488 Archaia. 



precision. That the particular and the general, the concrete and 

 the abstract use of words have been well understood from the 

 earliest times is exemplified in all the most ancient writings. The 

 Hebrew, Greek, and Latin tongues abound with instances in point 

 and in our own speech these forms are as familiar as day. Such 

 a use is founded upon the principles of thought which are ante- 

 cedent to the forms of speech. In the mind's synthetic moods it 

 rises from particulars to generals and in its corresponding analytic 

 it descends from the general to the particular. 



But even if contrary to all good criticism " beyom 11 (in-the-day) 

 were to be understood as a substantive and not as an adverbial form 

 of speech, and as describing a period of time, this would not inva- 

 lidate our interpretation of the yom " (day) of the first chapter. 

 " Bcyom" (in-the-day) would then only stand in relation to u yom" 

 (day) as a genus to a species, and its own meaning would come to 

 be determined by the idea attached to the species which it in- 

 cludes, if, therefore, u day" (yom) was truly a long period then " in- 

 the-day " (beyom) would be a period inclusive of all the day-periods, 

 but if "day" was truly a diurnal and natural day then "in-the- 

 day" would simply represent the time of six such days. No 

 argument for the day-period hypothesis can therefore as we con- 

 ceive be founded on the word " beyom 11 in Genesis ii. 4. 



We have thus in as limited a space as possible gone over the 

 leading words in the narrative of creation ; and without attempting 

 to answer objections or adduce all the arguments and illustrations 

 which we"might we have endeavoured to defend on grammatical 

 and philological principles the literal rendering of the words in 

 Genesis first, as also the one-sense in which they are used through- 

 out. The conclusion to which we have come is that the language 

 of the first chapter cannot be used in any other than the literal 

 sense without altogether upsetting the well established principles 

 upon which language is to be interpreted. 



According to our plan we would now consider what the facts 

 and acknowledged inductions of geological science teach us regard- 

 ing the formati on of the world. 



Geology informs us that on a rough estimate the average thick- 

 ness of the earth's crust is about fifteen miles. In this is included a 

 considerable thickness of what for want of a better name may be 

 called primitive rocks, regarding the formation of which geology can 

 tell us little or nothing. Whence they came or how formed is a pro- 

 blem yet to be solved. They contain no distinct remains of organic 



