic Day. Many curious and interesting
-facts are adduced in support of this argument. For example, we are
-reminded that certain Fossil animals belonging to the earliest
-Geological Periods, are shown by the clearest evidence, to have had
-eyes constructed on the same optical principles, and accommodated to
-the same optical conditions, as the eyes of those animals that have
-flourished on the Earth during the period of history: and such eyes,
-it is contended, plainly import the existence of light. The answer to
-this objection may be stated in a very few words. We freely admit that
-the hypothesis we have been defending would be of little use to account
-for Geological phenomena, if it did not include the existence of light,
-during that Period of indefinite duration which we suppose to have
-elapsed between the first creation of the world and the work of the Six
-Days. But in truth there is no difficulty in supposing that, during
-such an interval, light may have prevailed upon the earth, and air, and
-all the other conditions of organic life, pretty much as they do at
-the present day. Afterward, at the close of the period, when, perhaps,
-ages innumerable had rolled by, this planet of ours would have appeared
-in that condition which is described in the second verse of Genesis:
-“And the earth was waste and empty, and darkness was upon the face of
-the deep.” Then the command of God would have gone forth, “Let there
-be light:” and at once the darkness would have been dispelled, a new
-era of existence would have commenced, and the Earth would forthwith
-have been set in order and furnished, in a special manner, for the
-habitation of man.
-
-Even as regards the Sun, Moon, and Stars, they too may have existed
-before the work of the Six Days began. We read, no doubt, that on the
-Fourth Day, God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the
-heavens to divide the day from the night:” and a little farther on it
-is added that “God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the
-day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars.” But then
-it must be remembered that some of our best Commentators, without any
-reference to Geology, have taught that, before this command was given,
-the heavenly bodies were already in existence for three days, and were
-already discharging the office of dividing day and night. They explain
-the passage by saying that the Sun, Moon, and Stars, are represented
-as having been made on the Fourth Day, not because they were then
-produced for the first time out of nothing, but because the vapors by
-which they had been obscured were, on that Day, dissipated, and they
-began to shine visibly in the Firmament of Heaven. If this line of
-interpretation is admissible, and it seems to us not unreasonable,
-then we are certainly at liberty to hold, consistently with the Mosaic
-narrative, that the Heavenly bodies may have been created with the
-Heavens and the Earth in the beginning of all time; and that on the
-Fourth Day they were made manifest in the Firmament to rule over the
-day and the night, and to regulate the course of the years and the
-seasons.[134]
-
-Again it is urged against our hypothesis that Moses could not have
-passed over in complete silence such a long and eventful era in the
-history of the world. Certainly not, we admit, if he professed to
-write a complete history of the Earth and all its revolutions. But
-this was not his purpose. Every book, whether sacred or profane, must
-be examined and interpreted according to the end for which it was
-designed. Now the end and scope of the Book of Genesis was not to
-instruct mankind about the movements of the heavenly bodies, or the
-physical changes of the Earth’s surface, or the laws which govern the
-material universe. It was, first of all, to impress on the minds of
-the Jewish people that this world of ours is the work of one only God,
-distinct from all creatures, and Himself the Creator of sun, moon,
-and stars, and of every other object which pagan nations were wont to
-worship: and in the next place, to set forth, briefly and simply, the
-story of God’s dealings with man in the first ages of the human race.
-Whatever we may hold, therefore, about the revolutions and changes of
-the Earth’s surface previous to the work of the Six Days, it is plain
-that the history of these phenomena did not appertain to the object
-which the Sacred writer had in view. Consequently he cannot be said, by
-the omission of these events, to lead his readers into error; he simply
-allows them to remain in ignorance. What it was his purpose to tell,
-he tells truly: what did not belong to his purpose, he passes by in
-silence.
-
-But it is further argued that this long interval of time we have
-been contending for, is incompatible with the use of the copulative
-conjunction, by which the several clauses of the narrative are
-connected together. The Sacred text runs thus:--“In the beginning God
-created the Heavens and the Earth. _And_ the Earth was waste and empty:
-and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved
-upon the face of the waters. _And_ God said, Let there be light; and
-there was light.” Is it possible, we are asked, to admit a period of
-indefinite length between events thus closely linked together? Our
-answer is that, according to the idiom of the Hebrew language, the
-conjunction וְ or וָ (_ve_ or _va_), which is here employed, while it
-serves to connect together the clauses of a narrative, does not of
-necessity imply the immediate succession of the events recorded. The
-very wide and indefinite signification which belongs to this little
-particle is well known to all who are familiar with the Hebrew text. It
-is sometimes copulative, sometimes adversative, sometimes disjunctive,
-sometimes causal. Very frequently it is used simply for the purpose of
-_continuing the discourse_;[135] and this we believe is the true force
-of the word in the passage under discussion.
-
-An example very much to the point occurs in the Book of Numbers,
-twentieth chapter and first verse:--“_And_ the children of Israel, the
-whole congregation came into the desert of Sin.” Here the narrative
-opens with the connecting particle ויבואו בני ישראל כל העדה—:ו. And
-yet the reader will find, if he carefully examine the passage, that
-the event thus introduced by the sacred writer was separated by a
-period of eight-and-thirty years from those which had been related in
-the preרceding chapter. This conjunction, therefore, does not exclude
-an interval of eight-and-thirty years between the events which it
-links together in history. And that being so, there is no good reason
-for supposing that it should, of necessity, exclude an interval of
-indefinite length.
-
-The Weakness of this objection may be made even more strikingly
-manifest by an inspection of the opening words in the first chapter
-of Ezechiel:—ריהי בשלשים שנה. So little did the notion prevail that
-the conjunction ו (_ve_) could be used only to connect together events
-closely associated in point of time, that here it actually _begins_ the
-narrative, and is, in fact, the first word of the whole book. In the
-Douay version the passage is not inaptly rendered after this manner:
-“Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the
-fifth day of the month, when I was in the midst of the captives by the
-River Chobar, the heavens were opened, and I saw the visions of God.”
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-We have now brought to a conclusion the first part of our inquiry.
-We have endeavored to show that there is nothing in Scripture or
-Tradition which forbids us to admit a long interval of time between
-the Creation of the world and the work of the Six Days. It remains to
-examine what was the nature of these Six Days themselves. Were they, as
-Saint Augustine maintained, one single indivisible instant of time? or
-were they days of twenty-four hours, as is more commonly supposed? or
-were they simply periods of time of which the duration is left wholly
-undetermined in the Sacred Text?
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER XX._
-
-SECOND HYPOTHESIS;--THE DAYS OF CREATION LONG PERIODS OF TIME.
-
-    _Diversity of opinion among the early fathers regarding the
-    days of creation--Saint Augustine, Philo Judæus, Clement
-    of Alexandria, Origen, Saint Athanasius, Saint Eucherius,
-    Procopius--Albertus Magnus, Saint Thomas, Cardinal
-    Cajetan--Inference from these testimonies--First argument in
-    favor of the popular interpretation; a day, in the literal
-    sense, means a period of twenty-four hours--Answer--This word
-    often used in Scripture for an indefinite period--Examples
-    from the Old and New Testament--Second argument; the days of
-    creation have an evening and a morning--Answer--Interpretation
-    of Saint Augustine, Venerable Bede, and other fathers of the
-    church--Third argument; the reason alleged for the institution
-    of the Sabbath-day--Answer--The law of the Sabbath extended to
-    every seventh year as well as to every seventh day--The seventh
-    day of God’s rest a long period of indefinite duration._
-
-
-No one who will take the trouble to investigate, with any reasonable
-diligence and research, the nature of the Mosaic Days, can fail to be
-struck with the remarkable diversity of opinion that existed on the
-subject among the early Fathers of the Church. Yet this diversity of
-opinion is often overlooked by modern writers. They fancy that the
-meaning of the word Day is so plain as to leave no room for doubt
-or controversy; that a day can be nothing else than a period of
-twenty-four hours, marked by the succession of light and darkness; and
-that in this sense the Mosaic narrative was universally understood
-until quite recently, when a new explanation was invented, to meet the
-requirements of modern science. All this is far from true. The meaning
-of the Mosaic Days has been, in point of fact, a subject of controversy
-from the earliest times. And Saint Augustine tells us that the question
-appeared to him so difficult that he could pronounce no decisive
-judgment upon it. “As to these Days,” he says, “what kind they were, it
-is very difficult, nay, it is impossible to imagine, and much more so
-to explain.”[136]
-
-Nevertheless, this great Doctor, having long pondered over the subject,
-and considered it on many sides, does not hesitate to express his own
-opinion. And he departs very widely, indeed, from the literal and
-obvious interpretation. He maintains, at great length,[137] as we had
-before occasion to observe, that God created all things in a single
-instant of time, according to the words of Ecclesiasticus, “He who
-liveth forever created all things at once.”[138] Thus he is led to
-infer that the Six Days commemorated by Moses were, in reality, but one
-day; and this not such a day as those which are now measured by the
-revolution of the sun, for we find three successive days recorded by
-Moses before the sun appeared in the Heavens. It was, in fact, nothing
-else than that one single instant of time in which all things were
-created together.[139]
-
-Nor was this opinion peculiar to Saint Augustine. At the very dawn of
-the Christian Era it was set forth by Philo the Jew; and afterward it
-was maintained by Clement of Alexandria, and by Origen. The great Saint
-Athanasius seems to throw the weight of his authority in the same
-direction, when he says, speaking of the Creation, that “no one thing
-was made before another, but all things were produced at once together
-by the self-same command.” And after the time of Saint Augustine this
-figurative interpretation was defended by Saint Eucherius, Bishop
-of Lyons, in the course of the fifth century, and by Procopius of
-Gaza in the sixth. In the days of the schools we find it approved by
-Albertus Magnus, and treated respectfully by Saint Thomas; and later
-still, adopted by Cardinal Cajetan, in his commentary on the Book of
-Genesis.[140]
-
-It will be said, perhaps, that we are here arguing against ourselves:
-these eminent writers are in favor of reducing the days of Creation to
-one single point of time; whereas it is our purpose to stretch them
-out to periods of indefinite length. But no: our object just now is
-not precisely to establish our own hypothesis, but rather to prepare
-the way for its discussion. We want to show that we are quite free to
-abandon the popular view of the Mosaic Days if there be good reason for
-our doing so. And it seems to us that we have abundantly established
-this point by a long list of eminent ecclesiastical writers, who,
-without any note of censure, have diverged very widely from the common
-interpretation. No doubt they have shortened the time, and we want to
-lengthen it. But in this they agree with us, that the days of Creation
-are not of necessity days in the ordinary sense of the word. Nay, Saint
-Augustine goes farther, and maintains, from the evidence of the Sacred
-Text itself, that they cannot be understood in this sense.[141]
-
-Having thus cleared away a serious difficulty that seemed to obstruct
-our path, we may proceed without hesitation to the direct object of
-our inquiry. The burden of proof, let it be remembered, is not with
-us, but rather with those who contend for Days of twenty-four hours.
-They must prove that this word Day in the first chapter of Genesis
-means a period of twenty-four hours, and _can mean nothing else_. If it
-_may_ be understood in a wider sense, consistently with the usage of
-Scripture, that is quite enough for us. We are perfectly at liberty to
-adopt an interpretation which, on the one hand, the Sacred Text fairly
-admits, and on the other, the discoveries of Natural Science would seem
-to demand. Let us examine, then, the arguments that are usually adduced
-in favor of the popular interpretation.
-
-Throughout the first chapter of Genesis the Hebrew word יוֺם (_yom_)
-is everywhere employed by Moses to designate the Days of Creation.
-And many writers contend that the use of this word is, in itself,
-evidence enough that he spoke of days in the common sense of the term.
-It is plain, they say, from the usage of Scripture, that the word יוֺם
-(_yom_) had a fixed and certain meaning in the Hebrew language; the
-same precisely as that which we now attach to the English word Day.
-Sometimes, when contra-distinguished from night, it was applied to
-the period of light, from sunrise to sunset; otherwise, it meant the
-civil day of twenty-four hours, measured by the revolution of the Sun.
-Moreover, it had unquestionably attained this meaning at the time when
-Moses wrote, and therefore it could not have been employed by him in
-any other sense.
-
-This argument rests upon a false foundation. It is true, no doubt,
-that the word יוֺם (_yom_) was more usually employed in one or other
-of the two senses just explained;--that is to say, (1) for the period
-of light from sunrise to sunset, or (2) for the period of twenty-four
-hours corresponding to a complete revolution of the Sun. But, for the
-validity of the argument, it would be necessary to show that, beside
-these two senses, there is no other in which the word may be fairly
-understood, conformably to the usage of the Hebrew language. Now this
-has never yet been proved. On the contrary, the Scripture affords
-abundant evidence that the word יוֺם (_yom_) had a third meaning quite
-different from the other two; that it was freely used to designate
-a period of time much longer than a common day, and generally of
-uncertain and indefinite duration. A few examples will be interesting,
-we hope, to our readers.
-
-In the second chapter of Genesis, Moses, having completed his account
-of the Creation, says (v. 4): “These are the generations of the Heavens
-and the Earth when they were created, in the _Day_ יוֺם, (_yom_) that
-the Lord God created the Earth and the Heavens: (v. 5), and every
-plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the
-field before it grew.” There is a good deal of controversy about the
-precise meaning of this passage. But one thing at least appears to be
-plain, that the word יוֺם (_yom_), is not used to designate a day of
-twenty-four hours; nor yet the period of light from sunrise to sunset;
-but rather the whole period of the Creation.
-
-On this point almost all our best commentators are agreed. “It is
-manifest,” says Venerable Bede, “that in this place the sacred writer
-has put the word Day for all that time during which the primeval
-creation was brought into existence. For it was not upon any one of
-the Six Days that the sky was made and adorned with stars, and the
-dry land was separated from the waters, and furnished with trees and
-plants. But, _according to its accustomed practice_, Scripture here
-uses the word day in the sense of time.” Saint Augustine gives even a
-wider expansion to the word when he writes: “Seven Days are enumerated
-above, and now that is called one Day in which God made the Heavens
-and the Earth, and every green thing of the field; by which term we
-may well suppose that _all time is meant_. For God then made all time
-when He made creatures that live in time; and these creatures are
-here signified by the Heavens and the Earth.” Molina on the same
-passage says: “Learned writers tell us commonly that Moses in this
-place puts the word Day in the sense of Time, just as in the passage
-of Deuteronomy, ‘The day of perdition is at hand.’... And elsewhere in
-Scripture Day is often used for Time.” Bannez, too, concurs in this
-opinion. “The word Day,” he says, “can be understood _for any duration
-whatsoever_.” Perrerius, answering an objection taken from this text,
-says that “Day is put for Time, as is _frequently done in Scripture_.”
-And Petavius not only adopts this interpretation, but contends that it
-is conformable to the usage even of the Greek and Latin writers. He
-gives an example from Cicero against Verres: “Itaque cum ego _diem_ in
-Siciliam perexiguam postulavissem, invenit iste qui sibi in Achaiam
-_biduo breviorem diem_ postularet.”[142] Here, then, is an instance in
-which Moses himself uses the word Day (יוֺם, _yom_) not in the ordinary
-sense, but for a long period of time;--for all that time, whatever it
-may have been, which elapsed from the first act of creation to the
-close of the Six Days.
-
-Another striking example occurs in the prophet Amos. “Behold, the days
-are coming, saith the Lord God, and I will send forth a famine into
-the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing
-the word of the Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea and from
-the north to the east; they shall go about seeking the word of the
-Lord, and shall not find it. In that _day_ (יוֺם, _yom_) shall the fair
-virgins and the young men faint for thirst.”[143] Every one will see
-at a glance that the word Day in the latter part of this passage does
-not mean a day of twenty-four hours. It evidently refers to the whole
-period during which the calamities here foretold were to be inflicted
-on the Jewish people. What that period was may be a question of
-dispute. By some it is taken for the time of the Babylonian captivity;
-by others, for the present age of the world, in which the Jews are
-wanderers on the face of the earth, without a prophet and without a
-pastor, thirsting for the word of God, and seeking it in vain. But, in
-any case, it is clear from the opening words: “Behold, the days are
-coming,” that it was a period not of one day only, but of many.
-
-Then we have those well known words addressed by God the Father to His
-Eternal Son: “Thou art my Son, this _day_ (יוֺם, _yom_) have I begotten
-thee.”[144] The Son of God was begotten of the Father before all ages;
-and the _day_, therefore, on which he was begotten, cannot be a common
-day of twenty-four hours, but must rather be the long day of Eternity,
-without beginning and without end.
-
-This text, we know, is sometimes applied to the day of our Lord’s
-Resurrection; and sometimes, too, to the day of His Incarnation:
-nor do we want to deny that it may be thus rightly explained in a
-secondary and mystical sense. But in its literal sense we think it
-plainly refers to the Eternal Generation of the Son. This meaning is
-sufficiently implied by the word _begotten_, which cannot be understood
-with propriety, except of that Generation by virtue of which our Divine
-Lord was from Eternity the natural Son of God. Moreover, this is the
-sense in which the passage is adopted by Saint Paul in his Epistle to
-the Hebrews. Wishing to show that Our Lord has received by inheritance
-a name more excellent than any given to the Angels, he argues thus:
-“For to which of the Angels hath he said at any time, Thou art my Son,
-this day have I begotten thee?”[145] Now it seems to us that, unless
-we understand these words of the Eternal Generation, the point of
-the Apostle’s argument is completely lost. The Angels are sometimes
-called in Scripture the sons of God; but they were only the _adopted
-sons_, whereas Our Lord was the _natural Son_ in virtue of His Eternal
-Generation. Consequently it was no other than the Eternal Generation
-which made the name of Son more excellent when applied to Christ than
-the same name when applied to the angels.
-
-Again, it is quite a common thing, with the prophets generally, to use
-the word (יוֺם, yom) for the season of tribulation and affliction,
-though the same may have extended over a period of many days or even
-many years. Jeremias employs it in this sense when he describes so
-vividly the manifold calamities that were impending over the ill-fated
-Babylon. “I have caused thee to fall into a snare, and thou art taken,
-O Babylon, and thou wast not aware of it: thou art found and caught
-because thou hast provoked the Lord. The Lord hath opened His armory,
-and hath brought forth the weapons of his wrath: for the Lord the God
-of hosts hath a work to be done in the land of the Chaldeans. Come ye
-against her from the uttermost borders: open, that they may go forth
-that shall tread her down: take the stones out of the way, and make
-heaps, and destroy her: and let nothing of her be left. Destroy all
-her valiant men, let them go down to the slaughter: woe to them, for
-their _day_ (יוֺם, yom) is come, _the time_ of their visitation. The
-voice of them that flee, and of them that have escaped out of the
-land of Babylon: to declare in Sion the revenge of the Lord our God,
-the revenge of His temple. Declare to many against Babylon, to all
-that bend the bow: stand together against her round about, and let
-none escape; pay her according to her work: according to all that she
-hath done, do ye to her: for she hath lifted up herself against the
-Lord, against the Holy One of Israel. Therefore shall her young men
-fall in her streets: and all her men of war shall hold their peace in
-that _day_ (םךׄר, _yom_), saith the Lord. Behold I come against thee,
-O proud one, saith the Lord the God of hosts: for the _day_ (םךׄר,
-_yom_) is come, the _time_ of thy visitation. And the proud one shall
-fall, he shall fall down, and there shall be none to lift him up: and
-I will kindle afire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about
-him.”[146] And in the following chapter:--“Thus saith the Lord: Behold,
-I will raise up as it were a pestilential wind against Babylon, and
-against the inhabitants thereof who have lifted up their heart against
-me. And I will send to Babylon fanners, and they shall fan her, and
-shall destroy her land: for they are come upon her on every side in the
-_day_ (םךׄר, _yom_) of her affliction.”[147]
-
-In another place the same prophet applies the word םךׄר (_yom_) to the
-whole duration of a long campaign carried on by Nabuchodonosor against
-Pharao Nechao, king of Egypt. “Prepare ye the shield and buckler, and
-go forth to battle. Harness the horses, and get up, ye horsemen: stand
-forth with helmets, furbish the spears, put on coats of mail. What
-then? I have seen them dismayed, and turning their backs, their valiant
-ones slain: they fled apace, they looked not back: terror was round
-about, saith the Lord. Let not the swift flee away, nor the strong
-think to escape: they are overthrown and fallen down, toward the north
-by the river Euphrates. Who is this that cometh up as a flood: and
-his streams swell like those of rivers? Egypt riseth up like a flood,
-and the waves thereof shall be moved as rivers, and he shall say: I
-will go up and will cover the earth: I will destroy the city and its
-inhabitants. Get ye up on horses, and glory in chariots, and let the
-valiant men come forth, the Ethiopians and the Lybians, that handle the
-shield, and the Lydians that handle and bend the bow. For this is the
-_day_ (םךׄר, _yom_) of the Lord the God of hosts, a _day_ of vengeance
-that He may revenge Himself of His enemies: the sword shall devour,
-and shall be filled, and shall be drunk with their blood: for there
-is a sacrifice of the Lord God of hosts in the north country, by the
-river Euphrates.... Furnish thyself to go into captivity, thou daughter
-inhabitant of Egypt: for Memphis shall be made desolate, and shall be
-forsaken and uninhabited. Egypt is like a fair and beautiful heifer:
-there shall come from the north one that shall goad her. Her hirelings
-also that lived in the midst of her, like fatted calves are turned
-back, and are fled away together, and they could not stand: for the
-_day_(םךׄר, _yom_) of their slaughter is come upon them, the _time_ of
-their visitation.”[148]
-
-The prophet Ezechiel, too, furnishes a forcible illustration when
-he thus foreshadows the course of a second expedition against Egypt
-undertaken by the same prince:-- “Therefore thus saith the Lord God:
-Behold I will set Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon in the land of
-Egypt: and he shall take her multitude, and take the booty thereof for
-a prey, and rifle the spoils thereof: and it shall be wages for his
-army; and for the service he hath done me against it: I have given
-him the land of Egypt, because he hath labored for me, saith the Lord
-God. In that _day_ (םךׄר, _yom_) a horn shall bud forth for the house
-of Israel, and I will give thee an open mouth in the midst of them:
-and they shall know that I am the Lord.”[149] And a little further
-on:--“For the _day_ (םךׄר, _yom_) is near, yea the _day_ of the Lord
-is near: a cloudy _day_, it shall be the _time_ of the nations. And
-the sword shall come upon Egypt: and there shall be dread in Ethiopia,
-when the wounded shall fall in Egypt, and the multitude thereof shall
-be taken away, and the foundations thereof shall be destroyed. Ethiopia
-and Lybia, and Lydia, and all the rest of the crowd, and Chub, and
-the children of the land of the covenant, shall fall with them by the
-sword.... And they shall know that I am the Lord: when I shall have
-set a fire in Egypt, and all the helpers thereof shall be destroyed.
-In that _day_ (םךׄר, _yom_), shall messengers go forth from my face in
-ships to destroy the confidence of Ethiopia, and there shall be dread
-among them in that _day_ (םךׄר, _yom_) of Egypt: because it shall
-certainly come.”[150]
-
-Once more, this word is applied to the period of Our Lord’s life
-upon earth, and even to the whole duration of the Christian Church.
-Sophonias, for example, thus foretells the coming of the kingdom
-of Christ. “Wherefore expect me, saith the Lord, in the day of my
-resurrection that is to come, for my judgment is to assemble the
-Gentiles, and to gather the kingdoms.... From beyond the rivers of
-Ethiopia shall my suppliants, the children of my dispersed people,
-bring me an offering. In that _day_ (םךׄר, _yom_) thou shalt not be
-ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me:
-for then I will take away out of the midst of thee thy proud boasters,
-and thou shalt no more be lifted up because of my holy mountain....
-Give praise, O daughter of Sion: shout, O Israel: be glad and rejoice
-with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away
-thy judgment, he hath turned away thy enemies: the King of Israel the
-Lord is in the midst of thee, thou shalt fear evil no more. In that
-_day_ (םךׄר, _yom_) it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not; to Sion:
-Let not thy hands be weakened. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is
-mighty, He will save: He will rejoice over thee with gladness, He will
-be silent in His love, He will be joyful over thee in praise.”[151]
-
-And Isaias: “Is it not yet a very little while, and Libanon shall be
-turned into a charmel, and charmel shall be esteemed as a forest? And
-in that _day_ (םךׄר, _yom_) the deaf shall hear the words of the book,
-and out of darkness and obscurity the eyes of the blind shall see. And
-the meek shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor men shall
-rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”[152] That this passage refers to
-the time of the Christian Church there can be no doubt; for our Lord
-himself appeals to it in proof of His divine mission: “Go and relate to
-John what you have heard and seen. The blind see, the lame walk, the
-lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have
-the Gospel preached to them.”[153]
-
-We may trace this use of the word even in the New Testament. Our Lord
-says, arguing with the Jews: “Abraham your father rejoiced that he
-might see my _day_: he saw it and was glad.”[154] Saint Paul, too,
-though writing in the Greek language to the Corinthians, does not
-hesitate to adopt a passage from Isaias, in which the same meaning is
-conspicuously brought out: “And we helping do exhort you, that you
-receive not the grace of God in vain. For he saith: In an accepted
-time have I heard thee, and in the _day_ of salvation have I helped
-thee. Behold, now is the _acceptable time_: behold, now is the _day of
-salvation_.”[155] And finally, Our Divine Lord, in His last touching
-address to the city of Jerusalem, applies the word _day_ to the season
-of grace and mercy: “When he drew near, seeing the city, He wept over
-it, saying: If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy _day_,
-the things that are to thy peace: but now they are hidden from thy
-eyes. For the days shall come upon thee; and thy enemies shall cast a
-trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee on every
-side.”[156]
-
-So much, then, for the first argument. From the numerous examples we
-have given it is plain enough that the word word יוֺם (_yom), in
-Scripture language, was often used for a period of many days, and even
-many years; nay sometimes for a period of many centuries. If so, Moses
-was free to use it in this sense. And consequently, as far as the word
-itself is concerned, it affords no conclusive proof that the Days
-of Creation were days of twenty-four hours only: we may hold them to
-belong and indefinite periods of time, without departing in any degree
-from the established usage of Scripture.
-
-But it is urged--and this is the second argument,--that, whatever
-may be the meaning of the word word יוֺם (_yom) elsewhere, in the
-first chapter of Genesis it must mean a day of twenty-four hours. For
-we are not merely told that there was a First Day, and a Second Day,
-and a Third Day; but each day is in a manner analyzed by the sacred
-writer, and its component parts set forth for our instruction. _There
-was evening and there was morning_, he says, the First Day; _there
-was evening and there was morning_ the Second Day; _there was evening
-and there was morning_ the Third Day; and so on. Now if the word were
-understood of those indefinite periods we have been speaking about,
-there would be no meaning in this analysis: for it could hardly be
-maintained that each of those periods had but one evening and one
-morning like an ordinary day. Furthermore, it is argued that there is
-a peculiar appropriateness in this phrase, which goes far to confirm
-the common interpretation. Amongst the Jews it was usual to compute
-the civil day from sunset to sunset. The civil day began then with the
-evening. And accordingly Moses, in describing the Days of Creation,
-puts the evening first, and says: There was evening and there was
-morning the First Day; there was evening and there was morning the
-Second Day; and so for the rest.
-
-All this reasoning seems to us unsatisfactory and inconclusive. In
-the first place, it is not a fact, as would seem to be supposed, that
-the civil day is made up of evening and morning. The evening and the
-morning do not make the whole day; they are only certain periods of
-the day. Neither do they mark the limits of the day: for, though it is
-quite true that, in the computation of the Jews, the civil day began
-with the evening, it certainly did not end with the morning. If, then,
-by the word Day, Moses here meant the civil day of twenty-four hours,
-how is this clause to be understood, There was evening and there was
-morning the First Day? It cannot mean that the evening and the morning
-put together made up the First Day: for this is not a fact. It cannot
-mean that the evening marked the beginning of the day, and the morning
-marked its close: for the period included between the evening and the
-morning is not the day but the night. What does it mean, then?
-
-Many writers seem to suppose that the evening and the morning are
-intended by Moses to designate the night and the day;--that is to say,
-the whole period of darkness and the whole period of light, which
-put together make up the civil day of twenty-four hours. If the text
-could be explained in this way, it would fit in, no doubt, much more
-appropriately with the theory of ordinary days than with the theory of
-indefinite periods. But the text _cannot_ be explained in this way. The
-evening is _not_ the whole period of darkness, and the morning is _not_
-the whole period of light. No English writer could say, with propriety,
-that the Day is made up of the evening and the morning. Neither could
-Moses have meant to say this in the first chapter of Genesis: for the
-Hebrew words ערב (_Ghereb_) _and_ בקר (_Boker_) which are found in the
-original text, have a meaning not less fixed and definite than the
-corresponding words Evening and the Morning in the English language.
-
-To prove the truth of this assertion by an investigation of all the
-passages in the Hebrew Bible, in which these words are found, would
-be a tedious and uninteresting task. But it may be easily tested in
-another way. If the words ערב (_Ghereb_) and בקר (_Boker_) were ever
-used to mean, not strictly the evening and morning, but the whole
-period of night and the whole period of day, this fact would surely
-have become known in the course of time to some of the many eminent
-and accomplished Hebrew lexicographers. We ask, then, is there one
-Hebrew lexicon of note which assigns the sense of _night_ to the word
-ערב (_Ghereb_) and the sense of _day_ to the word בקר (_Boker_). For
-ourselves, we have searched several of the best of them, and we have
-not found a single one that even hints at such an explanation.
-
-Perhaps, however, some of our readers might be unwilling to accept
-the authority of lexicons as conclusive on a point of this kind;
-seeing that lexicons very often represent but imperfectly the full
-power of a language. Well, then, there is another process, and a
-simple one enough, by which they may demonstrate the inaccuracy of our
-statement, if inaccurate it be. Let them produce any passage from the
-Hebrew Bible in which the words ערב (_Ghereb_) and בקר (_Boker_) are
-employed to designate the whole night and the whole day. If they fail
-to do so,--and as far as we are aware, no such passage has yet been
-discovered,--then surely we may fairly contend that the interpretation
-which thus explains the words in the first chapter of Genesis
-cannot be regarded as certain: nor can the argument founded on that
-interpretation be received as conclusive.
-
-There is a text in the eighth chapter of the prophet Daniel which
-might, perhaps, appear at first sight to militate against our opinion.
-The prophet had a vision in which it was foreshadowed that Antiochus
-Epiphanes should come and prevail against the Jews, and should profane
-the temple of God, and should abolish the daily sacrifice. One of the
-Angels in the vision is heard asking of another, for how long should
-the daily sacrifice cease, and the sanctuary remain desolate. And
-the answer is given in these words: “Unto _evening-morning_ (עד ערב
-בקר, ghad ghereb boker) two thousand three hundred; then shall the
-sanctuary be cleansed.”[157] Now, this is commonly understood to mean
-that the daily sacrifice should be abolished for two thousand three
-hundred _days_. And therefore, it would seem that, in this passage,
-the _evening and morning_ are used to signify the _whole civil day_ of
-twenty-four hours.
-
-We will not dispute the correctness of the interpretation which is here
-set forth, although the words of the Angel are explained in a very
-different sense by many eminent commentators. But we think that the
-passage, even when understood according to this interpretation, cannot
-fairly be brought in evidence against us. The evening and the morning
-do not make up the whole day: but they occur once, and only once, in
-each day. Therefore a period of many days may be properly signified
-by noting the recurrence of the evening and morning a certain number
-of times. And in point of fact, a usage of this kind seems to prevail
-in most languages. The common word _fortnight_, in English, affords a
-good illustration. It signifies a period of fourteen nights and days:
-yet it does not specify the recurrence of fourteen days, but only the
-recurrence of fourteen nights. Again, the poet says:
-
-    “Fair was she to behold, that maiden of seventeen _summers_.”
-
-Nobody would argue from these examples that the word _summer_ means a
-period of twelve months; or that the word _night_ means a period of
-twenty-four hours. And so, in the case before us, the recurrence of the
-evening and morning two thousand three hundred times may be pointed
-out to mark a period of two thousand three hundred days, although the
-evening and morning are not the whole day, but only certain parts of
-the day. Nay, more; we fancy we can see a good reason why the Angel in
-the vision should single out the evening and the morning for special
-notice. He had been asked about the profanation of the sanctuary, and
-the abolition of the daily sacrifice. Now it was in the evening and the
-morning that the daily sacrifice was wont to be offered. And the Angel
-seems to answer: The evening and the morning shall return two thousand
-three hundred times; and there shall be no evening and morning
-sacrifice: but, after that time, the sanctuary shall be cleansed and
-sacrifice restored.
-
-So far we have been arguing from the common usage of Scripture that
-the evening and the morning mentioned in the history of the Creation
-cannot mean the whole night and the whole day. But there is a special
-objection against this interpretation from the history of the Creation
-itself. The fifth verse in the first chapter of Genesis runs thus:
-“And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And
-there was evening and there was morning the First Day.” In the first
-sentence it is recorded that God, having divided the light from the
-darkness, gave to each its proper name: He called the light, Day;
-and the darkness, Night. Is it not highly improbable that, after
-this announcement, the sacred writer would himself, in the very next
-sentence, employ names altogether different, if he wished to designate
-the period of light and the period of darkness?
-
-We are not maintaining that the phrase under consideration--“there
-was evening and there was morning the First Day”--cannot be explained
-on the hypothesis that the Days of Creation were days of twenty-four
-hours. But we do contend that it affords no conclusive proof in favor
-of that hypothesis; because even in that hypothesis the meaning of
-the phrase is still doubtful and obscure. For ourselves, we candidly
-confess we can offer no explanation that seems to us, in any system of
-interpretation, altogether satisfactory. We may be allowed, however, to
-call attention to an opinion put forward by Saint Augustine, which fits
-in very appropriately with the doctrine that the Days of Creation were
-long periods of time. The distinctions of evening and morning, he says,
-are not to be understood in reference to the rising and setting of the
-Sun, which, in point of fact, was not created until the Fourth Day;
-but rather in reference to the works themselves that are recorded to
-have been produced. In this way the evening will naturally represent
-the bringing to an end of the work that had been accomplished; and the
-morning, on the other hand, the coming in of the work that was to be.
-This opinion was afterward adopted by Saint Eucherius, Bishop of Lyons,
-who seems almost to borrow the very words of Saint Augustine; and also
-by Venerable Bede, who says: “What is the evening, but the completion
-of each work? and the morning, but the beginning of the next?” In
-the twelfth century we find it again set forth by Saint Hildegarde,
-who was considered by Saint Bernard, as well as by Pope Eugenius the
-Third, to have been gifted with the spirit of prophecy.[158] This
-interpretation, it is true, does not explain the words _evening_ and
-_morning_ according to their literal signification: but then the
-metaphorical sense it ascribes to them is both simple and appropriate;
-more especially if we understand the word Day in the sense of a long
-and indefinite period. As the morning literally means the break of day,
-and the evening its decline, the Sacred Writer might, not inaptly, have
-employed these words to represent metaphorically the opening and the
-close of the various works which are ascribed to each successive period
-in the history of the Creation.
-
-It may be observed, moreover, that this explanation seems quite in
-accord with the etymology of the Hebrew words עֶרֶב (_Ghereb_), and
-בּקר (_Boker_). The latter is formed from the root בּקֶר (_Bakar_), _to
-lay open_, and used to signify the morning, because in the morning
-the light of the sun is, as it were, unveiled, and _laid open_ to
-the earth. Hence, the word might be applied with much propriety, in
-a metaphorical sense, to the unfolding of the various works of God,
-as each new period was, in its turn, ushered in with a new act of
-Creation. On the other hand, עֶרֶב (_Ghereb_) seems to be derived from
-ערב (_Gharab_), _to mingle_, and has probably come to signify the
-evening, as the famous Hebrew scholar, Aben Ezra, suggests, because,
-in the uncertain light of evening, the forms of external objects
-lose their distinctness of outline, and become, in a manner, blended
-together. And so this word might have been employed, not unfitly, to
-represent the close of each period in the creation, which was marked,
-as Geologists tell us, by the gradual dying out or extinction of the
-various forms of life peculiar to that period. Anyhow, in following the
-opinion of so ancient and so venerable an authority as Saint Augustine,
-we cannot be charged with unduly straining the Sacred Text to meet the
-exigencies of modern science.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The next argument is founded on a passage in Exodus, to which we have
-already had occasion to refer: “Six days shalt thou labor, and do all
-thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou
-shalt do no work on it, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy
-man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger
-that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made the Heavens
-and the Earth, and the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the
-seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and sanctified
-it.”[159] We are to work upon six days, and to rest upon the seventh;
-_because_ in six days God accomplished all the works of the creation,
-and rested on the seventh. There can be no mistake as to the meaning
-of this commandment. The six days on which it is lawful to labor are,
-beyond all doubt, six days in the common sense of the word; six days of
-twenty-four hours each: and the seventh day, on which it is forbidden
-to work, is a day of the same kind. But the example of God’s labor and
-God’s rest is set forth, in the text, as the pattern after which this
-law of the Sabbath was framed. And therefore, the six days in which God
-furnished and embellished the earth must have been likewise six days of
-twenty-four hours each. This argument is regarded by many writers as
-decisive.
-
-To us, on the contrary, it seems by no means necessary to understand
-the days on which God labored and rested, in precisely the same sense
-as the days on which it is enjoined that we should labor and rest. The
-examples of God is, no doubt, represented in the Sacred Text as the
-reason for the Jewish Sabbath: “Six days shalt thou labor, and rest
-upon the seventh; _for_ in six days the Lord made the Heavens and the
-Earth, and rested on the seventh.” But, suppose for a moment that the
-days of creation were long periods of time, will not the significance
-of this reason remain unchanged? As God, in the great work of the
-creation, labored for six successive periods, and then rested for a
-seventh, so shall you likewise do all your work during six of those
-successive periods into which your time is divided, and rest upon the
-seventh.
-
-In support of this view, we may observe that the Jews were commanded to
-abstain from work, not only every seventh _day_, but also every seventh
-_year_. “Six years thou shalt sow thy ground, and shalt gather the corn
-thereof; but the seventh year thou shalt let it alone, and suffer it
-to rest, that the poor of thy people may eat, and whatsoever shall be
-left, let the beasts of the field eat it: in like manner shalt thou
-do with thy vineyard and thy oliveyard. Six days shalt thou work: the
-seventh day thou shalt cease, that thy ox and thy ass may rest; and
-the son of thy handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed.”[160] And
-in another place we read: “When you shall have entered into the land
-which I will give you, observe the rest of the Sabbath to the Lord.
-Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune
-thy vineyard, and shalt gather the fruits thereof; but in the seventh
-year there shall be a Sabbath to the land, of the resting of the Lord;
-thou shalt not sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. What the ground
-shall bring forth of itself thou shalt not reap: neither shalt thou
-gather the grapes of the first fruits as a vintage; for it is a year of
-rest to the land: But they shall be unto you for meat; to thee, and to
-thy man-servant, and to thy maid-servant, and to thy hireling, and to
-the strangers that sojourn with thee, to thy beasts of burden, and to
-thy cattle, all things that grow shall be for meat.”[161] The seventh
-year, then, according to Divine command, was a year of rest among the
-Jews, just as the seventh day was a day of rest; and it is evident
-that the one precept, no less than the other, was founded on the great
-example of God’s rest when He had finished the work of Creation. We
-are satisfied, therefore, that whatever may have been the length of
-those six days in which God labored, and of the seventh day on which He
-rested, His example might still be properly set forth as the model on
-which the law of the Sabbath was founded.
-
-It is urged, however, that in this passage of Exodus, we have the same
-word יוֺם (_yom_) applied in the very same context to the six days of
-the Creation and to the six days of the week; and it can hardly be
-supposed that the inspired writer would pass thus suddenly from one
-meaning of the word to another, and a very different meaning, without
-giving any intimation to his readers of such a transition. If this
-argument is a good one, we can only say that it completely oversets the
-opinion of those against whom we are contending. In the fifth verse
-of the first chapter of Genesis we read: “And God called the _light_
-_Day_, and the _darkness_ he called _Night_. And there was evening and
-there was morning the first _Day_.” Now, those who reject the theory
-of long periods, maintain that by the word Day in the latter part of
-this verse, is meant the whole civil day of twenty-four hours; while it
-is plain that, in the earlier part of the verse, the same word Day is
-emphatically applied to only a part of that period--that is, to the
-time of light as distinguished from the time of darkness. Therefore,
-they are themselves, in fact, upholding an interpretation which
-supposes the inspired writer to pass from one meaning of the word Day
-to another, without any intimation of a change of meaning.
-
-But we do not want to shrink from dealing with this argument on its
-merits. The principle on which it is founded seems to us unsound and
-inconsistent with the evidence of the Sacred Books themselves. It is
-quite a common thing, we contend, in Scripture, for the writer to pass
-from one meaning of a word to another without any explicit indication
-of such a transition, when, as in the case before us, the two senses,
-though different, are analogous: the one being, as it were, the figure,
-or the symbol, or the pattern, of the other. A few examples will make
-this clear. In the Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, we
-read as follows: “For the charity of Christ presseth us: judging this,
-that if one _died_ for all, then all were _dead_; and Christ _died_ for
-all.”[162] Here, when it is said that “all were _dead_,” the meaning
-is, that all men were _dead spiritually_ by sin; whereas, in the clause
-immediately preceding, and in the clause immediately following, the
-same word is used in its literal sense for the death of Christ upon
-the cross. And yet the Apostle, though he thus passed from the literal
-to the metaphorical sense of the word, and then back again from the
-metaphorical sense to the literal, gives no express indication of these
-transitions.
-
-Again, in the Gospel, when a certain man, being called by our Lord,
-said: “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father,” Jesus reproved
-him in these words: “Let the _dead_ bury their _dead_; but go thou and
-preach the kingdom of God.”[163] There is some difference of opinion
-amongst commentators as to the exact meaning of this phrase. But
-whatever interpretation be adopted, it seems evident from the context
-that the _dead to be buried_ were those who were literally dead;
-whereas, the _dead_ who were to _bury them_ were manifestly _not_ those
-who were literally dead, but those who were dead in some analogous or
-metaphorical sense. Another example occurs in the twentieth chapter of
-Saint John. Christ says to His Apostles: “I ascend to my Father and
-your Father, to my God and your God.”[164] When He says, “I ascend
-to my Father,” the meaning is, “to Him who has begotten me from all
-eternity.” When He adds, “and your Father,” the meaning is, “to Him who
-has _adopted_ you for His children.” Here, then, the word Father is
-first used in the sense of a natural father, and immediately after in
-the sense of a father by adoption, without any explicit declaration of
-a change in meaning.
-
-The Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans furnishes an instance in which
-the transition from one meaning to another occurs in the case of the
-word Day itself: “The night is passed, and the _day_ is at hand. Let
-us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of
-light. Let us walk honestly as in the _day_.”[165] The word Day, in
-the earlier part of this passage, is used by Saint Paul for the Day of
-Eternity which is to follow the darkness of this life; while, in the
-next sentence, it means clearly the period of light between sunrise
-and sunset. Another illustration of the same kind occurs in the first
-Epistle to the Thessalonians. “But you, brethren, are not in darkness
-that that _day_ should overtake you as a thief; for you are all the
-children of light and the children of the _day_.”[166] No one familiar
-with the language of Scripture can doubt that the first _day_ here is
-the Day of Judgment; and it is quite plain that the second _day_ is
-_not_ the Day of Judgment.
-
-Our next example, and one most appropriate to our purpose, is taken
-from the prophet Amos: “And it shall come to pass in that _day_, saith
-the Lord God, that I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will
-darken the earth in the clear _day_.”[167] This prophecy is commonly
-referred by the Fathers to the time of our Lord, when the earth was
-darkened in the clear day on the occasion of His crucifixion; but some
-eminent authorities, with Saint Jerome at their head, explain it of the
-Captivity in Babylon. Either interpretation will suit our argument. The
-sacred writer first employs the word Day for a long period of time, and
-afterward proceeds to use it in its more ordinary sense, without giving
-his readers any express intimation of such a transition.
-
-We hope it is now pretty clear that neither the reason assigned for
-the institution of the Sabbath Day, nor the particular form of words
-in which that ordinance is set forth, offers any insurmountable
-obstacle to the opinion we are defending. And this is quite enough for
-our purpose. For we would again remind our readers that we are not
-attempting to prove from the Sacred Text that this opinion _must_ be
-true, but only that it _may_ be true. Our object has been sufficiently
-attained if we have succeeded in showing that the hypothesis which
-makes the Days of Creation long periods, is not inconsistent with the
-language of Scripture.
-
-We are tempted, however, in the case of this objection, to go somewhat
-further than the scope of our argument strictly demands. The text we
-have just been discussing brings before us, in fact, a consideration
-of great weight in favor of the system of long periods. “In six days
-the Lord made the Heavens and the Earth and the sea, and all that in
-them is, and rested on the seventh day.” Now, what was this Seventh Day
-on which God rested? Was it a common day of twenty-four hours? or was
-it not rather a long and undefined period of time? Saint Augustine
-answers plainly enough: “The seventh day,” he says, “is without an
-evening, and has no setting.” And Venerable Bede, asking why the sacred
-writer had assigned no evening to the seventh day, gives this answer:
-“Because it has no end, and is shut in by no limit.”[168]
-
-The common sentiment of Theologians, as far as we know, seems to point
-in the same direction. They tell us that God is said to have rested,
-inasmuch as He ceased from the creation of new species; and they
-hold that since the close of the Sixth Day no new species have been
-brought into existence. But whether this be true or not, it would be
-very difficult, we think, to point out any sense in which God can be
-said to have rested after the work of the Six Days, and in which He
-is not resting at the present moment. If so, the day of His rest is
-still going on; and it is not a period of twenty-four hours only, but
-a period of many thousand years. Now, if the Seventh Day on which God
-rested is a period of many thousand years, are we not fully justified
-in supposing that the Six Days on which He formed and furnished the
-Heavens and the Earth were likewise periods of many ages?
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-_CHAPTER XXI._
-
-APPLICATION OF THE SECOND HYPOTHESIS TO THE MOSAIC HISTORY OF
-CREATION--CONCLUSION.
-
-    _Summary of the argument--Striking coincidence between the
-    order of creation as set forth in the narrative of Moses
-    and in the records of Geology--Comparison illustrated
-    and developed--Scheme of adjustment between the periods
-    of Geology and the days of Genesis--Tabular view of this
-    scheme--Objections considered--It is not to be regarded as an
-    established theory, but as an admissible hypothesis--Either
-    the first hypothesis or the second is sufficient to meet the
-    demands of Geology as regards the antiquity of the earth--Not
-    necessary to suppose that the sacred writer was made acquainted
-    with the long ages of geological time--He simply records
-    faithfully that which was committed to his charge--The
-    Mosaic history of creation stands alone, without rivals or
-    competitors._
-
-
-The results at which we have arrived by the long, and we fear tedious,
-line of argument pursued in the last Chapter, may be briefly summed up.
-First, many illustrious Fathers of the Church--Saint Augustine, Origen,
-Clement of Alexandria, Saint Athanasius, and others--plainly declared
-against the opinion that the Days of Creation were days in the ordinary
-sense of the word; and, therefore, it is a mistake to suppose that this
-opinion is supported by the unanimous voice of Christian tradition.
-Secondly, the word Day is frequently used in Scripture for a long
-period of time, and sometimes for a period of indefinite duration.
-Thirdly, there is nothing in the language of Moses that forbids us
-to explain the word according to this sense, in the first chapter of
-Genesis. And fourthly, there is, at least, one grave consideration,
-derived from Holy Scripture itself, which distinctly points to such
-an interpretation. The Six Days of Creation are contrasted with the
-Seventh Day of God’s rest; and this Seventh Day of God’s rest is
-unquestionably a long period of undefined duration. From all this it is
-obvious to conclude, that we may fairly adopt this mode of interpreting
-the Mosaic Days, if it will assist us in reconciling the received
-conclusions of science with the truths of Revelation.
-
-Now, there is a striking resemblance, in some important respects,
-between the order of Creation as exhibited in the successive days of
-the Sacred Record, and the order of Creation as manifested in the
-successive periods of Geological time. Three days are specially marked
-out by the Inspired Historian as distinguished by the creation of
-vegetable and animal life--the Third, the Fifth, and the Sixth. On
-the Third Day were created plants and trees; on the Fifth, reptiles,
-fish, and birds; on the Sixth, cattle, and the beasts of the earth,
-and, toward the end, man himself. Geologists, on the other hand, not
-influenced in the least degree by the Scripture narrative, but guided
-chiefly by the remains of animal and vegetable life which are preserved
-in the Crust of the Earth, have established three leading divisions
-of Geological time; the Palæozoic, or first age of organic life, the
-Mesozoic, or second great age of organic life, and the Kainozoic,
-or third great age of organic life. Here, no doubt, is a remarkable
-coincidence.
-
-But it would be still more remarkable if we could recognize, in the
-three epochs of Geology, the same general characteristics of organic
-life as we find ascribed by Moses to the three successive days of the
-Bible narrative. And so we may, it is said, if we will only take the
-pains to examine for ourselves the organic remains of these geological
-epochs as they lie dispersed through the Crust of the Earth, or even
-as they are to be found collected and arranged for exhibition in our
-museums. The first great age of Geology is eminently distinguished
-for its plants and trees; the second, for its huge reptiles and great
-sea-monsters; the third, for its vast herds of noble quadrupeds. Nay,
-to complete the harmony between the two Records, as man is represented
-by the Inspired Writer to have been created toward the close of the
-last day, so, toward the close of the last Geological age, the remains
-of man and of his works are found, for the first time, laid by in the
-archives of the Earth.
-
-Such is the coincidence which some ingenious writers fancy they can
-trace between the history that is set forth in the written Word of
-God, and the history that is so curiously inscribed upon His works.
-Our readers, perhaps, will not be unwilling to consider it a little
-more in detail. We read in the first chapter of Genesis, that on the
-Third Day God said: “Let the earth bring forth the green herb, and
-such as may seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after its kind,
-which may have seed in itself upon the earth. And it was so done. And
-the earth brought forth the green herb, and such as yieldeth seed
-according to its kind, and the tree that beareth fruit, having seed
-each one according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”[169]
-Let us now turn to the Carboniferous Period of Geology, which occupies
-a large space in the great Palæozoic age. All writers agree that it
-was specially marked by a gorgeous and luxuriant vegetation: and as
-we contemplate the multitudinous remains of plants and trees which
-have been gathered so abundantly in our coal measures, and ranged with
-such striking effect along the walls of our museums, we can scarcely
-help thinking that we have before us a practical commentary on the
-text of Moses. The gifted Hugh Miller, who is universally allowed
-to have been one of the most practical and experienced Geologists of
-the modern school, gives a very picturesque and graphic sketch of the
-Carboniferous flora. “In no other age,” he says, “did the world ever
-witness such a flora: the youth of the earth was peculiarly a green
-and umbrageous youth,--a youth of dusk and tangled forests,--of huge
-pines and stately araucarians,--of the reed-like calamite, the tall
-tree-fern, the sculptured sigillaria, and the hirsute lepidodendron.
-Wherever dry land, or shallow lake or running stream appeared, from
-where Melville Island now spreads out its ice-wastes under the star of
-the pole, to where the arid plains of Australia lie solitary beneath
-the bright cross of the south, a rank and luxuriant herbage cumbered
-every footbreadth of the dank and steaming soil; and even to distant
-planets our earth must have shown, through the enveloping cloud, with
-a green and delicate ray.”[170] Such an age as this might well be
-described in history as the age in which the earth brought forth the
-green herb, and the fruit-tree yielding seed according to its kind.
-
-Again, the work of the Fifth Day is thus described in the Sacred
-Narrative:--“God also said: Let the waters bring forth the creeping
-creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under
-the firmament of Heaven. And God created the great whales, and every
-living and moving creature which the waters brought forth, according
-to their kinds, and every winged fowl according to its kind. And God
-saw that it was good.”[171] And in this case, as in the former, we may
-find the counterpart of the Bible story in the records of Geology. “The
-secondary age of the geologist,” says the eminent writer from whom
-we have already quoted, “possessed, like the earlier one, its herbs
-and plants, but they were of a greatly less luxuriant and conspicuous
-character than their predecessors, and no longer formed the prominent
-trait or feature of the creation to which they belong. The period
-had also its corals, its crustaceans, its molluscs, its fishes, and,
-in some one or two exceptional instances, its dwarf mammals. But the
-grand existences of the age,--the existences in which it excelled every
-other creation, earlier or later,--were its huge creeping things,--its
-enormous monsters of the deep,--and, as shown by the impressions of
-their footprints stamped upon the rocks, its gigantic birds. It was
-peculiarly the age of egg-bearing animals, winged and wingless. Its
-wonderful _whales_, not however as now, of the mammalian, but of the
-reptilian class--ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and cetiosaurs--must have
-tempested the deep; its creeping lizards and crocodiles, such as the
-teleosaurus megalosaurus, and iguanodon,--creatures some of which more
-than rival the existing elephant in height, and greatly more than
-rivalled him in bulk,--must have crowded the plains, or haunted by
-myriads the rivers of the period; and we know that the foot-prints of,
-at least, one of its many birds, are fully twice the size of those made
-by the horse or camel. We are thus prepared to demonstrate that the
-second period of the geologist was peculiarly and characteristically a
-period of whale-like reptiles of the sea, of enormous creeping reptiles
-of the land, and of numerous birds, some of them of gigantic size.”[172]
-
-Once more, it is written that, on the Sixth Day, “God said: Let the
-earth bring forth the living creature in its kind, cattle and creeping
-things, and beasts of the earth, according to their kinds. And it was
-so done. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds,
-and cattle and every thing that creepeth on the earth after its kind.
-And God saw that it was good.”[173] And again Geology seems to confirm
-the truth of the Inspired narrative, and to fill up the details of the
-picture. “The Tertiary period,” continues Hugh Miller, “had also its
-prominent class of existences. Its flora seems to have been no more
-conspicuous than that of the present time; its reptiles occupy a very
-subordinate place; but its beasts of the field were by far the most
-wonderfully developed, both in size and numbers, that ever appeared
-upon the earth. Its mammoths and its mastodons, its rhinoceri and
-its hippopotami, its enormous dimotherium and colossal megatherium,
-greatly more than equalled in bulk the greatest mammals of the present
-time, and vastly exceeded them in number. The remains of one of its
-elephants (Elephas primigenius) are still so abundant amid the frozen
-wastes of Siberia, that what have been not inappropriately termed
-‘ivory quarries’ have been wrought among their bones for more than a
-hundred years. Even in our own country, of which, as I have already
-shown, this elephant was for long ages a native, so abundant are the
-skeletons and tusks, that there is scarcely a local museum in the
-kingdom that has not its specimens, dug out of the Pleistocene deposits
-of the neighborhood. And with this ancient elephant there were meetly
-associated in Britain, as on the northern continents generally all
-around the globe, many other mammals of corresponding magnitude. ‘Grand
-indeed,’ says an English naturalist, ‘was the fauna of the British
-islands in those early days. Tigers as large again as the biggest
-Asiatic species lurked in the ancient thickets; elephants nearly
-twice the size of the largest individuals that now exist in Africa or
-Ceylon roamed in herds: at least two species of the rhinoceros forced
-their way through the primeval forests; and the lakes and rivers were
-tenanted by hippopotami as bulky, and with as great tusks, as those
-of Africa.’ The massive cave-bear and large cave-hyæna belong to the
-same formidable group, with at least two species of great oxen, with a
-horse of smaller size, and an elk that stood ten feet four inches in
-height. Truly this Tertiary age--this third and last of the geologic
-periods--was peculiarly the age of great ‘beasts of the earth after
-their kind, and of cattle after their kind.’”[174]
-
-We shall be told, perhaps, that there are Six Days assigned to the
-work of creation in the Mosaic narrative, and that we have accounted
-but for three. Let it be remembered, however, that Geology does not
-profess to give a complete history of our Globe. It can set before us
-those events only which have left their impress indelibly stamped upon
-the rocks that compose the Crust of the Earth. These events Geologists
-have attempted to reduce to the order of a chronological system; and in
-prosecuting this task they have been guided almost exclusively by the
-evidence of Organic Remains. Hence it was not to be expected that, in
-Geological Chronology, we should find a Period specially set apart as
-the Period in which Light was made; or another as the Period in which
-the Firmament was spread out over the Earth; or a Third as the Period
-in which the sun and moon and stars shone forth in the expanse of
-Heaven. Such phenomena had, indeed, a very important influence on the
-physical condition of our globe. But they must occupy a very secondary
-place, if indeed they are distinctly chronicled at all in the records
-of Geology. It is the formation of rocks and the embedding therein of
-Fossil Remains that constitute the main study of the Geologist, and
-that guide him in the distribution of Geological time.
-
-Furthermore, we would observe that the scheme of Chronology which
-Geologists put before us, affords abundant room for each and all of
-the Mosaic Days. Let it be assumed for a moment that the Carboniferous
-Period corresponds with the Third Day of the Sacred narrative. The
-earlier Periods of the Palæozoic Age will then fit in with the First
-and Second Days of Scripture; and the Permian, which intervenes between
-the Carboniferous Period and the Secondary Age, may be supposed to
-correspond with the Fourth Day of Scripture. This adjustment between
-the Mosaic Days and the Periods of Geology will probably be made more
-intelligible to the general reader by the Table that appears on the
-following page.
-
-The reader must not think it amiss, in this distribution of the Mosaic
-Days, that four out of six are crowded together into one Geological
-Age, while each of the other two has an entire Age assigned to
-itself. If the Days of Creation were indefinite periods, there is no
-incongruity in supposing that one may have corresponded to a longer,
-another to a shorter interval in the history of our planet. But, in
-truth, our scheme of distribution does not of necessity imply that
-the Mosaic Days were periods of unequal length. Geologists do not
-pretend that there is even a remote approximation to equality between
-the several divisions of Geological time. The three great Epochs are
-distinguished from each other by reason of the very marked difference
-in the character of their Fossil Remains. And the multiplication
-of Periods in each Epoch seems to depend rather upon the degree of
-completeness with which the strata of that Age have been examined,
-than upon any conjecture as to the probable length of its duration.
-Thus, for example, Sir Charles Lyell thinks that, as far as the present
-condition of Science affords the means of forming an opinion, almost
-any one of the Periods in the Palæozoic Age was as long as all the
-Periods of the Tertiary Age taken together.[175]
-
-But there is another and a more serious objection against our
-hypothesis. It has been observed more than once that the periods of
-Geology are out of harmony with the Days of Genesis, even as regards
-the history of Organic life. According to the Scripture narrative
-no Organic life appeared upon the Earth previous to the Third Day.
-Now the Third Day of Scripture corresponds, in our scheme, with the
-Carboniferous Period of Geology. And yet there is abundant evidence
-in the Fossil Remains of the Devonian, the Silurian, and the Cambrian
-Formations, that Organic life--both plants and animals--prevailed upon
-the Earth for many ages before the Carboniferous Period began. Nay,
-it is now commonly held, since the discovery of the famous _Eozoon
-Canadense_, the oldest known Fossil, that life already existed during
-the deposition of the Laurentian Rocks, the earliest of all the
-Stratified Formations. Furthermore, in the Mosaic account, Fish are
-represented as having been created only on the Fifth Day, which we have
-fitted in with the Secondary Age of Geology: whereas in the Geological
-Record we find Fish as early as the Silurian Period, which is far back
-in the Primary Age. These considerations, and divers others of a like
-nature, have been regarded by some eminent writers as altogether fatal
-to the hypothesis for which we are contending.
-
-  +--------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
-  |       DAYS.        |     PERIODS.    |    EPOCHS.      |
-  |                    |                 |                 |
-  | DAY OF GOD’S REST. |     RECENT.     |  HISTORIC AGE.  |
-  +--------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
-  |                    |  POST-PLIOCENE. |                 |
-  | SIXTH MOSAIC DAY.  |  PLIOCENE.      |    TERTIARY     |
-  |                    |  MIOCENE.       |       OR        |
-  |                    |  EOCENE.        |  KAINOZOIC AGE. |
-  +--------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
-  |                    |  CRETACEOUS.    |    SECONDARY    |
-  | FIFTH MOSAIC DAY.  |  JURASSIC.      |       OR        |
-  |                    |  TRIASSIC.      |  MESOZOIC AGE.  |
-  +--------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
-  | FOURTH MOSAIC DAY. |  PERMIAN.       |                 |
-  | THIRD MOSAIC DAY.  |  CARBONIFEROUS. |     PRIMARY     |
-  |                    |  { DEVONIAN.    |       OR        |
-  | FIRST AND SECOND   |  { SILURIAN.    |  PALÆOZOIC AGE. |
-  | MOSAIC DAYS.       |  { CAMBRIAN.    |                 |
-  |                    |  { LAURENTIAN.  |                 |
-  +--------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
-
-To us, however, it appears that such points of discrepancy involve no
-contradiction between the two Records. The Sacred Writer tells us, no
-doubt, that on the Third Day God created plants and trees: but he does
-not say, either expressly or otherwise, that previous to the Third Day
-the Earth was devoid of vegetation. Again, we read that reptiles, fish,
-and birds were created on the Fifth Day. But there is nothing in the
-language of the Inspired narrative from which it can be inferred that
-these several classes of animal life may not have been represented
-before that time, by many and various species: though probably, it
-was only on the Fifth Day that they were developed in such vast
-numbers, and assumed such gigantic proportions, as to become the most
-conspicuous objects of creation.
-
-The first chapter of Genesis is but a brief summary of an inconceivably
-vast series of events. It is nothing more than a rapid sketch,
-exhibiting, as it were, to the eye the prominent features in the
-history of Creation. Moreover, we should remember that it was written
-with a specific end in view. The purpose of the Sacred Writer was
-plainly to impress upon the Hebrew people, naturally prone to idolatry,
-the existence of One Supreme Being, who has made all things. Hence
-we should naturally expect that, amid the boundless variety of God’s
-works, he would make choice of those that were most calculated to
-strike the mind with wonder and awe, and to bring home to a rude and
-uncultivated race of men the Almighty Power and Supreme Dominion of
-the Great Creator. Now the Zoophytes, and Graptolites, and Trilobites,
-of the Devonian and Silurian Periods, however curious and interesting
-they may be to men of science, would have had but little significance
-for the Jewish people. Let us suppose that these more humble forms of
-animal life had, in fact, existed during the First and Second Days
-of the Mosaic narrative, and where is the wonder that the Inspired
-Historian, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, should pass them
-by in silence, and choose rather to commemorate the more striking and
-impressive facts, that, at the bidding of God, Light shone forth from
-the midst of darkness, and the blue firmament of Heaven was expanded
-above the waste of waters?
-
-We say, then, that events which are simply left unrecorded by the
-Sacred Writer are not, on that account, untrue:[176] that he describes
-to us, not all the works of Creation, which would have been an endless
-task, but only the more conspicuous objects in each successive stage;
-and that he sketches them, most probably, as they would have appeared
-to the eye of a human observer, if a human observer at the time
-had existed on the Earth. If this view be admitted, then it is not
-inconsistent with the Scripture narrative to suppose that plants may
-have existed before the Third Day, and fish before the Fifth. Each
-Day in its turn would have been rendered conspicuous to an observing
-spectator by those events which are recorded by Moses. But each Day,
-too, would have witnessed many other events, unnoticed by Moses, of
-which the memorials have been preserved, even to our time, in the Crust
-of the Earth.
-
-We should observe, however, that though this scheme of adapting
-the Periods of Geology to the Days of Moses, may be defended as a
-legitimate hypothesis, it cannot be upheld as an established truth. The
-geological records that have hitherto been brought to light represent
-but the merest fragment of the Earth’s past history. Each year that
-passes over our heads is adding largely to the store of facts already
-accumulated. And it needs but little reflection to perceive that an
-hypothesis may be quite consistent with the knowledge we possess
-to-day, and yet may be found altogether inconsistent with the knowledge
-we shall possess to-morrow. We must be content, therefore, to suspend
-our judgment, and to await the progress of events. It may be that
-future discoveries shall bring to light new points of harmony between
-the Days of Genesis and the Periods of Geology; it may be they shall
-demonstrate that no such harmony exists. For us it is enough to have
-shown that this hypothesis is consistent, on the one hand, with the
-story of Genesis--on the other, with the actual discoveries of Geology;
-and, therefore, that it may be adopted, in the present condition of
-our knowledge, as a legitimate means of reconciling the established
-conclusions of that science with the truths of Revelation.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-CONCLUSION.--We have, then, two distinct systems of interpretation,
-according to which the vast Antiquity of the Earth, asserted by
-Geology, may be fairly brought into harmony with the history of
-creation, recorded in Scripture. The one allows an interval of
-incalculable duration between the creation of the Heavens and the
-Earth, and the work of the Six Days: the other supposes each one of
-these Six Days to have been itself an indefinite period of time. We
-cannot, indeed, prove that either of these two systems is true in point
-of fact; but we have attempted to show that neither is at variance with
-the language of the Sacred Text. On the other hand, when we look to the
-evidence of geological facts, we see no decisive reason for preferring
-one to the other. Either mode of interpretation seems in itself
-quite sufficient to meet all the present requirements of Geology;
-for, according to either interpretation, the Bible narrative would
-allow time without limit for the past history of our Globe; and time
-without limit is just what Geology demands. We may say, then, on this
-point, what Saint Augustine said long ago, in speaking of the diverse
-interpretations which the text of Genesis admits: “Let each one choose
-according to the best of his power: only let him not rashly put forward
-as known that which is unknown; and let him not fail to remember
-that he is but a man searching, as far as may be, into the works of
-God.”[177]
-
-It must not be supposed that, according to our view, the Sacred
-Writer, in composing his account of the Creation, had before his mind
-those vast Geological Periods about which we have said so much in
-the course of this volume. Such an opinion is no part of our system.
-We see no good reason for believing that the author of Genesis was
-specially enlightened from Heaven on the subject of Stratified Rocks
-and Fossil Remains, of Upheaval and Denudation, of Volcanic Action and
-Subterranean Heat. These are matters of Physical, not of Religious
-Science. And it seems to be the order of Providence to leave the
-discovery of such things to the industry and ingenuity of man: “Cuncta
-fecit bona in tempore suo, et mundum tradidit disputationi eorum.”[178]
-
-What we maintain, then, is simply this: that the Sacred Writer recorded
-faithfully, in language fitted to the ideas of his time, that portion
-of Revelation which was committed to him; and, in the accomplishment of
-this task, made such a choice of words and phrases, under the guidance
-of the Holy Spirit, to whom all truth is present, as to set forth
-plainly those facts that were unfolded to him, without introducing any
-error about those facts of which he was ignorant. The language is the
-language of men, but the voice that speaks therein is the voice of God.
-And thus it comes to pass that this Mosaic story, when fairly examined
-according to the ordinary laws of human speech, is found in every age
-to accommodate itself, with quite an unexpected simplicity, to those
-new and wonderful views of God’s manifold power which each human
-science in its turn brings to light.
-
-Before taking leave of the subject, we would venture to bring under the
-notice of our readers one very obvious reflection, which is sometimes
-lost sight of in the heat of controversy. The Mosaic history of the
-Creation absolutely stands alone. It has no rivals, no competitors.
-Every other attempt that has been made to explain the origin of
-the world, and of the human race, is refuted by its own intrinsic
-extravagance and absurdity. The wisest nations of antiquity failed to
-discover that great fundamental truth, which stands out so boldly on
-the first page of Genesis, that there is One God who hath made all
-things. The philosophers of Chaldæa were familiar with the course of
-the Heavens, and could predict the eclipses of the sun and moon. But
-the philosophers of Chaldæa could not rise from the contemplation of
-creatures to the knowledge of the Creator: the creatures themselves
-were the gods that Chaldæa worshipped. Egypt had greatness of mind to
-conceive the idea of the Pyramids, and skill to devise the plan of
-their construction, and strength of arms to lift up the huge stones on
-these stupendous piles. But Egypt raised up temples to the river that
-waters its plain, and offered sacrifice to the reptile that crawls
-upon the earth, and the beast that grazes in the field. In Greece the
-human mind soared to its highest flight, and ranged over the widest and
-most beautiful fields of thought. Peerless is she among the nations,
-the mistress of the arts, the fountain source of refined taste, the
-storehouse of intellectual power, the great nurse of human genius.
-Her schools of philosophy have influenced and guided to a marvellous
-extent the thoughts and speculations of all subsequent times. The
-song of her immortal bard has kindled the imagination of the poet in
-every generation, and enriched his mind with glowing images. Orators
-and statesmen still love to copy the lofty sentiments, the graceful
-diction, the flowing periods, of her golden eloquence. And students
-from every clime stand enraptured before the beauty and the majesty
-of her sculptured marble. But Greece, Imperial Greece, knew not the
-One God, the giver of all good gifts, by whom she was so highly
-endowed. She fashioned for herself gods and goddesses after her own
-fancy, and portioned out the universe between them. Jupiter hurled
-his thunderbolts from the clouds: Neptune ruled the sea: Pluto swayed
-the sceptre of the infernal regions: Minerva was the goddess of
-wisdom: Vulcan the god of fire: Apollo the god of music. Nay, the very
-infirmities and vices of human nature were personified under the names
-of divinities, and worshipped in the Pantheon of the gods. Rome, too,
-the conqueror of the world, had its philosophers and its orators, its
-poets and its sculptors, whose productions still charm and instruct
-mankind. Yet was Rome no exception to the common lot of the gentile
-world. For Rome, like Greece, had its long array of gods and goddesses,
-with their petty jealousies, their vindictive malice, their shameless
-passions. Alone, amidst all the Mythologies and Cosmogonies of ancient
-nations, the story of the Hebrew Legislator rises superior to the gross
-and silly speculations of mortal men. It alone proclaims to mankind
-what Philosophy and Science, when left to themselves, have never been
-able to teach, that, In the beginning God created the Heavens and the
-Earth; that the plants and the animals, the ocean and the elements,
-the sun and moon and stars, man himself, and all that delights the eye
-and charms the ear and fills the mind, are His creatures; and that
-besides Him there is no other God. Away, then, with the idea that
-this Sacred Narrative, stamped as it plainly is with the imprint of
-its Divine Author, should ever be found at variance with the truths
-of science,--or rather, we should say, with those scanty fragments
-of truth, those crumbs of knowledge, falling from the table of our
-Heavenly Father, which it is given to man here below to gather up with
-laborious care, and which, however they may excite his longings, cannot
-satisfy his hunger.
-
-Here, for the present, we must stop. At some future time, perhaps,
-if our opportunities permit, we shall return to this subject, and,
-taking up the second branch of the controversy, investigate the recent
-discoveries of Geology in reference to the teaching of the Bible as
-regards the Antiquity of the Human Race.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-APPENDIX.
-
-EXTRACTS FROM THE FATHERS AND THEOLOGIANS.
-
-REFERRED TO IN THIS VOLUME.
-
-
-(1.) SAINT AUGUSTINE.--P. 297.
-
-“Et in rebus obscuris atque a nostris oculis remotissimis, si qua
-inde scripta etiam divina legerimus, quae possunt salva fida qua
-imbuimur, alias atque alias parere sententias; in nullam earum nos
-praecipiti affirmatione ita projiciamus, ut si forte diligentius
-discussa veritas eam recte labefactaverit, corruamus: non pro sententia
-divinarum Scripturarum, sed pro nostra ita dimicantes, ut eam velimus
-Scripturarum esse, quae nostra est; cum potius eam quae Scripturarum
-est, nostram esse velle debeamus.”--De Genesi ad Litteram, lib. i. cap.
-18, n. 37.
-
-
-(2.) IDEM.--P. 298.
-
-“Plerumque enim accidit ut aliquid de terra, de coelo, de caeteris
-hujus mundi elementis, de motu et conversione vel etiam de magnitudine
-et intervallis siderum, de certis defectibus solis ac lunae, de
-circuitibus annorum et temporum, de naturis animalium, fruticum,
-lapidum atque hujusmodi caeteris, etiam non christianus ita noverit,
-ut certissima ratione vel experientia teneat. Turpe est autem
-nimis et perniciosum ac maxime cavendum, ut christianum de his
-rebus quasi secundum christianas Litteras loquentem, ita delirare
-quilibet infidelis audiat, ut, quemadmodum dicitur, toto coelo errare
-conspiciens, risum tenere vix possit. Et non tam molestum est, quod
-errans homo deridetur, sed quod auctores nostri ab eis qui foris sunt,
-talia sensisse creduntur, et cum magno eorum exitio de quorum salute
-satagimus, tanquam indocti reprehenduntur atque respuuntur. Cum enim
-quemquam de numero christianorum in ea re quam optime norunt, errare
-deprehenderint, et vanam sententiam suam de nostris Libris asserere;
-quo pacto illis Libris credituri sunt, de resurrectione mortuorum, et
-de spe vitae aeternae, regnoque coelorum, quando de his rebus quas
-jam experiri, vel indubitatis numeris percipere potuerunt, fallaciter
-putaverint esse conscriptos? Quid enim molestiae tristitiaeque ingerant
-prudentibus fratribus temerarii praesumptores, satis dici non potest,
-cum si quando de prava et falsa opinione sua reprehendi, et convinci
-coeperint ab eis qui nostrorum Librorum auctoritate non tenentur, ad
-defendendum id quod levissima temeritate et apertissima falsitate
-dixerunt, eosdem Libros sanctos, unde id probent, proferre conantur,
-vel etiam memoriter, quae ad testimonium valere arbitrantur, multa inde
-verba pronuntiant, ‘non intelligentes neque quae loquuntur, neque de
-quibus affirmant’ (1. Tim., i. 7).”--Ibid., cap. 19, n. 39.
-
-
-(3.) SAINT THOMAS.--P. 298.
-
-“Dicendum quod, sicut Augustinus docet, in hujusmodi quaestionibus
-duo sunt observanda. Primo quidem, ut veritas Scripturae inconcusse
-teneatur. Secundo, cum Scriptura divina multipliciter exponi possit,
-quod nulli expositioni aliquis ita praecise inhaereat, ut si certa
-ratione constiterit hoc esse falsum quod aliquis sensum Scripturae esse
-credebat id nihilominus asserere praesumat; ne Scriptura ex hoc ab
-infidelibus derideatur, et ne eis via credendi praecludatur.”--Summa
-Theologica, Pars Prima, Quaest. lxviii. art. primus.
-
-
-(4.) PERRERIUS.--P. 302.
-
-“Quod autem in xx. et xxxi. cap. Exod. dictum est, Deum sex diebus
-fecisse coelum et terram, et omnia quae in eis sunt, non est huic
-opinioni contrarium: illud enim spatium temporis ante primum diem
-annumeratur sex diebus, quia fuit quam brevissimum, et fuit continuata
-Dei operatio: nec sane plures dies naturales consumpti sunt quam sex:
-ac licet ante primum diem, coelum et elementa facta sint secundum
-substantiam, tamen non fuerunt perfecta et omnino consummata, nisi
-spatio illorum sex dierum; tunc enim datus est illis ornatus,
-complementum, et perfectio.”--Comment. in Genes., cap. 1, v. 4, n. 80.
-
-
-(5.) TOSTATUS.--P. 302.
-
-“_Sex diebus fecit Dominus coelum et terram._ Recte dicitur his
-_facere_, quia coelum et terra, quae hic nominantur, et omnia alia,
-quae nomine eorum subintelliguntur, ista quidem omnia de materia prima
-facta sunt: materia autem non _facta_ sed _creata_ est.”--Comment. in
-Exod., cap. 20, quaest. 15.
-
-
-(6.) PETAVIUS.--P. 302.
-
-Writing on the phrase _In die quo fecit Dominus Deus coelum et terram_,
-he says, “hoc est, perpolitum et elaboratum esse sex continuis diebus,
-id enim _faceindi_ vox Hebraeis ipsis interpretibus significare
-videtur.”--De Opificio Sex Dierum, lib. cap. 14, sect. 1.
-
-
-(7.) SAINT BASIL.--P. 304.
-
-“_Et facta est vespera, et factum est mane, dies unus._ Vespera igitur
-diei ac noctis est communis terminus: et similiter mane, est noctis
-cum die vicinitas. Itaque ut _prioris generationis praerogativam
-diei tribueret_, prius commemoravit finem diei, deinde noctis,
-velut insequente diem nocte. Nam qui status in mundo fuit ante
-lucis generationem, is non erat nox, sed tenebrae: quod autem a die
-distinguebatur, eique opponebatur, id nox appellatum est.”--Homilia ii.
-in Hexaemeron; Edit. Bened. p. 20; Edit. Migne, Patr. Graec. Cursus
-Completus, tom. 29, p. 47.
-
-
-(8.) SAINT CHRYSOSTOM.--P. 304.
-
-“Ostendimus enim heri, ut meministis, quomodo beatus Moses enarrans
-nobis horum visibilium elementorum creationem et opificium, dixerit:
-_In principio fecit Deus coelum et terram: terra autem erat invisibilis
-et incomposita:_ et vos causam docuimus, quare Deus terram informen et
-nullis figuris expolitam creaverit; quae, opinor, omnia mente tenetis;
-necessarium est igitur nos ad ea quae sequuntur hodie progredi. Nam
-postquam dixit, _Terra autem erat invisibilis et incomposita_, nos
-accurate docet, unde invisibilis erat et inculta, dicens: _Et tenebrae
-erant super abyssum, et Spiritus Dei superferebatur super aquam_....
-Quandoquidem igitur diffusa erat magna universi visibilis informitas,
-praecepto suo Deus, optimus ille artifex, deformitatem illam depulit,
-et immensa lucis visibilis pulchritudo producta tenebras fugavit
-sensibiles, illustravitque omnia.”--In Cap. i. Genes. Homil. iii.;
-Edit. Migne, Patr. Graec. Cursus Completus, tom. 53, p. 33. Here Saint
-Chrysostom plainly teaches that the world existed before the creation
-of light. In his Fifth Homily he is equally clear that the First Day
-of the Mosaic narrative began with a period of light, and not with a
-period of darkness: “Vide quomodo de singulis diebus sic dicat: _Et
-factum est vespere, et factum est mane, dies tertius_: non simpliciter
-nec absque causa: sed ne ordinem confundamus neque putemus vespera
-ingruente finem accepisse diem; sed sciamus vesperam finem esse lucis,
-et principium noctis: mane autem finem noctis, et complementum dici.
-Hoc enim nos docere vult beatus Moses, dicens: _Et factum est vespere,
-et factum est mane, dies tertius_.”--Edit. Migne, p. 52.
-
-
-(9.) SAINT AMBROSE.--P. 305.
-
-“_Terra autem erat invisibilis et incomposita._ Bonus artifex prius
-fundamentum ponit: postea, fundamento posito, aedificationis membra
-distinguit, et adjungit ornatum. Posito igitur fundamento terrae, et
-confirmata coeli substantia, duo enim ista sunt velut cardines rerum,
-subtexuit: _Terra autem erat inanis et incomposita_.”--Hexaemeron,
-Lib. i. cap. 7; Edit. Bened. p. 13; Edit. Migne, Patr. Lat. Cursus
-Completus, tom. 14, p. 135.
-
-“Principium ergo diei, vox Dei est: _fiat lux_; _et facta est
-lux_.”--Lib. i. cap. 10; Edit. Bened. p 21; Edit. Migne, p. 144.
-
-“In principio itaque temporis coelum et terram Deus fecit. Tempus enim
-ab hoc mundo, non ante mundum: dies autem temporis portio est, non
-principium.”--Lib. i. cap. 6; Edit. Bened. p. 10; Edit. Migne, p. 132.
-
-
-(10.) VENERABLE BEDE.--P. 305.
-
-“Scriptura ait: _Qui fecisti mundum de materia informi_. Sed materia
-facta est de nihilo, mundi vero species de informi materia. Proinde
-duas res ante omnem diem et ante omne tempus condidit Deus angelicam
-videlicet creaturam et informem materiam.”--In Pentateuch. Comment.;
-sub. cap. 1: Edit Migne, Patr. Lat. Cursus Completus, tom. 91, p.
-191. In another place, citing the words of Ecclesiasticus, _Qui
-vivit in aeternum creavit omnia simul_, he says, “hoc utique ante
-omnem diem hujus saeculi fecit, cum in principio coelum creavit et
-terram.”--Hexaemeron, Lib. i. in Genes, ii. 4; Edit. Migne, tom. 91, p.
-39.
-
-“_Discipulus._ Da ordinem per sex dies factarum rerum? _Magister._ In
-ipso quidem principio conditionis facta sunt coelum, terra, aer, et
-aqua.... _Discipulus._ Sequere ordinem generationis? _Magister._ In
-principio diei primae lux facta est; secunda vero factum firmamentum;”
-etc.--_Quaestiones super Genesim_; Edit. Migne, Patr. Lat. tom. 93, p.
-236. This work is classed by Migne among the Dubia et Spuria of Bede.
-The critics, however, seem to be agreed that it belongs to a period not
-later than the tenth century. If it is not the genuine composition of
-Bede, which is considered more probable, then it only follows that we
-have, besides Bede, another ancient authority in favor of our opinion.
-
-
-(11.) PETER LOMBARD.--P. 306.
-
-“Cum Deus in sapientia sua angelicos condidit spiritus, alia etiam
-creavit, sicut ostendit supradicta Scriptura, quae dicit _in principio
-Deum creasse coelum_, id est, angelos, _et terram_ scilicet, materiam
-quatuor elementorum adhuc confusam et informem, quae a Graecis dicta
-est chaos, _et hoc fuit ante omnem diem_. _Deinde_ elementa distinguit
-Deus, et species proprias atque distinctas singulis rebus secundum
-genus suum dedit; quae non simul, ut quibusdam sanctorum Patrum
-placuit, sed per intervalla temporum ac sex volumina dierum, ut aliis
-visum est formavit.”--Sentent. Lib. ii. Distinct. 12; Edit. Migne,
-Patr. Latin. Cursus Completus, tom. 192, p. 675.
-
-
-(12.) HUGH OF SAINT VICTOR.--P. 306.
-
-“Principium ergo divinorum operum fuit creatio lucis, quando ipsa
-lux non materialiter de nihilo creata est; sed de praejacenti illa
-universitatis materia formaliter facta est ut lux esset, et vim ac
-proprietatem lucendi haberet. Hoc opus prima die factum est; sed
-hujus operis materia ante primam diem creata. Moxque cum ipsa luce
-dies cœpit; quia ante lucem nec nox fuit nec dies, _etiamsi tempus
-fuit_.”--De Sacram. Lib. i. Pars i. cap. 9: Edit. Migne, Patr. Lat.
-tom. 176, p. 193.
-
-
-(13.) SAINT THOMAS.--P. 307.
-
-“Sed melius videtur dicendum quod _creatio fuerit ante omnem diem_.” In
-II. Sentent. Distinct. xiii. Art. 3, _ad tertium_: see also ibidem _ad
-primum_, and _ad secundum_. And again in the Summa he says: “Coelum et
-terram fecit in prima die, _potius ante omnem diem_.”--Pars i. Quaest.
-lxxxiv. Art. 2.
-
-
-(14.) PERRERIUS.--P. 307.
-
-“Licet ante _primum diem_, coelum et elementa facta sint _secundum
-substantiam_, tamen non fuerint perfecta et omnino consummata,
-nisi spatio illorum sex dierum: tunc enim datus est illis ornatus,
-complementum, et perfectio. Quanto autem tempore status ille mundi
-tenebrosus duraverit, hoc est, utrum plus an minus quam unus dies
-continere solet, nec mini compertum est, nec opinor cuiquam mortalium
-nisi cui divinitus id esset patefactum.”--Comment. in Genesim, cap. 1,
-v. 4, n. 80.
-
-
-(15.) PETAVIUS.--P. 307.
-
-“Nostra itaque sententia haec est; prima ilia Geneseos verba: _In
-principio creavit Deus coelum et terram_; non peculiare opus aliquod
-continere, quod initio, et ante dies sex molitus sit Deus: quasi ante
-lucem, ac reliquas deinceps opificii partes, qualecumque coelum ac
-terram creaverit. Sed esse generale quoddam effatum, quo omnia, quae
-sunt a Deo facta, complexus est. Etenim Moses, ut initio dicebam,
-Judaeos statim edocere voluit; totam illam aspectabilem rerum
-universitatem a Deo conditore profectam esse. Quare ita pronuntiavit,
-tanquam diceret: Quidquid videtis et quodcumque coeli ac terrae
-comprehendit ambitus, una cum coelo ipso, terrâque, id omne fabricatus
-est initio Deus. Postea vero per partes, ac singillatim, ut quaeque est
-elaborata, decripsit.”--De Opificio Sex Dierum, Lib. i. cap. 2, sect.
-10.
-
-“Imprimis _ante dierum sex initium_ solam cum aqua terram extitisse
-credimus:.... Habet haec opinio fidem ex Mosis narratione; qui ante
-coelum id est _firmamentum_, terram, et aquarum abyssum extitisse
-refert.... Nam illud Severiani valde probatur, prima die Deum omnia
-creasse: reliquis autem diebus, ex jam extantibus: Ubi primam diem non
-lucis tantum creatione circumscribit: sed quod ante illam factum est,
-id eidem tribuit. Quod intervallum quantum fuerit, nulla divinatio
-posset assequi. Neque vero mundi corpora illa, quae _prima omnium
-extitisse_ docui, aquam et terram, arbitror _eodem, in quem lucis ortus
-incidit, fabricata esse die_; ut quibusdam placet, haud satis firma
-ratione.”--Ibid., cap. 10, sect. 6.
-
-
-(16.) A LAPIDE.--P. 307.
-
-“S. Basilius et Beda putant coelum et terram non primo die, sed paulo
-ante primum diem, utpote ante lucem, create esse. Verum haec non ante,
-sed ipso primo die, puta initio primae diei, antequam lux produceretur,
-creata esse, patet Exodi xx. v. 11.”--Comment. in Genes., cap. 1, v. 1.
-
-
-(17.) SAINT AUGUSTINE.--P. 308.
-
-“Fecisti ante omnem diem in principio coelum et terram.”--Confess.
-Lib. xii. cap. 12: see also Lib. xii. cap. 8. And again, De Genesi ad
-Litteram, Lib. i. cap. 9, he writes:--“Atque illud ante omnem diem
-fecisse intelligitur, quod dictum est, _In principio fecit Deus coelum
-et terram_; ... Terrae autem nomine invisibilis et incompositae, ac
-tenebrosa abysso, imperfectio corporalis substantiae significata est,
-unde temporalia illa fierent, quorum prima esset lux.”
-
-
-(18.) PETAVIUS.--P. 311.
-
-“Quod intervallum quantum fuerit, nulla divinatio posset assequi.”--De
-Opific. Sex Dierum, Lib. i. cap. 10, sec. 6.
-
-
-(19.) PERRERIUS.--P. 311.
-
-“Quanto autem tempore status ille mundi tenebrosus duraverit, hoc est,
-utrum plus an minus quam unus dies continere solet, nec mihi compertum
-est, nec opinor cuiquam mortalium, nisi cui divinitus id esset
-patefactum.”--Comment. in Genes., cap. 1, v. 4.
-
-
-(20.) HUGH OF SAINT VICTOR.--P. 311.
-
-“Fortassis jam satis est de his hactenus disputasse, si hoc solum
-adjecerimus _quanto tempore_ mundus in hac confusione, prius quam ejus
-dispositio inchoaretur, perstiterit. Nam quod illa prima rerum omnium
-materia, in principio temporis, vel potius cum ipso tempore exorta sit,
-sonstat ex eo quod dictum est: in principio creavit Deus coelum et
-terram. _Quamdiu_ autem in hac informitate sive confusione permanserit,
-_Scriptura manifeste non ostendit_.”--De Sacram., Lib. i., pars i. cap.
-6.
-
-
-(21.) SAINT AUGUSTINE.--P. 319.
-
-“Qui dies cujusmodi sint, aut perdifficile nobis, aut etiam impossibile
-est cogitare; quanto magis dicere.”--De Civitate Dei, Lib. xi. cap. 6.
-
-Again: “Arduum quidem et difficillimum est viribus intentionis
-nostrae, voluntatem scriptoris in istis sex diebus mentis vivacitate
-penetrare.”--De Genesi ad Litteram, Lib. iv. cap. 1.
-
-
-(22.) IDEM.--P. 319.
-
-“Ac sic per _omnes illos dies units est dies, non istorum dierum
-consuetudine intelligendus, quos videmus solis circuitu determinari
-atque numerari_; sed alio quodam modo, a quo et illi tres dies, qui
-ante conditionem istorum luminarium commemorati sunt, alieni esse non
-possunt. Is enim modus non usque ad diem quartum, ut inde jam istos
-usitatos cogitaremus, sed usque ad sextum septimumque perductus est; ut
-longe aliter accipiendus sit dies et nox, inter quae duo divisit Deus,
-et aliter iste dies et nox, inter quae dixit ut dividant luminaria
-quae creavit, cum ait, ‘Et dividant inter diem et noctem.’ Tunc enim
-hunc diem condidit, cum condidit solem, cujus praesentia eumdem
-exhibet diem: ille autem dies primitus conditus jam triduum peregerat
-cum haec luminaria illius diei quarta repetitione creata sunt.”--De
-Genesi ad Litteram, Lib. iv. cap. 26. “De quo enim Creatore Scriptura
-ista narravit, _quod sex diebus consummaverit omnia opera sua, de
-illo alibi non utique dissonanter scriptum est, quod creaverit omnia
-simul_ (Eccles. xviii. 1). Ac per hoc et _istos dies sex vel septem vel
-potius unum sexies septiesve repetitum simul fecit qui fecit_ omnia
-simul. Quid ergo opus erat sex dies tam distincte dispositeque narrari?
-Quia scilicet ii qui non possunt videre quod dictum est, ‘Creavit
-omnia simul;’ nisi cum eis sermo tardius incedat ad id quo eos ducit,
-pervenire non possunt.”--Ib. cap. 33.
-
-
-(23). PHILO JUDÆUS.--P. 320.
-
-“Tum igitur omnia _simul_ sunt condita. In quo quidem universali
-opificio necesse erat servari ordinem.”--De Mundi Opificio; Edit.
-Francofurti, p. 14. This passage may, at first sight, appear somewhat
-obscure; but the meaning of it is made clear enough, when we read
-elsewhere in the same writer: “_Rusticanae simplicilatis est putare,
-sex diebus, aut utique certo tempore mundum conditum._... Ergo cum
-audis: ‘Complevit sexto die opera, intelligere non debes de diebus
-aliquot, sed de senario perfecto numero.’”--De Legis Allegor.; Edit.
-Francofurti, p. 41.
-
-
-(24). CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA.--P. 320.
-
-Stromatum, Lib. vi. Edit. Benid. p. 291; Edit. Migne, Patrum Graec.
-Cursus Completus, vol. 9, pp. 370-5. See also Dissertatio de Libris
-Stromatum, by the learned Benedictine, Nicholas le Nourry, cap. viii.
-artic. 1.
-
-
-(25). ORIGEN.--P. 320.
-
-“Quod autem prima die lucem, secunda firmamentum creaverit, tertia
-aquae quae sub coelo erant, in suis fuerint collectae receptaculis,
-atque ita terra solius naturae administratione suos fructus protulerit;
-quod quarta creata fuerint luminaria et stellae, quinta vero natatilia,
-sexta demum terrestria et homo, haec omnia, prout facultas tulit, in
-nostris in Genesim commentariis explicavimus. Quin et supra _contra
-eos qui obvio sensu Scripturam interpretantes asserunt sex dies ad
-creationem mundi insumptos fuisse_, adduximus hunc locum: ‘Iste est
-liber generationis coeli et terrae quando creata sunt, in die quo
-fecit Deus coelum et terram,’”--Contra Celsum, Lib. vi. Edit. Bened.
-pp. 678, 679; Edit. Migne, Patr. Graecor. Cursus Completus, vol. 11,
-p. 1390: for the passage referred to at the close of the extract see
-p. 1378. The Commentary upon Genesis of which Origen here speaks no
-longer exists, but the following passage has been preserved. “Aliqui
-jam absurdum existimantes Deum architecti more non aliter, quam plurium
-dierum, labore, fabricam valentis absolvere, intra multos dies mundum
-perfecisse _uno cuncta momento_ ac simul extitisse aiunt, et hinc illud
-adstruunt; ordinis autem causa, et ut series constet, dierum et rerum
-quae in illis factae sunt, numerum dictum putant. Hi probabiliter
-sententiam stabiliunt ea auctoritate qua dictum est: ‘Ipse dixit et
-facta sunt; ipse mandavit, et creata sunt.’”--Selecta in Genesim, Edit.
-Bened. p. 27; Edit. Migne, Patr. Graec. Cursus Completus, vol. 12, p.
-98. Again, in his Treatise De Principiis, Lib. iv., he says: “Quis
-igitur sanae mentis existimaverit primam et secundam et tertiam diem,
-et vesperam, et mane, sine sole, luna, et stellis, et eam quae veluti
-prima erat, diem sine coelo fuisse?” Edit. Bened. p. 175; Edit. Migne,
-vol. 11, p. 378. See also P. Danielis Huetii Origeniana, Lib. ii. cap.
-2, Quaest. 8, § 6; Edit. Migne, vol. 17, p. 979.
-
-
-(26.) SAINT ATHANASIUS.--P. 320.
-
-“Cum ex supra dictis constet, _nullam e rebus creatis prius altera
-factam esse_, sed res omnes factas uno eodemque mandato _simul_
-extitisse.”--Oratio ii. Contra Arianos, n. 63. Edit. Bened. p. 418. New
-Edition, p. 528. Edit. Migne, Patr. Graecor. Cursus Completus, p. 275.
-
-
-(27.) SAINT EUCHERIUS.--P. 320.
-
-Speaking strictly we should rather say the author of a Commentary upon
-Genesis belonging to a very early period of the Church, ascribed by
-some to Saint Eucherius, and usually published with his works. This
-author says, no doubt, that God first, in the beginning, created the
-substance of all things, and afterward developed the various forms
-on successive days (Gen. ii. 4): but then he tells us expressly that
-the substance did not precede the forms by any priority of time, but
-only by priority of origin (Gen. i. 2). Thus his view coincides pretty
-nearly with that of Saint Augustine, whose words, indeed, he seems to
-borrow. “‘Terra autem erat inanis et vacua.’ Id est, adhuc informis
-erat ipsa materia: quia necdum ex ea coelum et terra, necdum omnia
-formata erant, quae formari restabant: haec enim materia, ex nihilo
-facta, praecessit tamen res ex se factas, _non quidem aeternitate
-vel tempore, sicut praecedit lignum arcam_; sed sola origine, _sicut
-praecedit vox verbum, vel sonus cantum_: nam ‘qui vivit in aeternum
-creavit omnia simul.’”--Edit. Migne, Patr. Latin Cursus Completus, vol.
-50, p. 894.
-
-
-(28.) PROCOPIUS OF GAZA.--P. 320.
-
-We quote this writer on the authority of Perrerius, from whom the
-following passage is taken. “Idem censet hoc loco Procopius Gazæus:
-Mozen enim, inquit, in describendo mundi opificium, sex dierum
-distinctione usum esse docendi gratia ob tarditatem, videlicet,
-ruditatemque Judæorum, quibus hæc scribebat: qui quæ Deus _simul_
-fecerat, ob tantam eorum multitudinem atque varietatem simul et
-indiscrete capere et comprehendere, ut erant angustissimis ingeniis
-nequaquam potuissent.”--In Genes., cap. 2, vers. 4, 5, 6, n. 179.
-
-
-(29.) ALBERTUS MAGNUS.--P. 320.
-
-“Videtur mihi Augustino consentiendum.”--Summa P. 1, Quæst. 12, art. 6.
-See Pianciani, Cosmogonia Naturale, p. 23.
-
-
-(30.) SAINT THOMAS.--P. 320.
-
-Summa Pars. 1. Quæst. 74, art. ii.; also in an earlier work, Super
-Libros Sententiarum Petri Lombardi Commentarius, Distinct. xii. art. i.
-and iii. Having explained the opinion of Saint Augustine that there was
-no real succession in the order of time between the various works of
-the creation, but that all were created together; and also the opinion
-of other Holy Fathers, that there was a real succession, he continues
-thus: “Prima ergo opinio [Sancti Augustini] _magis convenit rationi,
-nec est contra Scripturam_; quia ea quae in Scriptura ordinem temporis
-importare videntur, ad ordinem naturae Augustinus refert: secunda vero
-magis convenit Scripturae secundum suam superficiem. Quia ergo utraque
-a Sanctis patrocinium habet, utramque sustinendo, objectionibus hinc
-inde factis respondendum est.”--Loco citato, art. i. Solutio.
-
-
-(31.) CARDINAL CAJETAN.--P. 320.
-
-We are again indebted to Perrerius for the views of Cardinal Cajetan.
-He writes thus: “Accedit huic sententiæ Cajet. in Comment. super i.
-cap. Genes., et distinctionem sex dierum putat in id positam a Mose,
-quo facilius declararet naturalem rerum ordinem, consequentiam et
-dependentiam. Sic enim res suaptè natura inter se aptæ et connexæ sunt,
-ut si mundum successivè voluisset Deus facere, non alio ordine vel
-successione, quàm ut hic narratur, facturus eum fuisset.”--In Genes.,
-cap. ii. vers. 4, 5, 6, n. 179.
-
-
-(32.) VENERABLE BEDE.--P. 323.
