MacCullocirs System of Geology. 359 



bourers on the field of geology, which many of them have de- 

 voted their whole lives to extend and enrich ; and it is painful 

 to add, that in the few instances where such notices do occur, 

 it is almost without exception, in terms of blame, and never, or 

 almost never, in those of praise. Even with the want of this 

 courtesy, or rather justice which we are entitled to expect, we 

 might have been disposed to give the work due credit for its 

 intrinsic merit — for views so great and absorbing as to blot out 

 for a moment the recollection of the painful labours of immor- 

 tal minds which had brought the science to such a point of 

 perfection as to require only a master's hand to associate and 

 generalize — or for a plan so compendious and didactic as should 

 free the author from the charge of egotism, by the laborious 

 and perspicuous selection of facts and views from every acces- 

 sible source. The work certainly enjoys neither of these cha- 

 racteristics, and we suspect by this time, though we have seen 

 no notice of it whatever, has taken its station in the ranks of 

 literature, — a low one we believe, and above which it will ne- 

 ver rise. 



That the System of Geology has some few good points 

 about it, no impartial person, we believe, will deny ; whilst 

 its defects are so obvious and glaring, that men of far less 

 intellectual stamina than Dr MacCulloch himself, will delight 

 to tear it in pieces and trample it under foot, whilst few will 

 ever attempt to separate the valuable grains from the over- 

 weeningly preponderating mass of chaff*. That the Doctor 

 docs not even deprecate criticism is quite obvious from 

 the whole tone of the work. He has fairly laid himself 

 open to the most merciless attacks on c\ery hand, and he will 

 probably experience them. lie seems almost to want his usual 

 self-confidence in recommending his book : And how could it 

 be otherwise ? During by far the greater part of his 995 pages, 

 the matter is stale ; the manner is feeble ; the premises are often 

 indistinct; the conclusions are often inconclusive; the matter 

 is ill arranged, the views sometimes inconsistent or opposed;* 

 the work is ill printed; it is devoid of illustration on wood, 

 Copper, or stone ; and the price is, — L. 1, lS2s. This, we sus- 

 pect, is thejiey-stone to the whole work ; the "ami sacra fames"" 

 peeps through at every coiner; and the Dot tor, we imagine, 



• ( ompare the last chapter with oilier parts ofilu work. 



