14 Astronomy and Geology compared. 



FT. I. 



those which have already rendered him the monarch 

 of the material world. It is worth remark also, in 

 days when a certain sect of philosophers seems 

 always intent upon levelling Man to the condition 

 of an animal, that this faculty of originating new 

 effects by new combinations, the offspring of intelli- 

 gence, is not shared in the remotest degree by any of 

 the lower animals it is the sole prerogative of Man. 



These three methods of inquiry appear to me to 

 be distinct from each other, but they are not incom- 

 patible ; the philosopher may employ one or two, or 

 all three of them, as he may find them to be most 

 available for his purpose ; in point of fact, in the 

 study of most sciences they are so employed. 



In applying these principles to the consideration 

 of the evidence by which Astronomy and Geology 

 are respectively supported, we find that Astronomy 

 rests upon the double basis of observation and pure 

 mathematical reasoning. The evidence of fact has 

 accumulated in immense stores. The perfection 

 which modern telescopes have attained, particularly 

 since the days of the elder Herschel, multiplies a 

 hundredfold the powers of the human eye. 



Every appearance of the heavens, every motion of 

 the bodies comprising our solar system, are scanned 