-
-“Aperte intelligi quia diem hoc loco Scriptura _pro omni illo tempore
-ponit_ quo primordialis natura formata est. Neque enim in unoquolibet
-sex dierum coelum factum est et sideribus illustratum, et terra est
-separata ab aquis, atque arboribus et herbis consita; sed _more
-sibi solito Scriptura diem pro tempore ponit_; quomodo Apostolus,
-cum ait, ‘Ecce nunc dies salutis,’ non unum specialiter diem, sed
-totum significat tempus hoc quo in praesenti vita pro aeterna salute
-laboramus.”--Hexaemeron, Lib. i. in Gen. ii. 4; Edit. Migne, Patr. Lat.
-Cursus Completus, vol. 91, p. 39.
-
-
-(33.) SAINT AUGUSTINE.--P. 323.
-
-“Superius septem dies numerantur, nunc unus dicitur dies, quo die fecit
-Deus coelum et terram, et omne viride agri, et omne pabulum, _cujus
-diei nomine omne tempus significari bene intelligitur_. Fecit enim Deus
-omne tempus simul cum omnibus creaturis temporalibus, quae creaturae
-visibiles coeli et terrae nomine significantur.”--De Genesi contra
-Manichaeos, Lib. ii. cap. 3, n. 4.
-
-
-(34.) MOLINA.--P. 323.
-
-“Dicunt Doctores communiter, Moysem eo loco sumpsisse _diem_ pro
-_tempore_ juxta illud Deuteronomii xxxii., juxta est dies perditionis,
-... et alibi saepe, in Scriptura sumitur dies pro tempore.”--In primam
-partem, De opere sex dierum, D. I. See Pianciani, Cosmogonia Naturale,
-p. 27.
-
-
-(35.) BANNEZ.--P. 323.
-
-“Dies potest accipi pro quacumque duratione et mensura.”--In Summa,
-Pars 1. Quæst. 73.
-
-
-(36.) PERRERIUS.--P. 323.
-
-“Nec officit huic sententiae, quod paullo superius ex cap. ii. Geneseos
-prolatum est, ‘In die quo fecit Dominus Deus coelum et terram.’
-Ibi enim _dies pro tempore, sicut crebro fit in Scriptura, positus
-est_.”--In Gen. cap. i. v. 4, n. 80; see also cap. ii., n. 186.
-
-
-(37.) PETAVIUS.--P. 323.
-
-“Postquam Moyses sex dierum opificium toto primo capite descripsit,
-mox in sequenti summatim universeque colligens, ‘Istae sunt,’ inquit,
-‘generationes coeli et terrae, quando creata sunt, in die quo fecit
-Dominus Deus coelum et terram.’ Quae verba non unius diei mentionem
-faciunt, ut quibusdam videtur; qui primum diem designari putant, in quo
-factum illud est, praeter lucem, quod initio libri Moyses explicat, ‘In
-principio creavit Deus coelum et terram.’ Sed eam nos opinionem minime
-probamus, ac supra docuimus, _diei_ nomen istic usurpari pro _tempore_:
-quod apud Graecos Latinosque, non minus quam Hebraeos, usitatem est.
-Exemplo sit Ciceronis illud ex libro secundo in Verrem: ‘Itaque cum
-ego diem in Siciliam inquirendi prexiguam postulavissem, invenit iste,
-qui sibi in Achaiam _biduo breviorem diem_ postularet.’ Igitur cum
-dixisset, _in die_, id est tempore illo, factum esse coelum et terram,
-hoc est perpolitum et elaboratum esse sex continuis diebus,” etc.--De
-Opificio Sex Dierum, Lib. i. cap. 14, sect. 1.
-
-
-(38.) SAINT AUGUSTINE.--P. 335.
-
-“Tres enim dies superiores quomodo esse sine sole potuerunt, cum
-videamus nunc solis ortu et occasu diem transigi, noctem vero fieri
-solis absentia, cum ab alia parte mundi ad orientem redit? Quibus
-respondemus, potuisse fieri ut tres superiores dies singuli per tantam
-moram temporis computarentur, per quantam moram circumit sol, ex quo
-procedit ab oriente quousque rursus ad orientem revertitur. Hanc
-enim moram et longitudinem temporis possent sentire homines etiamsi
-in speluncis habitarent, ubi orientem et occidentem solem videre non
-possent. Atque ita sentitur potuisse istam moram fieri etiam sine sole
-antequam sol factus esset, atque ipsam moram in illo triduo per dies
-singulos computatam. Hoc ergo responderemus, nisi nos revocaret, quod
-ibi dicitur, ‘Et facta est vespera et factum est mane,’ quod nunc sine
-solis cursu videmus fieri non posse. Restat ergo ut intelligamus, in
-ipsa quidem mora temporis _ipsas distinctiones operum sic appellatas,
-vesperam propter transactionem consummati operis, et mane propter
-inchoationem futuri operis_; de similitudine scilicet humanorum operum,
-quia plerumque a mane incipiunt, et ad vesperam desinunt. Habent enim
-consuetudinem Divinae Scripturae de rebus humanis ad divinas res verba
-transferre.”--De Genesi contra Manichaeos, Lib. i. cap. 14, n. 20.
-
-
-(39.) SAINT EUCHERIUS.--P. 335.
-
-It is uncertain, as we before observed, if this commentary is the
-genuine work of Saint Eucherius; at all events it is the production of
-some learned and Catholic writer of the fifth or sixth century. His
-words run thus: “_Vespere conditae creaturae terminus; mane initium
-condendae creaturae alterius._”--Comment. in Genes. cap. i. v. 4; Edit.
-Migne, Patr. Latin. Cursus Completus, vol. 50, p. 897. And again in v.
-10 et seqq.:--“Si quarto die facta sunt luminaria, quomodo tres dies
-jam ante fuerunt? nisi ut intelligamus, in ipsa hora temporis ipsas
-operum distinctiones ita appellatas; _vesperam propter transactionem
-consummati operis; mane propter inchoationem_ futuri diei; in
-similitudinem humanorum operum quod plerique mane incipiunt et in
-vesperam desinunt.”--Ib. p. 899.
-
-
-(40.) VENERABLE BEDE.--P. 335.
-
-“Quid est _vespere_ nisi _ipsa perfectio singulorum operum_? et _mane_,
-id est inchoatio sequentium?”--De Sex Dierum Creatione, De Prima Die;
-Edit. Migne, Patrum Lat. Cursus Completus, vol. 93, p. 210.
-
-In another place he says: “Vespere autem in toto illo triduo, antequam
-luminaria essent, _consummati operis terminus_ non absurde fortasse
-intelligitur; Mane autem _futuræ operationis significatio_.”--In
-Pentateuchum Comment. Gen. cap. i.; Edit. Migne, vol. 91, p. 194.
-
-
-(41.) SAINT HILDEGARDE.--P. 335.
-
-“Sex enim dies, sex opera sunt; quia inceptio et completio singuli
-cujusque operis dies dicitur.”--Epist. ad Colonienses. See Pianciani,
-Cosmogonia, p. 34.
-
-
-(42.) SAINT AUGUSTINE.--P. 342.
-
-“Dies autem septimus sine vespere est nec habet occasum.”--Confess.
-Lib. xiii. cap. xxxvi.
-
-
-(43.) VENERABLE BEDE.--P. 342.
-
-“Quia finem non habet, neque ullo termino clauditur.”--De Sex Dierum
-Creatione, De Die Septima; Edit. Migne, Patr. Lat. Cursus Completus,
-vol. 93, p. 218. And elsewhere he says: “Septimus dies coepit a mane et
-in nullo vespere terminatur.”--In Pentateuch Comment., Gen. ii.; Edit.
-Migne, vol. 91, p. 203.
-
-
-(44.) SAINT AUGUSTINE.--P. 355.
-
-“Eligat quis quod potest: tantum ne aliquid temere atque incognitum pro
-cognito asserat; memineritque se hominem de divinis operibus quantum
-permittitur quærere.”--De Genesi Liber Imperfectus, cap. ix., n. 80.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-APPENDIX TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.
-
-_From Prof. J. D. Dana’s Manual of Geology. [8vo. Philadelphia: T.
-Bliss & Co.] By permission of the author._
-
-
-COSMOGONY.
-
-The science of cosmogony treats of the history of creation.
-
-Geology comprises that later portion of the history which is within
-the range of direct investigation, beginning with the rock-covered
-globe, and gathering only a few hints as to a previous state of igneous
-fluidity.
-
-Through Astronomy our knowledge of this earlier state becomes less
-doubtful, and we even discover evidence of a period still more remote.
-Ascertaining thence that the sun of our system is in intense ignition,
-that the moon, the earth’s satellite, was once a globe of fire, but is
-now cooled and covered with extinct craters, and that space is filled
-with burning suns,--and learning also from physical science that all
-heated bodies in space must have been losing heat through past time,
-the smallest most rapidly,--we safely conclude that the earth has
-passed through a stage of igneous fluidity.
-
-Again, as to the remoter period: the forms of the nebulæ and of other
-starry systems in the heavens, and the relations which subsist between
-the spheres in our own system, have been found to be such as would
-have resulted if the whole universe had been evolved from an original
-nebula or gaseous fluid. It is not necessary for the strength of this
-argument that any portion of the primal nebula should exist now at
-this late period in the history of the universe: it is only what might
-have been expected that the nebulæ of the present heavens should be
-turning out to be clusters of stars. If, then, this nebular theory be
-true, the universe has been developed from a primal unit, and the earth
-is one of the individual orbs produced in the course of its evolution.
-Its history is in kind like that which has been deciphered with regard
-to the earth: it only carries the action of physical forces, under a
-sustaining and directing hand, further back in time.
-
-The science also of Chemistry is aiding in the study of the earth’s
-earliest development, and is preparing itself to write a history of the
-various changes which should have taken place among the elements from
-the first commencement of combination to the formation of the solid
-crust of our globe.
-
-It is not proposed to enter either into chemical or astronomical
-details in this place, but, supposing the nebular theory to be true,
-briefly to mention the great stages of progress in the history of the
-earth, or those successive periods which stand out prominently in
-time through the exhibition of some new idea in the grand system of
-progress. The views here offered, and the following on the cosmogony of
-the Bible, are essentially those brought out by Professor Guyot in his
-lectures.
-
-_Stages of progress._--These stages of progress are as follow:--
-
-(1.) _The_ BEGINNING OF ACTIVITY IN MATTER.--In such a beginning from
-matter in the state of a gaseous fluid the activity would be intense,
-and it would show itself at once by a manifestation of light, since
-light is a resultant of molecular activity. A flash of light through
-the universe would therefore be the first announcement of the work
-begun.
-
-(2.) _The development of the_ EARTH.--A dividing and sub-dividing of
-the original fluid going on would have evolved systems of various
-grades, and ultimately the orbs of space, among these the earth, an
-igneous sphere enveloped in vapors.
-
-(3.) _The production of the_ EARTH’S PHYSICAL FEATURES,--by the
-outlining of the continents and oceans. The condensible vapors would
-have gradually settled upon the earth as cooling progressed.
-
-(4.) _The introduction of_ LIFE _under its simplest forms_,--as in the
-lowest of plants, and perhaps, also of animals. As shown on page 396,
-the systems of structure characterizing the two kingdoms of nature, the
-_Radiate_ of the Vegetable kingdom, and the _Radiate_, _Molluscan_,
-_Articulate_, and _Vertebrate_ of the Animal, are not brought out
-in the simplest forms of life. The true _Zoic_ era in history began
-later. As plants are primarily the food of animals, there is reason for
-believing that the idea of life was first expressed in a plant.
-
-(5.) _The display of the_ SYSTEMS _in the Kingdoms of Life_,--the
-exhibition of the four grand types under the Animal kingdom, being the
-predominant idea in this phase of progress.
-
-(6.) _The introduction of the highest class of Vertebrates--that of
-the_ MAMMALS (the class to which MAN belongs), viviparous species,
-which are eminent above all other Vertebrates for a quality prophetic
-of a high moral purpose,--that of suckling their young.
-
-(7.) _The introduction of_ MAN,--the first being of moral and
-intellectual qualities, and one in whom the unity of nature has its
-full expression.
-
-There is another great event in the Earth’s history which has not
-yet been mentioned, because of a little uncertainty with regard to
-its exact place among the others. The event referred to is the first
-shining of the sun upon the earth, after the vapors which till then had
-shrouded the sphere were mostly condensed. This must have preceded the
-introduction of the Animal system, since the sun is the grand source
-of activity throughout nature on the earth, and is essential to the
-existence of life, excepting its lowest forms. In the history of the
-globe which has been given on page 196, it has been shown that the
-outlining of the continents was one of the earliest events, dating even
-from the Azoic age; and it is probable, from the facts stated, that it
-preceded that clearing of the atmosphere which opened the sky to the
-earth. This would place the event between numbers 3 and 5, and as the
-sun’s light was not essential to the earliest of organisms, probably
-after number 4.
-
-The order will, then, be--
-
-(1.) Activity begun,--light an immediate result.
-
-(2.) The earth made an independent sphere.
-
-(3.) Outlining of the land and water, determining the earth’s general
-configuration.
-
-(4.) The idea of life expressed in the lowest plants, and afterward,
-if not contemporaneously, in the lowest or systemless animals, or
-Protozoans.
-
-(5.) The energizing light of the sun shining on the earth,--an
-essential preliminary to the display of the systems of life.
-
-(6.) Introduction of the system of life.
-
-(7.) Introduction of Mammals, the highest order of Vertebrates,--the
-class afterward to be dignified by including a being of moral and
-intellectual nature.
-
-(8.) Introduction of Man.
-
-_Cosmogony of the Bible._--There is one ancient document on
-cosmogony--that of the opening page of the Bible--which is not only
-admired for its sublimity, but is very generally believed to be
-of divine origin, and which, therefore, demands at least a brief
-consideration in this place.
-
-In the first place, it may be observed that _this document if true, is
-of divine origin_. For no human mind was witness of the events; and no
-such mind in the early age of the world, unless gifted with superhuman
-intelligence, could have contrived such a scheme;--would have placed
-the creation of the sun, the source of light to the earth, so long
-after the creation of light, even on the _fourth_ day, and, what is
-equally singular, between the creation of plants and that of animals,
-when so important to both; and none could have reached to the depths of
-philosophy exhibited in the whole plan.
-
-Again, _If divine, the account must bear marks of human imperfection,
-since it was communicated through man_. Ideas suggested to a human mind
-by the Deity would take shape in that mind according to its range of
-knowledge, modes of thought, and use of language, unless it were at
-the same time supernaturally gifted with the profound knowledge and
-wisdom adequate to their conception; and even then they could not be
-intelligibly expressed, for want of words to represent them.
-
-The central thought of each step in the Scripture cosmogony--for
-example, Light,--the dividing of the fluid earth from the fluid
-around it, individualizing the earth,--the arrangement of its land
-and water,--vegetation,--and so on--is brought out in the simple and
-natural style of a sublime intellect, wise for its times, but unversed
-in the depths of science which the future was to reveal. The idea
-of vegetation to such a one would be vegetation as he knew it; and
-so it is described. The idea of dividing the earth from the fluid
-around it would take the form of a dividing from the fluid above, in
-the imperfect conceptions of a mind unacquainted with the earth’s
-sphericity and the true nature of the firmament,--especially as the
-event was beyond the reach of all ordinary thought.
-
-    Objections are often made to the word “day,”--as if its use
-    limited the time of each of the six periods to a day of
-    twenty-four hours. But in the course of the document this word
-    “day” has various significations, and, among them, all that
-    are common to it in ordinary language. These are--(1) The
-    light,--“God called the light day,” v. 5; (2) the “evening
-    and the morning” before the appearance of the sun; (3) the
-    “evening and the morning” after the appearance of the sun; (4)
-    the hours of light in the twenty-four hours (as well as the
-    whole twenty-four hours), in verse 14; and (5) in the following
-    chapter, at the commencement of another record of creation,
-    the whole period of creation is called a “day.” The proper
-    meaning of “evening and morning,” in a history of creation, is
-    _beginning and completion_; and, in this sense, darkness before
-    light is but a common metaphor.
-
-    A Deity working in creation like a day-laborer by earth-days
-    of twenty-four hours, resting at night, is a belittling
-    conception, and one probably never in the mind of the sacred
-    penman. In the plan of an infinite God, centuries are required
-    for the maturing of some of the plants with which the earth is
-    adorned.
-
-The order of events in the Scripture cosmogony corresponds essentially
-with that which has been given. There was first a void and formless
-earth: this was literally true of the “heavens and the earth,” if they
-were in a condition of a gaseous fluid. The succession is as follows:
-
-(1.) Light.
-
-(2.) The dividing of the waters below from the waters above the earth,
-(the word translated _waters_ may mean _fluid_.)
-
-(3.) The dividing of the land and water on the earth.
-
-(4.) Vegetation; which Moses, appreciating the philosophical
-characteristic of the new creation distinguishing it from previous
-inorganic substances, defines as that “which has seed in itself.”
-
-(5.) The sun, moon, and stars.
-
-(6.) The lower animals, those that swarm in the waters, and the
-creeping and flying species of the land.
-
-(7.) Beasts of prey (“creeping” here meaning “prowling”)--
-
-(8.) Man.
-
-In this succession, we observe not merely an order of events, like
-that deduced from science; there is a system in the arrangement, and
-a far-reaching prophecy, to which philosophy could not have attained,
-however instructed.
-
-The account recognizes in creation two great eras of three days
-each,--an _Inorganic_ and an _Organic_.
-
-Each of these eras opens with the appearance of _light_: the _first_,
-light cosmical; the _second_, light from the sun for the special uses
-of the earth.
-
-Each are ends in a “day” of two great works,--the two shown to be
-distinct by being severally pronounced “good.” On the _third_ “day,”
-that closing the Inorganic era, there was first the _dividing of the
-land from the waters_, and afterward the _creation of vegetation_,
-or the institution of a kingdom of life,--a work widely diverse from
-all preceding it in the era. Soon the _sixth_ “day,” terminating the
-Organic era, there was first _the creation of Mammals_, and then a
-second far greater work, totally new in its grandest element, _the
-creation of Man_.
-
-The arrangement is, then, as follows:--
-
-  1. _The Inorganic Era._
-
-  1st Day.--LIGHT cosmical.
-
-  2d Day.--The earth divided from the fluid around it, or
-  individualized.
-
-           { 1. Outlining of the land and water.
-  3d Day.--{ 2. Creation of vegetation.
-
-
-  2. _The Organic Era._
-
-  4th Day.--LIGHT from the sun.
-
-  5th Day.--Creation of the lower orders of animals.
-
-  6th Day.--{ 1. Creation of Mammals.
-            { 2. Creation of Man.
-
-In addition, the last day of each era included one work typical of the
-era, and another related to it in essential points, but also prophetic
-of the future. Vegetation, while, for physical reasons, a part of the
-creation of the third day, was also prophetic of the future Organic
-era, in which the progress of life was the grand characteristic. The
-record thus accords with the fundamental principle in history that the
-characteristic of an age has its beginnings within the age preceding.
-So, again, Man, while like other Mammals in structure, even to the
-homologies of every bone and muscle, was endowed with a spiritual
-nature, which looked forward to another era, that of spiritual
-existence.--The _seventh_ “day,” the day of rest from the work of
-creation, is man’s period of preparation for that new existence; and it
-is to promote this special end that--in strict parallelism--the Sabbath
-follows man’s six days of work.
-
-The record in the Bible is, therefore, profoundly philosophical in the
-scheme of creation which it presents. It is both true and divine. It
-is a declaration of authorship, both of Creation and the Bible, on the
-first page of the sacred volume.
-
-There can be no real conflict between the two Books of the GREAT
-AUTHOR. Both are revelations made by Him to man,--the _earlier_ telling
-of God-made harmonies coming up from the deep past, and rising to their
-height when man appeared, the _later_ teaching man’s relations to his
-Maker, and speaking of loftier harmonies in the eternal future.
-
-
-
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-
-[Footnote 1: Twelve Lectures on the Connection between Science and
-Revealed Religion, by NICHOLAS WISEMAN, D.D., Principal of the English
-College, and Professor in the University of Rome. Andover: Gould &
-Newman, 1837.]
-
-[Footnote 2: Prelectiones Theologicæ.]
-
-[Footnote 3: Cosmogonia Naturale comparata Col Genesi.]
-
-[Footnote 4: A Manual of Geology; treating of the Principles of the
-science with special reference to American Geological History, etc., by
-JAMES D. DANA, M. A., LL. D., etc., 8vo, pp. 998. Philadelphia: Thos.
-Bliss & Co.]
-
-[Footnote 5: January and July, 1856, and April and July, 1857, covering
-in all 219 pages, 8vo.]
-
-[Footnote 6: The Six Days of Creation, or the Scriptural Cosmology;
-with the Ancient Idea of Time Worlds in Distinction from Worlds in
-Space, by TAYLER LEWIS, Professor of Greek in Union College. 12mo, pp.
-407. Schenectady, 1855.]
-
-[Footnote 7: Man in Genesis and Geology; or, the Bible account of Man’s
-Creation tested by Scientific Theories of his Origin and Antiquity, by
-JOSEPH P. THOMPSON, D. D., LL. D. New York, 12mo, pp. 149. 1870.]
-
-[Footnote 8: The Chemical History of the Six Days of Creation, by JOHN
-PHIN, editor of the Technologist. American News Company, New York, pp.
-95, 12mo, 1870.]
-
-[Footnote 9: Genesis, or the First Book of Moses, together with a
-General Theological and Homitetical Introduction to the Old Testament,
-by JOHN PETER LANGE, D. D., Professor in Ordinary of Theology in the
-University of Bonn. Translated from the German, with additions by
-Professor TAYLER LEWIS, LL. D., Schenectady, New York, and A. GOSMAN,
-D. D., Lawrenceville, N. J. New York: Charles Scribner & Co., 654
-Broadway. 1868. 8vo, pp. 665.]
-
-[Footnote 10: 2 Cor. vi. 1.]
-
-[Footnote 11: 2 Pet. iii. 10.]
-
-[Footnote 12: Rom. i. 18.]
-
-[Footnote 13: It may be useful once for all to inform the reader that
-the term _Rock_ is employed by Geologists in a technical sense. It is
-applied to every large mass of mineral matter that goes to form the
-Crust of the Earth, whether it be hard and strong, or soft and plastic.
-Thus, for example, gravel and clay, coal and slate, are called _Rocks_,
-just as well as limestone and granite. “Our older writers endeavored
-to avoid offering such violence to our language, by speaking of the
-component materials of the Earth as consisting of rocks and _soils_.
-But there is often so insensible a passage from a soft and incoherent
-state to that of stone, that Geologists of all countries have found
-it indispensable to have one technical term to include both, and in
-this sense we find _roche_ applied in French, _rocca_ in Italian, and
-_felsart_ in German. The beginner, however, must constantly bear in
-mind, that the term rock by no means implies that a mineral mass is in
-an indurated or stony condition.”--Lyell’s Elements of Geology, p. 4.]
-
-[Footnote 14: Lyell’s Elements of Geology, p. 7.]
-
-[Footnote 15: See Lyell’s Principles of Geology, vol. i., pp. 411-413.]
-
-[Footnote 16: See Jukes, The Student’s Manual of Geology, p. 125.]
-
-[Footnote 17: Professor Tyndall, Odds and Ends of Alpine Life.]
-
-[Footnote 18: Ecclesiastes, i. 7.]
-
-[Footnote 19: Page, Advanced Text-Book of Geology, p. 55.]
-
-[Footnote 20: See on this subject, Lyell’s Principles of Geology, vol.
-i., p. 458, and pp. 480-3; Jukes, Manual of Geology, pp. 105-11; Page,
-Advanced Text-Book of Geology, pp. 52-56.]
-
-[Footnote 21: Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., pp. 356-7.]
-
-[Footnote 22: Principles of Geology, vol. i., p. 360.]
-
-[Footnote 23: See Jukes, Manual of Geology, pp. 108-10; Hopkins,
-Presidential Address to the Geological Society of London, 1852, p.
-xxvii.]
-
-[Footnote 24: For these facts see Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol.
-i., pp. 349, 350; Quarterly Journal of Science, No. xiii., New Series;
-The English Cyclopædia, Natural History Division, Alluvium.]
-
-[Footnote 25: For these facts illustrating the destructive action
-of the waves of the sea we are chiefly indebted to the following
-authorities: Hibbert, Description of the Shetland Isles; Phillips,
-Rivers, Mountains, and Sea-coast of Yorkshire; Geology of Yorkshire, by
-the same author; Pennant’s Arctic Zoology, vol. i.; Lyell’s Principles
-of Geology, vol. i., chapters xx. and xxi.; Gardner’s History of the
-Borough of Dunwich; the English Cyclopædia, Alluvium.]
-
-[Footnote 26: Rennell’s Investigation of the Currents in the Atlantic
-Ocean; Maury’s Physical Geography of the Sea, chapters ii. and iii.;
-Humboldt’s Cosmos; The English Cyclopædia, Atlantic Ocean; Lyell’s
-Principles of Geology, vol. i., chapter xx.]
-
-[Footnote 27: Mantell’s Wonders of Geology, p. 70.]
-
-[Footnote 28: In his notes to the translation of Humboldt’s Cosmos, p.
-xcvii.]
-
-[Footnote 29: A Hymn before Sunrise in the Vale of Chamouni, by Samuel
-Taylor Coleridge.]
-
-[Footnote 30: Lyell’s Principles of Geology, vol. i., pp. 374-5.]
-
-[Footnote 31: Voyage in 1822, p. 233.]
-
-[Footnote 32: Elements of Geology, pp. 145, 146.]
-
-[Footnote 33: Captain Horsburg, On Icebergs in Low Latitudes. Phil.
-Trans., 1830.]
-
-[Footnote 34: Agassiz, Etudes sur les Glaciers; Tyndall, Glaciers of
-the Alps; also Heat as a mode of Motion, by the same Author; Lyell,
-Principles of Geology, vol. i., chapter xvi.; Elements of Geology,
-chapters xi., xii.; Wallace, Ice Marks in North Wales, in the Quarterly
-Journal of Science, No. xiii.]
-
-[Footnote 35: Elements of Geology, p. 38.]
-
-[Footnote 36: Mantell, Wonders of Geology, vol. i., p. 102.]
-
-[Footnote 37: Lyell, Elements of Geology, p. 42; also Principles, vol.
-i., p. 410.]
-
-[Footnote 38: Mantell’s Wonders of Geology, pp. 70, 81, 82, 83.]
-
-[Footnote 39: Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., p. 431.]
-
-[Footnote 40: Id. ib., p. 429.]
-
-[Footnote 41: The figures given by Sir Charles Lyell, and derived from
-the observations of Mr. Everest, are these: total discharge during the
-four months of rain, 6,082,041,600 cubic feet; total discharge during
-the three months of hot weather, 38,154,240 cubic feet.--Principles of
-Geology, vol. i., p. 481.]
-
-[Footnote 42: From a Special Correspondent, in the Times Newspaper,
-December 7, 1866.]
-
-[Footnote 43: Horner, Alluvial Land of Egypt, Phil. Trans., part I.,
-for 1855; Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., pp. 431-9.]
-
-[Footnote 44: The English Cyclopædia, Alluvium.]
-
-[Footnote 45: Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., chapters XVIII.,
-XIX.]
-
-[Footnote 46: Consolations in Travel, p. 127.]
-
-[Footnote 47: Handbook of Rome and its Environs: Murray, 1858, p. 325.]
-
-[Footnote 48: Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., 400-3.]
-
-[Footnote 49: Jukes, Manual of Geology, p. 127.]
-
-[Footnote 50: See his Lecture On a Piece of Chalk, delivered during the
-Meeting of the British Association at Norwich, 1868.]
-
-[Footnote 51: Lyell, Elements of Geology, p. 318.]
-
-[Footnote 52: Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. ii., chap. xlix.;
-Mantell, Wonders of Geology, Lecture vi.; Jukes, Manual of Geology, pp.
-130-3.]
-
-[Footnote 53: Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons, by the Rev. Henry
-Duncan, D.D.; Summer, p. 168.]
-
-[Footnote 54: Ps. xcix. 3.]
-
-[Footnote 55: Kotzebue’s Voyages, 1815-18, vol. iii., pp. 331-33.]
-
-[Footnote 56: Wonders of Geology, p. 648.]
-
-[Footnote 57: Organic Remains of a Former World, vol. ii., p. 16.]
-
-[Footnote 58: Carbonic acid gas contains two equivalents of oxygen to
-one of carbon, the chemical expression for the compound being CO_{2};
-carburetted hydrogen, which is the gas we employ in illuminating our
-streets and houses, contains four equivalents of hydrogen to two of
-carbon, and is chemically expressed by the symbols C_{2}H_{4}; water is
-composed of one equivalent of oxygen, and one of hydrogen, the symbolic
-form being HO.]
-
-[Footnote 59: See Jukes, Manual of Geology, pp. 138-141; Lyell,
-Elements of Geology, p. 500.]
-
-[Footnote 60: Jukes, Manual of Geology, p. 140.]
-
-[Footnote 61: See Mantell, Wonders of Geology, pp. 680-2; also 760;
-Lyell, Elements of Geology, 464, 465.]
-
-[Footnote 62: Elements of Geology, p. 488.]
-
-[Footnote 63: Mantell, Wonders of Geology, p. 67.]
-
-[Footnote 64: Mantell, Wonders of Geology, p. 66.]
-
-[Footnote 65: Id. Ib.]
-
-[Footnote 66: Chemical Technology, Ronalds and Richardson, vol. i., p.
-32.]
-
-[Footnote 67: See Lyell, Elements of Geology, 477-81; Jukes, Manual
-of Geology, 138, 149-53; The English Cyclopædia, Natural History
-Department, Article, Coal; Mantell, Fossils of the British Museum,
-Chapter i., Part I.]
-
-[Footnote 68: Page, Advanced Text-Book of Geology, n. 7, pp. 20, 21.]
-
-[Footnote 69: From the Latin _Fossilis_, _dug up_.]
-
-[Footnote 70: Elements of Geology, p. 38.]
-
-[Footnote 71: Elements of Geology, p. 40.]
-
-[Footnote 72: Manual of Geology, p. 375.]
-
-[Footnote 73: Lyell, Elements of Geology, pp. 40-41. The reader will
-find a singularly clear and simple exposition of this subject in Doctor
-Haughton’s Manual of Geology, Lecture III.; an exposition which it
-was not our good fortune to have read until our own brief summary was
-already in type.]
-
-[Footnote 74: Buckland, Bridgewater Treatise, vol. i., p. 123; Mantell,
-Wonders of Geology, p. 269; Lyell, Elements of Geology, p. 687.]
-
-[Footnote 75: Mantell, Wonders of Geology, Lecture IV., Fossils of the
-British Museum, chapter V.; see, also, Medals of Creation, and Fossils
-of the South Downs, by the same Author.]
-
-[Footnote 76: Owen’s Palæontology, pp. 200-9; Buckland, Bridgewater
-Treatise, vol. i., pp. 168-186; Mantell, Wonders of Geology, pp.
-576-581; Lyell, Elements of Geology, pp. 420-425; Jukes, Manual of
-Geology, pp. 598-599.]
-
-[Footnote 77: Buckland’s Bridgewater Treatise, vol. i., pp. 202-14;
-Owen’s Palæontology, 223-232.]
-
-[Footnote 78: Buckland, Bridgewater Treatise, vol. i., pp. 139-164;
-Owen’s Palæontology, pp. 390-2; Mantell, Wonders of Geology, pp. 166-9;
-Fossils of the British Museum, pp. 465-480; The English Cyclopædia,
-Natural History Division, Article, Megatheridæ.]
-
-[Footnote 79: Lyell, Elements of Geology, p. 4.]
-
-[Footnote 80: Wonders of Geology, p. 400.]
-
-[Footnote 81: See Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., p. 31, who
-refers to Da Vinci’s MSS. now in the Library of the Institute of
-France.]
-
-[Footnote 82: See Lyell, Elements of Geology, pp. 94-96; Principles of
-Geology, p. 116; Jukes, Manual of Geology, pp. 410, 411.]
-
-[Footnote 83: Elements of Geology, p. 95.]
-
-[Footnote 84: Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., p. 115.]
-
-[Footnote 85: Lyell, Elements of Geology, p. 100.]
-
-[Footnote 86: Principles of Geology, vol. i., p. 312.]
-
-[Footnote 87: Ib. 313.]
-
-[Footnote 88: Principles of Geology, vol. i., pp. 321, 322.]
-
-[Footnote 89: Familiar Lectures on Scientific Subjects: London, 1867;
-pp. 9, 10.]
-
-[Footnote 90: It would be more strictly correct to say that the rate
-of increase varies considerably in different places, though the main
-fact is everywhere palpably apparent that the deeper we descend into
-the Earth the higher the temperature becomes. Sir Charles Lyell records
-a number of careful experiments made in England, France, Germany, and
-Italy, which seem to show that an increase of one degree Fahrenheit for
-every sixty-five feet of descent would represent pretty correctly the
-general average. See his Principles of Geology, vol. ii., pp. 205, 206.]
-
-[Footnote 91: See Sir John Herschel, Familiar Lectures on Scientific
-Subjects, pp. 26, 27.]
-
-[Footnote 92: See the elaborate work of Sir William Hamilton, entitled
-Campi Phlegraei, in which he gives a full account of the formation
-of Monte Nuovo, accompanied with colored plates. He has preserved
-two interesting narratives of the eruption written at the time by
-eye-witnesses. See also Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., pp.
-606-616.]
-
-[Footnote 93: Sir John Herschel, Familiar Lectures on Scientific
-Subjects, p. 34; see also Lyell, Principles of Geology, chap. xxvii.;
-Mantell, Wonders of Geology, pp. 872-4.]
-
-[Footnote 94: See Herschel, Familiar Lectures on Scientific Subjects,
-pp. 34-6. Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. ii., pp. 104-6.]
-
-[Footnote 95: Familiar Lectures on Scientific Subjects, pp. 31, 32.]
-
-[Footnote 96: Principles of Geology, vol. ii., pp. 59, 60.]
-
-[Footnote 97: Principles of Geology, vol. ii. pp. 69, 70.]
-
-[Footnote 98: For the account of these various Earthquakes we are
-mainly indebted to the indefatigable industry of Sir Charles Lyell, who
-has collected the facts with great care partly from the descriptions
-of eye-witnesses, and partly from authentic documents written upon the
-spot. See his Principles of Geology, vol. ii., chap, xxviii., xxix.,
-xxx. See also Mr. Mallet’s Earthquake Catalogue; and the first of Sir
-John Herschel’s Lectures on Familiar Subjects.]
-
-[Footnote 99: The following are the sources from which we have chiefly
-derived our information regarding the Peruvian Earthquake of 1868: (1)
-a series of letters written upon the scene of the catastrophe, and
-published in _The Times_ of September 26, 1868; amongst them is one
-from the British Vice-consul, and one from the agent of the Pacific
-Steam Navigation Company, who were both at the time residents of Arica:
-(2) a letter of Mr. Clements Markham in _The Times_ of September 15,
-1868: (3) Captain Powell’s Report to the Admiralty, dated September 14,
-1868.]
-
-[Footnote 100: Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. ii., p. 176.]
-
-[Footnote 101: Id. ib.]
-
-[Footnote 102: Letter from C. Hullmandel, Esq.; see Mantell, Wonders of
-Geology, Appendix G., p. 470. For a full and elaborate disquisition on
-the Temple of Jupiter Serapis, see also Lyell, Principles of Geology,
-vol. ii., chap. xxv.]
-
-[Footnote 103: Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. ii., chap. xxxi.]
-
-[Footnote 104: Ibid.]
-
-[Footnote 105: On a Piece of Chalk: A Lecture to Working Men.]
-
-[Footnote 106: Genesis, v. 3-32.]
-
-[Footnote 107: Ib., xi. 10-26.]
-
-[Footnote 108: Ib., v. 3-9.]
-
-[Footnote 109: Genesis, xii. 4.]
-
-[Footnote 110: The Genesis of the Earth and Man, Edited by Reginald
-Stuart Poole: London; Williams and Norgate; 1860.]
-
-[Footnote 111: “Sem was a hundred years old when he begot Arphaxad, two
-years after the flood.”--Genesis, xi. 10.]
-
-[Footnote 112: This second Cainan does not appear in the Hebrew or the
-Samaritan version.]
-
-[Footnote 113: Appendix (1).]
-
-[Footnote 114: Appendix (2).]
-
-[Footnote 115: Appendix (3).]
-
-[Footnote 116: Exodus, xx. 9-11.]
-
-[Footnote 117: Appendix (4), (5), (6).]
-
-[Footnote 118: See Gesenius, sub vocibus.]
-
-[Footnote 119: Appendix (7).]
-
-[Footnote 120: Appendix (8).]
-
-[Footnote 121: Appendix (9).]
-
-[Footnote 122: Appendix (10).]
-
-[Footnote 123: Appendix (11) (12).]
-
-[Footnote 124: Appendix (13) (14) (15).]
-
-[Footnote 125: Appendix (16).]
-
-[Footnote 126: In Genes. cap. i. Quæst. xiv.]
-
-[Footnote 127: Appendix (17).]
-
-[Footnote 128: See his various works upon Genesis, passim; in
-particular de Genesi ad Literam, Lib. i. cap. xv., Lib. iv. cap.
-xxxiii.; De Genesi Liber Imperfectus, cap. vii. and cap. ix.]
-
-[Footnote 129: This latter view might be fairly maintained in
-conformity with the principles which Saint Augustine professes to
-follow in the interpretation of Genesis. See De Genesi ad Literam, Lib.
-i. cap. xxi. and cap. xxii.]
-
-[Footnote 130: See De Genesi ad Literam, Lib. i. cap. xv.; De Genesi
-Liber Imperfectus, cap. vii.; Confess., Lib. xii. cap. xxix.]
-
-[Footnote 131: 2 Peter, iii. 8.]
-
-[Footnote 132: Appendix (18) (19) (20).]
-
-[Footnote 133: Wisdom, ix. 13-16.]
-
-[Footnote 134: See Pianciani, Cosmogonia, pp. 384-90.]
-
-[Footnote 135: See Gesenius, Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old
-Testament Scriptures; in voce. He thus explains the first meaning
-of this word: “_copulative_, and serves to connect both words and
-sentences, especially in _continuing a discourse_.”]
-
-[Footnote 136: Appendix (21).]
-
-[Footnote 137: See De Genesi ad Literam, Lib. iv. capp. xxvi.-xxxv.,
-Lib. v. cap. i. n. 3, and cap. iii. n. 6.]
-
-[Footnote 138: Ecclesiasticus, xviii. 1.]
-
-[Footnote 139: Appendix (22).]
-
-[Footnote 140: Appendix (23) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28) (29) (30) (31).]
-
-[Footnote 141: See De Genesi ad Literam, Lib. iv. capp. xxvi., xxvii.;
-also Lib. i. capp. x., xi., xii.]
-
-[Footnote 142: Appendix (32) (33) (34) (35) (36) (37).]
-
-[Footnote 143: Amos, viii. 11, 12.]
-
-[Footnote 144: Psalm ii. 7.]
-
-[Footnote 145: Heb. i. 5.]
-
-[Footnote 146: Jeremias, cap. l. vv. 24-32.]
-
-[Footnote 147: Jeremias, li. 1, 2.]
-
-[Footnote 148: Jeremias, xlvi. 3-10, 19-21.]
-
-[Footnote 149: Ezechiel, xxix. 19-21.]
-
-[Footnote 150: Ezechiel, xxx. 3-9.]
-
-[Footnote 151: Sophonias, v. 8-11, 14-17.]
-
-[Footnote 152: Isaias, xxix. 17-19.]
-
-[Footnote 153: Matth. xi. 4, 5.]
-
-[Footnote 154: John, viii. 56.]
-
-[Footnote 155: 2 Cor. vii. 1, 2.]
-
-[Footnote 156: Luke, xix. 41-43.]
-
-[Footnote 157: Dan. viii. 14.]
-
-[Footnote 158: Appendix (38) (39) (40) (41).]
-
-[Footnote 159: Exodus, xx. 9-11.]
-
-[Footnote 160: Exodus, xxiii. 10-12.]
-
-[Footnote 161: Leviticus, xxv. 2-7.]
-
-[Footnote 162: 2 Cor. v. 14, 15.]
-
-[Footnote 163: Matt. viii. 22; Luke, ix. 60.]
-
-[Footnote 164: John, xx. 17.]
-
-[Footnote 165: Rom. xiii. 12, 13.]
-
-[Footnote 166: I. Thessal. v. 4, 5.]
-
-[Footnote 167: Amos, viii. 9.]
-
-[Footnote 168: Appendix (42) (43).]
-
-[Footnote 169: Gen. i. 11, 12.]
-
-[Footnote 170: The Testimony of the Rocks, p. 125.]
-
-[Footnote 171: Genesis, i. 20, 21.]
-
-[Footnote 172: Testimony of the Rocks, p. 126.]
-
-[Footnote 173: Genesis, i. 24, 25.]
-
-[Footnote 174: Testimony of the Rocks, pp. 127, 128.]
-
-[Footnote 175: Elements of Geology, p. 100.]
-
-[Footnote 176: “Aliquid esse a Deo conditum, de quo sileat liber
-Genesis, nihil repugnat.” Saint Augustine, Confess. Lib. xii., cap.
-xxii.]
-
-[Footnote 177: Appendix (44).]
-
-[Footnote 178: Ecclesiastes, iii. 2.]
-
-
-[Transcriber's Note:
-
-Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.]
-
-
-
-
-
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-<pre>
-
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Geology and Revelation, by 
-Rev. Gerald Molloy and J. D. Dana
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Geology and Revelation
-       or the Ancient History of the Earth, considered in the
-              geological facts and revealed religion.
-
-Author: Rev. Gerald Molloy
-        J. D. Dana
-
-Release Date: September 4, 2016 [EBook #52973]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GEOLOGY AND REVELATION ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Charlene Taylor, Wayne Hammond, Dr. Aya Katz
-for the Hebrew transcription, and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-</pre>
-
-
-<div id="coverpage">
-<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">1</span></div>
-
-<div class="transnote">
-<h3>Transcriber's Note:</h3>
-<p>This project uses utf-8 encoded characters. If some characters
-are not readable, check your settings of your browser to ensure
-you have a default font installed that can display utf-8 characters.</p>
-</div>
-
-<h1>GEOLOGY AND REVELATION.<br />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">2</span></h1>
-
-<p>Sicut Augustinus docet, in hujusmodi qu&aelig;stionibus duo sunt observanda.
-Primo quidem ut Veritas Scriptur&aelig; inconcusse teneatur. Secundo, cum Scriptura
-Divina multipliciter exponi possit, quod nulli expositioni aliquis ita
-pr&aelig;cise inh&aelig;reat, ut si certa ratione constiterit hoc esse falsum quod aliquis
-sensum Scriptur&aelig; esse credebat, id nihilominus asserere pr&aelig;sumat; ne Scriptura
-ex hoc ab infidelibus derideatur, et ne eis via credendi pr&aelig;cludatur.</p>
-
-<p class="author">
-<span class="smcap">S. Thomas</span>, <i>De Opere Secund&aelig; Diei</i>; Summa, Pars 1, Qu&aelig;st. 68, Art. 1.<br />
-</p>
-
-<p>As Augustine teacheth, there are two things to be observed in questions
-of this kind. First, that the truth of Scripture be inviolably maintained.
-Secondly, since Divine Scripture may be explained in many ways, that no one
-cling to any particular exposition with such pertinacity that, if what he supposed
-to be the teaching of Scripture should turn out to be plainly false, he
-would nevertheless presume to put it forward; lest thereby Sacred Scripture
-should be exposed to the derision of unbelievers, and the way of salvation
-should be closed to them.</p>
-
-<p class="author">
-<span class="smcap">Saint Thomas</span>, <i>On the Work of the Second Day</i>.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">3</span></p>
-
-<p class="ph1">
-<span class="smcap">Geology and Revelation</span>:<br />
-
-<span class="medium">OR THE</span><br />
-
-<span class="antiqua">Ancient History of the Earth,</span><br />
-
-<span class="small">CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF</span><br />
-
-<span class="large">GEOLOGICAL FACTS AND REVEALED RELIGION.</span><br />
-
-<span class="large"><i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.</i></span><br />
-
-<span class="medium">BY THE</span><br />
-
-<span class="large table"><span class="smcap">Rev.</span> GERALD MOLLOY, D. D.,<br />
-<span class="small">PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF ST. PATRICK, MAYNOOTH.</span></span><br />
-
-<span class="medium">WITH AN INTRODUCTION</span><br />
-
-<span class="small table">To the American edition; and a chapter on <span class="smcap">Cosmogony</span>, [by permission]<br />
-from the Manual of Geology, by Prof. <span class="smcap">J. D. Dana</span>.</span><br />
-
-<span class="medium table">NEW YORK:<br />
-G. P. PUTNAM &amp; SONS,<br />
-1870.</span>
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">4</span></p>
-
-<p class="copy">
-Stereotyped by <span class="smcap">Little, Rennie &amp; Co.</span>, 645 and 647 Broadway, N. Y.<br />
-<span class="smcap">Press of The New York Printing Company</span>, 81, 83, and 85 Centre St., N. Y.<br />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">5</span></p>
-
-<p class="ph1">
-<span class="large"><span class="smcap">To the Very Reverend</span></span><br />
-
-<span class="x-large">CHARLES WILLIAM RUSSELL, D. D.</span><br />
-
-<span class="small">PRESIDENT OF SAINT PATRICK’S COLLEGE, MAYNOOTH,</span><br />
-
-<span class="medium"><i>This Volume is Inscribed</i>,<br />
-
-WITH EVERY SENTIMENT OF AFFECTION AND RESPECT.</span><br />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span></p>
-
-<h2 id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</h2>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="T" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">The</span> progress of modern Science has given rise to
-not a few objections against the truths of Revelation.
-And of these there is none which seems to have
-taken such a firm hold of the public mind in
-England, and, indeed, throughout Europe generally, as that
-which is derived from the interesting and startling discoveries
-of Geology. Accordingly, when I was engaged,
-some years ago, in explaining and defending the Evidences
-of Revealed Religion, I found myself brought face to face
-with Geological phenomena and Geological speculations.</p>
-
-<p>It was plainly impossible to consider, in a candid and philosophical
-spirit, the argument with which I had to deal, so
-long as I remained ignorant of the evidence on which it was
-based. I resolved, therefore, to make myself familiar with
-the leading principles and the leading facts of Geology. And
-thus I was drawn insensibly into the study of this science; to
-which I have devoted, for some years, the greater part of my
-leisure hours.</p>
-
-<p>Impressed with the conviction that no fact can be really at
-variance with Revealed Truth, I determined, in the first place,
-to ascertain the facts which have been brought to light by
-the researches of Geologists. The general principles, which
-might afterward appear to be clearly involved in these facts
-when duly classified and arranged, I was fully prepared to
-admit. And I hoped, in the end, to search out and discover
-the harmony which, I was satisfied, must exist between conclusions
-thus established and the Inspired Word of God.</p>
-
-<p>While occupied in working out this problem for myself, it
-was suggested to me that others, who had not time or opportunity
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span>
-to pursue the same line of inquiry, would, perhaps, be
-glad to share in the fruits of my studies. In deference to this
-suggestion I consented, not without misgivings, to write a
-series of papers on Geology in its relations with Revealed
-Religion, which have appeared, from time to time, in the
-<i>Irish Ecclesiastical Record</i>. From the attention these papers
-attracted, crude and fragmentary as they were, it soon became
-evident that the question was not without interest for a large
-class of readers. And I have been led to believe that a more
-full and mature, but at the same time a popular, Treatise on
-the subject would be a welcome accession to ecclesiastical
-literature, and would supply a want that has long been felt.
-Such a Treatise I have proposed to myself in the present
-Volume.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>In Geology I wish to disclaim at the outset, all pretension
-to original researches; which my opportunities did not permit,
-nor the scope of my Work demand. It was not my
-object to enlarge the bounds of Geological knowledge; but
-rather to ascertain what that knowledge is, and to set it
-before my readers in plain and simple words. For this purpose
-I have had recourse to the great masters of the
-science: and have endeavored to gather into a systematic
-form the phenomena upon which they are all agreed; to
-sketch in outline the general theory about which there is
-practically no dispute; and to draw out the line of reasoning
-by which, as it seems to me, this theory may be most effectively
-demonstrated.</p>
-
-<p>Exact references are given to the original authorities on all
-questions of importance, and on many points even of minor
-detail: partly that I might not seem to claim as my own
-what belongs to others; partly that I might consult for the
-convenience of those who should wish to investigate more
-minutely what I have but lightly touched. And here it may
-be well to observe, with regard to the two classic works of Sir
-Charles Lyell, his <i>Elements</i> and his <i>Principles</i>, which have
-been reproduced so many times and in so many forms, that I
-have uniformly referred to the latest edition of each.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span></p>
-
-<p>The Woodcuts which illustrate the Volume will, I venture
-to hope, help to convey a clear and distinct impression of
-many natural objects which can be represented but imperfectly
-in words. Some of the most striking and effective are taken
-from the admirable Manual of Geology brought out some
-years ago by the Reverend Doctor Haughton, of Trinity
-College, Dublin. My best thanks are due to the learned
-author for the kindness with which he placed his Woodblocks
-at my disposal. I have also to express my acknowledgments
-to Sir Charles Lyell, who has allowed me to reproduce some
-of the drawings that embellish his works; and to the eminent
-publishers, Messrs. Bell and Daldy of London, and Mr.
-Nimmo of Edinburgh, who have, with great courtesy, furnished
-me with electrotypes of several figures from the works
-of Doctor Mantell and Mr. Hugh Miller.</p>
-
-<p>To my colleagues in Maynooth I am much indebted for
-their judicious suggestions and friendly assistance during the
-progress of the Work. In particular I desire to testify my
-obligations to our distinguished Professor of Scripture, the
-Reverend Doctor M’Carthy, for the unwearied kindness with
-which he has allowed me to draw at pleasure on his profound
-and extensive knowledge of the Sacred Text.</p>
-
-<p class="author">
-G. M.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth</span>,<br />
-<span class="i10"><i>December 1st, 1869</i>.</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_9.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span>
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span></p>
-
-<h2 id="PREFACE_TO_THE_AMERICAN_EDITION">PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.</h2>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Molloy</span> has, in the present work, made an important
-contribution to a department of scientific and theologic literature,
-which has already been enriched by the labors of several
-other Catholic Fathers, among whom must be mentioned
-<span class="smcap">Cardinal Wiseman</span>,<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> <span class="smcap">Father Perrone</span>,<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> and <span class="smcap">Father
-Pianciani</span>,<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">3</a> who, in Italy, maintain substantially, the same
-ground which, in England, has been sustained by <span class="smcap">Dr. Chalmers</span>,
-<span class="smcap">Dr. Buckland</span>, <span class="smcap">Pye Smith</span>, and <span class="smcap">Hugh Miller</span>,
-and we may now add with pleasure, by <span class="smcap">Dr. Molloy</span>.
-Names which, in the United States, find their counterparts in
-<span class="smcap">Dr. Hitchcock</span>, <span class="smcap">Prof. Silliman</span>, <span class="smcap">Prof. A. Guyot</span>, <span class="smcap">Dr.
-Thompson</span>, and <span class="smcap">J. D. Dana</span>.</p>
-
-<p>Reviewing the progress of opinion touching the relations
-of Science to Revealed Religion, it is noteworthy that while
-many Protestant theologians and writers on both sides of the
-Atlantic have, until a recent period, treated the discoveries of
-science, and especially of Geology, so far as they affect theological
-dogmas, in a manner, if not of contempt, at least of
-distrust or unfairness: on the contrary, the Romanist writers
-who have discussed these themes, have done so, generally, in
-a spirit of broad catholicity well calculated to command the
-respect it merits. They have shown no sensitiveness or timidity
-lest, perchance, their exegesis might be disturbed by
-candidly admitting the changes demanded by the discoveries
-of Science.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span></p>
-
-<p>The author’s discussion of the principles of Geology evinces
-much familiarity both with the science and what is equally
-important, the necessities of the unscientific reader. He has
-presented, in the second part of his book, an interesting review,
-infused by copious quotations from the Christian Fathers, from
-the time of St. Augustine, showing that long before Geology
-had any existence as a science, and of course, when the discussions
-and doubts it has excited were unknown, the essential
-points respecting Time and the order of Creation had received
-careful attention from devout thinkers, and that the conclusions
-at which they arrived, on purely theological grounds,
-were, in most cases, much the same as those which the best
-writers of our time deduce from Geological evidence.</p>
-
-<p>It is now thirty-five years since (1835) <span class="smcap">Cardinal</span>, then <span class="smcap">Dr.
-Wiseman</span>, delivered in Rome, before the English College,
-of which he was the head, his Lectures, already referred to, on
-the connection between Science and Religion, in the fifth and
-sixth of which he considers more particularly the Geological
-argument. The spirit of these lectures was a just rebuke to
-the narrow bigotry of such writers as <span class="smcap">Mr. Croly</span>, <span class="smcap">Fairholm</span>,
-and <span class="smcap">Granville Penn</span>, as well as certain American theologians,
-who, by means of arrogance and denunciation, sought
-to silence the voice of truth, as proclaimed in the language
-of discovery, announcing the nature and the extent of those
-changes in life and in physical development which are recorded
-in the Genesis of the Rocks, because they conceived these immutable
-truths must of necessity conflict with the Genesis of
-Moses; the real conflict being only with their narrow interpretations.
-With rare moral courage <span class="smcap">Dr. Wiseman</span> grappled
-with the great questions discussed so well in his lectures, at a
-time when there prevailed, with reference to such themes, a
-very wide-spread distrust, even among men of moderate
-opinions. In fact, the candor and courtesy displayed by <span class="smcap">Dr.
-Wiseman</span> in his lectures, presents an enviable contrast to the
-acrimony of many theologians, and worthy of all praise, and
-in harmony with the learning and good taste which characterize
-his writings.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Molloy</span> is a worthy disciple of the same school, and
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span>
-we are glad to find in him the same candor and liberality
-which it is certainly to be hoped he will receive at the hands
-of those who may differ from him. His geological arguments
-and illustrations are very naturally drawn, chiefly from British
-authorities. It is evident that the condition of opinion upon
-these matters among religious teachers and readers in Great
-Britain is less advanced than it is in this country or in
-continental Europe. Our author has obviously but little
-familiarity with the American literature of this subject. The
-similarity in some parts of his book both in thought and
-style with the writings on this subject of the late <span class="smcap">Professor
-Silliman</span>, of Yale College, is quite noticeable. He has obviously
-not seen the writings of <span class="smcap">Dr. Hitchcock</span>, of <span class="smcap">Guyot</span>,
-of <span class="smcap">Dana</span>, and of other American writers. We have therefore
-by the kind permission of the author reproduced in this edition
-the chapter on <span class="smcap">Cosmogony</span> from <span class="smcap">Professor Dana’s</span>
-<i>Manual of Geology</i>.<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> The views set forth, in a very condensed
-form, in this chapter, embrace also the ideas of <span class="smcap">Professor
-Arnold Guyot</span>, of Princeton, as presented by him in
-his unpublished lecture upon the same subject.</p>
-
-<p>American readers will remember also that <span class="smcap">Professor Dana</span>
-has discussed this subject much more at length in a series of
-papers published in the <i>Bibliotheca Sacra</i>,<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">5</a> in a review of
-<span class="smcap">Dr. Tayler Lewis’s</span> <i>Six Days of Creation</i>.<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> It is greatly to
-be desired that <span class="smcap">Professor Dana</span> should soon make a revised
-edition of his various writings upon this subject, a work which
-would be received with interest on both sides of the Atlantic.</p>
-
-<p>We do not propose here to present the bibliography of this
-subject with any completeness, but we desire to mention, to
-those who have not seen it, a little volume of excellent spirit by
-<span class="smcap">Dr. Jos. P. Thompson</span>, of New York, entitled <i>Man in Genesis
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span>
-and Geology</i>,<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">7</a> which discusses chiefly the relations of man to
-creation, in seven lectures, the first of which is an “Outline
-of Creation in Genesis.” Even as we write another small volume
-on this subject comes to hand under the title of <i>Chemical
-History of the Six Days of Creation</i>,<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">8</a> by <span class="smcap">Mr. John
-Phin</span>, which also contains the substance of a series of lectures
-delivered by the author, who handles his theme in a spirit
-equally reverential and scientific, and well calculated to do
-good.</p>
-
-<p>Those who desire to know the best exposition of this subject
-at the hands of a modern theologian will read the first
-part of <span class="smcap">Dr. Lange’s</span> <i>Genesis, or the First Book of Moses</i>,<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">9</a>
-in <span class="smcap">Dr. Tayler Lewis’s</span> translation, pp. 159-177. The candid
-and scholarly spirit of the learned authors of this work
-indicates a marked change in discussions of this nature when
-compared with similar literature of the last generation.</p>
-
-<p>These few suggestions, chiefly on the American literature
-of this subject, are offered in the belief that some readers
-may be glad to know where to turn for similar discussions,
-while <span class="smcap">Dr. Molloy</span> will certainly not misinterpret our kindly
-intentions in suggesting to him some contemporary sources
-of information to most of which he very probably had no
-means of access when his excellent work was prepared.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">July, 1870.</span>
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_15.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2>
-
-<table class="toc">
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#INTRODUCTORY_CHAPTER">INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">PAGE.</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Scope of the Work explained&mdash;Geology looked on with Suspicion
-    by Christians&mdash;hailed with Triumph by Unbelievers&mdash;no Contradiction
-    possible between the Works of Nature and the Word of
-    God&mdash;Author not jealous of Progress in Geological Discoveries&mdash;Points
-    of Contact between Geology and Revelation&mdash;the
-    Question stated&mdash;the Answer&mdash;Division of the Work,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">25</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><h2><a href="#PART_I">PART I.</a></h2></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">GEOLOGICAL THEORY AND THE EVIDENCE BY WHICH IT IS SUPPORTED.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">THEORY OF GEOLOGISTS.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Geology defined&mdash;Facts and Theories&mdash;Recent Progress of Geology&mdash;Stratification
-    of Rocks&mdash;Aqueous Rocks; of Mechanical
-    Origin&mdash;of Chemical Origin&mdash;of Organic Origin&mdash;Igneous
-    Rocks, Plutonic and Volcanic&mdash;Metamorphic Rocks&mdash;Summary
-    of the Rocks that compose the Crust of the Earth&mdash;Relative
-    Order of Position&mdash;Internal Condition of the Globe&mdash;Movements
-    of the Earth’s Crust&mdash;Subterranean Disturbing Force&mdash;Uplifting
-    and Bending of Strata&mdash;Denudation and its Causes&mdash;Fossil
-    Remains&mdash;their Value in Geological Theory,</td>
-        <td class="tdrb">30</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">THEORY OF DENUDATION ILLUSTRATED BY FACTS.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Principle of Reasoning common to all the Physical Sciences&mdash;This
-    Principle applicable to Geology&mdash;Carbonic Acid an Agent of
-    <span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span>
-    Denudation&mdash;Vast Quantity of Lime dissolved by the Waters of
-    the Rhine and borne away to the German Ocean&mdash;Disintegration
-    of Rocks by Frost&mdash;Professor Tyndall on the Matterhorn&mdash;Running
-    Water&mdash;its Erosive Power&mdash;an active and unceasing Agent
-    of Denudation&mdash;Mineral Sediment carried out to Sea by the
-    Ganges and other great Rivers&mdash;Solid Rocks undermined and
-    worn away&mdash;Falls of the Clyde at Lanark&mdash;Excavating Power
-    of Rivers in Auvergne and Sicily&mdash;Falls of Niagara&mdash;Transporting
-    Power of Running Water&mdash;Floods in Scotland&mdash;Inundation
-    in the Valley of Bagnes in Switzerland,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">47</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">THEORY OF DENUDATION&mdash;FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>The Breakers of the Ocean&mdash;Caverns and Fairy Bridges of Kilkee&mdash;Italy
-    and Sicily&mdash;The Shetland Islands&mdash;East and South
-    Coast of Britain&mdash;Tracts of Land swallowed up by the Sea&mdash;Island
-    of Heligoland&mdash;Northstrand&mdash;Tides and Currents&mdash;South
-    Atlantic Current&mdash;Equatorial Current&mdash;The Gulf Stream&mdash;its
-    Course described&mdash;Examples of its Power as an Agent of
-    Transport,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">61</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">THEORY OF DENUDATION&mdash;CONCLUDED.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Glaciers&mdash;their Nature and Composition&mdash;their unceasing Motion&mdash;Powerful
-    Agents of Denudation&mdash;Icebergs&mdash;their Number
-    and Size&mdash;Erratic Blocks and loose Gravel spread out over
-    Mountains, Plains, and Valleys, at the Bottom of the Sea&mdash;Characteristic
-    Marks of moving Ice&mdash;Evidence of ancient Glacial
-    Action&mdash;Illustrations from the Alps&mdash;from the Mountains of
-    the Jura&mdash;Theory applied to Northern Europe&mdash;to Scotland,
-    Wales, and Ireland&mdash;The Fact of Denudation established&mdash;Summary
-    of the Evidence&mdash;This Fact the first Step in Geological
-    Theory,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">71</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">STRATIFIED ROCKS OF MECHANICAL ORIGIN&mdash;THEORY DEVELOPED AND ILLUSTRATED.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Formation of Stratified Rocks ascribed to the Agency of Natural
-    Causes&mdash;This Theory supported by Facts&mdash;The Argument
-    stated&mdash;Examples of Mechanical Rocks&mdash;Materials of which
-    they are composed&mdash;Origin and History of these Materials
-    traced out&mdash;Process of Deposition&mdash;Process of Consolidation&mdash;Instances
-    of Consolidation by Pressure&mdash;Consolidation perfected
-    by Natural Cements&mdash;Curious Illustrations&mdash;Consolidation of
-    Sandstone in Cornwall&mdash;Arrangement of Strata explained by
-    intermittent Action of the Agents of Denudation,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">87
-    <span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">STRATIFIED ROCKS OF MECHANICAL ORIGIN&mdash;FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Impossible to witness the Formation of Stratified Rocks in the
-    Depths of the Ocean&mdash;On a small scale Examples are exhibited
-    by Rivers and Lakes&mdash;Alluvial Plains&mdash;their extraordinary Fertility&mdash;Great
-    Basin of the Nile&mdash;Experiments of the Royal Society&mdash;The
-    Mississippi and the Orinoco&mdash;Some Rivers fill up
-    their own Channels&mdash;Case of the River Po&mdash;Artificial Embankments&mdash;Large
-    Tract of Alluvial Soil deposited by the Rhone in
-    the Lake of Geneva&mdash;Deltas&mdash;The Delta of the Ganges and
-    Brahmapootra&mdash;Delta of the Nile,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">100</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">STRATIFIED ROCKS OF CHEMICAL ORIGIN.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Chemical Agency employed in the Formation of Mechanical Rocks&mdash;But
-    some Rocks produced almost exclusively by the Action of
-    Chemical Laws&mdash;Difference between a Mixture and a Solution&mdash;a
-    Saturated Solution&mdash;Stalactites and Stalagmites&mdash;Fantastic
-    Columns in Limestone Caverns&mdash;The Grotto of Antiparos in
-    the Grecian Archipelago&mdash;Wyer’s Cave in the Blue Mountains
-    of America&mdash;Travertine Rock in Italy&mdash;Growth of Limestone
-    in the Solfatara Lake near Tivoli&mdash;Incrustations of the Anio&mdash;Formation
-    of Travertine at the Baths of San Filippo and San
-    Vignone,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">109</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">STRATIFIED ROCKS OF ORGANIC ORIGIN&mdash;ILLUSTRATIONS FROM ANIMAL LIFE.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Nature of Organic Rocks&mdash;Carbonate of Lime extracted from the
-    Sea by the Intervention of minute Animalcules&mdash;Chalk Rock&mdash;its
-    vast Extent&mdash;supposed to be of Organic Origin&mdash;A Stratum
-    of the same kind now growing up on the Floor of the Atlantic
-    Ocean&mdash;Coral Reefs and Islands&mdash;their general Appearance&mdash;their
-    Geographical Distribution&mdash;their Organic Origin&mdash;Structure
-    of the Zoophyte&mdash;Various Illustrations&mdash;Agency of the
-    Zoophyte in the Construction of Coral Rock&mdash;How the sunken
-    Reef is converted into an Island&mdash;and peopled with Plants and
-    Animals&mdash;Difficulty proposed and considered&mdash;Hypothesis of
-    Mr. Darwin&mdash;Coral Limestone in the solid Crust of the Earth,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">118</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">STRATIFIED ROCKS OF ORGANIC ORIGIN&mdash;ILLUSTRATIONS FROM VEGETABLE LIFE.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Origin of Coal&mdash;Evident Traces of Plants and Trees in Coal
-    Mines&mdash;Coal made up of the same Elements as Wood&mdash;Beds of
-    <span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span>
-    Coal found resting upon Clay in which are preserved the Roots
-    of Trees&mdash;Insensible Transition from Wood to Coal&mdash;Forest-covered
-    Swamps&mdash;Accumulations of Drift Wood in Lakes and
-    Estuaries&mdash;Peat Bogs&mdash;Beds of Lignite&mdash;Seams of pure Coal
-    with half Carbonized Trees, some lying prostrate, some standing
-    erect&mdash;Summary of the Argument hitherto pursued&mdash;Objection
-    to this Argument from the Omnipotence of God&mdash;Answer to
-    the Objection,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">141</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">FOSSIL REMAINS&mdash;THE MUSEUM.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Recapitulation&mdash;Scope of our Argument&mdash;Theory of Stratified
-    Rocks the Framework of Geological Science&mdash;This Theory
-    brings Geology into Contact with Revelation&mdash;The Line of Reasoning
-    hitherto pursued confirmed by the Testimony of Fossil
-    Remains&mdash;Meaning of the Word Fossil&mdash;Inexhaustible Abundance
-    of Fossils&mdash;Various States of Preservation&mdash;Petrifaction&mdash;Experiments
-    of Professor G&ouml;ppert&mdash;Organic Rocks afford
-    some Insight into the Fossil World&mdash;The Reality and Significance
-    of Fossil Remains must be learned from Observation&mdash;The
-    British Museum&mdash;Colossal Skeletons&mdash;Bones and Shells of
-    Animals&mdash;Fossil Plants and Trees,</td>
-        <td class="tdrb">156</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">FOSSIL REMAINS&mdash;THE EXPLORATION.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>From the Museum to the Quarry&mdash;Fossil Fish in the Limestone
-    Rocks of Monte Bolca&mdash;in the Quarries of Aix&mdash;in the Chalk
-    of Sussex&mdash;The Ichthyosaurus or Fish-like Lizard&mdash;Gigantic
-    Dimensions of this Ancient Monster&mdash;its Predatory Habits&mdash;The
-    Plesiosaurus&mdash;The Megatherium or great Wild Beast&mdash;History
-    of its Discovery&mdash;the Mylodon&mdash;Profusion of Fossil
-    Shells&mdash;Petrified Trees erect in the Limestone Rock of Portland&mdash;Fossil
-    Plants of the Coal Measures&mdash;The Sigillaria&mdash;The
-    Fern&mdash;The Calamite&mdash;The Lepidodendron&mdash;Coal Mine of Treuil&mdash;Fossil
-    Remains afford undeniable Evidence of former Animal
-    and Vegetable Life&mdash;Their Existence cannot be accounted for
-    by the Plastic Power of Nature&mdash;nor can it reasonably be
-    ascribed to a Special Act of Creation,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">172</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">GEOLOGICAL CHRONOLOGY&mdash;PRINCIPLES OF THE SYSTEM EXPLAINED AND DEVELOPED.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Significance of Fossil Remains&mdash;Science of Pal&aelig;ontology&mdash;Classification
-    of existing Animal Life&mdash;Fossil Remains are found to
-    fit in with this Classification&mdash;Succession of Organic Life&mdash;Time
-    in Geology not measured by Years and Centuries&mdash;Successive
-    <span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span>
-    Periods marked by Successive Forms of Life&mdash;The Geologist
-    aims at arranging these Periods in Chronological Order&mdash;Position
-    of the various Groups of Strata not sufficient for this purpose&mdash;It
-    is accomplished chiefly through the aid of Fossil
-    Remains&mdash;Mode of proceeding practically explained&mdash;Chronological
-    Table,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">198</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">GE OLOGICAL CHRONOLOGY&mdash;REMARKS ON THE SUCCESSION OF ORGANIC LIFE.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Summary of the History of Stratified Rocks&mdash;Striking Characteristics
-    of certain Formations&mdash;Human Remains found only in
-    superficial Deposits&mdash;Gradual Transition from the Organic Life
-    of one Period to that of the next&mdash;Evidence in favor of this
-    Opinion&mdash;Advance from Lower to Higher Types of Organic
-    Life as we ascend from the Older to the more Recent Formations&mdash;Economic
-    Value of Geological Chronology&mdash;Illustration&mdash;Search
-    for Coal&mdash;the Practical Man at Fault&mdash;the Geologist
-    comes to his aid, and saves him from useless Expense,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">217</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">SUBTERRANEAN HEAT&mdash;ITS EXISTENCE DEMONSTRATED BY FACTS.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Theory of Stratified Rocks supposes Disturbances of the Earth’s
-    Crust&mdash;These Disturbances ascribed by Geologists to the Action
-    of subterranean Heat&mdash;The Existence of Subterranean Heat,
-    and its Power to move the Crust of the Earth, proved by direct
-    Evidence&mdash;Supposed Igneous Origin of our Globe&mdash;Remarkable
-    Increase of Temperature as we descend into the Earth’s Crust&mdash;Hot
-    Springs&mdash;Artesian Wells&mdash;Steam issuing from Crevices
-    in the Earth&mdash;The Geysers of Iceland&mdash;A Glimpse of the subterranean
-    Fires&mdash;Mount Vesuvius in 1779&mdash;Vast Extent of
-    Volcanic Action&mdash;Existence of subterranean Heat an established
-    fact,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">233</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">SUBTERRANEAN HEAT&mdash;ITS POWERS ILLUSTRATED BY VOLCANOS.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Effects of subterranean Heat in the present Age of the World&mdash;Vast
-    Accumulations of solid Matter from the Eruptions of Volcanos&mdash;Buried
-    Cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum&mdash;Curious
-    Relics of Roman Life&mdash;Monte Nuovo&mdash;Eruption of Jorullo in
-    the Province of Mexico&mdash;Sumbawa in the Indian Archipelago&mdash;Volcanos
-    in Iceland&mdash;Mountain Mass of Etna the Product of
-    Volcanic Eruptions&mdash;Volcanic Islands&mdash;In the Atlantic&mdash;in the
-    Mediterranean&mdash;Santorin in the Grecian Archipelago,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">244
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">SUBTERRANEAN HEAT&mdash;ITS POWERS ILLUSTRATED BY EARTHQUAKES.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Earthquakes and Volcanos proceed from the same common Cause&mdash;Recent
-    Earthquakes in New Zealand&mdash;Vast Tracts of Land
-    permanently upraised&mdash;Earthquakes of Chili in the present Century&mdash;Crust
-    of the Earth elevated&mdash;Earthquake of Cutch in
-    India, 1819&mdash;Remarkable Instance of Subsidence and Upheaval&mdash;Earthquake
-    of Calabria, 1783&mdash;Earthquake of Lisbon, 1755&mdash;Great
-    Destruction of Life and Property&mdash;Earthquake of Peru,
-    August, 1868&mdash;General Scene of Ruin and Devastation&mdash;Great
-    Sea Wave&mdash;A Ship with all her Crew carried a Quarter of a
-    Mile inland&mdash;Frequency of Earthquakes,</td>
-        <td class="tdrb">258</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XVII.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">SUBTERRANEAN HEAT&mdash;ITS POWERS ILLUSTRATED BY UNDULATIONS OF THE EARTH’S CRUST.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Gentle Movements of the Earth’s Crust within Historic Times&mdash;Roman
-    Roads and Temples submerged in the Bay of Bai&aelig;&mdash;Temple
-    of Jupiter Serapis&mdash;Singular Condition of its Columns&mdash;Proof
-    of Subsidence and subsequent Upheaval&mdash;Indications
-    of a second Subsidence now actually taking place&mdash;Gradual
-    Upheaval of the Coast of Sweden&mdash;Summary of the Evidence
-    adduced to establish this Fact&mdash;Subsidence of the Earth’s Crust
-    on the West Coast of Greenland&mdash;Recapitulation,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">271</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><h2><a href="#PART_II">PART II.</a></h2></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">THE ANTIQUITY OF THE EARTH CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO THE HISTORY OF GENESIS.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">STATEMENT OF THE QUESTION AND EXPOSITION OF THE AUTHOR’S VIEW.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>The General Principles of Geological Theory accepted by the Author&mdash;These
-    Principles plainly import the extreme Antiquity
-    of the Earth&mdash;Illustration from the Coal, the Chalk, and the
-    Boulder Clay&mdash;This Conclusion not at Variance with the Inspired
-    History of the Creation&mdash;Chronology of the Bible&mdash;Genealogies
-    of Genesis&mdash;Date of the Creation not fixed by Moses&mdash;Progress
-    of Opinion on this Point&mdash;Cardinal Wiseman, Father
-    Peronne, Father Pianciani&mdash;Doctor Buckland, Doctor Chalmers,
-    Doctor Pye Smith, Hugh Miller&mdash;Author’s View explained&mdash;Charge
-    of Rashness and Irreverence answered&mdash;Admonitions
-    of Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">280
-    <span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">FIRST HYPOTHESIS;&mdash;AN INTERVAL OF INDEFINITE DURATION BETWEEN THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND THE FIRST MOSAIC DAY.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>The Heavens and the Earth were created before the First Mosaic
-    Day&mdash;Objection from Exodus, xx. 9-11&mdash;Answer&mdash;Interpretation
-    of the Author supported by the best Commentators&mdash;Confirmed
-    by the Hebrew Text&mdash;The Early Fathers commonly held
-    the Existence of created Matter prior to the Work of the Six
-    Days&mdash;Saint Basil, Saint Chrysostom, Saint Ambrose, Venerable
-    Bede&mdash;The most eminent Doctors in the Schools concurred
-    in this Opinion&mdash;Peter Lombard, Hugh of Saint Victor, Saint
-    Thomas&mdash;Also Commentators and Theologians&mdash;Perrerius,
-    Petavius&mdash;Distinguished Names on the other side, A Lapide,
-    Tostatus, Saint Augustine&mdash;The Opinion is at least not at
-    Variance with the Voice of Tradition&mdash;This Period of created
-    Existence may have been of indefinite Length&mdash;And the Earth
-    may have been furnished then as now with countless Tribes of
-    Plants and Animals&mdash;Objections to this Hypothesis proposed
-    and explained,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">300</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">SECOND HYPOTHESIS;&mdash;THE DAYS OF CREATION LONG PERIODS OF TIME.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Diversity of Opinion among the Early Fathers regarding the Days
-    of Creation&mdash;Saint Augustine, Philo Jud&aelig;us, Clement of Alexandria,
-    Origen, Saint Athanasius, Saint Eucherius, Procopius&mdash;Albertus
-    Magnus, Saint Thomas, Cardinal Cajetan&mdash;Inference
-    from these Testimonies&mdash;First Argument in favor of the
-    popular Interpretation; a Day, in the literal Sense, means a
-    Period of Twenty-four Hours&mdash;Answer&mdash;This Word often used
-    in Scripture for an indefinite Period&mdash;Examples from the Old
-    and New Testament&mdash;Second Argument; the Days of Creation
-    have an Evening and a Morning&mdash;Answer&mdash;Interpretation of
-    Saint Augustine, Venerable Bede, and other Fathers of the
-    Church&mdash;Third Argument; the Reason alleged for the Institution
-    of the Sabbath Day&mdash;Answer&mdash;The Law of the Sabbath
-    extended to every Seventh Year as well as to every Seventh Day&mdash;The
-    Seventh Day of God’s Rest a long Period of indefinite
-    Duration,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">318</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.</a></th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th colspan="2">APPLICATION OF THE SECOND HYPOTHESIS TO THE MOSAIC HISTORY OF CREATION&mdash;CONCLUSION.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Summary of the Argument&mdash;Striking Coincidence between the
-    Order of Creation as set forth in the Narrative of Moses and in
-    the Records of Geology&mdash;Comparison illustrated and developed&mdash;Scheme
-    <span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span>
-    of Adjustment between the Periods of Geology and
-    the Days of Genesis&mdash;Tabular View of this Scheme&mdash;Objections
-    considered&mdash;It is not to be regarded as an established Theory,
-    but as an admissible Hypothesis&mdash;Either the first Hypothesis
-    or the second is sufficient to meet the demands of Geology as
-    regards the Antiquity of the Earth&mdash;Not necessary to suppose
-    that the Sacred Writer was made acquainted with the long Ages
-    of Geological Time&mdash;He simply records faithfully that which
-    was committed to his charge&mdash;The Mosaic History of Creation
-    stands alone, without Rivals or Competitors,</td>
-    <td class="tdrb">343</td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_22.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span></p>
-
-<h2 id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2>
-
-<table class="toc">
-  <tr>
-    <td></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">PAGE</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_1">1. Granitic Rocks off the Shetland Islands,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">63</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_2">2. Iceberg seen in mid ocean, 1400 miles from land,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">75</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_3">3. Block of Limestone Rock with Glacial-markings,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">78</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Examples of living Zoophytes:</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="i4"><a href="#fig_4">Campanularia Gelatinosa;</a> <a href="#fig_5">Gorgonia Patula,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">131</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="i4"><a href="#fig_6">Frustra Pilosa;</a> <a href="#fig_7">Madrepora Plantaginea,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">132</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="i4"><a href="#fig_8">Corallium Rubrum,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">133</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_9">9, 10. Fossil Ferns from the Coal Measures,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">143</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_11">11. Trunk and roots of a forest tree; found erect in a Coal Mine, near Liverpool,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">152</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_12">12. Fossil Irish Deer,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">163</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_13">13. Fossil Wood, showing the rings of annual growth,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">171</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_14">14, 15. Fossil Fish from Monte Bolea in Italy,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">173, 174</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_16">16. Group of several Fossil Fish in one block of Limestone,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">176</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_17">17. Fossil Fish from the Chalk Rock of Sussex,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">177</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_18">18, 19. Two Skeletons of the Ichthyosaurus, from the Lias of Dorsetshire, preserved in the Museum of Trinity College, Dublin,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">179</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_20">20. Plesiosaurus Cramptonii, from the Lias of Yorkshire, preserved in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">182</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_21">21. The Megatherium, or Great Wild Beast,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">185</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_22">22. The Mylodon Robustus,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">186</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_23">23. Section of a Quarry in the Island of Portland, showing the stumps of an ancient forest standing erect in the solid rock,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">189</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_24">24. Calamite from the Coal Measures of Newcastle,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">191</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_25">25. Lepidodendron Sternbergii; a forest tree erect in a Coal Mine,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">192</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_26">26. Lepidodendron Elegans; Stem and branches, from a Coal Mine, near Newcastle,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">193</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_27">27. Section of a Coal Mine near Lyons, showing an ancient forest enveloped in Sandstone,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">194</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#fig_28">28. Bird’s-eye View of Santorin during the volcanic eruption of 1866,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">255</td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-
-<h3>LIST OF TABLES.</h3>
-
-<table class="toc">
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#img_211">Table of Stratified Rocks Chronologically arranged,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">211</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#img_226">Table of Geological Formations, showing the first appearance on the Earth of the various forms of Animal Life,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">226</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#GENEALOGIES_OF_GENESIS">Table exhibiting the Genealogies of Genesis according to the various Readings of the three most ancient Versions, the Hebrew, the Samaritan, and the Septuagint,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">291</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td><a href="#TABLE_REPRESENTING_A_POSSIBLE_ADJUSTMENT">Table representing a possible Adjustment of the Mosaic Days with the Periods of Geology,</a></td>
-    <td class="tdrb">351</td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_25.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<p class="ph1">GEOLOGY AND REVELATION.</p>
-
-<h2 id="INTRODUCTORY_CHAPTER"><i>INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.</i></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Scope of the work explained&mdash;Geology looked on with suspicion
-by Christians&mdash;Hailed with triumph by Unbelievers&mdash;No
-contradiction possible between the works of Nature
-and the Word of God&mdash;Author not jealous of progress in
-Geological Discoveries&mdash;Points of contact between Geology
-and Revelation&mdash;The question stated&mdash;The answer&mdash;Division
-of the work.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/a.jpg" alt="A" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">Among</span> the various pursuits that engage the human
-mind, there are few so attractive as Geology, none
-so important as Revelation. Each of these two
-studies has an interest peculiar to itself. The one is chiefly
-concerned about the world in which we are living: the
-other about the world to which we are hastening. Geology
-leads us down into the depths of the Earth, and there,
-unfolding to our view a long series of strange unwritten
-records impressed on lasting monuments by the hand of
-Nature, it proceeds to trace back the history of our Globe
-through myriads of ages into the distant past. Revelation,
-on the other hand, comes to us from above; and setting
-forth the far more wonderful records of God’s dealings with
-man, holds out the hope of another world “everlasting in
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span>
-the heavens”<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">10</a> which shall still remain when this earth and
-all the works that are therein shall have melted away with
-fervent heat.<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">11</a></p>
-
-<p>But, it may be asked, why should two such incongruous
-topics be set down for discussion side by side? To answer
-this question is to explain the scope and design of the
-present work. We are not going to write a Manual of
-Geology; nor yet a Treatise on Revelation. Taken separately,
-these two subjects have been handled with eminent
-skill and ability; the one by the votaries of Science, the
-other by the friends of Theology. It is our purpose to consider
-them not so much in themselves as in their mutual
-relations: to compare the conclusions of Geology with the
-truths of Revelation; and to inquire if it be possible to
-accept the one and yet not to abandon the other.</p>
-
-<p>An uneasy apprehension has long prevailed among devout
-Christians, and a declared conviction among a large
-class of unbelievers, that the discoveries of Geology are
-at variance with the facts recorded in the Book of Genesis.
-Now, the historical narrative of Genesis lies at the very
-foundation of all Revealed Religion. Hence the science
-of Geology, has come to be looked on with suspicion by the
-simple-minded faithful, and to be hailed with joy, as a new
-and powerful auxiliary, by that infidel party which, in these
-latter days, has assumed a position so bold and defiant. It
-is now confidently asserted that we cannot uphold the
-teaching of Revelation, unless we shut our eyes to the
-evidence of Geology; and that we cannot pursue the study
-of Geology, if we are not prepared to renounce our belief in
-the doctrines of Revelation.</p>
-
-<p>Vet surely this cannot be. Truth cannot be at variance
-with truth. If God has recorded the history of our Globe,
-as Geologists maintain, on imperishable monuments within
-the Crust of the Earth, we may be quite sure He has not
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span>
-contradicted that Record in His Written Word. There
-may be for a time, indeed, a conflict between the student
-of Nature and the student of Revelation. Each is liable to
-error when he undertakes to interpret the record that is
-placed in his hands. Many a brilliant Geological theory,
-received at first with unbounded applause, has been dissipated
-by the progress of discovery even within the lifetime
-of its author. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that
-Theologians have sometimes imputed to the Bible that which
-the Bible does not teach. Learned and pious men&mdash;Protestants
-and Catholics alike&mdash;once believed that the Book of
-Joshua represents the succession of day and night as produced
-by the revolution of the Sun around the Earth:
-whereas it is now considered quite plain that the Book of
-Joshua, properly understood, teaches nothing of the kind;
-but that the Inspired Writer, in describing a wonderful phenomenon
-of Nature, simply employs the language of men
-according to the established usage of his time. We need
-not wonder, therefore, that a conflict of opinion should
-sometimes arise between the Geologist and the Theologian;
-but a conflict there cannot be between the story which God
-has described on His works and the story He has recorded
-in His Written Word.</p>
-
-<p>Though we come forward, therefore, among those whose
-duty and whose glory it is to uphold Revelation, we are by
-no means jealous of the wonderful ardor, and we may add,
-the wonderful success, with which the study of Geology has
-been lately pursued. We have too much confidence in the
-truth of our cause to apprehend that it can suffer in any
-way from the progress of Natural Science. It is our conviction,
-rather, that the more thoroughly the works of Nature
-are understood, the more perfectly they will be found
-to harmonize with the truths of Revelation. We are not
-afraid, therefore, to venture into the realms of Geology and
-to come face to face with its discoveries. Too long, perhaps,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span>
-has this interesting and popular science been neglected
-by those who are ranged under the banner of Religion.
-Let it be ours to show that the study of God’s works
-is not incompatible with the belief in God’s Word; and
-that it is quite possible to investigate the ancient history of
-the world we inhabit without forfeiting our right to a better.</p>
-
-<p>The points of contact between Geology and Revelation
-are chiefly these two:&mdash;First, the Antiquity of the Earth;
-Secondly, the Antiquity of the Human Race. In the present
-Volume we shall confine our attention to the Antiquity
-of the Earth. The subject that offers itself for discussion
-may be stated in a few words. Geologists maintain that
-the Crust of the Earth has been slowly built up by means
-of a long series of operations which would require hundreds
-of thousands, perhaps millions of years for their accomplishment:
-whereas the Bible narrative, it is alleged, allows
-but the short lapse of six or eight thousand years from the
-creation of the world to the present time. The Geological
-record, then, seems to contradict the Mosaic; and the question
-is, how this apparent contradiction is to be explained.</p>
-
-<p>Some have ventured to solve the problem by rejecting
-the historical narrative of the Bible: others by ignoring the
-plain facts of Geology. But there is a third class of writers,
-including many names of the highest eminence and authority,
-who contend that we may admit the extreme Antiquity
-of our Globe, which Geology so imperatively demands,
-without compromising in the smallest degree the truthfulness
-of the Mosaic story. They say that the Chronology of
-the Bible stops short with Adam, and does not go back to
-the beginning of the world. By means of the data which
-the Bible supplies we may calculate, at least roughly, the
-lapse of time from the Creation of Adam to the Birth of
-Christ. But from the first beginning of all created things,
-when God made the Heavens and the Earth, to the close of
-the Sixth Day when Adam was introduced upon the scene,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span>
-that is an interval which, in the Bible narrative, is left altogether
-undefined and uncertain. This is the view which
-we hope to develop and to illustrate in the course of the
-following pages.</p>
-
-<p>Our task naturally divides itself into two parts. First, it
-will be our duty to consider the received theory of Geology,
-and to examine in detail some of the interesting and wonderful
-phenomena on which it is founded. This course of
-investigation, while it is plainly indispensable for the intelligent
-appreciation of our subject, cannot fail at the same
-time to unfold many new and striking views of the Power,
-and the Goodness, and the Providence of God. “For the
-invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are
-clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made;
-even His eternal Power and Godhead.”<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">12</a></p>
-
-<p>In the Second Part we shall consider the Antiquity of the
-Earth in reference to the History of Genesis. It will be
-our purpose to show that, as far as the Bible narrative is
-concerned, an interval of countless ages may have elapsed
-between the first creation of the Heavens and the Earth and
-the beginning of the Six Mosaic Days. Furthermore, we
-shall contend that, without any prejudice to the Sacred
-History, we may suppose these Days themselves to have
-been, not days in the ordinary sense of the word, but long
-and indefinite Periods of Time. If we succeed in establishing
-these views, it will be obvious to infer that, while
-the Bible enables us to determine, at least by approximation,
-the Age of the Human Race, it allows time without
-limit for the past history of the Earth.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_30.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<p id="PART_I" class="ph1">PART I.<br />
-
-<span class="large">GEOLOGICAL THEORY AND THE EVIDENCE BY
-WHICH IT IS SUPPORTED.</span></p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_I"><i>CHAPTER I.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">THEORY OF GEOLOGISTS.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Geology defined&mdash;Facts and Theories&mdash;Recent progress of
-Geology&mdash;Stratification of Rocks&mdash;Aqueous Rocks; of Mechanical
-Origin&mdash;of Chemical Origin&mdash;of Organic Origin&mdash;Igneous
-Rocks, Plutonic and Volcanic&mdash;Metamorphic
-Rocks&mdash;Summary of the Rocks that compose the Crust of
-the Earth&mdash;Relative order of position&mdash;Internal condition
-of the Globe&mdash;Movements of the Earth’s Crust&mdash;Subterranean
-disturbing force&mdash;Uplifting and bending of Strata&mdash;Denudation
-and its Causes&mdash;Fossil Remains&mdash;Their
-Value in Geological Theory.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="T" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">The</span> object of Geology is to examine and record
-the appearances presented by the Crust of the Earth;
-and by the aid of these appearances, to trace out
-the long series of events by which it has been brought into
-its present condition. Geology, therefore, like all other
-natural sciences, is made up partly of fact, and partly of
-theory. It belongs to the Geologist first to investigate the
-phenomena which the Crust of the Earth exhibits to the eye.
-For this purpose he descends into the mine and the quarry;
-he visits the lofty cliff by the sea-shore, the deep ravine on
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span>
-the mountain side, the cutting of a railway; in a word,
-every spot where a section of the Earth’s Crust is exposed
-to view, either by the action of Nature or by the hand of
-man. He then retires into the silence of his closet, with
-his note-book and his specimens; and there, having arranged
-and classified the various phenomena which he has already
-examined with his eyes in the outer world, he proceeds to
-make his deductions, and to build up his theory. He seeks
-to explain how materials, so diverse in their composition,
-have come to be piled up together, with such admirable
-order, and yet with such endless variety; and how the solid
-rocks have come to be the repository of petrified trees and
-plants and bones and shells, which seem, as it were, to start
-up from their graves, and to tell strange stories of a bygone
-world.</p>
-
-<p>In the early days of Geology there were comparatively
-few who devoted themselves with patient industry to the
-collection and classification of facts: while the number was
-legion of those who, with a very meagre knowledge of facts,
-set themselves to build up systems. A vast multitude of
-different and conflicting theories were, in this way, brought
-into existence, and attracted for a time much public attention,
-each one being vehemently defended by its friends and
-as vehemently assailed by its enemies. These theories resting
-on no solid foundation, could not hold their ground
-against the advancing tide of new discoveries. They flourished
-for a brief space, and then gave way to others scarcely
-more substantial, which were destined in their turn to be
-likewise rejected and forgotten. Thus it came to pass,
-from the manifest instability of its principles, that Geology
-was long held in light repute, and practical men set little
-store by its boasted discoveries and startling revelations.</p>
-
-<p>But it would be unjust and unphilosophical to condemn
-the modern theory of Geologists because of their past errors.
-We must judge of this science, not according to what
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span>
-it once was in the feebleness of its infancy, but according
-to what it now is in the growing strength of its mature years.
-It seems to be in the nature of things that groundless speculations
-and wild conjectures go before, and sober Science
-follows in their wake. The visionary dreams of the Alchemist
-led the way to the science of Chemistry, and the
-idle fancies of the Astrologist have given place to the marvellous
-discoveries of Astronomy. So, too, amidst the confused
-mass of conflicting arguments and opinions, by which
-the phenomena of Geology were for a long time enveloped
-and obscured, the seeds of a new science were slowly germinating.
-New facts were eagerly sought after to support
-or to impugn the favorite theory of the hour; and though
-theory after theory passed away, yet the facts remained. In
-course of time this accumulation of facts became broad and
-deep and solid enough to form a sound basis for inductive
-reasoning; and thus almost within our own days Geology
-may be fairly said to have assumed the rank and dignity of
-a science.</p>
-
-<p>During the last quarter of a century it has been studied
-with a more ardent enthusiasm than, perhaps, any other
-science in England, in France, in Germany, and in America.
-It has been studied, too, upon better principles than
-before: less attention has been paid to the building up of
-theories, and far more pains and labor have been expended
-on the careful investigation of natural phenomena. There
-are still, no doubt, different schools of Geologists which are
-divided among themselves as regards many important details
-of theory; but there are some general conclusions upon
-which all Geologists are substantially agreed, and which,
-they assure us, are established by evidence that is absolutely
-irresistible. It is to these conclusions we wish to invite the
-attention of our readers; for they bear very closely on the
-question of the Antiquity of the Earth.</p>
-
-<p>Geologists tell us, then, that the materials of which the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span>
-Earth’s Crust is composed, are not heaped together in a confused
-mass, but are disposed with evident marks of definite
-and systematic arrangement. This is an important truth,
-of which many examples are familiar to us all, though perhaps
-we do not all attend to their significance. Thus in a
-quarry, we see commonly enough first a bed of limestone,
-then above that a bed of gravel, and higher still a bed of
-clay: and even the limestone itself is not usually a compact
-mass, but is arranged in successive layers, something
-like the successive courses of masonry in a building. Now
-it appears that a very large proportion of the Earth’s Crust
-is made up in this way of successive layers, or <i>strata</i>, as
-they are called by Geologists. These <i>strata</i> are composed
-of various substances, such as clay, chalk, sand, lime, and
-coal; and they present everywhere the same general appearances.
-They are known under the common name of Aqueous
-Rocks,<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">13</a> because it is believed that they were originally
-formed under water; and here it is that the professors of
-Geology first come into collision with the popular notions
-that formerly prevailed.</p>
-
-<p>They hold that these stratified rocks were not arranged as
-we see them now, when the Earth first came from the hands
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span>
-of its Creator, but have been formed, during the lapse of
-unnumbered ages, by the operation of natural causes.
-Nay more, they have divided the rocks into sundry classes,
-and they undertake to explain the particular process by
-which each several variety has been produced. First in
-order and importance are those which derive their existence
-from the mechanical force of moving water. The materials
-of which they are composed first existed in the form of
-minute particles, which were transported by the action of
-water from one place to another; then they were spread out
-over a given surface, just as we now see layers of sand, or
-mud, or gravel deposited near the mouths of rivers, or in
-the estuaries of the sea, or even upon the land itself during
-temporary inundations. Lastly, after a long interval came
-the slow but certain process of consolidation. The fine
-sand was cemented together and became sandstone; the
-loose gravel by a similar process was transformed into a
-solid mass, known by the name of Conglomerate or Pudding-stone;
-while the soft mud by simple pressure was converted
-into a kind of slaty clay, called Shale. Thus from
-age to age Nature was ever building up new strata, and
-consolidating the old.</p>
-
-<p>Next in order are the Aqueous Rocks, which owe their
-origin to the agency of chemical laws. To this class belong
-many of our limestone formations. Large quantities of
-carbonate of lime are held in solution by water charged
-with carbonic acid gas: when the carbonic acid, in course
-of time, passes off, the carbonate of lime can no longer be
-held in solution, and it is accordingly precipitated in a solid
-form to the bottom. In this manner was formed that peculiar
-kind of limestone called Travertine, which abounds in
-Italy, and which is well known to all who have visited
-Rome, as the stone of which the Coliseum was built. A
-still more familiar example, on a small scale, is seen in
-the case of Stalactites and Stalagmites. Water saturated
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span>
-with carbonic acid trickles down the sides, or drops from
-the roof of a limestone cavern. In its course it dissolves
-carbonate of lime, and holds it in solution; afterward,
-reaching the floor of the cavern, it slowly evaporates and
-leaves behind it a thin sheet of limestone which is called a
-Stalagmite; while the icicle-like pendants that are formed
-by a similar process, on the roof of the cavern, are called
-Stalactites.</p>
-
-<p>There is a third class of Aqueous Rocks which are supposed
-to be made up almost exclusively of the fragmentary
-remains of plants and animals, and are therefore called
-Organic. The well-known coral reefs, so dreaded by the
-sailor in tropical seas, are believed to be nothing more than
-a mass of stony skeletons belonging to the minute marine
-animalcules known among zoologists as Polyps or Zoophytes.
-These little creatures, existing together in countless
-multitudes, extract carbonate of lime from the waters
-of the ocean in which they dwell, and by the action of
-their living organs, convert it into a solid frame or skeleton,
-which is called coral. From generation to generation the
-same process has been going on during the long succession
-of Geological ages; and huge masses of coral rock, hundreds
-of miles in length, have thus been slowly built up
-from fathomless depths of the ocean to within a few feet of
-its surface. Our vast coal formations, on the other hand,
-afford a ready example of rocks which are chiefly composed
-of vegetable remains.</p>
-
-<p>So much for the Aqueous or Stratified Rocks. Geology
-next brings before us another and a very different group, of
-which the origin is ascribed to fire, and which are consequently
-designated by the title of Igneous Rocks. In
-their general appearance they are chiefly distinguished from
-the former by the absence of regular stratification; but they
-are, nevertheless, intersected by numerous planes of division,
-or joints, as they are called, and thus divided into
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span>
-blocks of various size and form. Geologists believe that
-these rocks were at one time reduced to a molten state by
-the action of intense heat, and afterward allowed slowly to
-cool and to crystallize. They are divided into two classes,
-the Plutonic and the Volcanic. The Plutonic Rocks are
-chiefly granite of some kind or another; and though they
-now often appear at the surface, they are supposed to have
-been produced originally at a considerable depth within
-the crust of the Earth, “or sometimes, perhaps, under
-a certain weight of incumbent ocean.”<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">14</a> The Volcanic
-Rocks have been formed at or near the surface of the
-Earth, and, as the name implies, they are usually ejected,
-in a state of fusion, from the fissures of an active volcano;
-though not unfrequently they assume the more imposing
-form of basaltic columns, as at the Giant’s Causeway in
-Ireland, or on the island of Staffa near the coast of Argyleshire
-in Scotland.</p>
-
-<p>One group of rocks yet remains to be noticed. They
-have been called by various names at different times, but
-are now generally designated by the term Metamorphic. In
-some respects they resemble the Aqueous Rocks, while, in
-others, they are more nearly allied to the Igneous. Like
-the former, they are stratified in their outward arrangement;
-like the latter, they are more or less crystalline in their internal
-texture. As to their origin, we are told that they were
-first deposited under water, like the Aqueous Rocks, and
-that afterward their internal structure was altered by the
-agency of subterranean heat. Hence the name Metamorphic,
-first suggested by Sir Charles Lyell, which conveys
-the idea that these rocks have undergone a <i>change of form</i>.
