XIV IXTItODrCTlO.V. 



who was cniik'ut In ivgiiid tlicin us pidduccd liy some |»lastic 

 force ill the rock which he coiiM not ex]jlain. 



Tlie authoritative opinion of Aristotle was almost 

 universally accei^ted hy the few writers who considered the 

 subject before the revival (jf learning,' towards the l)eginiiing 

 of the sixteenth century. By this time the numerous sliells, 

 teeth, and fish-remains met with in tlie stone quarries of 

 Italy had induced several obserxeis in that country to 

 i'ec(-)usider the question of their true nature. Similar 

 (lisco^■eries in other European countries were also being 

 discussed in their bearing (m the same proldem. The objects 

 found in stone were now closely compared with the shells, 

 teeth, and skeletons of tlie animals most nearly resembling 

 them M'hicli still lived in the ^lediterranean sea. The 

 plant-remains were also studied deeply in cttunection with 

 the leaves of the known existing vegetati<m. The result was 

 that, although many oliservers still adhered to the long- 

 prevalent belief, some of the most philosophical minds were 

 compelled l)y strict reasoning to admit that the fossilia 

 (Latin, " things dug up "), or fossils, as they were now 

 commcjiily termed, were really the remains of the once-living 

 animals and plants which they appeared to represent. 

 Leonardo da Yinci, the well-known painter, was one of the 

 first to support this opinion witli unansweraljle arguments ; 

 while Steno, a Professor in the University of Padua, more 

 than a century later, made it impossible any longer to doubt 

 his demonstration of the facts. Steno's collection was 

 acquired by the English Gresham Professor, Jolin Woodward, 

 who bequeathed it to the L'niversity of Caml)ridge, where it 

 is still preserved in the AVoodwardian ]\Iuseum. 



The true nature of fossils was thus settled by the 

 l)eginning of the eighteenth century and the next problem 

 was to explain how the remains of sea-animals had been 

 Iniried in the rocks far inland and at .gi'eat heights among 

 hills and mountains. For at least sixty years it was the 

 prevailing opinion that all the phenomena could be accounted 

 lor by the Deluge recorded in the Pentateuch. There were, 

 how^ever, many difficulties in accepting this ex] Sanation, 

 and the discussions at the time led to a most detailed study 

 of the manner in which the fossils were grouped and 

 distrilmted in tlie different kinds of rock. Observations 

 accumulated at a remarkalde rate, until, by the end of the 

 eighteenth century, it became quite clear that the fossilised 

 animals and ])lants could not have lived all together at one 



