98 SCIENCE AND PSEUDO-SCIENCE m 



in what sense has this part of the uniformitarian 

 doctrine, as he defines it, lowered its pretensions 

 to represent scientific truth ? 



As to the "extreme slowness of all geological 

 changes," it is simply a popular error to regard 

 that as, in any wise, a fundamental and necessary 

 dogma of uniformitarianism. It is extremely 

 astonishing to me that any one who has carefully 

 studied Lyell's great work can have so completely 

 failed to appreciate its purport, which yet is " writ 

 large " on the very title-page : " The Principles of 

 Geology, being an attempt to explain the former 

 changes of the earth's surface by reference to 

 causes now in operation." The essence of Lyell's 

 doctrine is here written so that those who run 

 may read ; and it has nothing to do with the 

 quickness or slowness of the past changes of the 

 earth's surface ; except in so far as existing 

 analogous changes may go on slowly, and there- 

 fore create a presumption in favour of the slowness 

 of past changes. 



With that epigrammatic force which character- 

 ises his style, Buffon wrote, nearly a hundred and 

 fifty years ago, in his famous " Theorie de la 

 Terre " : " Pour juger de ce qui est arrive, et meme 

 de ce qui arrivera, nous n'avons qu'a examiner ce 

 qui arrive." The key of the past, as of the future, 

 is to be sought in the present ; and, only when 

 known causes of change have been shown to be 

 insufficient, have we any right to have recourse to 



