ON COAL. 153 



mortar do not constitute a temple ; the one may be accumulated by 

 the human hand, the other can be constructed only by the human 

 mind, and in this case only by genius of the highest order. In fact, 

 a master builder in this sc:ence has not yet lived. No man has yet 

 been able to sketch the outlines of this noble work with a hand so firm 

 and decided that all shall labor in harmony and mutual confidence, 

 and the work shall thenceforward proceed with steadiness and cer- 

 tainty. 



In some sense, therefore, all departments of science may be looked 

 upon as the handmaids of geology. And it is curious and instructive 

 to observe how, in reward for their services, she stamps each one with 

 the seal of philosophy ; how each science becomes, in her service, 

 more comprehensive, more philosophic, more exact. The problems 

 in physics and chemistry which geology proposes are so difficult, the 

 conditions under which well known forces act are so numerous and 

 complicated, and the scale on which they operate are so vast, that 

 every formula must be revised, every law must be made more exact. 

 Thus, under the guidance of geology, these two old and mature 

 sciences seem entering on a new and higher career. 



But perhaps the most remarkable instance of the favorable change 

 and philosophic character which the advent of geology has impressed 

 upon other departments of science is to be found in the case of natural 

 history. 



The zoology and botany of the last age were little more than the 

 knowledge of the names and external forms of species, and their ar- 

 rangement according to an arbitrary system of classification. But it 

 is evident that such zoology and botany can be of little service to 

 geology. The external form of an extinct species is seldom seen. 

 G-enerally all that we have of an animal is a few bones or teeth, some- 

 times a single scale ; of a plant, a fragment of wood or a leaf, and the 

 problem which geology proposes is, from such meagre materials to 

 reconstruct the whole organism. To the unskilled this seems impos- 

 sible. But the harmony which exists between all parts of an organ- 

 ism is so perfect that each may be said to necessitate every other. A 

 complete knowledge of the laws of organization would thus enable us, 

 from any one part^ to reconstruct the whole. One strain of song in- 

 stantly suggests all that is necessary to make the harmony complete. 

 Thus a profounder knowledge of animals and plants becomes neces- 

 sary — a knowledge not only of external forms, but also of internal 

 structure and the harmonious relation of parts. Classification is no 

 longer an ingenious artifice to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge, 

 but becomes the highest expression of knowledge, the epitome of na- 

 ture. Thus, from a mere mass of barren details, natural history has 

 risen to the highest philosophic rank. Even astronomy has been 

 compelled to take a lesson of philosophy from her younger sister. 

 She must relax the severity of her dogmas. She must modify some- 

 what the absoluteness of her assertions concerning the staoility of all 

 things, fenced, though they be, round about with mathematical for- 

 mula3, now since the idea of infinite time has been introduced by 

 geology. ^' The causes which tend to destroy the stability of the solar 

 system," says astronomy, "are infinitely small, and therefore may 



