THEORY OF THE EARTH. 137 



From all that has been said, it may be seen 

 that nature uniformly speaks the same language, 

 everywhere informing us that the present order of 

 things cannot have commenced at a very remote 

 period. And, what is very remarkable, mankind 

 everywhere speaks as nature, whether we consult 

 the received traditions of the various nations, or 

 examine their moral and political state, and the 

 intellectual attainments which they had made at 

 the period when their authentic records com- 

 mence. 



The History of Nations confirms the Newness of the 

 Continents. 



In fact, although, at the first glance, the tradi- 

 tions of some ancient nations, which extend their 

 origin to so many thousands of ages, appear 

 strongly to contradict this newness of the world,as 

 it exists at present ; yet when we examine these 

 traditions more carefully, we soon perceive that 

 they are not sufficiently authenticated. We are, 

 on the contrary, quickly convinced, that true his- 

 tory, deserving that name, and all that has been 



are given in note F, respecting the islands of the west coast 

 of the Duchy of Sleswick, and the manner in which they 

 have been joined, whether to one another, or to the con- 

 tinent, by alluvial depositions and peat-mosses, as well as re- 

 specting the irruptions of the sea which from time to time 

 have destroyed or separated some of their parts. 



