ILLOGICAL GEOLOGY. 



less, he considered the hypothesis at variance with Chris 

 tianity; and therefore combated with it. lie apparently 

 overlooked the fact that the doctrines of geology in gen 

 eral, as held by himself, had been rejected by many on sim 

 ilar grounds ; and that lie had himself been repeatedly at 

 tacked for his anti-Christian teachings. He seems not to 

 have perceived that, just as his antagonists were wrong in 

 condemning as irreligious, theories which lie saw were not 

 irreligious ; so might he be wrong in condemning, on like 

 grounds, the Theory of Evolution. In brief, lie fell short 

 of that highest faith, which knows that all truths must har- 

 inoni/e ; and which is, therefore, content trustfully to fol- 

 lo\v the evidence whithersoever it leads. 



Of course it is impossible to critici/.e his works without 

 entering on this great question to which he chiefly devoted 

 himself. The t\vo remaining doctrines to be here discussed, 

 bear directly on this question ; and, as above said, we pro 

 pose to treat them in connection with Hugh Miller s name, 

 because, throughout his reasonings, he assumes their truth. 

 Let it not be supposed, however, that we shall aim to prove 

 what he has aimed to disprove. While we purpose show 

 ing that his arguments against the Development Hypothe 

 sis arc based on invalid assumptions ; we do not purpose 

 showing that the opposing arguments arc based on valid 

 assumptions. We hope to make it apparent that the geo 

 logical evidence at present obtained, is insufficient for either 

 side ; further, that there seems little probability of sufficient 

 evidence ever being obtained ; and that if the question is 

 eventually decided, it must be decided on other than geo 

 logical data. 



The first of the current doctrines to which we have just 

 referred, is, that there occur in the records of former life 

 on our planet, certain great blanks that though, generally, 

 the succession of fossil forms is tolerably continuous, yet 



