ACCOUNT OF BOOKS; 



943 



tuatlon of tlie strata in the irregu- 

 lar skirts of these continents, took 

 place at different periods, while 

 our present land still constituted 

 the bed of the sea. 



" 2. The birth of these conti- 

 nents was produced by the subsi- 

 dence of others, over which the 

 sea flowed, abandoning its ancient 

 bed. 



" 3. Since that great revolution 

 on our globe, the level of the sea 

 has never changed. 



" 4. From the known operations 

 of causes of every class upon the 

 continents since their birth, it is 

 certain that they cannot have ex- 

 isted a great many ages. 



" I have shown in the ' Ele- 

 mentary Treatise on Geology,' 

 that the whole of the history of the 

 earth is connected with these pro- 

 positions. They shall now be sub- 

 mitted, in all their parts, to the 

 determination of facts; and I do 

 not believe that the field of natural 

 sciences can present any point of 

 view, so well deserving the atten- 

 tion of every reflecting man. For 

 the question to be decided is no 

 less than this : whether geological 

 inonuments authorize us to discard, 

 as so many authors have done, 

 either explicitly or implicitly, the 

 only written history of the earth 

 and of mankind which now exists; 

 a history more ancient than any 

 other authentic writing, the origin 

 of ail religions, and the first, the 

 positive, the only foundation of 

 our own." 



With the advantage of this vene- 

 ration for the writings of iMoses 

 for a guide, at least as a beacon 

 against the danger of error, Mr. 

 de Luc proceeds to confirm this 

 tlsjory by his late geological tra- 

 vtls. 



In perusing both the publications 

 controverted by Mr. de Luc, we 

 are struck with the variety and ex- 

 tent of knowledge that may be 

 brought to bear on the subject of 

 geology. Geology, which con- 

 nects earth with heaven, and in- 

 quires, not only into the natural 

 differences of things, but into all 

 that is capable of modifying and 

 changing the world of minerals, 

 plants, and animals, in the lapse of 

 time, appears to come in contact 

 with all kinds of study or know- 

 ledge. 



A View of Spain ; comprising a 

 Descriptive Itinerary of each 

 Province, and a general Statis- 

 tical Account of the Country ; 

 including its i-'opulatio7i, Agri- 

 culture, Commerce, and Fi- 

 nances ; its Government, Civil 

 and Ecclesiastical Establish- 

 ments ; the State of the Arts, 

 Sciences, and Literature ; its 

 Manners, Customs, Natural 

 History, SfC. Translated from 

 the French of Alexander de La- 

 borde. In Five Volumes ; tuitk 

 an Atlas in a separate and small 

 Volume. 



Mr. de Laborde does not merit 

 a place in our literary selections 

 for the year, on account of any 

 eminence in point of either genius 

 or learning. He is a book-maker, 

 though not one of the lowest class, 

 that is, a mere operator with scis- 

 sors and paste. He uses his own 

 pen as well as those of others. He 

 is a book-maker on a great scale ; 

 a banker become a book-maker, 

 under the idea of its being a good 

 mcrcmtile speculatio!'. ; anrl this 

 circumstance alone might perhaps 



Justify 