-To this group belong many varieties of slate, and also the
-far-famed statuary marble of Italy.</p>
-
-<p>Our readers will perceive from this brief outline that,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span>
-if we follow the theory of Geologists, the rocks which compose
-the Crust of the Earth may be conveniently divided,
-according to their origin, into three leading groups, the
-Aqueous, the Igneous, and the Metamorphic. The Aqueous
-are formed under water, either by the mechanical force
-of the water itself when in motion, or by the agency of
-chemical laws, or by the intervention of organic life.
-Hence they are naturally subdivided into three classes, the
-Mechanical, the Chemical, the Organic. The Igneous
-Rocks are produced by heat, being first melted and then
-allowed to cool. When this process takes place under
-great pressure in the depths of the Earth, the result is
-granite; and the granite Rocks are called Plutonic: when
-near the surface, through the agency of a volcano, the
-Rocks so formed are called Volcanic. Lastly, the Metamorphic
-Rocks are nothing else than Aqueous Rocks, of
-which the texture has been altered by the action of intense
-heat.</p>
-
-<p>As regards the relative order of position amongst these
-various classes of rocks, the lowest place seems uniformly
-to belong to the granitic or Plutonic group. It is true that
-the granite will often appear at the surface of the Earth;
-but wherever there is a series of rocks piled one above the
-other, the granite will always be the lowest. This assertion
-is based on two broad facts; first, whenever we get to the
-bottom of the other rocks, they are always found to rest on
-granite; and secondly, no other rock has ever yet been
-found beneath it. From this circumstance granite is conceived
-to be the solid foundation of the Earth’s Crust, and
-so is often called fundamental granite. Above the granite
-the Aqueous Rocks have been slowly spread out layer by
-layer during the long lapse of ages, now in this part of the
-world, now in that, according as each in its turn was exposed
-to the action of water. The Volcanic Rocks do not occur
-in any fixed order of succession. They are distributed irregularly
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span>
-over almost every country of the globe, occurring
-sometimes in the form of cone-shaped mountains, sometimes
-in the form of stately pillars, and sometimes in the
-form of massive solid walls, called Dykes, forced right
-through the softer Aqueous Rocks, which were deposited
-on the surface of the Earth before the eruption. As to the
-Metamorphic Rocks, which are supposed to owe their peculiar
-character to the contact of molten mineral matter,
-wherever they occur, they are found in the immediate
-neighborhood of some Igneous Rock.</p>
-
-<p>The condition of the Earth beneath its thin external crust
-has never been the subject of direct observation; for Geologists
-have never yet been able to penetrate below the
-granite rocks. Nevertheless, this subject has been often
-discussed, and has offered a wide field for philosophical
-speculation. Upon one point all are agreed, that within
-the Crust of the Earth an intense heat very generally prevails;&mdash;a
-heat so intense that it would be quite sufficient,
-acting under ordinary circumstances, to reduce all known
-rocks to a state of igneous fusion. Hence it was a common
-opinion among the older Geologists that the condition of
-our globe is that of a vast central nucleus composed of
-molten mineral, and covered over with a comparatively thin
-external shell of solid rock. The most eminent Geologists,
-however, of the present day, hesitate to accept this opinion.
-They observe: (1) That we have not yet learned what the
-material is of which the interior of the Earth is composed;
-therefore we cannot tell for certain what degree of heat is
-sufficient to reduce that material to a liquid state. (2) It is
-uncertain how far the immense pressure at great depths
-may operate to keep matter in a solid state, even when
-raised to a very high degree of temperature. (3) There
-are certain astronomical and physical difficulties involved
-in this theory, which have not yet been fully cleared up.
-Modern Geologists, therefore, proceeding with more caution
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span>
-than their predecessors, while they regard the opinion
-as probable, refuse to set it down as conclusively demonstrated.
-But, that a very high temperature prevails in the
-interior of our globe, is a conclusion, they say, which is
-established by abundant evidence, and which may be regarded
-as morally certain.</p>
-
-<p>It may be asked how the various strata of Aqueous Rocks,
-which constitute the chief portion of the Earth’s Crust, have
-been lifted up above the level of the sea; for, according to
-our theory, they were all first deposited under water. This
-is a question that must inevitably occur to the mind of every
-reader, and Geologists are ready with an answer. They tell
-us that from the earliest ages the Crust of the Earth has been
-subject to disturbance and dislocation. At various times
-and in various places it was upheaved, and what had been
-before the bed of the ocean became dry land; again it sunk
-below its former level, and what had been before dry land
-became the bed of the ocean. Thus, in the former case a
-new stratum which had been deposited at the bottom of the
-sea, with all its varied remains of a bygone age, was converted
-for a season into the surface of the Earth, and became
-the theatre of animal and vegetable life: while in
-the latter case, the old surface of the Earth with its countless
-tribes of animals and plants,&mdash;its <i>fauna</i> and <i>flora</i> as they
-are called,&mdash;was submerged beneath the waters, there to receive
-in its turn the broken up fragments of a former world,
-deposited in the form of mud, or sand, or pebbles, or
-minute particles of lime. Nor is this all; it is but a single
-link in the chain of Geological chronology. We are asked
-to believe that, in many parts of the globe, this upward and
-downward movement has been going on alternately for unnumbered
-ages; so that the very same spot which was first
-the bed of the ocean, was afterward dry land, then the bottom
-of an estuary or inland lake, then perhaps once more
-the floor of the sea, and then dry land again: and furthermore
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span>
-we are assured that, while it remained in each one of
-these various conditions, thousands and thousands of years
-may have rolled away.</p>
-
-<p>But from what source does that mighty power come
-which can thus upheave the solid Earth, and banish the
-ocean from its bed? We are told in reply that this giant
-power dwells in the interior of the Earth itself, and is no
-other than the subterranean heat of which we have already
-spoken. This vast internal fire acts with unequal force
-upon different parts of the shell or Crust of the Earth, uplifting
-it in one place, and in another allowing it to subside.
-Now it is violent and convulsive, bursting asunder the solid
-rocks, and shaking the foundations of the hills: again it is
-gentle and harmless, upheaving vast continents with a
-scarcely perceptible undulation, not unlike the long, silent
-swell of the ocean. So it has been from the beginning,
-and so it is found to be even now, in this last age of the
-Geological Calendar. For even within historic times mountains
-have been suddenly upheaved from the level plain;
-and many parts of the Earth’s Crust have been subject to a
-slow, wave-like movement, rising here and subsiding there,
-at the rate of perhaps a few feet in a century. Sometimes,
-too, the fiery liquid itself has burst its barriers, and poured
-its destructive streams of molten rock far down into the
-peaceful, smiling valleys.</p>
-
-<p>This theory of an internal disturbing force, which from
-time to time produces elevations and depressions of the
-Earth’s Crust, serves to explain another phenomenon, that
-cannot fail to have struck even the least observant eye.
-The Aqueous Rocks of mechanical formation are said to
-have been composed of minute fragments, which were first
-held suspended in water, and afterward fell to the bottom.
-If this be true, it follows that these rocks, in the first period
-of their existence, must have been arranged in beds parallel
-to the horizon, or nearly so. But we now find them, as
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span>
-everybody knows, in a great variety of positions: sometimes
-they are parallel to the horizon, sometimes inclined to
-it, sometimes at right angles to it; sometimes, too, they are
-broken right across, sometimes curved and twisted after a
-very fantastic fashion. Now, all these appearances are the
-natural results of an upheaving force acting irregularly from
-below on the solid shell of the Earth. When the subterranean
-fire is brought to bear equally at the same time on a
-broad extent of surface, then the overlying strata are bodily
-lifted up, and preserve their horizontal position. But when
-the whole force acts with local intensity on a very contracted
-area, then, at that particular spot, the rocks above will be
-tilted up, and their position entirely changed. Sometimes
-they will be only bent and crushed together, sometimes dislocated
-and turned over; sometimes, perhaps, a mountain
-will be formed, and the rocks before parallel to the horizon,
-will afterward remain parallel to the slopes of the mountain.</p>
-
-<p>There is another process known by the name of Denudation,
-which we cannot pass over in silence, for it occupies
-a very important place in the Natural History of our globe.
-Since time first began Denudation has been ever going on
-at the surface of the Earth, and it has left its mark more or
-less distinctly upon every group of rocks, from the lowest to
-the highest. It includes all the various operations by which
-the old existing rocks are broken up into fragments, or
-ground into powder, or worn away by friction, or dissolved
-by chemical action, and then transported from their former
-site to become the elements of new strata. Hence the
-name Denudation; since by these operations the former
-surface of the Earth is carried away and a surface before
-covered is <i>laid bare</i>. The amount of destruction effected
-by this process in each successive age is always equal to the
-bulk of Aqueous Rocks formed within the same time.
-This will be at once understood when we remember that
-the Aqueous Rocks are produced, for the most part, by the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span>
-deposition of sediment; and sediment is nothing else than
-the fragments, more or less minute, of pre-existing rocks.
-What is deposited on the bed of the ocean has been taken
-from the surface of the land; and the new strata are built
-up from the ruins of the old. When we see a great building
-of stone towering aloft to the sky, we are certain that
-somewhere else on the Earth a quarry has been opened,
-and that the amount of excavation in the quarry is exactly
-represented by the bulk of solid masonry in the building.
-Just in the same way, the mass of Aqueous Rocks is at once
-the monument and the measure of previous Denudation.</p>
-
-<p>The process of Denudation is the work of many and various
-natural causes. Heat and cold, rain, hail, and snow,
-chemical affinities, the atmosphere itself, all have a share in
-it; but the largest share belongs to the mechanical action
-of moving water. Every little rill that flows down the
-mountain side is charged with finely-powdered sediment
-which it is ever wearing away from the surface of its own
-bed. Every great stream, besides the immense quantities
-of mud and sand which in times of flood it carries along
-in its turbulent course, has its channel strewn over with
-pebbles at which it never ceases to work, rounding off the
-angles and polishing the surfaces; and these pebbles, what
-are they but the fragments of old rocks and the elements of
-new,&mdash;the rubble-stone of Nature’s edifice on its way from
-the quarry to the building? Then there are those mighty
-rivers, such as the Amazon, the Orinoco, the Mississippi,
-the Nile, the Ganges, discharging into the sea day by day
-their vast freight of mineral matter, millions of cubic feet in
-bulk, and thousands upon thousands of tons in weight.
-Often this ponderous volume of mud or sand is carried far
-out to sea by the action of currents, but sometimes it is
-deposited near the shore, forming what is called a Delta,
-and exhibiting an admirable example of stratified rock in
-the earliest stage of its existence. Lastly, we have to notice
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span>
-the giant power of the great ocean itself, acting with untiring
-energies on the coasts of continents and islands all over
-the world, excavating and undermining cliffs, rolling huge
-rocks hither and thither, and spreading out the divided
-fragments in a new order at the bottom of the sea.</p>
-
-<p>To apprehend fully the magnitude of the effects which
-may fairly be ascribed to this last-mentioned power, we must
-remember that, according to Geological theory, almost
-every portion of the Earth’s Crust has been more than once
-lifted up above the surface of the ocean, and afterward
-depressed below it. It is believed that this alternate rising
-and sinking was effected very often, perhaps most commonly,
-not by sudden convulsions, but rather by slow or
-gradual movements. Now, during this process, as the land
-was emerging from the waters or sinking beneath them,
-new surfaces would be presented in each succeeding century
-to the force of the ocean currents and the erosive action of
-the breakers; and it is not difficult to conceive that the
-accumulated ruins produced, in a long lapse of time, by
-destructive agents so powerful, so untiring, so universal,
-may have readily furnished the materials for a very large
-proportion of the Aqueous Rocks now in existence.</p>
-
-<p>Hitherto we have considered the Crust of the Earth as a
-great structure slowly reared up by the hand of Nature; we
-have spoken of the Rocks that compose it, of their origin
-and history, of the order in which they are disposed, and of
-the various agencies that have been at work to mould them
-into their present form and feature. We have now to contemplate
-this marvellous structure under a new aspect; for
-we are told by Geologists that it is a vast sepulchre, within
-which lie entombed the remains of life that has long since
-passed away. Each series of strata is but a new range of
-tombs; and each tomb has a story of its own. Here a gigantic
-monster is disclosed to view, compared to which the
-largest beast that now roams through the forest is puny in
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span>
-form and contemptible in strength: there, within a narrow
-space, millions of minute animal frames are found closely
-compacted together, each so small that its existence can
-be detected only by the aid of a powerful microscope. In
-one place whole skeletons are found almost entire, embedded
-in the bosom of the solid rock; in another, we have
-a boundless profusion of bones and shells; and again
-in another, neither the skeleton itself appears, nor yet its
-scattered bones, but simply the imprint of footsteps once
-left upon the sandy beach, and still remaining engraved on
-the stone into which the fine sand has been converted
-chiefly by the agency of pressure. There is no scarcity of
-relics in this wonderful charnel-house of Nature. For
-half a century the work of plunder has been going on
-without relaxation or remorse; the tombs have been yielding
-up their dead; every city in the civilized world has
-filled its museums, and the cabinets of private collectors
-are overflowing: but the spoils that have hitherto been
-carried away seem to bear a very small proportion to those
-which yet remain behind.</p>
-
-<p>These remains of animals and plants embedded in the
-Crust of the Earth are called Fossils; and Geologists maintain
-that the Fossils preserved in each group of strata
-represent the animals and plants that flourished on the
-surface of the Earth, or in the waters of the ocean, when
-that group of strata was in process of formation. There
-they lived, and there they died, and there they were buried,
-in the sand, or the shingle, or the mud that came down
-from the waters above. Their descendants, however, still
-lived on, and new forms of life were called into being by
-the voice of the Omnipotent Creator, making, as it were,
-a connecting link between the new age of the world that
-was coming in and the old one that was passing away.
-But they, too, died and found a tomb beneath the waters;
-for Nature, with unexhausted energies, was still
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span>
-busy collecting materials from the old rocks, and building
-up the new. And so that age passed away like the former,
-and another came; and every age was represented by its
-own group of strata; and each group of strata was, in its
-turn, covered over with a new deposit; and the tombs
-were all sealed up, with their countless legions of dead,
-their massive monuments of stone, their strange hieroglyphic
-inscriptions. At length came the last stage of the world’s
-history, and man appeared upon the scene; and it is his
-privilege to descend into this wonderful sepulchre, and to
-wander about amidst the monuments, and to strive to read
-the inscriptions. In our own days more especially, eager
-and enthusiastic students are abroad over the whole face
-of the globe, and are gathering together from every country
-the Fossil Remains of extinct worlds. By the aid of
-Natural History they seek to assign to each its own proper
-place in the ranks of creation; to trace the rise, the progress,
-and the extinction of every species in its turn; and
-even to describe the nature and the character of all the
-various forms of life that have dwelt upon the Earth from
-the beginning.</p>
-
-<p>Such is the theory of Geology as expounded at the present
-day by its most able and popular advocates. We have
-passed over a multitude of minor details that we might not
-weary our readers, and we have kept aloof from disputed
-points that we might not get entangled in a purely scientific
-controversy. Our object has simply been to gather together
-into a systematic form those more general conclusions
-which, however startling they may seem to practical men
-of the world, and even to many of those whose minds have
-been accustomed to the pursuit of science in other departments,
-are nevertheless regarded as certain by all who have
-devoted their lives to the study of Geology. It now remains
-to investigate the facts on which these conclusions are
-based, and to consider the line of argument by which so
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span>
-many able and earnest men have been led to accept them.
-In this vast field of inquiry we shall chiefly direct our
-attention to those points that bear upon the Antiquity
-of the Earth; and in attempting to bring home to our
-readers the nature and the force of Geological reasoning,
-we shall confine ourselves altogether to simple and familiar
-illustrations.</p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_46.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_47.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_II"><i>CHAPTER II.</i><br />
-
-<span class="large">THEORY OF DENUDATION ILLUSTRATED BY FACTS.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Principle of reasoning common to all the physical sciences&mdash;This
-principle applicable to Geology&mdash;Carbonic acid an agent
-of denudation&mdash;Vast quantity of lime dissolved by the
-waters of the Rhine and borne away to the German ocean&mdash;Disintegration
-of rocks by frost&mdash;Professor Tyndall on the
-Matterhorn&mdash;Running water&mdash;Its erosive power&mdash;An active
-and unceasing agent of denudation&mdash;Mineral sediment carried
-out to sea by the Ganges and other great rivers&mdash;Solid
-rocks undermined and worn away&mdash;Falls of the Clyde at
-Lanark&mdash;Excavating power of rivers in Auvergne and
-Sicily&mdash;Falls of Niagara&mdash;Transporting power of running
-water&mdash;Floods in Scotland&mdash;Inundation in the valley of
-Bagnes in Switzerland.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/i.jpg" alt="I" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">In</span> the physical sciences it is a common principle of
-reasoning to account for the phenomena that come
-before us in nature, by the operation of natural
-causes which we know to exist. Nay, this principle seems
-to be almost an instinct of our nature, which guides even
-the least philosophical amidst us, in the common affairs of
-life. When we stand amongst the ruins of an ancient
-castle, we feel quite certain that we have before us, not
-alone the monument of Time’s destroying power, but also
-the monument of human skill and labor in days gone by.
-We entertain no doubt that ages ago the sound of the mason’s
-hammer was heard upon these walls, now crowned
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span>
-with ivy; that these moss-grown stones were once hewn fresh
-in the quarry, and piled up one upon another by human
-hands; and that the building itself was designed by human
-skill, and intended for the purposes of human habitation
-and defence. Or, if we see a footprint in the sand, we
-conclude that a living foot has been there; and from the
-character of the traces it has left, we judge what was the
-species of animal to which it belonged, whether man, or
-bird, or beast. It is true that God is Omnipotent. He
-might, if it had so pleased Him, have built the old castle
-at the creation of the world, and allowed it to crumble
-slowly into ruins: or he might have built it yesterday, and
-made a ruin begin to be where no castle had stood before;
-and covered the stones with moss, and mantled the walls in
-ivy. And as to the footprint in the sand, it were as easy
-for Him to make the impress there, as to make the foot that
-left the impress. All this is true: but yet if any one were
-to argue in this style against us, he would fail to shake our
-convictions; we should still unhesitatingly believe that human
-hands once built the castle, and that a living foot once
-trod the shore.</p>
-
-<p>Now, this principle of reasoning is the foundation on
-which the ablest modern Geologists claim to build their
-science. The untiring hand of Nature is ever busy around
-us: they ask us to come and look at her works, and to
-judge of what she has done in past ages, by that which she
-is now doing before our eyes. She is still, they say, building
-up her strata all over the globe, of limestone, and sandstone,
-and clay; she is still lifting up in one place the bed
-of the ocean, and in another submerging the dry land; she
-is still bursting open the Crust of the Earth by the action of
-internal fire, disturbing and tilting up the horizontal strata;
-she is still upheaving her mountains and scooping out
-her valleys. All these operations are open to our inspection;
-we may go forth and study them for ourselves; we
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span>
-may examine the works that are wrought, and we may discover,
-too, the causes by which they are produced. And
-if it should appear that a very close analogy exists between
-these works that are now coming into existence, and the
-long series of works that are piled up in the Crust of the
-Earth, it is surely not unreasonable to refer the latter class
-of phenomena to the action of the same natural causes
-which we know to have produced the former.</p>
-
-<p>It cannot be denied that this argument is deserving of a
-fair and candid consideration. Let us proceed, then, to
-examine how far it is founded on fact, and how far it can
-be justly applied to the various heads of Geological theory.
-We will commence with the origin and history of Stratified
-Rocks; for this constitutes, in a manner, the framework on
-which the whole system of Geology is supported and held
-together. It is alleged that the elements of which Stratified
-Rocks are composed are but the broken fragments and
-minute atoms of pre-existing rocks, carried off by the agents
-of Denudation, and spread out over some distant area in
-regular beds or layers; which, in progress of ages, were
-slowly consolidated into rocks of various quality and texture.
-With the view of testing this theory by the light of
-the principle just explained, we purpose, in the first place,
-to exhibit some examples of the many forms in which the
-process of Denudation is going on at the present day all
-over the world; and afterward, to show that out of the
-materials thus obtained Stratified Rocks of every description&mdash;Mechanical,
-Chemical, Organic&mdash;are being regularly
-built up in sundry places; and that these correspond in
-every essential feature with the Stratified Rocks in the Crust
-of the Earth.</p>
-
-<p>Among the chemical agents of Denudation, there is none
-more widely diffused than Carbonic acid gas. It is everywhere
-given out by dead animal and vegetable matter during
-the process of putrefaction; it is plentifully evolved
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span>
-from springs in every country; and it is emitted in
-enormous quantities from the earth in all volcanic districts,
-as well those in which the volcanoes are now extinct as
-those in which they are active. Now, it is well known from
-observation, that carbonic acid has the property of decomposing
-many of the hardest rocks, especially those in which
-felspar is an ingredient. This phenomenon is exhibited on
-a large scale in the ancient volcanic district of Auvergne, in
-central France. The carbonic acid, which is abundantly
-evolved from the earth, penetrates the crevices and pores
-of the solid granite, which being unable to resist its decomposing
-action, is rapidly crumbling to pieces. This
-mysterious decay of hard rock has been happily called by
-Dolomieu, “la maladie du granite.”<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">15</a></p>
-
-<p>Again, all the water which flows over the surface of the
-land is highly charged with carbonic acid. The rain imbibes
-it in falling through the atmosphere; and the rivers
-receive still further accessions from the earth as they pursue
-their course to the sea. In this combination we discover
-a powerful agent of Denudation; for limestone rock will
-be dissolved by water which is impregnated with carbonic
-acid. Thus all the rivers and streams in the world, when
-they flow through a limestone channel, are constantly dissolving
-the solid rock and bearing away the elements of
-which it is composed. A single example will be sufficient
-to show the magnitude of the results which are thus produced.
-It has been calculated by Bischof, a celebrated
-German chemist, that the carbonate of lime which is carried
-each year to the sea by the waters of the Rhine, is sufficient
-for the formation of 32,000,000,000 of oyster shells; or, to
-view the matter in another light, it would be sufficient to
-produce a stratum of limestone one foot thick, and four
-square miles in extent.<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">16</a> If such be the yearly produce of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span>
-one river, how great must be the accumulated effects of all
-the rivers in the world since our planet first came from the
-hand of its Creator!</p>
-
-<p>Passing from the chemical to the mechanical agents of
-Denudation, it is worth while to notice the immense power
-which is often generated by the agency of frost, especially
-in those countries that are subject to great vicissitudes of
-heat and cold. During a thaw, water finds its way into the
-clefts and joints by which all rocks are traversed, and when
-it is afterward converted into ice, it expands with a mechanical
-force that is almost irresistible. The hardest rocks are
-burst asunder, great blocks are detached from the mountain
-side, and sent rolling down its slopes, or tumbling over
-crags and precipices, until at length they come to rest in
-shattered fragments at the bottom of the valley. In this
-condition they await but the coming of the winter’s torrent
-to be borne still further on their long journey to the sea.</p>
-
-<p>The fearful havoc done in this way by the alternate action
-of sun and frost contributes in no small degree to the fantastic
-and picturesque forms assumed by the mountain peaks
-of Switzerland. Huge masses of rock have been literally
-hewn away, until nothing has remained behind but those
-splintered obelisks and tapering pinnacles so familiar to the
-eye amidst the sublime scenery of the Alps. Indeed one of
-the greatest perils encountered by the adventurous spirits
-whose ambition it is to rival one another in the danger of
-their exploits, and to climb whatever was before regarded as
-inaccessible, arises from the enormous fragments of rock
-which are rent almost unceasingly from the overhanging
-crags and hurled into the abysses below them. The following
-incident related by Professor Tyndall is very much to
-the point. “We had gathered up our things, and bent to
-the work before us, when suddenly an explosion occurred
-overhead. Looking aloft, in mid-air was seen a solid shot
-from the Matterhorn describing its proper parabola through
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span>
-the air. It split to pieces as it hit one of the rock-towers
-below, and its fragments came down in a kind of spray,
-which fell wide of us, but still near enough to compel a
-sharp look out. Two or three such explosions occurred
-afterward, but we crept along the back fin of the mountain,
-from which the falling boulders were speedily deflected
-right and left.”</p>
-
-<p>This occurred in 1862, on the occasion of an unsuccessful
-attempt to reach the highest peak of the Matterhorn.
-Six years later, when Professor Tyndall at length actually
-accomplished the object on which he seems to have set his
-heart, he found the work of destruction still going on.
-“We were now,” he says in his narrative, “beside a snow-gully,
-which was cut by a deep furrow along its centre, and
-otherwise scarred by the descent of stones. Here each
-man arranged his bundle and himself so as to cross the
-gully in the minimum of time. The passage was safely
-made, a few flying shingle only coming down upon us.
-But danger declared itself where it was not expected. Joseph
-Maquignas led the way up the rocks. I was next,
-Pierre Maquignas next, and last of all the porters. Suddenly
-a yell issued from the leader: ‘Cachez vous!’ I
-crouched instinctively against the rock, which formed a by
-no means perfect shelter, when a boulder buzzed past me
-through the air, smote the rocks below me, and with a savage
-hum flew down to the lower glacier.”<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">17</a></p>
-
-<p>Even in our own country, every one is familiar with the
-efficacy of frozen water in producing landslips. The rain
-which soaks into the ground in winter, is converted into ice
-when frost sets in; and upon steep slopes or precipices, its
-expansive power bursts open the earth, and causes large
-masses of stones and clay to tumble headlong to the bottom.</p>
-
-<p>But moving water constitutes the most powerful, and, at
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span>
-the same time, the most universal agent of Denudation.
-And it is chiefly to the effects of moving water that we
-mean to direct attention; because its action is more striking
-to the eye, and more easily understood by the general
-reader. Every one is aware that the waters of the ocean
-are constantly passing off by evaporation into the higher
-regions of the atmosphere, and are there condensed into
-clouds. These clouds in course of time descend upon all
-parts of the earth, but especially on the high and mountainous
-districts. Then rivulets are formed which flow
-smoothly down the gentle slopes of the undulating country,
-or plunge headlong over the rocky mountain cliffs; and
-the rivulets uniting form streams, and the streams, receiving
-new tributaries as they advance, become rivers; and the
-rivers flow on to the sea, and discharge each day and each
-hour their enormous volumes of water back again into the
-ocean from which they came. Thus all the water of the
-world is constantly in motion, ever hurrying on, as it were,
-in one unending round of duty. This is the teaching of
-daily experience and observation. And we may add, it is
-the teaching of Sacred Scripture as well. The Wise Man
-said long ago: “All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea
-doth not overflow: unto the place from whence the rivers
-come, thither they return to flow again.”<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">18</a></p>
-
-<p>Now, the power of this moving water is a mighty wide-spread
-agent of change in the physical condition of the
-globe. For wherever water is in motion over the surface
-of the land, whether it be a rippling stream, or a mountain
-torrent, or a majestic river, it is surely wearing away the
-channel through which it flows, and carrying along in its
-course particles of clay, or sand, or gravel. This subject
-is illustrated with great force and great simplicity by Mr.
-Page. “Every person,” he says, “must have observed
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span>
-the rivers in his own district, how they become muddy and
-turbid during floods of rain, and how their swollen currents
-eat away the banks, deepen the channels, and sweep away
-the sand and gravel down to some lower level. And if,
-during this turbid state, he will have the curiosity to lift a
-gallon of the water, and allow it to settle, he will be astonished
-at the amount of sediment or solid matter that falls
-to the bottom. Now, let him multiply this gallon by the
-number of gallons daily carried down by the river, and this
-day by years and centuries, and he will arrive at some faint
-idea of the quantity of matter worn from the land by rivers,
-and deposited by them in the ocean. In the same way as
-one river grinds and cuts for itself a channel, so does every
-stream and rill and current of water. The rain as it falls
-washes away what the winds and frosts have loosened; the
-rill takes it up, and, mingling it with its own burden, gives
-it to the stream; the stream takes it up and carries it to the
-river, and the river bears it to the ocean.”<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">19</a></p>
-
-<p>When the current is feeble, the greater part of this earthy
-material is thrown down upon the way, and forms a stratum
-of alluvial soil in the bed of the river, and also in the
-adjoining lowlands, during the time of temporary floods.
-But when several streams unite, then the carrying power
-of the current is enormously increased: huge stones are
-rolled along, and dashed one against another, and broken
-into fragments, and the fragments are rounded by friction,
-and become pebbles, and the pebbles become gravel, and
-the gravel, mud; and the mud is carried on to the mouth
-of the river, and there falling to the bottom, it forms a
-tongue of land which is called a delta; or else perhaps it
-chances to meet with some great ocean current, and then it
-begins a new journey, and is borne far away to be deposited
-in the profound and tranquil depths of the sea. It is not,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span>
-however, mineral matter alone that is transported by the
-action of rivers. Trees that once were growing on the
-banks of the stream, and the bones of animals, and human
-remains, and works of art, are seen floating down with the
-current, and are found embedded in the sand and mud of
-the delta at the river’s mouth.</p>
-
-<p>These are some of the actual realities which all may witness,
-who will go and study for themselves the history of
-this wonderful element, from the time when it first soars aloft
-as vapor to the sky, until it returns to the bosom of its
-parent ocean laden with the spoils of the land. To some of
-our readers, perhaps, results of this kind may appear insignificant,
-when considered in relation to the enormous bulk
-of the stratified rocks. But it should be remembered that
-the force of which we speak is unceasing in its operation
-over the whole surface of the earth; and even though the
-work were small which is accomplished in each successive
-year, the accumulated effects produced in a lengthened
-period of time must be immensely great. Besides, it would
-be a very serious error to form our ideas on this subject, as
-many would seem to do, from the examples which are to
-be found within the narrow limits of our own island. We
-should rather seek for our illustrations among those mighty
-rivers that drain the vast continents of the world, and exhibit
-the erosive and transporting power of running water on the
-grandest scale.</p>
-
-<p>It happens, fortunately for our purpose, that an attempt
-has been made by scientific men to compute the amount
-of matter discharged into the sea, by some particular rivers
-within a given time. For such a computation it is necessary,
-in the first place, to calculate the volume of water that
-passes down the channel during that time; and then, by
-repeated experiments, to ascertain the average proportion
-of earthy matter which is held suspended in the water.
-This has been done with the greatest care by the Rev. Mr.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span>
-Everest, in the case of the river Ganges; and it appears
-that during the rainy season, which lasts four months every
-year, from June to September, about 6,000,000,000 cubic
-feet of mud are carried along by the stream past the town
-of Ghazepoor, near which the observations were made.
-Now this enormous bulk of mineral matter would be sufficient
-to form a stratum of rock one foot in height, and two
-hundred and eighteen square miles in extent. Or, to
-adopt the computation of Sir Charles Lyell, the amount
-which passes by every day is equal to that which might be
-transported by 2000 Indiamen, each freighted with a cargo
-of mud 1400 tons in weight. And it is important to
-remember that this estimate represents but a portion of the
-sediment which passes into the sea through the channel of
-the Ganges; for the observations of Mr. Everest were taken
-at a point which is 500 miles from the sea, and at which
-the river has not yet received the contributions of its largest
-tributaries.</p>
-
-<p>We are able, therefore, with some degree of confidence,
-to estimate the amount of Denudation which is every year
-effected by the Ganges. And, although the same calculations
-have not yet been applied with equal care to other
-great rivers, there is no reason to suppose that the Ganges
-is an exception. It is asserted on good grounds that the
-Brahmapootra, which unites with the Ganges close to the
-Bay of Bengal, carries with it an equal amount of earthy
-sediment. According to Sir Charles Lyell, the quantity of
-solid matter brought down each year by the Mississippi
-amounts to 3,702,758,400 cubic feet. And it is said that
-48,000,000 cubic feet of earth are <i>daily</i> discharged into the
-sea by the Yellow River in China, called by the natives the
-Hoang Ho.<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">20</a> Thus year after year the waste of the land is
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span>
-carried away by rivers, to be spread out over wide areas of
-the ocean, and perhaps to furnish the materials of future
-continents.</p>
-
-<p>The effects of running water in wearing away and transporting
-masses of solid rock are not less deserving of our
-notice. Every one who has followed the course of a great
-river when it flows through a rocky channel, must have
-observed large blocks projecting from the cliffs above,
-which, having been undermined by the action of the water,
-seem ready to tumble headlong into the stream; and others
-lying below, which had fallen before; and others again
-which had been already carried a considerable distance by
-the winter’s torrent. Even where the rocks are not displaced,
-they are gradually being worn away, partly by the
-friction of the water, but much more by the grinding action
-of the gravel which the water holds in suspension. Not
-only is the surface of the rocks thus rounded and polished,
-but large circular pits, called <i>pot-holes</i>, are formed by the
-whirling waters of an eddy carrying round and round a few
-grains of hard sand.</p>
-
-<p>At the falls of the Clyde near Lanark in Scotland, these
-various phenomena may be seen to great advantage. Good
-illustrations are to be found also in many volcanic regions.
-Some of the larger streams in Auvergne have in course of
-time forced their way through the solid lava rock, cutting
-out for themselves channels broad and deep. In Sicily too,
-we are told, the river Simeto, whose course was blocked up
-by a current of lava about the beginning of the seventeenth
-century, has since that time eaten its way through this compact
-and hardened mass, and now flows on to the sea
-through a rocky passage forty feet in depth and from fifty to
-several hundred feet in width.<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">21</a></p>
-
-<p>But there is no part of the world yet explored where these
-effects are exhibited on the same gigantic scale as at the far-famed
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span>
-Falls of Niagara. The massive limestone rock from
-which the waters are precipitated is slowly but certainly disappearing.
-An enormous volume of water, more than a
-third of a mile in breadth, plunges in a single bound over
-a sheer precipice of one hundred and sixty-five feet. The
-soft slaty rocks upon which the limestone rests are soon
-eaten away by the action of the spray which rises from the
-pool below; and then the overhanging cliffs, left without
-any support, topple over, and are carried off by the torrent.
-The position of the Falls, therefore, is not stationary, but
-is receding by very sensible degrees in the direction of Lake
-Erie, from which the river flows. Speaking of this phenomenon,
-Sir Charles Lyell observes with much show of
-reason: “The idea of perpetual and progressive waste is
-constantly present to the mind of every beholder: and as
-that part of the chasm which has been the work of the last
-hundred and fifty years resembles precisely in depth, width,
-and character the rest of the gorge, which extends seven
-miles below, it is most natural to infer, that the entire
-ravine has been hollowed out in the same manner, by the
-recession of the cataract. It must at least be conceded,
-that the river supplies an adequate cause for executing the
-whole task thus assigned to it, provided we grant sufficient
-time for its completion.”<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">22</a></p>
-
-<p>With a view to enable our readers to understand more
-fully the prodigious force which rivers have been known to
-exert in the transportation of rocks, it may be useful to
-draw attention to one or two principles of physical science.
-First, we have the well-known law of Archimedes, that <i>a
-solid body immersed in a liquid loses a part of its weight equal
-to the weight of the liquid displaced</i>. Now solid rock as compared
-with water, bulk for bulk, is rarely more than three
-times, and often not more than twice as heavy. Consequently,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span>
-according to this law, almost all rocks will lose a
-third of their weight, and many will lose one-half, when
-immersed in water. Again, it has been established that <i>the
-power of water to move bodies that are in it increases as the
-sixth power of the velocity of the current</i>. Hence, if the
-velocity of a current is increased <i>two-fold</i>, its moving power
-will be increased <i>sixty-four fold</i>; if the velocity is increased
-<i>three-fold</i>, the moving power will be increased <i>seven hundred
-and twenty fold</i>; and so on.</p>
-
-<p>From these principles it follows, first, that a much smaller
-power is required to move a block of stone lying in the bed
-of a river, than if it were lying on the surface of the land;
-and secondly, that a very slight increase in the velocity of a
-current effects a very great increase in its moving power.
-We need not wonder, then, when we hear of the enormous
-masses of rocks and trees and mason-work which are carried
-away even by small rivers in times of flood.<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">23</a></p>
-
-<p>Here are a few examples. In August, 1829, a fragment
-of sandstone, fourteen feet long, three feet wide, and one
-foot thick, was carried by the river Nairn, in Scotland, a
-distance of two hundred yards. On the same occasion the
-river Dee swept away a bridge of five arches, built of solid
-granite, which had stood uninjured for twenty years; the
-whole mass of masonry sunk into the bed of the stream
-and was seen no more. And the river Don, as we are
-assured on the authority of Mr. Farquharson, forced a mass
-of stones four or five hundred tons in weight up a steep inclined
-plane, leaving them in a great rectangular heap on
-the summit. A small rivulet called the College, in Northumberland,
-when swollen by a flood in August, 1827, “tore
-away from the abutment of a mill-dam a large block of
-greenstone-porphyry weighing nearly two tons, and transported
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span>
-it to the distance of a quarter of a mile.”<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">24</a> But it is
-needless to multiply examples of phenomena which are
-occurring every day around us, and of which many among
-our readers have probably been eye-witnesses.</p>
-
-<p>The transporting power of rivers must not always be estimated
-by the bulk and velocity of the current; for it is often
-greatly increased by some accidental obstruction, which for
-a time blocks up the channel through which the river flows.
-An instructive illustration is afforded by the river Dranse,
-which flows through the valley of Bagnes, in Switzerland,
-and empties itself into the Rhone above the lake of Geneva.
-In the year 1818 the avalanches which fell down from the
-mountain side formed a barrier across the valley, and thus
-effectually blocked up the course of the stream. The upper
-part of the valley was, in consequence, soon converted into
-a lake which gradually increased in size as the season advanced.
-When summer came, and the melting of the
-snows began, the ice barrier suddenly gave way with a tremendous
-crash, and the lake was emptied in half an hour.
-The mass of water, thus in a moment disengaged, burst
-with destructive violence over the lower valley, sweeping
-away rocks, forests, houses, bridges, and cultivated lands.
-Thousands of trees were torn up by the roots, fragments of
-granite as large as houses were rolled along, and the whole
-flood presented the appearance of a moving mass of ruins.</p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_60.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_61.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_III"><i>CHAPTER III.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">THEORY OF DENUDATION&mdash;FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>The breakers of the ocean&mdash;Caverns and fairy bridges of
-Kilkee&mdash;Italy and Sicily&mdash;The Shetland Islands&mdash;East and
-south coast of Britain&mdash;Tracts of land swallowed up by the
-sea&mdash;Island of Heligoland&mdash;Northstrand&mdash;Tides and currents&mdash;South
-Atlantic current&mdash;Equatorial current&mdash;The
-Gulf Stream&mdash;Its course described&mdash;Examples of its power
-as an agent of transport.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/w.jpg" alt="W" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">While</span> the rain, the rivers, and the streams, are
-thus wasting away the mountains and plains of the
-interior country, the waves of the sea are exerting
-a power no less destructive on the coasts of islands and of
-continents. The breakers dashing against the foot of a
-lofty cliff, dissolve and decompose and wear away the lower
-strata; and the overhanging rocks, thus undermined, fall
-down in course of time by their own weight. With the
-next returning wave these rocks are themselves hurled
-back against the cliff; and so, as some one has happily
-remarked, the land would seem to supply a powerful artillery
-for its own destruction. The effects of the breakers
-are often very unequal, even on the same line of cliffs.
-Some parts of the rock are more yielding than others, or
-perhaps they are more exposed to the action of the waves,
-or perhaps they are divided by larger joints and more freely
-admit the destructive element. These parts will be the first
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span>
-to give way, while the harder and less exposed rock will be
-left standing: and in this way forms the most capricious
-and fantastic are produced.</p>
-
-<p>No finer examples could be wished for than those which
-are seen in the neighborhood of Kilkee, and along the
-promontory of Loop Head, in the county of Clare. Sometimes
-the ground is undermined with caverns, into which,
-when the tide is coming in, the waves of the Atlantic rush
-with resistless force, making new additions each day to the
-accumulated ruins of ages. Sometimes lofty pinnacles of
-rock are left standing in the midst of the waters, like giant
-sentinels stationed there by Nature to guard the coast. In
-one or two instances these isolated fragments are connected
-with the main land by natural arches of rock, which are
-called <i>fairy bridges</i> by the people; but more commonly
-they appear as rocky islets, and answer exactly to the poet’s
-description&mdash;</p>
-
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i24">“The roaring tides</span>
-<span class="i0">The passage broke that land from land divides;</span>
-<span class="i0">And where the lands retired the rushing ocean rides.”</span>
-</div></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>It is interesting to observe in passing, that, in the original
-verses of the &AElig;neid, of which these lines are Dryden’s translation,
-Virgil has recorded a belief which prevailed in his
-time, and which, upon scientific grounds, is now regarded
-as highly probable by Geologists, that the island of Sicily
-had been once connected by land with Italy, and was separated
-from it by the action of the waves:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">“H&aelig;c loca, vi quondam et vasta convulsa ruina,</span>
-<span class="i0">Tantum &aelig;vi longinqua valet mutare vetustas!</span>
-<span class="i0">Dissiluisse ferunt, quum protenus utraque tellus</span>
-<span class="i0">Una foret; venit medio vi pontus et undis</span>
-<span class="i0">Hesperium Siculo latus abscidit, arvaque et urbes</span>
-<span class="i0">Litore deductas angusto interluit &aelig;sta.”</span>
-</div></div>
-<p class="author">&AElig;neid, iii., 414-19.</p>
-</div>
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span></p>
-
-<p>But whatever may be thought of this opinion thus rendered
-immortal by the genius of the poet, we shall not stop
-to discuss its merits. For in the present stage of our argument,
-it is our object to deal, not with vague and uncertain
-traditions, nor even with philosophical speculations, but
-rather with the facts which are actually going on in nature,
-and which any one of our readers may examine for himself.
-With this object in view, we shall take a few examples from
-the Eastern and Southern coasts of Great Britain, which
-have been carefully explored by scientific men for the purpose
-of observing and recording the amount of destruction
-accomplished by the waves within recent times.</p>
-
-<div id="fig_1" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_1.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 1.&mdash;Granitic rocks to the south of Hillswick Ness, Shetland.
-From Lyell’s Principles of Geology.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>The Shetland Islands, exposed to the whole fury of the
-Atlantic, present many phenomena not unlike those of Kilkee
-and Loop Head, but upon a far grander scale. Whole
-islands have been swept away by the resistless power of the
-waters, and of others nothing remains but massive pillars
-of hard rock, which have been well described as rising up
-“like the ruins of Palmyra in the desert of the ocean.”
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span>
-Passing to the mainland, it is recorded that in the year
-1795 a village in Kincardineshire was carried away in a
-single night, and the sea advanced a hundred and fifty yards
-inland, where it has ever since maintained its ground. In
-England, almost the whole coast of Yorkshire is undergoing
-constant dilapidation. On the south side of Flamborough
-Head the cliffs are receding at an average rate of two yards
-and a quarter in the year, for a distance of thirty-six miles
-along the coast. This would amount to a mile since the
-Norman Conquest, and to more than two miles since the
-occupation of York by the Romans. It is not surprising,
-therefore, to learn that many spots marked in the old maps
-of the country as the sites of towns or villages, are now
-sandbanks in the sea. Even places of historic name have
-not been spared. The town of Ravenspur, from which, in
-1332, Edward Baliol sailed for the invasion of Scotland,
-and at which Henry the Fourth landed in 1399, to claim
-the throne of England, has long since been swallowed up
-by the devouring element.</p>
-
-<p>On the coast of Norfolk it was calculated, at the beginning
-of the present century, that the mean loss of the land
-was something less than one yard in the year. The inn at
-Sherringham was built on this calculation in 1805, and it
-was expected to stand for seventy years. But unfortunately
-the actual advance of the sea exceeded the calculation. Sir
-Charles Lyell, who visited this spot in 1829, relates that during
-the five preceding years seventeen yards of the cliff had
-been swept away, and nothing but a small garden was then
-left between the building and the sea. The same distinguished
-writer tells us that in the harbor of this town there
-was at that time water sufficient to float a frigate where forty-eight
-years before had stood a cliff fifty feet in height with
-houses built upon it. And remarking upon these facts, he
-says, that “if once in half a century an equal amount of
-change were produced suddenly by the momentary shock
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span>
-of an earthquake, history would be filled with records of
-such wonderful revolutions of the earth’s surface; but if
-the conversion of high land into deep sea be gradual, it
-excites only local attention.”</p>
-
-<p>In the neighborhood of Dunwich, once the most considerable
-seaport on the coast of Suffolk, the cliffs have been
-wasting away from an early period of history. “Two
-tracts of land which had been taxed in the time of King
-Edward the Confessor, are mentioned in the Conqueror’s
-survey, made but a few years afterward, as having been
-devoured by the sea.” And the memory of other losses in
-the town itself&mdash;including a monastery, several churches,
-the town-hall, the jail, and many hundred houses&mdash;together
-with the dates of their occurrence, is faithfully preserved in
-authentic records. In 1740 the sea reached the churchyard
-of Saint Nicholas and Saint Francis, so that the graves, the
-coffins, and the skeletons, were exposed to view on the face
-of the cliffs. Since that time the coffins, and the tombstones,
-and the churchyard itself, have disappeared beneath
-the waves. Nothing now remains of this once flourishing
-and populous city but the name alone, which is still attached
-to a little village of about twenty houses. The spot
-on which the Church of Reculver stands, near the mouth
-of the Thames, was a mile inland in the reign of Henry
-the Eighth; in the year 1834 it was overhanging the sea;
-and it would long ago have been demolished, but for an
-artificial causeway of stones constructed with a view to
-break the force of the waves. It is estimated that the land
-on the northeast coast of Kent is receding at the rate of
-about two feet in the year. The promontory of Beachy
-Head in Sussex is also rapidly falling away. In the year
-1813 an enormous mass of chalk, three hundred feet in
-length and eighty in breadth, came down with a tremendous
-crash; and slips of the same kind have often occurred, both
-before and since.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span></p>
-
-<p>To these examples from Great Britain we may add one
-or two from the German Ocean. Seven islands have completely
-disappeared within a very narrow area since the time
-of Pliny; for he counted twenty-three between Texel and
-the mouth of the Eider, whereas now there are but sixteen.
-The island of Heligoland, at the mouth of the Elbe, has
-been for ages subject to great dilapidation. Within the
-last five hundred years three-fourths of it have been carried
-away; and since 1770 the fragment that remains has been
-divided into two parts by a channel which is at present navigable
-for large ships. A still more remarkable instance of
-destruction effected by the waves of the sea occurred in the
-island of Northstrand, on the coast of Schleswig. Previous
-to the thirteenth century it was attached to the mainland,
-forming a part of the continent of Europe, and was a
-highly cultivated and populous district about ten miles
-long, and from six to eight broad. In the year 1240 it was
-cut off from the coast of Schleswig by an inroad of the sea,
-and it gradually wasted away up to the seventeenth century,
-when its entire circumference was sixteen geographical
-miles. Even then the industrious inhabitants,&mdash;about nine
-thousand in number,&mdash;endeavored to save what remained
-of their territory by the erection of lofty dykes; but on the
-eleventh of October, 1634, the whole island was overwhelmed
-by another invasion of the sea, in which 6000 people
-perished, and 50,000 head of cattle. Three small islets
-are all that now remain of this once fertile district.<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">25</a></p>
-
-<p>The breakers of the ocean receive no small aid in their
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span>
-work of destruction from the action of tides and currents
-which co-operate with the winds to keep the waters of the
-sea in constant motion. And though the winds may sleep
-for a time, the tides and currents are always actively at work,
-and never for a moment cease to wear away the land. But
-they are even more powerful auxiliaries as agents of transport.
-If it were not for them, the ruins which fall from the
-rocks to-day would to-morrow form a barrier against the
-waves, and the work of destruction would cease. But Nature
-has ordained it otherwise. When the tide advances, it
-rolls the broken fragments toward the land, and when it
-recedes, it carries them back to the deep; and so by unceasing
-friction these fragments are worn away to pebbles, and
-then, being more easily transported, they are carried off to
-sea and deposited in the bed of the ocean: or else, perhaps,
-they are cast up on the sloping shore, to form what is so
-familiar to us all under the name of a shingle-beach.</p>
-
-<p>This is a subject on which it is needless to enlarge.
-Every one knows that the tides have the power of transporting
-solid matter; though most of us, perhaps, do not fully
-appreciate the magnitude of their accumulated effects, working
-as they do with untiring energies upon the coasts of
-islands and continents all over the world. It is not, however,
-so generally known that the ocean is traversed in all
-directions by powerful currents, which, from their regularity,
-their permanence, and their extent, have been aptly called
-the rivers of the ocean. We do not mean here to inquire
-into the causes of these currents, upon which the progress
-of physical science has thrown considerable light: neither
-can we hope to describe even the principal currents that
-prevail over the vast tracts of water which constitute about
-three-fourths of the entire surface of our globe. We shall
-content ourselves with tracing the course of one great
-system, which may serve to give some idea of their general
-character and enormous power.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span></p>
-
-<p>This system would seem to have its origin with a stream
-that flows from the Indian Ocean toward the southwest,
-and then doubling the Cape of Good Hope, turns northward
-along the African coast. It is here called the South
-Atlantic Current. When it encounters the shores of Guinea,
-it is diverted to the west, and stretches across the Atlantic,
-traversing forty degrees of longitude until it reaches the
-projecting promontory of Brazil in South America. In this
-part of its course it is known as the Equatorial Current,
-because it follows pretty nearly the line of the Equator: it
-varies in breadth from two hundred to five hundred miles,
-and it travels at the mean rate of thirty miles a day, though
-sometimes its velocity is increased to seventy or eighty.
-Next, under the name of the Guyana Current, it pursues a
-northwesterly direction, following the line of the coast;
-and passing close to the island of Trinidad, becomes diffused,
-and almost seems to be lost, in the Caribbean Sea.
-Nevertheless, it again issues with renewed energy from the
-Gulf of Mexico, and rushing through the Straits of Florida
-at the rate of four and five miles an hour, it issues once
-more into the broad waters of the Atlantic. From this out
-it is called the Gulf Stream, and is well known to all who
-are concerned in Transatlantic navigation; for it sensibly
-accelerates the speed of vessels which are bound from
-America to Europe, and sensibly retards those sailing from
-Europe to America.</p>
-
-<p>The Gulf Stream, however, does not set out on its Transatlantic
-voyage directly that it issues from the Straits of Florida.
-It keeps at first a northeasterly course, following the outline
-of the American continent, passing by New York and Nova
-Scotia, and brushing the southern extremity of the great
-Newfoundland Bank. Then taking leave of the land, it
-sweeps right across the Atlantic. After a time it seems to
-divide into two branches, one inclining to the south, and
-losing itself among the Azores, the other bending toward
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span>
-the north, washing the shores of Ireland, Scotland, Norway,
-and reaching even to the frozen regions of Spitzbergen.
-The breadth of the Gulf Stream, when it issues from the
-Straits of Florida, is about fifty miles, but it afterward
-increases to three hundred. Its color is a dark indigo blue,
-which, contrasting sharply with the green waters of the
-Atlantic, forms a line of junction distinctly visible for some
-hundreds of miles: afterward, when this boundary line is
-no longer sensible to the eye, it is easily ascertained by the
-thermometer; for the temperature of the Gulf Stream is
-everywhere from eight to ten degrees higher than that of
-the surrounding ocean.<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">26</a></p>
-
-<p>We leave our readers to infer from this brief description
-how immense must be the power of transport which belongs
-to such currents as these. They sweep along the shores of
-continents, and carry away the accumulated fragments of
-rock, which had first been rent from the cliffs by the waves
-of the sea, and then borne out to a little distance by the
-tides: they pass by the mouths of great rivers, and receiving
-the spoils of many a fertile and populous country, and
-the ruins of many an inaccessible mountain ridge, they
-hurry off to deposit this vast and varied freight in the deep
-abysses of the ocean. There is one circumstance, however,
-which we ought not to pass over in silence; for it is of
-especial importance to the Geologist, and might easily
-escape the notice of the general reader. It is a well ascertained
-fact that plants and fruits and other objects from the
-West Indian Islands are annually washed ashore by the
-Gulf Stream on the northwestern coasts of Europe. The
-mast of a man-of-war burnt at Jamaica was after some
-months found stranded on one of the Western Islands of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span>
-Scotland;<a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">27</a> and General Sabine tells us that when he was
-in Norway, in the year 1823, casks of palm-oil were picked
-up on the shore near the North Cape, which belonged to a
-vessel that had been wrecked the previous year at Cape
-Lopez on the African coast.<a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">28</a> It seems most probable that
-these casks of oil must first have crossed the Atlantic from
-east to west in the Equatorial Current, then described the
-circuit of the West Indian Islands, and finally coming in
-with the Gulf Stream, recrossed the Atlantic, performing
-altogether a journey of more than eight thousand miles.
-From these facts it is clear that, by the agency of ocean
-currents, the productions of one country may be carried to
-another that is far distant. And Geologists do not fail to
-make use of this important conclusion when they find the
-animal and vegetable remains of different climates associated
-together in the same strata of the Earth.</p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_70.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_71.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_IV"><i>CHAPTER IV.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">THEORY OF DENUDATION&mdash;CONCLUDED.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Glaciers&mdash;Their nature and composition&mdash;Their unceasing
-motion&mdash;Powerful agents of denudation&mdash;Icebergs&mdash;Their
-number and size&mdash;Erratic blocks and loose gravel spread out
-over mountains, plains, and valleys, at the bottom of the
-sea&mdash;Characteristic marks of moving ice&mdash;Evidence of ancient
-glacial action&mdash;Illustrations from the Alps&mdash;From the
-mountains of the Jura&mdash;Theory applied to northern Europe&mdash;To
-Scotland, Wales, and Ireland&mdash;The fact of denudation
-established&mdash;Summary of the evidence&mdash;This fact the
-first step in geological theory.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="T" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">The</span> next agent of Denudation to which we invite
-the attention of our readers, is one of which our
-own country affords us no example, but which may
-be seen in full operation amidst the wild and impressive
-scenery of Switzerland. And we know not how we can
-better introduce the subject than by the solemn address of
-a great poet, in whom an ardent love of nature was blended
-with a deep sense of religion. As he stood in the midst of
-the snow-clad mountains that shut in the valley of Chamouni,
-his spirit, “expanded by the genius of the spot,”
-soared away from the scenes before him to the Great Invisible
-Author of all that is beautiful and sublime in nature,
-and he poured forth that well-known hymn of praise and
-worship in which he thus apostrophizes the massive glaciers
-of Mont Blanc:&mdash;
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span></p>
-
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">“Ye ice-falls! ye that from the mountain’s brow<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">Adown enormous ravines slope amain&mdash;<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">Torrents, methinks, that heard a mighty voice,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">And stopped at once amid their maddest plunge!<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">Motionless torrents! silent cataracts!<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">Who made you glorious as the gates of Heaven<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">Beneath the keen full moon? Who bade the sun<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">Clothe you with rainbows? Who with living flowers<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">Of loveliest blue, spread garlands at your feet?</span>
-<span class="i0">God! let the torrents, like a shout of nations,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">Answer! and let the ice-plains echo, God!<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">God! sing ye meadow-streams with gladsome voice!</span><br />
-<span class="i0">Ye pine-groves, with your soft and soul-like sounds!<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">And they too have a voice, yon piles of snow,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">And in their perilous fall shall thunder, God!”<a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">29</a><br /></span>
-</div></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>A Glacier is an enormous mass of solid ice filling up a
-valley, and stretching from the eternal snows which crown
-the summits of the mountains, down to the smiling cornfields
-and rich pastures of the plains. It is constantly fed
-by the accumulated snows of winter, which, slipping and
-rolling down the slopes of the mountains, lodge in the valleys
-below, and are there converted into ice. For it must
-be remembered that the Glacier properly so called does not
-commonly extend much higher than 9000 feet above the
-level of the sea. Beyond that elevation the compact and
-massive ice gradually passes into frozen snow, called by the
-French Nev&eacute;, and by the Germans Firn. The change
-which takes place in the condition of the snow as it descends
-into the valley is chiefly owing to these two circumstances:
-first, it is closely compacted together by the weight of the
-snowy masses pressing down upon it from above; and secondly,
-in the summer months it is thawed upon the surface
-during the day by the heat of the sun, and frozen again at
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span>
-night. On a small scale this process is practically familiar
-to every school-boy. When he makes a snow-ball he is
-practically converting a mass of snow into ice, and that by
-a series of operations very closely resembling those which
-Nature employs in the manufacture of a Glacier.</p>
-
-<p>In Switzerland the Glacier is often two or three miles in
-breadth, from twenty to thirty miles in length, and five or
-six hundred feet in depth. Though so vast in its bulk and
-so solid in its character, it is not, as might be supposed, a
-fixed, immovable mass. On the contrary, it is moving
-incessantly, but slowly, down the valley which it occupies,
-at the rate of several inches&mdash;sometimes one or two feet,
-and even more&mdash;in the day. In Greenland a Glacier
-explored by Doctor Hayes, in his expedition to the North
-Pole, was found to move for a whole year at the average
-rate of a hundred feet a day. It may be thought, perhaps,
-that this fact requires further confirmation; but at all events
-it is certain that the language of the poet, when he addresses
-the Glaciers as “motionless torrents,” though it
-conveys an accurate and beautiful idea of the appearance
-they present to the eye, is not rigorously true in a scientific
-sense. Indeed, it is just because the Glaciers are not motionless
-that they serve as instruments of Denudation.</p>
-
-<p>Their agency in this respect “consists partly in their
-power of transporting gravel, sand, and huge stones, to
-great distances, and partly in the smoothing, polishing, and
-scoring of their rocky channels, and the boundary walls
-of the valleys through which they pass. At the foot of
-every steep cliff or precipice in high Alpine regions, a
-sloping heap is seen of rocky fragments detached by the
-alternate action of frost and thaw. If these loose masses,
-instead of accumulating on a stationary base, happen to
-fall upon a Glacier, they will move along with it, and, in
-place of a single heap, they will form in the course of years
-a long stream of blocks. If a Glacier be twenty miles long,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span>
-and its annual progression about five hundred feet, it will
-require about two centuries for a block thus lodged upon its
-surface to travel down from the higher to the lower regions,
-or to the extremity of the icy mass. This terminal point
-usually remains unchanged from year to year, although
-every part of the ice is in motion, because the liquefaction
-by heat is just sufficient to balance the onward movement
-of the Glacier, which may be compared to an endless file
-of soldiers, pouring into a breach, and shot down as fast as
-they advance.</p>
-
-<p>“The stones carried along on the ice are called in Switzerland
-the <i>moraines</i> of the Glacier. There is always one
-line of blocks on each side or edge of the icy stream, and
-often several in the middle, where they are arranged in
-long ridges or mounds of snow and ice, often several yards
-high. The reason of their projecting above the general
-level, is the non-liquefaction of the ice in those parts of
-the surface of the Glacier which are protected from the rays
-of the sun, or the action of the wind, by the covering of the
-earth, sand, and stones. The cause of <i>medial moraines</i> was
-first explained by Agassiz, who referred them to the confluence
-of tributary Glaciers. Upon the union of two
-streams of ice, the right lateral moraine of one of the
-streams comes in contact with the left lateral moraine of the
-other, and they afterward move on together, in the centre,
-if the confluent Glaciers are equal in size, or nearer to one
-side if unequal.</p>
-
-<p>“Fragments of stone and sand which fall through crevasses
-in the ice, and get interposed between the moving
-Glacier and the fundamental rock, are pushed along so as
-to have their angles more or less worn off, and many of
-them are entirely ground down into mud. Some blocks
-are pushed along between the ice and the steep boundary
-rocks of the valley, and these, like the rocky channel at the
-bottom of the valley, often become smoothed and polished,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span>
-and scored with parallel furrows, or with lines and scratches
-produced by hard minerals, such as crystals of quartz, which
-act like the diamond upon glass. The effect is perfectly
-different from that caused by the action of water, or a
-muddy torrent forcing along heavy stones; for these not
-being held like fragments of rock in ice, and not being
-pushed along under great pressure, cannot scoop out long
-rectilinear furrows or grooves parallel to each other. The
-discovery of such markings at various heights far above the
-surface of existing Glaciers, and for miles beyond their
-present terminations, affords geological evidence of the
-former extension of the ice beyond its present limits in
-Switzerland and other countries.”<a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">30</a></p>
-
-<div id="fig_2" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_2.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 2.&mdash;Iceberg seen in mid-ocean 1400 miles from any known land.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Sometimes, however, it happens, especially in extreme
-northern and southern latitudes, that the glacier valley leads
-down to the sea. In such cases, huge masses of ice are
-floated off, and, with their ponderous burden of gravel,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span>
-mud, and rocks, are carried away by currents toward the
-equator. Immense numbers of these floating islands of
-ice, or Icebergs, as they are called, are seen by mariners
-drifting along in the Northern and Southern oceans. In
-1822 Scoresby counted five hundred between the latitudes
-69&deg; and 70&deg; N., many of which measured a mile in circumference,
-and rose two hundred feet above the surface of the
-sea.<a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">31</a> The annexed drawing, copied by kind permission
-of the author from Sir Charles Lyell’s Principles of Geology,
-affords a good idea of the appearance that such Icebergs
-present to the eye. The one represented in the fore-ground
-was supposed to reach a height of nearly three hundred
-feet, and was observed with many others floating about
-in the Southern Ocean at a distance of 1400 miles from any
-known land. An angular mass of rock was visible on the
-surface. The part exposed was twelve feet high and from
-five to six broad: but it was conjectured, from the color of
-the surrounding ice, that the greater part of the stone was
-concealed from view.</p>
-
-<p>How enormous must be the magnitude of those ponderous
-masses may be learned from the fact that the bulk of
-ice below the level of the water is about eight times as great
-as that above: and in point of fact, Captain Sir John Ross
-saw several of them aground in Baffin’s Bay, where the water
-was 1500 feet deep. It has been calculated that the beds
-of earth and stones which they carry along cannot be less
-than from 50,000 to 100,000 tons in weight. Sir Charles
-Lyell, writing in 1865 from the results of the latest investigations
-on this subject, says: “Many had supposed that
-the magnitude commonly attributed to icebergs by unscientific
-navigators was exaggerated; but now it appears that
-the popular estimate of their dimensions has rather fallen
-within than beyond the truth. Many of them, carefully
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span>
-measured by the officers of the French exploring expedition
-of the Astrolabe, were between 100 and 225 feet high
-above water, and from two to five miles in length. Captain
-d’Urville ascertained one of them, which he saw floating, to
-be <i>thirteen miles long</i>, and a hundred feet high, with walls
-perfectly vertical.”<a id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">32</a></p>
-
-<p>They have been known to drift from Baffin’s Bay to the
-Azores, and from the South Pole to the Cape of Good
-Hope.<a id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">33</a> As they approach the milder climate of the temperate
-zones, the ice gradually melts away, and thus the
-moraines of arctic and antarctic glaciers are deposited at the
-bottom of the deep sea. In this way, submarine mountains
-and valleys and table-lands are strewn over with scattered
-blocks of foreign rocks, and gravel, and mud, which have
-been transported hundreds of miles across the unfathomable
-abysses of the ocean.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>Though we are chiefly concerned with Glaciers and Icebergs
-as agents of Denudation, yet we cannot pass away
-from the subject without referring to the Geological theory
-of an ancient Glacial Period. This little digression from
-the main purport of our present argument will not be
-unacceptable, we hope, to our readers. The theory is in
-itself interesting and ingenious; and it offers an admirable
-illustration of the kind of reasoning by which Geologists
-are guided in their speculations.</p>
-
-<p>It is well known that the action of moving ice leaves a
-very peculiar and characteristic impress on the surface of
-the rocks, and even on the general aspect of the country
-over which it passes. This is no mystery of science, but
-a plain fact which any one that chooses may observe for
-himself. Every Glacier carries along in its course a vast
-quantity of loose gravel, hard sand, and large angular
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span>
-stones. A considerable proportion of these materials in
-course of time fall through crevasses in the ice, and become
-firmly embedded in the under surface of the Glacier. Then,
-as the moving mass slowly descends the valley, they are
-shoved along under enormous pressure, and the surface of
-the rocks beneath is furrowed, scratched, and polished, in
-a remarkable and unmistakable manner. The furrows and
-scratches are rectilinear and parallel to an extent never seen
-in the marks produced by any other natural agency: and
-they always coincide more or less in their direction with the
-general course of the valley. A reciprocal action often takes
-place: the large blocks of stone, frozen into the under
-surface of the Glacier, are themselves scored and polished
-by friction against the floor and sides of the valley.</p>
-
-<div id="fig_3" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_3.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 3.&mdash;Block of Limestone furrowed, scratched, and polished, from the
-Glacier of Rosenlaui, Switzerland. (Lyell.)</p>
-
-<p class="caption"><i>aa</i>, White streaks or scratches. <i>bb</i>, Furrows.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Similar effects are produced by Icebergs; not of course
-when drifting about in the deep sea, but when they come
-into contact with a gently-shelving coast and grate along the
-bottom. These mountains of ice, laden with the d&eacute;bris of
-the land, are often carried along with the velocity of from
-two to three miles an hour; and before their enormous
-momentum can be entirely destroyed, an extensive surface
-of rock must have been rounded, grooved, and scarred,
-pretty much in the same way as by the action of a Glacier.
-There can be no failure of the grinding materials. During
-the process of melting, the Iceberg is constantly turning
-over according as the centre of gravity shifts its position;
-and thus a new part of its surface, with fresh angular blocks
-of stone, together with fresh masses of sand and gravel, is
-constantly brought into contact with the floor of the ocean.
-And this is not mere theory. All these phenomena may
-be witnessed any day on the shores of Baffin’s Bay and
-Hudson’s Bay, and along the coast of Labrador.</p>
-
-<p>Again, the evidence of glacial action may be discovered
-in the materials themselves which have been transported by
-ice. Many of the large erratic blocks, after having travelled
-immense distances, exhibit the same sharp angular appearance
-as if they had only just fallen down from the cliff
-on the mountain side. By this circumstance they are at
-once distinguished from blocks of stone transported by
-running water; for in these the angles are sure to be
-rounded off by friction. Sometimes, too, they are deposited
-not only far away from the same rock, but in regions where
-no rock of the same kind exists. In the case of Icebergs,
-they are not unfrequently carried many hundreds of miles
-before being dropped into the depths of the ocean, and,
-in the course of their long journey, borne over the lofty
-ridges of submarine mountain chains.</p>
-
-<p>Furthermore, it often happens that a Glacier shrinks
-backward up the valley, and sometimes even disappears
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span>
-altogether. When the melting of the ice at the lower
-extremity exactly balances its onward progress, then the
-Glacier seems stationary to the eye, and occupies from year
-to year the same position. But, when a number of hot
-seasons follow one another in immediate succession, the
-ice is melted more rapidly than the Glacier advances, and
-in consequence it gradually becomes shorter, and seems to
-the eye to recede toward the upper parts of the valley. In
-this case the long lines of moraines, which before had rested
-on the ice, are left spread out on the plains or deposited
-on the slopes of the mountain. Immense blocks of stone
-are by this means frequently set down on the summits of
-lofty crags, and in such like positions to which they could
-not be brought by any other natural agency. These
-Perched Blocks, as they are called, and also those long
-regular mounds of earth and stones abound in several of
-the Swiss valleys, and constitute a very striking feature of
-Alpine scenery.</p>
-
-<p>Now, it appears that all these various characteristic marks
-of glacial operations can be distinctly traced in many
-countries where the action of moving ice has been unknown
-within the period of history. And on this fact is founded
-the Geological theory of an ancient Glacial Period. We
-are confidently assured that a great part of Northern Europe,
-including even our own islands, not to speak of America
-and other countries as well in the northern as in the
-southern hemisphere, were, in some far distant age, the
-scene of those same phenomena which are witnessed at the
-present day amid the solemn grandeur of the Alps, and in the
-frozen wastes of the Arctic regions. In that age enormous
-Glaciers moved slowly downward from the snow-clad heights
-over innumerable valleys now rich with the fruits of the earth;
-ponderous Icebergs floated over wide areas of the ocean,
-where now the dry land appears; and vast piles of promiscuous
-rubbish, with great angular blocks of stone, were deposited
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span>
-on the slopes and crests of submarine mountains that
-now tower hundreds of feet above the level of the sea.</p>
-
-<p>To illustrate this theory, we would begin with a country
-where the vestiges of glacial operations in past times may
-be studied side by side with the glacial phenomena of the
-present day. In Switzerland it needs but little skill to discern
-many marks and tokens of moving ice where moving
-ice is no longer found. In descending, for example, the
-valley of the Hasli or the valley of the Rhone, the intelligent
-traveller can hardly fail to observe how the rocks all
-around are scarred and furrowed, precisely after the same
-fashion as the rocks in the higher parts of the same valleys
-are now being scarred and furrowed by the Glacier of the
-Aar and the Glacier of the Rhone. At intervals, too, may
-be seen long mounds of unstratified gravel and mud, with
-large fragments of rock, in every way resembling the terminal
-moraines now daily accumulating at the extremities
-of existing Glaciers. When these facts are once distinctly
-brought home to the mind, it is impossible to resist the conclusion
-that several of the Alpine Glaciers once extended far
-beyond their present limits down the valleys of Switzerland.</p>
-
-<p>If we proceed a little distance to the mountains of the
-Jura, now wholly devoid of Glaciers, we shall find that the
-same glacial phenomena with which we have become so
-familiar in the Alps, are still everywhere presented to the
-eye. And we feel instinctively impelled to pursue the same
-line of inductive reasoning. Moving ice, we know from
-abundant observation, is capable of producing these effects:
-nor have we ever seen effects of this kind produced by any
-other cause: nay, there is no other natural agent known
-that is capable of producing such effects: it is therefore
-reasonable to infer that moving ice was the cause of these
-effects; and that, in some bygone age, great masses of ice
-moved slowly over the valleys of the Jura as they now move
-slowly over the valleys of the Alps.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span></p>
-
-<p>Another circumstance may here be noticed which is well
-worthy of consideration. The Alps are composed of granite,
-gneiss, and such like crystalline rocks: the Jura, of
-limestone and various other formations, altogether different
-from those of the Alps. Now, scattered loosely over the
-valleys of the Jura, and perched upon its lofty crests, we
-find immense angular blocks&mdash;some of them as large as
-cottages&mdash;of the Alpine rocks. The question naturally
-arises, how have they been transported to their present site.
-Certainly not by the action of water; for in that case the
-projecting angles would have been rounded off, and the
-sharp edges worn away. But the work might have been
-easily accomplished by the power of moving ice, and could
-not have been accomplished by any other natural agency
-with which we are acquainted. Thus we are led to conclude
-that the Glaciers of the Alps must, by some means
-or another, have once made their way northward across the
-great valley of Switzerland, fifty miles wide, and deposited
-their ponderous burdens of gravel, sand, and erratic blocks
-on the mountains of the Jura.</p>
-
-<p>It would carry us too far from our present purpose to
-draw out this theory in all its details. But we cannot for-bear
-briefly to touch upon some of the bold and startling
-conclusions to which it has led. The Geologist having,
-by patient and varied exercise, in the regions of existing
-Glaciers, trained his eye and his judgment in the observation
-of those phenomena that mark the action of moving
-ice, soon begins to discover that they are not wanting in
-other countries. They are not to be found, indeed, beneath
-the burning sun of Africa, nor on the borders of the
-Mediterranean Sea. But as he travels northward they begin
-by degrees to appear; and when at length he reaches the
-shores of the Baltic, they are spread out profusely before
-him as they were in the bosom of the Alps. All this had
-puzzled Geologists for years; but the clue has been found
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span>
-at last. What is going on to-day in Switzerland, and in
-Greenland, and on the shores of Labrador, must have been
-going on, ages ago, in Germany, and in Denmark, and on
-the shores of the Baltic. We may argue from the effect to
-the cause. Here are the moraines, the erratics, the perched
-blocks, and the surfaces of rock furrowed and scratched
-with ice: at some past time there must have been the moving
-Glaciers and the floating Icebergs.</p>
-
-<p>Following out this line of argument, and applying it to
-countries nearer home, Geologists have come to the conclusion
-that the Grampian Hills in Scotland, the mountains
-of Kerry in Ireland, the Snowdonian heights in Wales, and
-many other ranges of hills in these islands, were in former
-times subjected to the action of moving ice. Nay, it is
-contended, with much show of reason, that these islands
-must have been, for a considerable time, in great part
-submerged beneath the sea, and traversed by floating Icebergs.
-When large erratic blocks are found in the immediate
-neighborhood of the formation from which they have
-been derived, then it is easy to explain their origin and to
-trace their course. But it often happens that the nearest
-rock of the same mineral composition, and therefore, the
-nearest rock from which they can possibly have been derived,
-is separated from the site which they now occupy by
-a lofty chain of mountains. By what means, then, have
-they been transported hither? Not by moving water, for
-their sharp edges and projecting angles are still preserved.
-Not by Glaciers; for a Glacier cannot climb a steep mountain
-ridge. It would seem, indeed, that in the present
-geographical distribution of land and water, there is no
-natural cause which could carry them from the parent rocks
-to their present position. But if we suppose that in some
-long past age of the world, Great Britain and Ireland were
-submerged beneath the sea, and that Icebergs floated in
-the waters above, the problem is solved at once. The
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span>
-fragments of far distant rocks frozen into the Icebergs might
-then have been carried over the summits of what are now
-lofty mountains, and as the ice melted away, might have
-been deposited all along their slopes and even on their
-highest crests.</p>
-
-<p>The presence of marine shells, belonging chiefly to
-species which now exist only in the arctic seas, affords a
-strong confirmation of this hypothesis. For they are found
-intimately associated with the erratic blocks, not merely in
-valleys, to which the sea might be supposed to have had
-access in times of extraordinary flood, but upon lofty mountains
-at a height of five hundred, six hundred, and even
-thirteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. There is
-no difficulty in accounting for this phenomenon if we suppose
-the country to have been at one time submerged, and
-the glacial drift in which the shells are found embedded to
-have been deposited by Icebergs on the floor of the ocean.
-If we refuse to make this supposition the difficulty is simply
-insurmountable.<a id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">34</a></p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>But it is somewhat beside our purpose to wander so far
-into the region of theory and speculation. Our main object
-in these chapters has been to establish the fact that Denudation
-is actually taking place to an almost incredible extent,
-in the present age of the world. For this purpose we have
-enumerated the principal agents by which this process is
-carried on; and we have endeavored to show from the
-authenticated researches of travellers and scientific men
-that they have been at work within the period of history,
-and are still at work around us. Our summary is, indeed,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span>
-brief; but it is still sufficient to demonstrate that, even during
-the present age, the whole surface of the Globe has
-been ever in a constant state of change; that mountain
-heights have been worn away, and valleys have been scooped
-out, and lofty cliffs have disappeared, and bold headlands
-have been rent in twain, and rocks and earths have day by
-day been broken up and dissolved and decomposed, by
-the never ceasing operation of natural causes; and that
-the broken fragments are at every moment moving along
-over the surface of the land or through the depths of the
-sea.</p>
-
-<p>Now Geologists tell us that these are the raw materials of
-a new building which is going on in these latter times under
-the guiding hand of Nature. Indeed, they say it is not so
-much a new building as the uppermost story of an old
-building. If we descend into the Crust of the Earth we
-may trace this building even from the foundations, which
-are laid upon the solid granite, up through each successive
-stage of limestone, and sandstone, slate, conglomerate, and
-clay, until we come to the surface, where new strata, composed
-of the same elements, and exhibiting the same general
-characteristics, are slowly growing up before our eyes.
-Thus will the idea gradually steal upon the mind, that the
-works of ages long gone by are reproduced once again in
-our own days, and that we may study the history of the
-past in the mirror of the present which nature holds up to
-our view.</p>
-
-<p>This is the branch of Geological argument upon which
-we are now about to enter. We have visited Nature,
-as it were, in her quarry, and we have seen how she collects
-her materials, how she fashions them to her purpose,
-how she transports them to the place for which
-they are designed. If it be true, as alleged, that with
-these materials she is actually engaged, at the present moment,
-in building upon the existing surface of our Globe
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span>
-a new series of stratified rocks, which are the exact
-counterpart of those beneath, this fact affords at least a
-very strong presumption in favor of one very important
-principle in the theory of Geologists. Let us, then,
-follow the course of her operations and judge for ourselves.</p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_86.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_87.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_V"><i>CHAPTER V.</i></h2>
-
-<p>STRATIFIED ROCKS OF MECHANICAL ORIGIN&mdash;THEORY DEVELOPED
-AND ILLUSTRATED.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-
-<p><i>Formation of stratified rocks ascribed to the agency of natural
-causes&mdash;This theory supported by facts&mdash;The argument
-stated&mdash;Examples of mechanical rocks&mdash;Materials of which
-they are composed&mdash;Origin and history of these materials
-traced out&mdash;Process of deposition&mdash;Process of consolidation&mdash;Instances
-of consolidation by pressure&mdash;Consolidation perfected
-by natural cements&mdash;Curious illustrations&mdash;Consolidation
-of sandstone in Cornwall&mdash;Arrangement of strata
-explained by intermittent action of the agents of Denudation.</i></p></blockquote>
-
-<p>The Stratification of Rocks is one of the most
-remarkable features which the Crust of the Earth
-presents to our notice; and the principles by
-which this phenomenon is explained belong to the very
-foundation of Geological theory. It is now universally
-agreed that the successive layers or strata, which constitute
-such a very large proportion of the Earth’s Crust, and
-which cannot fail to attract the notice even of the most
-careless observer, have been slowly built up during a long
-series of ages by the action of natural causes. In support
-of this bold and comprehensive theory, geologists appeal to
-the operations which are going on in nature at the present
-day, or which have been observed and recorded within historic
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span>
-times. There is a vast machinery, they say, even now
-at work all over the world, breaking up the rocks that appear
-at the surface of the Earth, transporting the materials
-to different sites, and there constructing new strata, just the
-counterpart of those which we see piled up one above the
-other, wherever a section of the Earth’s Crust is exposed to
-view. It is given to us, therefore, on the one hand to contemplate
-the finished work as it exists in the Crust of the
-Earth, and on the other, to examine the work still in progress
-upon its surface; and if both are found to agree in all
-their most remarkable characteristics, it is not unreasonable
-to infer that the one was produced in bygone ages by the
-very same causes that are now busy in the production of
-the other.</p>
-
-<p>In the examination of this argument we first turned our
-attention to the numerous and powerful agents that are now
-employed in the breaking up and transporting of existing
-rocks. It was impossible within our narrow limits to enumerate
-them all. But we selected those which are at the same
-time the most familiar in their operations, and the most
-striking in their results:&mdash;mighty rivers discharging daily
-and hourly into the sea the accumulated spoils of vast continents;
-the breakers of the ocean dashing with unceasing
-energy against all the cliffs and coasts of the world; the
-tides and currents of the sea taking up the ruins which the
-breakers have made, and carrying them far away to the
-lonely depths of the ocean; the frozen rain bursting massive
-rocks asunder with its expansive force, and sending
-the fragments over lofty cliffs and steep precipices to become
-the prey of roaring mountain torrents, or perhaps,
-more fortunate, to find a place of tranquil rest on the bosom
-of the glittering Glacier; then this wondrous Glacier itself,
-a moving sea of ice, bearing along its ponderous burden
-from the summits of lofty mountains far down into the
-smiling plains, and meanwhile, with tremendous power,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span>
-grinding, and furrowing, and wearing away the floor of the
-valley, and leaving behind it an impress which even time
-cannot efface; and lastly, the massive Icebergs which stud
-the northern and southern seas, drifting along like floating
-islands above the fathomless abysses of the ocean, and scattering
-their huge boulders over the surface of submarine
-mountains and valleys.</p>
-
-<p>All these phenomena have been learned from actual and
-repeated observation. They are not philosophical speculations,
-but ascertained facts. We cannot doubt, therefore,
-that the work of demolition is going on; it remains for us
-now to inquire about the work of reconstruction.</p>
-
-<p>The reader will remember that Geologists divide the
-stratified rocks into three distinct classes, Mechanical,
-Chemical, and Organic. This distinction, they say, is
-founded on the actual operations of Nature. From a
-close examination of the natural agents now at work in
-the world, it appears that some strata are being formed
-chiefly by the action of mechanical force; others chiefly
-by the influence of chemical laws; and others again chiefly
-by the intervention of organic life. Thus we have three
-distinct classes of rock at present coming into existence,
-each exhibiting its own peculiar characteristics, and each,
-moreover, having its counterpart among the strata that
-compose the Crust of the Earth. We shall now proceed
-to set forth some of the evidence that may be advanced
-in favor of these important conclusions, beginning with
-those rocks that are called Mechanical.</p>
-
-<p>And first it is important to have, at least, a general idea
-of the appearance which Mechanical Rocks present to the
-eye. We shall take three familiar examples, Conglomerate,
-Sandstone, and Clay. Conglomerate, or Pudding-stone as
-it is sometimes called, is composed of pebbles, gravel, and
-sand, more or less compacted together, and generally forming
-a hard and solid mass. The various materials of which
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span>
-it is composed, though united in the one rock, nevertheless
-remain their own external forms, and may be distinctly recognized
-even by the unpractised eye. Sandstone, as the
-name implies, is made up of grains of sand closely compressed
-and cemented together. The quality and appearance
-of this rock vary very much according to the size and
-character of its constituent particles. Often the grains of
-sand are as large as peas, or even larger; sometimes they
-are so minute that they cannot be distinguished without the
-aid of a lens. For the most part they consist of quartz,
-with grains of limestone intermixed; and they are usually
-rounded, as if by the action of running water. Clay is a
-rather vague and general term, now commonly employed
-to denote any finely-divided mineral matter which contains
-from ten to thirty per cent. of Alumina, and is thereby rendered
-plastic, and capable, when softened with water, of
-being moulded like paste with the hand. It occurs in
-many different forms among the strata of the Earth, according
-to the different minerals that enter into its composition
-and the different influences to which it has been
-subjected. Marl and Loam may be taken as well-known
-illustrations: the former is a clay in which there is a large
-proportion of calcareous matter; the latter is a mixture of
-clay and sand. Sometimes by pressure clay is condensed
-into a kind of slaty rock called Shale, which has the property
-of being easily split up into an immense number of
-thin plates or lamin&aelig;.</p>
-
-<p>It should be remembered that there is not always a perfect
-uniformity in the structure of these rocks. In Conglomerate,
-for example, the pebbles may be as large as
-cannon balls, or they may be only the size of walnuts.
-So, too, we have every variety of fineness and coarseness
-in the quality of Sandstone. Again, both Conglomerate
-and Sandstone are often largely adulterated with clay, and
-on the other hand, clay will sometimes contain more than
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span>
-its usual proportion of sand or lime. Lastly, these materials
-are in one place compacted into hard and solid rock, in
-another they are found in a loose and incoherent condition.</p>
-
-<p>But amidst all these varieties of form and texture, the
-rocks we have been describing generally preserve their peculiar
-characteristics, and with a little experience can be
-easily recognized. They are found to constitute a very
-large part, perhaps we might say the larger part, of the
-stratified rocks in every country that has hitherto been explored
-by Geologists. Wherever we go we are met by
-the same familiar appearances;&mdash;beds of Conglomerate,
-Sandstone, Clay, Marl, Shale, recurring again and again
-through a series of many hundred strata, sometimes in one
-order, and sometimes in another; sometimes without any
-formation of a different kind intervening, and sometimes
-alternating with limestone or other rocks of which we shall
-speak hereafter.</p>
-
-<p>Such is the general character and appearance of those
-strata which are known among Geologists as Aqueous
-Rocks of Mechanical origin. Now, it must at once strike
-the reader, that these rocks are made up of just those very
-materials&mdash;the same both in kind and in form&mdash;that we have
-already shown to be daily prepared and fashioned by a vast
-and complex machinery in the great workshop of Nature.
-He will remember how enormous blocks are detached
-from the mountain side, or from the cliffs on the seashore,
-and broken up into fragments; how the fragments in time
-become pebbles, sand, and mud; and how these are caught
-up by rivers, tides, and currents, and carried far away to sea.
-Here we have certainly all the materials that are necessary
-for the building up of Conglomerate, Sandstone, and Shale.
-We have seen how they are prepared by the hand of Nature,
-how they are moulded into shape, how they are transported
-from place to place. Let us now pursue the sequel
-of their history, and follow them on to the end.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span></p>
-
-<p>It is plain they cannot remain forever suspended in
-water; sooner or later they must fall to the bottom. Yet
-they will not all fall together. For though all are carried
-downward by the one force of gravity, those materials that
-are smaller and lighter will be more impeded by the resistance
-of the water. The pebbles and coarse gravel will
-be the first to reach the bottom, then the sand, and last
-of all the fine, impalpable mud. Thus, as the current
-sweeps along in its course, the sediment which it bears
-away from the land will be in a manner sorted, and three
-distinct layers of different materials will be deposited in
-the bed of the ocean;&mdash;first, nearest to the shore, a layer
-of pebbles and coarse gravel, then a layer of sand, and last
-of all a layer of fine mud or clay. This is the first step in
-the construction of stratified rock. To complete the work
-nothing more is necessary than the consolidation of these
-loose and incoherent materials. If this could be accomplished,
-then we should have a solid stratum of Conglomerate,
-a solid stratum of Sandstone, and a solid stratum of
-Shale formed in the bed of the ocean.</p>
-
-<p>With regard to this operation, however, we cannot hope
-for the advantage we have hitherto enjoyed, of actual observation.
-The process of consolidation, if it take place at
-all, is going on in the depths of the Sea. But though it is
-thus removed beyond the reach of our senses, it is not
-beyond the reach of our intelligence. We may borrow the
-torch of Science, and search even into the hidden recesses
-of Nature’s secret laboratory.</p>
-
-<p>In the first place, a partial consolidation of clay and
-sand, and even of gravel, may take place under the influence
-of pressure alone. Many of us are familiar with this
-truth, but few, perhaps, are aware how extensively it is illustrated
-in the practical arts of life. Here are some curious
-and interesting examples. The minute fragments of coal
-which are produced by the friction of larger blocks against
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span>
-one another, and which may be obtained abundantly in the
-neighborhood of every coal mine, are now manufactured
-into a solid patent fuel by the simple process of forcible compression.
-Again, the dust and rubble of black lead, formerly
-cast aside as useless, are now carefully collected, and
-by no other force than pressure are converted into a solid
-mass, fit to be employed in the manufacture of lead-pencils.
-“The graphite or black lead of commerce,” says Sir
-Charles Lyell, “having become very scarce, Mr. Brockedon
-contrived a method by which the dust of the purer
-portions of the mineral found in Borrowdale might be recomposed
-into a mass as dense and as compact as native
-graphite. The powder of graphite is first carefully prepared
-and freed from air, and placed under a powerful
-press on a strong steel die, with air-tight fittings. It is then
-struck several blows, each of a power of a thousand tons;
-after which operation the powder is so perfectly solidified that
-it can be cut for pencils, and exhibits, when broken, the
-same texture as native graphite.”<a id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">35</a> An instance yet more
-to our purpose occurs in the experiments made to try the
-force of gunpowder. Leathern bags filled with sand are put
-into the mortar that is to receive the cannon-ball at a distance
-of fifty feet from the mouth of the gun; and the sand is
-often compressed by the percussion of the ball into a solid
-mass of Sandstone.<a id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">36</a> Now the deposits of which we are
-speaking cannot fail to be subjected to a very powerful and
-a very constant compressing force. For, since the process
-of deposition is always going on, the matter which is deposited
-to-day will to-morrow be covered with a new layer, and
-in the course of ages it may lie beneath an immense pile
-of mineral matter, hundreds or even thousands of feet in
-thickness.</p>
-
-<p>But in fact there is another and more important agent
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span>
-at work. When the harder and more compact blocks of
-Conglomerate and Sandstone are subjected to a close analysis
-in the laboratory of the chemist, it is found that they are
-strongly cemented together, sometimes by a solution of
-lime filling up the interstices between the grains or pebbles,
-sometimes by a solution of silica, sometimes by a solution
-of iron. Now this discovery affords a useful clue when
-we come to study the present operations of Nature. It is
-to the agency of a mineral cement we must look for the
-perfect consolidation of Mechanical Rocks. Let us see if
-such a cement can be found.</p>
-
-<p>It is well known that the water of rivers, lakes, and
-springs, is more or less charged with carbonic acid gas;
-and therefore, when it comes in contact with limestone, it
-dissolves a portion of the lime and holds it in solution.
-Hence it follows that in every part of the world there exists
-an abundant store of calcareous cement. Again, our
-readers must have observed the brownish, rusty color sometimes
-produced by streams on the surface of rocks and
-herbage. This is the result of the iron with which the
-streams are impregnated: and we are informed by scientific
-inquirers that water containing a solution of iron prevails
-very generally in almost all countries. The solution of
-silica in water is not so common; because pure silica cannot
-be dissolved by water except at a very high temperature.
-Nevertheless, it has been clearly demonstrated by observation,
-that silica, where it occurs in certain combinations
-with other mineral substances, may be dissolved readily
-enough: for instance, in the decomposition of felspar,
-and of all rocks in which felspar is an ingredient, silica is
-carried off in a state of solution.<a id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">37</a> And since these rocks
-are very numerous, and distributed over every part of the
-earth, we may fairly conclude that a solution of silica exists
-very abundantly in nature.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span></p>
-
-<p>Now when we bear in mind that we have on the one
-hand in the Crust of the Earth, solid strata of Conglomerate
-and Sandstone, exhibiting the evident operation of
-these mineral cements; and on the other hand, near the
-surface, the loose materials of Conglomerate and Sandstone
-as if ready to be cemented, and close at hand the cementing
-mineral itself in a convenient form, it is not unreasonable
-to assume that the process should actually take place;&mdash;that
-water highly charged with iron, or lime, or silica,
-should filter through the loose gravel and sand, depositing
-its mineral cement as it passes along, and converting the
-newly-formed strata into compact and solid rock.</p>
-
-<p>But this conclusion does not rest upon antecedent probability
-alone. We have proof unquestionable that a process
-such as we have described is actually going on. In the
-dredging of the river Thames large masses of solid Conglomerate
-are found from time to time, firmly compacted
-together by a ferruginous cement. And there is internal
-evidence that the process of solidification has been effected
-by natural causes within historic times; for it happens not
-unfrequently that Roman coins and fragments of pottery
-are found embedded in the solid block of stone. Similar
-discoveries were made in deepening the bed of the river
-Dove in Derbyshire, about the year 1832. Thousands of
-silver coins were found about ten feet under the surface,
-firmly cemented into a hard Conglomerate. Several of
-these coins bear dates of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries;
-and therefore the pebbles which form the rock must
-have been deposited and converted into a solid mass since
-that time. But we must not suppose that so long an interval
-is necessary for the consolidation of rocks. In the
-early part of the present century a vessel called the Thetis
-was wrecked off cape Frio on the coast of Brazil. A few
-months afterward, when an attempt was successfully made
-to recover the dollars and other treasures which had gone
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span>
-to the bottom with the wreck, they were found completely
-enveloped in solid masses of quartzose Sandstone. The
-materials of the newly-formed stone were in this case
-manifestly derived from the granite rocks of the Brazilian
-coast.<a id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">38</a></p>
-
-<p>In many parts of the Mediterranean, and along its
-shores, this process is known to be going on with equal
-rapidity. “The new-formed strata of Asia Minor,” writes
-Sir Charles Lyell, “consists of stone, not of loose, incoherent
-materials. Almost all the streamlets and rivers, like
-many of those in Tuscany and the south of Italy, hold
-abundance of carbonate of lime in solution, and precipitate
-Travertine, or sometimes bind together the sand and gravel
-into solid Sandstones and Conglomerates; every delta and
-sandbar thus acquires solidity, which often prevents streams
-from forcing their way through them, so that their mouths
-are constantly changing their position.”<a id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">39</a> In the Museum
-at Montpelier is exhibited a cannon embedded in a crystalline
-calcareous rock which was taken up from the bed of
-the Mediterranean near the mouth of the Rhone.<a id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">40</a></p>
-
-<p>To these examples of the solidification of rock within
-recent times we are tempted to add one more, taken from
-a Memoir published by the late Dr. Paris in the Transactions
-of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall. “A
-sandstone occurs in various parts of the northern coast of
-Cornwall, which affords a most instructive example of a
-recent formation, since we here actually detect Nature at
-work in converting loose sand into solid rock. A very considerable
-portion of the northern coast of Cornwall is covered
-with calcareous sand, consisting of minute particles of
-comminuted shells, which in some places has accumulated
-in quantities so great, as to have formed hills of from forty
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span>
-to fifty feet in elevation. In digging into these sand-hills,
-or upon the occasional removal of some part of them by
-the winds, the remains of houses may be seen; and in
-places where the churchyards have been overwhelmed, a
-great number of human bones may be found. The sand is
-supposed to have been originally brought from the sea by
-hurricanes, probably at a remote period. It first appears
-in a state of slight but increasing aggregation on several
-parts of the shore in the Bay of St. Ives; but on approaching
-the Gwythian River it becomes more extensive and
-indurated.... It is around the promontory of New Kaye
-that the most extensive formation of Sandstone takes place.
-Here it may be seen in different stages of induration, from
-a state in which it is too friable to be detached from the
-rock on which it reposes, to a hardness so considerable
-that it requires a very violent blow from a sledge to break
-it. Buildings are constructed of it; the church of Cranstock
-is entirely built with it; and it is also employed for
-various articles of domestic and agricultural uses.”</p>
-
-<p>No reasonable doubt can therefore remain that the loose
-beds of gravel, sand, and clay, which, as we have already
-seen, are deposited from day to day, and from year to year,
-and from century to century, beneath the waters of the
-ocean, may be converted in the course of time by natural
-agents into solid rocks of Conglomerate, of Sandstone, and
-of Shale. But this is not enough. It yet remains for us to
-explain how these solid rocks come to be arranged in a series
-of distinct layers or strata. The reader will remember that
-the supply of materials in any given area of the ocean is not
-fixed and continuous, but, on the contrary, variable and
-intermittent. During the periodical rains within the tropics,
-and during the melting of the snows in high latitudes or
-in mountain regions, the rivers become enormously swollen,
-and carry down a far greater quantity of sediment
-than at other seasons. The waste of cliffs, too, by the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span>
-action of the waves, is much greater in winter than in
-summer. Thus, while at one season a particular river or
-current may be comparatively free from sediment, at another
-it will carry along in its turbid course an almost
-incredible freight of mineral matter. We have a notable
-example in the case of the Ganges. The bulk of earthy
-matter which this river discharges into the sea during the
-four months of rain, averages about 50,000,000 of cubic
-feet per day; whereas the daily discharge during the three
-months of hot weather is considerably less than one hundredth
-part of that amount.<a id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">41</a></p>
-
-<p>Besides this variety in the quantity of materials carried,
-there is also a great variety in the velocity both of rivers and
-of currents; and therefore they will not always carry the
-same materials to the same distance; for the less rapid the
-stream, the sooner will the sediment fall to the bottom.
-We may add that currents, as is well known, often change
-their direction from various causes, and thus at different
-times they will carry the waste of the land to different parts
-of the ocean.</p>
-
-<p>From these considerations two conclusions may be fairly
-deduced: First, that the process of deposition may often go
-on very rapidly for a time over a given area, and then
-altogether cease, and after an interval begin again. In this
-way time may be allowed for one deposit to acquire more
-or less consistency before the next is superimposed; and
-thus a succession of distinct beds will be produced. Secondly,
-we may infer that the same precise materials will
-not always be deposited over the same area; at one time it
-will be sand, at another gravel, at another clay, at another
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span>
-some combination of these or other mineral substances.
-And thus it may happen that the strata deposited in successive
-periods of time shall not only be distinct one from
-the other, but composed of different materials;&mdash;that there
-shall be, in fact, as we so often see that there are, beds of
-Conglomerate, Sandstone, Clay, Marl, and other rocks,
-succeeding one another in every variety of order.</p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_99.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_100.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_VI"><i>CHAPTER VI.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">STRATIFIED ROCKS OF MECHANICAL ORIGIN&mdash;FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Impossible to witness the formation of stratified rocks in
-the depths of the ocean&mdash;On a small scale examples are exhibited
-by rivers and lakes&mdash;Alluvial plains&mdash;Their extraordinary
-fertility&mdash;Great basin of the Nile&mdash;Experiments
-of the Royal Society&mdash;The Mississippi and the Orinoco&mdash;Some
-rivers fill up their own channels&mdash;Case of the river
-Po&mdash;Artificial embankments&mdash;Large tract of alluvial soil
-deposited by the Rhone in the Lake of Geneva&mdash;Deltas&mdash;The
-delta of the Ganges and Brahmapootra&mdash;Delta of the Nile.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="T" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">The</span> argument set forth in the last chapter is simple,
-ingenious, and persuasive. Nay, we must fairly
-confess that to us it seems conclusive. We do
-not mean to say that it amounts to a rigorous demonstration.
-But it affords at least a strong presumption that the
-process of deposition, the process of consolidation, and the
-process of stratification, are going on to a vast extent beneath
-the waters of the ocean; and that, in these latter
-ages of the world’s history, Aqueous Rocks are slowly
-growing up under the influence of natural causes, which
-resemble in every important feature those that are now
-attracting so much attention within the Crust of the Earth.
