xiv.] FORBES' SCIENTIFIC WORK. 485 



in the heavy quartos of the " Philosophical Transac- 

 tions," I should not have thought that the refutation of 

 them was so important/ 



The extracts and quotations we have given will suffice 

 to show that Forbes, from a mere common-sense point 

 of view, though with quite unnecessary elaboration, hit 

 upon a real blot in Mitchell's argument, and rightly 

 denounced its revival in Sir John Herschel's justly cele- 

 brated text-book. But they also show that in dealing 

 with the subject, he fell, at first at least, into mistakes 

 quite as grave as those he was endeavouring to expose. 



The following account of Forbes' geological work is 

 quoted, by permission, from an excellent obituary 

 notice by Professor Geikie, in the 'Proceedings of the 

 Geological Society of Edinburgh.' 



'Principal Forbes was born just twelve years after the 

 death of the great Hutton, only seven years after the 

 publication of the " Illustrations of the Huttonian 

 Theory," and he was already a boy of ten when Playfair 

 died. Many of his friends had been personally ac- 

 quainted with these philosophers, and the memory of 

 the fierce Plutonian and Neptunian war was still fresh 

 in their minds when he began to give himself to scientific 

 pursuits. These early influences are traceable all through 

 his life. He was profoundly impressed with the origin- 

 al ity and truth of the views propounded by Hutton, and 

 illustrated by Playfair. In one of his earliest papers he 

 refers to " the splendid Huttonian theory which Playfair 

 undertook so ably to illustrate." 1 In one of his latest 

 writings he speaks with enthusiasm of the "precious 

 lessons" which one of his friends had drawn from the 

 lips of Playfair and of Hall. 2 I shall never cease to 

 remember with gratitude that it was he who introduced 

 me, when a boy, to the writings of these masters. 1 1 

 used to speak of Playfair's " Illustrations of the 

 m Theory/' as one of the best books ever 

 written upon the first principles of geological science. 



. Science, New Series, i. \\ L'7 !. 

 * Froc. KOI/. 



