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Show , CHAPTER IX. . t f or•ro.m. c l"1r1 0 considered-Evidence in i•t ~s Theory of the "l"O"""essive dcvclorroen o o_, . o.ls in the oldest strata.-Dil· 1· o· . y ertebrateu anun surport W holly inconclusiv• e- , inS of succeSSl.V e formations-Remar1. < s onf ferences b et 'v een the orgamc. re. moaf tho human t.a ce -The nopular doclnne o 1· • tho comparatively modern ongm fl d by tho admission that man IS of . e development not con u·mc . l \he system caused by the S'lCCCSSlV lCl" the chango 11 d modern origin-In what roam tion of the uniformity of the past an introducti. on °f man affects the assump future cours· o of physical events. .· . the wece dm' g c1 l apt e••·s ' m. any of the WE have considered, m 1 . . to the doctrme, that all ~ d f opposition most popu1.ar gmnn s o . nd inorganic creation are re-former changes of ~he orgam~ :uccession of physical events, ft . 'bl to one umnterruptc . ct rl e 1 1 s now in operation. d governed by t Je aw . t always remain unsettle . . 1 f the science mus 1 As the prmctp es o. . . t ·tained on this fundamenta so lonO' as no .n/!. xed opimons ale en cr . other obj.e Cti.O ns wl n .c 11 ~ 1 11 proceed to examme . . h question, we s Ja . 1 mption of uniformity m t e have been urged agamhst 1tlJ~t a:~1~ words of a late distinguished order of nature. We s a CdI e d some of the weJ· g 11 t 'I es t of writer, who has form~ll! a va~lbc1e "he affirms " to defend the . . "ltislmpossi e, ' ' . t d these obJeCtiOnS. d . of' things is the ancien an propos1. t1. 0n, th a t the ·present or ei . . l in 1 d'ficd by existmg aws-constant order of nature, on y m~ lwhich must, consequently, h. h are deepest, an f ta those strata W IC }' t d posited forms, even 0 vcge ~ be supposed to be the ear Iesve ~table remains arc found i~ tl~e ble life, are rare; shells ~n~she~ and oviparous reptiles exist m next order; the bones o . f ,_. ls with those of the same the follow·m g c1 a ss ; the re. mahm s o tu Jr<r.d e' r . thoge of qua dr upe.d s O'enera mentioned before, m t e nex o t cla'ss. and it is only m I:' • • fll more recen ' d of extinct specieS m a S I ]' d t d strata of gravel and san ' the loose and slightly-cons~li da ;.1uvian formations, that the and which arc usually ca e c I 1- the globe are found, 1·emains of am.m a1 s 5 uch as now peop e ftl e • • But in none o les with others belonging to extmct specieS, ' UNIFORMITY OF IliiYS~CAL LAWS. 145 formations, whether called secondary, tertiary, or diluviai, have the remains of man, or any of his works, been discovered; and whoever dwells upon this subject must be convinced, that the present order of things, and the comparatively recent existence of man as the master of the globe, is as certain as the destruction of a former and a different order, and the extinction of a number of living forms which have no types in being. In the oldest secon~ary strata there are no remains of such animals as now belong to the surface; and in the rocks, which may be regarded as more recently deposited, these remains occur but rarely, and with abundance of extinct species ;-there seems, as it were, a gradual approach to the present system of things, and a succession of destructions and creations preparatory to the existence of man*." In the above passages, the author deduces two important conclusions from geological data; first, that in the successive groups of strata, from the oldest to the most recent, there is a progressive development of organic life, from the simplest to the most complicated forms ;-secondly, that man is of comparatively recent origin. It will be easy to shew that the first of these propositions, though very generally received, has no foundation in fact. 'rhe second, on the contrary, is indisputable, and it is important, therefore, to consider how far its admission is inconsistent with the assumption, that the system of the natural world has been uniform from the begin ... ning, or rather from the era when the oldest rocks hitherto discovered were formed. We shall first examine the geological proofs appealed to in support of the theory of the successive development of animal and vegetable life, and their progressive advancement to a more perfect state. No geologists, who are in possession of all the data now established respecting fossil remains, will for a moment contend for the doctrine in all its detail, as laid down by the great chemist to whose opinions we have referred. But naturalists, who are not unacquainted with recent discoveries, continue to defend the ancient doctrine in a somewhat modified form. They say that, in the first period of the world, (by which they mean the earliest of which we have yet procured • Sir H. Davy, Consolations in Travel, Dialogue 3, "The Unknown." , Vot. I. L |