X GEOLOGICAL REFORM 313 



every page of the " Principles of Geology " ? I 

 think that he who writes fairly the history of his 

 own progress in geological thought, will not be 

 able to separate his debt to Hutton from his 

 obligations to Lyell ; and the history of the pro- 

 gress of individual geologists is the history of 



No one can doubt that the influence of uniform- 

 itarian views has been enormous, and, in the 

 main, most beneficial and favourable to the 

 progress of sound geology. 



Nor can it be questioned that Uniformitarianism 

 has even a stronger title than Catastrophism to 

 call itself the geological speculation of Britain, or, 

 if you will, British popular geology. For it is 

 eminently a British doctrine, and has even now 

 made comparatively little progress on the con- 

 tinent of Europe. Nevertheless, it seems to me 

 to be open to serious criticism upon one of its 

 aspects. 



I have sho"v\Ti how unjust was the insinuation 

 that Hutton denied a beginning to the world. 

 But it would not be unjust to say that he persist- 

 ently in practice, shut his eyes to the existence 

 of that prior and different state of things which, 

 in theory, he admitted ; and, in this aversion to 

 look beyond the veil of stratified rocks, Lyell 

 follows him. 



Hutton and Lyell alike agree in their indis- 

 position to carry their speculations a step beyond 



