VIII 



THE INFLUENCE OF OXFORD ON 

 THE HISTOEY OF GEOLOGY 



ONE of the most immediate effects produced by 

 contemplation of the world around us is that of 

 pleasure in its abounding beauty. Whether we wander 

 through the smiling country which surrounds this Univer- 

 sity, or climb the snowy peaks of the Alps, or visit the 

 sunlit islands of the Tropics, wherever we turn, the feel- 

 ing expressed by a German poet will spontaneously arise, 

 " Oh ! Wunderschon ist Gottes Erde, Und Schon auf ihr 

 ein Mensch zu sein " " Beautiful is God's Earth, and 

 good it is to be a Man thereon." 



This aesthetic delight, while it may sometimes suffice 

 for the poet, is succeeded generally by a desire for closer 

 acquaintance ; a certain Divine curiosity implanted in 

 the breast of man leads him to search into the inner 

 mysteries of Nature, and to explore the causes of the 

 wonderful phenomena which surround him. He begins 

 to examine and compare, to analyse the complex into its 

 elements, and to build up again the elements into a new 

 and intellectual cosmos. Thus he gains a new pleasure 

 from contemplation of the world, and labouring in the 

 pleasant work of investigation experiences the joy of 

 discovery. 



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