THE DOGMA OF EVOLUTION 



of fossils and their geological significance. Duhem 

 states emphatically that da Vinci created the science 

 of palaeontology and quotes from da Vinci's manu- 

 script notes to show that he had evolved the true 

 method of fossil formation by the decay of the tissues 

 of animals and the substitution of mud which had 

 then gradually changed into stone. ^ There seems to 

 be not the slightest doubt that da Vinci had found the 

 true cause of fossiliferous remains and that he should 

 be given the credit as the originator of the science of 

 palaeontology. It is also well known that the note- 

 books of da Vinci became a storehouse of inspiration 

 to others who, in the spirit of that free and easy time, 

 appropriated his ideas. In particular, Duhem shows 

 by the method of the deadly parallel that Cardan, 

 the arch-pilferer of the sixteenth century, stole this 

 explanation of fossils. And he also proves, I think 

 conclusively, that Bernard Palissy, who is so general- 

 ly called the father of palaeontology, pursued the 

 same amiable method with Cardan's own appropria- 

 tions. Palissy's explanation of the formation of fos- 

 sils was identical with the original theory and lan- 

 guage of da Vinci except that he evolved the brilliant 

 idea that the skeletons of fish and the shells of mol- 

 luscs, which we find as fossils, had been thrown out 

 from the kitchens of people who had previously eaten 

 the flesh. The slow development of geology and palae- 

 ontology from the time of Palissy is an open record. 



8 Duhem, op. cit., vol. I, p. 38. 



C 1283 