-We are therefore prepared to accept this conclusion, if it be
-not found at variance with any well-established fact, or with
-any known and certain truth. But in matters of physical
-science the evidence of our senses is, after all, the most satisfactory
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span>
-argument. And our readers, no doubt, would
-like to witness, if possible, with their eyes, the building up
-of Stratified Rocks. Now, though it is not given to us to
-see this process in all its colossal magnitude as it goes on
-within the depths of the mighty ocean, it is yet possible to
-behold it exhibited, as it were, in miniature, in certain
-cases where the sediment of rivers is deposited within reach
-of observation.</p>
-
-<p>Every one is familiar with the fact that many rivers overflow
-their banks at certain seasons, and spread themselves
-out over a wide area, sometimes reaching to the foot of
-the hills that bound the valleys through which they flow.
-This is the origin of those Alluvial Plains so remarkable
-for their surpassing richness and fertility. In each successive
-year a thin film of sediment is deposited on the surface
-of the land; and thus in the course of ages a soil is formed
-capable of producing, season after season, the most luxuriant
-crops without manifesting any symptoms of exhaustion.
-The soil of the Alluvial Plain near St. Louis, on the Mississippi,
-is thus spoken of by a modern traveller: “As to the
-quality of the land, any given number of crops might be
-grown off it. Corn has been raised on it for a hundred
-years together&mdash;as far back as the settlement is known.
-To inquire about the system of farming in the West is not
-productive of information which would be of service on the
-continent of Europe. There is no system: the farmer
-scratches the ground and throws in the seed, and his bountiful
-harvests come up year after year without further thought
-or trouble. Thousands of centuries have made the soil for
-him, and it defies him to make too heavy demands upon it.
-It gives him all he asks, and is never known to disappoint
-or fail.”<a id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">42</a></p>
-
-<p>The great basin of the Nile offers an admirable example
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span>
-of an Alluvial Plain on a scale of considerable magnitude.
-Even in the days of Herodotus, Egypt was regarded as the
-“gift of the Nile:” and the correctness of this opinion
-has been placed beyond all reasonable doubt by the investigations
-of modern science. The river bears along in its
-current, especially during the flood season, a large quantity
-of fine earthy sediment obtained by the process of Denudation
-from the mountains of central Africa. Once a year,
-between the months of July and November, it overflows its
-banks, and this sediment is deposited on the adjoining
-plains. Thus a new layer of rich soil is spread out every
-year over the existing surface; and the whole country is, in
-a manner, growing upward at the average rate, according
-to a rough estimate, of about six inches in the century.
-Near Cairo, where excavations have been made, the successive
-layers of annual deposit are distinctly visible to the
-eye. And it is worthy of remark that, although each one
-of these is no thicker than a sheet of paste-board, the
-stratum of alluvial soil which overlies the sands of the
-desert, and which to all appearance has come into existence
-by the very same process, is often forty, fifty, and even
-sixty feet in depth.</p>
-
-<p>A series of interesting observations and experiments have
-been recently made under the auspices of the Royal Society,
-which afford some useful information on this subject. The
-colossal statue of Rameses, near Memphis, was found to be
-partly embedded in a stratum of mud which had gradually
-accumulated around it. Upon sinking a shaft, it was discovered
-that from the present surface of the plain to the
-base of the pedestal is a distance of nearly ten feet. Now,
-Rameses flourished, according to Lepsius, about one thousand
-three hundred and sixty years before the Christian
-Era; and therefore, since that time, or within a space of
-3200 years, it is pretty clear that a thickness of ten feet has
-been added at this spot to the Alluvial Plain of the Nile.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span>
-It is hard to resist the conclusion that the next stratum of
-ten feet as we proceed downward, which, in every respect,
-resembles the first, must have been produced in the same
-way by natural causes; and so on till we reach the barren
-sand of the desert, which is here just forty-two feet below
-the present level of the plain.<a id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">43</a></p>
-
-<p>It should seem, therefore, that Egypt is nothing more
-than a great Alluvial Plain, slowly built up in the long
-lapse of ages, by the annual inundations of the Nile.
-Vast tracts of the same kind are to be found in other parts
-of the world. The Mississippi, which drains about one-seventh
-of the whole North American continent, has formed
-an Alluvial Plain more than a thousand miles in length,
-and from thirty to eighty in breadth. And in South America,
-the Orinoco once a year spreads out its swollen and
-turbid waters over an area not unfrequently seventy miles
-broad; leaving behind, when it subsides, a substantial layer
-of muddy sediment to enrich the soil.<a id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">44</a> It would be easy
-to accumulate examples. But we shall be content with
-having referred the reader to the Great Basin of the Nile,
-which affords special opportunities for the study of alluvial
-phenomena; being illustrated at once by the historical
-monuments of remote antiquity and the scientific researches
-of recent times.</p>
-
-<p>There is another process by which Alluvial Plains are
-formed. It often happens that a river fills up the channel
-in which it has been moving for years, and is forced to
-shift its course and seek a new passage to the sea. In progress
-of time this channel is filled up like the former and
-deserted, and then a third, and then a fourth. At each
-change a new stratum is formed, almost always distinguished
-for its extraordinary fertility. This phenomenon is chiefly
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span>
-to be looked for when an extensive and almost level plain
-lies between some lofty range of mountains and the sea.
-In such a case, the river which bears away the waste of the
-mountains, will move onward in its course with a sluggish
-current, and will, of necessity, deposit the greater part of its
-burden on the way. There is scarcely a country in the
-world that does not abound in formations of this kind;
-and we could point to many notable instances in which
-herds of cattle are now grazing on the very spot where,
-within quite recent times, the turbid waters of some great
-stream flowed sullenly along.</p>
-
-<p>The river Po, which receives through a thousand mountain
-torrents an enormous quantity of mineral sediment
-from the Alps, affords an instructive example. Since the
-beginning of the fifteenth century it has many times changed
-its course, often committing great devastations, and always
-leaving behind unmistakable traces of its movements.
-Several towns that once stood on the left bank of the river
-are now on the right. In some instances parish churches
-and religious houses were pulled down when the devouring
-stream was seen slowly to approach, and then rebuilt with
-the same materials at a greater distance. An old channel
-may be easily recognized at the present day near Cremona,
-which bears the name of Po Morto, and another called Po
-Vecchio, in the territory of Parma.</p>
-
-<p>It may be interesting to our readers to learn that these
-movements have been checked in modern times. By a
-system of artificial embankment the waters of the river are
-now confined within definite and narrow limits: thus the
-velocity of the current is increased and a very considerable
-portion of the sediment is carried on to the sea. Nevertheless,
-much is still deposited in the bed of the river, which
-is, in consequence, raised higher and higher each successive
-year. Hence it has become necessary, in order to
-prevent inundations, to add every season to the height of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span>
-the embankments, so that the river now presents the appearance
-of an enormous aqueduct, of which some idea may
-be formed from the fact that, in the neighborhood of Ferrara,
-the surface of the stream is higher than the roofs of
-the houses. This system of embankment is carried on
-very extensively in Northern Italy to check the overflowing
-of rivers, and to prevent them from changing their courses.
-It is as old as the time of Dante, who tells us that the inhabitants
-of Padua erected barriers along the Brenta when the
-snows began to melt and the season of the floods was
-approaching,</p>
-
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">“Per difender lor ville e lor castelli,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">Anzi che Chiarentana il caldo senta.”<br /></span>
-</div></div>
-<p class="author"><i>Inferno</i>, Canto xv.<br /></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>As a river sometimes fills up its own channel, so too may
-it fill up a lake through which it flows, and convert it likewise
-into a great Alluvial Plain. Thus it is said several
-extensive lakes have been transformed into dry land in
-modern times near Parma, Piacenza, and Cremona. Elsewhere
-the process may be seen in actual operation. The
-Rhone when it enters the lake of Geneva is a turbid discolored
-stream; the natural consequence of the immense
-quantity of earthy sediment with which it is charged. But
-as it slowly moves along, the sediment falls to the bottom,
-and when, at length, “by Leman’s waters washed,” it
-emerges at the town of Geneva, and shoots beneath the
-magnificent bridge that joins the opposite shores, it has
-already assumed that beautiful azure blue which travellers
-love to gaze on, and poets love to sing. The sediment left
-behind goes to form a great alluvial tract which is slowly
-but steadily advancing into the lake. An ancient town
-called Port Vallais, which, eight centuries ago, stood at the
-water’s edge, is now a mile and a half inland. And if the
-world were to last long enough, and the natural agents at
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span>
-present in operation were to remain unchanged, the time
-would come, we can scarcely doubt, when the whole lake
-of Geneva would have been converted into an Alluvial
-Plain of vast extent and inexhaustible fertility.</p>
-
-<p>This last example leads us on to the phenomenon of
-Deltas, which afford, perhaps, the best opportunity of observing
-the actual formation of stratified rocks. Some large
-rivers, as we have already seen, enter the sea with such extreme
-velocity as to bear away their sediment to a distance
-of several hundred miles from the land. But in other cases
-the onward rush of the stream is much sooner arrested, and
-the sediment, if it be not caught up by ocean currents, is
-deposited near the mouth of the river, and forms a triangular
-tract of alluvial land. This kind of deposit is called
-a Delta, from the resemblance it bears to the letter (Δ) of
-that name in the Greek Alphabet. The apex of the triangle
-points up the stream, the base is toward the sea. Hence,
-when a Delta is formed the river naturally divides into two
-branches, one flowing to the right, the other to the left.
-In progress of time new channels are almost always made,
-and the great stream empties itself into the sea by many
-mouths.</p>
-
-<p>The Delta formed in the Bay of Bengal by the two great
-rivers of India, the Ganges and the Brahmapootra, offers an
-illustration of this phenomenon on a scale of unusual magnitude.
-Indeed, strictly speaking, it is not one Delta only,
-but rather two Deltas lying side by side; the one deriving
-its origin from the Ganges, the other from the Brahmapootra.
-This double Delta extends its base for two hundred
-and fifty miles along the Bay of Bengal, and stretches inward
-into the continent of India to an almost equal distance.
-Here, then, is a vast tract of country manifestly
-composed of earthy sediment, obtained by the process of
-Denudation from the Himalayan mountains, and afterward
-transported to its present site by the agency of moving
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span>
-water. But the deposition of earthy matter does not suddenly
-come to an end when we reach the present line of
-the coast. The sea is visibly discolored by the sediment
-far beyond the actual base of the Delta; and a sloping
-bank of mud is found to stretch beneath the waters of the
-Bay to a distance of a hundred miles.</p>
-
-<p>Even within the short period of a man’s life the domain
-of dry land is often visibly enlarged. Sandbanks are first
-formed in some of those numerous winding channels
-through which the two rivers find their way to the sea.
-The sandbanks, receiving fresh accessions during each succeeding
-flood, in a short time become islands; and the
-islands have been known, in a few years, to attain a superficial
-extent of many square miles. Then begins to appear
-a wild and luxuriant vegetation&mdash;reeds, long grass,
-shrubs, and trees; and those impenetrable thickets are
-formed, to which the buffalo, the rhinoceros, and the tiger
-soon resort for shelter. A very extensive tract of this kind,
-adjoining the sea-coast, and known as the Sunderbunds, is
-said to be as large as the principality of Wales.</p>
-
-<p>The Delta of the Nile, though not quite one-half as large
-as the Delta of the Ganges, presents nevertheless some
-features of peculiar interest. In many places where a vertical
-section is exposed to view, the phenomenon of stratification
-may be distinctly recognized. The upper part
-of the deposit belonging to each year is composed of
-earth of a lighter color than the lower part; and the
-whole forms a distinct layer of hardened clay, which may be
-easily separated from those above and below. This formation,
-therefore, corresponds exactly with those strata of
-shale which we so often meet with in the Crust of the Earth.
-Again, many of the old channels through which the Nile
-made its way to the sea in ancient times, have been since
-filled up and converted into solid land. The two extreme
-arms of the river, which formerly enclosed the Delta, were two
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span>
-hundred miles apart where they entered the Mediterranean.
-But these channels are now Alluvial Plains, and the base
-of the Delta is but ninety miles in length. Hence, though
-the quantity of land which has been formed by the sediment
-of the Nile is much greater now than it formerly was, the
-size of the Delta properly so called has not been increased
-but diminished.</p>
-
-<p>If we turn to the great continent of America, we are met
-by results not less striking and important. The Delta of
-the Mississippi is two hundred miles in length, and one
-hundred and forty in breadth. This vast stratum of mud
-is between five and six hundred feet thick, and covers an
-area twelve thousand square miles in extent. Each year it
-receives from the great <i>Father of Rivers</i> a new accession of
-sediment which is computed at 3,700,000,000 of cubic
-feet. And besides this annual deposit of inorganic matter,
-we must not omit from our estimate the countless trees of
-various species and of gigantic size, which are torn up by
-the floods, carried along by the impetuous stream, and
-buried at last with the bones of animals, and works of human
-art, and other spoils of the land, in the mud of the
-Delta at the river’s mouth.<a id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">45</a></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_108.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_109.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_VII"><i>CHAPTER VII.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">STRATIFIED ROCKS OF CHEMICAL ORIGIN.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Chemical agency employed in the formation of mechanical
-rock&mdash;But some rocks produced almost exclusively by the
-action of chemical laws&mdash;Difference between a mixture and
-a solution&mdash;A saturated solution&mdash;Stalactites and Stalagmites&mdash;Fantastic
-columns in limestone caverns&mdash;The grotto
-of Antiparos in the Grecian Archipelago&mdash;Wyer’s cave in
-the Blue Mountains of America&mdash;Travertine rock in Italy&mdash;Growth
-of limestone in the Solfatara Lake near Tivoli&mdash;Incrustations
-of the Anio&mdash;Formation of travertine at the
-baths of San Filippo and San Vignone.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="T" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">The</span> Aqueous Rocks of which we have spoken in
-the last two chapters are called by Geologists
-Mechanical; inasmuch as they owe their existence
-chiefly to the agency of Mechanical force. It should
-be observed, however, that a very considerable share in the
-production of these rocks must be ascribed, not unfrequently,
-to Chemical influence. Chemical action helps to
-prepare the materials of which they are composed; and
-Chemical action likewise furnishes the calcareous, siliceous,
-and other mineral cements by which they are, in a great
-measure, consolidated. There is, however, a second class
-of Aqueous Rocks which are produced almost exclusively
-by the operation of Chemical laws, and which we have
-accordingly denominated Stratified Rocks of Chemical
-Origin. It is of these that we purpose to speak in the
-present chapter. They constitute a much smaller proportion
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span>
-of the Earth’s Crust than either the Mechanical or the
-Organic Rocks. But the history of their formation is
-curious and instructive. We shall confine ourselves to one
-or two simple and familiar illustrations.</p>
-
-<p>In the course of these illustrations we shall have a good
-deal to say about Carbonate of Lime in a state of solution;
-and it may perhaps be useful to explain, first of all, what is
-meant by a solution, in the technical language of Chemistry.
-If a spoonful of salt is put into a tumbler of water, the particles
-of salt, after a little time, cease to cohere together,
-and become so diffused through the water as to be no longer
-visible to the eye, although their presence in every part may
-be easily discerned by the taste. The salt is then said to be
-<i>dissolved</i>, and the water in which it is dissolved is called a
-<i>solution</i> of salt. It is important to distinguish the case of a
-solution from the case of a mere mechanical mixture. If,
-instead of the salt, we were to put into the tumbler of water
-a spoonful of very fine sand, then we should have a <i>mixture</i>
-but not a <i>solution</i>. By stirring briskly the contents of the
-tumbler we might, indeed, effect a very close union between
-the particles of water and the particles of sand: but this
-union would be altogether different in kind from the union
-that was observed in the former case between the particles
-of water and the particles of salt. First, the sand would
-remain visible to the eye, making the water turbid and discolored;
-whereas the salt entirely disappeared, leaving the
-water limpid and transparent as before. Again, if the water
-be allowed to rest, the sand will in time fall to the bottom,
-whereas the salt will not.</p>
-
-<p>But there is a limit to the capacity of water for holding
-salt in solution. If spoonful after spoonful be added, it
-will be found, when a certain point has been reached, that
-the water can at length dissolve no more. It is then called
-a <i>saturated solution</i> of salt. If, in this case, a portion of the
-water were to pass away by evaporation, it is clear, we
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">111</span>
-should have the same quantity of salt as before, in a smaller
-quantity of water. The consequence would be that <i>all</i> the
-salt could not then be held in solution, and some of it
-would fall to the bottom; or, in chemical language, a precipitate
-of salt would be formed on the bottom of the tumbler.
-Now, according to the theory of Geologists, many
-rocks, hundreds of feet thick, and solid enough to form the
-walls of our palaces, our churches, and our castles, have
-been produced in the Crust of the Earth by just such a
-process as this. In support of their theory we are about to
-show that the process is actually going on in our own time,
-and is open to the examination of all who may desire to
-study it for themselves.</p>
-
-<p>We shall begin with the formation of Stalactites and
-Stalagmites. The mode in which these singular masses of
-rock are brought into existence is very clearly explained,
-and the picturesque appearance they so often present to the
-eye is very graphically described, by Dr. Mantell, in his
-Wonders of Geology, from which the following passages
-are taken:&mdash;“One of the most common appearances in
-limestone caverns is the formation of what are called
-Stalactites, from a Greek word signifying distillation or
-dropping. Whenever water filters through a limestone
-rock it dissolves a portion of it; and on reaching any
-opening, such as a cavern, oozes from the sides or roof,
-and forms a drop, the moisture of which is soon evaporated
-by the air, and a small circular plate or ring of
-calcareous matter remains; another drop succeeds in the
-same place, and adds, from the same cause, a fresh coat of
-incrustation. In time, these successive additions produce
-a long, irregular, conical projection from the roof, which
-is generally hollow, and is continually being increased by
-the fresh accession of water, loaded with calcareous or
-chalky matter: this is deposited on the outside of the
-Stalactite already formed, and, trickling down, adds to its
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">112</span>
-length by subsiding to the point, and evaporating as before;
-precisely in the same manner as, during frosty weather,
-icicles are formed on the edges of the eaves of a roof.
-When the supply of water holding lime in solution is too
-rapid to allow of its evaporation at the bottom of the
-Stalactite, it drops on the floor of the cave, and drying up
-gradually, forms in like manner a Stalactite rising upward
-from the ground, instead of hanging from the roof; this is
-called for the sake of distinction Stalagmite.</p>
-
-<p>“It frequently happens, where these processes are uninterrupted,
-that a Stalactite hanging from the roof, and a
-Stalagmite formed immediately under it from the super-abundant
-water, increase until they unite, and thus constitute
-a natural pillar, apparently supporting the roof of the
-grotto. It is to the grotesque forms assumed by Stalactites
-and these natural columns, that caverns owe the interesting
-appearances described in such glowing terms by those who
-witness them for the first time. One of the most beautiful
-stalactitic caverns in England is at Clapham, near Ingleborough.
-In the Cheddar Cliffs, Somersetshire, there has
-been discovered a similar cave richly incrusted with sparry
-concretions. There are others in Derbyshire.</p>
-
-<p>“The grotto of Antiparos in the Grecian Archipelago,
-not far from Paros, has long been celebrated. The sides
-and roof of its principal cavity are covered with immense
-incrustations of calcareous spar, which form either Stalactites
-depending from above or irregular pillars rising from the
-floor. Several perfect columns reaching to the ceiling
-have been formed and others are still in progress, by the
-union of the Stalactite from above with the Stalagmite
-below. These, being composed of matter slowly deposited,
-have assumed the most fantastic shapes; while the pure,
-white, and glittering spar beautifully catches and reflects
-the light of the torches of the visitors to this subterranean
-palace, in a manner which causes all astonishment to cease
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span>
-at the romantic tales told of the place&mdash;of its caves of
-diamonds and of its ruby walls; the simple truth, when
-deprived of all exaggeration, being sufficient to excite
-admiration and awe.</p>
-
-<p>“Sometimes a linear fissure in the roof, by the direction
-it gives to the dropping of the lapidifying water, forms a
-perfectly transparent curtain or partition. A remarkable
-instance of this kind occurs in a cavern in North America
-called Wyer’s Cave. This cave is situated in a ridge of
-limestone hills running parallel to the Blue Mountains.
-A narrow and rugged fissure leads to a large cavern, where
-the most grotesque figures, formed by the percolation of
-water through beds of limestone, present themselves, while
-the eye, glancing onward, watches the dim and distant
-glimmers of the lights of the guides&mdash;some in the recess
-below, and others in the galleries above. Passing from
-these recesses, the passage conducts to a flight of steps that
-leads into a large cavern of irregular form and of great
-beauty. Its dimensions are about thirty feet by fifty. Here
-the incrustations hang just like a sheet of water that was
-frozen as it fell; there they rise into a beautiful stalactite
-pillar; and yonder compose an elevated seat, surrounded
-by sparry pinnacles. Beyond this room is another more
-irregular, but more beautiful; for besides having sparry
-ornaments in common with the others, the roof overhead
-is of the most admirable and singular formation. It is
-entirely covered with Stalactites, which are suspended from
-it like inverted pinnacles; and they are of the finest material,
-and most beautifully shaped and embossed. In
-another apartment an immense sheet of transparent Stalactite,
-which extends from the floor to the roof, emits, when
-struck, deep and mellow sounds like those of a muffled
-drum.</p>
-
-<p>“Farther on is another vaulted chamber, which is one
-hundred feet long, thirty-six wide, and twenty-six high. Its
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span>
-walls are filled with grotesque concretions. The effect of
-the lights placed by the guides at various elevations, and
-leaving hidden more than they reveal, is extremely fine.
-At the extremity of another range of apartments, a magnificent
-hall, two hundred and fifty feet long, and thirty-three
-feet high, suddenly appears. Here is a splendid sheet of
-rock-work running up the centre of the room, and giving
-it the aspect of two separate and noble galleries. This
-partition rises twenty feet above the floor, and leaves the
-fine span of the arched roof untouched. There is here a
-beautiful concretion, which has the form and drapery of a
-gigantic statue; and the whole place is filled with stalagmitical
-masses of the most varied and grotesque character.
-The fine perspective of this room, four times the length of
-an ordinary church, and the amazing vaulted roof spreading
-overhead, without any support of pillar or column, produce
-a most striking effect. In another apartment, which has an
-altitude of fifty feet, there is at one end an elevated recess
-ornamented with a group of pendant Stalactites of unusual
-size and singular beauty. They are as large as the pipes
-of a full-sized organ, and ranged with great regularity:
-when struck they emit mellow sounds of various keys, not
-unlike the tones of musical glasses. The length of this
-extraordinary group of caverns is not less than one thousand
-six hundred feet.”</p>
-
-<p>In the case of Stalactites and Stalagmites the actual formation
-of limestone by the influence of Chemical action is
-brought home forcibly to the mind, and, in a manner,
-made palpable to the senses. We shall now pass to other
-examples in which the process is scarcely less open to observation,
-and in which the limestone assumes a somewhat
-more massive and rock-like form. Every one who has
-been in Italy is familiar with the limestone rock called
-Travertine. It is seen in the ancient walls and the venerable
-temples of P&aelig;stum, which have withstood unharmed
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span>
-the wasting hand of time for upward of twenty centuries.
-In Rome, too, this stone is associated in our minds as well
-with the enduring monuments of antiquity, as with the
-imposing splendor of Christian art. The Coliseum, the
-most stupendous of ruins, and St. Peter’s, the most sublime
-of temples, are built of Travertine. In fact it seems to
-have been, in every age, the chief building stone employed
-in the architecture of the Eternal City; and the quarries
-from which it was taken in ancient times may still be seen
-at Ponte Lucano, near Tivoli. Now it is an interesting
-fact, that close to this very spot, at the Solfatara lake on the
-one side, and at Tivoli itself on the other, the formation of
-Travertine is going on in our own time, by the precipitation
-of lime from a state of solution.</p>
-
-<p>The Solfatara lake, situated about fourteen miles from
-Rome, on the road to Tivoli, is supplied with an unfailing
-stream of tepid water, impregnated with carbonic acid gas
-and saturated with carbonate of lime. The amount of
-carbonate of lime which the water is capable of holding
-in solution depends chiefly on three things: first, on the
-presence of carbonic acid; secondly, on the high temperature
-of the water; and thirdly, on its quantity. Now
-the carbonic acid is ever rising in bubbles to the surface
-and passing away; the temperature of the water is lowered
-by contact with the cooler atmosphere; and its quantity is
-diminished by evaporation. Thus the capacity which the
-water at first had for holding the carbonate of lime in solution
-is notably diminished, and a part of the lime is precipitated
-to the bottom in a solid form, or clings to the
-vegetable matter with which it comes in contact.</p>
-
-<p>A very simple and interesting experiment, made in the
-early part of the present century by Sir Humphrey Davy,
-will illustrate the rapidity with which the formation of solid
-stone is even now taking place. In the month of May he
-fixed a stick in the bed of the lake, and left it standing until
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span>
-the following April, when he found that it was covered with
-an incrustation of limestone several inches thick.<a id="FNanchor_46" href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">46</a> In
-precisely the same way new layers of Travertine are annually
-deposited in the bed of the lake, and incrusted on its
-rocky margin; and so the lake itself is becoming smaller and
-smaller from year to year. We are told that in the middle
-of the seventeenth century it was a mile in circuit, and now
-it is a little more than a quarter of a mile.<a id="FNanchor_47" href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">47</a> Here, therefore,
-we have an immense mass of compact limestone rock, built
-up by natural agents within the last two centuries.</p>
-
-<p>At Tivoli, about four miles beyond the Solfatara, and
-two miles from the quarries of Ponte Lucano, phenomena
-of the same kind are exhibited. The waters of the Anio,
-which are saturated with carbonate of lime, form incrustations
-of Travertine on the banks of the river; and at the
-celebrated falls, where the whole volume of the stream leaps
-at a bound from a height of three hundred and twenty feet,
-the most beautiful stalactites are formed by the foam.</p>
-
-<p>The formation of Travertine is going on with no less
-activity in other parts of the Italian Peninsula. At the
-baths of San Filippo, in Tuscany, there are three warm
-springs which contain a very large amount of mineral
-matter in solution. The water which supplies the baths
-falls into a pond, where it has been known to deposit a
-solid stratum of rock <i>thirty feet thick</i> in twenty years. In
-the same neighborhood are the mineral baths of San Vignone.
-The source from which the water flows is situated
-on the summit of a hill not more than a few hundred yards
-from the high road between Sienna and Rome; and so
-rapid is the formation of stone, that half a foot of solid
-Travertine is deposited every year in the pipe that conducts
-the water to the baths. At this spot we have a very good
-illustration of the argument we are now considering. As
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span>
-the stream of water flows down the slopes of the hill, a thin
-layer of Travertine rock is produced on the surface of the
-earth, almost before our eyes; and so it was previous to our
-own time, and so it has been for ages, as history and tradition
-testify. The quantity produced in each year and in each
-century is comparatively small, but we can have no doubt
-that it <i>has</i> been produced by the means described. Now,
-beneath the surface of the Earth, immediately below these
-modern formations, of which we have so clearly ascertained
-the origin, we find strata of the same kind, composed of
-the same materials, and arranged in the same way, layer
-resting upon layer, down to a depth of two hundred feet:
-and the Geologist accounts for the formation of the one
-according to the same laws which he has seen at work in
-the production of the other.<a id="FNanchor_48" href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor">48</a></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_117.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">118</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_118.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_VIII"><i>CHAPTER VIII.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">STRATIFIED ROCKS OF ORGANIC ORIGIN&mdash;ILLUSTRATIONS FROM
-ANIMAL LIFE.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Nature of organic rocks&mdash;Carbonate of lime extracted from
-the sea by the intervention of minute animalcules&mdash;Chalk
-rock&mdash;Its vast extent&mdash;Supposed to be of organic origin&mdash;A
-stratum of the same kind now growing up on the floor of
-the Atlantic ocean&mdash;Coral reefs and islands&mdash;Their general
-appearance&mdash;Their geographical distribution&mdash;Their organic
-origin&mdash;Structure of the zoophyte&mdash;Various illustrations&mdash;Agency
-of the zoophyte in the construction of coral
-rock&mdash;How the sunken reef is converted into an island and
-peopled with plants and animals&mdash;Difficulty proposed and
-considered&mdash;Hypothesis of Mr. Darwin&mdash;Coral limestone in
-the solid crust of the earth.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/w.jpg" alt="W" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">We</span> now pass to the third division of Aqueous Rocks,
-those, namely, which are believed to have come
-into existence chiefly through the agency of animal
-and vegetable life, and are therefore called Organic.
-The study of these rocks has been prosecuted with no
-inconsiderable ardor during the last thirty years; and the
-facts which have been brought to light are certainly amongst
-the most curious and interesting in the whole range of physical
-science. Indeed we are convinced that a simple narrative
-of the researches which have recently been made upon
-this subject, and the discoveries to which these researches
-have led, would be no less attractive, and scarcely less
-wonderful, than a fairy tale. But it is not for us to wander
-at large over this vast and tempting field of inquiry. We
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span>
-must be content with one or two examples, which may help
-to illustrate the process of inductive reasoning upon which
-the general principles of geological science are founded.</p>
-
-<p>It is argued, then, that the present operations of Nature
-afford the best key for the interpretation of her works in
-bygone times. We observe various beds of rocks now in
-course of formation on the surface of the Earth; and
-within the Crust of the Earth we discover corresponding
-strata of the self-same rock already complete, and laid by,
-as it were, in Nature’s storehouse. Side by side, therefore,
-we may study and compare the finished work and the work
-that is yet in progress; and if, on a close examination, they
-are found to agree in all essential characters, we have
-doubtless a strong presumption, that the same causes which
-are now producing the one, must in former times have produced
-the other. This line of argument we have already
-considered in reference to those two classes of Aqueous
-Rocks, which are said to be respectively of Mechanical and
-of Chemical origin. We now proceed to show that it is no
-less applicable to those which are called Organic. And although
-we may not hope to unfold all the secret wonders of
-Nature’s laboratory, that have come to light in recent times,
-yet we may afford a passing glimpse at her operations, which
-can scarcely fail to be interesting and instructive.</p>
-
-<p>We have shown how strata of solid rock are sometimes
-formed in lakes by the precipitation of lime from a state of
-solution. Now this process cannot take place in the sea;
-for though lime is present in the sea, the quantity of carbonic
-acid with which it is there associated, is far more than
-sufficient to render its precipitation impossible.<a id="FNanchor_49" href="#Footnote_49" class="fnanchor">49</a> But
-Nature has another contrivance for gathering together the
-solid elements of her building. The depths of the ocean
-are teeming with life; and countless tribes of minute
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span>
-animals are furnished with the power of extracting the lime
-from the waters they inhabit, and of reproducing it under a
-new form. Sometimes, through this mysterious operation
-of organic life, the lime is converted into a calcareous shell,
-like that of the oyster; sometimes into a stony skeleton, as
-in the case of the numerous families of coral-producing
-animalcules. After death the soft, fleshy substance of these
-animals melts away and disappears; but the limestone shells
-and skeletons remain, accumulating during the long course
-of ages to an almost incredible extent. And, if we are to
-believe Geologists, out of these accumulated materials,
-sometimes preserving their original form and structure,
-sometimes altered more or less by chemical action, sometimes
-broken up into fragments by mechanical force, has
-been produced a very large proportion of the limestone
-rocks which occur so abundantly in the Crust of the Earth.</p>
-
-<p>No better illustration can be found than the white earthy
-limestone, familiar to every one under the name of chalk.
-An undulating stratum of Chalk Rock, attaining not unfrequently
-a thickness of one thousand feet, may be said,
-speaking roughly, to underlie the southeastern half of
-England. Sometimes it appears at the surface: sometimes
-it dips downward, and forms a kind of great basin, over
-which are regularly spread out various other groups of
-Stratified Rocks. On the southern coast it rises to a height
-of several hundred feet above the level of the sea in a line
-of perpendicular cliffs, conspicuous from a distance by their
-dazzling whiteness. But the White Chalk of England is
-only an insignificant part of a great rock-formation, which
-may be traced over extensive areas throughout all Europe,
-from Ireland to the Crimea, from the Baltic Sea to the Bay
-of Biscay; and which everywhere preserves in a remarkable
-degree the same mineral character, and presents to the eye
-the same general appearance.</p>
-
-<p>Now it had often been suggested by Geologists that this
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span>
-wide-spread formation derived its existence chiefly from the
-accumulated remains of organic life. For in many instances
-the broken shells of minute animalcules could be distinctly
-observed to constitute a part of the rock. And even where
-the organic structure could not be so clearly traced, the
-carbonate of lime composing the Chalk presented just that
-appearance which would naturally result from the decomposition
-of such shells. This theory, however, was long
-put forward with diffidence and received with incredulity.
-Even scientific men found it hard to persuade themselves
-that a solid rock of such great extent and thickness could
-have been the work of agents apparently so insignificant.
-But it has been confirmed and illustrated in a very interesting
-and unexpected manner within the last few years.</p>
-
-<p>When the project of connecting Europe and America by
-a telegraph cable was first set on foot, it became necessary
-to ascertain, as far as possible, the general configuration of
-the ocean bottom and the exact nature of the bed on which
-the cable was to lie. Accordingly in the year 1857 an expedition
-was fitted out for this purpose under the command
-of Captain Dayman; and a careful series of soundings was
-taken between Valentia, on the West Coast of Kerry, and
-Trinity Bay on the shores of Newfoundland. It was found
-that the floor of the ocean between Ireland and America is a
-vast irregular plain, and that by far the greater part is covered
-over with a kind of soft mud or ooze. Samples of this
-ooze were scooped up, even at the most profound depths,
-by means of an ingenious apparatus attached to the sounding-lines,
-and brought undisturbed to the surface. Afterward
-they were carried home to England and submitted for
-examination to Professor Huxley. The result has been to
-show that the materials of a limestone rock, resembling in
-every essential feature the White Chalk of Europe, are
-being spread out at the present day over an area of immense
-extent on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span></p>
-
-<p>With the permission of our readers we shall allow Professor
-Huxley, as far as may be, to tell his own story.<a id="FNanchor_50" href="#Footnote_50" class="fnanchor">50</a>
-As to the ocean floor itself, “It is,” he says, “a prodigious
-plain&mdash;one of the widest and most even plains in the world.
-If the sea were drained off, you might drive a wagon all the
-way from Valentia to Trinity Bay. And, except upon one
-sharp incline about two hundred miles from Valentia, I am
-not quite sure that it would even be necessary to put the skid
-on, so gentle are the ascents and descents upon that long
-route. From Valentia the road would lie down hill for
-about two hundred miles to the point at which the bottom
-is now covered by 1700 fathoms of sea-water. Then would
-come the central plain, more than a thousand miles wide,
-the inequalities of the surface of which would be hardly
-perceptible, though the depth of water upon it now varies
-from 10,000 to 15,000 feet; and there are places in which
-Mont Blanc might be sunk without showing its peak
-above water. Beyond this the ascent on the American side
-commences, and gradually leads for about three hundred
-miles, to the Newfoundland shore.”</p>
-
-<p>The central plain here described, which has been since
-found to extend many hundred miles north and south of
-the cable line, is covered almost everywhere by that soft,
-mealy sort of mud of which we have already spoken; and
-this, it is now confidently believed, is nothing else than a stratum
-of Chalk Rock in an early stage of formation. When
-thoroughly dried it assumes a whitish color, and exhibits
-a texture which even to the superficial observer appears
-closely to resemble fine chalk. Nay, we are told that if so
-disposed, one may take a bit of it in his fingers and write
-with it upon a blackboard. Like chalk, too, when chemically
-analyzed it is found to be almost pure carbonate of
-lime.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">123</span></p>
-
-<p>But there is a yet more striking analogy between the
-mud of the Atlantic and the White Chalk of Europe.
-Both have been submitted to the magnifying power of the
-Microscope; and, after an examination conducted with
-scrupulous care, a wonderful and almost startling identity
-of mineral, or rather we should say of organic, composition
-has been established between them. To the naked eye
-Chalk is simply a soft, earthy sort of stone. But when a
-thin transparent slice is placed under the Microscope, the
-general mass is found to be made up of very minute particles,
-in which are embedded a vast number of other bodies
-possessing a well-defined form and structure. These are of
-various sizes, but on a rough average may be said not to
-exceed a hundredth of an inch in diameter. Hundreds of
-thousands of them are sometimes contained in a cubic
-inch of Chalk, together with countless millions of the more
-minute granules.</p>
-
-<p>Professor Huxley succeeded in separating these bodies
-from the mass of granules in which they were embedded,
-and by examining them apart, he has ascertained still more
-fully their exact structure and composition. “Each one of
-them,” he says, “is a beautifully constructed calcareous
-fabric, made up of a number of chambers communicating
-freely with one another. They are of various forms. One
-of the commonest is something like a badly-grown raspberry,
-being formed of a number of nearly globular chambers
-of different sizes congregated together. It is called
-Globigerina; and some specimens of Chalk consist of little
-else than Globigerin&aelig; and granules.”</p>
-
-<p>Previous to 1857 the Globigerin&aelig; of the Chalk were a
-matter of no small controversy among Geologists and
-Naturalists. Some contended that they were the organic
-remains&mdash;the shells or skeletons&mdash;of ancient animalcules.
-Others were disposed to regard them simply as aggregations
-of lime, which, so to speak, chanced to assume the form of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">124</span>
-these little chambered bodies; though it was not easy to
-explain, on this hypothesis, how these chance concretions,
-however much they varied in size, preserved over the whole
-of Europe the same exact form and structure. But the
-controversy is now at an end. The specimens of the Atlantic
-ooze brought home by Captain Dayman, when examined
-under the higher powers of the Microscope, are found,
-like Chalk, to be composed almost entirely of Globigerin&aelig;.
-And that no doubt may remain as to their organic origin,
-a portion of the fleshy integument of the little animalcules
-is seen, in many cases, still adhering to the calcareous
-skeleton.</p>
-
-<p>“Globigerin&aelig; of every size,” we are told, “from the
-smallest to the largest, are associated together in the Atlantic
-mud, and the chambers of many are filled by a soft
-animal matter. This soft substance is, in fact, the remains
-of the creature to which the Globigerina shell, or rather
-skeleton, owes its existence&mdash;and which is an animal of the
-simplest imaginable description. It is, in fact, a mere
-particle of living jelly, without defined parts of any kind&mdash;without
-a mouth, nerves, muscles, or distinct organs; and
-only manifesting its vitality to ordinary observation by
-thrusting out and retracting, from all parts of its surface,
-long filamentous processes which serve for arms and legs.
-Yet this amorphous particle, devoid of everything which, in
-the higher animals we call organs, is capable of feeding,
-growing, and multiplying; of separating from the ocean
-the small proportion of carbonate of lime which is dissolved
-in sea-water; and of building up that substance into a skeleton
-for itself, according to a pattern which can be imitated
-by no other known agency.”</p>
-
-<p>That the same process is going on in other parts of the
-ocean appears by observations made by Sir Leopold
-M’Clintock during the cruise of the Bulldog in 1860. He
-discovered that a calcareous ooze having the consistency
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">125</span>
-of putty is spread out over extensive areas between the Faroe
-Islands and Iceland, and also between Iceland and
-Greenland. Of this mud about ninety-five per cent. is
-composed of Globigerin&aelig;, which in some instances were
-brought up actually living to the surface, and busily engaged
-in secreting, by their vital powers, carbonate of lime
-from the waters of the sea.<a id="FNanchor_51" href="#Footnote_51" class="fnanchor">51</a></p>
-
-<p>Professor Huxley goes yet one step further in following
-out the resemblance between the Chalk Rock that exists in
-the Crust of the Earth and the stratum of Chalk that is now
-growing up in the depths of the Atlantic. Not only are
-the Globigerin&aelig;, of which the one is in great part composed,
-identical with the animalcules that make up about
-nine-tenths of the other, but even the minute granules that
-constitute the residue of each formation, correspond in a
-very remarkable manner. “In working over the soundings
-collected by Captain Dayman, I was surprised to find
-that many of what I have called the Granules of that mud
-were not, as one might have been tempted to think at first,
-the mere powder and waste of Globigerin&aelig;, but they had a
-definite form and size. I termed these bodies Coccoliths,
-and doubted their organic nature. Doctor Wallich verified
-my observation, and added the interesting discovery that,
-not unfrequently, bodies similar to these Coccoliths were
-aggregated together into spheroids, which he termed Coccospheres.
-So far as we knew, these bodies, the nature of
-which is extremely puzzling and problematical, were peculiar
-to the Atlantic soundings.</p>
-
-<p>“But a few years ago Mr. Sorby, in making a careful
-examination of the Chalk by means of thin sections and
-otherwise, observed, as Ehrenberg had done before him,
-that much of its granular basis possesses a definite form.
-Comparing these formed particles with those in the Atlantic
-soundings, he found the two to be identical; and thus
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">126</span>
-proved that the Chalk, like the soundings, contains these
-mysterious Coccoliths and Coccospheres. Here was a further
-and a most interesting confirmation, from internal
-evidence, of the essential identity of the Chalk with modern
-deep-sea mud.”</p>
-
-<p>We may, therefore, set it down as certain, first, that the
-formation of Chalk Rock is going on very extensively at
-the present day; and secondly, that the chief agency employed
-in its production is no other than the vital action of
-minute animalcules. This is no longer merely a plausible
-theory or an ingenious hypothesis: it is simply a matter of
-fact ascertained by direct observation. If then it is just and
-philosophical to ascribe like effects to like causes, the conclusion
-is plain that the White Chalk of Europe came into
-existence in some far distant age by just such a process as
-that which is now in operation on the bed of the Atlantic
-Ocean.</p>
-
-<p>From the Chalk mud of the Atlantic we will now pass to
-the Coral Reefs that are growing up beneath the waters of
-the Pacific and the Indian Oceans. Every one has heard of
-Coral Reefs and Coral Islands; yet we fancy many persons
-have but vague and indefinite notions about them. We
-shall, therefore, in the first place, give a brief account of
-their general appearance, their extent, and their geographical
-distribution. Afterward we shall give some of the
-evidence which goes to show that these huge masses of
-rock owe their existence to the organic powers of minute
-living animalcules.</p>
-
-<p>The Coral Reef is familiar to the navigator of tropical
-seas under a great variety of forms, and in many different
-stages of development. In one case it is a chain of hidden
-rocks rising not quite to the level of the sea; in another it
-appears just above the waters, but is washed over by each
-returning tide; while in another it rises up beyond the
-reach of the waves, is clothed with luxuriant vegetation,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span>
-and inhabited by various species of animals, even by man
-himself. Again there is great diversity of outline among
-these rocks, whether they are sunk beneath the surface of
-the waters or lifted above them. But all may be reduced
-to four classes, of which we propose to give a short description.</p>
-
-<p>First is the Atoll, or lagoon island. It is a circular strip
-of limestone rock enclosing a shallow lake within, and surrounded
-by a deep and often unfathomable ocean without.
-The scene presented by some of these circular reefs is described
-by travellers as equally striking for its singularity
-and its beauty. “A strip of land a few hundred yards wide
-is covered by lofty cocoa-nut trees, above which is the blue
-vault of heaven. This band of verdure is bounded by a
-beach of glittering white sand, the outer margin of which is
-encircled with a ring of snow-white breakers, beyond which
-are the dark heaving waters of the ocean. The inner beach
-encloses the still clear water of the lagoon, resting in its
-greater part on white sand, and, when illuminated by a
-vertical sun, of a most vivid green.”</p>
-
-<p>These lagoon islands are often found in groups stretching,
-with little interruption, for many hundred miles across
-the ocean. The Maldives, for example, which lie a little
-distance to the southwest of Hindostan, form a continuous
-chain, running due north and south, four hundred and
-seventy miles in length and fifty miles in breadth. Each
-successive link in this chain does not consist, as might be
-supposed, of a single circular reef, but it is rather a ring of
-small coral islets, sometimes more than a hundred in number,
-each of which is itself a perfect Atoll or lagoon island
-such as we have just described. Of these miniature islets
-many are from three to five miles in diameter; while the
-larger rings of which they form a part are from thirty to
-fifty. The Laccadive islands, a little more to the north,
-exhibit a similar arrangement, and indeed would seem to
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span>
-be a continuation of the same group. In the Pacific are
-found some chains of coral islands yet more extensive; as
-for instance the Dangerous Archipelago, which is upward
-of eleven hundred miles in length, and from three to four
-hundred in breadth; but the islands within these spaces are
-thinly scattered, and insignificant in size.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes the annular strip of coral rock encloses within
-itself a lofty island, which rises up from the centre of the
-lagoon. In this case it is called an Encircling Reef; the
-lagoon being simply a broad channel surrounding the island
-in the centre, and encompassed itself by the coral rock. An
-example occurs in the island of Vanikoro, celebrated for
-the shipwreck of La Peyrouse, where the Encircling Reef
-runs at a distance of two or three miles from the shore, the
-channel between it and the land having a general depth of
-between two and three hundred feet. The well-known
-mountainous island of Tahiti in the South Pacific Ocean is
-also encompassed by an Encircling Reef, from which it is
-separated by a broad belt of tranquil water.</p>
-
-<p>A third class of Coral Reefs consists of those which run
-parallel to the shores of continents or great islands, from
-which they are cut off by a broad channel, to which the
-sea has free access through certain open passages in the
-rock. They are called Barrier Reefs; and differ from the
-former only in this, that they do not surround the land, but
-run parallel to it at a distance of some miles. The Great
-Barrier Reef of Australia offers a noble example. It has
-been described as a huge, massive, submarine wall or terrace,
-fronting the northeastern coast of that continent, varying
-from ten to ninety miles in breadth, and extending, with
-some trifling interruptions, to a length of 1250 miles.
-Another reef of the same kind, 400 miles in length, faces
-the western coast of the long narrow island of New Caledonia.</p>
-
-<p>When a chain of Coral rocks approaches close to the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span>
-shore, so as to leave no intervening channel of deep water,
-they are called Fringing Reefs; and these constitute the
-fourth and last class of the Coral formation. They prevail
-everywhere in tropical regions, and appear as banks of
-Coral encrusting the rocky shores of islands and continents.</p>
-
-<p>As regards the geographical distribution of Coral Reefs,
-the first circumstance that claims our notice, is that they
-are exclusively confined to the warmer regions of the globe.
-They exist in great profusion within the tropics, and are
-rarely to be found beyond the thirtieth parallels of latitude
-on each side of the Equator. The only remarkable
-exception is in the case of the Bermuda Islands in 32&deg;
-north latitude; but here, it is to be observed, the ocean is
-warmed by the waters of the Gulf Stream. Another singular
-fact is the almost total absence of Coral Reefs from the
-Atlantic Ocean. In fact, the Bermudas, we believe, constitute
-here again the only exception. The Pacific, on the
-contrary, is wonderfully productive of coral; also the
-Indian Ocean, the Persian and Arabian Gulfs, and the Red
-Sea.</p>
-
-<p>It may gratify, perhaps, the curiosity of some readers, if
-we add a word on the Red Coral which is now so favorite
-an ornament in the fashionable world. Though it never
-attains to the magnitude of those reefs and islands we have
-been describing, it partakes nevertheless of the same
-peculiar structure; and no doubt is entertained that, like
-them, it derives its existence from animal life, in the manner
-we shall presently explain. It is produced chiefly in the
-Mediterranean, in the Red Sea, and in the Persian Gulf;
-and is brought up from the great depths by means of a
-grappling apparatus attached to boats. The largest pieces
-have a shrub-like branching form, and are supposed to
-grow to the height of one foot in about eight years.<a id="FNanchor_52" href="#Footnote_52" class="fnanchor">52</a>
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span></p>
-
-<p>So much for the existence of the Coral Formation. Next
-comes the question of its origin, with which, of course,
-we are chiefly concerned. It is now the received belief of
-all distinguished Naturalists, that these huge and wide-spread
-masses of limestone rock, against which the breakers
-of the ocean are ever thundering in vain, are the work
-of tiny marine animalcules, and chiefly of those seemingly
-insignificant creatures known by the name of Polyps or
-Zoophytes. The Zoophyte, they tell us, is a mason who
-himself produces the stones that he employs in his building.
-“He has neither plane, nor chisel, nor trowel; there is no
-sound of hammer in his city. He erects mighty and
-enduring edifices, yet has no mechanical power by which
-to raise his rocks to their summits. He can answer thee
-nothing&mdash;no tongue, no eyes, no hands, no brains has he&mdash;yet
-from the caves of old ocean has he raised that which
-fills you with admiration.”<a id="FNanchor_53" href="#Footnote_53" class="fnanchor">53</a> Surely if all this be true, these
-countless myriads of animalcules call aloud to us from the
-depths of the ocean in language that cannot be mistaken:
-“Know ye that the Lord He is God; it is He that hath
-made us, and not we ourselves.”<a id="FNanchor_54" href="#Footnote_54" class="fnanchor">54</a></p>
-
-<p>The Zoophyte belongs to the simplest form of the animal
-creation. Its body consists merely of a pouch or stomach,
-with tentacles arranged round the margin, which it can extend
-at pleasure to supply itself with food. In many species
-the individuals grow together on a common stem, from
-which new members are constantly shooting forth like buds
-from the branches of a tree. Hence the origin of the
-name Zoophyte, which literally means a plant-like animal.
-The common stem on which they grow is sometimes composed
-of a horny substance, but more generally it is pure
-carbonate of lime, which they secrete by the powers of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span>
-organic action from the waters of the sea. It forms,
-therefore, a kind of internal skeleton or framework, to
-which the soft, gelatinous parts of the animal adhere,
-pretty much as, in the case of other animals, the flesh
-adheres to the bones. Thus we have, as it were, a community
-of living creatures, growing together upon one
-common stony framework, called a Polypidom or Polyp
-edifice, which they themselves build by the very fact of
-living.</p>
-
-<div class="table">
-<div id="fig_4" class="tcell">
-<img src="images/fig_4.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 4.&mdash;Campanularia Gelatinosa.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div id="fig_5" class="tcell">
-<img src="images/fig_5.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 5.&mdash;Gorgonia Patula.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p>The peculiar structure of these wonderful little communities
-may perhaps be made more intelligible by the
-aid of a few illustrations. Figure 4 exhibits the branching
-skeleton and, at the extremities of the branches, the
-several Polyps by whose vital action the skeleton has been
-constructed. Some of the animalcules are shown in a state
-of activity, with their tiny arms spread out in search of
-food: others are withdrawn within their cells, and appear in
-a state of repose. This species of Zoophyte, which is
-highly magnified in the figure, flourishes abundantly on
-the shores of Ireland and England. It has received the
-name of Campanularia, from the bell-like form of its
-cells. Our next cut represents a Gorgonia from the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span>
-Mediterranean, which is also considerably magnified. The
-fleshy integument of this specimen is of a brilliant red
-color: the Polyps are arranged in rows on each side of the
-stem, and are shown in a state of expansion.</p>
-
-<div class="table">
-<div id="fig_6" class="tcell">
-<img src="images/fig_6.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 6.&mdash;Frustra Pilosa.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div id="fig_7" class="tcell">
-<img src="images/fig_7.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 7.&mdash;Madrepora Plantaginea.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p>A mass of Coral animalcules, which are known by the
-name of Frustra Pilosa, is represented of the natural size
-in Figure 6. To the naked eye it seems like a piece of
-fine net-work, disposed around a fragment of sea-weed,
-which may be observed protruding in the upper part of our
-illustration. With the aid of an ordinary magnifier the
-net-like surface is seen to abound in minute pores arranged
-with much regularity. Each of these pores is the cell of
-a Zoophyte. And if a fragment of Frustra be examined
-with a powerful microscope, when immersed in sea-water,
-the curious little inhabitants themselves may be seen darting
-in and out of their cells, expanding and contracting their
-long feelers, and exhibiting altogether a wonderful activity.
-In the adjoining woodcut, Figure 7, is shown another
-interesting species of the arborescent Zoophyte. It belongs
-to the family of Madrepores, and abounds in almost
-all Coral Reefs. Alive under water it appears clothed in a
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span>
-gelatinous coating of rich and varied hues. But when
-removed from its native element this gelatinous coating,
-which is the living animal substance, quickly melts away;
-and, in some instances, runs off from the calcareous skeleton
-in a kind of watery slime.</p>
-
-<div id="fig_8" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_8.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 8.&mdash;Corallium Rubrum.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>A good idea of the celebrated red and pink Coral of commerce,
-so much admired for its brilliant color, and the high
-polish of which it is susceptible, may be gathered from our
-next illustration. As in the other species to which we have
-referred, the calcareous skeleton is enveloped in a living
-gelatinous substance, from which the Zoophytes seem to
-shoot out like buds from the bark of a tree. Several of
-these animalcules are exhibited in our figure, in the active
-enjoyment of life; gathering in, with their expanded tentacles,
-the elements of their stony edifice from the surrounding
-waters. After death the fleshy integument is wasted
-away by the action of the sea; and the framework that
-remains behind, washed ashore by the waves, or hooked
-up by the coral fisherman, is wrought into brooches, bracelets,
-necklaces, and other ornaments of various kinds.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span></p>
-
-<p>Not a few varieties of the Coral-producing Zoophytes are
-to be found in actual living reality on our own coasts,
-where the curious student may examine for himself their
-habits and general structure. But it is in the warmer
-regions of the Earth that they are developed in the greatest
-numbers, and decked in the brightest hues. Those who have
-seen them through the crystal waters of tropical seas, swarming
-in countless multitudes on the clear white sand below,
-speak with enthusiasm of their luxuriant profusion and of
-their striking beauty. Combining to a picturesque elegance
-of form a rich variety and pleasing harmony of colors, they
-present to the eye a scene which has been compared to a
-magnificent garden, laid out in diverse beds of rare and
-splendid flowers.</p>
-
-<p>So far we have spoken only of the Polypidom, that is to
-say, the community of Polyps living together on a common
-stem of their own construction. Now this Polypidom is
-the first element of the Coral Reef. In some species of
-Zoophytes, the Red Coral for instance, the calcareous stem
-never attains a size greater than that of a diminutive shrub.
-But in others, and they are very numerous, especially in
-tropical seas, there seems to be no limit to the growth of
-the solid stony framework. As the existing generation of
-Zoophytes is dying out, new individuals are ever budding
-forth, which continue unceasingly to secrete carbonate of
-lime, as their predecessors had done before them, from the
-waters of the ocean; and thus the tree-like form spreads
-its branching arms on every side, growing upward and
-outward day by day. The soft gelatinous parts of those
-generations that have passed away are, in a short time, dissolved,
-and the stony skeleton alone remains behind.
-Ages roll on: the calcareous framework, ever increasing
-in size, becomes at length a formidable rock; and this rock
-is the Coral Reef.</p>
-
-<p>Let it not be supposed we are here advancing a theory:
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span>
-we are only stating a fact that has been established by close
-and repeated observations. All the phenomena exhibited
-in the development of the Polypidom, are exhibited no less
-plainly in every Coral Reef that has yet been examined.
-On the surface of the Reef are the living Zoophytes, clinging
-to the calcareous skeleton which is ever growing larger
-through the unconscious action of their vital functions;
-while immediately beneath may be seen the same stony
-skeleton, already divested of its fleshy integument, and
-beginning to assume the appearance of compact and massive
-rock. We can behold, therefore, the mason at work
-on the upper story of his building, and the structure
-already finished below. And so we have little less than
-ocular demonstration that the Coral Reef is the work of the
-Zoophyte.</p>
-
-<p>It must not be supposed, however, that in every part of
-the Coral Reef, the form and outline of the stony skeleton
-are exactly preserved. Fragments of the rock are broken
-off by the force of the waves, and mixed up with the comminuted
-shells of oysters, mussels, and other crustaceous
-animals inhabiting the same waters. In this way a sort of
-calcareous gravel, sometimes a calcareous paste, is formed,
-which fills up the interstices, and connects the tree-like
-coral into a compact rock.</p>
-
-<p>We have yet to explain how the Coral Reefs come, in
-many cases, to rise above the surface of the ocean, and to
-form dry land: for it has been found that the reef-building
-Zoophytes require to be continually immersed in salt water,
-and therefore, by their own efforts, they cannot raise their
-structure above the ordinary level of the sea. This question
-was for a long time involved in obscurity; but it has been
-cleared up by the actual observations of Naturalists in
-modern times. The following description, which is given
-to us by Chamisso, the companion of Kotzebue on his
-voyages, will convey a good idea of the process by which a
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span>
-sunken reef is often converted into a smiling, fruitful
-island. “When the reef is of such a height that it remains
-almost dry at low water, the corals leave off building.
-Above this line a continuous mass of solid stone is seen,
-composed of the shells of mollusks and echini, with their
-broken-off prickles and fragments of coral, united by calcareous
-sand, produced by the pulverization of shells.
-The heat of the sun often penetrates the mass of stone
-when it is dry, so that it splits in many places, and the force
-of the waves is thereby enabled to separate and lift blocks
-of coral, frequently six feet long and three or four in
-thickness, and throw them upon the reef, by which means
-the ridge becomes at length so high that it is covered only
-during some seasons of the year by spring tides. After
-this the calcareous sand lies undisturbed, and offers to the
-seeds of trees and plants cast upon it by the waves, a soil
-upon which they rapidly grow, to overshadow its dazzling
-white surface. Entire trunks of trees, which are carried
-by the rivers from other countries and islands, find here at
-length a resting place after their long wanderings: with
-these come some small animals, such as insects and lizards,
-as the first inhabitants. Even before the trees form a wood,
-the sea-birds nestle here; stray land-birds take refuge in
-the bushes; and, at a much later period, when the work
-has been long since completed, man appears and builds
-his hut on the fruitful soil.”<a id="FNanchor_55" href="#Footnote_55" class="fnanchor">55</a></p>
-
-<p>Another question that seems to call for some explanation
-is suggested by the well-known habits of the Zoophytes
-themselves. From the observations of Kotzebue and Darwin
-it appears that those species which are most effective in
-the construction of Reefs cannot flourish at a greater depth
-than twenty or thirty fathoms; whereas the coral rocks rise
-up in many cases from the bottom of an unfathomable
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span>
-ocean. How, then, it may be asked, have the foundations
-of these wonderful structures been laid? This question
-opens a wide field for philosophical speculation; and we
-freely admit that no theory of Coral Reefs can be regarded
-as complete and satisfactory, which does not furnish a
-reasonable answer. But so far as the purpose of our
-argument is concerned, it is quite sufficient if a stratum
-of solid limestone, twenty fathoms thick, has been formed
-mainly through the agency of these minute animalcules.
-And this conclusion, so abundantly demonstrated by facts,
-is left quite untouched by the difficulty to which we now
-refer.</p>
-
-<p>It will be interesting, however, to notice in passing the
-explanation of this phenomenon first suggested by Mr.
-Darwin, and now very generally accepted. He maintains
-that the whole Coral Reef&mdash;foundations and superstructure
-alike&mdash;is, in most cases, the result entirely of organic
-agency. The reef-building Zoophyte always begins his
-labors in water that is comparatively shallow. But as he is
-building upward, it often happens that the bed of the sea
-is sinking downward in pretty nearly the same proportion;
-and thus the reef is ever increasing in height from its original
-base, while the living mass of Zoophytes on its upper
-surface remains in about the same depth of water as when
-the building first began.</p>
-
-<p>This theory is supported by a vast amount of curious
-and ingenious reasoning. In the first place, there is
-nothing more remarkable in the physical conformation of
-the Globe, than the immense predominance of water over
-land throughout those extensive tracts of ocean where
-Coral Reefs abound. Now this is just what we should
-naturally expect if the hypothesis of Mr. Darwin were
-admitted; for wherever the Crust of the Earth has been
-subsiding for many ages on a large scale, the domain of the
-sea must of necessity have been considerably enlarged, and
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span>
-that of the land contracted in proportion. Again, this
-hypothesis will be found to harmonize most perfectly with
-all the phenomena of Fringing Reefs, Barrier Reefs, Encircling
-Reefs, and Lagoon Islands. The Fringing Reef
-represents, as it were, the first stage of progress. The
-building operations have just commenced near the shore
-of some island or continent, and but little space intervenes
-between the land and the incrusting wall of coral. Then,
-as the Crust of the Earth gradually subsides, the water encroaches
-on the land, and forms a channel between it and
-the reef. Meanwhile the Zoophytes are at work, and the
-coral rock is growing upward as the foundation on which
-it rests is sinking downward: each year it is higher from
-the bed of the sea, and yet no nearer to the surface of the
-waters. And when at length the channel, which is ever
-growing wider and wider, has reached a certain limit, the
-Fringing Reef becomes a Barrier Reef, or if it encompasses
-an island, an Encircling Reef. Lastly, the Encircling
-Reef will finally become a Lagoon Island, when the highest
-peaks of the land it encloses have slowly disappeared
-beneath the surface of the waters.</p>
-
-<p>In confirmation of this reasoning Mr. Darwin has pointed
-out numerous examples to illustrate each intermediate stage
-through which, according to his hypothesis, the Coral Reef
-must pass in the progress of its construction. He traces
-the gradual transition from the low bank of coral incrusting
-a rocky shore to the Encircling Reef that compasses round
-a lofty island, like Tahiti, with a broad channel between.
-Then he shows how this channel insensibly becomes wider
-and wider, encroaching more and more upon the land,
-until at length only a few high peaks remain above water.
-Finally he leads us on to the case of a perfect Atoll, within
-which no trace of land remains to be seen; and the channel,
-now become a lagoon, is encompassed by a Reef of
-Coral Rock that rises steeply from an unfathomed ocean.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span></p>
-
-<p>We do not mean to dwell upon this ingenious speculation,
-which would carry us too far from the object at which
-we are aiming. It seems to us, however, that the arguments
-in its favor are at least deserving of careful consideration;
-and we may add that they receive new strength from
-the facts we shall have occasion hereafter to bring forward,
-when we come to speak of the undulating movements to
-which the Crust of the Earth has been subject at many
-different times, and in many different localities, even within
-the historic period.</p>
-
-<p>The formation and structure of existing Coral Reefs being
-once fairly established, Geologists have little difficulty
-in ascribing a similar origin to many of the limestone
-strata that are found in the Crust of the Earth. For though
-the internal texture has been considerably modified in the
-long course of ages, by chemical and other influences,
-nevertheless the stony skeletons of the reef-building Zoophytes
-can be distinctly recognized in great abundance.
-Indeed it is not an uncommon thing to meet with limestone
-rock exhibiting plainly to the eye all the appearance
-of Coral Reefs lifted up from the bed of the ocean. “The
-Oolite,” says Doctor Mantell, “abounds in corals, and
-contains beds of limestone which are merely coral reefs
-that have undergone no change but that of elevation from
-the bottom of the deep, and the consolidation of their
-materials. The Coral-rag of Wilts presents in fact all the
-characters of modern reefs: the polypifera belong chiefly
-to the Astr&aelig;id&aelig;, the genera of which family principally
-contribute to the formations now going on in the Pacific.
-Shells, echinoderms, teeth, and bones of fishes, and other
-marine exuvi&aelig;, occupy the interstices between the corals,
-and the whole is consolidated by sand and gravel, held
-together in some instances by calcareous, in others by siliceous
-infiltrations. Those who have visited districts where
-the Coral-rag forms the immediate subsoil, and is exposed
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span>
-to view in the quarries or in natural sections, must have
-been struck with the resemblance of these rocks to modern
-coral banks.”<a id="FNanchor_56" href="#Footnote_56" class="fnanchor">56</a></p>
-
-<p>Even in many of our finest marbles the coral skeletons
-may be traced distinctly enough, and contribute not a little
-to that variegated color which is so much admired. Nay,
-it is recorded by Mr. Parkinson that he discovered in a piece
-of solid marble, the <i>animal membrane itself</i> by which the
-lime was originally abstracted from the sea. He immersed
-the marble in dilute muriatic acid; and he relates with delight
-how, as the calcareous earth dissolved, and the carbonic
-acid gas escaped, he observed the animal tissue
-begin distinctly to appear in the form of light, elastic membranes.<a id="FNanchor_57" href="#Footnote_57" class="fnanchor">57</a></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_140.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_141.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.<br />
-
-<span class="medium">STRATIFIED ROCKS OF ORGANIC ORIGIN&mdash;ILLUSTRATIONS FROM
-VEGETABLE LIFE.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Origin of coal&mdash;Evident traces of plants and trees in coal-mines&mdash;Coal
-made up of the same elements as wood&mdash;Beds
-of coal found resting upon clay in which are preserved the
-roots of trees&mdash;Insensible transition from wood to coal&mdash;Forest-covered
-swamps&mdash;Accumulations of drift-wood in
-lakes and estuaries&mdash;Peat bogs&mdash;Beds of Lignite&mdash;Seams of
-pure coal with half-carbonized trees, some lying prostrate,
-some standing erect&mdash;Summary of the argument hitherto
-pursued&mdash;Objection to this argument from the Omnipotence
-of God&mdash;Answer to the objection.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/a.jpg" alt="A" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">As</span> animals, by organic action, extract lime from the
-waters of the ocean they inhabit, which, being
-converted in the first instance into minute shells,
-or stony skeletons, afterward passes into a compact and
-solid rock, so in like manner do plants and trees extract
-carbon from the atmosphere in which they vegetate, and
-convert it into coal. No reasonable doubt can now be
-entertained that coal derives its existence, almost entirely,
-from the woody tissue of sunken swamps and forests.
-Though the nature of the process by which this transformation
-takes place, is yet but imperfectly understood, and is,
-indeed, at the present moment a subject of much discussion
-and controversy, nevertheless the <i>fact</i> that the change <i>has</i>
-taken place is fully accepted by all as an established truth,
-and is supported by an accumulation of evidence which it
-is not easy to resist.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span></p>
-
-<p>The first circumstance to which we shall call attention,
-is the wonderful profusion of vegetable life that is always
-associated with coal. Every one who has descended at
-any time into a coal mine, or who has examined the specimens
-usually exhibited in a well-furnished museum, must
-have been struck by the countless forms of trees and plants,
-which still remain vividly impressed on this black and unsightly
-mineral. Dr. Buckland has described this phenomenon
-with much vigor and beauty in his celebrated
-Bridgewater Treatise: “The finest example I have ever
-witnessed is that of the coal mines of Bohemia just mentioned.
-The most elaborate imitations of living foliage
-upon the painted ceilings of Italian palaces, bear no comparison
-with the beauteous profusion of extinct vegetable
-forms with which the galleries of these instructive coal
-mines are overhung. The roof is covered as with a canopy
-of gorgeous tapestry, enriched with festoons of most
-graceful foliage, flung in wild irregular profusion over
-every portion of its surface. The effect is heightened by
-the contrast of the coal-black color of these vegetables
-with the light ground-work of the rock to which they are
-attached. The spectator feels himself transported, as if
-by enchantment, into the forests of another world; he beholds
-trees of forms and characters now unknown upon
-the surface of the earth, presented to his senses almost in
-the beauty and vigor of their primeval life; their scaly stems
-and bending branches, with their delicate apparatus of
-foliage, are all spread forth before him, little impaired by
-the lapse of countless ages, and bearing faithful records of
-extinct systems of vegetation, which began and terminated
-in times of which these relics are the infallible historians.”</p>
-
-<div class="table figcenter">
-    <div id="fig_9" class="tcell">
-      <img src="images/fig_9.jpg" alt="" />
-      <p class="caption">Fig. 9.&mdash;Pecopteris Adiantoides.</p>
-    </div>
-
-    <div id="fig_10" class="tcell">
-      <img src="images/fig_10.jpg" alt="" />
-      <p class="caption">Fig. 10.&mdash;Sphenopteris Affinis.</p>
-    </div>
-</div>
-<p class="table">Fossil Ferns found in the Coal Measures of Europe and America.</p>
-
-<p>The next important fact that points to the vegetable
-origin of Coal is, that wood and Coal are both composed
-of the same ultimate elements&mdash;carbon, hydrogen, and
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span>
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span>
-oxygen. This analogy is the more remarkable when we
-are told that no other rock except Coal exhibits anything
-approaching to this composition. It is true that the elements
-just enumerated do not exist in the same proportions
-in wood and in Coal. But the difference, when rightly
-understood, rather tends to confirm our theory that the one
-is derived from the other. There is more Carbon in Coal
-than in wood; while there is less oxygen and less hydrogen.
-To explain how this may have come to pass during the
-process of transition, we must call in the assistance of the
-chemist. It appears from the researches of Liebig that,
-when vegetable matter is buried in the earth, exposed to
-moisture, and partially or entirely excluded from the air,
-the process of decomposition sets in, and that under this
-process carbonic acid gas and carburetted hydrogen gas are
-slowly evolved. At the same time a portion of the oxygen
-when set free would naturally enter into a new combination
-with a portion of the hydrogen, and form water. The
-result of these several changes would necessarily be, that
-the accumulation of vegetable matter buried in the earth
-would part, in course of time, with no small share of its
-carbon, its hydrogen, and its oxygen, but not with all in
-the same proportions: for the new combinations would
-use up more of the oxygen than of the hydrogen, and
-more of the hydrogen than of the carbon.<a id="FNanchor_58" href="#Footnote_58" class="fnanchor">58</a> In other
-words, if the process should have gone on for a sufficient
-lapse of ages, these elements would no longer exist together
-in the proportions which are necessary to constitute
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span>
-wood, but would rather exist in the proportions which are
-found to constitute coal.<a id="FNanchor_59" href="#Footnote_59" class="fnanchor">59</a></p>
-
-<p>This explanation is confirmed by a fact with which our
-readers are no doubt familiar. According to the explanation,
-carbonic acid and carburetted hydrogen are evolved
-during the process by which coal is produced from wood.
-We should therefore expect to find these gases closely associated
-with Coal. If they are <i>not</i> so associated, their absence
-is a serious objection against our theory; but if they
-<i>are</i> so associated, their presence is a strong evidence in its
-favor. Now on this point, as every one knows, practical
-miners bear testimony that the fact corresponds exactly with
-our theory. They tell us that reservoirs of Choke-damp,
-which is carbonic acid, and of Fire-damp, which is carburetted
-hydrogen, are found very commonly pent up in
-the crevices and cavities of coal beds, and are the cause,
-when tapped, of many of the accidents which take place.
-They even assure us that some beds of coal are so saturated
-with gas that, when cut into, it may be heard oozing from
-every pore of the rock, and the coal is called <i>singing coal</i>
-by the colliers.<a id="FNanchor_60" href="#Footnote_60" class="fnanchor">60</a></p>
-
-<p>To sum up, then, what we have said on this point: it
-appears, first, that the same constituent elements are found
-in wood and Coal; secondly, though they do not exist in
-the same proportions in the two substances, the difference
-is fully accounted for by the changes which we should
-naturally expect to take place when large accumulations of
-vegetable matter are buried in the earth; thirdly, in the
-hypothesis of these changes, carbonic acid and carburetted
-hydrogen would certainly be developed; and in point of
-fact, these gases are found intimately associated with Coal
-all over the world.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span></p>
-
-<p>There is another remarkable fact which fits in most admirably
-with our theory. Coal is found at the present day
-in the Crust of the Earth, disposed in thin seams or beds,
-and each bed is almost uniformly found to rest upon a
-stratum of fine clay, sometimes several feet in thickness.
-This is just what our theory would lead us to expect. If
-coal is produced from plants and trees, these plants and
-trees must have grown upon some suitable soil; and, therefore,
-in this hypothesis we should expect, ordinarily speaking
-at least, to find a bed of clay beneath every bed of coal.
-But this is not all. When we examine more closely the
-stratum on which the coal reposes, we find the roots and
-stems of trees mingled with the clay in the greatest profusion.
-In the Welsh coal field, in a depth of twelve thousand
-feet, there are from fifty to a hundred beds of coal, each
-lying on a stratum of clay abounding in these remains.<a id="FNanchor_61" href="#Footnote_61" class="fnanchor">61</a></p>
-
-<p>We now come to an argument of a practical kind which
-appeals to common sense and common experience. Let us
-suppose that a person wholly unacquainted with the art of
-manufacturing paper, were to enter a paper-mill when the
-workmen are away, and the process of manufacture for a
-time suspended. At first sight he would probably find it
-difficult to persuade himself, that the piles of clean white
-paper, which attract his notice at one end of the building,
-are produced from the heaps of filthy rags which he sees
-accumulated at the other. But if he be a sagacious observer,
-he will soon find evidence to convince him that this is
-really the case. For he will perceive, upon close examination,
-that the self-same material is exhibited in every intermediate
-state of progress from one extreme to the other.
-First, there is the great chest with its numerous compartments,
-in which the rags are seen carefully sorted, according
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">147</span>
-to their various degrees of quality and texture. Next
-comes the fulling-mill, where they are washed and bleached.
-Then the revolving cylinder, furnished on the exterior surface
-with sharp blades or cutters; and the vat in which it
-moves is filled with the rags, which now assume the form
-of a thin liquid pulp. Advancing still further he will see
-this pulp evenly spread out upon a wire-gauze frame, and
-now at last it is beginning to exhibit some likeness to the
-form and substance of paper. Further on it is seen pressed
-and dried; and last of all cut into sheets and laid aside in
-lofty piles.</p>
-
-<p>Now it seems to us that we are placed in somewhat of
-the same position, as regards the manufacture of Coal.
-We cannot observe the process actually going on; for
-though, in this process, the work is never suspended, the
-workmen never at rest, yet extending as it does over a space
-of many centuries, it is too slow to be sensible; and besides
-it is conducted in great part beneath the surface of
-the Earth. Nevertheless, we can trace the progress of
-change through each intermediate stage of the transition,
-from one extreme to the other,&mdash;from the primeval swamps
-and forests through the numerous varieties of the Peat and
-Lignite to the richest beds of pure Coal.</p>
-
-<p>First, then, we have the great forest-covered swamps,
-like those which now occupy the valley and delta of the
-Mississippi. They are composed in many cases of pure
-vegetable matter without any intermixture of earthy sediment.
-A dense growth of reeds, and shrubs, and herbage of
-every kind, covers the whole surface of the land, mixed up
-with the decaying leaves and prostrate trunks of forest-trees.
-Sir Charles Lyell mentions a very remarkable fact observed
-in the swamps of Louisiana. During an unusually hot
-season, when any part of a swamp is dried up, if the surface
-be set on fire, a pit is burned into the ground many
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span>
-feet deep, in fact, as far down as the fire can descend
-without meeting water; and it is then found that scarcely
-any residuum or earthy matter is left.<a id="FNanchor_62" href="#Footnote_62" class="fnanchor">62</a></p>
-
-<p>Vegetable strata of this kind are produced, not only upon
-dry land by the growth and decay of forests, but also beneath
-the waters of lakes and estuaries, by the accumulation
-of Drift-timber borne along in the current of swollen
-rivers. The Mackenzie River, which drains a great part
-of Northwestern America, affords many admirable illustrations.
-Flowing as it does from south to north, it is subject
-to annual inundations when the snows begin to melt
-in the higher parts of its course, while the channel lower
-down, situated in colder latitudes, is still blocked up with
-ice. At this season then it overflows its banks, and sweeping
-through vast forests, carries away thousands of uprooted
-trees in its impetuous torrent.</p>
-
-<p>“As the trees,” says Dr. Richardson, “retain their
-roots, which are often loaded with earth and stones, they
-readily sink, especially when water-soaked; and accumulating
-in the eddies, form shoals, which ultimately augment
-into islands. A thicket of small willows covers the
-new-formed island as soon as it appears above water, and
-their fibrous roots serve to bind the whole firmly together.
-Sections of these islands are annually made by the river;
-and it is interesting to study the diversities of appearances
-they present according to their different ages. The trunks
-of the trees gradually decay until they are converted into a
-blackish-brown substance resembling peat, but still retaining
-more or less of the fibrous structure of the wood; and
-layers of this often alternate with layers of clay and sand,
-the whole being penetrated, to a depth of four or five yards
-or more, by the long fibrous roots of the willows. A deposition
-of this kind, with the aid of a little infiltration of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span>
-bituminous matter, would produce an excellent imitation
-of Coal, with vegetable impressions of the willow roots.</p>
-
-<p>“It was in the rivers only that we could observe sections
-of these deposits; but the same operation goes on, on a
-much more magnificent scale, in the lakes. A shoal of
-many miles in extent is formed on the south side of Athabasca
-Lake by the Drift-timber and vegetable d&eacute;bris brought
-down by the Elk River; and the Slave Lake itself must in
-process of time be filled up by the matters daily conveyed
-into it from Slave River. Vast quantities of Drift-timber are
-buried under the sand at the mouth of the river, and enormous
-piles of it are accumulated on the shores of every
-part of the lake.”</p>
-
-<p>Not unfrequently it happens that these strata of vegetable
-matter, with the roots and trunks of trees, their branches,
-fruits, and leaves, more or less perfectly preserved, are
-covered over by subsequent deposits. Such accumulations,
-we are assured by Doctor Mantell, have been found
-deep in the soil on the coast of England, in places that are
-still subject to periodical inundations. “The trees are
-chiefly of the oak, hazel, fir, birch, yew, willow, and ash;
-in short, almost every kind that is indigenous to this island
-occasionally occurs. The trunks and branches are dyed
-throughout of a deep ebony color by iron; and the wood
-is firm and heavy, and occasionally fit for domestic use; in
-Yorkshire and elsewhere, timber of this kind is sometimes
-employed in the construction of houses.”<a id="FNanchor_63" href="#Footnote_63" class="fnanchor">63</a> Here, then,
-is the first stage of the conversion of wood into Coal,&mdash;a
-stratum more or less compacted together of vegetable matter,
-spread out sometimes over the surface of the dry land,
-sometimes on the floor of lakes and estuaries, and often
-buried beneath an accumulation of subsequent deposits.</p>
-
-<p>The next stage in the process of transformation may be
-represented by those Peat Bogs which constitute one of the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">150</span>
-most remarkable physical characteristics of Ireland, covering
-as they do an area equal to one-tenth of the whole
-island. In these the vegetable matter is more closely condensed,
-but the structure of the plants from which the Peat
-is derived is still preserved, and may be distinctly recognized
-by the naked eye. Nay, we have still the prostrate
-trunks of trees lying around on every side as they fell to
-the ground in their ancient forests. The researches recently
-pursued upon this subject have brought to light a fact which
-is very much to our present purpose; for it seems to prove
-our thesis by direct evidence. “In Limerick, in the district
-of Maine, one of the States of North America, there
-are Peat Bogs of considerable extent, in which a substance
-exactly similar to <i>cannel coal</i> is found at the depth of three
-or four feet from the surface amidst the remains of rotten
-logs of wood and <i>beaver sticks</i>: the peat is twenty feet thick,
-and rests upon white sand. This coal was discovered on
-digging a ditch to drain a portion of the bog, for the purpose
-of obtaining peat for manure. The substance is a
-true bituminous coal, containing more bitumen than is
-found in any other variety. Polished sections of the compact
-masses exhibit the peculiar structure of coniferous
-trees, and prove that the coal was derived from a species
-allied to the American Fir.”<a id="FNanchor_64" href="#Footnote_64" class="fnanchor">64</a> A similar phenomenon was
-observed by Doctor Dieffenbach in the Chathain Islands.
-In the same bed of peat he was able distinctly to trace a
-gradual transition from pure vegetable matter to a mineral
-substantially identical with common coal.<a id="FNanchor_65" href="#Footnote_65" class="fnanchor">65</a></p>
-
-<p>But though Peat may thus, as it should seem, pass directly
-into pure Coal, there are many cases in which it first
-assumes a more imperfect form, known under the name of
-Lignite. This substance is described as of a brownish
-color, “soft and mellow in consistence when freshly
-quarried, but becoming brittle by exposure, the fracture
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span>
-following the direction of the fibre of the wood.”<a id="FNanchor_66" href="#Footnote_66" class="fnanchor">66</a> It
-clearly occupies an intermediate position between Peat and
-Coal. Like the former, it still exhibits the stems and
-woody fibre of the plants from which it is derived, very
-little altered in their structure; while on the other hand it
-is already beginning to acquire some of the consistency and
-density of Coal; to which also it approaches much more
-closely in its chemical composition. It should be remembered,
-moreover, that Lignite does not designate a substance
-of a fixed, invariable character. On the contrary,
-under the one general name are comprised a definite number
-of varieties, leading from one extreme to the other by a
-series of almost insensible gradations; the extreme variety
-on one side being scarcely distinguishable from Peat, while
-the extreme variety on the other is practically identical
-with ordinary Coal. It can hardly be doubted, therefore, that
-Coal must have the same origin as Lignite, while it is at
-least equally certain that Lignite has been derived from
-Peat; and we have already seen what overwhelming evidence
-may be adduced to show that the origin of Peat is to
-be sought for in the sunken swamps and forests of a long
-past age.</p>
-
-<p>Lastly, when we come to examine the texture of Coal
-itself, we find much to confirm the conclusion at which we
-have thus arrived. In beds of pure Coal the remains of
-many species of plants have been detected, and sometimes
-in such abundance as to constitute visibly the bulk of the
-Coal. Even large trees are sometimes found standing
-erect in the Coal fields, with their bark actually converted
-into this mineral. The annexed Figure represents a portion
-of the stem, together with the roots of a tall forest tree,
-Sigillaria, discovered not long ago in a Coal mine at Saint
-Helens, near Liverpool. The stem, which was nine feet
-high, was found erect in the seam of Coal, while the roots,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span>
-ten in number, stretched away into the vegetable soil beneath.</p>
-
-<div id="fig_11" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_11.jpg" alt="" />
-<p>Fig. 11.&mdash;Stem and roots of a Forest Tree, Sigillaria. From a Coal-mine,
-near Liverpool.</p>
-
-<p class="table">
-<i>a</i>, The trunk traversing a bed of Coal.<br />
-<i>b</i>, The roots spreading out in the underclay.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Not less than thirty such trees, some of them four or five
-feet in diameter, and all incrusted with Coal, were laid bare
-a short time since, in a Colliery near Newcastle, within an
-area of fifty yards square. “In 1830,” writes Sir Charles
-Lyell, “a slanting trunk was exposed in Craigleith quarry,
-near Edinburgh, the total length of which exceeded sixty
-feet. Its diameter at the top was about seven inches, and
-near the base, it measured five feet in its greater, and two
-feet in its lesser, width. The bark was converted into a thin
-coating of the purest and finest Coal.” Again, “in South
-Staffordshire, a seam of Coal was laid bare in the year 1844,
-in what is called an open work at Parkfield Colliery, near
-Wolverhampton. In the space of about a quarter of an
-acre, the stumps of no less than seventy-three trees, with
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span>
-their roots attached, appeared, some of them more than
-eight feet in circumference. The trunks, broken off close
-to the root, were lying prostrate in every direction, often
-crossing each other. One of them measured fifteen, another
-thirty feet in length, and others less. They were
-invariably flattened to the thickness of one or two inches,
-and converted into Coal. Their roots formed part of a
-stratum of Coal ten inches thick, which rested on a layer
-of clay two inches thick, below which was a second forest
-resting on a two-foot seam of Coal. Five feet below this
-again was a third forest, with large stumps of Lepidodendra,
-Calamites, and other trees.”<a id="FNanchor_67" href="#Footnote_67" class="fnanchor">67</a></p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>We have now brought to a close a very important line
-of argument in the Science of Geology. We have pointed
-out that, in the strata which compose the Crust of the Earth,
-there are rocks of various kinds, distinguished from one
-another as well by the nature of the materials which compose
-them, as by the manner in which these materials are
-arranged together; and we have shown that rocks presenting
-the same general appearances, and composed of exactly
-the same materials, are being produced in the present
-age upon the Surface of the Earth, through the agency of
-natural causes. Moreover, we have closely examined, in
-certain cases, the nature of the process by which the formation
-of these rocks is accomplished at the present day; and
-we have seen how difficult it is, when the facts of the case
-are once clearly before us, to resist the conclusion that the
-rocks which we now find buried in the Earth, were produced
-in some former age, by the same causes which are
-still at work. We shall next proceed to inquire how far
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span>
-this conclusion is confirmed by the independent evidence
-of Fossil Remains.</p>
-
-<p>But before entering on a new line of argument, it is fit we
-should take notice of an objection which has sometimes
-been urged against the reasoning we have hitherto pursued,
-and which has done much to create and to keep
-alive a prejudice unfavorable to the Science of Geology.
-Religious writers have not unfrequently insinuated, and
-sometimes have plainly asserted, that, in ascribing the present
-structure of the Earth’s Crust to the operation of natural
-causes, Geologists would seem to make no account of
-God’s Omnipotence. A moment’s reflection will convince
-the reader that this charge is utterly unphilosophical. Is it
-not plain that the more fully we appreciate and acknowledge
-the wonderful works of Nature, the more deeply must
-we become impressed with the power and wisdom of Him
-who is the Author and Ruler of Nature? To say that
-secondary causes exist, and to point out the monuments that
-bear witness to their operation in long passed ages, is not to
-deny, but rather to affirm the existence of a Great First
-Cause, upon whom they all depend for their existence,
-their preservation, and their guidance.</p>
-
-<p>We are everywhere reminded by abundant evidence, that
-it has pleased the Great Creator to employ the agency of
-His creatures in the fashioning and the adorning of this
-material universe. He does not create at once, as He well
-might do, the great oak of the forest; but He allows the
-seed to sink into the earth, where it is watered by the gentle
-dews of Heaven, and fructified by the genial warmth of the
-sun; soon it puts forth a tender germ; the germ, in time,
-imbibing the elements of its support from the air and the
-earth, becomes a sappling, and the sappling a tree, which
-spreads its huge branches on every side, and serves for
-many purposes of ornament and of use. Or let us take the
-case of the honeycomb, that most curious and ingenious
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span>
-work, at once the palace and the storehouse of a vast and
-busy community. It is not produced in a moment by a
-simple act of creation. God has not made it Himself,
-but He has taught the bee to make it. In like manner He
-has provided for the little birds, not by building their nests,
-but by infusing into their nature that mysterious instinct
-which prompts them to build, and guides them in their
-work.</p>
-
-<p>Geologists, therefore, when they undertake to explain the
-existence of Stratified Rocks, not by the immediate action
-of the Creator, but by the intervention of natural causes,
-are not on that account to be accused of impiety. They
-do not disparage, but rather magnify His glory, when they
-expatiate upon the endless variety of agents which, according
-to their theory, He has employed in the structure of the
-material world. If the honeycomb, as a work of contrivance
-and design, excites the wonder and admiration of the
-philosopher, what must we think of the contrivance and
-design exhibited by Him who has made, not the honeycomb
-only, but the bee that builds the honeycomb? And
-so, too, we get novel and unexpected views of God’s
-Omnipotence, when, through the science of Geology, we
-come to understand the vast and harmonious series of
-secondary causes by which he has brought the Crust of the
-Earth into its present form and shape. The impress of His
-hand is stamped upon His works; and all that is wonderful
-and attractive in Nature is but the token of His power and
-the shadow of His beauty. And so our national poet has
-sung:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">“Thou art, O <span class="smcap">God</span>, the life and light<br /></span>
-<span class="i2">Of all this wondrous world we see;<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">Its glow by day, its smile by night,<br /></span>
-<span class="i2">Are but reflections caught from Thee.<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">Where’er we turn, Thy glories shine,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">And all things fair and bright are Thine.”<br /></span>
-</div></div>
-</div>
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_156.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_X"><i>CHAPTER X.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">FOSSIL REMAINS&mdash;THE MUSEUM.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Recapitulation&mdash;Scope of our argument&mdash;Theory of stratified
-rocks the framework of geological science&mdash;The theory brings
-geology into contact with revelation&mdash;the line of reasoning
-hitherto pursued confirmed by the testimony of fossil remains&mdash;Meaning
-of the word fossil&mdash;Inexhaustible abundance of
-fossils&mdash;Various states of preservation&mdash;Petrifaction&mdash;Experiments
-of Professor G&ouml;ppert&mdash;Organic rocks afford some insight
-into the fossil world&mdash;The reality and significance of
-fossil remains must be learned from observation&mdash;The British
-Museum&mdash;Colossal skeletons&mdash;Bones and shells of animals&mdash;Fossil
-plants and trees.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/r.jpg" alt="R" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">Reader</span>, you are beginning to suspect us. ‘How
-long do we propose to detain people?’ For anything
-that appears we may be designing to write
-on to the twentieth century. ‘And <i>whither</i> are we going?’
-Toward what object? which is as urgent a qu&aelig;re as, <i>how
-far</i>? Perhaps we may be leading you into treason. You
-feel symptoms of doubt and restiveness; and like Hamlet
-with his father’s ghost, “you will follow us no further unless
-we explain what it is that we are in quest of.”</p>
-
-<p>These words of Thomas De Quincey to his readers, in
-the middle of one of his discursive essays, which, interesting
-as they certainly are in all their parts, yet sometimes
-beget a feeling of weariness from the uncomfortable apprehension
-that they will not come to an end, are, perhaps,
-scarcely less appropriate in our own case. It may be that
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</span>
-our readers have been left too long in the uneasy state of
-suspense and hope deferred. They came to our pages to
-look for a practical solution of the question, Is Geology at
-variance with the Bible? And what avails it, they may ask,
-to discourse to them of the Gulf Stream, and Rivers, and
-Glaciers, and Alluvial Plains, and Coral Rocks, and Coal
-Mines? With painful steps they have been toiling after us
-through tedious disquisitions, straining their eyes to see the
-end, but the end is not yet in sight. Well, then, if they
-will rest for a few minutes by the way, we will pause, too,
-and tell them what we are about, and try to bring out more
-clearly the object at which we are aiming.</p>
-
-<p>Our design from the beginning was to consider the
-points of contact between Geology and Revelation; to examine
-the relations that exist between these two departments
-of knowledge,&mdash;one resting upon reason and observation,
-the other given to us from Heaven; and to inquire
-how far it may be possible to adopt the conclusions of the
-former, while we adhere, at the same time, with unswerving
-fidelity, to the unchangeable truths of the latter. With
-this end in view, we proceeded at once to sketch out the more
-prominent features of Geological theory; not the particular
-theory of one writer, or of one school, but that more general
-theory which is adopted by all writers, and prevails in
-every school. This theory, we were all well aware, is in
-many points widely at variance with the common notions
-of sensible and even well-informed men who have not
-devoted much attention to the study of Physical Science.
-And it occurred to us that, possibly, many of our readers
-might be disposed to cut the controversy short by rejecting,
-in a summary way, the whole system of Geology, and treating
-it as an empty shadow or an idle dream. This, we
-were convinced, would be a mistaken and mischievous
-course. Geology is not a house of cards that it may be
-blown down by a breath. It is a hypothesis, a theory, if
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</span>
-you will; but no one can in fairness deny that behind this
-theory there are facts,&mdash;unexpected, startling, significant
-facts; that these facts, when considered in their relation to
-one another, when illustrated by the present phenomena of
-Nature, and skilfully grouped together, as they have been
-by able men, disclose certain general truths, and suggest
-certain arguments, which do seem to point in the direction
-of those conclusions at which Geologists have arrived.</p>
-
-<p>It follows that he who would investigate fairly the claims
-of Geology, must first learn to appreciate the significance
-of these facts, and to estimate the value of these arguments.
-And this is precisely what we have been trying to do. We
-are not writing a treatise on Geology. Certainly not: it
-would be presumptuous in us, with our scanty knowledge,
-to attempt it. Besides, Geology has it own professors, and
-its lecture-halls, and its manuals. Neither do we mean to
-assume the character of the advocates or champions of
-Geology. It does not ask our services; in its cause are
-enrolled no small proportion of the most illustrious names
-which for the last fifty years have adorned the annals of
-Physical Science. Nor do we want even to enforce upon
-our readers that more general theory of Geology which we
-are endeavoring to explain and illustrate. Our purpose is
-merely to collect from various sources, and to string together,
-the evidence that may be adduced in its favor; that
-so, when we come hereafter to consider this theory in its
-relation with the History of the Bible, we may not incur the
-risk of discomfiture by denying that which has been proved
-by facts, but rather approach the subject with such knowledge
-as may help us to discover the real harmony that we know
-to exist between the truths inscribed on the works of God,
-and those which are recorded in His Written Word.</p>
-
-<p>In the accomplishment of this task we have devoted ourselves
-chiefly to the study of the Aqueous or Stratified
-Rocks. According to Geologists, these rocks, such as we
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span>
-find them now, were not the immediate work of creation,
-but were slowly produced in the long lapse of ages, and
-laid out one above another, by a vast and complex machinery
-of secondary causes. The elements of which they
-are composed were gathered together from many and various
-sources; from the ocean, from the air, from other pre-existing
-rocks; and, for aught we know, may have had a
-long and eventful history before they came to assume their
-present structure and arrangement. Thus, for example,
-the Conglomerates, and Sandstones, with which we are so
-familiar, are made up of broken fragments derived from
-earlier rocks, and then transported to distant sites by the
-mountain torrents, or the stately rivers of vast continents,
-or the silent currents of the sea; the Limestone with which
-we build our houses is the work of living animals that once
-swarmed in countless myriads beneath the waters of the
-ocean; and the Coal which supplies the motive power to
-our manufactories, our railways, our ships of war and commerce,
-is but the modern representative of ancient swamps
-and forests, which, having been buried in the earth, and
-there, by the action of chemical laws, endowed with new
-properties, were laid by for the future use of man in the
-great storehouse of Nature.</p>
-
-<p>This mode of accounting for the origin and formation of
-Stratified Rocks constitutes in a manner the framework
-that supports and binds together the whole system of Geology.
-If it be once fairly established, Geology is entitled to
-take high rank as a Physical Science. If on the contrary it
-should prove to be without foundation, then Geology is no
-longer a science, but a dream. Moreover, it is this theory
-of stratification which, from the first, has brought Geology
-into contact with Revelation. For Geologists have been
-led to infer the extreme Antiquity of the Earth, from the
-immense thickness of the Stratified Rocks on the one hand,
-and, on the other, the very slow and gradual process by
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span>
-which each stratum in the series has been, in its turn, spread
-out and consolidated. Those likewise who claim for the
-Human Race a greater Antiquity than the Bible allows,
-seek for their proofs in the supposed origin and antiquity
-of those superficial deposits, in which the remains of Man
-or of his works are sometimes found entombed.</p>
-
-<p>It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that the theory of
-Stratified Rocks should engage the largest share of our
-attention when we undertake to discuss the relation in
-which Geology stands to Revealed Religion. For the
-present we say nothing about the conclusions that flow from
-this theory, or the errors to which it has led when hastily or
-ignorantly applied: we are only investigating the evidence
-by which it is supported. In our former chapters we have
-drawn out at some length the line of reasoning which is
-derived from the character of the Aqueous Rocks themselves
-when considered in the light of Nature’s present
-operations. We have shown that Stratified Rocks of many
-different kinds, just such as those which compose the Crust
-of the Earth, have been produced by natural causes within
-historic times; and we have explained some of the more
-simple and intelligible parts of that complex machinery,
-which, even now, is busily at work gathering, sorting, distributing,
-piling up together, and consolidating the materials
-of new strata all over the world. These considerations,
-as we took occasion to point out, beget a strong presumption
-in favor of Geological theory. Here we have Nature
-at work, actually bringing into existence a stratum of rock
-before our eyes. And there, in the Crust of the Earth, we
-find another stratum of precisely the same kind already finished.
-What can be more reasonable than to ascribe the one
-to the action of the same causes which we see at work upon
-the other? And thus, by extending the area of our observations
-from one class of Aqueous Rocks to another, the
-idea gradually grows upon us that these rocks have been
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span>
-spread out, stratum upon stratum, during many successive
-ages, by the agency of secondary causes similar to those
-which are still in operation; and that each stratum, in its
-turn, as it first came into existence, was for a time the
-uppermost of the series.</p>
-
-<p>In support of this conclusion we are now about to bring
-forward a new and independent argument founded on the
-testimony of Fossil Remains. An eminent writer has
-summed up in a few words the value and importance of
-Fossil Remains in reference to Geological theory. “At
-present,” he says, “shells, fishes, and other animals are
-buried in the mud or silt of lakes and estuaries; rivers
-also carry down the carcases of land animals, the trunks
-of trees, and other vegetable drift; and earthquakes submerge
-plains and islands, with all their vegetable and
-animal inhabitants. These remains become enveloped in
-the layers of mud and sand and gravel formed by the
-waters, and in process of time are petrified, that is, are
-converted into stony matter like the shells and bones found
-in the oldest strata. Now, as at present, so in all former
-time must the remains of plants and animals have been
-similarly preserved; and, as one tribe of plant is peculiar
-to the dry plain, another to the swampy morass; as one
-family belongs to a temperate, another to a tropical region,
-so, from the character of the embedded plants, we are
-enabled to arrive at some knowledge of the conditions
-under which they flourished. In the same manner with
-animals: each tribe has its locality assigned it by peculiarities
-of food, climate, and the like; each family has its
-own peculiar structure for running, flying, swimming,
-plant-eating, or flesh-eating, as the case may be; and by
-comparing Fossil Remains with existing races, we are
-enabled to determine many of the past conditions of the
-world with considerable certainty.”<a id="FNanchor_68" href="#Footnote_68" class="fnanchor">68</a>
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">162</span></p>
-
-<p>On this branch of our subject we do not mean to offer
-much in the way of argument strictly so called. We shall
-content ourselves with a simple statement of facts, and
-leave them to produce their own impression. It will be
-necessary at the outset to explain some technical matters,
-that what we have to say hereafter may be the better understood:
-and if in this we are somewhat dry and tiresome,
-we will try to make amends by the curious and interesting
-story of Nature’s long buried works, which we hope in the
-sequel to unfold.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>When the word <i>Fossil</i> was first introduced into the English
-language, it was employed to designate, as the etymology
-suggests, whatever is <i>dug out of the earth</i>.<a id="FNanchor_69" href="#Footnote_69" class="fnanchor">69</a> But it is
-now generally used in a much more restricted sense, being
-applied only to the remains of plants and animals embedded
-in the Crust of the Earth and there preserved by
-natural causes. When we speak of remains, we must be
-understood to include even those seemingly transient
-impressions, such as foot-prints in the sand, which having
-been made permanent by accidental circumstances, and
-thus engraved, as it were, on the archives of Nature, now
-bear witness to the former existence of organic life.</p>
-
-<p>Now in every part of the world where the Stratified
-Rocks have been laid open to view, remains of this kind
-are found scattered on all sides in the most profuse abundance.
