THE AVERNERIAN SOCIETY. 43 



and afterwards in 1801, by his Mineralogy of the 

 Scottish Isles. In these works, he gave a flattering 

 earnest of his accurate views in the study of science, 

 and of his indefatigable zeal in the attainment of it. 



About 1804, Mr Playfair's beautiful and eloquent 

 Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory were first pub- 

 lished. In this work, all that eloquence, fine taste, 

 and infinite ingenuity, could do, were united to vin- 

 dicate and establish the doctrines of which the 

 author may be considered the most illustrious cham- 

 pion. Public attention having been strongly excited 

 on these topics by the impugning of Dr Hutton's 

 creed by Professor Jameson, the contest became 

 keen ; and the result has been, to establish, very 

 universally, the important fact, that the science of 

 mineralogy is only to be acquired by patient labour, 

 and that theory is as useless as contemptible, unless 

 supported by a " cloud of facts." 



In this state of general scientific excitement, those 

 who felt anxious to render it beneficial, naturally 

 sought for channels through which its influence might 

 be judiciously directed. The most obvious was the 

 establishment of societies, which, while protecting 

 and encouraging every branch of natural history, 

 would afford due support to mineralogical science 

 in all its parts, whether regarded as furnishing ma- 

 terials for the philosophic inquirer, or as directing 

 the operations of the practical mineralogist. To 

 louse a certain interest in the neglected though 

 highly interesting walks of science, was an object of 



