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Ir seems to be understood that geology | and theology stand opposed to each other in a sort of armed neutrality, ready at any moment to rush into war. From time to time geology has made fierce attacks on theology, and forced its opponent to recede from its former standing-ground. Sixty years ago, the theologians of this country generally believed that the first chapter in Genesis contains the history of the original creation of earth and heaven in a period of six days, about six thousand years since. This was the first point of attack. Geologists argued from the earth's own record of the long series of changes which have passed over it, and the suc

The Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man, with Remarks on Theories of the Origin of Species by Variation. By SIR CHARLES LYELL Illustrated by wood cuts. London: Murray. 1863.

VOL LX.-NO. 1

MAN.*

cessive varieties of life it has sustained, that its origin must be thrown back uncounted ages. They proved this so clearly, that theologians were obliged to reëxamine their own record, and acknowledge, with some discomfiture, that it did not say what they asserted it to have said. It is true, the creation of heaven and earth, "in the beginning," is referred to the Almighty; but we are expressly told that the existing earth was "without form and void" before the command was spoken which began the work of the first day. Driven from one position, the theologians intrenched themselves in another. "It is true," they said, "the earth has passed through phases and ages of which the Bible gives no account; but our state of things, our forms of life, above all, our human inheritance in the earth, only date

1

settled previous convictions. It is not
enough for them to find probabilities or
plausibilities inclining rather to one side
than another; they demand positive proof
that the opinions which must uproot their
old established beliefs come to them with
all the sacred authority of truth.
If one
party is open to the accusation that pre-
vious conviction blinds them to the force.
of facts, the other is subject to the re-
proach that the want of such conviction
makes them injure the cause of truth
by hasty conclusions, and generalizations
founded on insufficient data.

ject; for, we may be sure, if such a champion does not overthrow our belief, we have nothing more to fear.

back six thousand years; and it is the beginning of this era that the first chapter of Genesis records." It is only within the last thirty years that theologians have slowly retreated to this position, and during that time geology has been gathering up its forces for a new attack. It now tells us that there is no trace of any line of separation between periods of disorder and order, of old and new forms of life; more than this, it tells us that during the last few years human relics have been found in deposits so old as to compel us to throw aside the chronology of the Bible, and assign to the human race an It will be a question whether this reantiquity of tens of thousands of years. proach has or has not been deserved by This is a serious affair. We know that the author of the book which now lies bethe chronology of the Bible has not fore us. Sir Charles Lyell comes forward escaped errors of transcription; there as the advocate of the alleged antiquity of can be no doubt that through this and the human race. All that can be said in other mischances the numbers are not al- support of it, we may be certain he will ways in harmony with themselves; we say; all the facts that can be brought to know the Septuagint adds fourteen hun- bear on it, such a master of facts will dred years to the chronology of the He- unquestionably produce. It helps to clear brew; but this is a kind of error that the mind of many doubts and apprehendoes not shake our faith in the general sions, when one who is so high an authorhistoric accuracy of the book of Genesis.ity enters the lists on this disputed subCould we, however, suppose that the human race is sixty or eighty thousand years old, and that the six day's creation must go for nothing, it would stamp on the book of Genesis that half-mythical, half-legendary, and wholly untrustworthy character which belongs to the unrevealed records of the origin of all ancient nations. Not without a struggle shall we yield that; not without clear and ample proof shall we grant that. On this point we are in a position which geologists do not understand. They impute it wholly to our ignorance that we will not be satisfied with the amount of evidence which satisfies them and truly, when we hear the absurd suggestions brought forward to meet the force of geological facts, we must be content to bear patiently the reproach of ignorance. But the difference between us is not so much our want of knowledge, as their want of belief. They come into the field unembarrasssed by belief, not asking and not caring what received truths their opinions may support or upset. If, of two classes of facts, one be stronger than the other-if, of two theories, one have less difficulties than the other-they can be satisfied to accept the better evidence and the easier theory. But it is otherwise with those who begin an investigation under the influence of

Sir Charles Lyell divides his subject into three stages. First, he seeks to prove the great antiquity of the antiquarian or, as geologists call it, the recent periodthat in which man has existed with all his present surroundings. For this period alone he demands much more than six thousand years. Secondly, he endeavors to establish the far greater antiquity of a preceding age, during which man existed amidst other than his present surroundings. This period is counted by tens of thousands of years. Thirldy, he points out the immensely greater antiquity of a still earlier age, in which (though no remains of man have yet been found) part of the fauna and flora which are still contemporaneous with man were in existence. Of this period he only ventures to say that it can not be less than one hundred and eighty thousand years.

To begin with the recent period. Let us think of the lapse of time revealed.

1. By the successive changes of vegetation attested by the Danish peat-beds. Low down in them are found trunks of the Scotch fir, a tree not now a native of the Danish islands; higher up, trunks of the common oak, which is now rare ;

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