438 SKETCH TOWARDS A 



should have heen seven distinct creations of organic 

 life. But there is yet one more, if, as seems to be be- 

 lieved, the quadrupeds of the tertiary strata were not 

 created till a later period ; while the creation of Man 

 and some other races of animals will still remain to be 

 added, under the general geological and historical ar- 

 guments which I need not now detail. But I desire 

 to be brief on what is most doubtful: and I therefpre 

 leave this, with much more, to those who may prefer 

 a system, alternately theory and hypothesis, under the 

 name of Theory, to a chain in which many demon- 

 strated links are separated by some broken ones. This 

 only I ought to remark in general ; that whether in- 

 terrupted or progressive, or both together, the organic 

 inhabitants of the earth appear to have augmented, in 

 numbers, in variety, and apparently in perfection, if 

 not regularly, from the commencement : while we 

 might even have decided on this a priori, knowing 

 that its quality as the habitation of life, had been pro- 

 gressively improved. Respecting imaginary changes 

 of temperature or axis, I will add nothing to what I 

 formerly said : there is no Evidence for either, and 

 there is opposing evidence : yet if I formerly adduced 

 the non-production of peat in hot climates as an argu- 

 ment, let me so far correct this, as to state, from some 

 more recent information, that a kind of peat is gene- 

 rated in the Indian Archipelago ; yet not on such a 

 scale as to invalidate it. 



Thus have I, to the extent of my knowledge, sketched 

 the fundamental and general Theory of the Earth, and 

 its progression to our own days, from that first state 

 which we may infer to have followed the act of abso- 

 lute Creation. But there are many subsidiary points 

 yet demanding notice, which, if I have separated them 

 for the sake of clearness, can he easily traiihfcrred to 



