A DAY IN A QUARRY. 85 



" Precisely so. Creation is said in Genesis to 

 have occupied six days the six days immediately 

 preceding man's appearance and I really don't see 

 how that statement can be reconciled with what 

 our geologists hold concerning the antiquity of the 

 earth, and of plants and animals. This is why I 

 have looked upon geology with mistrust, and have 

 regarded it as atheistic in tendency and anti- 

 Scriptural in teaching." 



" Still, my dear friend," said I, " you must admit 

 that it is better to know the truth than that we 

 should even pin our faith to the most venerable 

 writer if he is in error. You may depend upon it, 

 the evidence of geology will have to be as clear as 

 sunlight, and as undeniable as that two and two 

 make four, before the narrative which we regard as 

 divinely inspired is given up at the bidding of that 

 science. But you need be in no sort of fear, for 

 Moses is not in the least danger yet from geological 

 researches. In fact, Moses nowhere says the uni- 

 verse was made in six days of twenty-four hours ; 

 but, rightly viewed, his language prophetically 

 sanctions the modern geological doctrines on the 

 subject of the earth's antiquity. It is probable that 

 they who lived before Moses knew better than our 

 grandfathers what the truth of this matter is, but 

 the early traditions by the time of Moses had lost 

 something of their fulness, and hence the inspired 

 language which Moses wrote has all along been 

 misunderstood, to be more accurately explained in 

 our time as the result of geological studies. As 

 soon as ever the records of the rocks were ac- 



