390 



MINERALOGY. 



C'.eognosy. The speculative j>art of geognosy engaged the atten- 

 s ~ 1 "V"'' tion of mankind at a very early period ; for we find 

 that the priests of Egypt maintained the aqueous origin 

 of the globe. From Egypt science passed into Greece ; 

 and we learn that Thales, one of the most distinguish- 

 ed of the Grecian philosophers, taught the Neptunian 

 view of the origin and formation of the earth, which lie 

 had become acquainted with during his residence in 

 Egypt. Zeno, another learned Greek philosopher, 

 maintained that fire was the prima malerin, and that 

 the earth was formed from the igneous element. But 

 it would be vain to attempt an account of the various 

 fanciful speculations on the formation of the earth, pro- 

 posed by ancient authors. These afford us no satisfac- 

 tory information, in regard to the materials and struc- 

 ture of the crust of the earth. Agricola, in Saxony, and 

 that remarkable man Bernard de Palissy, in France, 

 were the first observers who proposed rational opinions 

 respecting the formation of minerals But the uni- 

 versal devotion to idle, useless, and pernicious scho- 

 lastic disussions, so prevalent at that time, and which 

 continued for a long succeeding period, occasioned an 

 almost total neglect of their observations and opinions. 

 In the year 1740, De Maillet, who had resided long in 

 Egypt, and who adopted the opinions of the ancient phi- 

 losophers of that country, where he himself had wit- 

 nessed how the waters, by the deposition of earthy 

 matter, contributed to the magnitude of the earth, at- 

 tempted a general explanation of the formation of the 

 globe. In his curious work, entitled Teltiamed, (his 

 own name reversed,) he maintains, that our globe is 

 composed of strata, which have been successively de- 

 posited over each other by the sea, which gradually 

 retired and uncovered the present continents. This 

 opinion was adopted by Linnasus in his amusing 

 tract, entitled De Telluris habilabilis incremento ; and 

 BufFon, in his splendid vision of the formation of the 

 earth, inclines partially to this hypothesis ; for he con- 

 siders the superficial strata of the globe as having been 

 formed from water. But all these speculations rested 

 on a very insecure basis ; because the mineralogy of no 

 tract of country had hitherto been accurately and scien- 

 tifically examined. It was therefore idle to attempt to 

 speculate on the formation of the earth with any pros- 

 pect of success, when we were ignorant of the materials 

 of which it is composed, and of their structures and 

 modes of arrangement. 



Tilias, a Swede, was one of the first naturalists who 

 was aware of the utility and importance of such de- 

 scriptions; and, in the year 1750, he published several 

 topographical descriptions, illustrative of districts in 

 Sweden. This example was speedily followed, and, in 

 the year 1756, Lehman, a German miner, published 

 his celebrated work on secondary, or flcetz rocks, in 

 which the distinction into primitive and secondary 

 mountains is first proposed. Wallerius, professor of 

 mineralogy at Upsal, by the publication of his system 

 of mineralogy in 1778, and Gerhard, in his elementary 

 work on minerals, made us acquainted with the geo- 

 gnostical situation of many minerals. But of all the 

 works of that period, the most important was the phy- 

 sical geography of Bergman, in which we find col- 

 lected and disposed, in a luminous order, all the facts 

 and observations hitherto published, in regard to the 

 strata of the earth, and to mineral veins. Travellers 

 now made the investigation of the strata of countries an 

 object of particular attention. Pallas, who was em- 

 ployed by the Russian government, in examining the 

 natural productions of that vast empire, although the 

 state of mineralogy at that period, and the rapidity of 



his journeys, prevented minute investigations, made Geognosy, 

 many important geognosticul observations, and was the T"" 

 first who investigated with care the numerou> and strik- 

 ing fossil remains of elephants, rhinoceroses, and other 

 genera of the torrid zone, found buried under the icy 

 soil of Siberia. 



Guettard and Monnet, in France, supported by pub- 

 lic aid, and assisted by many naturalists, undertook the 

 mincr;ilot>ical description of France. Several parts of 

 this work were published, but the facts were not well 

 arranged or connected. Lavoisier, the celebrated che- 

 mist, co-operated in this mineralogical hi; tory of France, 

 and published several beautiful descriptive memoirs. 

 Other naturalists gave descriptions ofdistrirts in France; 

 Gensane published that of Languedoc; Faujas that of 

 Dauphiny, and made us acquaii-tcd with the volcanoes 

 of Vivarais ; Desmarest had already described the vol. 

 canoes of Auvergne ; Palassou, in his essay on the Py- 

 renees, explained the structure ot that great range of 

 mountains, and was the first to state the important fact, 

 that the direction of the strata is parallel with that of the 

 chain. But, of all the works published at this period, 

 (1779,) the most important and that which contribu- 

 ted in the most eminent degree to the advancement of 

 geognosy, was the first volume of the travels ot the cele- 

 brated Sausure. It contains m-tiiy interesting mine- 

 ralogical facts, and numerous important geological 

 observations. The succeeding volumes of this work 

 of Saussure's abound in valuable facts and beautiful 

 views of nature, and characterise him as one of the 

 most profound and successful of geologists. J. A. Deluc, 

 also a native of Geneva, and cottmporary of Saussure, 

 was an active enquirer, who added several important 

 facts and views to geology. Some years before the 

 appearance of the works of Saussure and of Deluc, the 

 celebrated Werner was appointed professor of minera- 

 logy at Freyberg in Saxony. This remarkable man, 

 by his numerous observations, and profound views of 

 nature, created a new aera in mineralogy. He was the 

 first to point out and explain the true mode of investi- 

 gating geognostical phenomena ; he first arranged and 

 developed the principal structures that occur in the 

 crust of the earth, and explained and enumerated the 

 various relations of mountain-rock's, beds, and veins, 

 and of the fossil organic remains contained in strata of 

 different kinds. 



Unfortunately for science, he published but little, so 

 that his discoveries, arrangements, and views, were 

 principally made known by the writings of his nume- 

 rous pupils. These were of all countries, from the 

 shores of the Black Sea to the extremity of Norway ; 

 and his fame and views were carried to the Americas, and 

 principally by his own pupils. Indeed most of the dis- 

 tinguished mineralogists of the present age have proceed- 

 ed from the celebrated school of Freyberg. Mohs, Char- 

 pentier, Buch, Raumer, Freisleben, Humboldt, Stef- 

 fens, Engelhart, Esmark, d'Andrada, Brocchi, De la 

 Rio, and many others, might be mentioned as pupils of 

 this great and profound naturalist. >\ hilst Werner, by 

 his prelections, and the activity, zeal, and skill of his 

 pupils, was advancing geognosy in Germany, and in 

 many other countries, we find that Patrin, Delametherie, 

 Raymond, and others in France, were adding to our 

 knowledge of the structure and composition of the 

 earth. But of all French geologists, the most dis- 

 tinguished was Dolomieu. He was one of the first na- 

 turalists who examined, in a satisfactory manner, the 

 nature of active volcanoes, and his writings and views 

 in this department of geognosy may be considered 

 as having led the way to the investigations and views 



