THE EARTH. 



CHAPTER IV. 



A REVIEW OF THE DIFFERENT THEORIES OF THE EARTH. 



HUMAN invention has been exercised for 

 several ages to account for the various irre- 

 gularities of the earth. While those philo- 

 sophers, mentioned in the last chapter, see 

 nothing but beauty, symmetry, and order; 

 there are others, who look upon the gloomy 

 side of nature, enlarge on its defects, and 

 seem to consider the earth, on which they 

 tread, as one scene of extensive desolation." 

 Beneath its surface they observe minerals 

 and waters confusedly jumbled together; its 

 different beds of earth irregularly lying upon 

 each other; mountains rising from places that 

 once were level; b and hills sinking into val- 

 leys; whole regions swallowed by the sea, 

 and others again rising out of its bosom. All 

 these they suppose to be but a few of the 

 changes that have been wrought in our globe; 

 and they send out the imagination to describe 

 its primeval state of beauty. 



Of those who have written theories de- 

 scribing the manner of the original formation 

 of the earth, or accounting for its present ap- 

 pearances, the most celebrated are Burnet, 

 Whiston, Woodward, and Buffbn. As specu- 

 lation is endless, so it is not to be wondered 

 that all these differ from each other, and give 

 opposite accounts of the several changes, 

 which they suppose our earth to have under- 

 gone. As the systems of each have had their 

 admirers, it is, in some measure, incumbent 

 upon the natural historian to be acquainted, 

 at least, with their outlines ; and, indeed, to 

 know what others have even dreamed in mat- 

 ters of science, is very useful, as it may often 

 prevent us from indulging similar delusions 

 ourselves, which we should never have adopt- 

 ed, but because we take them to be wholly 

 our own. However, as entering into a detail 

 of these theories is rather furnishing a history 

 of opinions than things, I will endeavour to 

 be as concise as I can. 



The first who formed this amusement of 

 earth-making into system, was the celebrated 



Buffon's Second Discourse. 

 NO. 2. 



Thomas Burnet, a man of polite learning and 

 rapid imagination. His Sacred Theory, as he 

 calls it, describing the changes which the 

 earth has undergone, or shall hereafter un- 

 dergo, is well known for the warmth with 

 which it is imagined, and the weakness with 

 which it is reasoned; for the elegance of its- 

 style, and the meanness of its philosophy. 

 " The earth," says he, " before the deluge, 

 was very differently formed from what it is at 

 present : it was at first a fluid mass ; a chaos 

 composed of various substances, differing both 

 in density and figure : those which were most 

 heavy sunk to the centre, and formed in the 

 middle of our globe a hard solid body ; those 

 of a lighter nature remained next ; and the 

 waters, which were lighter still, swam upon 

 its surface, and covered the earth on every 

 side. The air, and all those fluids which were 

 lighter than water, floated upon this also ; and 

 in the same manner encompassed the globe ; 

 so that between the surrounding body of wa- 

 ters, and the circumambient air, there was 

 formed a coat of oil, and other unctuous sub- 

 stances, lighter than water. However, as the 

 air was still extremely impure, and must have 

 carried up with it many of those earthy parti- 

 cles with which itoncewas intimately blended, 

 it soon began to defecate, and to depose these 

 particles upon the oily surface already men- 

 tioned, which soon uniting, the earth and oil 

 formed that crust, which soon became an ha- 

 bitable surface, giving life to vegetation, and 

 dwelling to animals. 



" This imaginary antediluvian abode was 

 very different from what we see it at present. 

 The earth was light and rich ; and formed of 

 a substance entirely adapted to the feeble 

 state of incipient vegetation ; it was an uni- 

 form plain, every where covered with ver- 

 dure ; without mountains, without seas, or 

 the smallest inequalities. It had no difference 

 of seasons, for its equator was in the plane of 

 the ecliptic, or,in other words, it turned d : .rect- 



b Senec. Qua;st. lib. vi. cap. 21 

 D 



