\ 



54 PROCEEDINGS OF THE PHILADELrHIA MEETING 



the transition. They were distinctively students of geology in the special 

 sense in which that term implies the organized doctrine of the earth, rather 

 than students of what might be termed gcics, the immediate study of the earth 

 itself in the field and laboratory. They were preeminently students of the 

 accumulated data and of the literature of the science, with generalization and 

 philosophic inference as their dominant inspiration. Neither Dana nor I^e 

 Conte were eminently field students ; much less wore they specialists in a 

 chosen field of the broad geological domain. Their point of view was that of 

 the organizer and of the philosopher, and the contribution they made in their 

 chosen sphere was indispensable and immeasurably valuable. . . . None 

 the less, the philosophical factors and the philosophical point of view are in- 

 dispensable if the science is to make its most wholesome progress, and we owe 

 to Le Conte and to those he typifies an immeasurable debt, for they have kept 

 us in fresh touch with the generalizations and the philosophy of the science, 

 and have inspired us with their own contributions to the broader conceptions 

 of geology and of its relation to kindred sciences. The writings of Le Conte 

 are graced by the fruits of wide learning, a lucid style, a genial attitude, and 

 a candor that has called forth universal love and admiration." 



Oil llic [)la(C<)rjn TiC r'oiitc was a pici iirosque fij2,'ui"o. TTis P'rciicli 

 descent was evident in his vivaoioiis and soniowhat eiiiolioiial manner, 

 with a high-pitched hnt clear and resonant voice, modnlaied to every 

 phase of his theme. In both speech and writings he had naivete, with 

 self-confidence, but without self-conceit. Had he chosen the pnlpit or 

 politics or the stage as his profession, he would undoubtedly have become 

 famous in either calling. He was universally admired and loved. To 

 his students he was "Professor Jo." The Le Conta Memorial Lodge 

 (plate 6), built by the Sierra Club at the foot of Glacier Point, near 

 where he died, is a monument to his memory and a testimony of high 

 regard. The story of his active life may be read in his autobiogi'aphy, 

 '^ . . written with all the frankness of the Confessions of Kousseau, 

 it depicts a noble character witliout a trace of morbid self-consciousness, 

 breathes a high philosopliic spirit, and is enlivened with a fine sense of 

 humor." 



BIBLIOGRAPHY * 



1853. Salt lakes. Ga. Univ. Mag. April, 1853. 



1857. On the agency of the Gulf Stream in the formation of the peninsula of 



Florida. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Proc, vol. 10, pt. 2, pp. 103-119; Am. 

 Jour. Sci. (2), vol. 23. pp. 46-60. 

 Geology in a course of education. Inaugural address at S. C College. 



1858. Three lectures on coal. Smith. Inst. Rept. for 1857, pp. 119-168. 



1859. Theory of formation of continents. Canadian Nat., vol. 4, p. 293. 

 1872. A theory of the formation of the great features of the earth's surface. 



Am. Jour. Sci. (3), vol. 4, pp. 345-355, 460-472. 



1 This Is a Ust of only his geologic writings. — H. L. F. 



