ON THEORIES OF THE EARTH. 403 



for him, excuses not to be made for many of his suc- 

 cessors. 



As far as the important fact of the elevation of the 

 strata is concerned, the views of Lazzaro Moro, in 

 1740, have attracted most notice : those of Boscovich 

 are of 1772. If, as a theory of the earth, this has 

 but limited pretensions, founded as it is on Italy, he 

 considers that the ocean originally covered the whole 

 earth, destitute at first of animal life, that, even then, 

 there were subterranean fires which elevated the pri- 

 mary strata, and that as animals were produced and 

 died, their remains were also elevated with subsequent 

 rocks, forming the secondary ones. These causes are 

 still acting in volcanic countries ; and thus does the 

 Italian geologist account for the angular positions, 

 fractures, and other accidents of the strata, with the 

 forms of the present surface. His imperfections are 

 defects from omission, and would probably have been 

 supplied under our present information: but this must 

 not be called a "Plutonic system," as it has been; 

 since the strata are prepared under water. Employing 

 a demonstrated elevating force, it avoids the encum- 

 brances of all the purely aqueous theories ; and if it 

 does not fully explain the production of strata, neither 

 does it propose an impossible chemistry to account for 

 them, nor brave, like its numerous rivals, all the laws 

 of all the sciences. In its scope indeed, it is more li- 

 mited than those which have been founded on it, but 

 it is the parent of the whole: and if they have affected 

 to despise it as "volcanic" and partial, hoping perhaps 

 to gain the credit of invention, they have but betrayed 

 ignorance, if not dishonesty ; overshooting also the 

 mark in this attempt, and committing errors in striving 

 to deviate from that to which it has been part of my 

 business to bring them back. 



D D 2 