-In Europe, in America, in Australia, in the frozen
-wastes of Siberia, in the countless islands scattered over
-the waters of the Pacific, there is scarcely a single formation,
-from the lowest in the series to the highest, that, when it is
-fairly explored, does not yield up vast stores of shells, together
-with bones and teeth, nay, sometimes whole skeletons
-of animals; also fragments of wood, impressions of
-leaves, and other organic substances.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">163</span></p>
-
-<div id="fig_12" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_12.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 12.&mdash;Fossil Irish Deer (County Fermanagh). In the Museum of
-Trinity College, Dublin. From Haughton’s Manual of Geology</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>These Fossil Remains do not always occur in the same
-state of preservation. Sometimes we have the bone, or
-plant, or shell, in its natural condition; still retaining not
-only its own peculiar form and structure, but likewise the
-very same organic substance of which it was originally
-composed. Examples innumerable may be seen in the
-British Museum, or, indeed, in almost any Geological collection:
-the fine skeletons of ancient Irish Deer, which
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">164</span>
-are exhibited in the Museum of Trinity College, Dublin,
-and of which all the bones are in excellent preservation,
-must be familiar to many of our readers.</p>
-
-<p>It happens, however, more frequently that the organic
-substance itself has disappeared, but has left an impression
-on the rock, that now bears witness to its former presence.
-Thus, for instance, when a shell has been dissolved and
-carried away by water percolating the rock, it has very
-often left after it, on the hard stone, a mould of its outer
-surface and a cast of its inner surface, with a cavity between
-corresponding to the thickness of the shell. In such cases
-we have the form, the size, and the superficial markings of
-the organic body, but we have no part of its original
-substance, and no traces of its internal structure. This
-form of fossilization, as Sir Charles Lyell has well put
-it, “may be easily understood if we examine the mud
-recently thrown out from a pond or canal in which there
-are shells. If the mud be argillaceous, it acquires consistency
-in drying, and on breaking open a portion of it,
-we find that each shell has left impressions of its external
-form. If we then remove the shell itself, we find within a
-solid nucleus of clay, having the form of the interior of
-the shell.”<a id="FNanchor_70" href="#Footnote_70" class="fnanchor">70</a> In many cases the space first occupied by the
-shell is not left empty when the shell has been removed,
-but is filled up with some mineral substance, such as lime
-or flint. The mineral thus introduced becomes the exact
-counterpart of the organic body which has disappeared;
-and has been justly compared to a bronze statue, which exhibits
-the exterior form and lineaments, but not the internal
-organization nor the substance of the object it represents.</p>
-
-<p>There is a third form more wonderful still, in which
-Fossil Remains are not uncommonly found. The original
-body has passed away as in the former case, and yet not
-only does its <i>outward shape</i> remain, but even its <i>internal
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span>
-texture</i> is perfectly preserved in the solid stone which has
-taken its place. This kind of change is exhibited most
-remarkably in the vegetable kingdom. Fossil trees of
-great size have been discovered of which <i>the whole substance
-has been changed from wood to stone</i>: yet with such exquisite
-skill has the change been effected that the minute cells and
-fibres, and the rings of annual growth, may still be clearly
-traced; nay, even those delicate spiral vessels which, from
-their extreme minuteness, can be discerned only by the aid
-of the microscope. Thus the tree remains complete in all
-its parts; but it is no longer a tree of wood; it is, so to
-speak, a tree of stone.</p>
-
-<p>The mystery of this extraordinary transformation has not
-yet been fully cleared up by scientific men; but the general
-principle, at least, is sufficiently understood. It is thus
-briefly explained by Sir Charles Lyell: “If an organic substance
-is exposed in the open air to the action of the sun
-and rain, it will in time putrefy, or be dissolved into its
-component elements, consisting usually of oxygen, hydrogen,
-nitrogen, and carbon. These will readily be absorbed
-by the atmosphere or be washed away by rain, so that all
-vestiges of the dead animal or plant disappear. But if the
-same substances be submerged in water, they decompose
-more gradually; and if buried in the earth, still more slowly,
-as in the familiar example of wooden piles or other buried
-timber. Now, if as fast as each particle is set free by
-putrefaction in a fluid or gaseous state, a particle equally
-minute of carbonate of lime, flint, or other mineral is at
-hand and ready to be precipitated, we may imagine this
-inorganic matter to take the place just before left unoccupied
-by the organic molecule. In this manner a cast of
-the interior of certain vessels may first be taken, and afterward
-the more solid walls of the same may decay and
-suffer a like transmutation.”<a id="FNanchor_71" href="#Footnote_71" class="fnanchor">71</a> This exposition, so simple
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">166</span>
-and luminous in itself, may, perhaps, be rendered still more
-intelligible to the general reader by an ingenious illustration
-of Mr. Jukes. “It is,” he says, “as if a house were
-gradually rebuilt, brick by brick, or stone by stone, a brick
-or a stone of a different kind having been substituted for
-each of the former ones, the shape and size of the house, the
-forms and arrangements of its rooms, passages, and closets,
-and even the number and shape of the bricks and stones,
-remaining unaltered.”<a id="FNanchor_72" href="#Footnote_72" class="fnanchor">72</a></p>
-
-<p>This singular kind of petrifaction, by which not only
-the external form, but even the organic tissue itself, is converted
-into stone, has been illustrated, in a very interesting
-way, by Professor G&ouml;ppert of Breslau. With a view to imitate
-as nearly as he could the process of Nature, “he steeped
-a variety of animal and vegetable substances in waters, some
-holding siliceous, others calcareous, others metallic matter
-in solution. He found that in the period of a few weeks,
-or even days, the organic bodies thus immersed were mineralized
-to a certain extent. Thus, for example, thin vertical
-slices of deal, taken from the Scotch fir, were immersed
-in a moderately strong solution of sulphate of iron. When
-they had been thoroughly soaked in the liquid for several
-days, they were dried and exposed to a red heat until the
-vegetable matter was burnt up and nothing remained but
-an oxide of iron, which was found to have taken the form of
-the deal so exactly that casts even of the dotted vessels peculiar
-to this family of plants were distinctly visible under the
-microscope.”<a id="FNanchor_73" href="#Footnote_73" class="fnanchor">73</a></p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>If we have succeeded in making ourselves understood,
-the reader will now have a pretty accurate notion of what
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">167</span>
-is meant, in modern Geology, by Fossil Remains. They
-are the remains or impressions of plants and animals, buried
-in the earth by natural causes, and preserved to our time in
-any one of the three forms we have just described. Either
-the body itself remains, still retaining its own natural substance,
-together with its external form and its internal structure.
-Or secondly, the organic substance and the organic
-structure have both disappeared, but the outward form and
-the superficial markings have been left impressed on the
-solid rock. Or thirdly, the substance of the body has been
-converted into stone, but with such a delicate art, that it is
-in all respects, outwardly and inwardly, still the same body,
-with a new substance. We should observe, however, that
-these three different forms of fossilization, which we have
-successively described, are not always clearly distinct in
-actual fossil specimens, but are often curiously blended
-together according as the original organic substance has been
-more or less completely displaced, or the process of petrifaction
-has been more or less perfectly accomplished.</p>
-
-<p>It will probably have occurred to the intelligent reader that
-we have already had some insight into the Fossil world, when
-investigating the origin of Organic Rocks. We have seen, for
-instance, that Coal is the representative to our age of swamps
-and forests which once covered the earth with vegetation;
-that Mountain Limestone is in great part formed from the
-skeletons of reef-building corals; that the White Chalk of
-Europe is almost entirely derived from the remains of
-marine shells. But it should be observed that these and
-such like rocks, while they afford us much valuable information
-about the ancient organic condition of our planet, are
-not, strictly speaking, Fossil Remains. For, not only does
-the substance of the organic bodies they represent exhibit
-an altered character, but the internal structure has been in
-great part effaced, and even the outward forms and superficial
-markings have disappeared. They contain, it is true,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">168</span>
-great multitudes of Fossils. In the Coal, for example, are
-found, as we have seen, trunks of trees, together with the
-impressions of plants and leaves: in the Chalk and Mountain
-Limestone, fragments of shells and corals are often discovered
-in a state of perfect preservation. But the bulk of these
-formations is made up not so much of Fossil Remains, as
-of that into which Fossil Remains have been converted.
-Coal, for instance, is something more than Fossil wood;
-Chalk, and Limestone, and Marble, are something more
-than Fossil shells and corals.</p>
-
-<p>Fossil Remains properly so called present a very much more
-lively picture of the ancient inhabitants of our Globe. But
-it is a picture that can but faintly be conveyed to the mind
-by the way of mere verbal description. He who would appreciate
-aright the reality and the significance of Fossil Remains
-must gather his impressions from actual observation.
-Let him go, for instance, to the British Museum, and walk
-slowly through the long suite of noble galleries which are
-there exclusively devoted to this branch of science. He
-will feel as if transported into another world, the reality of
-which he could scarcely have believed if he had not seen it
-with his own eyes. Before him, and behind him, and on each
-side of him, as he moves along, are spread out in long
-array forms of beasts, and birds, and fish, and amphibious
-animals, such as he has never seen before, nor dreamt of in
-his wildest dreams. Yet much as he may wonder at these
-strange figures, he never for a moment doubts that they
-were once indued with life, and moved over the surface of
-the earth, or disported in the waters of the deep. Nay
-more, though the forms are new to him, he will be at no
-loss, however inexperienced in Natural History, to find
-many analogies between the creation in the midst of which
-he stands, and the creation with which he has been hitherto
-familiar. There are quadrupeds, and bipeds, and reptiles.
-Some of the animals were manifestly designed to walk on
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">169</span>
-dry land, some to swim in the sea, and some to fly in the
-air. Some are armed with claws like the lion or the tiger,
-others have the paddles of a turtle, and others again have
-the fins of a fish. Here is an enormous beast that might
-almost pass for an elephant, though an experienced eye will
-not fail to detect an important difference; and there is an
-amphibious monster that suggests the idea of a crocodile;
-and again a little further on is an unsightly creature which
-unites the general characteristics of the diminutive sloth
-with the colossal proportions of the largest rhinoceros.</p>
-
-<p>If left to mere conjecture, the visitor would perhaps
-suppose that these uncouth monsters had been brought together
-by some adventurous traveller from the remote regions
-of the world. But no: he will find on inquiry that the
-vast majority belong to species which for centuries have
-not been known to flourish on the Earth; and that many
-of the strangest forms before him have been dug up almost
-from beneath the very soil on which he stands,&mdash;from the
-quarries of Surrey, of Sussex, and of Kent, and from the
-deep cuttings on the many lines of railway that diverge from
-the great metropolis of London. The life they represent
-so vividly is, indeed, widely different from that which flourishes
-around us; but it is the life not so much of a far
-distant country as of a far distant age.</p>
-
-<p>It must not be supposed, however, that such skeletons as
-those which first arrest the eye in the galleries of the British
-Museum&mdash;so colossal in their proportions and so complete
-in all their details&mdash;fairly exhibit the general character
-of Fossil Remains. Perfect skeletons of gigantic animals
-are rarely to be found. They are the exception and
-not the general rule,&mdash;the magnificent reward of long and
-toilsome exploration, or, it may be, the chance discovery
-that brings wealth to the humble home of some rustic
-laborer. Very different are the common every day discoveries
-of the working Geologist. Disjointed bones and
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">170</span>
-skulls, scattered teeth, fragments of shells, the eggs of birds,
-the impressions of leaves,&mdash;these are the ordinary relics that
-Nature has stored up for our instruction in the various
-strata of the Earth’s Crust: and these likewise constitute
-by far the greater part of the treasures which are gathered
-together in our Geological Museums.</p>
-
-<p>We will suppose, then, that the visitor has gratified his
-sense of wonder in gazing at the larger and more striking
-forms, few in number, that rise up prominently before him,
-and seem to stare at him in return from their hollow sockets:
-he must next turn his attention to the cases that stand
-against the walls, and to the cabinets that stretch along the
-galleries in distant perspective. Let him survey that multitude
-of bones of every shape and size, and those countless
-legions of shells, and then try to realize to his mind what a
-profusion and variety of animal life are here represented.
-And yet he must remember that this is but a single collection.
-There are thousands of others, public and private,
-scattered over England, France, Germany, Italy, and beyond
-the Atlantic, on the continent of America, and even
-in Australia; all of which have been furnished from a few
-isolated spots,&mdash;scarcely more than specks on the surface
-of the Globe,&mdash;where the interior of the Earth’s Crust has
-chanced to be laid open to the explorations of the Geologist.</p>
-
-<p>Lastly, before he leaves this splendid gallery, let him take
-a passing glance at the Organic Remains of the vegetable
-world. There is no mistaking the forms here presented to
-his view. He will recognize at once the massive and lofty
-trunks of forest trees with their spreading branches; the
-tender foliage of the lesser plants; and, in particular, the
-graceful fern, which cannot fail to attract his eye by its
-unrivalled luxuriance. But if the forms are familiar, how
-strange is the substance, of this ancient vegetation! The
-forest tree has been turned into sandstone; many of
-the plants are of the hardest flint; and the rich green of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">171</span>
-the fern has given place to the jet black color of coal. Let
-him take a magnifying glass and scrutinize the internal
-structure of these mineralized remains; for the more closely
-they are examined the more wonderful do they appear.
-He can observe without difficulty their minute cells and
-fibres, the exact counterpart of those which may be seen
-in the plants that are now growing upon the earth; he may
-detect the little seed-vessels on the under surface of the
-coaly fern; nay, if he gets a polished transverse section of
-the sandstone tree, he may count the rings that mark its
-annual growth, and tell the age it attained in its primeval
-forest.</p>
-
-<div id="fig_13" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_13.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 13.&mdash;Fossil Wood, from the Carboniferous Limestone of Mayo,
-showing the rings of Annual Growth.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_171.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">172</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_172.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_XI"><i>CHAPTER XI.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">FOSSIL REMAINS&mdash;THE EXPLORATION.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>From the museum to the quarry&mdash;Fossil fish in the limestone
-rocks of Monte Bolca&mdash;In the quarries of Aix&mdash;In the
-chalk of Sussex&mdash;The ichthyosaurus or fish-like lizard&mdash;Gigantic
-dimensions of this ancient monster&mdash;Its predatory
-habits&mdash;The plesiosaurus&mdash;The megatherium or great wild
-beast&mdash;History of its discovery&mdash;The mylodon&mdash;Profusion of
-fossil shells&mdash;Petrified trees erect in the limestone rock of
-Portland&mdash;Fossil plants of the coal measures&mdash;The sigillaria&mdash;The
-fern&mdash;The calamite&mdash;The lepidodendron&mdash;Coal mine
-of Treuil&mdash;Fossil remains afford undeniable evidence of
-former animal and vegetable life&mdash;Their existence cannot be
-accounted for by the plastic power of nature&mdash;Nor can it
-reasonably be ascribed to a special act of creation.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/f.jpg" alt="F" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">From</span> the galleries of the Museum we must now
-descend into the subterranean recesses of the
-mine and the quarry. For it is not enough to be
-familiar with the appearance of Fossil Remains, as they
-are laid out for show by human hands: we must see them
-also as they lie embedded in the successive strata of the
-Earth’s Crust, which are the shelves of Nature’s cabinet.
-We shall begin with the celebrated quarries of Monte
-Bolca, in Northern Italy, not far from Verona. Here, in
-the hard limestone rock, fifty miles from the nearest sea,
-entire skeletons of many different species of fish are found
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">173</span>
-embedded in profuse abundance, and in a wonderful state
-of preservation. They lie parallel to the layers of the
-rock; and, though flattened by pressure, still retain their
-scales, bones, fins, nay, even their muscular tissue, undisturbed
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">174</span>
-and unharmed. Their color is a deep brown,
-which forms a remarkable contrast with the creamy hue of
-the limestone in which they are enveloped. The quarries
-have been worked only by students of Natural History for
-the sake of Organic remains, and are, therefore, of very
-limited extent; yet so abundant are these fossil treasures
-that upward of a hundred different species have been discovered,
-and thousands of specimens have been dispersed
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">175</span>
-over the cabinets of Europe. So closely are they sometimes
-packed together that many individuals are contained
-in a single block.</p>
-
-<div id="fig_14" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_14.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 14.&mdash;Platax Papilio.<br />
-From the limestone of Monte Bolca.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div id="fig_15" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_15.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 15.&mdash;Semiophorus Velicans.<br />
-From the limestone of Monte Bolca.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>From these facts Geologists have been led to conclude:&mdash;that
-the strata in question were deposited on the bed of an
-ancient sea in which these fishes swam; that the waters
-of the sea were suddenly rendered noxious, probably by the
-eruption of volcanic matter; that the fishes in consequence
-perished in large numbers, and were then almost immediately
-embedded in the calcareous deposits of which the
-strata are composed. These views receive no small confirmation
-from a very remarkable phenomenon to which we
-may be allowed, in passing, to call attention. In the year
-1831 a volcanic island was suddenly thrown up in the Mediterranean
-between Sicily and the African coast; and the
-waters of the sea were at the same time observed to be
-charged with a red mud over a very wide area, while hundreds
-of dead fish were seen floating on the surface. Is it
-not pretty plain that when the mud subsided many of the
-fish were enveloped in the deposit, and thus preserved to
-future times? If so, then, we should have an exact modern
-parallel to the fossil fishes of Monte Bolca. But for
-the present it is our purpose rather to describe facts than to
-develop theories.<a id="FNanchor_74" href="#Footnote_74" class="fnanchor">74</a></p>
-
-<p>Near the town of Aix, the ancient capital of Provence, in
-the south of France, is a group of strata, consisting chiefly
-of Conglomerate, Marl, Gypsum, and Limestone, which
-has earned for itself no small fame in the annals of Geology.
-Besides many curious relics of an extinct vegetation,
-these strata yield also an abundance of Fossil Insects, which
-emerge from the rocky bed in which they have slept for
-ages, with a surprising freshness and a life-like reality. But
-the quarries of Aix, like those of Monte Bolca, are chiefly
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">176</span>
-famous for their Fossil Fish. And in this case, too, as in
-the former, it would seem as if vast multitudes had suddenly
-perished together from some mysterious cause, and
-were then as suddenly entombed. They exhibit no mark
-of mechanical violence: and yet they are found, not unfrequently,
-crowded together as closely as they can fit, in every
-variety of position, on the same slab of limestone. A good
-example of such a block is represented in our woodcut.</p>
-
-<div id="fig_16" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_16.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 16.&mdash;Fossil Fish from Aix.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>The White Chalk Rock of Sussex has been rendered classical
-to the students of Geology by the skilful and laborious
-researches of the late Doctor Mantell. Previous to his time
-the Fish of the Chalk were known only by their teeth and
-bones, which abounded in every quarry. But he succeeded
-in bringing to light many whole skeletons, and disengaging
-them without injury from their chalky envelopment. In
-many cases these Fossil Fish appear to have suffered little
-from compression: the body still retains its rounded form;
-and even the most delicate scales and fins are as little disturbed
-or distorted as if the original had been surrounded
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">177</span>
-by soft Plaster of Paris while floating in the water. For
-many years Doctor Mantell devoted himself, with indefatigable
-zeal, to the gathering of these interesting remains;
-and his magnificent collection now adorns the Galleries of
-the British Museum. In the annexed illustration is figured
-a specimen belonging to one of the most abundant species.
-It is closely allied to the common perch; and is popularly
-called Johnny Dory by the quarrymen of Sussex, but is
-entitled Beryx Lewesiensis by the learned.<a id="FNanchor_75" href="#Footnote_75" class="fnanchor">75</a></p>
-
-<div id="fig_17" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_17.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 17.&mdash;Beryx Lewesiensis, from the Chalk, near Lewes.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>From Fossil Fish we now turn to Fossil Reptiles. Many
-of our readers have, perhaps, heard or read something
-about an important group of rocks known by the name of
-the Lias. This formation is well developed in England,
-and has received much attention from Geologists. It
-stretches in a belt of varying width from Whitby on the
-coast of Yorkshire to Lyme Regis on the coast of Dorsetshire;
-passing in its course through the counties of Leicester,
-Warwick, Gloucester, and Somerset. It is composed
-chiefly of Limestone, Marl, and Clay; and is celebrated for
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">178</span>
-the number and size of its great Fossil Reptiles. Of these
-the most remarkable is the Ichthyosaurus or Fish-like
-Lizard.</p>
-
-<p>This monster of the ancient seas combined, as its name
-denotes, the essential characters of a reptile with the form
-and habits of a fish. No such creature has been known to
-exist within historic times; nevertheless, all the various
-parts of its complicated structure have their analogies, more
-or less perfect, in the present creation. It had the head of
-a Lizard, the beak of a Porpoise, the teeth of a Crocodile, the
-back bone of a Fish, and the paddles of a Whale. In length
-it sometimes exceeded thirty feet; it had a short thick neck,
-an enormous stomach, a long and powerful tail. This last
-appendage, together with four great paddles or fins, constituted
-the chief organs of motion. But of all its parts the head
-was perhaps the most wonderful and characteristic. In the
-larger species the jaws were six feet long, and were armed with
-two rows of conical sharp-pointed teeth,&mdash;a hundred below,
-a hundred and ten above. The cavities in which the eyes
-were set measured often fourteen inches across, and the
-eyeballs themselves must have been larger than a man’s
-head.</p>
-
-<p>Now what we want particularly to impress upon our
-readers is, that the remains of this singular aquatic reptile
-abound throughout the whole extent of the Lias Formation
-in England. Far down below the surface of the earth
-they are found embedded in the marls, and clays, and
-limestones of Dorsetshire, and Gloucester, and Warwick,
-and Leicester, and Yorkshire. Sometimes whole
-skeletons are found entire, with scarcely a single bone removed
-from the place it occupied during life; but more
-frequently the scattered fragments are found lying about in
-a state of confused disorder; skulls, and jaw-bones, and
-teeth, and paddles, and the joints of the vertebral column and
-of the tail. The neighborhood of Lyme Regis is a perfect
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">179</span>
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">180</span>
-cabinet of these curious treasures. In some of the specimens
-there exhumed, a singular circumstance has been
-observed, which is deserving of special notice. We should
-naturally have expected, from the prodigious power of this
-animal, from the expansion of his jaws and the immense
-size of his stomach, that he preyed upon the other fish and
-reptiles that had the misfortune to inhabit the waters in
-which he lived. And so indeed it was. For here enclosed
-within his vast ribs, in the place that once was his stomach,
-are still preserved the remains of his half-digested food;
-and amidst the d&eacute;bris we can distinguish the bones and
-scales of his victims. Nay, in some of the more colossal
-specimens of this ancient monster, we can distinctly recognize
-the remains of his own smaller brethren; which,
-though less frequent than the bones of fishes, are still sufficiently
-numerous to prove that, when he wanted to appease
-his hunger, he did not even spare the less powerful members
-of his own species.<a id="FNanchor_76" href="#Footnote_76" class="fnanchor">76</a></p>
-
-<div id="fig_18" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_18.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 18.&mdash;Ichthyosaurus Platyodon.
-Museum of Trinity College, Dublin. Found in the Lias of Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div id="fig_19" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_19.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 19.&mdash;Ichthyosaurus Communis.
-Museum of Trinity College, Dublin. Found in the Lias of Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>It is with facts like these, which are revealed by the Crust
-of the Earth all over the world, that Geologists are called
-upon to deal. When they meet with skeletons and bones
-such as we have been describing, buried deep in the hard
-rock, hundreds of feet beneath the green grass, and the
-waving corn, they cannot help but ask the question:
-Where did these creatures come from? When did they
-live? And by what revolutions were they embedded here,
-and lifted up from beneath the waters of the deep?</p>
-
-<p>In the same formation are found the remains of another
-ancient reptile, called the Plesiosaurus, that is to say,
-nearly allied to the Lizard. Of this extraordinary monster
-Cuvier observed that its structure was the most singular
-and anomalous that, up to his time, had been discovered
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">181</span>
-amid the ruins of the ancient world. It is chiefly distinguished
-from the Ichthyosaurus, to which it has no small
-affinity, by the enormous length of its neck, which, in some
-species, resembles the body of a serpent. Dr. Buckland
-tells us that in the Plesiosaurus Dolichodeirus the neck is
-longer than the trunk; the one being five times, the other
-only four times, as long as the head. Our illustration, for
-which we are indebted to the kindness of Doctor Haughton,
-represents a fine specimen of Plesiosaurus Cramptonii,
-which was found in the Lias Beds of Kettleness, near
-Whitby, in Yorkshire, and which is now a prominent object
-in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society.</p>
-
-<p>The habits and character of the Plesiosaurus have been
-thus sketched out by Mr. Conybeare:&mdash;“That it was aquatic
-is evident, from the form of its paddles; that it was marine
-is almost equally so, from the remains with which it is universally
-associated; that it may have occasionally visited
-the shore, the resemblance of its extremities to those of the
-turtle may lead us to conjecture. Its motion, however,
-must have been very awkward on land; its long neck must
-have impeded its progress through the water; presenting a
-striking contrast to the organization which so admirably
-fits the Ichthyosaurus to cut through the waves. May it not
-therefore be concluded (since, in addition to these circumstances,
-its respiration must have required frequent access
-of air), that it swam upon or near the surface; arching back
-its long neck like the swan, and occasionally darting it
-down at the fish which happened to float within its reach.
-It may perhaps have lurked in shoal water along the coast
-concealed among the sea-weed, and raising its nostrils to a
-level with the surface from a considerable depth, may have
-found a secure retreat from the assaults of dangerous enemies;
-while the length and flexibility of its neck may have
-compensated for the want of strength in its jaws, and its
-incapacity for swift motion through the water, by the suddenness
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">182</span>
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">183</span>
-and agility of the attack which they enabled it to
-make on every animal fitted for its prey, which came
-within its reach.”<a id="FNanchor_77" href="#Footnote_77" class="fnanchor">77</a></p>
-
-<div id="fig_20" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_20.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 20.&mdash;Plesiosaurus Cramptonii.
-Museum of the Royal Dublin Society.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>The Pampas of South America are not less famous in
-Geology for the remains of Gigantic quadrupeds, than the
-Lias of England for its colossal marine reptiles. These
-vast undulating plains, which present to the eye for nine
-hundred miles a waving sea of grass, consist chiefly of stratified
-beds of gravel and reddish mud; and it is in these beds
-that the remains of many unshapely but powerful terrestrial
-animals have been found embedded. So abundant are
-they, that it is said a line drawn in any direction through
-the country would cut through some skeleton or bones.
-Indeed, Mr. Darwin is of opinion that the whole area of the
-Pampas is one wide sepulchre of these extinct animals.
-It will be enough for our purpose to describe one in particular,
-which, from its prodigious bulk, has received the
-appropriate name of Megatherium, or the Great Wild Beast.</p>
-
-<p>The Megatherium, like the Ichthyosaurus and the Plesiosaurus,
-had many affinities with the existing creation. In its
-head and shoulders it resembled the sloth which still
-browses on the green foliage of the trees in the dense forests
-of South America; while in its legs and feet it combined
-the characteristics of the Ant-Eater and the Armadillo. But
-it was eminently distinguished from these and all the other
-modern representatives of the family to which it belonged
-by its colossal proportions. It was often twelve feet long
-and eight feet high; its fore-feet were a yard in length and
-twelve inches in breadth, terminating in gigantic claws; its
-haunches were five feet wide, and its thigh bone was three
-times as big as that of the largest elephant. “His entire
-frame,” as Dr. Buckland has admirably observed and carefully
-demonstrated, “was an apparatus of colossal mechanism,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">184</span>
-adapted exactly to the work it had to do; strong and
-ponderous, in proportion as this work was heavy, and calculated
-to be the vehicle of life and enjoyment to a gigantic
-race of quadrupeds, which, though they have ceased to be
-counted among the living inhabitants of our planet, have,
-in their fossil bones, left behind them imperishable monuments
-of the consummate skill with which they were constructed,&mdash;each
-limb, and fragment of a limb, forming
-co-ordinate parts of a well adjusted and perfect whole;
-and through all their deviations from the form and proportions
-of the limbs of other quadrupeds, affording fresh
-proofs of the infinitely varied and inexhaustible contrivances
-of Creative Wisdom.”</p>
-
-<p>“This Leviathan of the Pampas, as it has been justly called,
-became first known in Europe toward the close of the last
-century. In the year 1789 a skeleton was dug up, almost
-entire, about three miles southwest of Buenos Ayres, and
-was presented by the Marquis of Loreto to the Royal
-Museum at Madrid, where it still remains. Since that time
-other specimens, besides numerous fragments, have been
-discovered, chiefly through the zeal and energy of Sir
-Woodbine Parish; by the aid of which the form, structure,
-and consequently the habits of this clumsy and ponderous
-animal have been fully ascertained. The complete skeleton
-which forms so prominent an object of attraction in the
-British Museum, and which is represented in the woodcut
-on the adjoining page, is only a model; but it has
-been constructed with great care from the original bones,
-some of which are to be found in the wall-cases of the
-same room, and others in the Hunterian Museum of the
-Royal College of Surgeons.”<a id="FNanchor_78" href="#Footnote_78" class="fnanchor">78</a>
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">185</span></p>
-
-<div id="fig_21" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_21.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 21.&mdash;The Megatherium. From the British Museum.
-Length 12 feet; Height 8 feet.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">186</span></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Closely allied to the Megatherium, but somewhat less
-colossal in its dimensions, is the Mylodon. Its remains
-are found associated with those of the Megatherium and
-other great animals of the same family, in the superficial
-gravels of South America. A splendid specimen, which
-measures eleven feet from the fore part of the skull to the
-end of the tail, was dug up, in the year 1841, a few miles
-north of Buenos Ayres. It is well figured in the adjoining
-woodcut, which we reproduce, by kind permission of
-the Author, from Dr. Haughton’s admirable Manual of
-Geology.</p>
-
-<div id="fig_22" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_22.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 22.&mdash;Mylodon Robustus, from Buenos Ayres.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Passing from the petrified fish, and the reptiles, and the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">187</span>
-quadrupeds, that thus come forth, as it were, from their
-graves to bring us tidings of an extinct creation, we must
-next turn our attention for a moment to Fossil Shells.
-These relics of the ancient world, which are scattered with
-profuse abundance through all the strata of the Earth’s
-Crust, may seem, indeed, of little value to the careless
-observer; but to the practised eye of science they are full
-of instruction. They have been aptly called the Medals of
-Creation; for, stamped upon their surface they bear the
-impress of the age to which they belong; and they constitute
-the largest, we may say, perhaps, the most valuable
-part of those unwritten records from which the Geologist
-seeks to gather the ancient history of our Globe.</p>
-
-<p>As regards the prodigious abundance of Fossil Shells
-preserved in the Crust of the Earth, it is unnecessary for us
-here to speak. We have already seen that the great mass
-of many limestone formations is composed almost exclusively
-of such remains, broken up into minute fragments,
-and more or less altered by chemical agency; and besides,
-there are quarries within the reach of all, where they may
-collect at pleasure these interesting relics of the olden time.
-But there are one or two facts of peculiar significance connected
-with Fossil Shells, which it may be useful briefly
-to set down. In the first place, we would remind our
-readers that there is a marked and well-known difference
-between the shells of those animals that can live only in
-the sea, of those that inhabit rivers, and of those, finally,
-that frequent the brackish waters of estuaries. Now it has
-been made clear beyond all reasonable doubt, by the explorations
-of Geologists, that sea-shells abound in great numbers
-far away from the present line of coast, in the heart
-of vast continents. And they are found, not merely on
-the surface, but buried deep in the Crust of the Earth, and
-overlaid, in many cases, by numerous strata of solid rock,
-thousands of feet in thickness. It is also to be observed
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">188</span>
-that they occur at all heights above the level of the ocean;
-having been discovered at an elevation of eight thousand
-feet in the Pyrenees, ten thousand in the Alps, thirteen
-thousand in the Andes, and above eighteen thousand in the
-Himalaya.<a id="FNanchor_79" href="#Footnote_79" class="fnanchor">79</a> Such are the phenomena which are constantly
-forcing themselves on the attention of the Geologist, and
-which involve a number of problems that he cannot help
-attempting to investigate and explain. He is instinctively
-impelled to ask himself, how can the shells of marine
-animals have come to exist so far away from the sea? how
-have they been buried in the Crust of the Earth? how have
-they been lifted up to the highest pinnacles of lofty mountains?</p>
-
-<p>Our subterranean exploration would be incomplete if it
-did not illustrate the Vegetable as well as the Animal Life
-of the ancient world. Let the reader then descend in fancy
-into the celebrated quarries of Portland on the south coast
-of England, and he will see the fossilized remains of a long
-past vegetation exhibited in a very striking manner. In one,
-of these quarries a vertical section, extending from the surface
-downward to the depth of about thirty feet, presents
-the following succession of strata arranged in horizontal
-layers:&mdash;first, a light covering of vegetable soil, beneath
-which are thin beds of cream-colored limestone, forming a
-stratum of solid rock ten feet thick; then a bed of dark-brown
-loam, mixed with rounded fragments of stone, and
-varying in thickness from twelve to eighteen inches. This
-is known to the quarrymen by the name of Dirt-bed, and
-seems, in former ages, to have supported a luxuriant vegetation;
-for all around are scattered the petrified fragments
-of an ancient forest. The prostrate stems and shattered
-branches of great trees are met at every step; but what is
-most striking and peculiar is, that, in many cases, the petrified
-stumps are still standing erect, with their roots fixed
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">189</span>
-in the thin stratum of loam, and their trunks stretching
-upward into the hard limestone rock. Immediately below
-the Dirt-bed is another thick stratum of limestone, and
-below this again is a stratum of the famous Portland stone,
-so highly prized for building purposes. As the quarries of
-Portland are worked chiefly for the sake of this building
-stone, little attention is paid to the Dirt-bed and its contents,
-which are commonly thrown aside by the quarrymen
-as rubbish.</p>
-
-<table id="fig_23">
-    <tr>
-    <td class="tdc w50"><img src="images/fig_23.jpg" alt="" />
-    <p class="caption">Fig. 23.&mdash;Section of a Quarry in the Island of Portland. Total thickness about thirty feet.</p>
-    </td>
-
-    <td class="w50">
-    <p>Vegetable soil.</p>
-
-    <p>Fresh-water Limestone.</p>
-
-    <p>Clay.</p>
-
-    <p>Laminated fresh-water Limestone.</p>
-
-    <p>Dirt-bed with fossil trees and plants.</p>
-
-    <p>Fresh-water Limestone.</p>
-
-    <p>Bed of Clay.</p>
-
-    <p>Portland building-stone full of marine shells.</p>
-    </td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-
-<p>The scene of this petrified forest is thus described by
-Doctor Mantell:&mdash;“On one of my visits to the island the
-surface of a large area of the Dirt-bed was cleared preparatory
-to its removal, and the appearance presented was most
-striking. The floor of the quarry was literally strewn with
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">190</span>
-fossil wood, and before me was a petrified forest, the trees
-and plants, like the inhabitants of the city in Arabian story,
-being converted into stone, yet still remaining in the places
-which they occupied when alive! Some of the trunks were
-surrounded by a conical mound of calcareous earth, which
-had, evidently, when in the state of mud, accumulated
-round the roots. The upright trunks were generally a few
-feet apart, and but three or four feet high; their summits
-were broken and splintered, as if they had been snapped or
-wrenched off by a hurricane at a short distance from the
-ground. Some were two feet in diameter, and the united
-fragments of one of the prostrate trunks indicated a total
-length of from thirty to forty feet; in many specimens portions
-of the branches remained attached to the stem.”<a id="FNanchor_80" href="#Footnote_80" class="fnanchor">80</a></p>
-
-<p>The Coal Measures of Europe and America offer to the
-student of Geology a boundless field for the investigation of
-Fossil Plants and Trees. We have already had occasion to
-notice the Sigillaria. This ancient tree, remarkable for its
-beautiful sculptured stem, has no exact representative in
-the vegetable kingdom of the present day. But it abounds
-everywhere in the Coal Measures; and there seems little
-doubt that several great seams of Coal are composed almost
-entirely of its carbonized remains. Indeed the ancient soil,
-which commonly constitutes the floor on which the bed of
-Coal reposes, is often as thickly crowded with the branching
-roots of the Sigillaria, as the soil of a dense forest with
-the roots of the trees by which it is covered. The stem
-itself, when converted into Coal, generally assumes the
-form of long narrow slabs; having been flattened by pressure
-during the process of mineralization. Sometimes,
-however, it is found uncompressed and erect. In this case
-the interior of the trunk is usually observed to have been
-filled up with sand or clay: and thus the forest tree, still
-retaining its external shape and character, is transformed
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</span>
-into a cylindrical shell of carbonized bark without, and a
-solid cylinder of sandstone or shale within. An interesting
-example is exhibited in our illustration, Figure 11.</p>
-
-<p>Every Coal mine, too, is adorned with the imprint of the
-graceful Fern, which constitutes one of the most attractive
-features in the Flora of the ancient world. Not unfrequently
-it assumes a tree-like character, as it often does even
-now in tropical countries; and then, indeed, it is an object
-of striking beauty, reaching to a height of forty or fifty feet,
-and expanding at the summit into an elegant canopy of
-foliage.</p>
-
-<div id="fig_24" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_24.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 24.&mdash;Calamites Nodosus.
-From the Coal Measures of Newcastle.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>The Calamite is another plant in which the Coal abounds.
-Its true botanical character is not yet clearly ascertained;
-but it bears a general resemblance, except for its gigantic
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</span>
-dimensions, to the common Horse-tail of our swamps and
-marshy grounds. It is a reed-like, jointed stem, sometimes
-thirty feet in length, hollow within, and curiously jointed
-without.</p>
-
-<div id="fig_25" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_25.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 25.&mdash;Lepidodendron Sternbergii; a Fossil Tree, 39 feet high.
-From a Coal Mine near Newcastle.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Scarcely less conspicuous than the Sigillaria, the Fern,
-and the Calamite, is the Lepidodendron or Scaly Tree, one
-of the most curious and interesting among the plants of the
-Coal-bearing period. Like the Sigillaria and the Calamite,
-it has been, and still is, a puzzle to the student of Botany.
-But it needs not the eye of science to see that it is unmistakably
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">193</span>
-a stately forest tree, shut up in the Crust of the
-Earth, encased in a solid framework of indurated Shale,
-or Sandstone, or Coal, as the case may be, and overlaid
-with massive strata of rock hundreds of feet in thickness.
-Such a specimen as that represented in our woodcut was
-laid bare some years ago in Yarrow Colliery, near Newcastle.</p>
-
-<div id="fig_26" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_26.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 26 Lepidodendron Elegans.
-Portion of Stem and branches; Coal Mine, Newcastle.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>In the same neighborhood was found a portion of the
-stem and branches of another variety, Lepidodendron Elegans,
-which will enable the reader to form a more complete
-idea of the appearance presented by this ancient tree as it
-stood in its primeval forest.</p>
-
-<p>An unusually favorable illustration of our present subject
-may be seen at the colliery of Treuil, in France, not far
-from the city of Lyons. The beds of Coal are overlaid by
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</span>
-a kind of slaty sandstone, ten feet thick; and this sandstone
-is traversed by the vertical stems of enormous petrified
-plants, chiefly Calamites. Here, then, to all appearance,
-we have an ancient forest enveloped in sandstone. We
-must suppose that the forest was submerged while the trees
-were still erect; that in this condition it received the sedimentary
-deposits carried down by the current of some great
-river; and finally, that these deposits were, in the course
-of ages, compacted into sandstone by a process already explained.
-It would seem that after the sandstone had been
-partially, at least, consolidated, it was subjected to a sliding
-movement here and there, by which the continuity of the
-stems was broken; the upper part being pushed on one
-side, as shown in our Figure.</p>
-
-<div id="fig_27" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_27.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 27.&mdash;Section of a Coal sandstone at Treuil, near Lyons.
-Showing the erect position of Fossil Trees. (Alex. Brongniart.)</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>It is time we should bring to a close our survey, meagre
-and imperfect as it is, of Fossil Remains. Those who
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</span>
-desire to pursue the inquiry for themselves will easily find
-an opportunity of doing so. There are few, we should
-suppose, who may not, occasionally, have access to one
-or other of those splendid Museums of Geology, which
-have been set up in all the great towns of Europe. And
-the still more extensive cabinets of Nature’s Museum,
-spread out beneath our feet, are within the reach of all.</p>
-
-<p>But even the scanty facts which have been set forth faithfully,
-we trust, though perhaps feebly, in these pages, are
-sufficient to satisfy all reasonable minds that the bones, the
-skeletons, the trunks and branches of trees, which have
-been exhumed from the Stratified Rocks are really the
-remains of Organic Life that once flourished on the earth,
-or in the waters of the ancient seas. Obvious, however, as
-this fact must appear to all who have fully realized the character
-and appearance of Fossil Remains, it has been often
-vigorously assailed and vehemently denounced. In the early
-days of Geology phenomena of this kind were ascribed, not
-uncommonly, to the “plastic power of Nature,” or to the influence
-of the stars. Such notions, however, meet with little
-support among modern writers. They were nothing more
-than wild fancies, without any foundation either in the evidence
-of facts or in the analogy of Nature. The “plastic
-power of Nature” was a phrase that sounded well, perhaps,
-in the ears of unreflecting people; but no one ever undertook
-to show that Nature really possesses that “plastic
-power” which was so readily imputed to her. No one ever
-undertook to show that it is the way of Nature to make the
-stems, and branches, and leaves of trees, without the previous
-process of vegetation; or to make bones and skeletons
-which have never been invested with the ordinary
-appendages of flesh and blood. Yet surely this is a theory
-that requires proof; for all our experience of the laws of
-Nature points directly to the opposite conclusion. And as
-for the influence of the stars, we may be content to adopt
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">196</span>
-the language of the celebrated painter Leonardo da Vinci:&mdash;“They
-tell us that these shells were formed in the hills
-by the influence of the stars; but I ask where in the hills
-are the stars now forming shells of distinct ages and species?
-and how can the stars explain the origin of gravel
-occurring at different heights and composed of pebbles
-rounded as if by the action of running water? or in what
-manner can such a cause account for the petrifaction in the
-same places of various leaves, sea-weeds, and marine crabs?”<a id="FNanchor_81" href="#Footnote_81" class="fnanchor">81</a></p>
-
-<p>In modern times the form of objection has been somewhat
-changed. We are told by some writers that, when
-we seek to explain the existence of Fossil Remains by the
-action of natural laws, we seem to forget the Omnipotence
-of God. They urge upon us, with much solemnity, that
-He could have made bones, and shells, and skeletons, and
-petrified wood, though there had been no living animal to
-which these bones belonged, and no living tree that had been
-changed into stone. And if He made them, might He not
-disperse them up and down through His creation, on the
-lofty mountains, in the hidden valleys, and in the profound
-depths of the sea? and buried them in limestone rocks
-and in the soft clay? and arranged them in groups, or
-scattered them in wild confusion as He best pleased?</p>
-
-<p>To this line of argument we must be content to reply,
-that we have no wish to limit the power of God. But we
-have learned from our daily experience that in the physical
-world He is pleased to employ the agency of secondary
-causes; and when we know that for many ages a certain
-effect has been uniformly produced by a certain cause, and
-not otherwise, then if we again see the effect, we infer the
-cause. When a traveller in the untrodden wilds of Western
-America, comes upon a forest of great trees, or a herd
-of unknown animals, surely he never thinks of supposing
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">197</span>
-that the wild beasts and the forest trees came directly from
-the hand of the Creator, in that state of maturity in which
-he beholds them. And why? for it might be argued that
-the power of God is unbounded, and he might have created
-them as they now are if He had so pleased. Is it not that
-the traveller is impelled, by an instinct of his nature, to
-interpret the works of God which he now sees for the first
-time, according to the analogy of those with which he has
-been long familiar? Now this is just the principle for which
-we are contending. According to all our experience of
-the works of God in the physical world, the living body
-comes first, and the skeleton afterward; the living tree
-comes first, and afterward the prostrate trunk and the splintered
-branches. Therefore when we meet with a skeleton,
-we conclude that it was once a living body; and when we
-find the petrified stems, and branches, and leaves of trees,
-we have no doubt that they are the remains of an ancient
-vegetation.</p>
-
-<p>But, in truth, if any one, with all the facts of the case
-fully before his mind, were deliberately to adopt this theory,
-that Fossils, as we find them now, were created by God in
-the Crust of the Earth, we candidly confess we have no
-argument that we should think likely to shake his conviction;
-just as we should be utterly at a loss if he were to
-say that the Pyramids of Egypt, or the colossal sculptures
-of Nineveh, or the ruins of Baalbec, were created by God
-from the beginning. The evidence of human workmanship
-is certainly not more clear in the one case than is the
-evidence of animal and vegetable life in the other. We
-believe, however, that no such persons are to be found; that
-theories of this kind have their origin, not so much in false
-reasoning, as in imperfect knowledge of facts; and we have,
-therefore, judged it most expedient not to spend our time
-in a discussion of philosophical axioms, but to set forth the
-facts, and leave them to speak for themselves.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">198</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_198.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_XII"><i>CHAPTER XII.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">GEOLOGICAL CHRONOLOGY&mdash;PRINCIPLES OF THE SYSTEM EXPLAINED
-AND DEVELOPED.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Significance of fossil remains&mdash;Science of Pal&aelig;ontology&mdash;Classification
-of existing animal life&mdash;Fossil remains are
-found to fit in with this classification&mdash;Succession of organic
-life&mdash;Time in Geology not measured by years and centuries&mdash;Successive
-periods marked by successive forms of life&mdash;The
-Geologist aims at arranging these periods in chronological
-order&mdash;Position of the various groups of strata not
-sufficient for this purpose&mdash;It is accomplished chiefly through
-the aid of fossil remains&mdash;Mode of proceeding practically
-explained&mdash;Chronological table.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="T" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">The</span> existence of Fossil Remains is, then, a fact.
-Go where you will through the civilized world,
-and every chief town has its Museum, into which
-they have been gathered by the zeal and industry of man;
-descend where you can into the Crust of the Earth,&mdash;the
-quarry, the mine, the railway cutting,&mdash;and there, notwithstanding
-the plunder which has been going on for two
-centuries or more, you will find that the inexhaustible
-cabinets of Nature are still teeming with these remains
-of ancient life.</p>
-
-<p>When we are brought, for the first time, face to face with
-these countless relics of a former world, we are impressed
-with a sense of wonder and bewilderment. That the skeletons
-before us, though now dry and withered, were once
-animated with the breath of life; that the trees now lying
-shattered and prostrate, and shorn of their branches, once
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">199</span>
-flourished on the earth, we cannot for a moment hesitate
-to believe. But beyond this one fact, all is darkness and
-mystery. These gaunt skeletons, these uncouth monsters,
-these petrified forests, are silent, lifeless, as the rocks within
-whose stony bosoms they have lain so long entombed.
-Had they speech and memory, they could tell us much,
-no doubt, of that ancient world in which they bore a part,
-of its continents, and seas, and rivers, and mountains; of
-the various tribes of animals and plants by which it was
-peopled; of their habits and domestic economy; how they
-lived, how they died, and how they were buried in those
-graves from which, after the lapse of we know not how
-many ages, they now come forth into the light of day. As
-it is, however, we can but gaze and wonder. We have
-nothing here but the relics of death and destruction: there
-is no feeling, no memory, no voice, in these dry bones; no
-living tenant in these hollow skulls, to recount to us the
-history of former times.</p>
-
-<p>So thinks and reasons the ordinary observer. But far
-different is the language of the Geologist. These dry and
-withered bones, he tells us, <i>are</i> gifted with memory and
-speech; and, though the language they speak may seem
-at first unfamiliar and obscure, it is not, on that account,
-beyond our comprehension. Like the birds, reptiles, fish,
-and other symbols, inscribed on the obelisks of ancient
-Egypt, these bones and shells stored up in the Crust of the
-Earth, have a hidden meaning which it is the business of
-Science to search out and explain. They are Nature’s
-hieroglyphics, which she has impressed upon her works to
-carry down to remote ages the memory of the revolutions
-through which our Globe has passed; and when we come
-to understand them aright, they do unfold to us the story
-of that ancient world to which they belonged.</p>
-
-<p>The interpretation of Fossil Remains is, then, an important
-department of Geology. Of late years it has been
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">200</span>
-admitted to the rank of a special science, under the name
-of Pal&aelig;ontology, which means, as the word denotes&mdash;παλαιῶν
-ὄντων λόγος&mdash;the science which is concerned about
-the organic remains of ancient life. The honor of having
-been the first to place this science on a solid basis, in fact
-we may say the honor of having brought it into existence, is
-justly accorded to the distinguished Cuvier, whose name
-shed a lustre upon France during the early years of the
-present century. It is therefore still in its infancy; but it
-has already rewarded the zeal of its students by many wonderful
-and unexpected revelations. We purpose in the
-first place to examine the principles on which it is founded,
-and then to take a rapid glance at the conclusions to which
-it has led.</p>
-
-<p>At the outset it is worthy of notice that the very existence
-of Fossil Remains, buried deep in the Crust of the Earth,
-forcibly confirms the Geological theory of Stratified Rocks.
-These rocks, as the reader will remember, are said to have
-been slowly spread out, one above another, during the
-lapse of many ages, by the operation of natural causes; and
-we have seen how this doctrine is supported by arguments
-founded on an examination of the rocks themselves,&mdash;of
-the materials that compose them, and of the way in which
-these materials are piled together. Now let us observe how
-clearly the testimony of Fossil Remains seems to point in
-the same direction.</p>
-
-<p>First, the bones and shells which we now find in such
-profusion, far down beneath the superficial covering of the
-Earth, must have belonged to animals which, when living,
-flourished on what was then the surface. Yet now they
-are buried in the bosom of the hard rock, and covered
-over with beds of solid limestone, and sandstone, and conglomerate,
-hundreds and thousands of feet in thickness.
-How can we explain this fact, unless we suppose that these
-animals, when they perished, were embedded in some soft
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">201</span>
-materials, which afterward became consolidated, and above
-which, in the course of ages, more and more matter was
-deposited, until at length that lofty pile of strata was produced,
-beneath which the remains are now found buried?</p>
-
-<p>Again, it is part of our theory that the formation of
-Stratified Rocks took place, for the most part, under water.
-The Organic Remains, therefore, which we should naturally
-expect to find preserved in the strata of the earth,
-would be those of aquatic animals; or, if the remains of
-land animals were to be looked for, it should be of those
-chiefly which live near the banks of rivers and estuaries,
-and which, after death, might have been carried down by
-the current and buried in the silt and mud with which
-almost all rivers are charged at certain seasons of the year.
-We know as a fact that such animals are buried at the
-present day in the Deltas of the Ganges and the Mississippi;
-and it would be reasonable to suppose that the same
-should have occurred in former ages. Now here again the
-evidence of Fossil Remains exactly fits in with our theory.
-For the vast bulk of them are manifestly the remains of
-animals that lived in water: and the terrestrial animals,
-comparatively few, whose bones are preserved in the Crust
-of the Earth, are such as frequent the banks of great rivers
-or the marshy swamps of estuaries.</p>
-
-<p>Thus much we may learn even from a cursory glance at
-Fossil Remains. But these curious monuments of ancient
-times have a deeper meaning, which cannot be unfolded
-without a more minute and laborious investigation. Our
-readers are aware that all the animals at present existing
-on the face of the Earth have been scientifically grouped
-together, according to certain well-marked characteristics,
-into various Kingdoms, Classes, Genera, and Species.
-Thus, for example, the horse and the dog are two different
-Species, belonging to the same Class of Mammalia; the
-eagle and the sparrow are two different Species of the same
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">202</span>
-Class called Birds. Then again the Class of Mammalia
-and the Class of Birds both belong to the one common
-Kingdom of Vertebrata; because, though different in many
-other respects, they agree in this, that all the members of
-both Classes have a vertebral or spinal column, to which
-the other parts of the internal skeleton are attached.</p>
-
-<p>Now when Cuvier began to examine closely the Organic
-Remains of former times, to which his attention was called
-by the bones dug up in the gypsum quarries of Montmartre,
-near Paris, about the close of the last century, he brought
-with him to the task a very large acquaintance with the
-various forms of life that, in the present age, prevail
-throughout the world. And he was greatly struck with
-the marked difference between those living animals with
-which he had been long familiar, and those with which
-he now became acquainted for the first time. The more
-he extended his researches, the more manifest did this difference
-appear; until at last it became quite clear that
-the great bulk of the animals whose remains are preserved
-in the Crust of the Earth, have no representatives
-now living on its surface. Nevertheless, he observed that,
-though the Species no longer exists, it often happens that
-we have still other Species of the same Genus; or if the
-Genus, too, be extinct, we have other Genera of the same
-Class. Here, then, is the first great truth at which Cuvier
-arrived, and which has been since confirmed by extensive
-observations:&mdash;that the animals which formerly dwelt on
-this Earth of ours, were, for the most part, widely different
-from those by which it is now inhabited: and yet there is a
-well-defined likeness between them; that both have been
-created on a plan so strictly uniform, that the one and the
-other naturally find their place in the same system of classification.</p>
-
-<p>As the science of Pal&aelig;ontology progressed, and new
-facts were day by day accumulated, another truth, not less
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">203</span>
-important, was gradually but certainly developed. In the
-distribution of Fossil Remains through the various strata
-of the Earth, there is a certain order observed, a certain
-regular law of succession, which cannot have been the
-mere result of chance, and which it is the business of
-science to unravel and explain. The facts are these. If
-we follow a particular set of strata <i>in a horizontal direction</i>,
-we find that the same fossils continue to prevail over hundreds
-of square miles, nay, often over a space as large as
-Europe, though beyond certain limits this uniformity of
-Fossil Remains will gradually be observed to disappear.
-But when we penetrate <i>in a vertical direction</i> through the
-strata, the forms of animal and vegetable life that we meet
-with are constantly changing. After a few hundred yards
-at the most, we find ourselves in the midst of a group of
-fossils, altogether different from those which we have passed
-in the beds above: and so on, as we proceed downward,
-<i>each particular set of strata is found to have an assemblage of
-fossils peculiar to itself</i>.<a id="FNanchor_82" href="#Footnote_82" class="fnanchor">82</a></p>
-
-<p>There can be no reasonable doubt as to the truth of these
-facts. They have been established and confirmed by the
-positive testimony of a whole host of Geologists, whose
-researches have extended to all parts of the globe. And we
-have besides a kind of negative evidence on the subject
-which is scarcely less convincing than the positive. Nothing
-is more easy than to refute a universal proposition if it is
-false. If it is not a fact that each group of strata, as we proceed
-downward, exhibits a collection of Fossils peculiar to
-itself, the assertion may be at once disproved by pointing
-out two or three different groups with the same Fossils.
-There are thousands of practical Geologists at work all over
-the world, eager for fame; and any one of them would
-make his name illustrious if he could overturn a theory so
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">204</span>
-generally received. Now, when a statement of facts can be
-easily disproved if untrue; and when, at the same time,
-there is a large number of men whose interest it would be
-to disprove the statement if possible; and when it is nevertheless
-<i>not</i> disproved; this circumstance, we contend, is a
-convincing argument that the alleged facts <i>are</i> true. And
-such precisely is the case before us. We therefore think it
-would be unreasonable not to accept the facts.</p>
-
-<p>Let us next examine what is their significance. Each
-group of strata, be it remembered, represents to us the
-animal life that flourished on the Earth during the period
-in which that particular group was in progress of formation.
-It is, as it were, a cabinet in which are preserved for
-our instruction certain relics or memorials of that age in
-the world’s history. Of course it is not a perfect collection;
-but only a collection of those remains that chanced to
-escape destruction, and by some natural embalming process
-to be saved from dissolution. When we learn, then,
-that there is a marked uniformity in the assemblage of Fossils
-that are spread over a large horizontal area, in any
-group of strata, we conclude that, when that group was in
-course of formation, there was a certain uniformity in the
-animal life that extended over the corresponding area of the
-globe; just as, at the present day, the same species of animals
-are found to flourish over a great part of Europe, or
-America. And if this uniformity of Fossil Remains does
-not extend horizontally to an indefinite distance, this is precisely
-what we should have expected from the analogy of
-the existing creation: for, when we examine the present
-distribution of animal life over the earth, we find a marked
-diversity to exist between countries that are removed from
-one another; as, for instance, between Europe and Australia.</p>
-
-<p>In the next place, we are told that, as we proceed <i>downward</i>
-into the Crust of the Earth, each successive group of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">205</span>
-strata has an assemblage of Fossils clearly distinct in character
-from those of the group above and of the group
-below. The conclusion to which this fact points is obvious
-enough. If, in the former case, we inferred that the animal
-life of any one period, considered in itself, was the same
-over extensive areas, in this case we must infer that the
-animal life of each successive period was <i>peculiar to that
-particular age</i>; being altogether distinct in its character
-from the animal life of the period that went before and of
-the period that followed. It would appear, therefore, as
-Sir Charles Lyell puts it, “that from the remotest period
-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; while none have ever reappeared after once dying
-out.”<a id="FNanchor_83" href="#Footnote_83" class="fnanchor">83</a></p>
-
-<p>Now, from these principles, Geologists have been gradually
-led to build up a system of Geological Chronology;
-in other words, to determine the order of time in
-which the numerous groups of strata that make up the
-Crust of the Earth have been formed, and thus to fix the
-age of each group in reference to the rest. This Chronology
-is not reckoned by the common measures of time
-which are used in history, but rather by the successive
-periods during which each group of rocks was in its turn
-slowly deposited on the existing surface of the globe. For
-example, the Coal-measures that so abound in the North
-of England are very much older than the bluish clay of
-which London is built. But if we ask what is the difference
-between the age of the one and of the other, the
-answer is given not in days and years and centuries, but in
-the number of different Formations that intervened between
-the two. We are told that the Coal-measures belong to
-the Carboniferous Formation; that this Formation was followed
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">206</span>
-by the Permian, and that again in succession by the
-Triassic, the Jurassic, and the Cretaceous; and that, upon
-this last was spread out the Eocene, to which the London
-clay belongs. Indeed, as regards the precise length of any
-given period, Geologists can offer nothing but the wildest
-conjectures. Some form their estimates in thousands of
-years; others in millions. And the wisest amongst them
-fairly confess they have no sufficient data to make an accurate
-computation. Nevertheless, they are all agreed in this,
-that the ages of which the memory is preserved in history,
-that is to say, the last six thousand years, are but a small
-part of one Geological period. Compared to the voluminous
-chronicles laid up in the Crust of the Earth, the records
-inscribed by human hands constitute but an insignificant
-fraction of the world’s history. Our readers will be glad
-to learn something of the way in which this startling system
-of Geological Chronology is constructed and developed.</p>
-
-<p>At first sight, perhaps, it might be imagined that the
-order of time in which the various strata were deposited,
-can be easily learned from the relative position in which
-they lie. Since each stratum, when first produced, was
-spread out on the existing surface of the globe, it is clear
-that the one which lies uppermost in the series must be
-the newest, then that which lies next below, and so on till
-we reach the lowest of the pile, which must be the oldest
-of all. Nothing could be more satisfactory than this reasoning,
-if each stratum was spread out over the whole Earth,
-and if, after having been once deposited, it was never afterward
-removed. We might then regard each stratum as a
-volume in the Natural History of the Globe, which, when
-it was finished, was laid down upon that which contained
-the chronicles of the preceding age; and thus the position
-of every stratum would be in itself a sufficient evidence
-of the age to which it belonged.</p>
-
-<p>But such is not the case. Nowhere does the Crust of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">207</span>
-the Earth exhibit a complete series of the Stratified Rocks
-laid out one above another. In any given section we can
-find but a few only of the long series of groups that are
-familiar to Geologists. And if we follow them on, in a
-horizontal direction, we shall invariably find that some of
-the strata will <i>thin out</i> and disappear, while new strata will
-gradually be developed between two groups that were before
-in immediate contact. Let it be observed, in passing,
-that this fact fits in most perfectly with the theory we have
-been all along defending. The Stratified Rocks were
-deposited under water; therefore, the strata of any given
-period were not <i>spread out over the whole Globe</i>, but at most
-over those parts only which, for the time, were submerged.
-With the next period came a change in the
-boundaries of land and water; and the formation of strata
-ceased in some localities and began in others: and so on
-from epoch to epoch. Thus the areas over which the process
-has been going on, have been, in every age, of limited
-extent, and have been ever shifting from place to place
-over the surface of the earth. Moreover, there is the opposite
-process of Denudation. Many of the strata deposited
-in the depths of the ocean must have been afterward swept
-away by the breakers, as they slowly emerged from the
-waters; or at a later time, reduced to their original elements,
-and carried back to the sea, by the action of rivers,
-rain, and frost. It should seem, therefore, as well from the
-<i>fact</i>, which is obvious to any one who will examine it, as from
-our <i>theory</i>, which harmonizes so completely with the fact,
-that the strata which we meet with in any given section of
-the Earth’s Crust present to us but a very broken and imperfect
-series of monuments. They are, as it were, but
-odd volumes of a long series, and though they lie in juxtaposition,
-they may belong, nevertheless, to Geological epochs
-widely removed from each other.</p>
-
-<p>Hence, in order to construct a complete system of Geological
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">208</span>
-Chronology it is necessary to collect together these
-odd volumes, as they may be called, of the Great Geological
-Calendar, and to assign to each one its proper place in
-the series. This difficult and complicated task is accomplished
-chiefly by the aid of Fossil Remains. We have
-already shown that the Fossil Remains which are found
-embedded in each group of strata, represent the organic
-life of the period during which that group of strata was in
-progress of formation. Moreover, we have seen that each
-period was marked by the existence of an animal and vegetable
-creation peculiar to itself. If, therefore, we find that
-the Fossils of two different districts exhibit the same general
-character, we may conclude that the beds in which
-they are preserved were deposited about the same age, and
-consequently belong to the same Geological Period.
-Whereas, on the other hand, if, within certain limits, we
-discover two groups of strata, each of which has a collection
-of Fossils totally different from the other, it is a proof
-that these two groups were <i>not</i> deposited in the same age,
-and must, consequently, be referred to different Epochs of
-the Geological Calendar. Let us now see in what manner
-the practical Geologist proceeds to apply these general
-principles.</p>
-
-<p>He takes first some one country, say England, and in
-that country he selects some one particular district to begin
-with. Here he examines a number of different sections,
-and makes himself familiar with all the strata of the neighborhood,
-and with the order in which they lie. Let us
-suppose that he finds three different groups spread out one
-above another, and let us call these groups A, B, and C;
-A being the lowest, B immediately above A, and C above
-B. The chronological order of these strata will be, therefore,
-A, B, C. He will study next the Fossil Remains
-which he finds embedded in each group. For convenience
-we may designate the Fossils of A by the letter a, those of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">209</span>
-B by b, and those of C by c. Now, according to the
-principles above explained, these three collections of Fossils
-will be specifically distinct from one another, each collection
-being characteristic of one particular set of strata.
-Our Geologist next goes into a neighboring district, and
-there examines a number of sections as before. Let us
-suppose that he encounters again the groups A and B. He
-may, perhaps, have been able to trace the beds from one
-district to the other, by observations made upon his line of
-route: or it may be that the nature of the country has rendered
-such observations impossible; or the observations
-may have been so imperfect that from <i>them</i> he could arrive
-at no certain conclusion regarding the identity of the strata.
-But, at all events, if the new district yield an abundant
-supply of Fossils, he cannot long be at a loss. He will
-recognize the group A by the Fossils a, and the group B
-by the Fossils b. An important fact, however, soon
-attracts his attention. Group C has entirely disappeared,
-and is not to be found in this district; while between A
-and B there is a new group of rocks that he has not seen before,
-with a collection of Fossils different from a, b, and c.
-We will call this new group X, and its Fossils x. It is clear
-that the formation of X must have intervened between the
-formation of A and B; and the chronological order now
-stands A, X, B, C. In like manner another district may
-disclose a fourth group of strata, say Y, intervening
-between B and C. The chronological order will then
-stand A, X, B, Y, C. And thus the Geologist pursues his
-explorations until he has gone through the whole country,
-and arranged the principal groups of strata according to
-the order of time in which they were deposited.</p>
-
-<p>In this way the whole of England has been minutely
-explored during the last half century. The task was first
-undertaken by William Smith, who is justly called the
-Father of English Geology. After multiplied researches,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">210</span>
-extending over a space of many years, during which he
-travelled the whole country on foot, this eminent man
-published in 1815 his Geological Map of England and
-Wales with part of Scotland; a work which is described
-by Sir Charles Lyell as “a lasting monument of original
-talent and extraordinary perseverance.” Hundreds followed
-in the same course, exploring every day new districts, and,
-by the new facts which they brought to light, supplying
-what was wanting in the work of Smith, correcting what
-was faulty, and confirming what was true; until at length,
-in our day, it may be said that the Stratified Rocks of England
-are almost as well known and as completely mapped
-out as are its counties and its towns, its rivers, lakes, and
-mountains.</p>
-
-<p>Meanwhile, Geologists were not idle in other parts of the
-world. Germany, France, Italy, even many districts of
-America and Australia, have been diligently explored
-according to the same principles as England. And by a
-comparison of the observations made, the Chronological
-order of strata over a considerable part of the Earth, but
-more particularly of Europe, has been now pretty fairly
-ascertained. This order we have attempted to set forth in
-an intelligible and sensible form by means of the table here
-annexed.</p>
-
-<p>In the Woodcut are represented the strata hitherto examined
-by Geologists, laid out one above another, according
-to the order of time in which they are supposed to have
-been produced. The whole series is divided into a number
-of Formations, the names of which are given in the first
-column, together with an approximate estimate of their
-thickness, in feet. These Formations are distinguished
-from each other in the drawing by a difference of shading.
-Each of them, according to Geological theory, is believed
-to have come into existence by the accumulation of
-solid matter at the bottom of the sea; and the Period of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">211</span>
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">212</span>
-time occupied in its production is usually designated by the
-same name as the Formation itself. Thus we read of the
-Carboniferous Formation and the Carboniferous Period:
-by the former phrase is meant certain groups of strata contemporaneously
-deposited over various parts of the Earth’s
-surface; and by the latter, the Period of time during which
-these groups of strata were spread out. In like manner,
-when we hear of the Carboniferous Fauna and Flora, we
-are to understand the animal and vegetable life that flourished
-during the Carboniferous Period. And again, when
-Geologists talk of the Cretaceous sea, and tell us that it
-rolled over a great part of what is now called Europe, they
-mean to speak of that sea on the bottom of which the Cretaceous
-rocks were deposited.</p>
-
-<div id="img_211" class="figcenter">
-<p class="caption large">TABLE OF STRATIFIED ROCKS,<br />
-<span class="medium">CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED.</span></p>
-<img src="images/img_211.jpg" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>Most of the Formations comprise various groups of
-strata; and these groups are made up of different varieties
-of rocks, which are again divided into layers or beds of
-varying thickness. Even in these beds themselves we can
-often distinguish an indefinite number of lamin&aelig; or plates,
-scarcely thicker than a sheet of paper, which correspond to
-the periodical depositions of matter by which the rock was
-originally formed. These numerous subdivisions may be
-conveniently illustrated from the Carboniferous Formation.
-It is divided into two leading groups of strata; the Mountain
-Limestone below, the Coal Measures above. The upper
-group is the larger as well as the more important. It attains
-a maximum thickness in South Wales of 12,000 feet; and
-consists of numerous strata of Sandstone and Shale, with
-thin seams of Coal occasionally interposed. In one
-remarkable instance a hundred distinct layers of Coal, varying
-in thickness from six inches to ten feet, have been
-counted in one Coal-field, each resting on a bed of Shale,
-called in mining phraseology the Underclay. This Shale
-itself naturally divides into an indefinite number of thin
-plates, just like the stratum of mud accumulated by the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">213</span>
-annual inundations of the river Nile, and constituting the
-present soil of Egypt.</p>
-
-<p>We have not attempted to represent in our Woodcut
-these various divisions and subdivisions of Stratified Rocks.
-But the names of some important and well-known groups
-we have had engraved, to impress more vividly on the mind
-the place to which they are to be referred in the Geological
-Calendar. Thus the reader may see at a glance the respective
-ages of the Coal and the Chalk; of the Lias, in which
-are preserved the remains of extinct gigantic reptiles, and
-the Glacial Drift, in which the elephant, the rhinoceros,
-and the hippopotamus are found entombed; of the Mountain
-Limestone, which is often nothing else than vast beds
-of Coral uplifted from beneath the waters of the ocean, and
-the Oolite, which includes the Portland quarries, where the
-petrified stems of ancient forest trees are found standing
-erect in the solid rock.</p>
-
-<p>As the series of Stratified Rocks is divided by Geologists
-into a certain number or systems or Formations, so these
-are again grouped into still larger classes, called Primary,
-Secondary, and Tertiary; that is to say, first, second, and
-third, in the order of formation. These larger classes correspond
-to the Great Epochs or Ages of Geological time,
-each comprising within itself many distinct Periods. The
-Primary rocks are also called Pal&aelig;ozoic&mdash;παλαιὁν, ancient,
-and ξῶον, an organic being&mdash;because they contain the oldest
-forms of organic life: in like manner the term Mesozoic&mdash;μεσον,
-middle, and ξῶον&mdash;is applied to the Secondary
-strata, inasmuch as they contain the middle or intermediate
-forms of organic life: and the name Kainozoic&mdash;χαινὁν,
-new, and ξῶον&mdash;is given to the Tertiary, which contain
-the newest forms of organic life.</p>
-
-<p>The term Post-Tertiary has recently been adopted to
-designate those superficial deposits which are subsequent
-to the Tertiary Age. They are divided into two groups;
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">214</span>
-the Recent, which corresponds with the period of history,
-and the Post-Pliocene which precedes it. Some writers
-seem to think that these deposits, being so very insignificant
-and so very modern when compared with the long
-series of Stratified Rocks, are not truly Geological. But
-this, we should say, is a mistaken view of the question.
-It seems to us that even the minute layer of mud that is
-deposited every day at the mouth of the Ganges or the Mississippi,
-is linked on to the long chain of events which have
-brought the Crust of the Earth into its present condition;
-and, therefore, truly belongs to the science of Geology, and
-is deserving of its proper place in Geological classification.</p>
-
-<p>We may here observe that the names of the great Geological
-Epochs are descriptive names; that is to say, the obvious
-meaning of the words corresponds to the character
-of the strata they are used to represent. Primary, Secondary,
-Tertiary, mean First, Second, and Third, in the order
-of formation: Pal&aelig;ozoic, Mesozoic, and Kainozoic, signify
-that the strata so called are characterized by Ancient,
-Middle, and Modern, forms of organic life. But it is very
-often quite otherwise with the names of the several Formations:
-and this is a point of no small importance to the
-student of Geology. These names must be regarded simply
-<i>as names</i> employed to designate the strata formed in
-each successive period, and not exactly to describe their
-character. They generally had their origin in some accidental
-circumstance, or were derived from some particular
-locality; and afterward, being perpetuated, gradually came
-to receive a much more extended application than that
-which the words themselves would seem to suggest. Thus,
-for instance, the Cretaceous Formation is so called from
-the remarkable stratum of white chalk (creta) which was
-deposited during that period over a great part of Europe;
-but it would be a mistake to suppose that the whole Formation
-is made up of chalk. On the contrary, in different
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">215</span>
-localities it is composed of very different materials; near
-Dresden, for example, it is a gray quartzose sandstone, and
-in many parts of the Alps it is hard compact limestone.<a id="FNanchor_84" href="#Footnote_84" class="fnanchor">84</a>
-Again, the Devonian Formation derives its name from
-Devonshire, where the rocks of the Devonian period were
-first minutely examined; but we must not therefore infer
-that this Formation is peculiar to the county of Devon; it is
-to be found in many other parts of England, also in Ireland,
-and on the continent of Europe. So, too, another Formation
-has received the name of Carboniferous, which literally
-means Coal-bearing (carbo fero) because of the beds
-of Coal which are sometimes associated with its strata; yet
-this Formation is often found quite destitute of Coal over a
-very extensive area.</p>
-
-<p>In looking over our Table of strata the reader must have
-noticed that the successive spaces in the Woodcut are not
-proportioned to the actual thickness of the successive
-Formations for which they stand. The Secondary and
-Tertiary Rocks taken together are scarcely one-third as
-thick, in reality, as the Primary; yet they occupy an equal
-space in the engraving: and, more remarkable still, the
-Cretaceous system is allowed double the space of the Laurentian,
-though less than half as thick. This circumstance
-calls for a passing word of explanation. In the early
-annals of a country there is generally a great scarcity of
-authentic records; and, from a simple dearth of facts, the
-history of a whole century is compressed, not unfrequently,
-into a few pages: whereas, in later times, when documentary
-evidence begins to accumulate, the historians will often
-spread out the events of two or three years over several chapters.
-Something of the same kind takes place in Geology.
-The Fossil Remains, from which, as from authentic documents,
-the Geologist chiefly derives his information regarding
-the history of the Earth’s Crust, are scanty in the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">216</span>
-earlier Formations, and abundant in the more recent. And
-thus it happens that the older Geological Periods, notwithstanding
-the vast thickness of the rocks by which they
-are represented, do not occupy a very prominent position
-in the annals of Geology, and are compressed into a comparatively
-insignificant space in its Tables. Nevertheless,
-the immense depth of the earliest Stratified Rocks must be
-taken into account in any attempt to estimate the comparative
-duration of the several Geological Periods. We have,
-therefore, set down, under the name of each Formation,
-an approximate estimate of its actual thickness, taken
-chiefly from the works of Doctor Haughton and Sir Charles
-Lyell.</p>
-
-<p>Before bringing this chapter to an end we would observe
-that the system of classification we have here endeavored to
-explain does not pretend to be final and complete. It is,
-on the contrary, little more than a temporary expedient to
-render intelligible the results at which Geologists have
-hitherto arrived; and is liable to manifold modifications in
-proportion as their acquaintance with the records they have
-undertaken to interpret becomes more extensive and more
-minute. All that they now contend for is this: that the
-successive Formations represent successive Periods of time,
-which followed one another in the order here set forth, and
-during which the Earth was peopled with certain species
-of Plants and Animals, for the most part peculiar to their
-respective eras.<a id="FNanchor_85" href="#Footnote_85" class="fnanchor">85</a>
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">217</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_217.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_XIII"><i>CHAPTER XIII.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">GEOLOGICAL CHRONOLOGY&mdash;REMARKS ON THE SUCCESSION OF
-ORGANIC LIFE.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Summary of the history of stratified rocks&mdash;Striking characteristics
-of certain formations&mdash;Human remains found only
-in superficial deposits&mdash;Gradual transition from the organic
-life of one period to that of the next&mdash;Evidence in favor
-of this opinion&mdash;Advance from lower to higher types of
-organic life as we ascend from the older to the more recent
-formations&mdash;Economic value of geological chronology&mdash;Illustration&mdash;Search
-for coal&mdash;The practical man at fault&mdash;The
-geologist comes to his aid, and saves him from useless expense.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/w.jpg" alt="W" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">With</span> this sketch of Geological Chronology before
-us, we can now more fully realize to our minds the
-story we are told about the formation of the Earth’s
-Crust. In the earliest age to which Geologists can trace
-back the history of the Aqueous Rocks&mdash;for they do not profess
-to trace it back to the beginning&mdash;this Globe of ours was,
-as it is now, partly covered with water, and partly dry land.
-The formation of stratified rocks went on in that age, as it is
-still going on, chiefly over those areas that were under water&mdash;not
-indeed throughout the entire extent of such areas, but
-over certain portions of them to which mineral matter happened
-to be carried by the action of natural causes. And
-the Earth was peopled then as now, though with animals and
-plants very different from those by which we are surrounded
-at the present day. Some of these happened to escape
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">218</span>
-destruction, and to be embedded in the deposits of that far
-distant age, and have thus been preserved even to our time.
-And these strata with their Fossils are the same that we now
-group together under the title of the Laurentian Formation:
-which being the oldest group of stratified rocks we can
-recognize in the depths of the Earth’s Crust, occupies the
-lowest position in our table of Chronology. Ages rolled
-on; and the Crust of the Earth was moved from within by
-some giant force, the bed of the ocean was lifted up in one
-place, islands and continents were submerged in another,
-and so the outlines of land and water were changed. With
-this change the old forms of life passed away; a new creation
-came in; and the Laurentian period gave place to
-the Cambrian. But the order of nature was still the same
-as before. The deposition of stratified rocks still continued,
-though the areas of deposition were, in many cases, shifted
-from one locality to another. And the organic life that
-flourished in the Cambrian times left its memorials behind
-it buried in the Cambrian rocks. Then that age, too, came
-to an end, and gave place in its turn to the Silurian: and
-this was, again, followed by the Devonian. Thus one
-period succeeded to another in the order set forth in our
-table; and every part of the globe was, in the course of
-ages, more than once submerged, and covered with the
-deposits of more than one age, and enriched with the
-Organic Remains of more than one creation.</p>
-
-<p>As we advance upward in the series of Formations we
-soon perceive that the Fossil Remains, which, in the
-earlier groups were scanty enough, become profusely abundant,
-until even the unpractised eye cannot fail to mark the
-peculiar character of each successive period;&mdash;the exuberant
-vegetation of the Carboniferous, with its luxuriant
-herbage and its tangled forests, its huge pines, its tall tree-ferns,
-and its stately araucarias: the enormous creeping
-monsters of the Jurassic, the ichthyosaurs, the megalosaurs,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">219</span>
-the iguanodons, which filled its seas, or crowded its plains,
-or haunted its rivers; and higher up in the scale, the colossal
-quadrupeds of the Miocene and the Pliocene, the
-mammoths, the mastodons, the megatheriums, which begin
-to approximate more closely to the organic types of our
-own age. But amidst these various forms of life, the eye
-looks in vain for any relic of human kind. No bone of
-man, no trace of human intelligence, is to be found in any
-bed of rock that belongs to the Primary, Secondary, or
-Tertiary Formations. It is only when we have passed all
-these, and come to the latest formation of the whole series,
-nay, it is only in the uppermost beds of this Formation, that
-we meet, for the first time, with human bones, and the
-works of human art.</p>
-
-<p>Thus it appears pretty plain, even from the testimony of
-Geology, that man was the last work of the creation; and
-that, if the world is old, the human race is comparatively
-young. These broken and imperfect records, which have
-been so curiously preserved in the Crust of the Earth,
-carry us back to an antiquity which may not be measured
-by years and centuries, and then set before us, as in a palpable
-form, how the tender herbage appeared, and the
-fruit-tree yielding fruit according to its kind; and how the
-Earth was afterward peopled with great creeping things,
-and winged fowl, and the cattle, and the beasts of the
-field; and then, at length, they disclose to us how, last of
-all, man appeared, to whom all these things seem to tend,
-and who was to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
-the fowl of the air, and every living thing that moveth upon
-the earth. We do not mean to dwell just now upon this
-view of the history of creation so clearly displayed in the
-records of Geology. But we shall return to it hereafter
-when we come in the sequel to consider how admirably the
-genuine truths of this science fit in with the inspired narrative
-of Moses.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">220</span></p>
-
-<p>It may here, very naturally, be asked, if the records of
-Geology give us any information as to the manner in which
-each period of animal and vegetable life was brought to an
-end? Did the old organic forms gradually die out, and
-the new gradually come in to take their places? or were
-the one suddenly extinguished and the others as suddenly
-produced? This question has been a subject of controversy
-among Geologists themselves; and therefore it is
-somewhat outside our scope, since we propose to exhibit
-only that more general outline of Geological theory which is
-accepted by all. Nevertheless, as it is a question that must
-needs occur to the mind of every reader, it seems to call
-for a few words of explanation as we pass along. In the
-early days of Geology, it was commonly held that each
-great period was brought to an end by a sudden and violent
-convulsion of Nature. The Crust of the Earth was
-burst open in many places all at once; the bottom of the
-ocean was upheaved with a tremendous shock; the waters,
-driven from their accustomed bed, rushed with furious
-impetuosity over islands and continents; and the whole
-existing creation perished in a universal deluge. Then
-succeeded an interval of chaotic confusion, and when at
-length the waters subsided, and dry land again appeared, a
-new age in the history of the Globe was ushered in, and
-the Earth was again peopled by a new creation.</p>
-
-<p>But this old theory has gradually given way as the Stratified
-Rocks have been more and more fully examined, and
-at the present day it is almost universally abandoned.
-Geologists have observed that the same species of Fossil
-Remains which prevail in the upper beds of one Formation,
-are met with also in the lower beds of the next, though in
-less numbers and mixed up with new species; and that, as
-we ascend higher and higher into the later Formation, the
-old species gradually become more and more scarce,
-while the new gradually become more and more numerous;
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">221</span>
-until at length the characteristic forms of one age have disappeared
-altogether, and those of the succeeding age have
-attained their full development.</p>
-
-<p>For this important fact, which was brought to light
-within the last half century, we are mainly indebted to the
-unwearied researches and great ability of Sir Charles Lyell.
-Speaking of the Formations of the Tertiary Epoch, to
-which, as is well known, he has principally devoted himself,
-this distinguished writer thus sums up the result of his
-long investigation:&mdash;“In passing from the older to the
-newer members of the Tertiary system we meet with many
-chasms, but none which separate entirely, by a broad line
-of demarkation, one state of the organic world from
-another. There are no signs of an abrupt termination of
-one fauna and flora, and the starting into life of new and
-wholly distinct forms. Although we are far from being
-able to demonstrate geologically an insensible transition
-from the Eocene to the Miocene, or even from the latter to
-the recent fauna, yet the more we enlarge and perfect our
-general survey, the more nearly do we approximate to such
-a continuous series, and the more gradually are we conducted
-from times when many of the genera and nearly all
-the species were extinct, to those in which scarcely a single
-species flourished which we do not know to exist at present.”<a id="FNanchor_86" href="#Footnote_86" class="fnanchor">86</a>
-Hence he concludes, and his conclusion is now
-the common doctrine of Geologists, that the extinction
-and creation of species has been “the result of a slow and
-gradual change in the organic world.”<a id="FNanchor_87" href="#Footnote_87" class="fnanchor">87</a></p>
-
-<p>It was long argued against this view, that we often meet,
-especially in the Primary and Secondary Formations, two
-groups of strata in immediate contact, in which there is a
-perfectly sudden transition from one set of Fossil Remains
-to another altogether different. Each group contains a
-countless variety of species, and yet there is not a single
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">222</span>
-species common to the two. Does it not appear that in
-such a case the organic life of one period was suddenly
-destroyed, and that of the next as suddenly introduced?
-Not so; there is one link wanting in the argument. It
-must be shown that these two strata which are now in <i>immediate
-contact</i> were originally deposited in <i>immediate succession</i>.
-But this it is impossible to prove: nay, it must needs
-be very often false. We have before observed that the
-areas of deposition were limited in every age, and were
-ever shifting from one locality to another. Therefore it
-must have been a frequent occurrence that, after one bed
-of rock was formed, the process of deposition ceased altogether
-in that locality, and did not begin again for many
-ages. Thus a long lapse of time often intervened between
-the deposition of two strata, which were laid out one immediately
-above the other. Furthermore, we have also seen
-that whole groups of strata may in any age be swept away
-by Denudation; and then the rocks which are next deposited
-in that locality, will be in immediate contact with
-strata indefinitely more ancient than themselves. From these
-considerations it is plain that two groups of strata which are
-now found in juxtaposition, may have been deposited in
-two Geological ages widely remote from each other. And
-consequently a sudden transition from the Organic Life of
-one group to the Organic Life of the other affords no proof
-of a sudden transition from the Organic Life of one
-Geological Period to the Organic Life of that which next
-succeeded. We may observe, however, that the recent researches,
-which have contributed so much to fill up the
-interstices of the Geological Calendar, have conduced in no
-small degree to fill up likewise some of the more remarkable
-gaps or chasms in the succession of Organic Life. It
-is, therefore, not unreasonable to suppose that, as our
-knowledge of the Earth’s Crust becomes more and more
-minute, the sudden breaks in the continuity of the scale
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">223</span>
-will be still further diminished and the successive stages of
-gradual transition will be made more clearly apparent.</p>
-
-<p>This subject has been very happily illustrated by Sir
-Charles Lyell:&mdash;“To make still more clear the supposed
-working of this machinery [for the deposition of Stratified
-Rocks and the preservation of Organic Remains], I shall
-compare it to a somewhat analogous case that might be
-imagined to occur in the history of human affairs. Let the
-mortality of the population of a large country represent the
-successive extinction of species, and the birth of new individuals,
-the introduction of new species. While these
-fluctuations are gradually taking place everywhere, suppose
-commissioners to be appointed to visit each province of the
-country in succession, taking an exact account of the
-number, names, and individual peculiarities of all the
-inhabitants, and leaving in each district a register containing
-a record of this information. If, after the completion
-of one census, another is immediately made on the same
-plan, and then another, there will, at last, be a series of
-statistical documents in each province. When these belonging
-to any one province are arranged in chronological order,
-the contents of such as stand next to each other will differ
-according to the length of time between the taking of each
-census. If, for example, there are sixty provinces, and all
-the registers are made in a single year, and renewed annually,
-the number of births and deaths will be so small in
-proportion to the whole of the inhabitants, during the interval
-between the compiling of two consecutive documents,
-that the individuals described in such documents will be
-nearly identical; whereas, if the survey of each of the sixty
-provinces occupies all the commissioners for a whole year,
-so that they are unable to revisit the same place until the
-expiration of sixty years, there will then be an almost entire
-discordance between the persons enumerated in two consecutive
-registers in the same province.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">224</span></p>
-
-<p>“But I must remind the reader that the case above
-proposed has no pretentions to be regarded as an exact
-parallel to the Geological phenomena which I desire to
-illustrate; for the commissioners are supposed to visit the
-different provinces in rotation; whereas the commemorating
-processes by which organic remains become fossilized,
-although they are always shifting from one area to the
-other, are yet very irregular in their movements. They
-may abandon and revisit many spaces again and again,
-before they once approach another district; and besides
-this source of irregularity, it may often happen that, while
-the depositing process is suspended, Denudation may take
-place, which may be compared to the occasional destruction
-by fire or other causes of some of the statistical documents
-before mentioned. It is evident that where such
-accidents occur, the want of continuity in the series may
-become indefinitely great, and that the monuments which
-follow next in succession will by no means be equi-distant
-from each other in point of time.</p>
-
-<p>“If this train of reasoning be admitted, the occasional
-distinctness of the fossil remains, in formations immediately
-in contact, would be a necessary consequence of the existing
-laws of sedimentary deposition and subterranean movement,
-accompanied by a constant mortality and renovation
-or species.”<a id="FNanchor_88" href="#Footnote_88" class="fnanchor">88</a></p>
-
-<p>There is another and a very striking fact in the succession
-of ancient organic life, which claims from us a moment’s
-notice. As we proceed upward through the series
-of Stratified Rocks, from the oldest to the newest, we find
-a gradual advance in the types of animal organization
-therein preserved, from the humbler and more simple forms
-of structure to those of a higher and more perfect character.
-That form of organization is regarded among Zoologists as
-the more perfect in which there is “a greater number of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">225</span>
-organs specially devoted to particular functions.” Now all
-the forms of animal life with which we are acquainted, may
-be reduced to two great divisions, the Vertebrate and the Invertebrate,&mdash;the
-former having a <i>vertebral</i> or spinal column,
-the latter having none: and it is agreed in conformity with
-the notion set forth above, that the Vertebrate animals as a
-class exhibit a more perfect organization than the Invertebrate.
-Again, among the Vertebrate themselves there is a
-gradation; the Reptiles are ranked higher than the Fish,
-the Birds higher than the Reptiles, and the Mammalia
-higher again than the Birds.</p>
-
-<p>All this we learn from Zoologists, who have pursued their
-investigations without any reference whatever to the science
-of Geology. It is, therefore, not a little remarkable that we
-should discover this very order and gradation of animal life in
-the successive groups of Stratified Rocks. All the Remains
-hitherto discovered in the earliest Geological Formations
-belong to Invertebrate animals, while the Vertebrate, which
-appear for the first time in the latter part of the Silurian
-Period, are, from that age on, more and more fully developed
-down to the present day, and now constitute, if not
-the most numerous, at least the most important part of the
-animal creation. Moreover, it is to be observed that the
-Vertebrate animals do not all make their appearance at
-once, but come in successively according to the same scale
-of organic perfection,&mdash;the Fish appearing first, then the
-Reptiles, then the Birds, and lastly the Mammalia. Even
-among the Mammalia a well-defined order of progressive
-succession has been observed, which finally culminates in
-the appearance of Man, the last created and the most perfect
-of animals.</p>
-
-<div id="img_226" class="figcenter">
-<p class="caption">TABLE OF GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS,<br />
-
-<span class="medium">SHOWING THE FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE EARTH OF THE VARIOUS FORMS
-OF ANIMAL LIFE.</span></p>
-<img src="images/img_226.jpg" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>This remarkable succession of animal life in the history
-of the Earth’s Crust will be more readily understood by
-means of the annexed Table. The remains of Invertebrate
-animals have been traced as far back as the Lower Laurentian
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">226</span>
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">227</span>
-Rocks. The Vertebrate first become manifest in the
-Ludlow beds of the Upper Silurian; where they are represented
-by the bones of Fish, the lowest class belonging to
-the Province of Vertebrates. Next in order come the Reptiles:
-the oldest known Reptile having been found in the
-Coal Measures of Saarbr&uuml;ck between Strasburg and Treves.
-The skeletons of Birds are rare in the Stratified Rocks. It
-is supposed that their powers of flight have in all ages
-secured them, to great a extent, from being carried away
-by floods, like other land animals, and buried in the sedimentary
-deposits of rivers and estuaries. Nevertheless their
-presence in the ancient world is frequently attested by their
-footsteps, impressed originally on the sandy beach, and
-still preserved now that the soft sand has been converted
-into solid rock. Such traces have been discovered in great
-abundance on the New Red Sandstone of the Connecticut
-River in America; and afford the earliest evidence we possess
-in the records of Geology regarding the existence of
-the feathered tribe. This group of strata belongs to the
-lower Trias. In the higher beds of the same Formation we
-meet with the first relic of ancient Mammals. It was found
-near Stuttgardt, in 1847, and belongs to the more imperfect
-form of Mammalian life, the Non-Placental. Similar
-remains have been since discovered in the Upper Trias of
-Somersetshire. The Placental, or more perfect form of
-animal life in the same class, first appears in the Eocene
-Formation: and the bones of Man, the highest of the Placental,
-are found for the first time in the upper deposits of
-the Post-Tertiary Age.</p>
-
-<p>Let it be remembered that we are here but stating the
-facts which have been hitherto brought to light by the
-researches of Geologists. It may be, it is indeed most
-probable, that new discoveries will lead to numerous modifications
-in our Table. There is no reason to suppose that
-Geologists have yet exhumed the earliest remains of Vertebrates
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">228</span>
-or Invertebrates preserved in the Crust of the Earth:
-that Fish may not hereafter be traced back beyond the Silurian,
-or Reptiles beyond the Carboniferous Period: that
-Birds may not be found among the Primary Rocks, and
-Placentals among the Secondary. But in a science which
-depends mainly upon observation, it is better to register
-the facts we have than to speculate idly about those we have
-not. And, having registered them, we cannot fail to be
-struck with the succession of animal life on the Earth, to
-which they seem to point. It is certainly deserving of
-notice that, as far as the Organic Remains hitherto discovered
-may be taken as a guide, Invertebrates and Vertebrates,
-Fish, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals, Non-Placentals
-and Placentals, follow one another in the ascending
-series of Geological Formations exactly in the same order
-as they follow one another in the ascending scale of Zoological
-Classification.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>And so Geologists go on ever searching out new phenomena,
-and grouping them together into classes, until
-from particular facts they lead us to general truths. Then
-starting with these general truths as the groundwork of their
-science, they proceed to sketch out the Natural History of
-our Globe from the remotest ages of the past down to the
-present time. They first study the stratified deposits of each
-succeeding age, and analyze the Fossil Remains embedded
-therein; afterward they make their inferences, and they
-compile their history. They describe the forms, the character,
-the habits, of the plants and animals that flourished
-of old in this world of ours; they tell us where the deep
-sea rolled its waves in each succeeding age, and where the
-dry land appeared; they point out the Deltas of its ancient
-rivers, they measure the breadth of its Estuaries, they
-trace the course of its Glaciers, they mark the outlines of
-its Mountain chains. But with these and such like speculations
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">229</span>
-we are not here concerned. Many of them are open
-to controversy, and not a few are at this moment warmly
-disputed among Geologists themselves: besides, whether
-true or false, they do not in any way affect the relations
-between Geology and Revealed Religion. We shall be
-quite content, and it is all that our present scope demands,
-if we have made intelligible the general theory of Geological
-Chronology, and the kind of evidence on which it rests.</p>
-
-<p>Before taking leave of this subject, however, we will venture
-to offer what seems to us an interesting illustration of
-the principles we have been explaining in the last two
-chapters;&mdash;one that will help to confirm the conclusions
-for which we have been contending, and that will also
-bring home to many minds the practical advantage to be
-derived from a thorough knowledge and just application of
-Geological science. Perhaps, too, it may help to revive
-the flagging attention of our readers; for the subject of our
-illustration is <i>Coal, and the way to find it</i>. In this age of
-manufactories and steam-engines,&mdash;when the atmosphere
-of great towns is heavy with smoke, and the quiet solitude
-of the country is so rudely disturbed by the shrieking of the
-railway-whistle and the snorting of the sooty locomotive,&mdash;this
-black, dirty mineral has acquired a value and importance,
-which may succeed in rousing even the practical
-money-making man to pay some heed to the lessons of
-science.</p>
-
-<p>Coal might have been produced in any Geological Period;
-and in point of fact, beds of coal have been discovered
-in many different Formations. But in England, and
-in Western Europe generally, it has been found by long
-experience that the Coal-beds of the Carboniferous Formation
-are more abundant, and of better quality, than those
-of any other. Indeed the beds of Coal that occur in other
-Formations are so thin, and of such inferior quality, that
-they cannot be worked with profit. It is therefore of the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">230</span>
-highest importance in the search for Coal, before going to
-the enormous expense of sinking deep shafts, to discover
-whether or no the rocks in which the search is to be made
-belong to the Carboniferous Period. In this matter the
-more <i>practical man</i> is often seriously at fault. Coal-bearing
-strata generally consist pretty largely of dark-colored clay,
-black shales, and similar deposits. This is a fact which,
-as it strikes the eye, is perfectly familiar to all who are
-engaged in the working of Coal mines. Hence it happens,
-not unfrequently, that the practical man, when he
-meets with strata of this kind, is apt at once to infer that
-Coal is near at hand. The Geologist, on the contrary,
-knows well that such strata are not peculiar to the Carboniferous
-rocks, but are often found in other Formations in
-which there is no Coal at all, or at least no Coal that will
-repay the expense of working; and therefore he will pronounce
-it most rash to undertake costly works on the
-strength of these appearances. He has learned, however,
-that there are certain species of animals and plants which
-are found in the Carboniferous rocks and in them alone;
-he will search for these in the strata which it is proposed
-to explore, and by their presence or their absence he will
-know whether the strata in question belong to the Carboniferous
-Formation or not.</p>
-
-<p>Again, it will often happen that, in the midst of an extensive
-region well known to abound in Coal, the rocks which
-appear at the surface in one particular locality, are not
-wholly devoid of Coal, but exhibit no resemblance either
-in mineral character or in Fossil Remains to the Coal-bearing
-strata. A question then arises of the highest practical
-importance. May it be that the Coal-bearing strata
-are spread out beneath this uppermost bed of rocks? and
-is it worth the expense to sink a shaft through the one in
-the hope of reaching the other? The practical miner has
-no very clear or certain principles to help him in the solution
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">231</span>
-of this problem; and thus it has often happened that
-thousands upon thousands of pounds have been expended
-in sinking shafts to look for Coal, where, as it afterward
-proved, there was not the slightest chance of finding it.
-Now, though Geology cannot tell if we shall succeed in
-finding Coal beneath these rocks, it <i>can</i> tell if there is
-a <i>good chance</i> of succeeding. It can tell whether there is
-a reasonable hope, by penetrating into the Crust of the
-Earth at this particular spot, of reaching the Carboniferous
-Formation; and if we can reach the Carboniferous Formation
-in the midst of a Coal district, it is very likely we shall
-meet with beds of Coal.</p>
-
-<p>His first object will be to ascertain what is the Formation
-to which the superficial rocks belong. If it be a Formation
-earlier in date than the Carboniferous,&mdash;the Silurian, for
-instance, or the Devonian,&mdash;he knows that it would be
-simply waste of money to look for Coal beneath them;
-because the Carboniferous rocks cannot possibly be found
-underneath the rocks of an earlier age. And so the
-Geologist can tell beforehand what the mere practical man
-would find out only when he had spent his money. If, on
-the other hand, the rocks which appear at the surface belong
-to a period later than the Carboniferous, the Geologist
-will not always conclude that it is expedient to sink a shaft
-in search of Coal. For though the Carboniferous rocks
-may, in this case, be underneath, they may be so far down
-in the Crust of the Earth that we should have no chance
-of ever reaching them. Suppose, for example, that the
-strata which appear at the surface belong to the Cretaceous
-Formation. He knows from his Chronological table that
-the Carboniferous age is separated from the Cretaceous by
-three intermediate Periods,&mdash;the Permian, the Triassic, the
-Jurassic. Therefore, when he finds the Cretaceous rocks
-at the surface in any locality, it is quite possible, though
-of course not certain, that before the Carboniferous Formation
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">232</span>
-could be reached it would be necessary to bore through
-thousands of feet of Jurassic, Triassic, and Permian rocks.
