ORGANIC GEOLOGICAL DYNAMICS. 631 



advice of that eminent naturalist, M. de Blainville '". 

 "Against this hypothesis, which, up to the present 

 time, I regard as purely gratuitous, and likely to 

 turn geologists out of the sound and excellent road 

 in which they now are, I willingly raise my voice, 

 with the most absolute conviction of being in the 

 right." 



Sect. 5. Question of Creation as related to Science. 



BUT since we reject the production of new species 

 by means of external influence, do we then, it may 

 be asked, accept the other side of the dilemma 

 which we have stated ; and admit a series of crea- 

 tions of species, by some power beyond that which 

 we trace in the ordinary course of nature ? 



To this question, the history and analogy of 

 science, I conceive, teach us to reply as follows : 

 All pala3tiological sciences, all speculations which 

 attempt to ascend from the present to the remote 

 past, by the chain of causation, do also, by an inevit- 

 able consequence, urge us to look for the beginning 

 of the state of things which we thus contemplate ; 

 but in none of these cases have men been able, by 

 the aid of science, to arrive at a beginning which is 

 homogenous with the known course of events. The 

 first origin of language, of civilization, of law and 

 government, cannot be clearly made out by reason- 

 ing and research ; just as little, we may expect, will 

 a knowledge of the origin of the existing and extinct 



10 Compte Rendu, 1837, No. 5, p. Hi8. 



