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OBSERVATIONS ON SHARON TURNER'S " SACRED 

 HISTORY OF THE EARTH. "* 



The main object of the above work is " to exhibit the Divine Mind 

 in connection with the production and preservation and with the 

 laws and agencies of visible nature, and to lead the yonthful 

 inquirer to perceive the clear and universal distinction which 

 prevails between the material and the immaterial substances in 

 our world, both in their phenomena and in their principles." This 

 is a highly laudable object, and it is truly delightful to see the 

 happy combination which the work presents, of strict philosophical 

 scrutiny and sincere religious feeling. Of the object of the work, 

 therefore, no complaint is to be made, although there are several 

 points in the execution of it which require to be noticed. 



This work consists of a series of essays in the form of letters, 

 commencing with the account of the Creation in the book of 

 Genesis, and presenting to us a view of each department of Nature 

 in the order in which Moses relates them to have been created. In 

 these letters the author dilates upon the objects and uses of each 

 branch of the creation, the various relations in which they stand to 

 each other, and their relative importance in the scale of being. In 

 pursuing these arguments, however, he too often relapses into dry 

 detail of particulars, to such an extent that the reader is continually 

 liable to lose the thread of the argument, and to become bewildered 

 and fatigued instead of instructed. The notes, too, which occupy 

 nearly as much space as the text, often tend rather to burden the 

 work than to enrich it, and the interruption they cause to the reader 

 is frequently very inconvenient. The author is indeed quite right 

 in stating his authority for every fact which he adduces, but what 

 we complain of is, that instead of extracting the essential points, 

 he commonly quotes the passage at full length in which the 

 particular fact is contained. The work is thus rendered more 

 bulky than was necessary for the due performance of its object, 

 and though the closeness of the type forbids us to charge the 

 author with the too prevalent offence of book-making, yet it must 

 be confessed that however excellent the object of the work, it 

 might have been discussed with less labour both to the author and 

 to the reader. 



In those letters which treat of the creation of animals and 

 vegetables, though every page evinces the most diligent research, 

 yet we often perceive the want of that scientific acquaintance with 

 the subject which constitutes the true naturalist. Nor is this to be 

 wondered at. Mr. Sharon Turner's talents as a political historian 

 are well known, and it cannot be expected that one who has given 

 so large a share of his attention to the history of man, should be 



* " The Sacred History of the Earth," by Sharon Turner. Vol. 1. London : 

 Longman & Co. 



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