-And even then there would be no certainty of meeting with
-the Coal-bearing strata. Perhaps they were never deposited
-over this area of the earth’s surface; or, if deposited, perhaps
-they were subsequently swept away by Denudation.
-Hence our Geologist would reasonably conclude that, the
-probable expense of the search being so enormous, and the
-chance of success so remote, it would be much wiser not
-to make the attempt.</p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_232.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">233</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_233.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.<br />
-
-<span class="medium">SUBTERRANEAN HEAT&mdash;ITS EXISTENCE DEMONSTRATED
-BY FACTS.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Theory of stratified rocks supposes disturbances of the earth’s
-crust&mdash;These disturbances ascribed by geologists to the action
-of subterranean heat&mdash;The existence of subterranean heat,
-and its power to move the crust of the earth, proved by
-direct evidence&mdash;Supposed igneous origin of our globe&mdash;Remarkable
-increase of temperature as we descend into the
-earth’s crust&mdash;Hot springs&mdash;Artesian wells&mdash;Steam issuing
-from crevices in the earth&mdash;The geysers of Iceland&mdash;A
-glimpse at the subterranean fires&mdash;Mount Vesuvius in 1779&mdash;Vast
-extent of volcanic action&mdash;Existence of subterranean
-heat an established fact.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/i.jpg" alt="I" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">In</span> developing the modern theory of Geology, we
-have all along assumed that the Crust of the
-Earth has been subject to frequent disturbances
-from the earliest ages of the world. Again and again, in
-the course of our argument, we have talked of the bed of
-the sea being lifted up, and converted into dry land; and,
-on the other hand, of the dry land being submerged beneath
-the waters of the sea. We have not even hesitated to
-suppose that these two opposite movements of upheaval
-and submersion often took place by turns over the same
-area; nay, that there is scarcely a region on the surface of
-the Globe which has not been several times submerged, and
-several times again upheaved.</p>
-
-<p>Yet all this has not been taken for granted without proof.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">234</span>
-Our readers have seen what a long array of sober reasoning
-may be drawn out to show that the Stratified Rocks have
-been, for the most part, deposited <i>under water</i>:&mdash;first, from
-the nature and arrangement of the materials which compose
-them; secondly, from the character of the Organic Remains
-they contain. And since they are now <i>above water</i>,
-it is plain that either they have been lifted or the ocean has
-subsided. Furthermore, if we find, as we often do, two
-strata in immediate succession, the one underneath, exhibiting
-the trees of an ancient forest still standing erect
-with their roots attached, the other above, abounding in
-the remains of aquatic animals; we must conclude that
-when the ancient forest flourished this portion of the
-Earth’s Crust was above the level of the sea; that afterward
-it was submerged, and a new deposit, in which the marine
-remains were embedded, was spread out above the earlier
-vegetation; and that, last of all it again emerged from the
-waters, and became once more dry land. Finally, when a
-vertical section of the Earth’s Crust exhibits a continued
-series of such strata alternating with each other, it affords a
-proof that this particular area must have been several times
-under water, and several times again dry land, in the long
-course of ages.</p>
-
-<p>These conclusions are now all but universally received
-among Geologists. The Crust of the Earth, we are
-assured, is not that unyielding and immovable mass which
-men commonly take it to be. On the contrary, it has been
-from the beginning ever restless and in motion, rising here
-and subsiding there, sometimes with a convulsive shock
-capable of upturning, twisting, distorting hard and stubborn
-rocks as if they were but flimsy layers of pliant clay; sometimes
-with a gentle, undulating movement, which, while it
-uplifts islands and continents, leaves the general aspect of
-the surface unchanged, the arrangement of the strata undisturbed,
-and even the most tender Fossils unharmed.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">235</span>
-Disturbances of this kind have been going on in various
-parts of the world even within the period of history; and
-they may be distinctly traced to the action of subterranean
-Heat. In support of a theory so startling and unexpected,
-Geologists appeal to the direct evidence of facts: and we
-now propose to bring some of these facts under the notice
-of our readers.</p>
-
-<p>At the outset, however, it is important to set forth clearly
-the doctrine we hope to illustrate and confirm. With the
-origin of the internal heat that prevails within the Crust of
-the Earth we have no concern. This is still an unsettled
-point among Geologists themselves. Some conjecture that
-our Globe, when first launched into space, was in a state of
-igneous fusion; that is to say, that all the solid matter of
-which it is composed was held in a molten condition by the
-action of intense heat; that, in course of time, as this heat
-passed off by radiation, the surface gradually cooled and
-grew hard; that an external shell of solid rock was thus
-formed, which has been ever growing thicker in proportion
-as the Earth has been growing cooler; and that the actual
-condition of our planet is the result of this process continued
-down to the present day,&mdash;a fiery mass of seething
-mineral within, and a comparatively thin crust of consolidated
-rock without. Others suppose that the internal heat
-of the Globe is developed by the agency of chemical changes
-constantly going on in the depths of the Earth; and others,
-again, look for a cause to the action of electricity and magnetism.
-But these and such like speculations are still under
-discussion, and not one of them can be regarded as anything
-more, at best, than a satisfactory hypothesis. Anyhow,
-it is not about the causes of internal heat that we are
-just now interested, but about the fact of its existence, and
-the nature of its effects. Is it true that an intense heat prevails
-very generally beneath the superficial covering of the
-Globe? and is that heat capable of producing those stupendous
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">236</span>
-changes which are ascribed to it in our theory of Geology?
-These are the questions to which we mean to devote
-our chief attention.</p>
-
-<p>It is a very significant fact, that <i>the deeper we penetrate into
-the Crust of the Earth, the hotter it is</i>. At first, no doubt,
-for a short distance, the reverse is the case. When we begin
-to descend we find it cooler below than above, because the
-further we depart from the surface the more we are removed
-from the influence of the Sun. But at a certain point&mdash;in
-our climate at about fifty feet below the surface&mdash;the influence
-of the Sun’s heat ceases to be sensibly felt. When this
-limit is passed, the temperature begins to rise, and thenceforth
-the deeper we go the hotter the earth becomes.</p>
-
-<p>This broad and general fact has been tested by experiments
-in every part of the world, and has been found true
-in all countries, in all climates, in all latitudes, whether in
-coal-pits, or mines, or deep subterranean caves. “In one
-and the same mine,” says Sir John Herschel,<a id="FNanchor_89" href="#Footnote_89" class="fnanchor">89</a> “each particular
-depth has its own particular degree of heat, which
-never varies: but the lower always the hotter; and that not
-by a trifling, but what may well be called an astonishingly
-rapid rate of increase,&mdash;about a degree of the thermometer
-additional warmth for every ninety feet of additional depth,<a id="FNanchor_90" href="#Footnote_90" class="fnanchor">90</a>
-which is about 58&deg; per mile!&mdash;so that, if we had a shaft
-sunk a mile deep, we should find in the rock a heat of
-105&deg;, which is much hotter than the hottest summer day
-ever experienced in England.” Now if the temperature
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">237</span>
-continue to increase at this rate toward the centre of the
-Earth, it is quite certain that, at no very great distance from
-the surface, the heat would be sufficiently intense to reduce
-the hardest granite and the most refractory metals to a state
-of igneous fusion.</p>
-
-<p>Again, every one is familiar with the existence of hot
-springs, which come up from unknown depths in the
-Earth’s Crust, and which, appearing as they do in almost
-all parts of the world, testify in unmistakable language to
-the existence of internal heat. At Bath, for instance, in
-England, the water comes up from the bowels of the Earth,
-at a temperature of 117&deg; Fahrenheit; and in the United
-States, on the Arkansas River, there is a spring at 180&deg;&mdash;not
-much below the boiling point. This remarkable phenomenon,
-however, may be more closely investigated in the
-case of Artesian Wells, so called from the province of Artois,
-in France, where they first came into use. These wells are
-formed artificially, by boring down through the superficial
-strata of the Earth, sometimes to enormous depths, until
-water is reached. It has been found in every case that the
-water coming up from these great depths is always hot; and,
-furthermore, that the deeper the boring the hotter the water.
-A well of this kind was sunk in 1834 at Grenelle, in the
-suburbs of Paris, to a depth of more than 1800 English
-feet, and the water, which rushed up with surprising force,
-had a temperature of 82&deg; Fahrenheit; whereas the mean
-temperature of the air in the cellars of the Paris Observatory
-is only 53&deg;. The water has ever since continued to flow,
-and the temperature has never varied. At Salzwerth, in
-Germany, where the boring is still deeper, being 2,144 feet,
-the water which rises to the surface is 91&deg; of our scale.</p>
-
-<p>Then we have, in many countries, jets of steam which
-issue at a high temperature from crevices in the Earth, and
-which tell of the existence of heated water below, as plainly
-as the steam that escapes from the funnel of a locomotive or
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">238</span>
-from the spout of a tea-kettle. Phenomena of this kind are
-very common in Italy, where they are sometimes exhibited
-at intervals along a line of country twenty miles in length.
-But in Iceland it is that they are displayed in the highest
-degree of splendor and power. On the southwest side of
-that island, within a circuit of two miles, there are nearly a
-hundred hot springs called Geysers, from some of which,
-at intervals, immense volumes of steam and boiling water
-are violently projected into the air. The Great Geyser is a
-natural tube, ten feet wide, descending into the Earth to a
-depth of seventy feet, and opening out above into a broad
-basin, from fifty to sixty feet in diameter. This basin, as
-well as the tube which connects it with the interior of the
-Earth, is lined with a beautifully smooth and hard plaster
-of siliceous cement, and is generally filled to the brim with
-water of a clear azure color, and a temperature little below
-boiling point. The ordinary condition of the spring is one
-of comparative repose, the water rising slowly in the tube
-and trickling over the edge of the stony basin. But every
-few hours an eruption takes place. Subterranean explosions
-are first heard, like the firing of distant cannon; then a violent
-ebullition follows, clouds of steam are given out, and
-jets of boiling water are cast up into the air. After a little
-the disturbance ceases, and all is quiet again. Once a day,
-or thereabouts, these phenomena are exhibited on a scale
-of extraordinary grandeur: the explosions which announce
-beforehand the approaching display are more numerous and
-violent than usual; then such volumes of steam rush forth
-as to obscure the atmosphere for half a mile around; and,
-finally, a vast column of water is projected to a height of
-from one to two hundred feet, and continues for a quarter
-of an hour to play like an artificial fountain. Geysers
-scarcely less grand and striking are to be seen in New Zealand,
-from which the water is thrown up at a temperature
-214&deg; Fahrenheit, or two degrees above boiling point.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">239</span></p>
-
-<p>Such are the evident symptoms of subterranean heat,&mdash;hot
-springs, jets of steam, fountains of boiling water,&mdash;which
-are manifested unceasingly at the surface of the Earth
-in every quarter of the Globe. But it is sometimes given
-us to behold, as it were, the subterranean fire itself, and to
-contemplate its power under a more striking and awful
-form. From time to time, in the fury of its rage, the fiery
-element bursts asunder the prison-house in which it is confined,
-and rushes forth into the light of day; then flames
-are seen to issue from the surface of the Earth, yawning
-chasms begin to appear on every side, the roaring of the
-furnaces is heard in the depths below, clouds of red-hot
-cinders are ejected high into the air, and streams of incandescent
-liquid rock are poured forth from every crevice,
-which, rolling far away through smiling fields and
-peaceful villages, carry destruction and desolation in their
-track. These are the ordinary phenomena of an active
-volcano during the period of eruption; and even while we
-write, most of them may be witnessed actually taking place
-for the hundredth time, on the historic ground of Mount
-Vesuvius. Our typical example, however, we shall take
-from the eruption of that mountain in the year 1779. It
-was not, indeed, especially remarkable for its violence or
-for the catastrophes by which it was attended; but it had
-the good fortune to be accurately recorded by an eye-witness,
-Sir William Hamilton, who, at that time, represented
-the English Government at the Court of Naples;
-and we are thus more minutely acquainted with all its
-various circumstances than with those of any other eruption
-of equal importance.</p>
-
-<p>For two years before, the mountain had been in a state
-of excitement and disturbance. From time to time rumbling
-noises were heard underground, dense masses of
-smoke were emitted from the crater, liquid lava at a white
-heat bubbled up from crevices on the slopes of the mountain,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">240</span>
-and through these crevices a glimpse could be had
-here and there of the rocky caverns within, all “red-hot
-like a heated oven.” But in the month of August, 1779,
-the eruption reached its climax. About nine o’clock in
-the evening of Sunday the eighth, according to the graphic
-description of Sir William Hamilton, “there was a loud
-report, which shook the houses at Portici and its neighborhood
-to such a degree as to alarm the inhabitants and drive
-them out into the streets. Many windows were broken, and,
-as I have since seen, walls cracked, from the concussion of
-the air from that explosion. In one instant, a fountain of
-liquid transparent fire began to rise, and, gradually increasing,
-arrived at so amazing a height, as to strike every one
-who beheld it with the most awful astonishment. I shall
-scarcely be credited when I assure you that, to the best of
-my judgment, the height of this stupendous column of fire
-could not be less than three times that of Vesuvius itself,
-which, you know, rises perpendicularly near 3,700 feet
-above the level of the sea. Puffs of smoke, as black as
-can possibly be imagined, succeeded one another hastily,
-and accompanied the red-hot, transparent, and liquid lava,
-interrupting its splendid brightness here and there by
-patches of the darkest hue. Within these puffs of smoke,
-at the very moment of their emission from the crater, I
-could perceive a bright but pale electrical light playing
-about in zigzag lines. The liquid lava, mixed with scoriae
-and stones, after having mounted, I verily believe, at least
-10,000 feet, falling perpendicularly on Vesuvius, covered its
-whole cone, and part of that of Somma, and the valley between
-them. The falling matter being nearly as vivid and
-inflamed as that which was continually issuing fresh from
-the crater, formed with it a complete body of fire, which
-could not be less than two miles and a half in breadth, and
-of the extraordinary height above mentioned, casting a
-heat to the distance of at least six miles around it. The
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">241</span>
-brushwood of the mountain of Somma was soon in a flame,
-which, being of a different tint from the deep red of the
-matter thrown out from the Volcano, and from the silvery
-blue of the electrical fire, still added to the contrast of this
-most extraordinary scene. After the column of fire continued
-in full force for nearly half an hour the eruption
-ceased at once, and Vesuvius remained sullen and silent.”<a id="FNanchor_91" href="#Footnote_91" class="fnanchor">91</a></p>
-
-<p>The existence, then, of intense heat within the Crust of
-the Earth may be regarded as an established fact where-ever
-an active Volcano appears at the surface. Now let us
-consider for a moment, the very extensive scale on which
-these fiery engines of Nature are distributed over the face of
-the Globe. First, on the great continent of America.
-The whole chain of the Andes&mdash;that stupendous ridge of
-mountains which stretches along the western coast of South
-America, from Tierra del Fuego on the south to the isthmus
-of Panama on the north&mdash;is studded over with Volcanos,
-most of which have been seen in active eruption
-within the last 300 years. Passing the narrow isthmus of
-Panama, this line of Volcanos may still be traced through
-Guatemala to Mexico, and thence northward even as far as
-the mouth of the Columbia River. Here is a vast volcanic
-region extending fully 6,000 miles in length, and spreading
-out its fiery arms, we know not how far, to the right
-and to the left. At Quito, just on the Equator, a branch
-shoots off toward the northeast, and, passing through New
-Granada and Venezuela, stretches away across the West
-India Islands, taking in St. Vincent, Dominica, Guadaloupe,
-and many others; while, in the opposite direction,
-it is certain that the volcanic action extends westward, far
-away beneath the waters of the Pacific, though we have no
-definite means of ascertaining where its influence ceases to
-be felt.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">242</span></p>
-
-<p>Another vast train of active Volcanos is that which skirts
-the eastern and southern coasts of Asia. Commencing on
-the shores of Northwestern America, it passes through the
-Aleutian Islands to Kamtschatka; then, in a sort of undulating
-curve, it winds its course by the Kurile Islands, the
-Japanese group, the Philippines, and the northeastern extremity
-of the Celebes, to the Moluccas. At this point it
-divides into two branches; one going in a southeasterly
-direction to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Friendly
-Islands, and New Zealand; the other pursuing a northwesterly
-course through Java and Sumatra into the Bay of
-Bengal.</p>
-
-<p>There is a third great line of volcanic fires which has
-been pretty well traced out by modern travellers, extending
-through China and Tartary to the Caucasus; thence over
-the countries bordering the Black Sea to the Grecian Archipelago;
-then on to Naples, Sicily, the Lipari Islands, the
-southern part of Spain and Portugal, and the Azores.
-Besides these there are numerous groups of Volcanos not
-apparently linked on to any regular volcanic chain, nor
-reduced as yet by scientific men to any general system;
-Mount Hecla, for instance, in Iceland, the Mountains of
-the Moon in Central Africa, Owhyhee in the Sandwich
-Islands, and many others rising up irregularly from the
-broad waters of the Pacific.</p>
-
-<p>From this brief outline some idea may be formed of the
-magnificent scale on which volcanic agency is developed
-within the Crust of the Earth. It must be remembered,
-however, that any estimate based upon the enumeration we
-have given, would be, in all probability, far below the
-truth; for we have mentioned those Volcanos only which
-have attracted the notice of scientific men, or which have
-chanced to fall under the observation of travellers. Many
-others, doubtless, must exist in regions not yet explored,
-and in the profound depths of the seas and oceans, which
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">243</span>
-cover nearly two-thirds of the area of our planet. Moreover,
-we have said nothing at all of <i>extinct</i> Volcanos&mdash;such
-as those of Auvergne in France, and of the Rocky Mountains
-in America&mdash;which have not been in active operation
-within historical times; but in which, nevertheless, the
-hardened streams of lava, the volcanic ashes, and the cone-shaped
-mountains terminating in hollow craters, tell the
-story of eruptions in bygone ages, not less clearly than the
-blackened walls and charred timbers of some stately building
-bear witness to the passing wayfarer of a long extinguished
-conflagration.</p>
-
-<p>We contend, therefore, that the doctrine of intense subterranean
-heat is not a wild conjecture, but is based on a
-solid groundwork of facts. First, there is presumptive
-evidence. In every deep mine, in every deep sinking of
-whatever kind, the heat of the earth increases rapidly as we
-descend. Hot water comes from great depths, and never
-cold. Sometimes it is boiling: sometimes it has been converted
-into steam. All this is found to be the case universally,
-whenever an opportunity has occurred for making
-the trial; and it seems to afford a strong presumption that
-if one could go still deeper, the heat would be found yet
-more intense, and would at length be capable of reducing
-to a liquid state the solid materials of which the earth is
-composed. Next, there is the direct testimony of our senses.
-A channel is opened from the depths below, flames are
-seen, red-hot cinders are cast up, and molten rock is
-poured out over the surface of the Earth in a liquid stream
-of fire. This evidence, however, though direct and conclusive
-as far as it goes, is not universal. It proves that an
-intense white heat prevails within the Crust of the Earth,
-not everywhere, but at least in those numerous and extensive
-regions where active Volcanos exist. So stands the
-case, as it seems to us, for the doctrine of subterranean heat
-as far as regards the fact of its existence.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">244</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_244.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_XV"><i>CHAPTER XV.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">SUBTERRANEAN HEAT&mdash;ITS POWERS ILLUSTRATED BY VOLCANOS.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Effects of subterranean heat in the present age of the world&mdash;Vast
-accumulations of solid matter from the eruptions of
-volcanos&mdash;Buried cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum&mdash;Curious
-relics of Roman life&mdash;Monte Nuovo&mdash;Eruption of
-Jorullo in the province of Mexico&mdash;Sumbawa in the Indian
-Archipelago&mdash;Volcanos of Iceland&mdash;Mountain mass of Etna
-the product of volcanic eruptions&mdash;Volcanic islands&mdash;In the
-Atlantic&mdash;In the Mediterranean&mdash;Santorin in the Grecian
-Archipelago.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/h.jpg" alt="H" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">Having</span> now sufficiently demonstrated the existence
-of intense subterranean heat, diffused, if not universally,
-at least very generally, beneath the superficial
-shell of the Earth, we shall next proceed to inquire
-if it is capable of effecting those physical changes which
-are ascribed to it in Geology;&mdash;of producing land where
-none before existed, of upheaving the solid Crust of the
-Earth, of driving the ocean from its bed, of dislocating
-and contorting solid masses of rock. The argument is still
-an appeal to facts. Such effects as these have been produced
-by the agency of internal heat, under actual observation,
-in the present age of the world; and it is not unreasonable
-to attribute to the same cause similar phenomena
-in ages gone by.</p>
-
-<p>We will not run the risk of dissipating the force of this
-reasoning by attempting to expand it. It will be enough
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">245</span>
-for us to state the facts: we shall leave it to our readers to
-estimate for themselves the value of the argument. There
-are three forms, more or less distinct, though closely associated,
-under which the subterranean fires have exerted
-their power in modern times to disturb and modify
-the Physical Geography of the Globe;&mdash;(1) the Volcano,
-(2) the Earthquake, (3) the gentle Undulation of the
-Earth’s Crust. Of these we shall speak in order.</p>
-
-<p>In the case of Volcanos, as we have already sufficiently
-conveyed, the hidden furnaces of the Earth find a vent for
-their surplus energies; and when this vent is once established,
-that is to say, when the active Volcano has begun
-to exist, it seems probable that there is little further
-upheaval, properly so called, of the surface. Nevertheless,
-Volcanos contribute largely to the formation of land by the
-vast accumulation of ashes, mud, and lava, which they
-vomit forth. The destruction of Herculaneum and Pompeii
-is a case in point. For eight days successively, in the
-year 79, the ashes and pumice stone cast up from the crater
-of Vesuvius, fell down in one unceasing shower upon
-these devoted cities; while at the same time floods of water,
-carrying along the fine dust and light cinders, swept down
-the sides of the mountain in resistless torrents of mud, entering
-the houses, penetrating into every nook and crevice, and
-filling even the very wine jars in the underground cellars.</p>
-
-<p>At the present moment the layers of volcanic matter
-beneath which Pompeii has been slumbering for centuries,
-are from twelve to fourteen feet over the tops of the houses.
-Loftier still is the pile that overlies the buried Herculaneum.
-This city, situated nearer to the base of the Volcano,
-has been exposed to the effects of many successive
-eruptions; and accordingly, spread out over the mass of
-ashes and pumice by which it was first overwhelmed, in the
-time of Pliny, we now find alternate layers of lava and volcanic
-mud, together with fresh accumulations of ashes, to
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">246</span>
-a height, in many places, of 112 feet, and nowhere less
-than 70. Nor was this ejected matter confined to these
-two populous towns. It was scattered far and wide over
-the country around, and has contributed in no small degree
-to that extraordinary richness and fertility for which the
-soil of Naples is so justly famed.</p>
-
-<p>As regards the production of land where none before
-existed, here is one fact of singular significance. At
-the time of the eruption, in 79, Pompeii was a seaport
-town to which merchantmen were wont to resort, and a
-flight of steps, which still remains, led down to the water’s
-edge: it is now more than a mile distant from the coast,
-and the tract of land which intervenes is composed entirely
-of volcanic tuff and ashes.</p>
-
-<p>Gladly would we linger over the reminiscences of these
-luxurious and ill-fated cities. By the removal of the ashes,
-Pompeii is now laid open to view for at least one-third of its
-extent; and a strange sight it is, this ancient Roman city
-thus risen as it were from the grave,&mdash;risen, but yet lifeless,&mdash;with
-its silent streets, and its tenantless houses, and its
-empty Forum. Wherever we turn we have before us a
-curious and interesting picture, ghastly though it is, of the
-social, political, and domestic life of those ancient times,
-of the glory and the shame that hung around the last days
-of Pagan Rome;&mdash;in the theatres and the temples, in the
-shops and the private houses, in the graceful frescoes, in the
-elaborate mosaics, and, not least, in the idle scribblings
-on the walls, which, with a sort of whimsical reverence,
-have been spared by the destroying hand of Time. Then
-again, what a host of singular relics are there to be wondered
-at:&mdash;articles of domestic use and luxury, kitchen
-utensils and surgical instruments; female skeletons with
-the ornaments and vanities of the world, rings and bracelets
-and necklaces, still clinging to their charred remains; and
-strangest perhaps of all, eighty-four loaves of bread, which
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">247</span>
-were put into the oven to bake 1800 years ago, and were
-taken out only yesterday, with the baker’s brand upon them,
-and the stamp of the baker’s elbow still freshly preserved in
-the centre of each. No subject could be more tempting to
-a writer, none more attractive to a reader. But our present
-purpose is to show the effects of Volcanos in elevating
-the level of the land; and so we must turn our back on
-the buried cities, and crossing the Bay of Naples, seek for
-a new illustration in the formation of Monte Nuovo, a lofty
-hill overlooking the ancient town of Pozzuoli.</p>
-
-<p>About one o’clock at night, on Sunday, the twenty-ninth
-of September, 1538, flames were seen to issue from the
-ground close to the waters of the beautiful bay of Baiae.
-After a little, a sound like thunder was heard, the earth was
-rent asunder, and through the rent large stones, red-hot
-cinders, volcanic mud and volumes of water, were furiously
-vomited forth, which covered the whole country around,
-reaching even as far as Naples, and disfiguring its palaces
-and public buildings. The next morning it was found that
-a new mountain had been formed by the accumulation of
-ejected matter around the central opening. This mountain
-remains to the present day, and is called the Monte
-Nuovo. In form it is a regular volcanic cone, four hundred
-and forty feet high, and a mile and a half in circumference
-at its base, with an open crater in the centre, which
-descends nearly to the level of the sea. An eye-witness
-who has left us a minute account of this eruption, relates
-that on the third day he went up with many people to the
-top of the new hill, and looking down into the crater, saw
-the stones that had fallen to the bottom, “boiling up just
-as a caldron of water boils on the fire.” The same writer
-informs us&mdash;and it is very much to our present purpose to
-note the fact&mdash;that immediately before the eruption began,
-the relative position of land and sea was materially changed,
-the coast was sensibly upraised, the waters retired about
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">248</span>
-two hundred paces, and multitudes of fish were raised high
-and dry upon the sand, a prey to the inhabitants of Pozzuoli.<a id="FNanchor_92" href="#Footnote_92" class="fnanchor">92</a></p>
-
-<p>The Monte Nuovo is but a type of its class. If we
-travel westward 8,000 miles from Naples to the more stupendous
-Volcanos of the New World, we may witness the
-same phenomena on a still grander scale. In the province
-of Mexico, there is an elevated and extensive plain
-called Malpais, where for many generations the cotton
-plant, the indigo, and the sugar-cane, flourished luxuriantly
-in a soil richly endowed with natural gifts, and carefully
-cultivated by its industrious inhabitants. Everything
-was going on as usual in this smiling and prosperous region,
-and no one dreamed of danger, when suddenly, in
-the month of June, 1759, subterranean sounds were heard,
-attended with slight convulsions of the earth. These symptoms
-of internal commotion continued until the month of
-September, when they gradually died away, and tranquillity
-seemed to be restored. But it was only the delusive lull that
-precedes the fury of the storm. On the night of the twenty-eighth
-of September the rumbling sounds were heard again
-more violent than before. The inhabitants fled in consternation
-to a neighboring mountain, from the summit of which
-they looked back with wonder and dismay upon the utter
-annihilation of their homesteads and their farms. Flames
-broke out over an area half a square league in extent, the
-earth was burst open in many places, fragments of burning
-rock were thrown to prodigious heights in the air, torrents
-of boiling mud flowed over the plain, and thousands of
-little conical hills, called by the natives Hornitos or Ovens,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">249</span>
-rose up from the surface of the land. Finally a vast chasm
-was opened, and such quantities of ashes and fragmentary
-lava were ejected as to raise up six great mountain masses,
-which continued to increase during the five months that
-the eruption lasted. The least of these is 300 feet high, and
-the central one, now called Jorullo, which is still burning,
-is 1600 feet above the level of the plain. When Baron
-Humboldt visited this region just forty years after the eruption
-had ceased, the ground was still intensely hot, and “the
-Hornitos were pouring forth columns of steam twenty or
-thirty feet high, with a rumbling noise like that of a steam
-boiler.”<a id="FNanchor_93" href="#Footnote_93" class="fnanchor">93</a> Since that time, however, the face of the country
-has become once more smiling and prosperous; the
-slopes of the newly-formed hills are now clothed with vegetation,
-and the sugar-cane and the indigo again flourish
-luxuriantly in the fertile plains below.</p>
-
-<p>On the opposite side of the Globe, 10,000 miles from
-Mexico, we have had, almost in our own time, an exhibition
-of volcanic phenomena not less wonderful than those
-we have been describing. The island of Sumbawa lies
-about two hundred miles to the east of Java in the Indian
-Archipelago; and it belongs to that remarkable chain of
-Volcanos which we have already described as stretching,
-with little interruption, along the coast of Asia from Russian
-America to the Bay of Bengal. In the year 1815, this
-island was the scene of a calamitous eruption, the effects
-of which were felt over the whole of the Molucca Islands
-and Java, as well as over a considerable portion of Celebes,
-Sumatra, and Borneo. Indeed, so extraordinary are the incidents
-of this eruption, that we might well hesitate to believe
-them if they had not been collected on the spot with more
-than ordinary diligence, and recorded with an almost scrupulous
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">250</span>
-care. Sir Stamford Raffles, who was at the time
-governor of Java, then a British possession, required all the
-residents in the various districts under his authority to send
-in a statement of the circumstances which occurred within
-their own knowledge; and from the accounts he received
-in this way, combined with other evidence, chiefly obtained
-from eye-witnesses, he drew up the narrative to which we
-are mainly indebted for the following facts.</p>
-
-<p>The explosions which accompanied this eruption were
-heard in Sumatra, at a distance of 970 geographical miles;
-and in the opposite direction at Ternate, a distance of 720
-miles. In the neighborhood of the Volcano itself, immense
-tracts of land were covered with burning lava, towns
-and villages were overwhelmed, all kinds of vegetation completely
-destroyed, and of 12,000 inhabitants in the province
-of Tomboro, only twenty-six survived. The ashes, which
-were ejected in great quantities, were carried like a vast
-cloud through the air, by the southeast monsoon, for 300
-miles in the direction of Java; and, still farther to the west,
-we are told that they formed a floating mass in the ocean
-two feet thick and several miles in extent, through which
-ships with difficulty forced their way. It is recorded, too,
-that they fell so thick on the island of Tombock, 100 miles
-away, as to cover all the land two feet deep, destroying
-every particle of vegetation, insomuch that 44,000 people
-perished of the famine that ensued. “I have seen it computed,”
-writes Sir John Herschel, “that the quantity of
-ashes and lava vomited forth in this awful eruption would
-have formed three mountains the size of Mont Blanc, the
-highest of the Alps; and if spread over the surface of Germany,
-would have covered the whole of it two feet deep.”
-Finally, it appears that this eruption was accompanied, like
-that of Monte Nuovo, by a permanent change in the level
-of the adjoining coast; in this case, however, it was a
-movement, not of upheaval, but of subsidence: the town
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">251</span>
-of Tomboro sunk beneath the ocean, which is now eighteen
-feet deep where there was dry land before.<a id="FNanchor_94" href="#Footnote_94" class="fnanchor">94</a></p>
-
-<p>Once more we will ask our readers to take a rapid flight
-over the map of the world, passing, this time, from the Indian
-Archipelago to the island of Iceland,&mdash;that “wonderful
-land of frost and fire.” Besides the famous Volcano of
-Hecla, there are five others scarcely less formidable, all of
-which have been in active eruption within modern times.
-Of these the most celebrated is that of Skaptar Jokul. In
-the year 1783, this Volcano poured forth two streams of lava,
-which, when hardened, formed together one continuous
-layer of igneous rock, ninety miles in length, a hundred
-feet in height, and from seven to fifteen miles in breadth.
-The phenomena which accompanied the eruption are
-thus vividly described by Sir John Herschel:&mdash;“On the tenth
-of May innumerable fountains of fire were seen shooting
-up through the ice and snow which covered the mountain;
-and the principal river, called the Skapta, after rolling
-down a flood of foul and poisonous water, disappeared.
-Two days after, a torrent of lava poured down into the bed
-which the river had deserted. The river had run in a
-ravine 600 feet deep and 200 broad. This the lava entirely
-filled; and not only so, but it overflowed the surrounding
-country, and ran into a great lake, from which it instantly
-expelled the water in an explosion of steam. When the
-lake was fairly filled, the lava again overflowed and divided
-into two streams, one of which covered some ancient lava
-fields; the other re-entered the bed of the Skapta lower
-down, and presented the astounding sight of a cataract of
-liquid fire pouring over what was formerly the waterfall of
-Stapafoss. This was the greatest eruption on record in
-Europe. It lasted in its violence till the end of August,
-and closed with a violent earthquake; but for nearly the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">252</span>
-whole year a canopy of cinder-laden cloud hung over the
-island: the Faroe Islands, nay, even Shetland and the
-Orkneys, were deluged with ashes; and volcanic dust and
-a preternatural smoke which obscured the sun, covered all
-Europe as far as the Alps, over which it could not rise.
-The destruction of life in Iceland was frightful: 9,000 men,
-11,000 cattle, 28,000 horses, and 190,000 sheep perished;
-mostly by suffocation. The lava ejected has been computed
-to amount in volume to more than twenty cubic
-miles.”<a id="FNanchor_95" href="#Footnote_95" class="fnanchor">95</a></p>
-
-<p>With these very significant facts before us, it is hard to
-resist the conclusion that the great mountain mass of Etna,
-11,000 feet high and ninety miles in circumference, is
-formed entirely of volcanic matter ejected during successive
-eruptions. For the whole mountain is nothing else than
-a series of concentric conical layers of ashes and lava, such
-as have been poured out more than once upon its existing
-surface in modern times. Just, then, as Monte Nuovo
-was produced by an outburst of volcanic power in a single
-night, and the far larger mountain of Jorullo in the course of
-a few months, so may we believe that the more stupendous
-Etna is the work of the same power operating through a
-period of many centuries. And applying this conclusion
-to many other mountains throughout the world of exactly
-the same structure, we come to form no very mean estimate
-of the permanent changes wrought on the physical geography
-of our Globe by the operations of volcanic agency.</p>
-
-<p>We must remember, too, that volcanic eruptions are not
-confined to the land; they often break out in the bed of the
-sea. In such cases the waters are observed in a state of
-violent commotion, jets of steam and sulphurous vapor are
-emitted, light scoriaceous matter appears floating on the
-surface, and not unfrequently the volcanic cone itself
-slowly rises from the depths below, and continues to
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">253</span>
-grow from day to day, until at length it becomes an island
-of no inconsiderable magnitude. Sometimes when the
-violence of the eruption has subsided, the new island, consisting
-chiefly of ashes and pumice-stone, is gradually
-washed away by the action of the waves; but in the other
-cases, these lighter substances are compacted together by
-the injection of liquid lava, and being thus able to withstand
-the erosive power of the ocean, assume the importance
-of permanent volcanic islands. Many examples of
-the former kind are recorded within the last hundred years.
-In 1783 an island was thrown up in the North Atlantic
-Ocean, about thirty miles to the southwest of Iceland. It
-was claimed by the King of Denmark, and called by him
-Ny&ouml;e or New Island; but before a year had elapsed, this
-portion of his Majesty’s dominion disappeared again beneath
-the waves, and the sea resumed its ancient domain.
-A cone-shaped island of the same kind, called Sabrina,
-three hundred feet high, with a crater in the centre, appeared
-amongst the Azores in 1811, but was quickly
-washed away again.</p>
-
-<p>A more interesting example, because the circumstances
-are more minutely recorded, is the island which made its
-appearance in the Mediterranean, off the southwest coast of
-Sicily, in the year 1831. During its brief existence of three
-months, it received from contemporary writers seven different
-names; but the name of Graham Island seems to be
-the one by which it is most likely to be known to posterity.
-“About the tenth of July,” writes Sir Charles Lyell, “John
-Corrao, the captain of a Sicilian vessel, reported that, as he
-passed near the place, he saw a column of water like a
-waterspout, sixty feet high, and eight hundred yards in circumference,
-rising from the sea, and soon afterward a
-dense steam in its place, which ascended to the height of
-1800 feet. The same Corrao, on his return from Girgenti,
-on the eighteenth of July, found a small island, twelve feet
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">254</span>
-high, with a crater in the centre, ejecting volcanic matter
-and immense columns of vapor; the sea around being
-covered with floating cinders and dead fish. The scoriae
-were of a chocolate color, and the water, which boiled in
-the circular basin, was of a dingy red. The eruption continued
-with great violence to the end of the same month,
-at which time the island was visited by several persons, and
-amongst others by Captain Swinburne, R. N., and M. Hoffman,
-the Prussian Geologist.”<a id="FNanchor_96" href="#Footnote_96" class="fnanchor">96</a> By the fourth of August
-the new island is said to have attained a height of 200 feet,
-and to have been three miles in circumference. Yet this
-was nothing more than the top of the volcanic cone; for, a
-few years before, Captain W. H. Smyth, in his survey, had
-found a depth of 600 feet at this very spot; and therefore
-the total height from the base of the mountain must have
-been 800 feet. From the beginning of August it began to
-melt away; and at the commencement of the following
-year, nothing remained of Graham Island but a dangerous
-shoal.</p>
-
-<p>But even of the islands that occupy a prominent place
-on the map of the world, there is not wanting evidence to
-show that a large number derive their origin from the
-action of volcanic power. Among these may be mentioned
-many of the Molucca and Philippine groups, also several
-in the Grecian Archipelago, and not a few of the Azores
-and the Canaries,&mdash;in particular the lofty peak of Teneriffe,
-rising 12,000 feet above the level of the sea. In some
-cases, indeed, the actual process of their birth, and of their
-subsequent growth and development, has been minutely
-observed. A remarkable example occurs among the Aleutian
-Islands already referred to. In the year 1796 a column
-of smoke was seen to issue from the sea; then a small
-black point appeared at the surface of the water; then
-flames broke out, and other volcanic phenomena were exhibited;
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">255</span>
-then the small black point grew into an island,
-and the island increased in size until it was at last several
-thousand feet high, and two or three miles in circumference.
-And such it remains to the present day.</p>
-
-<div id="fig_28" class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/fig_28.jpg" alt="" />
-<p class="caption">Fig. 28.&mdash;Bird’s-eye view of Santorin during the volcanic eruption
-of February, 1866. (Lyell.)</p>
-
-<p class="table">
-<i>a.</i> Therasia.<br />
-<i>b.</i> The northern entrance, 1068 feet deep.<br />
-<i>c.</i> Thera.<br />
-<i>d.</i> Mount St. Elias, rising 1887 feet above the sea.<br />
-<i>e.</i> Aspronisi.<br />
-<i>f.</i> Little Kaimeni.<br />
-<i>g.</i> New Kaimeni.<br />
-<i>h.</i> Old Kaimeni.<br />
-<i>i.</i> Aphroessa.<br />
-<i>k.</i> George.<br />
-</p></div>
-
-<p>The neighborhood of Santorin in the Grecian Archipelago
-has been noted from very remote times as the
-theatre of submarine eruptions. This island, which is
-itself to all appearance the crater of a vast volcano, has the
-form of a crescent, and, with the aid of two smaller islands
-which stretch across between the horns of the crescent, encloses
-an almost circular bay. We learn from Pliny that
-in the year 186 before Christ, within this bay an island rose
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">256</span>
-up which was called Hiera or the Sacred island. It was
-twice enlarged during the Christian era, once in 726, and
-again in 1427, and still exists under the name of Palaia
-Kaimeni, that is to say, the Old Burnt Island. In 1573 a
-second island made its appearance, and received the name
-of the Little Burnt Island, Mikra Kaimeni. In 1707 and
-1709, a third island was thrown up, and was distinguished
-from the other two as Nea Kaimeni, the New Burnt Island.
-Lastly, in 1866 the hidden volcanic power again became
-active, and two new vents were formed, called respectively
-Aphroessa and George. “At the end of January,” writes
-Sir Charles Lyell, “the sea had been observed in a state of
-ebullition off the southwest coast, and part of the Channel
-between New and Old Kaimeni, marked seventy fathoms
-in the Admiralty chart, had become, on February the
-eleventh, only twelve fathoms deep. According to M.
-Julius Schmidt, a gradual rising of the bottom went on
-until a small island made its appearance called afterward
-Aphroessa. It seems to have consisted of lava pressed upward
-and outward almost imperceptibly by steam, which
-was escaping at every pore through the hissing scoriaceous
-crust. ‘It could be seen,’ says Commander Lindesay Brine,
-R. N., ‘through the fissures in the cone that the rocks
-within were red hot, but it was not till later that an eruption
-began.’ On February the eleventh the village of Vulcano
-on the southeast coast, where there had been a partial
-sinking of the ground, was in great part overwhelmed
-by the materials cast out from a new vent which opened in
-that neighborhood, and to which the name of George was
-given, which finally, according to Schmidt, became about
-two hundred feet high.</p>
-
-<p>“Commander Brine having ascended on February the
-twenty-eighth, 1866, to the top of the crater of Nea Kaimeni,
-about three hundred and fifty feet high, looked down
-upon the new vent then in full activity. The whole of the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">257</span>
-cone was swaying with an undulating motion to the right
-and left, and appeared sometimes to swell to nearly double
-its size and height, to throw out ridges like mountain spurs,
-till at last a broad chasm appeared across the top of the
-cone, accompanied by a tremendous roar of steam and the
-shooting up from the new crater, to the height of from
-fifty to a hundred feet, of tons of rock and ash mixed with
-smoke and steam. Some of these which fell on Mikra
-Kaimeni, at a distance of six hundred yards from the
-crater, measured thirty cubic feet. This effort over, the
-ridges slowly subsided, the cone lowered and closed in, and
-then, after a few minutes of comparative silence, the struggle
-would begin again with precisely similar sounds, action,
-and result. Threads of vapor escaping from the old crater
-of Nea Kaimeni proved that there was a subterranean connection
-between the new and the old vents. Aphroessa,
-of which the cone was at length raised to a height of more
-than sixty feet, was united in August with the main island.
-This was due in part at least to the upheaval of the bottom
-of the sea, which is now only seven fathoms deep in the
-channel dividing the New and Old Kaimenis, whereas
-in the Admiralty chart the soundings gave a hundred
-fathoms.”<a id="FNanchor_97" href="#Footnote_97" class="fnanchor">97</a></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_257.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">258</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_258.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_XVI"><i>CHAPTER XVI.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">SUBTERRANEAN HEAT&mdash;ITS POWERS ILLUSTRATED BY
-EARTHQUAKES.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Earthquakes and volcanos proceed from the same common
-cause&mdash;Recent earthquakes in New Zealand&mdash;Vast tracts of
-land permanently upraised&mdash;Earthquakes of Chili in the
-present century&mdash;Crust of the Earth elevated&mdash;Earthquake
-of Cutch in India, 1819&mdash;Remarkable instance of subsidence
-and upheaval&mdash;Earthquake of Calabria, 1783&mdash;Earthquake
-of Lisbon, 1755&mdash;Great destruction of life and property&mdash;Earthquake
-of Peru, August, 1868&mdash;General scene of ruin
-and devastation&mdash;Great sea wave&mdash;A ship with all her
-crew carried a quarter of a mile inland&mdash;Frequency of
-earthquakes.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="T" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">The</span> chief effect of volcanic eruptions on the Geological
-structure of our Globe consists in the
-accumulation of cinders and molten rock, either
-upon the Surface of the Earth, or in the crevices and caverns
-that abound within its solid Crust. Sometimes, indeed,
-the operations of an active Volcano are accompanied by a
-movement of upheaval or of subsidence. Thus for instance,
-we have seen that a portion of the Italian coast was elevated
-when Monte Nuovo was thrown up, that the town of Tomboro
-was submerged on the occasion of the eruption of
-Sumbawa, and that the bottom of the sea was notably upheaved
-by the last outbreak of the volcanic fires of Santorini.
-Nevertheless it appears to be generally the case that when
-the Crust of the Earth is once burst open, and a means of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">259</span>
-escape thus afforded to the fiery agent below,&mdash;in other
-words, when the active volcano is established,&mdash;the process
-of upheaval gives place to that of eruption. But when,
-as is often the case, no such safety-valve is offered to the surplus
-energies of the subterranean fires, then the giant power
-of heat, in its struggle to escape, shakes the foundation of
-the hills, and uplifts the superincumbent mass of solid rocks.</p>
-
-<p>This theory which ascribes the phenomena of Earthquakes
-and Volcanos to the same common cause, acting
-under different circumstances, is now almost universally
-adopted by Geologists; and it may be briefly enforced by
-the following considerations. First, though Earthquakes
-have sometimes occurred far away from any known volcanic
-region, yet they are more frequent in the neighborhood of
-active or extinct Volcanos. Secondly, almost all volcanic
-eruptions are preceded by Earthquakes; and the Earthquakes
-generally cease, or, at least become less violent,
-when the subterranean fire breaks out in the form of a Volcano.
-And, Thirdly, it is plain that the condensed steam
-which is generated by internal heat, and the expansive
-power of the heat itself, must, of necessity, when pent up
-in the caverns of the Earth, tend to produce those very
-phenomena by which Earthquakes are distinguished.</p>
-
-<p>Let it be observed, however, that while we explain the
-phenomena in question by the agency of subterranean heat,
-this doctrine is by no means necessary for the main purpose
-of our present argument. Whatever may be the cause
-from which the Earthquake shock proceeds, it is enough
-for us to show that the Crust of the Earth has been from
-time to time upraised, and dislocated, and rent asunder in
-modern times, just as it is supposed in Geological theory,
-to have been upraised, and dislocated, and rent asunder
-from time to time in by-gone ages. We will set down a
-few out of the many examples observed and recorded during
-the last hundred and twenty years.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">260</span></p>
-
-<p>When the English colonists settled in New Zealand,
-about fifty years ago, they were told by the natives that they
-might expect a great Earthquake every seven years. This
-alarming prediction has not been literally fulfilled; but it
-is fully admitted that the total number of such disturbances
-within the last half century has not fallen short of what it
-should have been according to the above estimate. During
-the years 1826 and 1827 several shocks were felt in the
-neighborhood of Cook Strait, after which it was observed
-that the sea-shore had been uplifted on the north side of
-Dusky Bay. So transformed was the outline of the coast
-that its former features could no longer be recognized; and
-a small cove called the Jail, which had previously afforded
-a commodious harbor to vessels, engaged in seal fishing,
-was completely dried up.</p>
-
-<p>But the most memorable convulsion took place on the
-night of January the twenty-third, 1855. A tract of land,
-about as large as Yorkshire, on the southwest coast of the
-North Island, was permanently upraised from one to nine
-feet. The harbor of Port Nicholson, together with the
-valley of the Hutt, was elevated four to five feet; and a
-sunken rock, regarded before as dangerous to navigators,
-has remained since the Earthquake three feet above the
-level of the water. The shock was felt by ships at sea a
-hundred and fifty miles from the coast; and it is estimated
-that the whole area affected was not less than three times
-the extent of the British Islands.</p>
-
-<p>The whole coast of Chili has been subject to great disturbances
-and changes of level during the present century.
-In November, 1837, the town of Valdivia was destroyed by
-an Earthquake, and at the same moment, a whaling vessel,
-a short distance out at sea, was violently shaken, and lost
-her masts. The bottom of the sea was afterward found to
-have been raised in some places more than eight feet; and
-several rocks appeared high above the water which had
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">261</span>
-previously been covered at all times by the sea. Two years
-before, in 1835, the town of Conception and several others
-were reduced to ruins by a like visitation. After the first
-great convulsion the Earth remained for many days in a
-state of commotion. More than three hundred lesser shocks
-were counted from the twentieth of February to the fourth
-of March. On this occasion, too, the bed of the sea was
-upheaved; and the whole island of Santa Maria, seven
-miles in length, was lifted up from eight to ten feet above
-its former level.</p>
-
-<p>The Earthquake of 1822 was more violent, perhaps, and
-more striking in its effects, than either of those just mentioned.
-On the nineteenth of November in that year a
-sudden convulsive shock was simultaneously felt over a
-space 1200 miles in length. At Valparaiso, and on either
-side for a considerable distance, the coast was permanently
-upheaved. When Mrs. Graham, who was then living on
-the spot, and who has left us an account of the Earthquake,
-went down to the shore on the following day, she “found
-the ancient bed of the sea laid bare and dry, with beds of
-oysters, mussels, and other shells adhering to the rocks on
-which they grew, the fish being all dead, and exhaling most
-offensive effluvia.” Some idea may be formed of the
-gigantic power here in operation, when it is remembered
-that to uplift the coast of Chili, it was necessary to move
-the mighty chain of the Andes, and, amongst the rest, the
-colossal mass of Aconcagua, 24,000 feet in height. How
-far this process of upheaval extended out to sea, beneath
-the bed of the ocean, has not been accurately ascertained:
-but certain it is that, for a considerable distance, the soundings
-were found to be shallower than before the Earthquake.
-It is roughly estimated that the Crust of the Earth was
-elevated over an extent of 100,000 square miles, or about
-half the area of France.</p>
-
-<p>On the western coast of India, near the mouth of the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">262</span>
-river Indus, is the well-known district of Cutch. In the
-month of June, 1819, this extensive territory, not less than
-half the size of Ireland, was violently shaken by an Earthquake,
-several hundred people were killed, and many towns
-and villages were laid in ruins. The shocks continued for
-some days, and ceased only when the outburst of a Volcano
-seemed to open a vent for the troubled spirit within.
-But what is particularly worthy of note is that when the
-Earthquake had passed away, a permanent change was
-found to have been effected in the level of the surrounding
-country. The town and fort of Sindree, situated on the
-eastern arm of the Indus, together with a tract of land 2,000
-square miles in extent, were submerged beneath the waters.
-The principal buildings, however, still remained standing,
-with their upper parts above the surface; and many of the
-inhabitants, who had taken refuge in one of the towers
-attached to the fort, were saved in boats when the Earthquake
-had ceased. On the other hand, within five miles
-and a half of this very spot, the level surface of the Earth
-was upheaved, so as to form a long elevated bank, fifty miles
-in length and sixteen in breadth, which has been called the
-Ullah Bund, or the Mound of God. Nine years after this
-event, Sir Alexander Burnes went out in a boat to the ruins
-of Sindree, and standing on the summit of the tower, which
-still rose two or three feet above the surface of the water, he
-could see nothing around him but a wide expanse of sea,
-save where a blue streak of land on the edge of the horizon
-marked the outline of the Ullah Bund. Here was a striking
-illustration, on a small scale, of those changes which Geologists
-suppose to have been going on since the world first
-began; the dry land had been converted into the bed of the
-sea, and the level plain had been elevated into a mountain
-ridge.</p>
-
-<p>Toward the close of the last century the province of Calabria,
-in Southern Italy, was the scene of an Earthquake
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">263</span>
-which offers a very apposite illustration of our present argument.
-This celebrated convulsion is not, however, chiefly
-remarkable for its violence, or for its duration, or for the
-extent of the territory moved. In all these respects it has
-been surpassed by many Earthquakes, experienced in other
-countries, within the last hundred and fifty years. But the
-Calabrian Earthquake has an especial claim on our attention,
-mainly from this unusual circumstance, that the region
-of disturbance was visited, as Sir Charles Lyell tells us,
-“both during and after the convulsions, by men possessing
-sufficient leisure, zeal, and scientific information, to enable
-them to collect and describe with accuracy such physical
-facts as throw light on geological questions.”</p>
-
-<p>The shocks were first felt in February, 1783, and continued
-for nearly four years. Over a very considerable area
-of country all the common landmarks were removed, large
-tracts of land were forced bodily down the slopes of mountains;
-and vineyards, orchards, and cornfields were transported
-from one site to another; insomuch that disputes
-afterward arose as to who was the rightful owner of the
-property that had thus shifted its position. Two farms near
-Mileto, occupying an extent of country a mile long and
-half a mile broad, were actually removed for a mile down
-the valley; and “a thatched cottage, together with large
-olive and mulberry trees, most of which remained erect,
-was carried uninjured to this extraordinary distance.” In
-other places the surface of the Earth heaved like the billows
-of a troubled sea; many houses were lifted up above the
-common level, while others subsided below it. Again and
-again the solid Crust of the Earth was rent asunder, and
-chasms, gorges, ravines, of various depths, were suddenly
-produced, in less time than it takes to tell it. Sometimes
-when the strain was removed, the yawning gulf as quickly
-closed again, and then houses, cattle, and men were swallowed
-up in the abyss, leaving not a trace behind. It has
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">264</span>
-even been recorded&mdash;strange though it may seem&mdash;that
-when two shocks rapidly followed one another at the same
-spot, the people engulphed by the first, were again cast
-forth by the second, being literally disgorged alive from the
-jaws of death. About 40,000 persons perished in this
-dreadful visitation, the greater number being crushed to
-death beneath the ruins of the towns and villages, others
-swallowed up in the yawning fissures as they fled across the
-open country, and others again burned in the conflagrations
-which almost always followed the shocks of Earthquake.</p>
-
-<p>Everyone has heard of the famous Earthquake of Lisbon.
-It is chiefly memorable for the extreme suddenness of the
-shock, for the immense extent of the area affected, and for
-the amount of havoc and destruction done. On the morning
-of the fatal day&mdash;it was the first of November, 1755&mdash;the
-sun rose bright and cheerful over the devoted city, no
-symptom of impending danger was visible in the sky above
-or on the Earth below, and the gay-hearted people were
-pursuing their accustomed rounds of pleasure or business,
-when, suddenly, at twenty minutes before ten o’clock, a
-sound like thunder was heard underground, the Earth was
-violently shaken, and in another moment, the greater part
-of the city was lying in ruins. Within the brief space of
-six minutes, 60,000 people were crushed to death. The
-mountains in the vicinity of the town were cleft asunder.
-The waters of the sea first retired from the land, and then
-rolled back in a huge mountain-like wave fifty feet above
-the level of the highest tide. A new quay, built entirely of
-marble, had offered a temporary place of refuge to the
-terrified inhabitants as they fled from the tumbling ruins of
-the city. Three thousand people are said to have been
-collected upon it, when, all at once, it sunk beneath the
-waves, and not a fragment of the solid masonry, not a vestige
-of its living freight, was ever seen again. The bottom
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">265</span>
-of the sea where the quay then stood is now a hundred
-fathoms deep.</p>
-
-<p>From Lisbon as a centre the shock of this Earthquake
-radiated over an area not less than four times the extent of
-Europe. Like a great wave it rolled northward, at the rate
-of twenty miles a minute, upheaving the Earth as it moved
-along, to the coasts of the Baltic Sea and the German
-Ocean. The waters of Loch Lomond, in Scotland, were
-violently disturbed from beneath, and at Kinsale, in Ireland,
-the sea rushed impetuously into the harbor without a
-breath of wind, and mounting over the quay, flooded the
-market-place. Eastward the convulsion was felt as far as
-the Alps, and westward it extended to the West India
-Islands, and even to the great lakes of Canada. On the
-north coast of Africa the disturbance was as violent as in
-Spain and Portugal; and it is recorded that at a distance of
-eight leagues from Morocco, the earth opened and swallowed
-up a considerable town with its inhabitants, to the
-number of eight or ten thousand people.</p>
-
-<p>Even on the high seas the shock was felt no less distinctly
-than on dry land. “Off St. Lucar,” says Sir
-Charles Lyell, “the captain of the ship Nancy felt his
-vessel so violently shaken, that he thought she had struck
-the ground, but, on heaving the lead, found a great depth
-of water. Captain Clark, from Denia, in latitude 36&deg; 24&acute;
-N., between nine and ten in the morning, had his ship
-shaken and strained as if she had struck upon a rock, so
-that the seams of the deck opened, and the compass was
-overturned in the binnacle. Another ship, forty leagues
-west of St. Vincent, experienced so violent a concussion,
-that the men were thrown a foot and a half perpendicularly
-up from the deck.” It is worthy of note that this, the most
-destructive Earthquake recorded in history, was not attended
-with any volcanic eruption; which goes to confirm
-our theory that the active Volcano serves as a kind of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">266</span>
-safety-valve for the escape of the struggling powers confined
-within the Crust of the Earth.<a id="FNanchor_98" href="#Footnote_98" class="fnanchor">98</a></p>
-
-<p>We must not bring our notice of Earthquakes to an end
-without at least some brief account of one which has
-startled the world even since we began to put together the
-materials of this Volume. On the Western Coast of South
-America there is a long, narrow strip of land, lying between
-the lofty crests of the Andes and the shores of the
-Pacific Ocean, which from the earliest times has been the
-familiar home of Earthquakes. Toward evening on the
-thirteenth of August, 1868, this fated region was the scene
-of a convulsion the most appalling and destructive that has
-been recorded within the present century. The disturbance
-was felt in its extreme violence for a distance of 1500
-miles along the coast; from Ibarra one degree north of the
-Equator to Iquique more than twenty degrees south. In
-ten minutes from the first shock, 20,000 people perished,
-and a vast amount of property, roughly estimated at sixty
-millions sterling, was utterly destroyed. Many thriving
-towns&mdash;Iquique, Mexillones, Pisagua, Arica, Ylo, Chala,
-and others&mdash;were levelled to the ground. Even the very
-ruins were not spared. The sea rushed in when the
-Earthquake shock had ceased, and carried everything before
-it in one universal wreck: so that in some cases not a
-vestige remained behind to tell the dismayed survivors
-where their homesteads once had stood. It might be
-fancied perhaps that the cities seated aloft in the security of
-the Eternal Hills were beyond the reach of the convulsion
-that shook the plain below. But no: Arequipa, far up on
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">267</span>
-the slopes of the western Cordillera, and Pasco, the highest
-city in the world, situated on a level with the snowy summit
-of the Jungfrau, were shattered into fragments with the
-same violence as the cities of the coast.</p>
-
-<p>The various incidents recorded by the survivors are full
-of fearful interest. At Iquique, according to one account,
-about five o’clock in the evening of the thirteenth of August,
-a rumbling noise was heard, then the earth shook violently
-for some minutes, then the sea, with a great moan, retired
-from the shore, and rearing itself up into a tremendous
-wave, rushed back upon the land and swept away the town.
-“I saw,” says one writer, “the whole surface of the sea
-rise as if a mountain side, actually standing up. Another
-shock, accompanied with a fearful roar, now took place.
-I called to my companions to run for their lives on to the
-Pampa. Too late! With a horrid crash the sea was on
-us, and at one sweep&mdash;one terrible sweep&mdash;dashed what was
-Iquique on to the Pampa. I lost my companions, and in
-an instant was fighting with the dark water. The mighty
-wave surged and roared and leaped. The cries of human
-beings and animals were dreadful. A mass of wreck covered
-me and kept me down, and I was fast drowning when
-the sea threw me on to a beam, but a nail piercing my
-coat, the timber rolled me again under, and I lost all
-sense. I suppose, as in all such cases, I must have struggled
-after sensation had left me, for when returning consciousness
-came I was grasping under one arm a large
-plank. Looking round, all was wreck and desolation. In
-a moment I was by a returning wave swept into the bay,
-and meeting a mass of broken timber, I was struck a fearful
-blow on the chin, and the broken end of the plank
-passed through my thigh. I knew no more until I found
-myself on the Pampa, and all dark around me. I was
-without trousers, coat, shoes, or hat. Trying to collect myself,
-I thought of another wave, and crawled away to the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">268</span>
-mountain side, scooped a hole in the ground, and got in;
-here, wet and shivering, I spent the night. My wound
-bled freely. In the morning I looked out and found
-Iquique gone, all but a few houses round the church.”</p>
-
-<p>A good deal of shipping was lying in the bay of Arica.
-When the waters first receded the vessels were all carried
-out to sea, chains, cables, and anchors snapping asunder
-like packthread. A moment, afterward they were borne
-back irresistibly by the returning wave, and dashed to
-pieces on the coast. One more fortunate than the rest,
-the Wateree, a vessel of war belonging to the United States
-Government, was caught up on the crest of the wave, and
-with the loss of only one man, was landed high and dry
-among the sand-hills a quarter of a mile from the shore.</p>
-
-<p>Before the Earthquake, Arequipa was a prosperous town
-of 30,000 inhabitants. It enjoyed a considerable trade,
-and, in importance as well as size, it was regarded as the
-third city of Peru, being inferior only to Lima and Cuzco.
-The houses were constructed with especial regard to security
-against the shock of Earthquakes. They were but one
-story high, built of solid stone, and massive to an extraordinary
-degree. But these precautions, though the fruit
-of long experience, were all of no avail. At Sunset on the
-fatal thirteenth of August the populous and thriving city of
-Arequipa was little better than a heap of ruins. “Not a
-church is left standing,” writes an eye-witness, “not a house
-habitable. The shock commenced at twenty minutes past
-five in the afternoon, and lasted six or seven minutes. The
-houses being solidly built and of one story, resisted for one
-minute, which gave the people time to rush into the middle
-of the streets, so that the mortality, although considerable,
-is not so great as might have been expected. If the
-Earthquake had occurred at night, few indeed would have
-been left to tell the story. As it is, the prisoners in the
-public prison, and the sick in the hospital, have perished.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">269</span>
-The Earthquake commenced with an undulating movement,
-and as the shock culminated, no one could keep his
-feet: the houses rocked as a ship in the trough of the sea,
-and came crumbling down. The shrieks of the women, the
-crash of falling masonry, the upheaving of the earth, and
-the clouds of blinding dust, made up a scene that cannot
-be described. We had nineteen minor shocks the same
-night, and the earth still continues in motion. Nothing
-has as yet been done toward disinterring the dead; but I do
-not think any are buried alive, as certain death must have
-been the fate of all those who were not able to get into the
-street. The earth has opened in all the plains around,
-and water has appeared in various places.”<a id="FNanchor_99" href="#Footnote_99" class="fnanchor">99</a></p>
-
-<p>These are a few typical examples of the more violent
-convulsions by which the Crust of the Earth has been disturbed
-within little more than a century; and they leave
-no doubt as to the kind of changes which may fairly be
-ascribed to similar agency in the past history of the Globe.
-Nor must it be supposed that, because our examples are
-few in number, the Earthquake is itself a rare and exceptional
-event. On the contrary, the state of partial disturbance
-and convulsion would seem to be the natural and
-ordinary condition of our planet. From the interesting
-Catalogue drawn up by Mr. Mallet, it appears that, in our
-own times, the number of Earthquakes actually observed
-and recorded is, on an average, not less than from two to
-three every week. Now this catalogue cannot represent
-more than one-third of the Globe: for the disturbances
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">270</span>
-which take place in the profound depths of the ocean must
-for the most part escape observation, and many parts even
-of the inhabited Earth are still beyond the reach of scientific
-researches. It is, therefore, quite a reasonable speculation
-of Sir Charles Lyell, that “scarcely a day passes
-without one or more shocks being experienced in some
-part of the Globe.”</p>
-
-<p>Moreover, in Mr. Mallet’s Catalogue no account is taken
-of those minor vibrations or tremblings of the Earth’s
-Crust, which are not attended by any striking or noteworthy
-event. And yet such phenomena, when often repeated,
-may produce a very important change of level, and are far
-more frequent than most persons would be likely to suppose.
-In our quiet region of the Globe people are too apt
-to take for granted the general stability of the Earth: but
-in other countries the inhabitants, warned by long experience,
-are no less deeply impressed with a conviction of its
-instability. Sir John Herschel says that, in the volcanic
-regions of Central and Southern America, “the inhabitants
-no more think of counting Earthquake shocks, than we do
-of counting showers of rain:” nay, he adds that, “in some
-places along the coast a shower is a greater variety.” And
-in Sicily, we are told they make provision against movements
-of the Earth’s Crust, just as we make provision against
-lightning and storms; so much so that it is quite a common
-thing for architects to advertise their houses as Earth-quake-proof.</p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_270.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">271</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_271.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_XVII"><i>CHAPTER XVII.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">SUBTERRANEAN HEAT&mdash;ITS POWERS ILLUSTRATED BY UNDULATIONS
-OF THE EARTH’S CRUST.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Gentle movements of the Earth’s Crust within historic times&mdash;Roman
-roads and temples submerged in the bay of Bai&aelig;&mdash;Temple
-of Jupiter Serapis&mdash;Singular condition of its columns&mdash;Proof
-of subsidence and subsequent upheaval&mdash;Indications
-of a second subsidence now actually taking place&mdash;Gradual
-upheaval of the coast of Sweden&mdash;Summary of the
-evidence adduced to establish this fact&mdash;Subsidence of the
-Earth’s Crust on the west coast of Greenland&mdash;Recapitulation.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/s.jpg" alt="S" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">So</span> far we have spoken of the disturbance of the
-Earth’s Crust in modern times by sudden and
-violent convulsions. But there are many phenomena
-with which the Geologist is familiar, that cannot
-be fairly accounted for unless by supposing that the surface
-of the Earth was often elevated and depressed in ancient
-times, without any sudden shock, by a slow and almost insensible
-movement. And, accordingly, gentle undulations
-of this kind enter largely into that general theory of Geology
-which we have been attempting to draw out and illustrate.
-It may be asked, therefore, if we are able to support this
-part of our system by examples of similar phenomena occurring
-within the period of history. In reply, we shall
-endeavor to set forth, as briefly as we can, some of the evidence
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">272</span>
-which has recently come to light on this subject, and
-which seems to us not less conclusive than it is interesting
-and unexpected.</p>
-
-<p>In the bay of Bai&aelig;, to the west of Naples, two ancient
-Roman roads may be distinctly traced, at the present day,
-for a considerable distance, permanently submerged beneath
-the waters. There are, also, in the same neighborhood,
-the ruins of the temple of Neptune and of the temple
-of the Nymphs, both likewise submerged. “The columns
-of the former edifice stand erect in five feet of water, the
-upper portions just rising to the surface;<a id="FNanchor_100" href="#Footnote_100" class="fnanchor">100</a> the pedestals are
-supposed to be buried in the mud below.” Again, on the
-opposite side of Naples, near Sorrento, “a road with fragments
-of Roman buildings, is covered to some depth by
-the sea;”<a id="FNanchor_101" href="#Footnote_101" class="fnanchor">101</a> and in the island of Capri, at the opening of the
-bay of Naples, one of the palaces of Tiberius is also under
-water. Here, therefore, it is clear that the Crust of the Earth
-has subsided over a very considerable area; since what is
-now the bed of the sea, was in the days of the Romans dry
-land, traversed by roads, and dotted over with buildings.
-That the subsidence was slow and gradual may be inferred,
-partly from the absence of any record or tradition of a sudden
-convulsion producing such a change, and partly, too,
-from the unshaken and undisturbed condition of the monuments
-themselves.</p>
-
-<p>But while this conclusion falls in most happily with our
-present argument, it would seem on further examination to
-bring with it a very serious difficulty. For, while those
-ancient monuments testify that the Crust of the Earth in
-this locality has <i>subsided</i>, the structure of the sea-coast, interpreted
-according to Geological principles, would indicate,
-on the contrary, that the Crust of the Earth has been <i>upheaved</i>.
-Close to the sea, at the present day, on the bay of
-Bai&aelig;, there is a low, level tract of fertile land, and at a little
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">273</span>
-distance inland, a lofty range of precipitous cliffs, eighty
-feet high, parallel to the line of the coast. This fertile
-tract, lying between the sea-beach and the perpendicular
-cliffs, is about twenty feet above the sea level, and is composed
-of regularly stratified deposits abounding in marine
-shells of recent species, together with works of human art,
-such as tiles, squares of mosaic pavement, fragments of
-bricks, and sculptured ornaments. Upon these facts a
-Geologist would pronounce without hesitation:&mdash;First,
-that at some period since the district around Naples was
-first inhabited by man, the waters of the sea washed the
-base of the perpendicular cliffs; secondly, that the strata in
-which we now find the recent marine shells, and the remains
-of man’s workmanship, were formed during that
-period by the process of deposition at the bottom of the
-sea; and thirdly, that at some subsequent time, by an upheaval
-of the Earth’s Crust, these strata were lifted up so as
-to form a pretty considerable area of dry land, fit for agriculture
-and the arts of life.</p>
-
-<p>Does it not seem, therefore, that we have here a direct
-contradiction between the evidence of ancient Roman
-buildings and the inferences of modern Geology? Doubtless,
-they both agree in the main point about which we
-are concerned just now, that the Crust of the Earth has
-been moved in recent times on the shores of the bay of
-Naples; but according to the testimony of the Roman temples,
-now covered by water, this movement has been one
-of <i>subsidence</i>, while, according to the inferences of Geological
-theory, it has been one of <i>upheaval</i>. This apparent
-contradiction seems to call for some elucidation.</p>
-
-<p>If we were left in this matter to mere conjecture, we
-might offer the following hypothesis as a fair and reasonable
-solution. We might suppose that since the days of the
-Roman Empire, there have been <i>two successive movements</i> of
-the Earth’s Crust in the neighborhood of Naples; first, a
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">274</span>
-movement of subsidence, by which the ancient temples and
-roads were submerged to a considerable depth beneath the
-sea; afterward, a movement of upheaval, by which the
-marine strata were lifted up. If this second movement were
-exactly equal to the first, it is plain that the ancient roads
-and buildings would have been just restored to their former
-level. But let us suppose that the amount of upheaval was
-something less than the amount of previous subsidence,
-and we should have these roads and buildings still submerged,
-as they are in point of fact, in a few feet of water.
-By such an hypothesis, therefore, the two classes of phenomena
-might be brought into perfect harmony.</p>
-
-<p>But we are not obliged to take refuge in hypothesis: for
-it is now distinctly proved by a very curious kind of evidence,
-that the Crust of the Earth in and about the bay of
-Bai&aelig;, has been successively depressed and upraised since
-the third century of the Christian era; nay more, that the
-subsidence in the first case was greater than the subsequent
-upheaval. Near Pozzuoli, on the level tract of land which,
-as we have said, intervenes between the sea and the lofty
-range of inland cliffs, are to be seen at the present day the
-ruins of a splendid Roman edifice, usually called the temple
-of Jupiter Serapis, though, according to some writers,
-it was not a temple at all, but a public establishment for
-baths. These ruins first attracted attention about the middle
-of the last century. Three magnificent marble columns
-were still standing erect, with their lower parts buried in the
-stratified deposits already described, and their upper portions,
-which projected above the surface of the land, partly
-concealed by bushes. When the soil was removed the
-original plan of the building could be distinctly traced.
-“It was of a quadrangular form, seventy feet in diameter,
-and the roof had been supported by forty-six noble columns,
-twenty-four of granite and the rest of marble.” Many
-of the pillars have been shattered in the course of time, and
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">275</span>
-lie strewn in fragments on the pavements. The three
-which are still standing erect, are upward of forty feet
-in height, each carved out of a solid block of marble; and,
-what is chiefly to our purpose, they exhibit, curiously
-inscribed on their surface, memorials of the physical
-changes in which they have borne a part.</p>
-
-<p>The base of these lofty columns is, at present, slightly
-below the level of the sea. Their outer surface is smooth
-for about twelve feet above the pedestals; then, for the next
-nine feet the marble is everywhere bored by a well-known
-species of mussel, which it is certain can live only in the
-sea. Above this band of perforations the pillars again present
-a smooth surface, and continue smooth to the top.
-The first inference from these facts is, that the columns in
-question must have been at one time submerged to a height
-of twenty-one feet above the pedestals; otherwise they could
-not have been bored at that height by a species of animal that
-can only exist in sea-water. Since that time, therefore, the
-land at this spot must have been upraised twenty-one feet.
-Furthermore, the temple of Jupiter was certainly not built
-at the bottom of the sea, but upon dry land; therefore,
-after the temple had been built, the Crust of the Earth must
-have subsided at least twenty-one feet. Once more: as the
-floor of the temple is now somewhat below the level of the
-sea, and as it is not very likely it was at first so built, we may
-fairly infer that it is now lower than it originally stood; and
-consequently, that the total amount of upheaval has not been
-equal to the total amount of subsidence. Though we cannot
-fix the exact date at which the subsidence began, it was
-probably not earlier than the third century; for in the atrium
-of the temple is an inscription recording that it was
-adorned with precious marbles by the emperor Septimus
-Severus.</p>
-
-<p>It cannot be supposed for a moment that these changes
-were effected by a rise and fall in the level of the sea rather
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">276</span>
-than by a movement of the Earth’s Crust. A permanent
-change in the level of the Mediterranean, in any given
-locality, would, of necessity, imply a change of level over
-its entire extent; and therefore, if the phenomena exhibited
-in the bay of Bai&aelig; arose from such a cause, we should
-meet with phenomena of the same kind along the whole
-length of the Italian coast. Now, in point of fact, no such
-changes of level are elsewhere apparent; and consequently,
-they must be ascribed in the bay of Bai&aelig;, not to an upward
-and downward movement of the sea, but to an upward and
-downward movement of the land.</p>
-
-<p>We must not omit to state, before leaving the subject,
-that it is now ascertained, by a series of accurate observations,
-that the Crust of the Earth in this interesting locality
-is once again slowly and gradually subsiding. At the beginning
-of the century the platform of the temple stood at
-about the level of the sea; it is now more than a foot below
-it. Nay, this second subsidence appears to have begun
-even before the present century. “In the year 1813,”
-writes a modern traveller, “I resided for four months in
-the Capuchin convent of Pozzuoli, which is situated between
-the road from Naples and the sea, at the entrance of the
-town of Pozzuoli. In the Capuchin convents the oldest
-friar is called ‘il molto reverende,’ and the one who
-then enjoyed the title in this convent was ninety-three years
-old. He informed me that, when he was a young man,
-the road from Naples passed on the <i>seaward side</i> of the convent;
-but that, from the gradual sinking of the soil, the
-road was obliged to be altered to its present course. While
-I was staying at the convent, the refectory as well as the
-entrance gate, were from six inches to a foot under water
-whenever strong westerly winds prevailed, so as to cause
-the waters of the Mediterranean to rise. Thirty years previously,
-my old informant stated, such an occurrence never
-took place. In fact, it is not probable that the builder of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">277</span>
-the convent would have placed the ground-floor so low as
-to expose to inundation as it now is.”<a id="FNanchor_102" href="#Footnote_102" class="fnanchor">102</a></p>
-
-<p>On the shores of the Baltic Sea we find another illustration
-of our theory upon a more extended scale. About a
-century and a half ago the Swedish naturalist, Celsius, expressed
-a belief that a remarkable change of level was
-taking place along the eastern coast of Scandinavia; and
-he ascribed the change to a subsidence of the waters of the
-Baltic Sea. This opinion was received at first with no
-small amount of incredulity; but the arguments of Celsius
-were plausible and attractive enough to excite a controversy,
-and the controversy once aroused was not easily set
-at rest. Accordingly, since his time the facts upon which
-he relied have been more strictly examined, difficulties
-have been started and investigated, many new facts, at first
-unknown or unnoticed, have been brought to light, and
-the whole question has been rigorously discussed by scientific
-men. It would be tedious to go through the history
-of the discussion, or to develop at any length the arguments
-which in the end have proved successful, involving as they
-do a multitude of minute observations and nice measurements,
-made at a great variety of different places with
-hard-sounding names. But the general result may be
-readily stated and as readily understood.</p>
-
-<p>It appears that numerous sunken reefs, well known to
-navigators, have, within the last two centuries, become visible
-above water; that many ancient ports have become
-inland towns; that many small islands have become united
-to one another and to the mainland by grassy plains; that
-rocky points which in former times just peeped above the
-water, and afforded refuge only to a solitary sea-bird, are
-now grown into little islets; and that several of the old fishing
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">278</span>
-grounds are now deserted for their shallowness, nay, in
-some cases, altogether dried up. From these facts the
-inference is plain; either the solid Crust of the Earth has
-been uplifted, or the waters of the sea have subsided. Now
-it is certain there has been no subsidence of the sea; for
-such a subsidence, as we before observed, if it took place
-at all, should have been general; whereas there are many
-points on the shores of the Baltic, especially along the
-coasts of Denmark and Prussia, where it can be proved
-that no change of level has taken place for centuries.
-And therefore the phenomena above described we must
-attribute to an upheaval of the Earth’s Crust.<a id="FNanchor_103" href="#Footnote_103" class="fnanchor">103</a></p>
-
-<p>Such is the kind of reasoning with which this inquiry
-has been pursued; and it may now be set down as a received
-and established fact, that a slow and gradual process
-of upheaval is going on, at the present day, on the
-shores of the Baltic Sea, at the rate of from two to four
-feet in a century; and this is over an area of unknown
-breadth, and not less than 1000 miles in length. Evidence
-of a similar kind has lately been adduced to prove that the
-west coast of Greenland is just now gradually subsiding
-for a space of more than 600 miles from north to south.
-“Ancient buildings on low, rocky islands, and on the
-shore of the mainland, have been gradually submerged,
-and experience has taught the aboriginal Greenlander
-never to build his hut near the water’s edge. In one case
-the Moravian settlers have been obliged more than once to
-move the poles upon which their large boats were set, and
-the old poles still remain beneath the water as silent witnesses
-of the change.”<a id="FNanchor_104" href="#Footnote_104" class="fnanchor">104</a></p>
-
-<p>It should seem, therefore, that the Crust of the Earth is
-not that fixed and immovable mass of unyielding rock which
-it is often supposed to be. Whatever the gigantic power
-is which lies shut up within it, and which seems, clearly
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">279</span>
-enough, to be developed in some way or another&mdash;perhaps
-in many ways at once&mdash;from internal heat, that power exercises
-a mighty influence from age to age on the outward
-form of our planet. Like the wind, indeed, it bloweth
-where it listeth, and we cannot tell whence it cometh or
-whither it goeth; but we can hear the sound thereof, and
-witness its effects when it breaks out now in this quarter of
-the world, and now in that, bursting open the massive
-rocks, and furiously vomiting forth whole mountains of
-smouldering ashes and molten mineral; or again, when,
-failing to find a vent, it shakes the foundations of the hills,
-and shivers into fragments the most enduring works of
-man&mdash;castles, temples, palaces,&mdash;filling every heart with
-terror and dismay; or, in fine, when it gently upheaves the
-bottom of the ocean, or by withdrawing the strain, allows
-the Crust of the Earth to subside, with a movement so gradual
-and insensible as to escape the notice of the multitudes
-who are toiling in the busy cities on its Surface. That phenomena
-of this kind have been going on in all past ages,
-is now universally assumed in the speculations of Geology:
-that they are going on in the present age, we have here
-endeavored to prove by the evidence of facts. If we have
-succeeded according to our expectations, the reader will be
-prepared to admit that, on this point at least, it is not the
-Geologist who may fairly be charged with having recourse
-to the inventions of his fancy, but rather those who, assuming
-as a first principle that Geology is false, perseveringly
-shut their eyes to the physical changes that are going on
-around them.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">280</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_280.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<p class="ph1" id="PART_II">PART II.<br />
-
-<span class="large">THE ANTIQUITY OF THE EARTH CONSIDERED IN
-RELATION TO THE HISTORY OF GENESIS.</span></p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_XVIII"><i>CHAPTER XVIII.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">STATEMENT OF THE QUESTION AND EXPOSITION OF THE
-AUTHORS VIEW.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>The general principles of geological theory accepted by the
-author&mdash;These principles plainly import the extreme antiquity
-of the earth&mdash;Illustration from the coal, the chalk,
-and the boulder clay&mdash;This conclusion not at variance with
-the inspired history of creation&mdash;Chronology of the Bible&mdash;Genealogies
-of Genesis&mdash;Date of the creation not fixed by
-Moses&mdash;Progress of opinion on this point&mdash;Cardinal Wiseman,
-Father Perrone, Father Pianciani&mdash;Doctor Buckland&mdash;Doctor
-Chalmers, Doctor Pye Smith, Hugh Miller&mdash;Author’s
-view explained&mdash;Charge of rashness and irreverence
-answered&mdash;Admonitions of Saint Augustine and Saint
-Thomas.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="T" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">The</span> reader has now before him a general outline
-of Geological theory, together with some familiar
-illustrations of the evidence by which it is supported.
-We shall not attempt to enforce this evidence by
-any remarks of our own. Indeed it is of a kind that
-can derive but little aid from the arts of logic or rhetoric.
-It needs but to be fairly understood, and if it does not
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">281</span>
-altogether compel our assent, it begets at least a presumption
-so strong as to leave little room for doubt or hesitation.</p>
-
-<p>Nobody, so far as we know, has ever hesitated to believe
-that the Round Towers of Ireland are the work of
-human hands. And yet if some incredulous skeptic were
-to raise the cry against this common opinion, were to argue
-that it is a mere hypothesis, and call for proof, we should
-be embarrassed how to answer him. We could only say
-that these monuments have all the characteristic marks
-of man’s handiwork; and that buildings of this kind have
-never been known to come into existence except through
-the agency of Man. But should our vexatious skeptic contend
-that they were possibly produced by a freak of Nature;
-or that they were built in the beginning by the Creator of
-the World, who certainly might have made them had He
-been so minded, we should think him very unreasonable,
-and probably not feel much disposed to prolong the discussion.
-In like manner the theory of Geology which we
-are defending, cannot be established by a rigid demonstration;
-but we believe there is not one man of sense and
-judgment, who, being fully master of the evidence on
-which it rests, hesitates to accept that theory, at least in its
-more general outlines. No doubt many able and eminent
-men are to be found arrayed against Geology; but it would
-be easy to show from their writings that they have never
-thoroughly examined the facts about which they talk so
-flippantly, and which they often set aside so lightly.</p>
-
-<p>For ourselves, therefore, we frankly avow that while we
-attach but little importance to the mere conjectures and
-speculations of Geological writers; while we look with
-doubt and suspicion on many plausible theories commonly
-enough adopted at the present day; and while we consider
-that the discoveries of modern times, wonderful
-though they are, have given rise to far more problems than
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">282</span>
-they are yet able to solve; yet we do fully assent to those
-general principles which we have been attempting to develop
-and to illustrate in this Volume. Absolutely metaphysical
-certainty we have not; but we have a firm and rational conviction.
-We feel quite satisfied that the great Creator of
-the Universe did not bring suddenly into existence the
-withered remains and broken fragments of animals which
-had never lived; that He did not stamp upon the massive
-rocks, buried in the profound recesses of the earth, the impress
-of a luxuriant vegetation which had never flourished;
-that He did not, in short, create under millions of forms, the
-delusive appearances of things which had never been, and
-scatter them through this world of ours in wild profusion,
-well knowing that after many centuries they would come to
-light to bewilder human reason, and to lead it into error.
-This conclusion, of course, we are prepared to abandon if
-it should be found to clash with any certain truth or with
-any demonstrated fact. But, in the mean lime, it seems to
-us as well grounded and as fairly established as the conclusions
-we are accustomed to accept without hesitation in
-the matter of other sciences, and in the common business
-of life.</p>
-
-<p>It is argued, however, that Geological theory is, in fact,
-at variance with the very highest order of truth; with that
-truth which comes to us on the authority of God Himself.
-The Bible tells us that the world first came into existence
-about six or eight thousand years ago: Geology, on the
-contrary, tells us that six or eight thousand years are but as
-yesterday in the history of the revolutions through which
-our Globe has passed. This is the argument to which we
-are now about to address ourselves; and it well deserves
-our best attention, not only from its intrinsic importance,
-but also from the interesting nature of the discussion to
-which it has given rise.</p>
-
-<p>In the first place, we fully admit that the extreme
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">283</span>
-Antiquity of the Earth is a necessary consequence of our
-theory. Setting out from the present stage of the world’s
-existence, Geology carries us back from epoch to epoch,
-through a long succession of ages, each extending over
-many thousand years, until the mind is lost in the seeming
-infinity of the past. It may be asked, perhaps, in what way
-Geology can testify to the great length of each successive
-period in the history of the Globe. A familiar example will
-furnish the most convenient reply to such a question.</p>
-
-<p>Let the reader call to mind what we have already explained
-about the origin and formation of Coal; and then
-let him examine the structure of the Carboniferous Rocks.
-In the great Coal-fields of Wales, for instance, he will find,
-in a depth of 12,000 feet, from fifty to a hundred distinct
-beds of coals, spread out one above another, with intervening
-strata of clay several feet thick. Now each one of these
-beds represents an ancient forest which must have grown
-up and flourished and decayed; or else an immense and
-varied mass of Drift-wood, transported from a distance by
-the action of moving water, and deposited near the mouth
-of some great river. In either case a considerable lapse of
-time would have been necessary for such an accumulation
-of vegetable matter as would furnish the elements even of a
-single seam of Coal. And, when that period came to an
-end, only one little stage in the long series had been accomplished:
-one stratum of a few feet had been laid down in
-that great Formation which was to reach at length a height
-of more than two miles. A new condition of things then
-ensued. This layer of vegetable matter, sunk below the
-waters, was gradually covered over with a thick deposit of
-clay, which, in course of time, was to emerge, and become
-dry land, and give birth to a second forest, destined in its
-turn to wither and decay. Or, at least, when the stratum
-of clay had been deposited, it was to be overlaid, in some
-way or another, with a second layer of vegetable matter sufficient
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">284</span>
-for the production of a second bed of coal. And so
-this process must have gone on, doubtless with many and
-long interruptions, for a hundred times in succession.</p>
-
-<p>Then it must be remembered that the Coal-bearing strata
-represent but one of many periods, and that not the longest
-in the Geological Calendar. Before the age of the Coal,
-England was for centuries at the bottom of the sea, while
-the Old Red Sandstone was slowly spread out over its existing
-surface. And after the age of the Coal, England was
-again submerged, and gigantic Ichthyosaurs with their companions
-of the deep, sported in the waters that rolled over
-her plains and covered the tops of her mountains; and,
-when they had run their course, left their remains buried
-in the clays of Oxfordshire and Warwickshire and Dorsetshire.</p>
-
-<p>Furthermore, the beds in which these monstrous reptiles
-are entombed were overlaid by a stratum of calcareous ooze,
-now forming a solid mass of Chalk Rock, often a thousand
-feet in thickness. This Chalk, as we have seen, is nothing
-else than a vast accumulation of shells, so minute that millions
-of them would fit together on the blade of a small pen-knife,
-and hundreds of millions are carried about by every
-carpenter in his waistcoat pocket. How many generations
-of animalcules it took to pile up such an immense thickness
-of rock, by the action of their vital powers, and how
-many ages were consumed in the process it is beyond the
-reach of science to calculate, almost beyond the power of
-imagination to conceive. And yet the Chalk itself was followed
-by the various Formations of the Tertiary Age; while
-the last of these is separated by the Drift and Boulder Clay
-from the superficial deposits which correspond with the
-period of history, and which go by the name of Recent.</p>
-
-<p>This topic has been illustrated in a lively and striking
-manner by Professor Huxley, in a Lecture delivered not
-long ago before the working-men of Norwich. “At Cromer,”
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">285</span>
-he says, “one of the most charming spots on the
-coast of Norfolk, you will see the Boulder Clay forming a
-vast mass, which lies upon the Chalk, and must consequently
-have come into existence after it. Huge boulders
-of chalk are, in fact, included in the clay, and have evidently
-been brought to the position they now occupy by
-the same agency as that which has planted blocks of
-syenite from Norway side by side with them.</p>
-
-<p>“The Chalk, then, is certainly older than the Boulder
-Clay. If you ask how much, I will again take you no further
-than the same spot upon your own coasts for evidence.
-I have spoken of the Boulder Clay and Drift as resting
-upon the Chalk. That is not strictly true. Interposed
-between the Chalk and the Drift is a comparatively insignificant
-layer, containing vegetable matter. But that layer
-tells a wonderful history. It is full of stumps of trees
-standing as they grew. Fir-trees are there with their cones,
-and hazel-bushes with their nuts; there stand the stools of
-oak and yew trees, beeches and alders. Hence this stratum
-is appropriately called the Forest-bed.</p>
-
-<p>“It is obvious that the Chalk must have been upheaved
-and converted into dry land before the timber trees could
-grow upon it. As the trunks of some of these trees are
-from two to three feet in diameter, it is no less clear that
-the dry land thus formed remained in the same condition
-for long ages. And not only do the remains of stately
-oaks and well-grown firs testify to the duration of this condition
-of things, but additional evidence to the same effect
-is afforded by the abundant remains of elephants, rhinoceroses,
-hippopotamuses, and other great wild beasts, which
-it has yielded to the zealous search of such men as the
-Reverend Mr. Gunn.</p>
-
-<p>“When you look at such a collection as he has formed,
-and bethink you that these elephantine bones did veritably
-carry their owners about, and these great grinders crunch
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">286</span>
-in the dark woods of which the Forest-bed is now the only
-trace, it is impossible not to feel that they are as good evidence
-of the lapse of time as the annual rings of the tree-stumps.</p>
-
-<p>“Thus there is a writing upon the wall of cliffs at Cromer,
-and whoso runs may read it. It tells us with an authority
-which cannot be impeached, that the ancient bed of
-the Chalk sea was raised up and remained dry land until
-it was covered with forest, stocked with the great game
-whose spoils have rejoiced your Geologists. How long it
-remained in that condition cannot be said; but the ‘whirligig
-of time brought its revenges’ in those days as in these.
-That dry land, with the bones and teeth of generations of
-long-lived elephants hidden away among the gnarled roots
-and dry leaves of its ancient trees, sank gradually to the
-bottom of the icy sea, which covered it with huge masses
-of Drift and Boulder Clay. Sea-beasts, such as the walrus,
-now restricted to the extreme north, paddled about where
-birds had twittered among the topmost twigs of the fir-trees.
-How long this state of things endured we know not, but at
-length it came to an end. The upheaved glacial mud
-hardened into the soil of modern Norfolk. Forests grew
-once more, the wolf and the beaver replaced the reindeer
-and the elephant; and at length what we called the history
-of England, dawned.</p>
-
-<p>“Thus evidence which cannot be rebutted, and which
-need not be strengthened, though, if time permitted, I
-might indefinitely increase its quantity, compels you to believe
-that the Earth from the time of the Chalk to the present
-day, has been the theatre of a series of changes as vast
-in their amount as they were slow in their progress. The
-area on which we stand has been first sea and then land for
-at least four alternations, and has remained in each of these
-conditions for a period of great length.</p>
-
-<p>“Nor have these wonderful metamorphoses of the sea
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">287</span>
-into land, and of land into sea, been confined to one corner
-of England. During the Chalk Period not one of the
-present great physical features of the Globe was in existence.
-Our great mountain ranges, Pyrenees, Alps, Himalayas,
-Andes, have all been upheaved since the Chalk was deposited,
-and the Cretaceous sea flowed over the sites of Sinai
-and Ararat.</p>
-
-<p>“All this is certain, because rocks of Cretaceous or still
-later date have shared in the elevatory movements which
-gave rise to these mountain chains, and may be found
-perched up, in some cases, many thousand feet high upon
-their flanks. And evidence of equal cogency demonstrates
-that, though in Norfolk the Forest-bed rests directly upon
-the Chalk, yet it does so, not because the period at which
-the forest grew immediately followed that at which the Chalk
-was formed, but because an immense lapse of time, represented
-elsewhere by thousands of feet of rock, is not indicated
-at Cromer.</p>
-
-<p>“I must ask you to believe that there is no less conclusive
-proof that a still more prolonged succession of similar
-changes occurred before the Chalk was deposited. Nor
-have we any reason to think that the first term in the series
-of these changes is known. The oldest sea-beds preserved
-to us are sands and mud and pebbles, the wear and tear of
-rocks which were formed in still older oceans.”<a id="FNanchor_105" href="#Footnote_105" class="fnanchor">105</a></p>
-
-<p>It is needless to pursue this subject further, or to seek
-for other illustrations. We may reject Geology if we will:
-but if we put any faith even in its main principles, we must
-believe that the Crust of the Earth has passed through an
-indefinite series of revolutions, during which the Stratified
-Rocks were slowly built up by the action of natural causes.
-And it would be utterly ridiculous to suppose that the history
-of these revolutions can be compressed into the narrow
-compass of six thousand years.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">288</span></p>
-
-<p>Turning now to the other side of the question, we maintain
-that this extreme Antiquity of the Earth, which we
-have learned from Geology, is perfectly consistent with the
-historical narrative of the Bible. The Bible, indeed, does
-fix the Chronology of the Human Race at a comparatively
-recent period; but as for the Chronology of the World
-itself, the Bible simply tells us that, “In the beginning
-God created the Heavens and the Earth.” For all that
-appears to the contrary, this Earth of ours may have been
-in existence for millions of years before man was introduced
-upon the scene; and during that time may have been peopled
-with those countless tribes of plants and animals which
-play so important a part in the records of Geology. This
-view, which is not only fully tolerated by the Church, but
-now largely supported by her Divines and Commentators,
-we hope to bring home clearly to our readers in the following
-pages; and thus to satisfy them that, as regards the
-Antiquity of the Earth, the discoveries of Geology can offer
-no prejudice to our religious belief.</p>
-
-<p>At the outset it is of some importance to understand clearly
-the nature of that system of Chronology which is gathered
-from the Bible. Nowhere in the Sacred Text is the age of
-the human race explicitly set forth. But various data are
-found scattered here and there through the historical narrative,
-which afford us sufficient materials to compute the
-years that elapsed from the Creation of Adam to the Birth
-of Christ. Unfortunately, however, these data are in some
-respects obscure, and in some respects uncertain. And
-thus it has come to pass that many different systems of
-Chronology have come into vogue, even amongst those
-who profess to be guided entirely by the authority of the
-Bible.</p>
-
-<p>The whole period may be conveniently divided into two
-parts;&mdash;from the Creation of Adam to the Call of Abraham;
-and from the call of Abraham to the Birth of Christ. As
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">289</span>
-regards the latter interval, the difference of opinion between
-Chronologists is not very substantial; the length of the
-period may be roughly set down at about 2,000 years. But
-in the computation of the former interval a very wide difference
-prevails, arising from a diversity of reading in the
-earliest versions of the Pentateuch.</p>
-
-<p>The materials for the computation are derived from two
-genealogical lists, one extending from Adam to Noah,<a id="FNanchor_106" href="#Footnote_106" class="fnanchor">106</a> the
-other from Noah to Abraham.<a id="FNanchor_107" href="#Footnote_107" class="fnanchor">107</a> In these lists we have
-not only the direct line of descent from father to son, extending
-through the whole period in question, but, moreover,
-we have the age of each individual member of the
-genealogy at the time when the next in succession was born.
-As, for example:&mdash;“Adam lived <i>a hundred and thirty years,
-and begot a son</i> to his own image and likeness, and called
-his name Seth. And the days of Adam, after he had begot
-Seth, were eight hundred years: and he begot sons and
-daughters. And all the time that Adam lived came to
-nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. Seth also
-lived <i>a hundred and five years, and begot Enos</i>. And Seth
-lived, after he begot Enos, eight hundred and seven years,
-and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Seth
-were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died. And
-Enos lived <i>ninety years, and begot Cainan:</i>”<a id="FNanchor_108" href="#Footnote_108" class="fnanchor">108</a> and so on.
-Now it is plain, according to this statement, that from the
-Creation of Adam to the birth of Seth was a hundred and
-thirty years; to the birth of Enos, a hundred and thirty,
-more a hundred and five years; to the birth of Cainan, a
-hundred and thirty, more a hundred and five, more ninety
-years. And in this way, following the genealogies of the
-Book of Genesis, we may easily compute the time from
-the Creation of Adam to the Birth of Abraham. Adding
-seventy-five years to this period, we reach the epoch known
-as the Call of Abraham; for we are told that “Abraham
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">290</span>
-was seventy and five years old when he went forth from
-Haran.”<a id="FNanchor_109" href="#Footnote_109" class="fnanchor">109</a></p>
-
-<p>Now every one knows that when a long catalogue of
-names and numbers is copied and recopied from age to
-age, errors are very likely to creep in and be perpetuated.
-And so it has been in the present case. The three
-earliest versions of the Pentateuch are the Hebrew, the
-Samaritan, and the Septuagint: and between these three
-versions there is a very great discrepancy with regard to the
-figures in question; so great, indeed, as to make up, on
-the whole, a difference of 1500 years, or more, in the age
-of the human race. In the table that appears on the following
-page, for which we are mainly indebted to the work
-of a modern writer,<a id="FNanchor_110" href="#Footnote_110" class="fnanchor">110</a> this diversity of reading is set forth in
-a very simple and intelligible form.</p>
-
-<p>It is plain that of these three different versions, one only
-can represent the true age of the human race when Abraham
-went forth, at the command of God, from his country
-and his kindred and his father’s house, to go into the land
-of Canaan: and at this distance of time, it is impossible to
-determine with anything like certainty, which of the three
-has the greatest claim on our acceptance. The Church
-has not pronounced upon the subject; and the question is
-freely discussed among Biblical scholars. But the details of
-this controversy have little to do with our present argument.
