SPENCER AND EVOLUTION. 



23 



proved that the present forms and distributions of mountains, valleys, 

 continents, and oceans, are but the final terms of a stupendous course 

 of transformations to which the crust of the earth has been subjected. 

 It was also established that life has stretched back for untold millions 

 of years ; that multitudes of its forms arose and perished in a deter- 

 minate succession, while the last appearing are highest in grade, as if 

 by some principle of order and progression. 



It is obvious that one of the great epochs of thought had now been 

 reached ; for the point of view from which natural things are to be 

 regarded was fundamentally and forever altered. But, as it is im- 

 possible to escape at once and completely from the dominion of old 

 ideas, the full import of the position was far from being recognized, 

 and different classes of the thinking world were naturally very differ- 

 ently affected by the new discoveries. To the mass of people who in- 

 herit their opinions and rarely inquire into the grounds upon which 

 they rest, the changed view was of no moment ; nor had the geologi- 

 cal revelations much interest to the literary classes beyond that of 

 bare curiosity about strange and remote speculations. To the theolo- 

 gians, however, the step that had been taken was of grave concern. 

 They were the proprietors of the old view ; they claimed for it super- 

 natural authority, and strenuously maintained that its subversion 

 would be the subversion of religion itself. They maintained, more- 

 over, that the controversy involved the very existence of God. The 

 most familiar conception of the Deity was that of a Creator, and crea- 

 tion was held to mean the grand six-day drama of calling the universe 

 into existence ; while this transcendent display of power had always 

 been devoutly held as alike the exemplification and the proof of the 

 Divine attributes. How deep and tenacious was the old error is 

 shown by the fact that, although it has been completely exploded, 

 although the immeasurable antiquity of the earth and the progressive 

 order of its life have been demonstrated and admitted by all intelli- 

 gent people, yet the pulpit still clings to the old conceptions, and the 

 traditional view is that which generally prevails among the multitude. 



To men of science the new position was, of course, in the highest 

 degree, important. It was stated by Prof. Sedgwick, in an anniver- 

 sary address to the Geological Society of London, in 1831, as follows : 

 " We have a series of proofs the most emphatic and convincing that 

 the approach to the present system of things has been gradual, and 

 that there has been a progressive development of organic structure 

 subservient to the purposes of life." The traditional explanation of 

 the origin of the world, and all that belongs to it, being thus discred- 

 ited, it only remained to seek another explanation : if it has not been 

 done one way, how has it been done ? was the inevitable question. 

 One might suppose that the effect of the utter break-down of the old 

 hypothesis wonld have been to relegate the whole question to the 

 sphere of science, but this was far from being done. The preternatu- 



