260 On the Physical Facts contained in the Bible, 
relations which the sciences are every day contracting with 
revelation, he says; “that all human discoveries seem to 
be made only for the purpose of confirming more strongly 
the truths come from on high, and contained in,the Sacred 
Writings.” This illustrious astronomer has seen in this agree- 
ment the most valuable triumph and most noble conquest of 
intelligence. 
This scientific fact may be regarded even in a still more im- 
portant light. It indicates that the author of Genesis has had 
just reason to look upon man as the last that appeared of living 
beings, and to regard him as the limit and completion of the 
creation. If plants have preceded herbivorous animals, be- 
cause the latter must derive from these all that serves them 
for nourishment, herbivorous animals must, in like manner, 
have appeared before the carnivorous species. In truth, 
without the herbivorous races, the carnivora must have died 
of hunger. For similar reasons the omnivorous, or such races 
as live both on vegetables and animals, must have made their 
appearance at a later period. Accordingly man, who is om- 
nivorous par eacellence, must have appeared last among living 
beings, since he requires the presence of all kinds of nourish- 
ment. 
On the other hand, when Scripture speaks of the creation 
of plants, it makes them vegetate and develop themselves 
before the appearance of the sun, and under conditions of 
light, heat, and humidity, different from those under which 
vegetables now flourish. It has thus disclosed to us, thou- 
sands of years ago, an order of things which the fossil bo- 
tanist has found to exist with great exactness, and which 
he has endeavoured to explain by causes different from 
those whose action is now felt.* Scripture, therefore. has 
admitted, with reason, that the germination of vegetables 
commenced before the sun had received the power of shed- 
ding his light on the earth ; it is thus by motives not less 
legitimate, and not less real, that it makes plants appear 
* See Genesis i. 11 and 12; and our memoir on the Fossil Plants of 
the Coal Formation of the Polar regions, Bibl. Univ., July 1834. 
