PHILLIPS 251 



and yet this would scarcely show greater wisdom than 

 the procedure of the geologist who, from a knowledge 

 of the earth's history during the past few thousand years, 

 should endeavour to deduce from it the rate of events 

 during 30,000,000 of years in the past ! 



Dr. Buckland was succeeded by Professor Phillips, a 

 man of most varied genius, a classical scholar, an expert 

 mathematician, an omnivorous reader, facile both with 

 pencil and pen, interested in all science and a master 

 in his own. He taught in this University for more than 

 twenty years, and during that period he enriched our 

 science by numerous contributions of the highest value. 

 A smooth and easy progress marked the course of 

 geology, and knowledge steadily enlarged its bounds. 

 The great Cetiosaurus, one of the greatest of the old- 

 world monsters, larger even than the great Iguanodon 

 which is now represented in our museum, we owe to him. 

 Towards the end of his career, geology, like all other 

 science, was confronted by the reappearance of an old 

 and discredited doctrine, but now presented afresh with 

 new and startling vigour ; it was the doctrine of evolution 

 as expounded in the famous " Origin of Species by Natural 

 Selection." Once more an Oxford professor was called 

 upon to pronounce judgment on one of those momentous 

 questions which arise from time to time to disturb the 

 steady current of established thought. 



Darwin's present of a copy of his book was accompanied 

 by the following letter : 



" MY DEAR PHILLIPS, I have directed Murray to send 

 you a copy of my book on the ' Origin of Species,' which 

 as yet is only an abstract. I fear that you will be inclined 

 to fulminate awful anathemas against it. I assure you 

 that it is the result of far more labour than is apparent in 

 its present highly condensed state. If you have time to 



