Sir Charles Li/ell. 359 



Geology," appeared in three successive installments, published respec- 

 tively in 1830, 1832, and 1833. The work, subsequently enlarged into 

 two volumes, has passed through numerous editions, and is still in as 

 much demand as ever among students of the science. The work was 

 subsequently divided into two parts, which have been published as 

 distinct l)ooks, viz. "The Principles of Geology," or the Modern 

 Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants, as illustrative of Geology," 

 and secondly, "The Elements of Geology, or the Ancient Changes of 

 the Earth and its Inhabitants, as illustrated by its Geological Mon- 

 uments." The substance of the last-named work has also been pub- 

 lished under the title of "The Manual of Elementary Geology," a 

 French ti-anslation of which was issued under the auspices of the fa- 

 mous Arago. 



"Already, some time previous to the publication of this work, Mr. 

 Lyell had been chosen a Vice-President of the Geological Society ; 

 and in 1828 he had undertaken a journey into the volcanic regions of 

 Central France, visiting Auvergne, Cantal, and Velay, and continuing 

 his journey to Italy and Sicily. He published the results of this ex- 

 pedition in the "Edinburg Philosophical Transactions," and also in the 

 ''Anales des Science Naturelles." 



"It was, however, the publication of his "Principles of Geology" 

 that gave him that established reputation which he ever since continu- 

 ed to enjoy. "Which of us," asked Prof. Huxley, in his Anniversary 

 Address to the Geological Society in 1869," "has not thumbed every 

 page of the "Principles of Geology?"' And he adds, "I think that he 

 who writes fairly the history of his own progress in geological thought 

 will not easily be able to separate his debt to Hutton from his obliga- 

 tions to Lyell." This cordial testimony of a fellow-laborer in the cause 

 of scientific enlightenment exactly indicates Sir Charles Lyell's place 

 in the history of that task. He was a man of singularly open mind, 

 one of those who stand above their coteniporaries and hail the dawn of 

 new truths upon the world. His own works mark the progress of his 

 own as well as of the public opinion on' the great problems raised by 

 scientific discovery, and he remained to the end of hL« life always ready 

 for the reception of new facts, and for the corresponding modifications 

 of opinion. 



"Sir Charles Lyell had traveled and seen much. Thus in early 

 manhood he explored many parts of Norway, Sweden, Belgium, 

 Switzerland, Germany, and Spain, including the volcanic regions of 

 Catalonia. In 1836 he visited the Danish Islands of Se^and and 

 Monen, to examine their Cretaceous and Tertiary strata. In 1841 he 

 was induced to cross the Atlantic, partly in order to deliver a course of 



