Essay on the Theory of the Earth

Part 1

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ESSAY

ON THE

THEORY OF THE EARTH.

ESSAY

ON THE

THEORY OF THE EARTH.

BY BARON G. CUVIER,

PERPETUAL SECRETARY OF THE FRENCH INSTITUTE, PROFESSOR AND ADMINISTRATOR OF THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, &c. &c.

WITH

GEOLOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS,

PROFESSOR JAMESON.

FIFTH EDITION,

TRANSLATED FROM THE LAST FRENCH EDITION, WITH NUMEROUS ADDITIONS BY THE AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR.

WILLIAM BLACKWOOD, EDINBURGH; AND T. CADELL, STRAND, LONDON.

MDCCCXXVII.

Printed by P. Neill.

PREFACE

TO THE

FIFTH EDITION.

Geology, now deservedly one of the most popular and attractive of the physical sciences, was, not many years ago, held in little estimation; and even at present, there are not wanting some who do not hesitate to maintain, that it is a mere tissue of ill observed phenomena, and of hypotheses of boundless extravagance. The work of CUVIER now laid before the public, contains in itself not only a complete answer to these ignorant imputations, but also demonstrates the accuracy, extent, and importance of many of the facts and reasonings of this delightful branch of Natural History. Can it be maintained of a science, which requires for its successful prosecution an intimate acquaintance with Chemistry, Natural Philosophy and Astronomy,--with the details and views of Zoology, Botany, and Mineralogy, and which connects these different departments of knowledge in a most interesting and striking manner,--that it is of no value? Can it be maintained of Geology, which discloses to us the history of the first origin of organic beings, and traces their gradual development from the monade to man himself,--which enumerates and describes the changes that plants, animals, and minerals--the atmosphere, and the waters of the globe--have undergone from the earliest geological periods up to our own time, and which even instructs us in the earliest history of the human species,--that it offers no gratification to the philosopher? Can even those who estimate the value of science, not by intellectual desires, but by practical advantages, deny the importance of Geology, certainly one of the foundations of agriculture, and which enables us to search out materials for numberless important economical purposes?

Geology took its rise in the Academy of Freyberg, with the illustrious WERNER, to whom we owe its present interesting condition. This being the case, we ought not, (as is at present too much the practice), amidst the numerous discoveries in the mineral kingdom which have been made since the system of investigation of that great interpreter of nature was made known, forget the master, and arrogate all to ourselves. In this Island, Geology first took firm root in the north: in Edinburgh the Wernerian geognostical views and method of investigation, combined with the theory of HUTTON, the experiments and speculations of HALL, the illustrations of PLAYFAIR, and the labours of the Royal and Wernerian Natural History Societies, excited a spirit of inquiry which rapidly spread throughout the Empire; and now Great Britain presents to the scientific world a scene of geological acuteness, activity, and enterprise, not surpassed in any other country.

On the Continent the writings of CUVIER, distinguished equally by purity and beauty of style, and profound learning, have proved eminently useful in aiding the progress of Geology. In this country CUVIER was first made known as a geologist by the publication of the present essay, which, from its unexampled popularity, has made his name as familiar to us as that of the most distinguished of our own writers.

Part 2

ROBERT JAMESON.

COLLEGE MUSEUM, EDINBURGH, 25th November 1826.

ADVERTISEMENT

FOURTH EDITION.

This Fourth Edition of the celebrated Essay on the Theory of the Earth, contains, besides many additional facts and statements in regard to the Natural History of the Earth, also learned discussions by CUVIER, on the newness of the present continents, as confirmed by the history of nations; and on the proofs regarding the antiquity of nations alleged to be contained in their astronomical and other monuments.

ROBERT JAMESON.

COLLEGE MUSEUM, EDINBURGH, 2d April 1822.

