^6 THE EVOLUTION OF MAN. 



the Mosaic account of Creation, though it was very difficult 

 for him to do so,. on account of the knowledge which he had 

 of fossil animal forms. He was the first to show clearly 

 that a number of totally different series of inhabitants had 

 lived on our globe. He also showed that we must dis- 

 tinguish at least ten or fifteen different main periods in the 

 history of the earth, each of which exhibits a series of 

 animals and plants of its own, peculiar to itself. 



Of course, Cuvier was at once confronted with the ques- 

 tion, whence these various series of inhabitants had come, 

 and whether they had any connection with each other. 

 He answered this question negatively, and maintained that 

 these several " creations " were totally independent of each 

 other ; hence, that the supernatural act of creation by which, 

 according to the received account of creation, the animal 

 and vegetable species came into being, was repeated several 

 times. Consequently, a series of quite distinct periods of 

 creation must have followed one another, and in connection 

 with them there must have occurred several vast alterations 

 of the whole surface of the earth, — ^revolutions and cataclysms 

 similar to the mythical Flood. These catastrophes and 

 upheavals were favourite subjects with Cuvier ; especially 

 as at that time the science of geology was also beginning 

 to move greatly, and made rapid progress towards a know- 

 ledge of the structure and origin of the earth. Others, 

 especially tlie geologist Werner and his school, were occupied 

 in carefully examining the various layers of the crust of the 

 earth, and systematically investigating the fossils found 

 in these. The result of their researches also was the recog- 

 nition of several periods of creation. The inorganic crust 

 of the earth, the stratified surface, bore evidence of having 