-Enough it is for us to know that, from the Creation of
-Adam to the Birth of Christ, cannot have been more than
-six thousand years at the highest computation, nor much
-less than four thousand at the lowest. Adding 1869 years
-of the Christian Era, the present age of the Human Race
-according to the data of the Bible would seem to lie between
-six and eight thousand years.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">291</span></p>
-
-<h3 id="GENEALOGIES_OF_GENESIS"><span class="smcap">Genealogies of Genesis.</span></h3>
-
-<table class="toc">
-  <tr>
-    <th>LIST OF PATRIARCHS.</th>
-    <th colspan="3">AGE OF EACH WHEN THE NEXT WAS BORN.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th></th>
-    <th colspan="3">ACCORDING TO</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <th></th>
-    <th>Septuagint.</th>
-    <th>Hebrew.</th>
-    <th>Samaritan.</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Adam,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">230</td>
-    <td class="tdr">130</td>
-    <td class="tdr">130</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Seth,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">205</td>
-    <td class="tdr">105</td>
-    <td class="tdr">105</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Enos,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">190</td>
-    <td class="tdr">90</td>
-    <td class="tdr">90</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Cainan,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">170</td>
-    <td class="tdr">70</td>
-    <td class="tdr">70</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Malaleel,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">165</td>
-    <td class="tdr">65</td>
-    <td class="tdr">65</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Jared,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">162</td>
-    <td class="tdr">162</td>
-    <td class="tdr">62</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Henoch,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">165</td>
-    <td class="tdr">65</td>
-    <td class="tdr">65</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Mathusala,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">167</td>
-    <td class="tdr">187</td>
-    <td class="tdr">67</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Lamech,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">188</td>
-    <td class="tdr">182</td>
-    <td class="tdr">53</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Noe,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">500</td>
-    <td class="tdr">500</td>
-    <td class="tdr">500</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Sem,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">100</td>
-    <td class="tdr">100</td>
-    <td class="tdr">100</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>From the creation of Adam to the birth of Arphaxad, two years after the Flood,<a id="FNanchor_111" href="#Footnote_111" class="fnanchor">111</a></td>
-    <td class="tdr bb bt">2242</td>
-    <td class="tdr bb bt">1656</td>
-    <td class="tdr bb bt">1307</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Arphaxad,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">135</td>
-    <td class="tdr">35</td>
-    <td class="tdr">135</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Cainan,<a id="FNanchor_112" href="#Footnote_112" class="fnanchor">112</a></td>
-    <td class="tdr">130</td>
-    <td class="tdr">&mdash;</td>
-    <td class="tdr">&mdash;</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Sale,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">130</td>
-    <td class="tdr">30</td>
-    <td class="tdr">130</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Heber,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">134</td>
-    <td class="tdr">34</td>
-    <td class="tdr">134</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Phaleg,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">130</td>
-    <td class="tdr">30</td>
-    <td class="tdr">130</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Reu,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">132</td>
-    <td class="tdr">32</td>
-    <td class="tdr">132</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Sarug,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">130</td>
-    <td class="tdr">30</td>
-    <td class="tdr">130</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Nachor,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">79</td>
-    <td class="tdr">29</td>
-    <td class="tdr">79</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Thare,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">70</td>
-    <td class="tdr">70</td>
-    <td class="tdr">70</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>Abraham called by God,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">75</td>
-    <td class="tdr">75</td>
-    <td class="tdr">75</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>From the Flood to the Call of Abraham,</td>
-    <td class="tdr bb bt">1145</td>
-    <td class="tdr bb bt">365</td>
-    <td class="tdr bb bt">1015</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>From the Creation of Adam to the Call of Abraham,</td>
-    <td class="tdr">3387</td>
-    <td class="tdr">2021</td>
-    <td class="tdr">2322</td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">292</span></p>
-
-<p>The Bible, then, does determine, though with some
-vagueness and uncertainty, the age of the Human Race.
-We have now to consider whether, in fixing the age of the
-Human Race, it fixes likewise the age of the World itself.
-For this purpose we must turn our attention to the first
-chapter of Genesis, in which is briefly set forth the origin
-and early history of our Globe from the Creation of the
-Heavens and the Earth in the beginning to the Creation of
-Man at the close of the Sixth Day. If it should appear
-that these two events were comprised within a very narrow
-limit of time, as is not unfrequently supposed, then indeed
-the age of the world must agree pretty nearly with the age
-of the Human Race. But if on the other hand, between
-these two events the Sacred Record allows us to suppose an
-interval of indefinite length, then it plainly follows that the
-age of the Human Race, as set forth in the Bible Genealogies,
-can afford no evidence against the Antiquity of the
-Earth. The question is thus brought within very narrow
-limits. We have simply to take up the First Chapter of
-Genesis, and inquire whether or no it is there conveyed
-that the Creation of Man, which is described toward the
-close of the chapter, followed after the lapse of only a few
-days upon the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth,
-which is recorded in the first verse.</p>
-
-<p>For many centuries this question received but little
-attention from the readers of the Bible. It was commonly
-assumed that, as the various events of the Creation are
-traced out in rapid succession by the Inspired Writer, and
-strung together into one continuous narrative, so did they
-follow one another, in reality, with a corresponding rapidity,
-and in the same unbroken continuity. The progress of
-Physical Science had not yet shown any necessity for supposing
-a lengthened period of time to have elapsed between
-the Creation of the World and the Creation of Man: nor
-was there anything in the narrative itself to suggest such an
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">293</span>
-idea. Thus it was generally taken for granted, almost
-without discussion, that when God had created the Heavens
-and the Earth in the beginning, He <i>at once</i> set about the
-work of arranging and furnishing the universe, and fitting
-it up for the use of man; that He distributed this work
-over a period of six ordinary days, and at the close of the
-sixth day, introduced our First Parents upon the scene:
-and that, therefore, the beginning of the Human Race was
-but six days later than the beginning of the World.</p>
-
-<p>These notions about the history of the Creation continued
-to prevail almost down to our own time. It is to be observed,
-however, that they were not founded on a close and scientific
-examination of the Sacred Text. The hypothesis of a
-long and eventful state of existence prior to the Creation of
-Man may be said rather to have been overlooked, than to
-have been rejected, by our Commentators. There was no
-good reasons for entertaining such a speculation, and so
-they said nothing about it. But now that the world is
-ringing with the wonderful discoveries of Geology, which
-seem to point more and more clearly every day to the
-extreme Antiquity of the Earth, it becomes an imperative
-duty to examine once again with all diligence and care the
-Inspired narrative of the Creation, and to consider well the
-relation in which it stands with this new dogma of Physical
-Science.</p>
-
-<p>We are not the first to enter upon the inquiry. Already
-it has engaged the attention and stimulated the industry of
-Theological writers for more than half a century. Many
-eminent men, distinguished alike for their extensive acquirements
-and for their religious zeal, have protested warmly
-against the opinion of Geologists, concerning the Antiquity
-of the Earth, as one that cannot be reconciled with the historical
-accuracy of the Bible. But, on the other hand, there
-are writers no less illustrious, and no less sincerely attached
-to the cause of religion, who contend that there is nothing in
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">294</span>
-the Sacred Text to exclude the supposition of a long and
-indefinite interval&mdash;an interval if necessary of many millions
-of years&mdash;between the first creation of matter and the creation
-of man. Thirty years ago this opinion was defended
-by Cardinal Wiseman with great learning, and with great
-felicity of illustration, in his famous Lectures on the Connection
-between Science and Revealed Religion. The eminent
-Roman Jesuit, Father Perrone, has followed the same
-line of argument in his Pr&aelig;lectiones Theologic&aelig;, which, as
-every one knows, has long since become a classic work in
-schools of Theology. It has been yet more fully discussed,
-and supported by more elaborate reasoning, in a work entitled
-Cosmogonia Naturale Comparata col Genesi, lately
-published in Rome at the press of the Civilt&agrave; Cattolica,
-by another distinguished Jesuit, John Baptist Pianciani.
-Amongst Protestant writers, too, this view of the Mosaic
-narrative has found no inconsiderable number of able advocates.
-It is defended by Doctor Buckland, the eminent
-Geologist, in his celebrated Bridgewater Treatise, by Doctor
-Chalmers in his Evidences of the Christian Revelation, by
-Doctor Pye Smith in his dissertations on Geology and Scripture,
-by the eloquent and original Hugh Miller in his interesting
-work on the Testimony of the Rocks; and by a host
-of others scarcely less distinguished than these.</p>
-
-<p>But these learned writers are not altogether of one accord
-as to the precise point in the First Chapter of Genesis, at
-which we may suppose a long interval of time to have intervened.
-Some, with Doctor Buckland, Doctor Pye Smith,
-and Doctor Chalmers, consider that this interval may best be
-introduced between the beginning of all time, when God
-created the Heavens and the Earth, and the beginning of
-the First Day, when He set about preparing the world as a
-dwelling-place for man. Sacred Scripture, they say, simply
-records these two events, (1) that “In the beginning God
-created the Heavens and the Earth,” and (2) that, at some
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">295</span>
-subsequent time, “God said: Let there be light: and light
-was made.” But Sacred Scripture does not tell us what
-length of time elapsed between these two great acts of Divine
-Omnipotence. For aught we know from Revelation, it may
-have been but a single day, or it may have been a million
-of years. Others again, as for instance Pianciani, prefer
-to suppose that each one of the Six Days may have been
-itself a period of indefinite, nay of almost inconceivable
-duration. So that, between the beginning of the world and
-the creation of man six great ages of the Earth’s history may
-have rolled by, each one distinguished by a new manifestation
-of God’s power, and the introduction of new forms of
-life. These writers even fancy that they can discover a close
-analogy between the successive acts of creation recorded in
-Genesis, and the gradual development of organic life exhibited
-in the great Epochs of Geology.</p>
-
-<p>To us it seems that either one or the other of these two
-systems, or both together, may be fairly admitted without
-any undue violence to the text of the Inspired narrative: and
-this, we would observe in passing, is the opinion to which
-Cardinal Wiseman appears to have inclined, thirty years ago,
-in his Lectures on the Connection between Science and Religion.
-We maintain, then, in the first place, that there is
-nothing in the Mosaic narrative, when carefully examined,
-at variance with the hypothesis of an indefinite interval between
-the creation of the world and the work of the Six Days.
-And, in the second place, we contend that it is quite consistent
-with the usage of Sacred Scripture to explain these Days
-of Creation as long periods of time.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>It may appear, perhaps, to some of our readers that this
-is dangerous ground on which we are about to venture.
-They may have been accustomed all their lives to view the
-history of Creation through the medium of those notions
-that commonly prevailed before the discoveries of Geology:
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">296</span>
-and from the influence of long association they may have
-come, in the end, to regard their own interpretation with
-scarcely less veneration than the Inspired Text itself. Such
-persons will naturally be disposed to look upon our undertaking
-with disfavor and suspicion. They will think us
-guilty of irreverence toward Holy Scripture when we seek
-to modify our views about its meaning, in deference to the
-conclusions of Physical Science; and they may be tempted
-even to charge us with putting the idle interpretations of
-men into the balance against the Inspired Word of God.</p>
-
-<p>To this line of objection we would answer, that we cannot
-be guilty of irreverence to the Holy Scripture, when we
-are only striving, with due submission to the authority of
-the Church, to discover the true meaning of an obscure and
-difficult passage, on which the Church has pronounced no
-definite judgment. Nor can we be said to make light of the
-Word of God, when we are but attempting to defend its unerring
-veracity from the assaults of infidel writers. Furthermore
-we would add, that, if it is a dangerous thing to modify
-the received interpretation of certain parts of Scripture, when
-the progress of science enables us to see physical phenomena
-under a new light, it is a far more dangerous thing to
-persist in imputing to Scripture a doctrine that, in a very
-short time, may be proved to be false, beyond the possibility
-of contradiction.</p>
-
-<p>These sentiments are not altogether our own. They
-have come to us, in great part, from an illustrious Doctor
-of the Church; and we are glad, at this early stage of our
-discussion, to be able to shelter our humble efforts under
-the authority of his venerable name. It is now more than
-fourteen centuries and a half since Saint Augustine set
-about the literal interpretation of Genesis, which he accomplished
-in a Treatise of twelve books. Toward the close
-of the first book he expatiates at some length on the difficulty
-of his undertaking, and on the variety of diverse interpretations,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">297</span>
-which prevailed even in his time. From this
-he takes occasion to warn his readers that, “if we find anything
-in Divine Scripture that may be variously explained
-without any injury to faith, we should not rush headlong
-by positive assertion either to one opinion or the other;
-lest, if perchance the opinion we have adopted should afterward
-turn out to be false, our faith should fall with it; and
-we should be found contending, not so much for the doctrine
-of the Sacred Scriptures as for our own; endeavoring
-to make our doctrine to be that of the Scriptures, instead
-of taking the doctrine of the Scriptures to be ours.”<a id="FNanchor_113" href="#Footnote_113" class="fnanchor">113</a> And
-a little further on he again exposes the imprudence of such a
-proceeding, in words that cannot but be considered peculiarly
-applicable to our present subject:&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>“It often happens that one who is not a Christian hath
-some knowledge derived from the clearest arguments or
-from the evidence of his senses about the earth, about the
-heavens, about the other elements of this world, about the
-movements and revolutions, or about the size and distances
-of the stars, about certain eclipses of the sun and
-moon, about the course of the years and the seasons, about
-the nature of animals, plants, and minerals, and about
-other things of a like kind. Now it is an unseemly and
-mischievous thing, and greatly to be avoided, that a Christian
-man speaking on such matters, as if according to the
-authority of Christian Scripture, should talk so foolishly
-that the unbeliever, on hearing him, and observing the
-extravagance of his error, should hardly be able to refrain
-from laughing. And the great mischief is, not so much
-that the man himself is laughed at for his errors, but that
-our authors are believed by people without the Church to
-have taught such things, and so are condemned as unlearned,
-and cast aside, to the great loss of those for whose
-salvation we are so much concerned. For, when they find
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">298</span>
-one belonging to the Christian body falling into error on a
-subject with which they themselves are thoroughly conversant,
-and when they see him, moreover, enforcing his
-groundless opinion by the authority of our Sacred Books,
-how are they likely to put trust in these Books about the
-resurrection of the dead, and the hope of eternal life, and
-the kingdom of heaven, having already come to regard
-them as fallacious about those things they had themselves
-learned from observation or from unquestionable evidence?
-And, indeed, it were not easy to tell what trouble and sorrow
-some rash and presumptuous men bring upon their
-prudent brethren, who, when they are charged with a perverse
-and false opinion by those who do not accept the
-authority of our Books, attempt to put forward these same
-Holy Books in defence of that which they have lightly and
-falsely asserted; sometimes even quoting from memory
-what they think will suit their purpose, and putting forth
-many words, without well understanding either what they
-say, or what they are talking about.”<a id="FNanchor_114" href="#Footnote_114" class="fnanchor">114</a></p>
-
-<p>And many ages after, Saint Thomas, the great luminary
-of the schools, appeals to this wise admonition of Saint
-Augustine, and applies it to the circumstances of his own
-times. Writing about the work of the Second Day, he says
-that “in questions of this sort there are two things to be
-observed. First, that the truth of Scripture be inviolably
-maintained. Secondly, since Scripture doth admit of
-diverse interpretations, that we must not cling to any particular
-exposition with such pertinacity, that if what we
-supposed to be the teaching of Scripture should afterward
-turn out to be clearly false, we should nevertheless still presume
-to put it forward; lest thereby we should expose the
-Inspired Word of God to the derision of unbelievers, and
-shut them out from the way of salvation.”<a id="FNanchor_115" href="#Footnote_115" class="fnanchor">115</a></p>
-
-<p>Under the sanction of two such illustrious Saints and
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">299</span>
-Doctors we need not hesitate to proceed in our attempt to
-reconcile the Inspired narrative of the Creation with the
-doctrine of the Antiquity of the Earth, as set forth by the
-advocates of Geology. Let it be remembered, however,
-that we do not undertake to prove the extreme Antiquity of
-the Earth from the language of Scripture; but simply to
-show that the language of Scripture leaves the Antiquity of
-the Earth an open question. The Geologist holds that this
-Globe of ours has been in existence for hundreds of thousands,
-perhaps for millions of years; and our object is to
-show that, while maintaining this opinion, he may, nevertheless,
-accept the historical truth of the Bible narrative.</p>
-
-<p>As before explained, two points arise for discussion:
-first, can we suppose an interval of indefinite length to have
-elapsed between the Creation of the World, and the work
-of the Six Days? and secondly, is it lawful to explain these
-Days in the sense of long periods? We shall take these
-two questions in succession, dealing with each upon its
-own merits; and if we fail to enforce conviction, we hope,
-at least, to vindicate our right to toleration.</p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_299.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">300</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_300.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.<br />
-
-<span class="medium">FIRST HYPOTHESIS;&mdash;AN INTERVAL OF INDEFINITE DURATION
-BETWEEN THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND THE
-FIRST MOSAIC DAY.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>The heavens and the earth were created before the first Mosaic
-day&mdash;Objection from Exodus, xx. 9-11&mdash;Answer&mdash;Interpretation
-of the author supported by the best commentators&mdash;Confirmed
-by the Hebrew text&mdash;The early fathers commonly
-held the existence of created matter prior to the
-work of the Six Days&mdash;Saint Basil, Saint Chrysostom, Saint
-Ambrose, Venerable Bede&mdash;The most eminent doctors in the
-schools concurred in this opinion&mdash;Peter Lombard, Hugh of
-Saint Victor, Saint Thomas&mdash;Also commentators and theologians&mdash;Perrerius,
-Petavius&mdash;Distinguished names on the
-other side, A Lapide, Tostatus, Saint Augustine&mdash;The opinion
-is at least not at variance with the voice of tradition&mdash;This
-period of created existence may have been of indefinite length&mdash;And
-the earth may have been furnished then as now
-with countless tribes of plants and animals&mdash;Objections to
-this hypothesis proposed and explained.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="T" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">The</span> opening verses of the Mosaic history may be
-rendered thus literally from the Hebrew Text:&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>(1) “In the beginning God created the Heavens
-and the Earth.</p>
-
-<p>(2) “And the Earth was waste and empty; and darkness
-was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved
-upon the face of the waters.</p>
-
-<p>(3) “And God said, Let there be light; and there was
-light.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">301</span></p>
-
-<p>(4) “And God saw the light that it was good; and God
-divided the light from the darkness.</p>
-
-<p>(5) “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he
-called Night. And the evening was, and the morning was,
-the first day.”</p>
-
-<p>Now it appears to us that the great event with which this
-narrative begins, the creation of the Heavens and the Earth,
-is not represented as a part of the work that was accomplished
-within the Six Days. It is not said that <i>on the first day</i>
-God created the Heavens and the Earth, but <i>in the beginning</i>.
-Besides, the Sacred writer, uniformly throughout the chapter,
-employs one and the same peculiar phrase to introduce
-the work of each successive day. In describing the operations
-of God on the second day, he begins: “<i>And God said</i>,
-Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters:” on
-the third day, “<i>And God said</i>, Let the waters that are under
-the Heavens be gathered together into one place:” on the
-fourth, “<i>And God said</i>, Let there be lights in the firmament
-of the Heavens to divide the day from the night:” on
-the fifth, “<i>And God said</i>, Let the waters bring forth the
-creeping thing having life:” on the sixth, “<i>And God said</i>,
-Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind.”
-Hence, when we meet this same phrase for the first time in
-the third verse, “<i>And God said</i>, Let there be light,” we may
-reasonably suppose that the work of the first day began with
-the decree which is set forth in these words. If so it plainly
-follows that we may allow the existence of created matter
-before that particular epoch of time which, in the language
-of Moses, is styled the First Day: for, before the creation of
-light, the Heavens and the Earth were already in existence,
-and the Earth was waste and empty, and darkness was upon
-the face of the deep, and the spirit of God moved upon the
-face of the waters.</p>
-
-<p>An objection is sometimes raised from the words of God
-in the promulgation of the third commandment:&mdash;“Six
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">302</span>
-days shalt thou labor and do all thy work. But the seventh
-day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God; thou shalt do no
-work on it.... For <i>in six days the Lord made the
-Heavens and the Earth</i> and the sea, and all that is in them,
-and resteth the seventh day.”<a id="FNanchor_116" href="#Footnote_116" class="fnanchor">116</a> It is argued that the creation
-of the Heavens and the Earth is here set forth as a part
-of the work accomplished within the Six Days; which is
-directly against our opinion. This difficulty would be
-simply insurmountable, if it could be proved that the text
-refers to that <i>first act of creation</i> by which the Heavens and
-the Earth were brought into existence out of nothing. We
-think, however, that the phrase may fairly be understood to
-mean, in six days the Lord <i>fashioned</i> the Heavens and the
-Earth; that is to say, gave to them that form and shape and
-outward character which they now possess. In this sense
-the words would apply, not to the first act of creation out of
-nothing, but rather to that subsequent series of operations
-by which the Earth was fitted up and furnished for the use
-of man.</p>
-
-<p>And this interpretation is supported by the authority of
-our best Commentators. Perrerius formally discusses the
-point, and maintains that God may truly be said to have
-made the Heavens and the Earth in Six Days, although the
-Heavens and the Earth, as far as regards their substantial
-matter, had been created before the First Day: for it was
-only within the Six Days that they were adorned and completed
-and perfected. Tostatus is not less explicit. In this
-passage, he says, the word <i>made</i> is very properly employed;
-for the Heavens and the Earth which are here referred to,
-and the other things that are included under this general
-designation, were all <i>made from matter already existing</i>, but
-this matter itself was not <i>made</i>, it was <i>created</i>. Petavius also
-adopts this view in his remarks upon the fourth verse of the
-second chapter of Genesis.<a id="FNanchor_117" href="#Footnote_117" class="fnanchor">117</a>
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">303</span></p>
-
-<p>We may add that this mode of explaining the passage receives
-no small support from the Hebrew text. When it is
-said, in the first chapter of Genesis, that “In the beginning
-God <i>created</i> the Heavens and the Earth,” the word used by
-the Sacred writer is <span class="rtl">ברא</span> (<i>Bara</i>), which strictly means to
-create out of nothing; whereas, in describing the operations
-of the Six Days, he commonly uses the word <span class="rtl">עשה</span> (<i>Hasah</i>),
-which means to <i>form</i> and <i>fashion</i>, or to produce something
-out of pre-existing materials.<a id="FNanchor_118" href="#Footnote_118" class="fnanchor">118</a> Now, in the text of Exodus
-we find the word <span class="rtl">עשה</span> (<i>Hasah</i>), to <i>fashion</i> or <i>produce</i>, and
-not the word <span class="rtl">ברא</span> (<i>Bara</i>), to <i>create</i>. We do not want to
-insist very rigorously upon this distinction between the two
-words <span class="rtl">ברא</span> (<i>Bara</i>) and <span class="rtl">עשה</span> (<i>Hasah</i>)), nor would we deny
-that they are sometimes interchanged as regards their meaning.
-We think they are related to one another pretty nearly
-as the corresponding words to <i>create</i> and to <i>make</i> in English,
-and we know that the distinction between these two words
-is not always strictly observed. Thus, we sometimes say
-that God <i>made</i> the world, meaning that he brought it forth
-from nothing, and we speak of the <i>creation</i> of peers; and
-Shakspeare says:&mdash;</p>
-
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">“Now is the time of help; your eye in Scotland<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">Would <i>create</i> soldiers, make our women fight<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">To doff their dire distresses.”&mdash;<i>Macbeth</i>, Act iv., Sc. iii.<br /></span>
-</div></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>Nevertheless, when we compare two such passages as
-these:&mdash;“In the beginning God <i>created</i> the Heavens and the
-Earth,” and “In Six Days the Lord <i>made</i> the Heavens and
-the Earth and the sea, and all that in them is,” we think the
-studied contrast of expression is a fair ground for supposing
-that, while the one refers to the Divine decree by which
-matter was first brought into existence out of nothing, the
-other may be understood of those subsequent operations by
-which it received its present form and shape.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">304</span></p>
-
-<p>We see no difficulty, then, as far as the Sacred Text is
-concerned, in supposing a condition of created existence
-prior to the period of the Six Days. But since this opinion
-is the foundation on which our whole argument rests, we
-should wish to show, moreover, even at the risk of being
-tedious, that it has been put forward and defended by the
-most eminent writers in every age of the Church. Amongst
-the early Fathers, Saint Basil reasons after this manner
-when commenting upon the passage, “There was evening
-and there was morning the first day:”&mdash;“The evening is
-the common term of day and night; and, in like manner,
-the morning is the point of union between night and day.
-Wherefore, in order to signify that to the day belonged the
-prerogative of being the first begotten, the sacred writer first
-commemorates the close of day, and afterward the close of
-night; implying thereby that <i>the day was followed by the
-night</i>. As to the condition of the world <i>before the formation
-of light</i>, that is not called Night, but simply Darkness;
-whereas that period which is distinguished from day and
-opposed to it, is called night.”<a id="FNanchor_119" href="#Footnote_119" class="fnanchor">119</a> This great Doctor, therefore,
-teaches that the First Day began with a period of light
-which is called day, and ended with a period of darkness
-which is called night; and he recognizes a previous state
-of existence which was no part of the First Day. So, too,
-Saint Chrysostom, in his third Homily upon Genesis, lays
-down that the Earth was first created a rude and shapeless
-mass, without form or ornament; that <i>afterward</i> light was
-made, and that, <i>with the creation of light, the First Day
-began</i>.<a id="FNanchor_120" href="#Footnote_120" class="fnanchor">120</a></p>
-
-<p>In the Western Church, Saint Ambrose adopts the same
-line of interpretation. He sets forth that God first created
-the world, in the beginning; and afterward during the
-Six Days furnished and adorned it; just as a skilful workman
-first lays the foundation of a building, and afterward
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">305</span>
-raises the superstructure, and superadds the ornament.
-And elsewhere, he says that, when the voice of God went
-forth, “Let light be made,” in the same moment the First
-Day began. It follows, therefore, that the world existed
-before the beginning of the First Day. In another place
-he gives a new turn to the same idea, telling us that in
-the beginning God made the world; and with the world,
-time began. But not with time did the First Day begin:
-for the First Day is not the beginning of time, it is rather
-an epoch of time.<a id="FNanchor_121" href="#Footnote_121" class="fnanchor">121</a></p>
-
-<p>Passing on to the middle ages, we find our view supported
-by the authority of Venerable Bede, in several parts
-of his writings. His notion is that, during the Six Days,
-God formed and fashioned the world out of shapeless
-matter; but, before the Six Days began, He had made
-this shapeless matter itself out of nothing. “Two things,”
-he says, “did God make before all days, the angelical
-nature, and shapeless matter.” And again, he dresses up
-this opinion in the form of a dialogue:&mdash;“<i>Disciple.</i> Tell
-me the order in which things were made throughout the
-Six Days? <i>Master.</i> First, in the very beginning of created
-existence, were made heaven and earth, the angels, air,
-and water. <i>Disciple.</i> Continue the order of creation?
-<i>Master. In the beginning of the First Day</i> light was made;
-on the second was made the firmament,” etc.<a id="FNanchor_122" href="#Footnote_122" class="fnanchor">122</a> Nothing
-can be more plain than the distinction here set up between
-the beginning of all time, when the Heavens and the Earth
-were made, and the beginning of the First Day, when light
-was made.</p>
-
-<p>And when we come to still more recent times, we find
-this interpretation was taken up and defended by the great
-masters in the schools of Theology. Peter Lombard, the
-famous Magister Sententiarum, referring to the first verse
-of Genesis, says that “in the beginning God created
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">306</span>
-Heaven, which means the Angels, and the Earth, which
-means confused and unshapely matter, the same that is
-called Chaos by the Greeks; <i>and this was before any day</i>.”
-Not less clearly speaks out Hugh of Saint Victor, who for
-his profound and varied erudition, was called the second
-Augustine. In explaining the history of the Six Days, he
-says: “The first of the Divine operations was the creation
-of light. But the light was not then created from nothing,
-it was formed from pre-existing matter. This was the work
-that was accomplished on the First Day: but the material
-of this work had been created <i>before the First Day</i>. Directly
-with the light the day began; for before the light it was
-neither night or day, though time already existed.”<a id="FNanchor_123" href="#Footnote_123" class="fnanchor">123</a></p>
-
-<p>Later still, St. Thomas himself clearly leans to this view
-when he says: “It is better to maintain that the creation
-was before any day.” And Perrerius, the most learned,
-perhaps, of all our commentators on Genesis, argues with
-us that the world was created before the production of light,
-and before the commencement of the First Day. Nay, he
-adds that he cannot tell how long that primeval state of
-existence may have endured before the Six Days began;
-nor does he think it can be known except by a special
-revelation. Petavius, too, is with us. He does not indeed
-accept our interpretation of the first verse. When it is
-said, “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the
-Earth,” he holds that these words do not describe any
-one particular act of God, but represent, as it were in a
-brief summary, the whole work of creation. Thus we are
-informed, at the outset, that the Heavens and the Earth as
-we see them now are the work of God; and afterward, the
-various parts that make up this great whole are described,
-and the order in which they were accomplished is set forth.
-According to Petavius, then, the creation of the Heavens
-and the Earth, recorded in the first verse, was not a distinct
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">307</span>
-act from the operations of the Six Days, but rather includes
-them all. Nevertheless, he maintains, as we do, that the
-earth, at least, and water, were in existence before the
-creation of light; and that, therefore, some period of time
-must have elapsed before the beginning of the Six Days.
-Furthermore, he says in the same spirit as Perrerius, that
-it is beyond our power to conjecture how long that period
-may have lasted.<a id="FNanchor_124" href="#Footnote_124" class="fnanchor">124</a></p>
-
-<p>Our opinion, then, is not open, in the slightest degree,
-to the imputation of novelty or singularity. On the contrary,
-it would seem rather to reflect the prevailing tradition
-of the Church. We think it right, however, to add that
-there are great names against us. A Lapide, for instance,
-who considers that the Heavens and the Earth were created
-at the beginning of the First Day.<a id="FNanchor_125" href="#Footnote_125" class="fnanchor">125</a> And Tostatus, who
-incidentally notices our view, and contents himself with
-saying that it is unreasonable. For himself he seems to
-waver between two opinions. He thinks the primeval
-darkness, described in the second verse, may have been the
-night belonging to the First Day; and that during that
-night, which probably lasted about twelve hours, we may
-suppose the Heavens and the Earth to have been created.
-Or else, he says, we may allow that the First Day of the
-Mosaic narrative began with the creation of light; but in
-that case we must hold that the Heavens and the Earth
-were created at the same time with light.<a id="FNanchor_126" href="#Footnote_126" class="fnanchor">126</a></p>
-
-<p>Saint Augustine, too, we must reluctantly give up; or,
-at least, we must be content to regard him as neutral. If
-he is not a decided opponent, he is certainly not a consistent
-advocate, of our opinion. No doubt he is often quoted
-in its favor; and it would be easy to select passages from
-his works which seem to enforce it in the plainest terms.
-As for example: “In the beginning, O my God, <i>before
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">308</span>
-any day</i>, Thou didst make the Heavens and the Earth.”<a id="FNanchor_127" href="#Footnote_127" class="fnanchor">127</a>
-But, in truth, this opinion is utterly irreconcilable with the
-well known and very singular teaching of Saint Augustine
-concerning the creation of the world. He held that all the
-great works recounted in the first chapter of Genesis were,
-in fact, accomplished in a single instant. There was no
-real succession, according to him, in the order of time,
-between the production of the Heavens and the Earth, of
-light and the firmament, of the sun, moon, and stars,
-of plants, trees, and animals. In one and the same instant
-of time all these came into existence together. As to the
-description given by Moses, it is accommodated to the
-capacity of a rude people; and the succession there set
-forth is intended only to exhibit the several parts of a great
-whole, in the manner best suited to the conceptions of
-human intelligence.<a id="FNanchor_128" href="#Footnote_128" class="fnanchor">128</a></p>
-
-<p>This view of the creation is repeated again and again by
-Saint Augustine in his numerous works upon Genesis, and
-illustrated in diverse ways, so as to leave no doubt that he
-held it deliberately and persistently. With regard to such
-passages as that quoted above, in which he says that God
-created the Heavens and the Earth <i>before any day</i>, it may
-be maintained that Saint Augustine was not always consistent
-with himself, and that he held different opinions at
-different times; or even that he put forward opposite opinions
-at the same time, not setting them forth as true, but
-only as possible and legitimate.<a id="FNanchor_129" href="#Footnote_129" class="fnanchor">129</a></p>
-
-<p>We think, however, that his consistency, in this case at
-least, can be defended, and that he has himself sufficiently
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">309</span>
-explained in what sense he wished these passages to be
-understood. He tells us that we must distinguish two
-kinds of succession: succession in the order of time, and
-succession in the order of our conceptions. Thus, for example,
-in the order of time there is no succession between
-the sound of the voice in singing and the musical note
-that is sung: the sound is, in fact, the note, and the note
-is the sound. But in the order of our conceptions we first
-apprehend a thing according to its substance, and then according
-to its qualities. We first conceive the sound itself,
-as a sound, and then we conceive it as having that peculiar
-quality which makes it a musical note. Such as this is the
-succession Saint Augustine seems to admit in the order of
-the creation. He tells us, no doubt, that God first created
-shapeless matter, and afterward gave to it form and beauty:
-and certainly this statement, if standing alone, would, according
-to the ordinary use of language, imply a real succession
-in the order of time. But then, a little further on,
-he expressly repudiates the idea of a succession in point of
-time, and says that the priority he ascribes to shapeless
-matter is only a priority in the order of our conceptions.
-We must first conceive matter to exist before we can conceive
-it to have this or that particular form; and the Inspired
-Writer follows the order of our conceptions, in order
-to adapt his narrative to the mental feebleness of our present
-condition.<a id="FNanchor_130" href="#Footnote_130" class="fnanchor">130</a></p>
-
-<p>With the truth or falsehood of these views we are not
-concerned just now. We have dwelt upon them rather
-from an honest desire of showing that Saint Augustine is
-not so clearly on our side in this question, as might be
-supposed from some isolated passages of his writings. He
-says indeed that the world was created before light, and
-before the beginning of the First Day; but then again he
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">310</span>
-tells us that this is only a way of speaking, and that, in
-reality, all things were created together.</p>
-
-<p>But although these high authorities&mdash;A Lapide, Tostatus,
-Saint Augustine&mdash;and some others less illustrious
-than these, are unfavorable to our interpretation, we think
-it is supported by a preponderance of the best interpreters,
-both in ancient and modern times. At all events, with
-such an array of venerable names as we have been able to
-bring forward in its behalf,&mdash;and they are but a few chosen
-out of many,&mdash;no one can deny that we are fairly entitled
-to hold it without any note of censure, without any suspicion
-of Theological error. Setting out, then, from this
-point, that there was a state of created existence prior to
-the Six Days of the Mosaic history, the question naturally
-arises, how long did that state of existence endure? Was
-it for an hour? a day? a week? a month? a century? a
-million of years? We cannot tell. To these questions
-the Sacred Text gives no reply. It simply records that in
-the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth, and
-that, at some subsequent epoch of time, His decree again
-went forth, Let there be light, and light there was. One
-thing, however, is plain, that, if this period existed at all,
-it might just as well have lasted a hundred millions of years
-as a hundred seconds. It would be folly to attempt to
-measure the succession of God’s acts, when he does please
-to produce effects in succession, according to our petty
-standards of time. “One day with the Lord is as a thousand
-years, and a thousand years as one day.”<a id="FNanchor_131" href="#Footnote_131" class="fnanchor">131</a></p>
-
-<p>And it is not a little remarkable that, long before the
-discoveries of Geology had suggested any necessity for
-allowing the lapse of many ages between the first creation
-of the world and the creation of man, the sagacity of our
-commentators led them to observe that the duration of this
-interval is left undefined in the Sacred Record. “How
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">311</span>
-long that interval may have lasted,” says Petavius, “it is
-absolutely impossible to conjecture.” And Perrerius, as we
-have seen, declared that it could not be known except by a
-special revelation. And five centuries earlier, at the very
-dawn of Scholastic Theology, Hugh of Saint Victor raised
-the same question, and expressed his opinion that it could
-not be solved from Scripture. Citing the passage, In the
-beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth, he
-says, “From these words it is plain that in the beginning
-of time, or rather with time itself, the original matter of all
-things came into existence. But how long it remained in
-this confused and unshapely condition the Scripture clearly
-does not tell us.”<a id="FNanchor_132" href="#Footnote_132" class="fnanchor">132</a></p>
-
-<p>We may go further still. If we are at liberty to admit
-an interval of indefinite length between the creation of the
-world and the work of the Six Days, there is certainly
-nothing which forbids us to suppose that, during this
-period, the earth should have undergone many revolutions,
-and have been peopled by countless tribes of plants and
-animals, which, as age rolled on after age, came into existence,
-and died out, and were succeeded by new creations.
-We cannot, perhaps, see the use of all this, nor can
-we penetrate the motives the Great Creator might have had
-in bringing into existence such a boundless profusion of
-organic life. Granted: but then we have studied the
-Sacred Text to little purpose if we have not yet realized the
-solemn truth that, to our poor and feeble intellects, His
-judgments are incomprehensible, and his ways unsearchable.
-Did He not set His stars in the remotest regions of
-space, far beyond the reach of unaided human vision, and
-did they not shine there for ages, though man could see
-them not? And for ages, too, did not the wild flowers
-spring up, and bloom, and decay, in many a fair and
-favored spot of this beautiful Earth, where there was none to
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">312</span>
-admire their splendor, none to inhale their sweetness? Then
-again, look at that marvellous kingdom of minute animalcules,
-in number almost infinite, which only within the
-last few years the microscope has revealed to our wondering
-eyes. They swarm around us in the air, in the earth,
-in the water. Millions of them would fit in the hollow of
-your hand; many hundreds might swim side by side,
-without crowding, through the eye of a cambric needle.
-And they too, we can hardly doubt, must have flourished
-for centuries in countless myriads, unseen and unknown by
-man. It is impossible for us, in our present imperfect
-state, to understand the motives of an All-wise Creator in
-this profuse expenditure of his goodness, this lavish display
-of His power. How then can we presume to say that He
-may not have good reasons, though inscrutable to us, for
-peopling this Earth with many tribes of plants and animals,
-through a long cycle of ages, before it pleased Him to fit
-it up for the habitation of man? “Who is he among men
-that can know the counsel of God? or who can find out
-His designs? For the judgments of mortal men are hesitating,
-and uncertain are our thoughts. For the corruptible
-body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly dwelling
-presseth down the mind that museth upon many things.
-And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon
-earth: and with labor do we find the things that are before
-us. But the things that are in heaven who shall search
-out?”<a id="FNanchor_133" href="#Footnote_133" class="fnanchor">133</a></p>
-
-<p>We have heard it sometimes objected that plants and
-animals could not have existed without light; and that
-light was not created until the beginning of the First Mosaic
-Day. Many curious and interesting facts are adduced
-in support of this argument. For example, we are reminded
-that certain Fossil animals belonging to the earliest
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">313</span>
-Geological Periods, are shown by the clearest evidence, to
-have had eyes constructed on the same optical principles,
-and accommodated to the same optical conditions, as the eyes
-of those animals that have flourished on the Earth during
-the period of history: and such eyes, it is contended,
-plainly import the existence of light. The answer to this
-objection may be stated in a very few words. We freely
-admit that the hypothesis we have been defending would
-be of little use to account for Geological phenomena, if it
-did not include the existence of light, during that Period of
-indefinite duration which we suppose to have elapsed between
-the first creation of the world and the work of the
-Six Days. But in truth there is no difficulty in supposing
-that, during such an interval, light may have prevailed upon
-the earth, and air, and all the other conditions of organic
-life, pretty much as they do at the present day. Afterward,
-at the close of the period, when, perhaps, ages innumerable
-had rolled by, this planet of ours would have appeared
-in that condition which is described in the second verse of
-Genesis: “And the earth was waste and empty, and darkness
-was upon the face of the deep.” Then the command
-of God would have gone forth, “Let there be light:” and
-at once the darkness would have been dispelled, a new era
-of existence would have commenced, and the Earth would
-forthwith have been set in order and furnished, in a special
-manner, for the habitation of man.</p>
-
-<p>Even as regards the Sun, Moon, and Stars, they too may
-have existed before the work of the Six Days began. We
-read, no doubt, that on the Fourth Day, God said, “Let
-there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the
-day from the night:” and a little farther on it is added that
-“God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the
-day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars.”
-But then it must be remembered that some of our best
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">314</span>
-Commentators, without any reference to Geology, have
-taught that, before this command was given, the heavenly
-bodies were already in existence for three days, and were
-already discharging the office of dividing day and night.
-They explain the passage by saying that the Sun, Moon,
-and Stars, are represented as having been made on the
-Fourth Day, not because they were then produced for the first
-time out of nothing, but because the vapors by which they
-had been obscured were, on that Day, dissipated, and they
-began to shine visibly in the Firmament of Heaven. If
-this line of interpretation is admissible, and it seems to us not
-unreasonable, then we are certainly at liberty to hold, consistently
-with the Mosaic narrative, that the Heavenly bodies
-may have been created with the Heavens and the Earth in
-the beginning of all time; and that on the Fourth Day
-they were made manifest in the Firmament to rule over the
-day and the night, and to regulate the course of the years
-and the seasons.<a id="FNanchor_134" href="#Footnote_134" class="fnanchor">134</a></p>
-
-<p>Again it is urged against our hypothesis that Moses could
-not have passed over in complete silence such a long and
-eventful era in the history of the world. Certainly not, we
-admit, if he professed to write a complete history of the
-Earth and all its revolutions. But this was not his purpose.
-Every book, whether sacred or profane, must be
-examined and interpreted according to the end for which
-it was designed. Now the end and scope of the Book of
-Genesis was not to instruct mankind about the movements
-of the heavenly bodies, or the physical changes of the
-Earth’s surface, or the laws which govern the material universe.
-It was, first of all, to impress on the minds of the
-Jewish people that this world of ours is the work of one
-only God, distinct from all creatures, and Himself the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">315</span>
-Creator of sun, moon, and stars, and of every other object
-which pagan nations were wont to worship: and in the
-next place, to set forth, briefly and simply, the story of
-God’s dealings with man in the first ages of the human
-race. Whatever we may hold, therefore, about the revolutions
-and changes of the Earth’s surface previous to the
-work of the Six Days, it is plain that the history of these
-phenomena did not appertain to the object which the
-Sacred writer had in view. Consequently he cannot
-be said, by the omission of these events, to lead
-his readers into error; he simply allows them to remain
-in ignorance. What it was his purpose to tell, he tells
-truly: what did not belong to his purpose, he passes by in
-silence.</p>
-
-<p>But it is further argued that this long interval of time we
-have been contending for, is incompatible with the use of
-the copulative conjunction, by which the several clauses of
-the narrative are connected together. The Sacred text runs
-thus:&mdash;“In the beginning God created the Heavens and
-the Earth. <i>And</i> the Earth was waste and empty: and darkness
-was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God
-moved upon the face of the waters. <i>And</i> God said, Let there
-be light; and there was light.” Is it possible, we are asked,
-to admit a period of indefinite length between events thus
-closely linked together? Our answer is that, according to
-the idiom of the Hebrew language, the conjunction <span class="rtl">וְ</span> or <span class="rtl">ו&#x5b8;</span> (<i>ve</i>
-or <i>va</i>), which is here employed, while it serves to connect
-together the clauses of a narrative, does not of necessity
-imply the immediate succession of the events recorded.
-The very wide and indefinite signification which belongs
-to this little particle is well known to all who are
-familiar with the Hebrew text. It is sometimes copulative,
-sometimes adversative, sometimes disjunctive, sometimes
-causal. Very frequently it is used simply for the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">316</span>
-purpose of <i>continuing the discourse</i>;<a id="FNanchor_135" href="#Footnote_135" class="fnanchor">135</a> and this we believe is
-the true force of the word in the passage under discussion.</p>
-
-<p>An example very much to the point occurs in the Book
-of Numbers, twentieth chapter and first verse:&mdash;“<i>And</i> the
-children of Israel, the whole congregation came into the
-desert of Sin.” Here the narrative opens with the connecting
-particle <span class="rtl">ויבואו בני ישראל כל העדה&mdash;:ו</span>. And yet
-the reader will find, if he carefully examine the passage, that
-the event thus introduced by the sacred writer was separated
-by a period of eight-and-thirty years from those which had
-been related in the preceding chapter. This conjunction,
-therefore, does not exclude an interval of eight-and-thirty
-years between the events which it links together in history.
-And that being so, there is no good reason for supposing
-that it should, of necessity, exclude an interval of indefinite
-length.</p>
-
-<p>The Weakness of this objection may be made even more
-strikingly manifest by an inspection of the opening words in
-the first chapter of Ezechiel:&mdash;<span class="rtl">ריהי בשלשים שנה</span>. So
-little did the notion prevail that the conjunction ו (<i>ve</i>) could
-be used only to connect together events closely associated in
-point of time, that here it actually <i>begins</i> the narrative, and
-is, in fact, the first word of the whole book. In the Douay
-version the passage is not inaptly rendered after this manner:
-“Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth
-month, on the fifth day of the month, when I was in the
-midst of the captives by the River Chobar, the heavens were
-opened, and I saw the visions of God.”</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>We have now brought to a conclusion the first part of
-our inquiry. We have endeavored to show that there is
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">317</span>
-nothing in Scripture or Tradition which forbids us to admit
-a long interval of time between the Creation of the world
-and the work of the Six Days. It remains to examine what
-was the nature of these Six Days themselves. Were they, as
-Saint Augustine maintained, one single indivisible instant
-of time? or were they days of twenty-four hours, as is more
-commonly supposed? or were they simply periods of time
-of which the duration is left wholly undetermined in the
-Sacred Text?</p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_317.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">318</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_318.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_XX"><i>CHAPTER XX.</i><br />
-
-<span class="medium">SECOND HYPOTHESIS;&mdash;THE DAYS OF CREATION LONG PERIODS
-OF TIME.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Diversity of opinion among the early fathers regarding the
-days of creation&mdash;Saint Augustine, Philo Jud&aelig;us, Clement
-of Alexandria, Origen, Saint Athanasius, Saint Eucherius,
-Procopius&mdash;Albertus Magnus, Saint Thomas, Cardinal Cajetan&mdash;Inference
-from these testimonies&mdash;First argument
-in favor of the popular interpretation; a day, in the literal
-sense, means a period of twenty-four hours&mdash;Answer&mdash;This
-word often used in Scripture for an indefinite period&mdash;Examples
-from the Old and New Testament&mdash;Second argument;
-the days of creation have an evening and a morning&mdash;Answer&mdash;Interpretation
-of Saint Augustine, Venerable
-Bede, and other fathers of the church&mdash;Third argument;
-the reason alleged for the institution of the Sabbath-day&mdash;Answer&mdash;The
-law of the Sabbath extended to every seventh
-year as well as to every seventh day&mdash;The seventh day of
-God’s rest a long period of indefinite duration.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/n.jpg" alt="N" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">No</span> one who will take the trouble to investigate, with
-any reasonable diligence and research, the nature of
-the Mosaic Days, can fail to be struck with the remarkable
-diversity of opinion that existed on the subject
-among the early Fathers of the Church. Yet this diversity of
-opinion is often overlooked by modern writers. They fancy
-that the meaning of the word Day is so plain as to leave no
-room for doubt or controversy; that a day can be nothing
-else than a period of twenty-four hours, marked by the succession
-of light and darkness; and that in this sense the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">319</span>
-Mosaic narrative was universally understood until quite
-recently, when a new explanation was invented, to meet the
-requirements of modern science. All this is far from true.
-The meaning of the Mosaic Days has been, in point of fact,
-a subject of controversy from the earliest times. And Saint
-Augustine tells us that the question appeared to him so
-difficult that he could pronounce no decisive judgment
-upon it. “As to these Days,” he says, “what kind they
-were, it is very difficult, nay, it is impossible to imagine, and
-much more so to explain.”<a id="FNanchor_136" href="#Footnote_136" class="fnanchor">136</a></p>
-
-<p>Nevertheless, this great Doctor, having long pondered
-over the subject, and considered it on many sides, does not
-hesitate to express his own opinion. And he departs very
-widely, indeed, from the literal and obvious interpretation.
-He maintains, at great length,<a id="FNanchor_137" href="#Footnote_137" class="fnanchor">137</a> as we had before occasion
-to observe, that God created all things in a single instant
-of time, according to the words of Ecclesiasticus, “He
-who liveth forever created all things at once.”<a id="FNanchor_138" href="#Footnote_138" class="fnanchor">138</a> Thus he
-is led to infer that the Six Days commemorated by Moses
-were, in reality, but one day; and this not such a day as
-those which are now measured by the revolution of the
-sun, for we find three successive days recorded by Moses
-before the sun appeared in the Heavens. It was, in fact,
-nothing else than that one single instant of time in which
-all things were created together.<a id="FNanchor_139" href="#Footnote_139" class="fnanchor">139</a></p>
-
-<p>Nor was this opinion peculiar to Saint Augustine. At
-the very dawn of the Christian Era it was set forth by Philo
-the Jew; and afterward it was maintained by Clement of
-Alexandria, and by Origen. The great Saint Athanasius
-seems to throw the weight of his authority in the same
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">320</span>
-direction, when he says, speaking of the Creation, that
-“no one thing was made before another, but all things
-were produced at once together by the self-same command.”
-And after the time of Saint Augustine this figurative interpretation
-was defended by Saint Eucherius, Bishop of
-Lyons, in the course of the fifth century, and by Procopius
-of Gaza in the sixth. In the days of the schools we find it
-approved by Albertus Magnus, and treated respectfully by
-Saint Thomas; and later still, adopted by Cardinal Cajetan,
-in his commentary on the Book of Genesis.<a id="FNanchor_140" href="#Footnote_140" class="fnanchor">140</a></p>
-
-<p>It will be said, perhaps, that we are here arguing against
-ourselves: these eminent writers are in favor of reducing the
-days of Creation to one single point of time; whereas it
-is our purpose to stretch them out to periods of indefinite
-length. But no: our object just now is not precisely
-to establish our own hypothesis, but rather to prepare
-the way for its discussion. We want to show that we
-are quite free to abandon the popular view of the Mosaic
-Days if there be good reason for our doing so. And it
-seems to us that we have abundantly established this point
-by a long list of eminent ecclesiastical writers, who, without
-any note of censure, have diverged very widely from
-the common interpretation. No doubt they have shortened
-the time, and we want to lengthen it. But in this they
-agree with us, that the days of Creation are not of necessity
-days in the ordinary sense of the word. Nay, Saint Augustine
-goes farther, and maintains, from the evidence of the
-Sacred Text itself, that they cannot be understood in this
-sense.<a id="FNanchor_141" href="#Footnote_141" class="fnanchor">141</a></p>
-
-<p>Having thus cleared away a serious difficulty that seemed
-to obstruct our path, we may proceed without hesitation to
-the direct object of our inquiry. The burden of proof, let
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">321</span>
-it be remembered, is not with us, but rather with those who
-contend for Days of twenty-four hours. They must prove
-that this word Day in the first chapter of Genesis means a
-period of twenty-four hours, and <i>can mean nothing else</i>. If
-it <i>may</i> be understood in a wider sense, consistently with the
-usage of Scripture, that is quite enough for us. We are
-perfectly at liberty to adopt an interpretation which, on the
-one hand, the Sacred Text fairly admits, and on the other,
-the discoveries of Natural Science would seem to demand.
-Let us examine, then, the arguments that are usually
-adduced in favor of the popular interpretation.</p>
-
-<p>Throughout the first chapter of Genesis the Hebrew
-word <span class="rtl">יוֺם</span> (<i>yom</i>) is everywhere employed by Moses to designate
-the Days of Creation. And many writers contend
-that the use of this word is, in itself, evidence enough that
-he spoke of days in the common sense of the term. It is
-plain, they say, from the usage of Scripture, that the
-word <span class="rtl">יוֺם</span> (<i>yom</i>) had a fixed and certain meaning in the
-Hebrew language; the same precisely as that which we now
-attach to the English word Day. Sometimes, when contra-distinguished
-from night, it was applied to the period of
-light, from sunrise to sunset; otherwise, it meant the civil
-day of twenty-four hours, measured by the revolution of
-the Sun. Moreover, it had unquestionably attained this
-meaning at the time when Moses wrote, and therefore it
-could not have been employed by him in any other sense.</p>
-
-<p>This argument rests upon a false foundation. It is true,
-no doubt, that the word <span class="rtl">יוֺם</span> (<i>yom</i>) was more usually employed
-in one or other of the two senses just explained;&mdash;that
-is to say, (1) for the period of light from sunrise to
-sunset, or (2) for the period of twenty-four hours corresponding
-to a complete revolution of the Sun. But, for
-the validity of the argument, it would be necessary to show
-that, beside these two senses, there is no other in which the
-word may be fairly understood, conformably to the usage
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">322</span>
-of the Hebrew language. Now this has never yet been
-proved. On the contrary, the Scripture affords abundant
-evidence that the word <span class="rtl">יוֺם</span> (<i>yom</i>) had a third meaning
-quite different from the other two; that it was freely used
-to designate a period of time much longer than a common
-day, and generally of uncertain and indefinite duration. A
-few examples will be interesting, we hope, to our readers.</p>
-
-<p>In the second chapter of Genesis, Moses, having completed
-his account of the Creation, says (v. 4): “These
-are the generations of the Heavens and the Earth when
-they were created, in the <i>Day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>) that the Lord
-God created the Earth and the Heavens: (v. 5), and every
-plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb
-of the field before it grew.” There is a good deal of controversy
-about the precise meaning of this passage. But
-one thing at least appears to be plain, that the word <span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>
-(<i>yom</i>), is not used to designate a day of twenty-four hours;
-nor yet the period of light from sunrise to sunset; but
-rather the whole period of the Creation.</p>
-
-<p>On this point almost all our best commentators are
-agreed. “It is manifest,” says Venerable Bede, “that in
-this place the sacred writer has put the word Day for all
-that time during which the primeval creation was brought
-into existence. For it was not upon any one of the Six
-Days that the sky was made and adorned with stars, and
-the dry land was separated from the waters, and furnished
-with trees and plants. But, <i>according to its accustomed
-practice</i>, Scripture here uses the word day in the sense of
-time.” Saint Augustine gives even a wider expansion to
-the word when he writes: “Seven Days are enumerated
-above, and now that is called one Day in which God made
-the Heavens and the Earth, and every green thing of the
-field; by which term we may well suppose that <i>all time is
-meant</i>. For God then made all time when He made
-creatures that live in time; and these creatures are here
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">323</span>
-signified by the Heavens and the Earth.” Molina on the
-same passage says: “Learned writers tell us commonly
-that Moses in this place puts the word Day in the sense of
-Time, just as in the passage of Deuteronomy, ‘The day of
-perdition is at hand.’... And elsewhere in Scripture Day
-is often used for Time.” Bannez, too, concurs in this
-opinion. “The word Day,” he says, “can be understood
-<i>for any duration whatsoever</i>.” Perrerius, answering an
-objection taken from this text, says that “Day is put for
-Time, as is <i>frequently done in Scripture</i>.” And Petavius
-not only adopts this interpretation, but contends that it is
-conformable to the usage even of the Greek and Latin
-writers. He gives an example from Cicero against Verres:
-“Itaque cum ego <i>diem</i> in Siciliam perexiguam postulavissem,
-invenit iste qui sibi in Achaiam <i>biduo breviorem diem</i>
-postularet.”<a id="FNanchor_142" href="#Footnote_142" class="fnanchor">142</a> Here, then, is an instance in which Moses
-himself uses the word Day (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>) not in the ordinary
-sense, but for a long period of time;&mdash;for all that time,
-whatever it may have been, which elapsed from the first
-act of creation to the close of the Six Days.</p>
-
-<p>Another striking example occurs in the prophet Amos.
-“Behold, the days are coming, saith the Lord God, and I
-will send forth a famine into the land: not a famine of
-bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the word of the
-Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea and from
-the north to the east; they shall go about seeking the
-word of the Lord, and shall not find it. In that <i>day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>
-<i>yom</i>) shall the fair virgins and the young men faint for
-thirst.”<a id="FNanchor_143" href="#Footnote_143" class="fnanchor">143</a> Every one will see at a glance that the word Day
-in the latter part of this passage does not mean a day of
-twenty-four hours. It evidently refers to the whole period
-during which the calamities here foretold were to be inflicted
-on the Jewish people. What that period was may be a
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">324</span>
-question of dispute. By some it is taken for the time
-of the Babylonian captivity; by others, for the present age
-of the world, in which the Jews are wanderers on the face
-of the earth, without a prophet and without a pastor, thirsting
-for the word of God, and seeking it in vain. But, in
-any case, it is clear from the opening words: “Behold, the
-days are coming,” that it was a period not of one day only,
-but of many.</p>
-
-<p>Then we have those well known words addressed by
-God the Father to His Eternal Son: “Thou art my Son,
-this <i>day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>) have I begotten thee.”<a id="FNanchor_144" href="#Footnote_144" class="fnanchor">144</a> The Son of
-God was begotten of the Father before all ages; and the
-<i>day</i>, therefore, on which he was begotten, cannot be a
-common day of twenty-four hours, but must rather be the
-long day of Eternity, without beginning and without end.</p>
-
-<p>This text, we know, is sometimes applied to the day of
-our Lord’s Resurrection; and sometimes, too, to the day
-of His Incarnation: nor do we want to deny that it may be
-thus rightly explained in a secondary and mystical sense.
-But in its literal sense we think it plainly refers to the
-Eternal Generation of the Son. This meaning is sufficiently
-implied by the word <i>begotten</i>, which cannot be understood
-with propriety, except of that Generation by virtue of
-which our Divine Lord was from Eternity the natural Son
-of God. Moreover, this is the sense in which the passage
-is adopted by Saint Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews.
-Wishing to show that Our Lord has received by inheritance
-a name more excellent than any given to the Angels, he
-argues thus: “For to which of the Angels hath he said at
-any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten
-thee?”<a id="FNanchor_145" href="#Footnote_145" class="fnanchor">145</a> Now it seems to us that, unless we understand
-these words of the Eternal Generation, the point of the
-Apostle’s argument is completely lost. The Angels are
-sometimes called in Scripture the sons of God; but they
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">325</span>
-were only the <i>adopted sons</i>, whereas Our Lord was the
-<i>natural Son</i> in virtue of His Eternal Generation. Consequently
-it was no other than the Eternal Generation which
-made the name of Son more excellent when applied to
-Christ than the same name when applied to the angels.</p>
-
-<p>Again, it is quite a common thing, with the prophets
-generally, to use the word <span class="rtl">יוֺם</span> (<i>yom</i>) for the season of tribulation
-and affliction, though the same may have extended
-over a period of many days or even many years. Jeremias
-employs it in this sense when he describes so vividly the
-manifold calamities that were impending over the ill-fated
-Babylon. “I have caused thee to fall into a snare,
-and thou art taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware
-of it: thou art found and caught because thou hast provoked
-the Lord. The Lord hath opened His armory,
-and hath brought forth the weapons of his wrath: for the
-Lord the God of hosts hath a work to be done in the land
-of the Chaldeans. Come ye against her from the uttermost
-borders: open, that they may go forth that shall tread her
-down: take the stones out of the way, and make heaps,
-and destroy her: and let nothing of her be left. Destroy
-all her valiant men, let them go down to the slaughter:
-woe to them, for their <i>day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>) is come, <i>the time</i> of
-their visitation. The voice of them that flee, and of them
-that have escaped out of the land of Babylon: to declare
-in Sion the revenge of the Lord our God, the revenge of
-His temple. Declare to many against Babylon, to all that
-bend the bow: stand together against her round about, and
-let none escape; pay her according to her work: according
-to all that she hath done, do ye to her: for she hath lifted
-up herself against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.
-Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets: and all
-her men of war shall hold their peace in that <i>day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>),
-saith the Lord. Behold I come against thee, O proud one,
-saith the Lord the God of hosts: for the <i>day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>) is
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">326</span>
-come, the <i>time</i> of thy visitation. And the proud one shall
-fall, he shall fall down, and there shall be none to lift him
-up: and I will kindle afire in his cities, and it shall
-devour all round about him.”<a id="FNanchor_146" href="#Footnote_146" class="fnanchor">146</a> And in the following
-chapter:&mdash;“Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will raise up
-as it were a pestilential wind against Babylon, and against
-the inhabitants thereof who have lifted up their heart against
-me. And I will send to Babylon fanners, and they shall
-fan her, and shall destroy her land: for they are come
-upon her on every side in the <i>day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>) of her
-affliction.”<a id="FNanchor_147" href="#Footnote_147" class="fnanchor">147</a></p>
-
-<p>In another place the same prophet applies the word <span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>
-(<i>yom</i>) to the whole duration of a long campaign carried on
-by Nabuchodonosor against Pharao Nechao, king of Egypt.
-“Prepare ye the shield and buckler, and go forth to
-battle. Harness the horses, and get up, ye horsemen:
-stand forth with helmets, furbish the spears, put on coats
-of mail. What then? I have seen them dismayed, and
-turning their backs, their valiant ones slain: they fled
-apace, they looked not back: terror was round about, saith
-the Lord. Let not the swift flee away, nor the strong
-think to escape: they are overthrown and fallen down,
-toward the north by the river Euphrates. Who is this that
-cometh up as a flood: and his streams swell like those of
-rivers? Egypt riseth up like a flood, and the waves thereof
-shall be moved as rivers, and he shall say: I will go up
-and will cover the earth: I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.
-Get ye up on horses, and glory in chariots,
-and let the valiant men come forth, the Ethiopians and the
-Lybians, that handle the shield, and the Lydians that
-handle and bend the bow. For this is the <i>day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>)
-of the Lord the God of hosts, a <i>day</i> of vengeance that He
-may revenge Himself of His enemies: the sword shall devour,
-and shall be filled, and shall be drunk with their
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">327</span>
-blood: for there is a sacrifice of the Lord God of hosts in
-the north country, by the river Euphrates.... Furnish
-thyself to go into captivity, thou daughter inhabitant of
-Egypt: for Memphis shall be made desolate, and shall be
-forsaken and uninhabited. Egypt is like a fair and beautiful
-heifer: there shall come from the north one that shall
-goad her. Her hirelings also that lived in the midst of
-her, like fatted calves are turned back, and are fled away
-together, and they could not stand: for the <i>day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>)
-of their slaughter is come upon them, the <i>time</i> of their
-visitation.”<a id="FNanchor_148" href="#Footnote_148" class="fnanchor">148</a></p>
-
-<p>The prophet Ezechiel, too, furnishes a forcible illustration
-when he thus foreshadows the course of a second expedition
-against Egypt undertaken by the same prince:&mdash;
-“Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will set
-Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon in the land of Egypt:
-and he shall take her multitude, and take the booty thereof
-for a prey, and rifle the spoils thereof: and it shall be
-wages for his army; and for the service he hath done me
-against it: I have given him the land of Egypt, because he
-hath labored for me, saith the Lord God. In that <i>day</i>
-(<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>) a horn shall bud forth for the house of Israel,
-and I will give thee an open mouth in the midst of them:
-and they shall know that I am the Lord.”<a id="FNanchor_149" href="#Footnote_149" class="fnanchor">149</a> And a little
-further on:&mdash;“For the <i>day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>) is near, yea the <i>day</i>
-of the Lord is near: a cloudy <i>day</i>, it shall be the <i>time</i> of
-the nations. And the sword shall come upon Egypt: and
-there shall be dread in Ethiopia, when the wounded shall
-fall in Egypt, and the multitude thereof shall be taken
-away, and the foundations thereof shall be destroyed.
-Ethiopia and Lybia, and Lydia, and all the rest of the
-crowd, and Chub, and the children of the land of the covenant,
-shall fall with them by the sword.... And they
-shall know that I am the Lord: when I shall have set a
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">328</span>
-fire in Egypt, and all the helpers thereof shall be destroyed.
-In that <i>day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>), shall messengers go forth from my
-face in ships to destroy the confidence of Ethiopia, and
-there shall be dread among them in that <i>day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>) of
-Egypt: because it shall certainly come.”<a id="FNanchor_150" href="#Footnote_150" class="fnanchor">150</a></p>
-
-<p>Once more, this word is applied to the period of Our
-Lord’s life upon earth, and even to the whole duration of
-the Christian Church. Sophonias, for example, thus foretells
-the coming of the kingdom of Christ. “Wherefore
-expect me, saith the Lord, in the day of my resurrection
-that is to come, for my judgment is to assemble the Gentiles,
-and to gather the kingdoms.... From beyond the
-rivers of Ethiopia shall my suppliants, the children of my
-dispersed people, bring me an offering. In that <i>day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>,
-<i>yom</i>) thou shalt not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein
-thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away
-out of the midst of thee thy proud boasters, and thou shalt
-no more be lifted up because of my holy mountain....
-Give praise, O daughter of Sion: shout, O Israel: be glad
-and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
-The Lord hath taken away thy judgment, he hath turned
-away thy enemies: the King of Israel the Lord is in the
-midst of thee, thou shalt fear evil no more. In that <i>day</i>
-(<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>) it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not; to Sion:
-Let not thy hands be weakened. The Lord thy God in the
-midst of thee is mighty, He will save: He will rejoice over
-thee with gladness, He will be silent in His love, He will
-be joyful over thee in praise.”<a id="FNanchor_151" href="#Footnote_151" class="fnanchor">151</a></p>
-
-<p>And Isaias: “Is it not yet a very little while, and Libanon
-shall be turned into a charmel, and charmel shall be
-esteemed as a forest? And in that <i>day</i> (<span class="rtl">יוֺם</span>, <i>yom</i>) the deaf
-shall hear the words of the book, and out of darkness and
-obscurity the eyes of the blind shall see. And the meek
-shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor men shall
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">329</span>
-rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”<a id="FNanchor_152" href="#Footnote_152" class="fnanchor">152</a> That this passage
-refers to the time of the Christian Church there can be no
-doubt; for our Lord himself appeals to it in proof of His
-divine mission: “Go and relate to John what you have
-heard and seen. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers
-are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor
-have the Gospel preached to them.”<a id="FNanchor_153" href="#Footnote_153" class="fnanchor">153</a></p>
-
-<p>We may trace this use of the word even in the New
-Testament. Our Lord says, arguing with the Jews: “Abraham
-your father rejoiced that he might see my <i>day</i>: he saw it
-and was glad.”<a id="FNanchor_154" href="#Footnote_154" class="fnanchor">154</a> Saint Paul, too, though writing in the
-Greek language to the Corinthians, does not hesitate to
-adopt a passage from Isaias, in which the same meaning is
-conspicuously brought out: “And we helping do exhort
-you, that you receive not the grace of God in vain. For
-he saith: In an accepted time have I heard thee, and in the
-<i>day</i> of salvation have I helped thee. Behold, now is the
-<i>acceptable time</i>: behold, now is the <i>day of salvation</i>.”<a id="FNanchor_155" href="#Footnote_155" class="fnanchor">155</a> And
-finally, Our Divine Lord, in His last touching address to
-the city of Jerusalem, applies the word <i>day</i> to the season of
-grace and mercy: “When he drew near, seeing the city,
-He wept over it, saying: If thou also hadst known, and that
-in this thy <i>day</i>, the things that are to thy peace: but now they
-are hidden from thy eyes. For the days shall come upon
-thee; and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and
-compass thee round, and straiten thee on every side.”<a id="FNanchor_156" href="#Footnote_156" class="fnanchor">156</a></p>
-
-<p>So much, then, for the first argument. From the numerous
-examples we have given it is plain enough that the
-word <span class="rtl">יוֺם</span> (<i>yom</i>), in Scripture language, was often used for
-a period of many days, and even many years; nay sometimes
-for a period of many centuries. If so, Moses was free
-to use it in this sense. And consequently, as far as the
-word itself is concerned, it affords no conclusive proof that
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">330</span>
-the Days of Creation were days of twenty-four hours only:
-we may hold them to belong and indefinite periods of time,
-without departing in any degree from the established usage
-of Scripture.</p>
-
-<p>But it is urged&mdash;and this is the second argument,&mdash;that,
-whatever may be the meaning of the word <span class="rtl">יוֺם</span> (<i>yom</i>) elsewhere,
-in the first chapter of Genesis it must mean a day of
-twenty-four hours. For we are not merely told that there
-was a First Day, and a Second Day, and a Third Day; but
-each day is in a manner analyzed by the sacred writer, and
-its component parts set forth for our instruction. <i>There
-was evening and there was morning</i>, he says, the First Day;
-<i>there was evening and there was morning</i> the Second Day;
-<i>there was evening and there was morning</i> the Third Day; and
-so on. Now if the word were understood of those indefinite
-periods we have been speaking about, there would be no
-meaning in this analysis: for it could hardly be maintained
-that each of those periods had but one evening and one
-morning like an ordinary day. Furthermore, it is argued
-that there is a peculiar appropriateness in this phrase, which
-goes far to confirm the common interpretation. Amongst
-the Jews it was usual to compute the civil day from sunset
-to sunset. The civil day began then with the evening. And
-accordingly Moses, in describing the Days of Creation,
-puts the evening first, and says: There was evening and
-there was morning the First Day; there was evening and
-there was morning the Second Day; and so for the rest.</p>
-
-<p>All this reasoning seems to us unsatisfactory and inconclusive.
-In the first place, it is not a fact, as would seem
-to be supposed, that the civil day is made up of evening and
-morning. The evening and the morning do not make the
-whole day; they are only certain periods of the day. Neither
-do they mark the limits of the day: for, though it is quite
-true that, in the computation of the Jews, the civil day began
-with the evening, it certainly did not end with the morning.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">331</span>
-If, then, by the word Day, Moses here meant the civil
-day of twenty-four hours, how is this clause to be understood,
-There was evening and there was morning the First
-Day? It cannot mean that the evening and the morning
-put together made up the First Day: for this is not a fact.
-It cannot mean that the evening marked the beginning of
-the day, and the morning marked its close: for the period
-included between the evening and the morning is not the
-day but the night. What does it mean, then?</p>
-
-<p>Many writers seem to suppose that the evening and the
-morning are intended by Moses to designate the night and
-the day;&mdash;that is to say, the whole period of darkness and
-the whole period of light, which put together make up
-the civil day of twenty-four hours. If the text could be
-explained in this way, it would fit in, no doubt, much more
-appropriately with the theory of ordinary days than with the
-theory of indefinite periods. But the text <i>cannot</i> be explained
-in this way. The evening is <i>not</i> the whole period
-of darkness, and the morning is <i>not</i> the whole period of
-light. No English writer could say, with propriety, that the
-Day is made up of the evening and the morning. Neither
-could Moses have meant to say this in the first chapter of
-Genesis: for the Hebrew words <span class="rtl">ערב</span> (<i>Ghereb</i>) <i>and</i> <span class="rtl">בקר</span> (<i>Boker</i>)
-which are found in the original text, have a meaning not
-less fixed and definite than the corresponding words Evening
-and the Morning in the English language.</p>
-
-<p>To prove the truth of this assertion by an investigation
-of all the passages in the Hebrew Bible, in which these
-words are found, would be a tedious and uninteresting
-task. But it may be easily tested in another way. If the
-words <span class="rtl">ערב</span> (<i>Ghereb</i>) and <span class="rtl">בקר</span> (<i>Boker</i>) were ever used to
-mean, not strictly the evening and morning, but the whole
-period of night and the whole period of day, this fact would
-surely have become known in the course of time to some of
-the many eminent and accomplished Hebrew lexicographers.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">332</span>
-We ask, then, is there one Hebrew lexicon of note which
-assigns the sense of <i>night</i> to the word <span class="rtl">ערב</span> (<i>Ghereb</i>) and the
-sense of <i>day</i> to the word <span class="rtl">בקר</span> (<i>Boker</i>). For ourselves, we
-have searched several of the best of them, and we have not
-found a single one that even hints at such an explanation.</p>
-
-<p>Perhaps, however, some of our readers might be unwilling
-to accept the authority of lexicons as conclusive on a
-point of this kind; seeing that lexicons very often represent
-but imperfectly the full power of a language. Well,
-then, there is another process, and a simple one enough,
-by which they may demonstrate the inaccuracy of our statement,
-if inaccurate it be. Let them produce any passage
-from the Hebrew Bible in which the words <span class="rtl">ערב</span> (<i>Ghereb</i>)
-and <span class="rtl">בקר</span> (<i>Boker</i>) are employed to designate the whole night
-and the whole day. If they fail to do so,&mdash;and as far as
-we are aware, no such passage has yet been discovered,&mdash;then
-surely we may fairly contend that the interpretation
-which thus explains the words in the first chapter of Genesis
-cannot be regarded as certain: nor can the argument
-founded on that interpretation be received as conclusive.</p>
-
-<p>There is a text in the eighth chapter of the prophet
-Daniel which might, perhaps, appear at first sight to militate
-against our opinion. The prophet had a vision in
-which it was foreshadowed that Antiochus Epiphanes should
-come and prevail against the Jews, and should profane
-the temple of God, and should abolish the daily sacrifice.
-One of the Angels in the vision is heard asking of another,
-for how long should the daily sacrifice cease, and the sanctuary
-remain desolate. And the answer is given in these
-words: “Unto <i>evening-morning</i> (<span class="rtl">עד ערב בקר</span>, <i>ghad ghereb
-boker</i>) two thousand three hundred; then shall the
-sanctuary be cleansed.”<a id="FNanchor_157" href="#Footnote_157" class="fnanchor">157</a> Now, this is commonly understood
-to mean that the daily sacrifice should be abolished
-for two thousand three hundred <i>days</i>. And therefore, it
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">333</span>
-would seem that, in this passage, the <i>evening and morning</i>
-are used to signify the <i>whole civil day</i> of twenty-four hours.</p>
-
-<p>We will not dispute the correctness of the interpretation
-which is here set forth, although the words of the Angel
-are explained in a very different sense by many eminent
-commentators. But we think that the passage, even when
-understood according to this interpretation, cannot fairly be
-brought in evidence against us. The evening and the
-morning do not make up the whole day: but they occur
-once, and only once, in each day. Therefore a period
-of many days may be properly signified by noting the
-recurrence of the evening and morning a certain number
-of times. And in point of fact, a usage of this kind
-seems to prevail in most languages. The common word
-<i>fortnight</i>, in English, affords a good illustration. It signifies
-a period of fourteen nights and days: yet it does not
-specify the recurrence of fourteen days, but only the recurrence
-of fourteen nights. Again, the poet says:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">“Fair was she to behold, that maiden of seventeen <i>summers</i>.”<br /></span>
-</div></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>Nobody would argue from these examples that the word
-<i>summer</i> means a period of twelve months; or that the
-word <i>night</i> means a period of twenty-four hours. And so,
-in the case before us, the recurrence of the evening and
-morning two thousand three hundred times may be pointed
-out to mark a period of two thousand three hundred days,
-although the evening and morning are not the whole day,
-but only certain parts of the day. Nay, more; we fancy
-we can see a good reason why the Angel in the vision
-should single out the evening and the morning for special
-notice. He had been asked about the profanation of the
-sanctuary, and the abolition of the daily sacrifice. Now it
-was in the evening and the morning that the daily sacrifice was
-wont to be offered. And the Angel seems to answer: The
-evening and the morning shall return two thousand three
-hundred times; and there shall be no evening and morning
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">334</span>
-sacrifice: but, after that time, the sanctuary shall be
-cleansed and sacrifice restored.</p>
-
-<p>So far we have been arguing from the common usage of
-Scripture that the evening and the morning mentioned in
-the history of the Creation cannot mean the whole night
-and the whole day. But there is a special objection against
-this interpretation from the history of the Creation itself.
-The fifth verse in the first chapter of Genesis runs thus:
-“And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called
-Night. And there was evening and there was morning the
-First Day.” In the first sentence it is recorded that God,
-having divided the light from the darkness, gave to each its
-proper name: He called the light, Day; and the darkness,
-Night. Is it not highly improbable that, after this announcement,
-the sacred writer would himself, in the very next sentence,
-employ names altogether different, if he wished to
-designate the period of light and the period of darkness?</p>
-
-<p>We are not maintaining that the phrase under consideration&mdash;“there
-was evening and there was morning the First
-Day”&mdash;cannot be explained on the hypothesis that the Days
-of Creation were days of twenty-four hours. But we do
-contend that it affords no conclusive proof in favor of that
-hypothesis; because even in that hypothesis the meaning of
-the phrase is still doubtful and obscure. For ourselves, we
-candidly confess we can offer no explanation that seems to
-us, in any system of interpretation, altogether satisfactory.
-We may be allowed, however, to call attention to an opinion
-put forward by Saint Augustine, which fits in very appropriately
-with the doctrine that the Days of Creation were
-long periods of time. The distinctions of evening and
-morning, he says, are not to be understood in reference to
-the rising and setting of the Sun, which, in point of fact,
-was not created until the Fourth Day; but rather in reference
-to the works themselves that are recorded to have been
-produced. In this way the evening will naturally represent
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">335</span>
-the bringing to an end of the work that had been
-accomplished; and the morning, on the other hand, the
-coming in of the work that was to be. This opinion was
-afterward adopted by Saint Eucherius, Bishop of Lyons,
-who seems almost to borrow the very words of Saint
-Augustine; and also by Venerable Bede, who says:
-“What is the evening, but the completion of each work?
-and the morning, but the beginning of the next?” In the
-twelfth century we find it again set forth by Saint Hildegarde,
-who was considered by Saint Bernard, as well as by
-Pope Eugenius the Third, to have been gifted with the
-spirit of prophecy.<a id="FNanchor_158" href="#Footnote_158" class="fnanchor">158</a> This interpretation, it is true, does
-not explain the words <i>evening</i> and <i>morning</i> according to
-their literal signification: but then the metaphorical sense
-it ascribes to them is both simple and appropriate; more
-especially if we understand the word Day in the sense of a
-long and indefinite period. As the morning literally means
-the break of day, and the evening its decline, the Sacred
-Writer might, not inaptly, have employed these words to
-represent metaphorically the opening and the close of the
-various works which are ascribed to each successive period
-in the history of the Creation.</p>
-
-<p>It may be observed, moreover, that this explanation
-seems quite in accord with the etymology of the Hebrew
-words <span class="rtl">ע&#x5b6;ר&#x5b6;ב</span> (<i>Ghereb</i>), and <span class="rtl">בּקר</span> (<i>Boker</i>). The latter is formed
-from the root <span class="rtl">בּק&#x5b6;ר</span> (<i>Bakar</i>), <i>to lay open</i>, and used to signify
-the morning, because in the morning the light of the sun is,
-as it were, unveiled, and <i>laid open</i> to the earth. Hence, the
-word might be applied with much propriety, in a metaphorical
-sense, to the unfolding of the various works of God, as
-each new period was, in its turn, ushered in with a new act
-of Creation. On the other hand, <span class="rtl">ע&#x5b6;ר&#x5b6;ב</span> (<i>Ghereb</i>) seems to be
-derived from <span class="rtl">ערב</span> (<i>Gharab</i>), <i>to mingle</i>, and has probably
-come to signify the evening, as the famous Hebrew scholar,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">336</span>
-Aben Ezra, suggests, because, in the uncertain light of evening,
-the forms of external objects lose their distinctness of
-outline, and become, in a manner, blended together. And
-so this word might have been employed, not unfitly, to represent
-the close of each period in the creation, which was
-marked, as Geologists tell us, by the gradual dying out or
-extinction of the various forms of life peculiar to that period.
-Anyhow, in following the opinion of so ancient and so venerable
-an authority as Saint Augustine, we cannot be charged
-with unduly straining the Sacred Text to meet the exigencies
-of modern science.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>The next argument is founded on a passage in Exodus, to
-which we have already had occasion to refer: “Six days
-shalt thou labor, and do all thy work. But the seventh day
-is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work
-on it, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant,
-nor thy maid-servant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger
-that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made
-the Heavens and the Earth, and the sea, and all that in
-them is, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord
-blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.”<a id="FNanchor_159" href="#Footnote_159" class="fnanchor">159</a> We are to work
-upon six days, and to rest upon the seventh; <i>because</i> in six
-days God accomplished all the works of the creation, and
-rested on the seventh. There can be no mistake as to the
-meaning of this commandment. The six days on which it is
-lawful to labor are, beyond all doubt, six days in the common
-sense of the word; six days of twenty-four hours each:
-and the seventh day, on which it is forbidden to work, is a
-day of the same kind. But the example of God’s labor and
-God’s rest is set forth, in the text, as the pattern after which
-this law of the Sabbath was framed. And therefore, the
-six days in which God furnished and embellished the
-earth must have been likewise six days of twenty-four
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">337</span>
-hours each. This argument is regarded by many writers
-as decisive.</p>
-
-<p>To us, on the contrary, it seems by no means necessary
-to understand the days on which God labored and rested,
-in precisely the same sense as the days on which it is enjoined
-that we should labor and rest. The examples of
-God is, no doubt, represented in the Sacred Text as the
-reason for the Jewish Sabbath: “Six days shalt thou labor,
-and rest upon the seventh; <i>for</i> in six days the Lord made
-the Heavens and the Earth, and rested on the seventh.”
-But, suppose for a moment that the days of creation were
-long periods of time, will not the significance of this reason
-remain unchanged? As God, in the great work of the
-creation, labored for six successive periods, and then rested
-for a seventh, so shall you likewise do all your work during
-six of those successive periods into which your time is divided,
-and rest upon the seventh.</p>
-
-<p>In support of this view, we may observe that the Jews were
-commanded to abstain from work, not only every seventh
-<i>day</i>, but also every seventh <i>year</i>. “Six years thou shalt
-sow thy ground, and shalt gather the corn thereof; but the
-seventh year thou shalt let it alone, and suffer it to rest, that
-the poor of thy people may eat, and whatsoever shall be left,
-let the beasts of the field eat it: in like manner shalt thou
-do with thy vineyard and thy oliveyard. Six days shalt thou
-work: the seventh day thou shalt cease, that thy ox and
-thy ass may rest; and the son of thy handmaid and the
-stranger may be refreshed.”<a id="FNanchor_160" href="#Footnote_160" class="fnanchor">160</a> And in another place we read:
-“When you shall have entered into the land which I will
-give you, observe the rest of the Sabbath to the Lord. Six
-years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune
-thy vineyard, and shalt gather the fruits thereof; but in the
-seventh year there shall be a Sabbath to the land, of the resting
-of the Lord; thou shalt not sow thy field, nor prune
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">338</span>
-thy vineyard. What the ground shall bring forth of itself
-thou shalt not reap: neither shalt thou gather the grapes of
-the first fruits as a vintage; for it is a year of rest to the land:
-But they shall be unto you for meat; to thee, and to thy
-man-servant, and to thy maid-servant, and to thy hireling,
-and to the strangers that sojourn with thee, to thy beasts of
-burden, and to thy cattle, all things that grow shall be for
-meat.”<a id="FNanchor_161" href="#Footnote_161" class="fnanchor">161</a> The seventh year, then, according to Divine command,
-was a year of rest among the Jews, just as the seventh
-day was a day of rest; and it is evident that the one precept,
-no less than the other, was founded on the great example of
-God’s rest when He had finished the work of Creation. We
-are satisfied, therefore, that whatever may have been the
-length of those six days in which God labored, and of the
-seventh day on which He rested, His example might still be
-properly set forth as the model on which the law of the Sabbath
-was founded.</p>
-
-<p>It is urged, however, that in this passage of Exodus, we
-have the same word <span class="rtl">יוֺם</span> (<i>yom</i>) applied in the very same
-context to the six days of the Creation and to the six days
-of the week; and it can hardly be supposed that the
-inspired writer would pass thus suddenly from one meaning
-of the word to another, and a very different meaning,
-without giving any intimation to his readers of such a transition.
-If this argument is a good one, we can only say
-that it completely oversets the opinion of those against
-whom we are contending. In the fifth verse of the first
-chapter of Genesis we read: “And God called the <i>light</i>
-<i>Day</i>, and the <i>darkness</i> he called <i>Night</i>. And there was
-evening and there was morning the first <i>Day</i>.” Now, those
-who reject the theory of long periods, maintain that by the
-word Day in the latter part of this verse, is meant the
-whole civil day of twenty-four hours; while it is plain that,
-in the earlier part of the verse, the same word Day is emphatically
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">339</span>
-applied to only a part of that period&mdash;that is, to
-the time of light as distinguished from the time of darkness.
-Therefore, they are themselves, in fact, upholding an interpretation
-which supposes the inspired writer to pass from
-one meaning of the word Day to another, without any intimation
-of a change of meaning.</p>
-
-<p>But we do not want to shrink from dealing with this
-argument on its merits. The principle on which it is
-founded seems to us unsound and inconsistent with the
-evidence of the Sacred Books themselves. It is quite a
-common thing, we contend, in Scripture, for the writer to
-pass from one meaning of a word to another without any
-explicit indication of such a transition, when, as in the case
-before us, the two senses, though different, are analogous:
-the one being, as it were, the figure, or the symbol, or the
-pattern, of the other. A few examples will make this clear.
-In the Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, we
-read as follows: “For the charity of Christ presseth us:
-judging this, that if one <i>died</i> for all, then all were <i>dead</i>;
-and Christ <i>died</i> for all.”<a id="FNanchor_162" href="#Footnote_162" class="fnanchor">162</a> Here, when it is said that “all
-were <i>dead</i>,” the meaning is, that all men were <i>dead spiritually</i>
-by sin; whereas, in the clause immediately preceding, and in
-the clause immediately following, the same word is used in
-its literal sense for the death of Christ upon the cross.
-And yet the Apostle, though he thus passed from the literal
-to the metaphorical sense of the word, and then back again
-from the metaphorical sense to the literal, gives no express
-indication of these transitions.</p>
-
-<p>Again, in the Gospel, when a certain man, being called
-by our Lord, said: “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury
-my father,” Jesus reproved him in these words: “Let
-the <i>dead</i> bury their <i>dead</i>; but go thou and preach the
-kingdom of God.”<a id="FNanchor_163" href="#Footnote_163" class="fnanchor">163</a> There is some difference of opinion
-amongst commentators as to the exact meaning of this
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">340</span>
-phrase. But whatever interpretation be adopted, it seems
-evident from the context that the <i>dead to be buried</i> were those
-who were literally dead; whereas, the <i>dead</i> who were to
-<i>bury them</i> were manifestly <i>not</i> those who were literally dead,
-but those who were dead in some analogous or metaphorical
-sense. Another example occurs in the twentieth chapter
-of Saint John. Christ says to His Apostles: “I ascend
-to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”<a id="FNanchor_164" href="#Footnote_164" class="fnanchor">164</a>
-When He says, “I ascend to my Father,” the meaning is,
-“to Him who has begotten me from all eternity.” When
-He adds, “and your Father,” the meaning is, “to Him who
-has <i>adopted</i> you for His children.” Here, then, the word
-Father is first used in the sense of a natural father, and
-immediately after in the sense of a father by adoption, without
-any explicit declaration of a change in meaning.</p>
-
-<p>The Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans furnishes an
-instance in which the transition from one meaning to
-another occurs in the case of the word Day itself: “The
-night is passed, and the <i>day</i> is at hand. Let us, therefore,
-cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of
-light. Let us walk honestly as in the <i>day</i>.”<a id="FNanchor_165" href="#Footnote_165" class="fnanchor">165</a> The word
-Day, in the earlier part of this passage, is used by Saint
-Paul for the Day of Eternity which is to follow the darkness
-of this life; while, in the next sentence, it means
-clearly the period of light between sunrise and sunset.
-Another illustration of the same kind occurs in the first
-Epistle to the Thessalonians. “But you, brethren, are
-not in darkness that that <i>day</i> should overtake you as a thief;
-for you are all the children of light and the children of the
-<i>day</i>.”<a id="FNanchor_166" href="#Footnote_166" class="fnanchor">166</a> No one familiar with the language of Scripture
-can doubt that the first <i>day</i> here is the Day of Judgment;
-and it is quite plain that the second <i>day</i> is <i>not</i> the Day of
-Judgment.</p>
-
-<p>Our next example, and one most appropriate to our
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">341</span>
-purpose, is taken from the prophet Amos: “And it shall
-come to pass in that <i>day</i>, saith the Lord God, that I will
-make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the
-earth in the clear <i>day</i>.”<a id="FNanchor_167" href="#Footnote_167" class="fnanchor">167</a> This prophecy is commonly
-referred by the Fathers to the time of our Lord, when the
-earth was darkened in the clear day on the occasion of
-His crucifixion; but some eminent authorities, with Saint
-Jerome at their head, explain it of the Captivity in Babylon.
-Either interpretation will suit our argument. The sacred
-writer first employs the word Day for a long period of time,
-and afterward proceeds to use it in its more ordinary sense,
-without giving his readers any express intimation of such a
-transition.</p>
-
-<p>We hope it is now pretty clear that neither the reason
-assigned for the institution of the Sabbath Day, nor the
-particular form of words in which that ordinance is set forth,
-offers any insurmountable obstacle to the opinion we are
-defending. And this is quite enough for our purpose.
-For we would again remind our readers that we are not
-attempting to prove from the Sacred Text that this opinion
-<i>must</i> be true, but only that it <i>may</i> be true. Our object
-has been sufficiently attained if we have succeeded in showing
-that the hypothesis which makes the Days of Creation
-long periods, is not inconsistent with the language of
-Scripture.</p>
-
-<p>We are tempted, however, in the case of this objection,
-to go somewhat further than the scope of our argument
-strictly demands. The text we have just been discussing
-brings before us, in fact, a consideration of great weight in
-favor of the system of long periods. “In six days the Lord
-made the Heavens and the Earth and the sea, and all that
-in them is, and rested on the seventh day.” Now, what was
-this Seventh Day on which God rested? Was it a common
-day of twenty-four hours? or was it not rather a long and
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">342</span>
-undefined period of time? Saint Augustine answers plainly
-enough: “The seventh day,” he says, “is without an
-evening, and has no setting.” And Venerable Bede, asking
-why the sacred writer had assigned no evening to the
-seventh day, gives this answer: “Because it has no end,
-and is shut in by no limit.”<a id="FNanchor_168" href="#Footnote_168" class="fnanchor">168</a></p>
-
-<p>The common sentiment of Theologians, as far as we
-know, seems to point in the same direction. They tell us
-that God is said to have rested, inasmuch as He ceased
-from the creation of new species; and they hold that since
-the close of the Sixth Day no new species have been
-brought into existence. But whether this be true or not,
-it would be very difficult, we think, to point out any sense
-in which God can be said to have rested after the work of
-the Six Days, and in which He is not resting at the present
-moment. If so, the day of His rest is still going on; and
-it is not a period of twenty-four hours only, but a period
-of many thousand years. Now, if the Seventh Day on
-which God rested is a period of many thousand years, are
-we not fully justified in supposing that the Six Days on
-which He formed and furnished the Heavens and the Earth
-were likewise periods of many ages?</p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_342.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">343</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_343.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="CHAPTER_XXI"><i>CHAPTER XXI.</i><br />
-
-<span class="hang">APPLICATION OF THE SECOND HYPOTHESIS TO THE MOSAIC
-HISTORY OF CREATION&mdash;CONCLUSION.</span></h2>
-
-<p class="hang"><i>Summary of the argument&mdash;Striking coincidence between the
-order of creation as set forth in the narrative of Moses
-and in the records of Geology&mdash;Comparison illustrated and
-developed&mdash;Scheme of adjustment between the periods of
-Geology and the days of Genesis&mdash;Tabular view of this
-scheme&mdash;Objections considered&mdash;It is not to be regarded as
-an established theory, but as an admissible hypothesis&mdash;Either
-the first hypothesis or the second is sufficient to meet
-the demands of Geology as regards the antiquity of the earth&mdash;Not
-necessary to suppose that the sacred writer was made
-acquainted with the long ages of geological time&mdash;He simply
-records faithfully that which was committed to his charge&mdash;The
-Mosaic history of creation stands alone, without rivals
-or competitors.</i></p>
-
-<div>
-<img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="T" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="drop-cap"><span class="uppercase">The</span> results at which we have arrived by the long,
-and we fear tedious, line of argument pursued in
-the last Chapter, may be briefly summed up. First,
-many illustrious Fathers of the Church&mdash;Saint Augustine,
-Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Saint Athanasius, and
-others&mdash;plainly declared against the opinion that the Days
-of Creation were days in the ordinary sense of the word;
-and, therefore, it is a mistake to suppose that this opinion
-is supported by the unanimous voice of Christian tradition.
-Secondly, the word Day is frequently used in Scripture for a
-long period of time, and sometimes for a period of indefinite
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">344</span>
-duration. Thirdly, there is nothing in the language of
-Moses that forbids us to explain the word according to this
-sense, in the first chapter of Genesis. And fourthly, there
-is, at least, one grave consideration, derived from Holy
-Scripture itself, which distinctly points to such an interpretation.
-The Six Days of Creation are contrasted with the
-Seventh Day of God’s rest; and this Seventh Day of God’s
-rest is unquestionably a long period of undefined duration.
-From all this it is obvious to conclude, that we may fairly
-adopt this mode of interpreting the Mosaic Days, if it will
-assist us in reconciling the received conclusions of science
-with the truths of Revelation.</p>
-
-<p>Now, there is a striking resemblance, in some important
-respects, between the order of Creation as exhibited in the successive
-days of the Sacred Record, and the order of Creation
-as manifested in the successive periods of Geological time.
-Three days are specially marked out by the Inspired Historian
-as distinguished by the creation of vegetable and
-animal life&mdash;the Third, the Fifth, and the Sixth. On the
-Third Day were created plants and trees; on the Fifth, reptiles,
-fish, and birds; on the Sixth, cattle, and the beasts of
-the earth, and, toward the end, man himself. Geologists,
-on the other hand, not influenced in the least degree by the
-Scripture narrative, but guided chiefly by the remains of
-animal and vegetable life which are preserved in the Crust
-of the Earth, have established three leading divisions of
-Geological time; the Pal&aelig;ozoic, or first age of organic life,
-the Mesozoic, or second great age of organic life, and the
-Kainozoic, or third great age of organic life. Here, no
-doubt, is a remarkable coincidence.</p>
-
-<p>But it would be still more remarkable if we could recognize,
-in the three epochs of Geology, the same general
-characteristics of organic life as we find ascribed by Moses
-to the three successive days of the Bible narrative. And so
-we may, it is said, if we will only take the pains to examine
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">345</span>
-for ourselves the organic remains of these geological epochs
-as they lie dispersed through the Crust of the Earth, or even
-as they are to be found collected and arranged for exhibition
-in our museums. The first great age of Geology is eminently
-distinguished for its plants and trees; the second, for
-its huge reptiles and great sea-monsters; the third, for its
-vast herds of noble quadrupeds. Nay, to complete the harmony
-between the two Records, as man is represented by
-the Inspired Writer to have been created toward the close
-of the last day, so, toward the close of the last Geological
-age, the remains of man and of his works are found, for the
-first time, laid by in the archives of the Earth.</p>
-
-<p>Such is the coincidence which some ingenious writers
-fancy they can trace between the history that is set forth in
-the written Word of God, and the history that is so curiously
-inscribed upon His works. Our readers, perhaps, will not
-be unwilling to consider it a little more in detail. We read
-in the first chapter of Genesis, that on the Third Day God
-said: “Let the earth bring forth the green herb, and such
-as may seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after its kind,
-which may have seed in itself upon the earth. And it was
-so done. And the earth brought forth the green herb, and
-such as yieldeth seed according to its kind, and the tree that
-beareth fruit, having seed each one according to its kind.