Fossil organic remains are the relics of a primeval world long since gone past, proclaiming with a loud voice the instability of earthly affairs, and impressing upon the minds of those who seriously consider them, sentiments of piety and feelings of devotion. If the antiquary digs from among the ruins of Herculaneum a piece of ancient money, a vase, or a statue, we rejoice with him, in finding the mode of life, the manners and arts of an ancient people, placed before our eyes: If he finds an old record, illustrative of the history of his country, however limited in extent that country may be, we are grateful to him for the particle of knowledge he has added to our store; but if, among the ruins of the common country of the human race, we linger at the great sepulchre of animated beings destroyed by the hand of fate, who can look upon it without sentiments of piety! It is not here the statues of Polycletus that we admire, but the admirable monuments of the workmanship of Nature, taken from the ruins of the great Herculeum overwhelmed by the ocean, that we look upon with feelings of the deepest wonder and devotion.

PREFACE

TO THE

THIRD EDITION.

The attention of naturalists was early directed to the investigation of the fossil organic remains so generally and abundantly distributed throughout the strata of which the crust of the Earth is composed. It is not, as some writers now imagine, entirely a modern study; for even so early as the time of Leibnitz, we find that philosopher drawing and describing fossil bones. After this period it continued to interest individuals, and engage the particular attention of societies and academies. The Royal Society of London, by the Memoirs of Sloane, Collinson, Lister, Derham, Baker, Grew, Hunter, Jacobs, Plott, Camper, and many others, afforded satisfactory proofs of the importance attached to this branch of Natural History by philosophers in England; and the Memoirs of M. Graydon, in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, shew that it was not entirely neglected in Ireland. On the continent of Europe the natural history of petrifactions was also much studied, as appears from the Memoirs of Hollman, Beckman, and Blumenbach, in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Gottingen;--of Gmelin, Pallas, Herrmann, Chappe, in the Memoirs of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Petersburg;--of Geoffroi, Buffon, Daubenton, Faujas St Fond, and others of the old French Academy of Sciences;--of Astruc and Riviere, of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Montpellier;--of Collini of the Academia Theodoro-Palatina, at Manheim, &c. But the geognostical relations of the rocks in which these organic remains are contained were but ill understood, until Werner pointed out the mode of investigating them. His interesting and important views were circulated from Freyberg, by the writings and conversations of his pupils, and have contributed materially to the advancement of this branch of Natural History in Germany, France, and also in Great Britain. Petrifactions are no longer viewed as objects of mere curiosity, as things isolated and unrelated to the rocks of which the crust of the Earth is composed; on the contrary, they are now considered as one of the most important features in the strata of all regions of the earth. By the regularity and determinate nature of their distribution, they afford characters which assist us in discriminating not only single beds, but also whole formations of rocks; and in this respect they are highly interesting to the geognostical inquirer. To the geologist this beautiful branch of Natural History opens up numerous and uncommonly curious views of nature in the mineral kingdom: it shews him the commencement of the formation of organic beings,--it points out the gradual succession in the formation of animals, from the almost primeval coral near the primitive strata, through all the wonderful variety of form and structure observed in shells, fishes, amphibious animals, and birds, to the perfect quadruped of the alluvial land; and it makes him acquainted with a geographical and physical distribution of organic beings in the strata of the globe, very different from what is observed to hold in the present state of the organic world. The zoologist views with wonder and amazement those hosts of fossil animals, sometimes so similar to the present living species, at other times so far removed from them in form and structure. He compares the fossil orders, genera and species, with those now inhabiting the earth’s surface, or living in its waters, and discovers that there is a whole system of animals in a fossil state different from the present. Even the physiologist, in the various forms, connections, and relations of the parts of those animals, obtains new facts for his descriptions and reasonings. Such, then, being the nature of this branch of Natural History, it is not surprising that, when once understood, it should have many and zealous cultivators, and occupy the talents of men of learning and sagacity. In our time, Cuvier, the celebrated Professor of Natural History in Paris, has eminently distinguished himself by his numerous discoveries, accurate descriptions, and rational views, on this subject. His great work on Fossil Organic Remains, of which a new edition is now in progress, is the most splendid contribution to Natural History furnished by any individual of this age.

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