The times., 1900-12-23


in short all the inequalities of the globe;
and which, therefore, cannot have given
rise to those inequalities" He contrasts
the calm and peaceful aspect of the sur
face of the earth with the appearances
discovered when we examine its interior.
Here. in the raised beds of shells, the
fractured rocks, the inclined or even YER
tical stratifcation he finds abundant
proofs that the surface of the globe has
been broken up by revolutions and catas-
trophies"
He also refers to the numerous large
blocks of the primitive rocks scattered
over the surface of secondary formations,
and separated by deep valleys or even By
arms of the sea from the peaks or ridges
from which they must have been derived,
as further proofs of catastrophes; for, it
is argued. they must have been either
elected by volcanic eruptions or carried
by waters, which, in either case. must
| have exceeded in violence anything we
can imagine at the present day" and he
therefore concludes that ''it is in vain we
search among the powers which now act
upon the surface of the earth for causes
sufficient to produce the revolutions and
| catastrophes, the traces of which are ex-
| hibi.ed in it's crust" He is quite con-
! fdent that all these changes go on rap
! idly. periods of catastrophe alternating
with periods of repose. The present sur
face of the earth he holds to be quite re-
| cent, and he maintains that, if anything
in geology be established, 1t is that the
| surface of cur globe has undergone a
| great and sudden revolution, the date Of
| which cannot be referred to much ear
| lier period than 5000 or 5000 years ago;
that this revolution overwhelmed and
| caused to disappear the countries which
| were previously inhabited by man, and
| the species of animals now best known;
| that, on the other hand, it laid dry the
| bottom of the last sea and formed OF 1T
| the countries which are at the present day
| Inhabited And he further declares that
| this event has been sudden, instanta
| neous, without any gradation; and what
| is so clearly demonstrated with respect
| 70 this last catastrophe is not less SO
| .s:th reference to those which preceded
| H."
The method followed by Lyell was the
| very reverse of that of Cuvier. Instead
| of assuming hastily that modern causes
were totally inadequate, and appealing
| constantly to purely imaginary and often
| inconceivable catastrophes, Lyell inyes-
tigated these causes with painstaiing ac-
| curaey, applying the tests of survey and
/ time measurement, so as in many cases
to prove that, given moderately long
| periods of time-not few thousands
| only, but hundreds of thousands of years
they were fully adequate to explain
the phenomena. He also showed that the
| imaginary causes of Cuvier would not
! explain the facts, for that everywhere
in the crust of the earth We found con-
! elusive proofs of very slow continuous
/ changes exactly analogous to what now
occur never of great commissions, except
! quite locally as we have them now. He
1 showed that modern volcanoes had pour
/ cd out vast masses of melted rock dur
| ing a single eruption, covering areas as
extensive as those which any ancient vol
! cano could be proved to have elected in
an equally short period; that strata were
| now in process of formation comparable
| in extent and thickness with any ancient
! strata: that organic remains are being
preserved In them just as in the older
rocks; that the land Is almost every
where rising or sinking as of old; that
valleys are being excdvated and plateaus
/ or mountains upheaved: that earthquake
shocks are producing faults beneath the
| surface; that vegetation is still preparing
| future coal beds; that lImestones. clays,
! sandstones, mctamorphic and igneous
rocks are all still being Termed; and
| that, given time, and the intermittent or
| continuous action of the causes we can
low trace in operation. and all the varied
! features of the earth's surface, as well
as all the conto.tions and fractures which
we discover in its crust, and every other
! phenotlenon supposed to necessitate ca
! tastrophes and cataclysrns will be again
produced.
In the massive volumes OF the later edi-
| tions Of the Principles of Geology all
| these points are discussed and illustrated
| with such q wealth Of facts and such cogent
yet cautious reasoning as have carried
| conviction to all modern students. II af-
| fords US perhaps the very best proof yet
| given Of evolution in one department of
| the uniyerse-that OF the surface and the
| crust OF the earth We inhabit. Not only
| have all the chief notifications during an
almost unimaginable period of time been
clearly depicted but they have in almost
every case been shown to be the inevitable
| results Of real and comparatively we'll
known causes, such as We now see at work
around US.
The grand generalizations Of Lyell have
been strengthened since his death by more
complete Investigations OF certain phe-
nOmena and their causes than were pos
sible in his day. while the only objections
TO them seem to be founded, to some eX-
tent upon a miscoHception. He has been
termed a ''Uniformitarian. and 1t is al
legged that it is unphiloscphical to take the
limited range OF causes We now see IN
action as a measure OF those which have
acted during all past geological time But
neither Lyell nor his followers make any
such assumption. They merely say, we dc
not find any proof OF greater or more vio-
lent causes in action IN past times, and
We do find many Indications that the great
natural forces then in action-seas and
rivers, sun and cloud. rain and hail. fros,
and snow, as well as the very texture and
constituents of the older rocks. and the
mode in which the organisms OF each age
are preserved in them must have been
in their general nature and magnitude
very much as they are now. Other OBJ
jections such as that the internal forces
were greater when the garth was hotter
and that tidal effects must have been more
powerful when the moon was nearer the
earth. are altogether beside the question
until we can obtain more definite meas
ures OF past time than we now possess
in reference to both geological and cos
mical phenomena. 1t may well be that the
physical changes above referred to have
been so slow that they would have pro-
duced no perceptibly Increased effect al
the epoch OF the early stratified rocks
Lyells doctrine is simply that OF real
| against imaginary causes, and he only de-
MES catastrophes and more violent agen-
cies in carly times because Ihere il nc
clear evidence Of their actual existence
! and also bprause knoCn causes are cutie
competent to explain all geological phe-
L. rL.l. tnn haI