-And God saw that it was good.”<a id="FNanchor_169" href="#Footnote_169" class="fnanchor">169</a> Let us now turn to the
-Carboniferous Period of Geology, which occupies a large
-space in the great Pal&aelig;ozoic age. All writers agree that it
-was specially marked by a gorgeous and luxuriant vegetation:
-and as we contemplate the multitudinous remains
-of plants and trees which have been gathered so abundantly
-in our coal measures, and ranged with such striking effect
-along the walls of our museums, we can scarcely help thinking
-that we have before us a practical commentary on the
-text of Moses. The gifted Hugh Miller, who is universally
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_346">346</span>
-allowed to have been one of the most practical and experienced
-Geologists of the modern school, gives a very picturesque
-and graphic sketch of the Carboniferous flora. “In
-no other age,” he says, “did the world ever witness such a
-flora: the youth of the earth was peculiarly a green and
-umbrageous youth,&mdash;a youth of dusk and tangled forests,&mdash;of
-huge pines and stately araucarians,&mdash;of the reed-like
-calamite, the tall tree-fern, the sculptured sigillaria, and the
-hirsute lepidodendron. Wherever dry land, or shallow lake
-or running stream appeared, from where Melville Island
-now spreads out its ice-wastes under the star of the pole, to
-where the arid plains of Australia lie solitary beneath the
-bright cross of the south, a rank and luxuriant herbage cumbered
-every footbreadth of the dank and steaming soil; and
-even to distant planets our earth must have shown, through the
-enveloping cloud, with a green and delicate ray.”<a id="FNanchor_170" href="#Footnote_170" class="fnanchor">170</a> Such an
-age as this might well be described in history as the age in
-which the earth brought forth the green herb, and the fruit-tree
-yielding seed according to its kind.</p>
-
-<p>Again, the work of the Fifth Day is thus described in the
-Sacred Narrative:&mdash;“God also said: Let the waters bring
-forth the creeping creature having life, and the fowl that may
-fly over the earth under the firmament of Heaven. And
-God created the great whales, and every living and moving
-creature which the waters brought forth, according to their
-kinds, and every winged fowl according to its kind. And
-God saw that it was good.”<a id="FNanchor_171" href="#Footnote_171" class="fnanchor">171</a> And in this case, as in the
-former, we may find the counterpart of the Bible story in
-the records of Geology. “The secondary age of the geologist,”
-says the eminent writer from whom we have already
-quoted, “possessed, like the earlier one, its herbs and plants,
-but they were of a greatly less luxuriant and conspicuous
-character than their predecessors, and no longer formed the
-prominent trait or feature of the creation to which they belong.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_347">347</span>
-The period had also its corals, its crustaceans, its
-molluscs, its fishes, and, in some one or two exceptional
-instances, its dwarf mammals. But the grand existences of
-the age,&mdash;the existences in which it excelled every other
-creation, earlier or later,&mdash;were its huge creeping things,&mdash;its
-enormous monsters of the deep,&mdash;and, as shown by the
-impressions of their footprints stamped upon the rocks, its
-gigantic birds. It was peculiarly the age of egg-bearing
-animals, winged and wingless. Its wonderful <i>whales</i>, not
-however as now, of the mammalian, but of the reptilian class&mdash;ichthyosaurs,
-plesiosaurs, and cetiosaurs&mdash;must have tempested
-the deep; its creeping lizards and crocodiles, such
-as the teleosaurus megalosaurus, and iguanodon,&mdash;creatures
-some of which more than rival the existing elephant
-in height, and greatly more than rivalled him in bulk,&mdash;must
-have crowded the plains, or haunted by myriads the
-rivers of the period; and we know that the foot-prints of,
-at least, one of its many birds, are fully twice the size of
-those made by the horse or camel. We are thus prepared
-to demonstrate that the second period of the geologist was
-peculiarly and characteristically a period of whale-like
-reptiles of the sea, of enormous creeping reptiles of the
-land, and of numerous birds, some of them of gigantic
-size.”<a id="FNanchor_172" href="#Footnote_172" class="fnanchor">172</a></p>
-
-<p>Once more, it is written that, on the Sixth Day, “God
-said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature in its kind,
-cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth, according
-to their kinds. And it was so done. And God made the
-beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle and
-every thing that creepeth on the earth after its kind. And
-God saw that it was good.”<a id="FNanchor_173" href="#Footnote_173" class="fnanchor">173</a> And again Geology seems to
-confirm the truth of the Inspired narrative, and to fill up the
-details of the picture. “The Tertiary period,” continues
-Hugh Miller, “had also its prominent class of existences.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_348">348</span>
-Its flora seems to have been no more conspicuous than that
-of the present time; its reptiles occupy a very subordinate
-place; but its beasts of the field were by far the most wonderfully
-developed, both in size and numbers, that ever
-appeared upon the earth. Its mammoths and its mastodons,
-its rhinoceri and its hippopotami, its enormous dimotherium
-and colossal megatherium, greatly more than equalled in
-bulk the greatest mammals of the present time, and vastly
-exceeded them in number. The remains of one of its
-elephants (Elephas primigenius) are still so abundant amid
-the frozen wastes of Siberia, that what have been not inappropriately
-termed ‘ivory quarries’ have been wrought
-among their bones for more than a hundred years. Even
-in our own country, of which, as I have already shown, this
-elephant was for long ages a native, so abundant are the
-skeletons and tusks, that there is scarcely a local museum
-in the kingdom that has not its specimens, dug out of the
-Pleistocene deposits of the neighborhood. And with this
-ancient elephant there were meetly associated in Britain, as
-on the northern continents generally all around the globe,
-many other mammals of corresponding magnitude. ‘Grand
-indeed,’ says an English naturalist, ‘was the fauna of the
-British islands in those early days. Tigers as large again as
-the biggest Asiatic species lurked in the ancient thickets;
-elephants nearly twice the size of the largest individuals that
-now exist in Africa or Ceylon roamed in herds: at least two
-species of the rhinoceros forced their way through the primeval
-forests; and the lakes and rivers were tenanted by
-hippopotami as bulky, and with as great tusks, as those of
-Africa.’ The massive cave-bear and large cave-hy&aelig;na belong
-to the same formidable group, with at least two species
-of great oxen, with a horse of smaller size, and an elk
-that stood ten feet four inches in height. Truly this Tertiary
-age&mdash;this third and last of the geologic periods&mdash;was peculiarly
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_349">349</span>
-the age of great ‘beasts of the earth after their kind,
-and of cattle after their kind.’”<a id="FNanchor_174" href="#Footnote_174" class="fnanchor">174</a></p>
-
-<p>We shall be told, perhaps, that there are Six Days assigned
-to the work of creation in the Mosaic narrative, and that we
-have accounted but for three. Let it be remembered, however,
-that Geology does not profess to give a complete history
-of our Globe. It can set before us those events only
-which have left their impress indelibly stamped upon the
-rocks that compose the Crust of the Earth. These events
-Geologists have attempted to reduce to the order of a chronological
-system; and in prosecuting this task they have been
-guided almost exclusively by the evidence of Organic Remains.
-Hence it was not to be expected that, in Geological
-Chronology, we should find a Period specially set apart
-as the Period in which Light was made; or another as the
-Period in which the Firmament was spread out over the Earth;
-or a Third as the Period in which the sun and moon and
-stars shone forth in the expanse of Heaven. Such phenomena
-had, indeed, a very important influence on the physical
-condition of our globe. But they must occupy a very
-secondary place, if indeed they are distinctly chronicled at
-all in the records of Geology. It is the formation of rocks
-and the embedding therein of Fossil Remains that constitute
-the main study of the Geologist, and that guide him in the
-distribution of Geological time.</p>
-
-<p>Furthermore, we would observe that the scheme of Chronology
-which Geologists put before us, affords abundant
-room for each and all of the Mosaic Days. Let it be
-assumed for a moment that the Carboniferous Period corresponds
-with the Third Day of the Sacred narrative. The
-earlier Periods of the Pal&aelig;ozoic Age will then fit in with
-the First and Second Days of Scripture; and the Permian,
-which intervenes between the Carboniferous Period and the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_350">350</span>
-Secondary Age, may be supposed to correspond with the
-Fourth Day of Scripture. This adjustment between the
-Mosaic Days and the Periods of Geology will probably be
-made more intelligible to the general reader by the Table
-that appears on the following page.</p>
-
-<p>The reader must not think it amiss, in this distribution
-of the Mosaic Days, that four out of six are crowded
-together into one Geological Age, while each of the other
-two has an entire Age assigned to itself. If the Days of
-Creation were indefinite periods, there is no incongruity in
-supposing that one may have corresponded to a longer,
-another to a shorter interval in the history of our planet.
-But, in truth, our scheme of distribution does not of necessity
-imply that the Mosaic Days were periods of unequal
-length. Geologists do not pretend that there is even a
-remote approximation to equality between the several divisions
-of Geological time. The three great Epochs are distinguished
-from each other by reason of the very marked
-difference in the character of their Fossil Remains. And
-the multiplication of Periods in each Epoch seems to depend
-rather upon the degree of completeness with which
-the strata of that Age have been examined, than upon any
-conjecture as to the probable length of its duration. Thus,
-for example, Sir Charles Lyell thinks that, as far as the
-present condition of Science affords the means of forming
-an opinion, almost any one of the Periods in the Pal&aelig;ozoic
-Age was as long as all the Periods of the Tertiary Age
-taken together.<a id="FNanchor_175" href="#Footnote_175" class="fnanchor">175</a></p>
-
-<p>But there is another and a more serious objection against
-our hypothesis. It has been observed more than once that
-the periods of Geology are out of harmony with the Days
-of Genesis, even as regards the history of Organic life.
-According to the Scripture narrative no Organic life appeared
-upon the Earth previous to the Third Day. Now
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_351">351</span>
-the Third Day of Scripture corresponds, in our scheme,
-with the Carboniferous Period of Geology. And yet there
-is abundant evidence in the Fossil Remains of the Devonian,
-the Silurian, and the Cambrian Formations, that
-Organic life&mdash;both plants and animals&mdash;prevailed upon
-the Earth for many ages before the Carboniferous Period
-began. Nay, it is now commonly held, since the discovery
-of the famous <i>Eozoon Canadense</i>, the oldest known Fossil,
-that life already existed during the deposition of the Laurentian
-Rocks, the earliest of all the Stratified Formations.
-Furthermore, in the Mosaic account, Fish are represented
-as having been created only on the Fifth Day, which we have
-fitted in with the Secondary Age of Geology: whereas in the
-Geological Record we find Fish as early as the Silurian
-Period, which is far back in the Primary Age. These considerations,
-and divers others of a like nature, have been
-regarded by some eminent writers as altogether fatal to
-the hypothesis for which we are contending.</p>
-
-<table id="TABLE_REPRESENTING_A_POSSIBLE_ADJUSTMENT" class="bbox tdc">
-  <tr>
-    <td>DAYS.<br />
-    <br />
-    DAY OF GOD’S REST.<br />
-    </td>
-    <td>PERIODS.<br />
-    <br />
-    RECENT.</td>
-    <td>EPOCHS.<br />
-    <br />
-    HISTORIC AGE.</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>SIXTH MOSAIC DAY.</td>
-    <td class="tdl">POST-PLIOCENE.<br />
-    PLIOCENE.<br />
-    MIOCENE.<br />
-    EOCENE.</td>
-    <td>TERTIARY<br />
-    OR<br />
-    KAINOZOIC AGE.</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>FIFTH MOSAIC DAY.</td>
-    <td class="tdl">CRETACEOUS.<br />
-    JURASSIC.<br />
-    TRIASSIC.</td>
-    <td>SECONDARY<br />
-    OR<br />
-    MESOZOIC AGE.<br /></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td>FOURTH MOSAIC DAY.<br />
-    THIRD MOSAIC DAY.<br />
-    <br />
-    FIRST AND SECOND<br />
-    MOSAIC DAYS.</td>
-    <td class="tdl">PERMIAN.<br />
-    CARBONIFEROUS.<br />
-    { DEVONIAN.<br />
-    { SILURIAN.<br />
-    { CAMBRIAN.<br />
-    { LAURENTIAN.</td>
-    <td>PRIMARY<br />
-    OR<br />
-    PAL&AElig;OZOIC AGE.</td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_352">352</span></p>
-
-<p>To us, however, it appears that such points of discrepancy
-involve no contradiction between the two Records.
-The Sacred Writer tells us, no doubt, that on the Third
-Day God created plants and trees: but he does not say,
-either expressly or otherwise, that previous to the Third
-Day the Earth was devoid of vegetation. Again, we read
-that reptiles, fish, and birds were created on the Fifth Day.
-But there is nothing in the language of the Inspired narrative
-from which it can be inferred that these several classes
-of animal life may not have been represented before that
-time, by many and various species: though probably, it
-was only on the Fifth Day that they were developed in such
-vast numbers, and assumed such gigantic proportions, as
-to become the most conspicuous objects of creation.</p>
-
-<p>The first chapter of Genesis is but a brief summary of
-an inconceivably vast series of events. It is nothing more
-than a rapid sketch, exhibiting, as it were, to the eye the
-prominent features in the history of Creation. Moreover,
-we should remember that it was written with a specific end
-in view. The purpose of the Sacred Writer was plainly to
-impress upon the Hebrew people, naturally prone to idolatry,
-the existence of One Supreme Being, who has made all
-things. Hence we should naturally expect that, amid the
-boundless variety of God’s works, he would make choice
-of those that were most calculated to strike the mind with
-wonder and awe, and to bring home to a rude and uncultivated
-race of men the Almighty Power and Supreme Dominion
-of the Great Creator. Now the Zoophytes, and
-Graptolites, and Trilobites, of the Devonian and Silurian
-Periods, however curious and interesting they may be to
-men of science, would have had but little significance for the
-Jewish people. Let us suppose that these more humble
-forms of animal life had, in fact, existed during the First
-and Second Days of the Mosaic narrative, and where is the
-wonder that the Inspired Historian, under the guidance of
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_353">353</span>
-the Holy Spirit, should pass them by in silence, and choose
-rather to commemorate the more striking and impressive
-facts, that, at the bidding of God, Light shone forth from
-the midst of darkness, and the blue firmament of Heaven
-was expanded above the waste of waters?</p>
-
-<p>We say, then, that events which are simply left unrecorded
-by the Sacred Writer are not, on that account,
-untrue:<a id="FNanchor_176" href="#Footnote_176" class="fnanchor">176</a> that he describes to us, not all the works of
-Creation, which would have been an endless task, but only
-the more conspicuous objects in each successive stage; and
-that he sketches them, most probably, as they would have
-appeared to the eye of a human observer, if a human
-observer at the time had existed on the Earth. If this view
-be admitted, then it is not inconsistent with the Scripture
-narrative to suppose that plants may have existed before
-the Third Day, and fish before the Fifth. Each Day in its
-turn would have been rendered conspicuous to an observing
-spectator by those events which are recorded by Moses.
-But each Day, too, would have witnessed many other events,
-unnoticed by Moses, of which the memorials have been
-preserved, even to our time, in the Crust of the Earth.</p>
-
-<p>We should observe, however, that though this scheme of
-adapting the Periods of Geology to the Days of Moses, may
-be defended as a legitimate hypothesis, it cannot be upheld
-as an established truth. The geological records that have
-hitherto been brought to light represent but the merest
-fragment of the Earth’s past history. Each year that passes
-over our heads is adding largely to the store of facts already
-accumulated. And it needs but little reflection to perceive
-that an hypothesis may be quite consistent with the knowledge
-we possess to-day, and yet may be found altogether
-inconsistent with the knowledge we shall possess to-morrow.
-We must be content, therefore, to suspend our judgment,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_354">354</span>
-and to await the progress of events. It may be that future
-discoveries shall bring to light new points of harmony
-between the Days of Genesis and the Periods of Geology;
-it may be they shall demonstrate that no such harmony
-exists. For us it is enough to have shown that this hypothesis
-is consistent, on the one hand, with the story of
-Genesis&mdash;on the other, with the actual discoveries of Geology;
-and, therefore, that it may be adopted, in the present
-condition of our knowledge, as a legitimate means of
-reconciling the established conclusions of that science with
-the truths of Revelation.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Conclusion.</span>&mdash;We have, then, two distinct systems of interpretation,
-according to which the vast Antiquity of the
-Earth, asserted by Geology, may be fairly brought into harmony
-with the history of creation, recorded in Scripture.
-The one allows an interval of incalculable duration between
-the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, and the work of
-the Six Days: the other supposes each one of these Six
-Days to have been itself an indefinite period of time. We
-cannot, indeed, prove that either of these two systems is true
-in point of fact; but we have attempted to show that neither is
-at variance with the language of the Sacred Text. On the other
-hand, when we look to the evidence of geological facts, we
-see no decisive reason for preferring one to the other. Either
-mode of interpretation seems in itself quite sufficient to
-meet all the present requirements of Geology; for, according
-to either interpretation, the Bible narrative would allow
-time without limit for the past history of our Globe; and
-time without limit is just what Geology demands. We may
-say, then, on this point, what Saint Augustine said long ago,
-in speaking of the diverse interpretations which the text of
-Genesis admits: “Let each one choose according to the best
-of his power: only let him not rashly put forward as known
-that which is unknown; and let him not fail to remember
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_355">355</span>
-that he is but a man searching, as far as may be, into the
-works of God.”<a id="FNanchor_177" href="#Footnote_177" class="fnanchor">177</a></p>
-
-<p>It must not be supposed that, according to our view, the
-Sacred Writer, in composing his account of the Creation,
-had before his mind those vast Geological Periods about
-which we have said so much in the course of this volume.
-Such an opinion is no part of our system. We see no good
-reason for believing that the author of Genesis was specially
-enlightened from Heaven on the subject of Stratified Rocks
-and Fossil Remains, of Upheaval and Denudation, of Volcanic
-Action and Subterranean Heat. These are matters of
-Physical, not of Religious Science. And it seems to be the
-order of Providence to leave the discovery of such things to
-the industry and ingenuity of man: “Cuncta fecit bona in
-tempore suo, et mundum tradidit disputationi eorum.”<a id="FNanchor_178" href="#Footnote_178" class="fnanchor">178</a></p>
-
-<p>What we maintain, then, is simply this: that the Sacred
-Writer recorded faithfully, in language fitted to the ideas of
-his time, that portion of Revelation which was committed to
-him; and, in the accomplishment of this task, made such
-a choice of words and phrases, under the guidance of the
-Holy Spirit, to whom all truth is present, as to set forth
-plainly those facts that were unfolded to him, without introducing
-any error about those facts of which he was ignorant.
-The language is the language of men, but the voice
-that speaks therein is the voice of God. And thus it comes
-to pass that this Mosaic story, when fairly examined according
-to the ordinary laws of human speech, is found in every
-age to accommodate itself, with quite an unexpected simplicity,
-to those new and wonderful views of God’s manifold
-power which each human science in its turn brings to
-light.</p>
-
-<p>Before taking leave of the subject, we would venture to
-bring under the notice of our readers one very obvious reflection,
-which is sometimes lost sight of in the heat of controversy.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_356">356</span>
-The Mosaic history of the Creation absolutely
-stands alone. It has no rivals, no competitors. Every other
-attempt that has been made to explain the origin of the
-world, and of the human race, is refuted by its own intrinsic
-extravagance and absurdity. The wisest nations of antiquity
-failed to discover that great fundamental truth, which stands
-out so boldly on the first page of Genesis, that there is One
-God who hath made all things. The philosophers of Chald&aelig;a
-were familiar with the course of the Heavens, and
-could predict the eclipses of the sun and moon. But the
-philosophers of Chald&aelig;a could not rise from the contemplation
-of creatures to the knowledge of the Creator: the creatures
-themselves were the gods that Chald&aelig;a worshipped.
-Egypt had greatness of mind to conceive the idea of the
-Pyramids, and skill to devise the plan of their construction,
-and strength of arms to lift up the huge stones on these
-stupendous piles. But Egypt raised up temples to the river
-that waters its plain, and offered sacrifice to the reptile
-that crawls upon the earth, and the beast that grazes in the
-field. In Greece the human mind soared to its highest
-flight, and ranged over the widest and most beautiful fields
-of thought. Peerless is she among the nations, the mistress
-of the arts, the fountain source of refined taste, the storehouse
-of intellectual power, the great nurse of human genius.
-Her schools of philosophy have influenced and guided to a
-marvellous extent the thoughts and speculations of all subsequent
-times. The song of her immortal bard has kindled
-the imagination of the poet in every generation, and
-enriched his mind with glowing images. Orators and statesmen
-still love to copy the lofty sentiments, the graceful
-diction, the flowing periods, of her golden eloquence. And
-students from every clime stand enraptured before the beauty
-and the majesty of her sculptured marble. But Greece,
-Imperial Greece, knew not the One God, the giver of all
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_357">357</span>
-good gifts, by whom she was so highly endowed. She fashioned
-for herself gods and goddesses after her own fancy,
-and portioned out the universe between them. Jupiter
-hurled his thunderbolts from the clouds: Neptune ruled the
-sea: Pluto swayed the sceptre of the infernal regions: Minerva
-was the goddess of wisdom: Vulcan the god of fire:
-Apollo the god of music. Nay, the very infirmities and
-vices of human nature were personified under the names of
-divinities, and worshipped in the Pantheon of the gods.
-Rome, too, the conqueror of the world, had its philosophers
-and its orators, its poets and its sculptors, whose productions
-still charm and instruct mankind. Yet was Rome
-no exception to the common lot of the gentile world. For
-Rome, like Greece, had its long array of gods and goddesses,
-with their petty jealousies, their vindictive malice,
-their shameless passions. Alone, amidst all the Mythologies
-and Cosmogonies of ancient nations, the story of the
-Hebrew Legislator rises superior to the gross and silly speculations
-of mortal men. It alone proclaims to mankind
-what Philosophy and Science, when left to themselves, have
-never been able to teach, that, In the beginning God created
-the Heavens and the Earth; that the plants and the animals,
-the ocean and the elements, the sun and moon and stars,
-man himself, and all that delights the eye and charms the
-ear and fills the mind, are His creatures; and that besides
-Him there is no other God. Away, then, with the idea that
-this Sacred Narrative, stamped as it plainly is with the imprint
-of its Divine Author, should ever be found at variance
-with the truths of science,&mdash;or rather, we should say, with
-those scanty fragments of truth, those crumbs of knowledge,
-falling from the table of our Heavenly Father, which it is
-given to man here below to gather up with laborious care,
-and which, however they may excite his longings, cannot
-satisfy his hunger.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_358">358</span></p>
-
-<p>Here, for the present, we must stop. At some future
-time, perhaps, if our opportunities permit, we shall return
-to this subject, and, taking up the second branch of the controversy,
-investigate the recent discoveries of Geology in
-reference to the teaching of the Bible as regards the Antiquity
-of the Human Race.</p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_358.jpg" alt="" />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_359">359</span></p>
-
-<h2 id="APPENDIX">APPENDIX.<br />
-
-<span class="medium">EXTRACTS FROM THE FATHERS AND THEOLOGIANS.<br />
-
-REFERRED TO IN THIS VOLUME.</span></h2>
-
-<h3>(1.) <span class="smcap">Saint Augustine.&mdash;p. 297.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Et in rebus obscuris atque a nostris oculis remotissimis, si
-qua inde scripta etiam divina legerimus, quae possunt salva
-fida qua imbuimur, alias atque alias parere sententias; in
-nullam earum nos praecipiti affirmatione ita projiciamus, ut si
-forte diligentius discussa veritas eam recte labefactaverit, corruamus:
-non pro sententia divinarum Scripturarum, sed pro
-nostra ita dimicantes, ut eam velimus Scripturarum esse, quae
-nostra est; cum potius eam quae Scripturarum est, nostram
-esse velle debeamus.”&mdash;De Genesi ad Litteram, lib. i. cap.
-18, n. 37.</p>
-
-<h3>(2.) <span class="smcap">Idem.&mdash;p. 298.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Plerumque enim accidit ut aliquid de terra, de coelo, de
-caeteris hujus mundi elementis, de motu et conversione vel
-etiam de magnitudine et intervallis siderum, de certis defectibus
-solis ac lunae, de circuitibus annorum et temporum, de
-naturis animalium, fruticum, lapidum atque hujusmodi caeteris,
-etiam non christianus ita noverit, ut certissima ratione
-vel experientia teneat. Turpe est autem nimis et perniciosum
-ac maxime cavendum, ut christianum de his rebus quasi
-secundum christianas Litteras loquentem, ita delirare quilibet
-infidelis audiat, ut, quemadmodum dicitur, toto coelo errare
-conspiciens, risum tenere vix possit. Et non tam molestum
-est, quod errans homo deridetur, sed quod auctores nostri ab
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_360">360</span>
-eis qui foris sunt, talia sensisse creduntur, et cum magno
-eorum exitio de quorum salute satagimus, tanquam indocti
-reprehenduntur atque respuuntur. Cum enim quemquam de
-numero christianorum in ea re quam optime norunt, errare
-deprehenderint, et vanam sententiam suam de nostris Libris
-asserere; quo pacto illis Libris credituri sunt, de resurrectione
-mortuorum, et de spe vitae aeternae, regnoque coelorum,
-quando de his rebus quas jam experiri, vel indubitatis numeris
-percipere potuerunt, fallaciter putaverint esse conscriptos?
-Quid enim molestiae tristitiaeque ingerant prudentibus fratribus
-temerarii praesumptores, satis dici non potest, cum si
-quando de prava et falsa opinione sua reprehendi, et convinci
-coeperint ab eis qui nostrorum Librorum auctoritate non tenentur,
-ad defendendum id quod levissima temeritate et apertissima
-falsitate dixerunt, eosdem Libros sanctos, unde id
-probent, proferre conantur, vel etiam memoriter, quae ad
-testimonium valere arbitrantur, multa inde verba pronuntiant,
-‘non intelligentes neque quae loquuntur, neque de quibus
-affirmant’ (1. Tim., i. 7).”&mdash;Ibid., cap. 19, n. 39.</p>
-
-<h3>(3.) <span class="smcap">Saint Thomas.&mdash;p. 298.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Dicendum quod, sicut Augustinus docet, in hujusmodi
-quaestionibus duo sunt observanda. Primo quidem, ut veritas
-Scripturae inconcusse teneatur. Secundo, cum Scriptura divina
-multipliciter exponi possit, quod nulli expositioni aliquis
-ita praecise inhaereat, ut si certa ratione constiterit hoc esse
-falsum quod aliquis sensum Scripturae esse credebat id nihilominus
-asserere praesumat; ne Scriptura ex hoc ab infidelibus
-derideatur, et ne eis via credendi praecludatur.”&mdash;Summa
-Theologica, Pars Prima, Quaest. lxviii. art. primus.</p>
-
-<h3>(4.) <span class="smcap">Perrerius.&mdash;p. 302.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Quod autem in xx. et xxxi. cap. Exod. dictum est, Deum
-sex diebus fecisse coelum et terram, et omnia quae in eis sunt,
-non est huic opinioni contrarium: illud enim spatium temporis
-ante primum diem annumeratur sex diebus, quia fuit quam
-brevissimum, et fuit continuata Dei operatio: nec sane plures
-dies naturales consumpti sunt quam sex: ac licet ante primum
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_361">361</span>
-diem, coelum et elementa facta sint secundum substantiam,
-tamen non fuerunt perfecta et omnino consummata, nisi spatio
-illorum sex dierum; tunc enim datus est illis ornatus, complementum,
-et perfectio.”&mdash;Comment. in Genes., cap. 1,
-v. 4, n. 80.</p>
-
-<h3>(5.) <span class="smcap">Tostatus.&mdash;p. 302.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“<i>Sex diebus fecit Dominus coelum et terram.</i> Recte dicitur
-his <i>facere</i>, quia coelum et terra, quae hic nominantur, et omnia
-alia, quae nomine eorum subintelliguntur, ista quidem
-omnia de materia prima facta sunt: materia autem non <i>facta</i>
-sed <i>creata</i> est.”&mdash;Comment. in Exod., cap. 20, quaest. 15.</p>
-
-<h3>(6.) <span class="smcap">Petavius.&mdash;p. 302.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Writing on the phrase <i>In die quo fecit Dominus Deus coelum
-et terram</i>, he says, “hoc est, perpolitum et elaboratum esse
-sex continuis diebus, id enim <i>faceindi</i> vox Hebraeis ipsis interpretibus
-significare videtur.”&mdash;De Opificio Sex Dierum, lib.
-cap. 14, sect. 1.</p>
-
-<h3>(7.) <span class="smcap">Saint Basil.&mdash;p. 304.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“<i>Et facta est vespera, et factum est mane, dies unus.</i> Vespera
-igitur diei ac noctis est communis terminus: et similiter mane,
-est noctis cum die vicinitas. Itaque ut <i>prioris generationis
-praerogativam diei tribueret</i>, prius commemoravit finem diei,
-deinde noctis, velut insequente diem nocte. Nam qui status
-in mundo fuit ante lucis generationem, is non erat nox, sed
-tenebrae: quod autem a die distinguebatur, eique opponebatur,
-id nox appellatum est.”&mdash;Homilia ii. in Hexaemeron; Edit.
-Bened. p. 20; Edit. Migne, Patr. Graec. Cursus Completus,
-tom. 29, p. 47.</p>
-
-<h3>(8.) <span class="smcap">Saint Chrysostom.&mdash;p. 304.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Ostendimus enim heri, ut meministis, quomodo beatus
-Moses enarrans nobis horum visibilium elementorum creationem
-et opificium, dixerit: <i>In principio fecit Deus coelum et
-terram: terra autem erat invisibilis et incomposita:</i> et vos
-causam docuimus, quare Deus terram informen et nullis figuris
-expolitam creaverit; quae, opinor, omnia mente tenetis; necessarium
-est igitur nos ad ea quae sequuntur hodie progredi.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_362">362</span>
-Nam postquam dixit, <i>Terra autem erat invisibilis et incomposita</i>,
-nos accurate docet, unde invisibilis erat et inculta,
-dicens: <i>Et tenebrae erant super abyssum, et Spiritus Dei
-superferebatur super aquam</i>.... Quandoquidem igitur diffusa
-erat magna universi visibilis informitas, praecepto suo Deus,
-optimus ille artifex, deformitatem illam depulit, et immensa
-lucis visibilis pulchritudo producta tenebras fugavit sensibiles,
-illustravitque omnia.”&mdash;In Cap. i. Genes. Homil. iii.; Edit.
-Migne, Patr. Graec. Cursus Completus, tom. 53, p. 33. Here
-Saint Chrysostom plainly teaches that the world existed before
-the creation of light. In his Fifth Homily he is equally clear
-that the First Day of the Mosaic narrative began with a period
-of light, and not with a period of darkness: “Vide quomodo de
-singulis diebus sic dicat: <i>Et factum est vespere, et factum est
-mane, dies tertius</i>: non simpliciter nec absque causa: sed ne
-ordinem confundamus neque putemus vespera ingruente finem
-accepisse diem; sed sciamus vesperam finem esse lucis, et
-principium noctis: mane autem finem noctis, et complementum
-dici. Hoc enim nos docere vult beatus Moses, dicens:
-<i>Et factum est vespere, et factum est mane, dies tertius</i>.”&mdash;Edit.
-Migne, p. 52.</p>
-
-<h3>(9.) <span class="smcap">Saint Ambrose.&mdash;p. 305.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“<i>Terra autem erat invisibilis et incomposita.</i> Bonus artifex
-prius fundamentum ponit: postea, fundamento posito, aedificationis
-membra distinguit, et adjungit ornatum. Posito igitur
-fundamento terrae, et confirmata coeli substantia, duo enim
-ista sunt velut cardines rerum, subtexuit: <i>Terra autem erat
-inanis et incomposita</i>.”&mdash;Hexaemeron, Lib. i. cap. 7; Edit.
-Bened. p. 13; Edit. Migne, Patr. Lat. Cursus Completus,
-tom. 14, p. 135.</p>
-
-<p>“Principium ergo diei, vox Dei est: <i>fiat lux</i>; <i>et facta est
-lux</i>.”&mdash;Lib. i. cap. 10; Edit. Bened. p 21; Edit. Migne, p. 144.</p>
-
-<p>“In principio itaque temporis coelum et terram Deus fecit.
-Tempus enim ab hoc mundo, non ante mundum: dies autem
-temporis portio est, non principium.”&mdash;Lib. i. cap. 6; Edit.
-Bened. p. 10; Edit. Migne, p. 132.</p>
-
-<h3>(10.) <span class="smcap">Venerable Bede.&mdash;p. 305.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Scriptura ait: <i>Qui fecisti mundum de materia informi</i>.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_363">363</span>
-Sed materia facta est de nihilo, mundi vero species de informi
-materia. Proinde duas res ante omnem diem et ante omne
-tempus condidit Deus angelicam videlicet creaturam et informem
-materiam.”&mdash;In Pentateuch. Comment.; sub. cap. 1:
-Edit Migne, Patr. Lat. Cursus Completus, tom. 91, p. 191.
-In another place, citing the words of Ecclesiasticus, <i>Qui vivit
-in aeternum creavit omnia simul</i>, he says, “hoc utique ante
-omnem diem hujus saeculi fecit, cum in principio coelum creavit
-et terram.”&mdash;Hexaemeron, Lib. i. in Genes, ii. 4; Edit.
-Migne, tom. 91, p. 39.</p>
-
-<p>“<i>Discipulus.</i> Da ordinem per sex dies factarum rerum?
-<i>Magister.</i> In ipso quidem principio conditionis facta sunt coelum,
-terra, aer, et aqua.... <i>Discipulus.</i> Sequere ordinem
-generationis? <i>Magister.</i> In principio diei primae lux facta
-est; secunda vero factum firmamentum;” etc.&mdash;<i>Quaestiones
-super Genesim</i>; Edit. Migne, Patr. Lat. tom. 93, p. 236.
-This work is classed by Migne among the Dubia et Spuria of
-Bede. The critics, however, seem to be agreed that it belongs
-to a period not later than the tenth century. If it is not the
-genuine composition of Bede, which is considered more probable,
-then it only follows that we have, besides Bede, another
-ancient authority in favor of our opinion.</p>
-
-<h3>(11.) <span class="smcap">Peter Lombard.&mdash;p. 306.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Cum Deus in sapientia sua angelicos condidit spiritus,
-alia etiam creavit, sicut ostendit supradicta Scriptura, quae dicit
-<i>in principio Deum creasse coelum</i>, id est, angelos, <i>et terram</i>
-scilicet, materiam quatuor elementorum adhuc confusam et informem,
-quae a Graecis dicta est chaos, <i>et hoc fuit ante omnem
-diem</i>. <i>Deinde</i> elementa distinguit Deus, et species proprias
-atque distinctas singulis rebus secundum genus suum
-dedit; quae non simul, ut quibusdam sanctorum Patrum placuit,
-sed per intervalla temporum ac sex volumina dierum, ut
-aliis visum est formavit.”&mdash;Sentent. Lib. ii. Distinct. 12; Edit.
-Migne, Patr. Latin. Cursus Completus, tom. 192, p. 675.</p>
-
-<h3>(12.) <span class="smcap">Hugh of Saint Victor.&mdash;p. 306.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Principium ergo divinorum operum fuit creatio lucis,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_364">364</span>
-quando ipsa lux non materialiter de nihilo creata est; sed de
-praejacenti illa universitatis materia formaliter facta est ut lux
-esset, et vim ac proprietatem lucendi haberet. Hoc opus
-prima die factum est; sed hujus operis materia ante primam
-diem creata. Moxque cum ipsa luce dies cœpit; quia ante
-lucem nec nox fuit nec dies, <i>etiamsi tempus fuit</i>.”&mdash;De Sacram.
-Lib. i. Pars i. cap. 9: Edit. Migne, Patr. Lat. tom. 176,
-p. 193.</p>
-
-<h3>(13.) <span class="smcap">Saint Thomas.&mdash;p. 307.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Sed melius videtur dicendum quod <i>creatio fuerit ante omnem
-diem</i>.” In II. Sentent. Distinct. xiii. Art. 3, <i>ad tertium</i>:
-see also ibidem <i>ad primum</i>, and <i>ad secundum</i>. And again
-in the Summa he says: “Coelum et terram fecit in prima
-die, <i>potius ante omnem diem</i>.”&mdash;Pars i. Quaest. lxxxiv. Art. 2.</p>
-
-<h3>(14.) <span class="smcap">Perrerius.&mdash;p. 307.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Licet ante <i>primum diem</i>, coelum et elementa facta sint
-<i>secundum substantiam</i>, tamen non fuerint perfecta et omnino
-consummata, nisi spatio illorum sex dierum: tunc enim datus
-est illis ornatus, complementum, et perfectio. Quanto autem
-tempore status ille mundi tenebrosus duraverit, hoc est, utrum
-plus an minus quam unus dies continere solet, nec mini compertum
-est, nec opinor cuiquam mortalium nisi cui divinitus
-id esset patefactum.”&mdash;Comment. in Genesim, cap. 1, v. 4, n. 80.</p>
-
-<h3>(15.) <span class="smcap">Petavius.&mdash;p. 307.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Nostra itaque sententia haec est; prima ilia Geneseos
-verba: <i>In principio creavit Deus coelum et terram</i>; non peculiare
-opus aliquod continere, quod initio, et ante dies sex
-molitus sit Deus: quasi ante lucem, ac reliquas deinceps opificii
-partes, qualecumque coelum ac terram creaverit. Sed
-esse generale quoddam effatum, quo omnia, quae sunt a Deo
-facta, complexus est. Etenim Moses, ut initio dicebam, Judaeos
-statim edocere voluit; totam illam aspectabilem rerum
-universitatem a Deo conditore profectam esse. Quare ita pronuntiavit,
-tanquam diceret: Quidquid videtis et quodcumque
-coeli ac terrae comprehendit ambitus, una cum coelo ipso,
-terr&acirc;que, id omne fabricatus est initio Deus. Postea vero per
-partes, ac singillatim, ut quaeque est elaborata, decripsit.”&mdash;De
-Opificio Sex Dierum, Lib. i. cap. 2, sect. 10.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_365">365</span></p>
-
-<p>“Imprimis <i>ante dierum sex initium</i> solam cum aqua terram
-extitisse credimus:.... Habet haec opinio fidem ex Mosis
-narratione; qui ante coelum id est <i>firmamentum</i>, terram, et
-aquarum abyssum extitisse refert.... Nam illud Severiani
-valde probatur, prima die Deum omnia creasse: reliquis autem
-diebus, ex jam extantibus: Ubi primam diem non lucis
-tantum creatione circumscribit: sed quod ante illam factum
-est, id eidem tribuit. Quod intervallum quantum fuerit,
-nulla divinatio posset assequi. Neque vero mundi corpora
-illa, quae <i>prima omnium extitisse</i> docui, aquam et terram,
-arbitror <i>eodem, in quem lucis ortus incidit, fabricata esse die</i>;
-ut quibusdam placet, haud satis firma ratione.”&mdash;Ibid., cap.
-10, sect. 6.</p>
-
-<h3>(16.) <span class="smcap">A Lapide.&mdash;p. 307.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“S. Basilius et Beda putant coelum et terram non primo die,
-sed paulo ante primum diem, utpote ante lucem, create esse.
-Verum haec non ante, sed ipso primo die, puta initio primae
-diei, antequam lux produceretur, creata esse, patet Exodi xx.
-v. 11.”&mdash;Comment. in Genes., cap. 1, v. 1.</p>
-
-<h3>(17.) <span class="smcap">Saint Augustine.&mdash;p. 308.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Fecisti ante omnem diem in principio coelum et terram.”&mdash;Confess.
-Lib. xii. cap. 12: see also Lib. xii. cap. 8. And
-again, De Genesi ad Litteram, Lib. i. cap. 9, he writes:&mdash;“Atque
-illud ante omnem diem fecisse intelligitur, quod dictum
-est, <i>In principio fecit Deus coelum et terram</i>; ... Terrae
-autem nomine invisibilis et incompositae, ac tenebrosa
-abysso, imperfectio corporalis substantiae significata est, unde
-temporalia illa fierent, quorum prima esset lux.”</p>
-
-<h3>(18.) <span class="smcap">Petavius.&mdash;p. 311.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Quod intervallum quantum fuerit, nulla divinatio posset
-assequi.”&mdash;De Opific. Sex Dierum, Lib. i. cap. 10, sec. 6.</p>
-
-<h3>(19.) <span class="smcap">Perrerius.&mdash;p. 311.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Quanto autem tempore status ille mundi tenebrosus duraverit,
-hoc est, utrum plus an minus quam unus dies continere
-solet, nec mihi compertum est, nec opinor cuiquam mortalium,
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_366">366</span>
-nisi cui divinitus id esset patefactum.”&mdash;Comment. in Genes.,
-cap. 1, v. 4.</p>
-
-<h3>(20.) <span class="smcap">Hugh of Saint Victor.&mdash;p. 311.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Fortassis jam satis est de his hactenus disputasse, si hoc
-solum adjecerimus <i>quanto tempore</i> mundus in hac confusione,
-prius quam ejus dispositio inchoaretur, perstiterit. Nam
-quod illa prima rerum omnium materia, in principio temporis,
-vel potius cum ipso tempore exorta sit, sonstat ex eo quod dictum
-est: in principio creavit Deus coelum et terram. <i>Quamdiu</i>
-autem in hac informitate sive confusione permanserit, <i>Scriptura
-manifeste non ostendit</i>.”&mdash;De Sacram., Lib. i., pars i.
-cap. 6.</p>
-
-<h3>(21.) <span class="smcap">Saint Augustine.&mdash;p. 319.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Qui dies cujusmodi sint, aut perdifficile nobis, aut etiam
-impossibile est cogitare; quanto magis dicere.”&mdash;De Civitate
-Dei, Lib. xi. cap. 6.</p>
-
-<p>Again: “Arduum quidem et difficillimum est viribus intentionis
-nostrae, voluntatem scriptoris in istis sex diebus
-mentis vivacitate penetrare.”&mdash;De Genesi ad Litteram,
-Lib. iv. cap. 1.</p>
-
-<h3>(22.) <span class="smcap">Idem.&mdash;p. 319.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Ac sic per <i>omnes illos dies units est dies, non istorum
-dierum consuetudine intelligendus, quos videmus solis circuitu
-determinari atque numerari</i>; sed alio quodam modo, a quo
-et illi tres dies, qui ante conditionem istorum luminarium
-commemorati sunt, alieni esse non possunt. Is enim modus
-non usque ad diem quartum, ut inde jam istos usitatos cogitaremus,
-sed usque ad sextum septimumque perductus est;
-ut longe aliter accipiendus sit dies et nox, inter quae duo divisit
-Deus, et aliter iste dies et nox, inter quae dixit ut dividant
-luminaria quae creavit, cum ait, ‘Et dividant inter diem et
-noctem.’ Tunc enim hunc diem condidit, cum condidit
-solem, cujus praesentia eumdem exhibet diem: ille autem
-dies primitus conditus jam triduum peregerat cum haec
-luminaria illius diei quarta repetitione creata sunt.”&mdash;De
-Genesi ad Litteram, Lib. iv. cap. 26. “De quo enim Creatore
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_367">367</span>
-Scriptura ista narravit, <i>quod sex diebus consummaverit omnia
-opera sua, de illo alibi non utique dissonanter scriptum est,
-quod creaverit omnia simul</i> (Eccles. xviii. 1). Ac per hoc et
-<i>istos dies sex vel septem vel potius unum sexies septiesve repetitum
-simul fecit qui fecit</i> omnia simul. Quid ergo opus erat
-sex dies tam distincte dispositeque narrari? Quia scilicet ii qui
-non possunt videre quod dictum est, ‘Creavit omnia simul;’
-nisi cum eis sermo tardius incedat ad id quo eos ducit, pervenire
-non possunt.”&mdash;Ib. cap. 33.</p>
-
-<h3>(23). <span class="smcap">Philo Jud&aelig;us.&mdash;p. 320.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Tum igitur omnia <i>simul</i> sunt condita. In quo quidem
-universali opificio necesse erat servari ordinem.”&mdash;De Mundi
-Opificio; Edit. Francofurti, p. 14. This passage may, at
-first sight, appear somewhat obscure; but the meaning of it
-is made clear enough, when we read elsewhere in the same
-writer: “<i>Rusticanae simplicilatis est putare, sex diebus, aut
-utique certo tempore mundum conditum.</i>... Ergo
-cum audis: ‘Complevit sexto die opera, intelligere non debes
-de diebus aliquot, sed de senario perfecto numero.’”&mdash;De
-Legis Allegor.; Edit. Francofurti, p. 41.</p>
-
-<h3>(24). <span class="smcap">Clement of Alexandria.&mdash;p. 320.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Stromatum, Lib. vi. Edit. Benid. p. 291; Edit. Migne,
-Patrum Graec. Cursus Completus, vol. 9, pp. 370-5. See also
-Dissertatio de Libris Stromatum, by the learned Benedictine,
-Nicholas le Nourry, cap. viii. artic. 1.</p>
-
-<h3>(25). <span class="smcap">Origen.&mdash;p. 320.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Quod autem prima die lucem, secunda firmamentum
-creaverit, tertia aquae quae sub coelo erant, in suis fuerint
-collectae receptaculis, atque ita terra solius naturae administratione
-suos fructus protulerit; quod quarta creata fuerint
-luminaria et stellae, quinta vero natatilia, sexta demum terrestria
-et homo, haec omnia, prout facultas tulit, in nostris in
-Genesim commentariis explicavimus. Quin et supra <i>contra
-eos qui obvio sensu Scripturam interpretantes asserunt sex
-dies ad creationem mundi insumptos fuisse</i>, adduximus hunc
-locum: ‘Iste est liber generationis coeli et terrae quando
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_368">368</span>
-creata sunt, in die quo fecit Deus coelum et terram,’”&mdash;Contra
-Celsum, Lib. vi. Edit. Bened. pp. 678, 679; Edit. Migne,
-Patr. Graecor. Cursus Completus, vol. 11, p. 1390: for the
-passage referred to at the close of the extract see p. 1378.
-The Commentary upon Genesis of which Origen here speaks
-no longer exists, but the following passage has been preserved.
-“Aliqui jam absurdum existimantes Deum architecti
-more non aliter, quam plurium dierum, labore, fabricam valentis
-absolvere, intra multos dies mundum perfecisse <i>uno
-cuncta momento</i> ac simul extitisse aiunt, et hinc illud
-adstruunt; ordinis autem causa, et ut series constet, dierum
-et rerum quae in illis factae sunt, numerum dictum putant.
-Hi probabiliter sententiam stabiliunt ea auctoritate qua dictum
-est: ‘Ipse dixit et facta sunt; ipse mandavit, et creata
-sunt.’”&mdash;Selecta in Genesim, Edit. Bened. p. 27; Edit.
-Migne, Patr. Graec. Cursus Completus, vol. 12, p. 98.
-Again, in his Treatise De Principiis, Lib. iv., he says: “Quis
-igitur sanae mentis existimaverit primam et secundam et tertiam
-diem, et vesperam, et mane, sine sole, luna, et stellis, et
-eam quae veluti prima erat, diem sine coelo fuisse?” Edit.
-Bened. p. 175; Edit. Migne, vol. 11, p. 378. See also P.
-Danielis Huetii Origeniana, Lib. ii. cap. 2, Quaest. 8, &sect; 6;
-Edit. Migne, vol. 17, p. 979.</p>
-
-<h3>(26.) <span class="smcap">Saint Athanasius.&mdash;p. 320.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Cum ex supra dictis constet, <i>nullam e rebus creatis prius
-altera factam esse</i>, sed res omnes factas uno eodemque
-mandato <i>simul</i> extitisse.”&mdash;Oratio ii. Contra Arianos, n. 63.
-Edit. Bened. p. 418. New Edition, p. 528. Edit. Migne,
-Patr. Graecor. Cursus Completus, p. 275.</p>
-
-<h3>(27.) <span class="smcap">Saint Eucherius.&mdash;p. 320.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Speaking strictly we should rather say the author of a Commentary
-upon Genesis belonging to a very early period of the
-Church, ascribed by some to Saint Eucherius, and usually
-published with his works. This author says, no doubt, that
-God first, in the beginning, created the substance of all
-things, and afterward developed the various forms on successive
-days (Gen. ii. 4): but then he tells us expressly that the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_369">369</span>
-substance did not precede the forms by any priority of time,
-but only by priority of origin (Gen. i. 2). Thus his view
-coincides pretty nearly with that of Saint Augustine, whose
-words, indeed, he seems to borrow. “‘Terra autem erat
-inanis et vacua.’ Id est, adhuc informis erat ipsa materia:
-quia necdum ex ea coelum et terra, necdum omnia formata
-erant, quae formari restabant: haec enim materia, ex nihilo
-facta, praecessit tamen res ex se factas, <i>non quidem aeternitate
-vel tempore, sicut praecedit lignum arcam</i>; sed sola origine,
-<i>sicut praecedit vox verbum, vel sonus cantum</i>: nam ‘qui vivit
-in aeternum creavit omnia simul.’”&mdash;Edit. Migne, Patr. Latin
-Cursus Completus, vol. 50, p. 894.</p>
-
-<h3>(28.) <span class="smcap">Procopius of Gaza.&mdash;p. 320.</span></h3>
-
-<p>We quote this writer on the authority of Perrerius, from
-whom the following passage is taken. “Idem censet hoc
-loco Procopius Gaz&aelig;us: Mozen enim, inquit, in describendo
-mundi opificium, sex dierum distinctione usum esse docendi
-gratia ob tarditatem, videlicet, ruditatemque Jud&aelig;orum, quibus
-h&aelig;c scribebat: qui qu&aelig; Deus <i>simul</i> fecerat, ob tantam
-eorum multitudinem atque varietatem simul et indiscrete capere
-et comprehendere, ut erant angustissimis ingeniis nequaquam
-potuissent.”&mdash;In Genes., cap. 2, vers. 4, 5, 6, n. 179.</p>
-
-<h3>(29.) <span class="smcap">Albertus Magnus.&mdash;p. 320.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Videtur mihi Augustino consentiendum.”&mdash;Summa P. 1,
-Qu&aelig;st. 12, art. 6. See Pianciani, Cosmogonia Naturale,
-p. 23.</p>
-
-<h3>(30.) <span class="smcap">Saint Thomas.&mdash;p. 320.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Summa Pars. 1. Qu&aelig;st. 74, art. ii.; also in an earlier
-work, Super Libros Sententiarum Petri Lombardi Commentarius,
-Distinct. xii. art. i. and iii. Having explained the
-opinion of Saint Augustine that there was no real succession
-in the order of time between the various works of the creation,
-but that all were created together; and also the opinion
-of other Holy Fathers, that there was a real succession, he
-continues thus: “Prima ergo opinio [Sancti Augustini] <i>magis
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_370">370</span>
-convenit rationi, nec est contra Scripturam</i>; quia ea
-quae in Scriptura ordinem temporis importare videntur, ad
-ordinem naturae Augustinus refert: secunda vero magis convenit
-Scripturae secundum suam superficiem. Quia ergo
-utraque a Sanctis patrocinium habet, utramque sustinendo,
-objectionibus hinc inde factis respondendum est.”&mdash;Loco citato,
-art. i. Solutio.</p>
-
-<h3>(31.) <span class="smcap">Cardinal Cajetan.&mdash;p. 320.</span></h3>
-
-<p>We are again indebted to Perrerius for the views of Cardinal
-Cajetan. He writes thus: “Accedit huic sententi&aelig; Cajet.
-in Comment. super i. cap. Genes., et distinctionem sex
-dierum putat in id positam a Mose, quo facilius declararet
-naturalem rerum ordinem, consequentiam et dependentiam.
-Sic enim res suapt&egrave; natura inter se apt&aelig; et connex&aelig; sunt, ut
-si mundum successiv&egrave; voluisset Deus facere, non alio ordine
-vel successione, qu&agrave;m ut hic narratur, facturus eum fuisset.”&mdash;In
-Genes., cap. ii. vers. 4, 5, 6, n. 179.</p>
-
-<h3>(32.) <span class="smcap">Venerable Bede.&mdash;p. 323.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Aperte intelligi quia diem hoc loco Scriptura <i>pro omni
-illo tempore ponit</i> quo primordialis natura formata est. Neque
-enim in unoquolibet sex dierum coelum factum est et sideribus
-illustratum, et terra est separata ab aquis, atque arboribus et
-herbis consita; sed <i>more sibi solito Scriptura diem pro tempore
-ponit</i>; quomodo Apostolus, cum ait, ‘Ecce nunc dies
-salutis,’ non unum specialiter diem, sed totum significat tempus
-hoc quo in praesenti vita pro aeterna salute laboramus.”&mdash;Hexaemeron,
-Lib. i. in Gen. ii. 4; Edit. Migne, Patr. Lat.
-Cursus Completus, vol. 91, p. 39.</p>
-
-<h3>(33.) <span class="smcap">Saint Augustine.&mdash;p. 323.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Superius septem dies numerantur, nunc unus dicitur dies,
-quo die fecit Deus coelum et terram, et omne viride agri, et
-omne pabulum, <i>cujus diei nomine omne tempus significari
-bene intelligitur</i>. Fecit enim Deus omne tempus simul cum
-omnibus creaturis temporalibus, quae creaturae visibiles coeli
-et terrae nomine significantur.”&mdash;De Genesi contra Manichaeos,
-Lib. ii. cap. 3, n. 4.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_371">371</span></p>
-
-<h3>(34.) <span class="smcap">Molina.&mdash;p. 323.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Dicunt Doctores communiter, Moysem eo loco sumpsisse
-<i>diem</i> pro <i>tempore</i> juxta illud Deuteronomii xxxii., juxta est
-dies perditionis, ... et alibi saepe, in Scriptura sumitur
-dies pro tempore.”&mdash;In primam partem, De opere sex dierum,
-D. I. See Pianciani, Cosmogonia Naturale, p. 27.</p>
-
-<h3>(35.) <span class="smcap">Bannez.&mdash;p. 323.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Dies potest accipi pro quacumque duratione et mensura.”&mdash;In
-Summa, Pars 1. Qu&aelig;st. 73.</p>
-
-<h3>(36.) <span class="smcap">Perrerius.&mdash;p. 323.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Nec officit huic sententiae, quod paullo superius ex cap. ii.
-Geneseos prolatum est, ‘In die quo fecit Dominus Deus
-coelum et terram.’ Ibi enim <i>dies pro tempore, sicut crebro fit in
-Scriptura, positus est</i>.”&mdash;In Gen. cap. i. v. 4, n. 80; see also
-cap. ii., n. 186.</p>
-
-<h3>(37.) <span class="smcap">Petavius.&mdash;p. 323.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Postquam Moyses sex dierum opificium toto primo capite
-descripsit, mox in sequenti summatim universeque colligens,
-‘Istae sunt,’ inquit, ‘generationes coeli et terrae, quando
-creata sunt, in die quo fecit Dominus Deus coelum et terram.’
-Quae verba non unius diei mentionem faciunt, ut quibusdam
-videtur; qui primum diem designari putant, in quo factum
-illud est, praeter lucem, quod initio libri Moyses explicat, ‘In
-principio creavit Deus coelum et terram.’ Sed eam nos opinionem
-minime probamus, ac supra docuimus, <i>diei</i> nomen istic
-usurpari pro <i>tempore</i>: quod apud Graecos Latinosque, non
-minus quam Hebraeos, usitatem est. Exemplo sit Ciceronis
-illud ex libro secundo in Verrem: ‘Itaque cum ego diem in
-Siciliam inquirendi prexiguam postulavissem, invenit iste, qui
-sibi in Achaiam <i>biduo breviorem diem</i> postularet.’ Igitur cum
-dixisset, <i>in die</i>, id est tempore illo, factum esse coelum et terram,
-hoc est perpolitum et elaboratum esse sex continuis diebus,”
-etc.&mdash;De Opificio Sex Dierum, Lib. i. cap. 14, sect. 1.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_372">372</span></p>
-
-<h3>(38.) <span class="smcap">Saint Augustine.&mdash;p. 335.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Tres enim dies superiores quomodo esse sine sole potuerunt,
-cum videamus nunc solis ortu et occasu diem transigi,
-noctem vero fieri solis absentia, cum ab alia parte mundi ad
-orientem redit? Quibus respondemus, potuisse fieri ut tres
-superiores dies singuli per tantam moram temporis computarentur,
-per quantam moram circumit sol, ex quo procedit ab
-oriente quousque rursus ad orientem revertitur. Hanc enim
-moram et longitudinem temporis possent sentire homines
-etiamsi in speluncis habitarent, ubi orientem et occidentem
-solem videre non possent. Atque ita sentitur potuisse istam
-moram fieri etiam sine sole antequam sol factus esset, atque
-ipsam moram in illo triduo per dies singulos computatam.
-Hoc ergo responderemus, nisi nos revocaret, quod ibi dicitur,
-‘Et facta est vespera et factum est mane,’ quod nunc sine solis
-cursu videmus fieri non posse. Restat ergo ut intelligamus,
-in ipsa quidem mora temporis <i>ipsas distinctiones operum sic
-appellatas, vesperam propter transactionem consummati operis,
-et mane propter inchoationem futuri operis</i>; de similitudine
-scilicet humanorum operum, quia plerumque a mane incipiunt,
-et ad vesperam desinunt. Habent enim consuetudinem
-Divinae Scripturae de rebus humanis ad divinas res verba
-transferre.”&mdash;De Genesi contra Manichaeos, Lib. i. cap. 14,
-n. 20.</p>
-
-<h3>(39.) <span class="smcap">Saint Eucherius.&mdash;p. 335.</span></h3>
-
-<p>It is uncertain, as we before observed, if this commentary
-is the genuine work of Saint Eucherius; at all events it is the
-production of some learned and Catholic writer of the fifth or
-sixth century. His words run thus: “<i>Vespere conditae creaturae
-terminus; mane initium condendae creaturae alterius.</i>”&mdash;Comment.
-in Genes. cap. i. v. 4; Edit. Migne, Patr.
-Latin. Cursus Completus, vol. 50, p. 897. And again in v. 10
-et seqq.:&mdash;“Si quarto die facta sunt luminaria, quomodo
-tres dies jam ante fuerunt? nisi ut intelligamus, in ipsa hora
-temporis ipsas operum distinctiones ita appellatas; <i>vesperam
-propter transactionem consummati operis; mane propter inchoationem</i>
-futuri diei; in similitudinem humanorum operum
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_373">373</span>
-quod plerique mane incipiunt et in vesperam desinunt.”&mdash;Ib.
-p. 899.</p>
-
-<h3>(40.) <span class="smcap">Venerable Bede.&mdash;p. 335.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Quid est <i>vespere</i> nisi <i>ipsa perfectio singulorum operum</i>?
-et <i>mane</i>, id est inchoatio sequentium?”&mdash;De Sex Dierum
-Creatione, De Prima Die; Edit. Migne, Patrum Lat. Cursus
-Completus, vol. 93, p. 210.</p>
-
-<p>In another place he says: “Vespere autem in toto illo
-triduo, antequam luminaria essent, <i>consummati operis terminus</i>
-non absurde fortasse intelligitur; Mane autem <i>futur&aelig;
-operationis significatio</i>.”&mdash;In Pentateuchum Comment. Gen.
-cap. i.; Edit. Migne, vol. 91, p. 194.</p>
-
-<h3>(41.) <span class="smcap">Saint Hildegarde.&mdash;p. 335.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Sex enim dies, sex opera sunt; quia inceptio et completio
-singuli cujusque operis dies dicitur.”&mdash;Epist. ad Colonienses.
-See Pianciani, Cosmogonia, p. 34.</p>
-
-<h3>(42.) <span class="smcap">Saint Augustine.&mdash;p. 342.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Dies autem septimus sine vespere est nec habet occasum.”&mdash;Confess.
-Lib. xiii. cap. xxxvi.</p>
-
-<h3>(43.) <span class="smcap">Venerable Bede.&mdash;p. 342.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Quia finem non habet, neque ullo termino clauditur.”&mdash;De
-Sex Dierum Creatione, De Die Septima; Edit. Migne,
-Patr. Lat. Cursus Completus, vol. 93, p. 218. And elsewhere
-he says: “Septimus dies coepit a mane et in nullo vespere
-terminatur.”&mdash;In Pentateuch Comment., Gen. ii.; Edit.
-Migne, vol. 91, p. 203.</p>
-
-<h3>(44.) <span class="smcap">Saint Augustine.&mdash;p. 355.</span></h3>
-
-<p>“Eligat quis quod potest: tantum ne aliquid temere atque
-incognitum pro cognito asserat; memineritque se hominem
-de divinis operibus quantum permittitur qu&aelig;rere.”&mdash;De
-Genesi Liber Imperfectus, cap. ix., n. 80.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_374">374</span></p>
-
-<p class="figcenter">
-<img src="images/img_374.jpg" alt="" />
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="APPENDIX_TO_THE_AMERICAN_EDITION">APPENDIX TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.<br />
-
-<span class="medium"><i>From Prof. J. D. Dana’s Manual of Geology. [8vo. Philadelphia:
-T. Bliss &amp; Co.] By permission of the author.</i></span></h2>
-
-<h3>COSMOGONY.</h3>
-
-<p>The science of cosmogony treats of the history of creation.</p>
-
-<p>Geology comprises that later portion of the history which is
-within the range of direct investigation, beginning with the
-rock-covered globe, and gathering only a few hints as to
-a previous state of igneous fluidity.</p>
-
-<p>Through Astronomy our knowledge of this earlier state
-becomes less doubtful, and we even discover evidence of a
-period still more remote. Ascertaining thence that the sun
-of our system is in intense ignition, that the moon, the earth’s
-satellite, was once a globe of fire, but is now cooled and
-covered with extinct craters, and that space is filled with
-burning suns,&mdash;and learning also from physical science that
-all heated bodies in space must have been losing heat through
-past time, the smallest most rapidly,&mdash;we safely conclude that
-the earth has passed through a stage of igneous fluidity.</p>
-
-<p>Again, as to the remoter period: the forms of the nebul&aelig;
-and of other starry systems in the heavens, and the relations
-which subsist between the spheres in our own system, have
-been found to be such as would have resulted if the whole
-universe had been evolved from an original nebula or
-gaseous fluid. It is not necessary for the strength of this
-argument that any portion of the primal nebula should exist
-now at this late period in the history of the universe: it is
-only what might have been expected that the nebul&aelig; of the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_375">375</span>
-present heavens should be turning out to be clusters of stars.
-If, then, this nebular theory be true, the universe has been
-developed from a primal unit, and the earth is one of the
-individual orbs produced in the course of its evolution. Its
-history is in kind like that which has been deciphered with
-regard to the earth: it only carries the action of physical
-forces, under a sustaining and directing hand, further back in
-time.</p>
-
-<p>The science also of Chemistry is aiding in the study of the
-earth’s earliest development, and is preparing itself to write a
-history of the various changes which should have taken place
-among the elements from the first commencement of combination
-to the formation of the solid crust of our globe.</p>
-
-<p>It is not proposed to enter either into chemical or astronomical
-details in this place, but, supposing the nebular theory to
-be true, briefly to mention the great stages of progress in the
-history of the earth, or those successive periods which stand
-out prominently in time through the exhibition of some new
-idea in the grand system of progress. The views here offered,
-and the following on the cosmogony of the Bible, are essentially
-those brought out by Professor Guyot in his lectures.</p>
-
-<p><i>Stages of progress.</i>&mdash;These stages of progress are as follow:&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>(1.) <i>The</i> <span class="smcap">BEGINNING OF ACTIVITY IN MATTER</span>.&mdash;In such
-a beginning from matter in the state of a gaseous fluid the
-activity would be intense, and it would show itself at once by
-a manifestation of light, since light is a resultant of molecular
-activity. A flash of light through the universe would therefore
-be the first announcement of the work begun.</p>
-
-<p>(2.) <i>The development of the</i> <small>EARTH</small>.&mdash;A dividing and sub-dividing
-of the original fluid going on would have evolved
-systems of various grades, and ultimately the orbs of space,
-among these the earth, an igneous sphere enveloped in
-vapors.</p>
-
-<p>(3.) <i>The production of the</i> <span class="smcap">EARTH’S PHYSICAL FEATURES</span>,&mdash;by
-the outlining of the continents and oceans. The condensible
-vapors would have gradually settled upon the earth
-as cooling progressed.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_376">376</span></p>
-
-<p>(4.) <i>The introduction of</i> <span class="smcap">Life</span> <i>under its simplest forms</i>,&mdash;as
-in the lowest of plants, and perhaps, also of animals. As
-shown on page 396, the systems of structure characterizing
-the two kingdoms of nature, the <i>Radiate</i> of the Vegetable
-kingdom, and the <i>Radiate</i>, <i>Molluscan</i>, <i>Articulate</i>, and <i>Vertebrate</i>
-of the Animal, are not brought out in the simplest forms
-of life. The true <i>Zoic</i> era in history began later. As plants
-are primarily the food of animals, there is reason for believing
-that the idea of life was first expressed in a plant.</p>
-
-<p>(5.) <i>The display of the</i> <span class="smcap">Systems</span> <i>in the Kingdoms of Life</i>,&mdash;the
-exhibition of the four grand types under the Animal
-kingdom, being the predominant idea in this phase of
-progress.</p>
-
-<p>(6.) <i>The introduction of the highest class of Vertebrates&mdash;that
-of the</i> <span class="smcap">Mammals</span> (the class to which <span class="smcap">Man</span> belongs), viviparous
-species, which are eminent above all other Vertebrates
-for a quality prophetic of a high moral purpose,&mdash;that of
-suckling their young.</p>
-
-<p>(7.) <i>The introduction of</i> <span class="smcap">Man</span>,&mdash;the first being of moral and
-intellectual qualities, and one in whom the unity of nature has
-its full expression.</p>
-
-<p>There is another great event in the Earth’s history which
-has not yet been mentioned, because of a little uncertainty
-with regard to its exact place among the others. The event
-referred to is the first shining of the sun upon the earth, after
-the vapors which till then had shrouded the sphere were
-mostly condensed. This must have preceded the introduction
-of the Animal system, since the sun is the grand source of
-activity throughout nature on the earth, and is essential to
-the existence of life, excepting its lowest forms. In the
-history of the globe which has been given on page 196, it has
-been shown that the outlining of the continents was one of
-the earliest events, dating even from the Azoic age; and it is
-probable, from the facts stated, that it preceded that clearing
-of the atmosphere which opened the sky to the earth. This
-would place the event between numbers 3 and 5, and as the
-sun’s light was not essential to the earliest of organisms,
-probably after number 4.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_377">377</span></p>
-
-<p>The order will, then, be&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>(1.) Activity begun,&mdash;light an immediate result.</p>
-
-<p>(2.) The earth made an independent sphere.</p>
-
-<p>(3.) Outlining of the land and water, determining the
-earth’s general configuration.</p>
-
-<p>(4.) The idea of life expressed in the lowest plants, and
-afterward, if not contemporaneously, in the lowest or systemless
-animals, or Protozoans.</p>
-
-<p>(5.) The energizing light of the sun shining on the earth,&mdash;an
-essential preliminary to the display of the systems of life.</p>
-
-<p>(6.) Introduction of the system of life.</p>
-
-<p>(7.) Introduction of Mammals, the highest order of Vertebrates,&mdash;the
-class afterward to be dignified by including a
-being of moral and intellectual nature.</p>
-
-<p>(8.) Introduction of Man.</p>
-
-<p><i>Cosmogony of the Bible.</i>&mdash;There is one ancient document
-on cosmogony&mdash;that of the opening page of the Bible&mdash;which
-is not only admired for its sublimity, but is very generally
-believed to be of divine origin, and which, therefore, demands
-at least a brief consideration in this place.</p>
-
-<p>In the first place, it may be observed that <i>this document if
-true, is of divine origin</i>. For no human mind was witness of
-the events; and no such mind in the early age of the world, unless
-gifted with superhuman intelligence, could have contrived
-such a scheme;&mdash;would have placed the creation of the sun, the
-source of light to the earth, so long after the creation of light,
-even on the <i>fourth</i> day, and, what is equally singular, between
-the creation of plants and that of animals, when so important to
-both; and none could have reached to the depths of philosophy
-exhibited in the whole plan.</p>
-
-<p>Again, <i>If divine, the account must bear marks of human
-imperfection, since it was communicated through man</i>. Ideas
-suggested to a human mind by the Deity would take shape in
-that mind according to its range of knowledge, modes of thought,
-and use of language, unless it were at the same time supernaturally
-gifted with the profound knowledge and wisdom adequate
-to their conception; and even then they could not be
-intelligibly expressed, for want of words to represent them.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_378">378</span></p>
-
-<p>The central thought of each step in the Scripture cosmogony&mdash;for
-example, Light,&mdash;the dividing of the fluid earth from the
-fluid around it, individualizing the earth,&mdash;the arrangement
-of its land and water,&mdash;vegetation,&mdash;and so on&mdash;is brought out
-in the simple and natural style of a sublime intellect, wise for
-its times, but unversed in the depths of science which the
-future was to reveal. The idea of vegetation to such a one
-would be vegetation as he knew it; and so it is described.
-The idea of dividing the earth from the fluid around it would
-take the form of a dividing from the fluid above, in the imperfect
-conceptions of a mind unacquainted with the earth’s
-sphericity and the true nature of the firmament,&mdash;especially
-as the event was beyond the reach of all ordinary thought.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-
-<p>Objections are often made to the word “day,”&mdash;as if its use limited the
-time of each of the six periods to a day of twenty-four hours. But in the course
-of the document this word “day” has various significations, and, among
-them, all that are common to it in ordinary language. These are&mdash;(1)
-The light,&mdash;“God called the light day,” v. 5; (2) the “evening and the
-morning” before the appearance of the sun; (3) the “evening and the
-morning” after the appearance of the sun; (4) the hours of light in the
-twenty-four hours (as well as the whole twenty-four hours), in verse 14;
-and (5) in the following chapter, at the commencement of another record of
-creation, the whole period of creation is called a “day.” The proper
-meaning of “evening and morning,” in a history of creation, is <i>beginning
-and completion</i>; and, in this sense, darkness before light is but a common
-metaphor.</p>
-
-<p>A Deity working in creation like a day-laborer by earth-days of twenty-four
-hours, resting at night, is a belittling conception, and one probably
-never in the mind of the sacred penman. In the plan of an infinite God,
-centuries are required for the maturing of some of the plants with which
-the earth is adorned.</p></blockquote>
-
-<p>The order of events in the Scripture cosmogony corresponds
-essentially with that which has been given. There was first a
-void and formless earth: this was literally true of the “heavens
-and the earth,” if they were in a condition of a gaseous fluid.
-The succession is as follows:</p>
-
-<p>(1.) Light.
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_379">379</span></p>
-
-<p>(2.) The dividing of the waters below from the waters above
-the earth, (the word translated <i>waters</i> may mean <i>fluid</i>.)</p>
-
-<p>(3.) The dividing of the land and water on the earth.</p>
-
-<p>(4.) Vegetation; which Moses, appreciating the philosophical
-characteristic of the new creation distinguishing it from
-previous inorganic substances, defines as that “which has seed
-in itself.”</p>
-
-<p>(5.) The sun, moon, and stars.</p>
-
-<p>(6.) The lower animals, those that swarm in the waters, and
-the creeping and flying species of the land.</p>
-
-<p>(7.) Beasts of prey (“creeping” here meaning “prowling”)&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>(8.) Man.</p>
-
-<p>In this succession, we observe not merely an order of events,
-like that deduced from science; there is a system in the
-arrangement, and a far-reaching prophecy, to which philosophy
-could not have attained, however instructed.</p>
-
-<p>The account recognizes in creation two great eras of three
-days each,&mdash;an <i>Inorganic</i> and an <i>Organic</i>.</p>
-
-<p>Each of these eras opens with the appearance of <i>light</i>: the
-<i>first</i>, light cosmical; the <i>second</i>, light from the sun for the
-special uses of the earth.</p>
-
-<p>Each are ends in a “day” of two great works,&mdash;the two
-shown to be distinct by being severally pronounced “good.”
-On the <i>third</i> “day,” that closing the Inorganic era, there was
-first the <i>dividing of the land from the waters</i>, and afterward
-the <i>creation of vegetation</i>, or the institution of a kingdom
-of life,&mdash;a work widely diverse from all preceding it in the
-era. Soon the <i>sixth</i> “day,” terminating the Organic era,
-there was first <i>the creation of Mammals</i>, and then a second
-far greater work, totally new in its grandest element, <i>the
-creation of Man</i>.</p>
-
-<p>The arrangement is, then, as follows:&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>
-1. <i>The Inorganic Era.</i><br />
-<br />
-1st Day.&mdash;LIGHT cosmical.<br />
-<br />
-2d Day.&mdash;The earth divided from the fluid around it, or<br />
-individualized.<br />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_380">380</span>
-<br />
-3d Day.&mdash;{ 1. Outlining of the land and water.<br />
-<span style="margin-left: 4.5em;">{ 2. Creation of vegetation.</span><br />
-<br />
-<br />
-2. <i>The Organic Era.</i><br />
-<br />
-4th Day.&mdash;LIGHT from the sun.<br />
-<br />
-5th Day.&mdash;Creation of the lower orders of animals.<br />
-<br />
-6th Day.&mdash;{ 1. Creation of Mammals.<br />
-<span style="margin-left: 5em;">{ 2. Creation of Man.</span><br />
-</p>
-
-<p>In addition, the last day of each era included one work
-typical of the era, and another related to it in essential points,
-but also prophetic of the future. Vegetation, while, for
-physical reasons, a part of the creation of the third day, was
-also prophetic of the future Organic era, in which the progress
-of life was the grand characteristic. The record thus accords
-with the fundamental principle in history that the characteristic
-of an age has its beginnings within the age preceding.
-So, again, Man, while like other Mammals in structure, even
-to the homologies of every bone and muscle, was endowed
-with a spiritual nature, which looked forward to another era,
-that of spiritual existence.&mdash;The <i>seventh</i> “day,” the day of
-rest from the work of creation, is man’s period of preparation
-for that new existence; and it is to promote this special end
-that&mdash;in strict parallelism&mdash;the Sabbath follows man’s six
-days of work.</p>
-
-<p>The record in the Bible is, therefore, profoundly philosophical
-in the scheme of creation which it presents. It is
-both true and divine. It is a declaration of authorship,
-both of Creation and the Bible, on the first page of the sacred
-volume.</p>
-
-<p>There can be no real conflict between the two Books of the
-<span class="smcap">Great Author</span>. Both are revelations made by Him to
-man,&mdash;the <i>earlier</i> telling of God-made harmonies coming up
-from the deep past, and rising to their height when man
-appeared, the <i>later</i> teaching man’s relations to his Maker,
-and speaking of loftier harmonies in the eternal future.</p>
-
-<div class="footnotes">
-<h2 id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES:</h2>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">1</a>
-Twelve Lectures on the Connection between Science and Revealed Religion,
-by <span class="smcap">Nicholas Wiseman</span>, D.D., Principal of the English College, and Professor
-in the University of Rome. Andover: Gould &amp; Newman, 1837.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">2</a>
-Prelectiones Theologic&aelig;.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">3</a>
-Cosmogonia Naturale comparata Col Genesi.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">4</a>
-A Manual of Geology; treating of the Principles of the science with
-special reference to American Geological History, etc., by <span class="smcap">James D. Dana</span>,
-M. A., LL. D., etc., 8vo, pp. 998. Philadelphia: Thos. Bliss &amp; Co.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">5</a>
-January and July, 1856, and April and July, 1857, covering in all 219 pages,
-8vo.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">6</a>
-The Six Days of Creation, or the Scriptural Cosmology; with the Ancient
-Idea of Time Worlds in Distinction from Worlds in Space, by <span class="smcap">Tayler
-Lewis</span>, Professor of Greek in Union College. 12mo, pp. 407. Schenectady,
-1855.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">7</a>
-Man in Genesis and Geology; or, the Bible account of Man’s Creation
-tested by Scientific Theories of his Origin and Antiquity, by <span class="smcap">Joseph P.
-Thompson</span>, D. D., LL. D. New York, 12mo, pp. 149. 1870.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">8</a>
-The Chemical History of the Six Days of Creation, by <span class="smcap">John Phin</span>, editor
-of the Technologist. American News Company, New York, pp. 95, 12mo,
-1870.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">9</a>
-Genesis, or the First Book of Moses, together with a General Theological
-and Homitetical Introduction to the Old Testament, by <span class="smcap">John Peter Lange</span>,
-D. D., Professor in Ordinary of Theology in the University of Bonn. Translated
-from the German, with additions by Professor <span class="smcap">Tayler Lewis</span>, LL. D.,
-Schenectady, New York, and <span class="smcap">A. Gosman</span>, D. D., Lawrenceville, N. J. New
-York: Charles Scribner &amp; Co., 654 Broadway. 1868. 8vo, pp. 665.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">10</a>
-2 Cor. vi. 1.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">11</a>
-2 Pet. iii. 10.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">12</a>
-Rom. i. 18.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">13</a>
-It may be useful once for all to inform the reader that the term <i>Rock</i>
-is employed by Geologists in a technical sense. It is applied to every large
-mass of mineral matter that goes to form the Crust of the Earth, whether
-it be hard and strong, or soft and plastic. Thus, for example, gravel and
-clay, coal and slate, are called <i>Rocks</i>, just as well as limestone and granite.
-“Our older writers endeavored to avoid offering such violence to our language,
-by speaking of the component materials of the Earth as consisting
-of rocks and <i>soils</i>. But there is often so insensible a passage from a soft
-and incoherent state to that of stone, that Geologists of all countries have
-found it indispensable to have one technical term to include both, and in this
-sense we find <i>roche</i> applied in French, <i>rocca</i> in Italian, and <i>felsart</i> in German.
-The beginner, however, must constantly bear in mind, that the term rock
-by no means implies that a mineral mass is in an indurated or stony condition.”&mdash;Lyell’s
-Elements of Geology, p. 4.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">14</a>
-Lyell’s Elements of Geology, p. 7.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">15</a>
-See Lyell’s Principles of Geology, vol. i., pp. 411-413.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">16</a>
-See Jukes, The Student’s Manual of Geology, p. 125.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">17</a>
-Professor Tyndall, Odds and Ends of Alpine Life.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">18</a>
-Ecclesiastes, i. 7.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">19</a>
-Page, Advanced Text-Book of Geology, p. 55.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">20</a>
-See on this subject, Lyell’s Principles of Geology, vol. i., p. 458, and
-pp. 480-3; Jukes, Manual of Geology, pp. 105-11; Page, Advanced
-Text-Book of Geology, pp. 52-56.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">21</a>
-Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., pp. 356-7.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">22</a>
-Principles of Geology, vol. i., p. 360.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="label">23</a>
-See Jukes, Manual of Geology, pp. 108-10; Hopkins, Presidential
-Address to the Geological Society of London, 1852, p. xxvii.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="label">24</a>
-For these facts see Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., pp. 349, 350;
-Quarterly Journal of Science, No. xiii., New Series; The English Cyclop&aelig;dia,
-Natural History Division, Alluvium.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="label">25</a>
-For these facts illustrating the destructive action of the waves of the
-sea we are chiefly indebted to the following authorities: Hibbert, Description
-of the Shetland Isles; Phillips, Rivers, Mountains, and Sea-coast of
-Yorkshire; Geology of Yorkshire, by the same author; Pennant’s Arctic
-Zoology, vol. i.; Lyell’s Principles of Geology, vol. i., chapters xx. and
-xxi.; Gardner’s History of the Borough of Dunwich; the English Cyclop&aelig;dia,
-Alluvium.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="label">26</a>
-Rennell’s Investigation of the Currents in the Atlantic Ocean;
-Maury’s Physical Geography of the Sea, chapters ii. and iii.; Humboldt’s
-Cosmos; The English Cyclop&aelig;dia, Atlantic Ocean; Lyell’s Principles
-of Geology, vol. i., chapter xx.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="label">27</a>
-Mantell’s Wonders of Geology, p. 70.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="label">28</a>
-In his notes to the translation of Humboldt’s Cosmos, p. xcvii.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="label">29</a>
-A Hymn before Sunrise in the Vale of Chamouni, by Samuel Taylor
-Coleridge.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="label">30</a>
-Lyell’s Principles of Geology, vol. i., pp. 374-5.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="label">31</a>
-Voyage in 1822, p. 233.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="label">32</a>
-Elements of Geology, pp. 145, 146.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="label">33</a>
-Captain Horsburg, On Icebergs in Low Latitudes. Phil. Trans., 1830.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="label">34</a>
-Agassiz, Etudes sur les Glaciers; Tyndall, Glaciers of the Alps; also
-Heat as a mode of Motion, by the same Author; Lyell, Principles of
-Geology, vol. i., chapter xvi.; Elements of Geology, chapters xi., xii.;
-Wallace, Ice Marks in North Wales, in the Quarterly Journal of Science,
-No. xiii.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="label">35</a>
-Elements of Geology, p. 38.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="label">36</a>
-Mantell, Wonders of Geology, vol. i., p. 102.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37" class="label">37</a>
-Lyell, Elements of Geology, p. 42; also Principles, vol. i., p. 410.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38" class="label">38</a>
-Mantell’s Wonders of Geology, pp. 70, 81, 82, 83.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39" class="label">39</a>
-Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., p. 431.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40" class="label">40</a>
-Id. ib., p. 429.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41" class="label">41</a>
-The figures given by Sir Charles Lyell, and derived from the observations
-of Mr. Everest, are these: total discharge during the four months
-of rain, 6,082,041,600 cubic feet; total discharge during the three months
-of hot weather, 38,154,240 cubic feet.&mdash;Principles of Geology, vol. i.,
-p. 481.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42" class="label">42</a>
-From a Special Correspondent, in the Times Newspaper, December
-7, 1866.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43" class="label">43</a>
-Horner, Alluvial Land of Egypt, Phil. Trans., part <span class="smcap">I.</span>, for 1855;
-Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., pp. 431-9.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44" class="label">44</a>
-The English Cyclop&aelig;dia, Alluvium.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45" class="label">45</a>
-Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., chapters <span class="smcap">XVIII.</span>, <span class="smcap">XIX.</span></p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_46" href="#FNanchor_46" class="label">46</a>
-Consolations in Travel, p. 127.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_47" href="#FNanchor_47" class="label">47</a>
-Handbook of Rome and its Environs: Murray, 1858, p. 325.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_48" href="#FNanchor_48" class="label">48</a>
-Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., 400-3.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_49" href="#FNanchor_49" class="label">49</a>
-Jukes, Manual of Geology, p. 127.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_50" href="#FNanchor_50" class="label">50</a>
-See his Lecture On a Piece of Chalk, delivered during the Meeting
-of the British Association at Norwich, 1868.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_51" href="#FNanchor_51" class="label">51</a>
-Lyell, Elements of Geology, p. 318.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_52" href="#FNanchor_52" class="label">52</a>
-Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. ii., chap. xlix.; Mantell, Wonders
-of Geology, Lecture vi.; Jukes, Manual of Geology, pp. 130-3.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_53" href="#FNanchor_53" class="label">53</a>
-Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons, by the Rev. Henry Duncan, D.D.;
-Summer, p. 168.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_54" href="#FNanchor_54" class="label">54</a>
-Ps. xcix. 3.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_55" href="#FNanchor_55" class="label">55</a>
-Kotzebue’s Voyages, 1815-18, vol. iii., pp. 331-33.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_56" href="#FNanchor_56" class="label">56</a>
-Wonders of Geology, p. 648.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_57" href="#FNanchor_57" class="label">57</a>
-Organic Remains of a Former World, vol. ii., p. 16.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_58" href="#FNanchor_58" class="label">58</a>
-Carbonic acid gas contains two equivalents of oxygen to one of carbon,
-the chemical expression for the compound being CO<sub>2</sub>; carburetted
-hydrogen, which is the gas we employ in illuminating our streets and
-houses, contains four equivalents of hydrogen to two of carbon, and is
-chemically expressed by the symbols C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub>; water is composed of one
-equivalent of oxygen, and one of hydrogen, the symbolic form being HO.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_59" href="#FNanchor_59" class="label">59</a>
-See Jukes, Manual of Geology, pp. 138-141; Lyell, Elements of
-Geology, p. 500.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_60" href="#FNanchor_60" class="label">60</a>
-Jukes, Manual of Geology, p. 140.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_61" href="#FNanchor_61" class="label">61</a>
-See Mantell, Wonders of Geology, pp. 680-2; also 760; Lyell,
-Elements of Geology, 464, 465.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_62" href="#FNanchor_62" class="label">62</a>
-Elements of Geology, p. 488.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_63" href="#FNanchor_63" class="label">63</a>
-Mantell, Wonders of Geology, p. 67.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_64" href="#FNanchor_64" class="label">64</a>
-Mantell, Wonders of Geology, p. 66.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_65" href="#FNanchor_65" class="label">65</a>
-Id. Ib.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_66" href="#FNanchor_66" class="label">66</a>
-Chemical Technology, Ronalds and Richardson, vol. i., p. 32.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_67" href="#FNanchor_67" class="label">67</a>
-See Lyell, Elements of Geology, 477-81; Jukes, Manual of Geology,
-138, 149-53; The English Cyclop&aelig;dia, Natural History Department,
-Article, Coal; Mantell, Fossils of the British Museum, Chapter i.,
-Part I.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_68" href="#FNanchor_68" class="label">68</a>
-Page, Advanced Text-Book of Geology, n. 7, pp. 20, 21.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_69" href="#FNanchor_69" class="label">69</a>
-From the Latin <i>Fossilis</i>, <i>dug up</i>.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_70" href="#FNanchor_70" class="label">70</a>
-Elements of Geology, p. 38.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_71" href="#FNanchor_71" class="label">71</a>
-Elements of Geology, p. 40.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_72" href="#FNanchor_72" class="label">72</a>
-Manual of Geology, p. 375.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_73" href="#FNanchor_73" class="label">73</a>
-Lyell, Elements of Geology, pp. 40-41. The reader will find a singularly
-clear and simple exposition of this subject in Doctor Haughton’s
-Manual of Geology, Lecture III.; an exposition which it was not our good
-fortune to have read until our own brief summary was already in type.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_74" href="#FNanchor_74" class="label">74</a>
-Buckland, Bridgewater Treatise, vol. i., p. 123; Mantell, Wonders of
-Geology, p. 269; Lyell, Elements of Geology, p. 687.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_75" href="#FNanchor_75" class="label">75</a>
-Mantell, Wonders of Geology, Lecture IV., Fossils of the British Museum,
-chapter V.; see, also, Medals of Creation, and Fossils of the South
-Downs, by the same Author.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_76" href="#FNanchor_76" class="label">76</a>
-Owen’s Pal&aelig;ontology, pp. 200-9; Buckland, Bridgewater Treatise, vol.
-i., pp. 168-186; Mantell, Wonders of Geology, pp. 576-581; Lyell, Elements
-of Geology, pp. 420-425; Jukes, Manual of Geology, pp. 598-599.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_77" href="#FNanchor_77" class="label">77</a>
-Buckland’s Bridgewater Treatise, vol. i., pp. 202-14; Owen’s Pal&aelig;ontology,
-223-232.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_78" href="#FNanchor_78" class="label">78</a>
-Buckland, Bridgewater Treatise, vol. i., pp. 139-164; Owen’s Pal&aelig;ontology,
-pp. 390-2; Mantell, Wonders of Geology, pp. 166-9; Fossils
-of the British Museum, pp. 465-480; The English Cyclop&aelig;dia,
-Natural History Division, Article, Megatherid&aelig;.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_79" href="#FNanchor_79" class="label">79</a>
-Lyell, Elements of Geology, p. 4.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_80" href="#FNanchor_80" class="label">80</a>
-Wonders of Geology, p. 400.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_81" href="#FNanchor_81" class="label">81</a>
-See Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., p. 31, who refers to Da
-Vinci’s MSS. now in the Library of the Institute of France.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_82" href="#FNanchor_82" class="label">82</a>
-See Lyell, Elements of Geology, pp. 94-96; Principles of Geology,
-p. 116; Jukes, Manual of Geology, pp. 410, 411.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_83" href="#FNanchor_83" class="label">83</a>
-Elements of Geology, p. 95.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_84" href="#FNanchor_84" class="label">84</a>
-Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., p. 115.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_85" href="#FNanchor_85" class="label">85</a>
-Lyell, Elements of Geology, p. 100.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_86" href="#FNanchor_86" class="label">86</a>
-Principles of Geology, vol. i., p. 312.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_87" href="#FNanchor_87" class="label">87</a>
-Ib. 313.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_88" href="#FNanchor_88" class="label">88</a>
-Principles of Geology, vol. i., pp. 321, 322.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_89" href="#FNanchor_89" class="label">89</a>
-Familiar Lectures on Scientific Subjects: London, 1867; pp. 9, 10.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_90" href="#FNanchor_90" class="label">90</a>
-It would be more strictly correct to say that the rate of increase varies
-considerably in different places, though the main fact is everywhere palpably
-apparent that the deeper we descend into the Earth the higher the temperature
-becomes. Sir Charles Lyell records a number of careful experiments
-made in England, France, Germany, and Italy, which seem to show
-that an increase of one degree Fahrenheit for every sixty-five feet of descent
-would represent pretty correctly the general average. See his Principles of
-Geology, vol. ii., pp. 205, 206.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_91" href="#FNanchor_91" class="label">91</a>
-See Sir John Herschel, Familiar Lectures on Scientific Subjects,
-pp. 26, 27.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_92" href="#FNanchor_92" class="label">92</a>
-See the elaborate work of Sir William Hamilton, entitled Campi
-Phlegraei, in which he gives a full account of the formation of Monte
-Nuovo, accompanied with colored plates. He has preserved two interesting
-narratives of the eruption written at the time by eye-witnesses. See
-also Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. i., pp. 606-616.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_93" href="#FNanchor_93" class="label">93</a>
-Sir John Herschel, Familiar Lectures on Scientific Subjects, p. 34;
-see also Lyell, Principles of Geology, chap. xxvii.; Mantell, Wonders
-of Geology, pp. 872-4.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_94" href="#FNanchor_94" class="label">94</a>
-See Herschel, Familiar Lectures on Scientific Subjects, pp. 34-6.
-Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. ii., pp. 104-6.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_95" href="#FNanchor_95" class="label">95</a>
-Familiar Lectures on Scientific Subjects, pp. 31, 32.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_96" href="#FNanchor_96" class="label">96</a>
-Principles of Geology, vol. ii., pp. 59, 60.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_97" href="#FNanchor_97" class="label">97</a>
-Principles of Geology, vol. ii. pp. 69, 70.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_98" href="#FNanchor_98" class="label">98</a>
-For the account of these various Earthquakes we are mainly indebted
-to the indefatigable industry of Sir Charles Lyell, who has collected
-the facts with great care partly from the descriptions of eye-witnesses,
-and partly from authentic documents written upon the spot. See his
-Principles of Geology, vol. ii., chap, xxviii., xxix., xxx. See also Mr.
-Mallet’s Earthquake Catalogue; and the first of Sir John Herschel’s
-Lectures on Familiar Subjects.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_99" href="#FNanchor_99" class="label">99</a>
-The following are the sources from which we have chiefly derived
-our information regarding the Peruvian Earthquake of 1868: (1) a series
-of letters written upon the scene of the catastrophe, and published in
-<i>The Times</i> of September 26, 1868; amongst them is one from the British
-Vice-consul, and one from the agent of the Pacific Steam Navigation
-Company, who were both at the time residents of Arica: (2) a letter of
-Mr. Clements Markham in <i>The Times</i> of September 15, 1868: (3) Captain
-Powell’s Report to the Admiralty, dated September 14, 1868.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_100" href="#FNanchor_100" class="label">100</a>
-Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. ii., p. 176.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_101" href="#FNanchor_101" class="label">101</a>
-Id. ib.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_102" href="#FNanchor_102" class="label">102</a>
-Letter from C. Hullmandel, Esq.; see Mantell, Wonders of Geology,
-Appendix G., p. 470. For a full and elaborate disquisition on the Temple
-of Jupiter Serapis, see also Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. ii., chap. xxv.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_103" href="#FNanchor_103" class="label">103</a>
-Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. ii., chap. xxxi.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_104" href="#FNanchor_104" class="label">104</a>
-Ibid.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_105" href="#FNanchor_105" class="label">105</a>
-On a Piece of Chalk: A Lecture to Working Men.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_106" href="#FNanchor_106" class="label">106</a>
-Genesis, v. 3-32.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_107" href="#FNanchor_107" class="label">107</a>
-Ib., xi. 10-26.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_108" href="#FNanchor_108" class="label">108</a>
-Ib., v. 3-9.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_109" href="#FNanchor_109" class="label">109</a>
-Genesis, xii. 4.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_110" href="#FNanchor_110" class="label">110</a>
-The Genesis of the Earth and Man, Edited by Reginald Stuart Poole:
-London; Williams and Norgate; 1860.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_111" href="#FNanchor_111" class="label">111</a>
-“Sem was a hundred years old when he begot Arphaxad, two years
-after the flood.”&mdash;Genesis, xi. 10.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_112" href="#FNanchor_112" class="label">112</a>
-This second Cainan does not appear in the Hebrew or the Samaritan
-version.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_113" href="#FNanchor_113" class="label">113</a>
-Appendix (1).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_114" href="#FNanchor_114" class="label">114</a>
-Appendix (2).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_115" href="#FNanchor_115" class="label">115</a>
-Appendix (3).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_116" href="#FNanchor_116" class="label">116</a>
-Exodus, xx. 9-11.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_117" href="#FNanchor_117" class="label">117</a>
-Appendix (4), (5), (6).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_118" href="#FNanchor_118" class="label">118</a>
-See Gesenius, sub vocibus.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_119" href="#FNanchor_119" class="label">119</a>
-Appendix (7).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_120" href="#FNanchor_120" class="label">120</a>
-Appendix (8).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_121" href="#FNanchor_121" class="label">121</a>
-Appendix (9).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_122" href="#FNanchor_122" class="label">122</a>
-Appendix (10).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_123" href="#FNanchor_123" class="label">123</a>
-Appendix (11) (12).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_124" href="#FNanchor_124" class="label">124</a>
-Appendix (13) (14) (15).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_125" href="#FNanchor_125" class="label">125</a>
-Appendix (16).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_126" href="#FNanchor_126" class="label">126</a>
-In Genes. cap. i. Qu&aelig;st. xiv.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_127" href="#FNanchor_127" class="label">127</a>
-Appendix (17).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_128" href="#FNanchor_128" class="label">128</a>
-See his various works upon Genesis, passim; in particular de Genesi
-ad Literam, Lib. i. cap. xv., Lib. iv. cap. xxxiii.; De Genesi Liber Imperfectus,
-cap. vii. and cap. ix.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_129" href="#FNanchor_129" class="label">129</a>
-This latter view might be fairly maintained in conformity with the
-principles which Saint Augustine professes to follow in the interpretation
-of Genesis. See De Genesi ad Literam, Lib. i. cap. xxi. and cap. xxii.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_130" href="#FNanchor_130" class="label">130</a>
-See De Genesi ad Literam, Lib. i. cap. xv.; De Genesi Liber Imperfectus,
-cap. vii.; Confess., Lib. xii. cap. xxix.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_131" href="#FNanchor_131" class="label">131</a>
-2 Peter, iii. 8.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_132" href="#FNanchor_132" class="label">132</a>
-Appendix (18) (19) (20).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_133" href="#FNanchor_133" class="label">133</a>
-Wisdom, ix. 13-16.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_134" href="#FNanchor_134" class="label">134</a>
-See Pianciani, Cosmogonia, pp. 384-90.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_135" href="#FNanchor_135" class="label">135</a>
-See Gesenius, Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament
-Scriptures; in voce. He thus explains the first meaning of this word:
-“<i>copulative</i>, and serves to connect both words and sentences, especially in
-<i>continuing a discourse</i>.”</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_136" href="#FNanchor_136" class="label">136</a>
-Appendix (21).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_137" href="#FNanchor_137" class="label">137</a>
-See De Genesi ad Literam, Lib. iv. capp. xxvi.-xxxv., Lib. v. cap. i.
-n. 3, and cap. iii. n. 6.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_138" href="#FNanchor_138" class="label">138</a>
-Ecclesiasticus, xviii. 1.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_139" href="#FNanchor_139" class="label">139</a>
-Appendix (22).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_140" href="#FNanchor_140" class="label">140</a>
-Appendix (23) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28) (29) (30) (31).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_141" href="#FNanchor_141" class="label">141</a>
-See De Genesi ad Literam, Lib. iv. capp. xxvi., xxvii.; also Lib. i.
-capp. x., xi., xii.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_142" href="#FNanchor_142" class="label">142</a>
-Appendix (32) (33) (34) (35) (36) (37).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_143" href="#FNanchor_143" class="label">143</a>
-Amos, viii. 11, 12.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_144" href="#FNanchor_144" class="label">144</a>
-Psalm ii. 7.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_145" href="#FNanchor_145" class="label">145</a>
-Heb. i. 5.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_146" href="#FNanchor_146" class="label">146</a>
-Jeremias, cap. l. vv. 24-32.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_147" href="#FNanchor_147" class="label">147</a>
-Jeremias, li. 1, 2.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_148" href="#FNanchor_148" class="label">148</a>
-Jeremias, xlvi. 3-10, 19-21.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_149" href="#FNanchor_149" class="label">149</a>
-Ezechiel, xxix. 19-21.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_150" href="#FNanchor_150" class="label">150</a>
-Ezechiel, xxx. 3-9.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_151" href="#FNanchor_151" class="label">151</a>
-Sophonias, v. 8-11, 14-17.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_152" href="#FNanchor_152" class="label">152</a>
-Isaias, xxix. 17-19.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_153" href="#FNanchor_153" class="label">153</a>
-Matth. xi. 4, 5.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_154" href="#FNanchor_154" class="label">154</a>
-John, viii. 56.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_155" href="#FNanchor_155" class="label">155</a>
-2 Cor. vii. 1, 2.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_156" href="#FNanchor_156" class="label">156</a>
-Luke, xix. 41-43.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_157" href="#FNanchor_157" class="label">157</a>
-Dan. viii. 14.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_158" href="#FNanchor_158" class="label">158</a>
-Appendix (38) (39) (40) (41).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_159" href="#FNanchor_159" class="label">159</a>
-Exodus, xx. 9-11.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_160" href="#FNanchor_160" class="label">160</a>
-Exodus, xxiii. 10-12.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_161" href="#FNanchor_161" class="label">161</a>
-Leviticus, xxv. 2-7.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_162" href="#FNanchor_162" class="label">162</a>
-2 Cor. v. 14, 15.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_163" href="#FNanchor_163" class="label">163</a>
-Matt. viii. 22; Luke, ix. 60.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_164" href="#FNanchor_164" class="label">164</a>
-John, xx. 17.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_165" href="#FNanchor_165" class="label">165</a>
-Rom. xiii. 12, 13.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_166" href="#FNanchor_166" class="label">166</a>
-<span class="smcap">I.</span> Thessal. v. 4, 5.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_167" href="#FNanchor_167" class="label">167</a>
-Amos, viii. 9.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_168" href="#FNanchor_168" class="label">168</a>
-Appendix (42) (43).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_169" href="#FNanchor_169" class="label">169</a>
-Gen. i. 11, 12.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_170" href="#FNanchor_170" class="label">170</a>
-The Testimony of the Rocks, p. 125.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_171" href="#FNanchor_171" class="label">171</a>
-Genesis, i. 20, 21.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_172" href="#FNanchor_172" class="label">172</a>
-Testimony of the Rocks, p. 126.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_173" href="#FNanchor_173" class="label">173</a>
-Genesis, i. 24, 25.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_174" href="#FNanchor_174" class="label">174</a>
-Testimony of the Rocks, pp. 127, 128.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_175" href="#FNanchor_175" class="label">175</a>
-Elements of Geology, p. 100.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_176" href="#FNanchor_176" class="label">176</a>
-“Aliquid esse a Deo conditum, de quo sileat liber Genesis, nihil repugnat.”
-Saint Augustine, Confess. Lib. xii., cap. xxii.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_177" href="#FNanchor_177" class="label">177</a>
-Appendix (44).</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_178" href="#FNanchor_178" class="label">178</a>
-Ecclesiastes, iii. 2.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<div class="transnote">
-
-<h3>Transcriber's Note:</h3>
-
-<p>Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.</p>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Geology and Revelation, by 
-Rev. Gerald Molloy and J. D. Dana
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