228 



RELICS OF PRIMEVAL LIFE 



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rocks and minerals than with fossils ; but I see 

 no reason to fear the ultimate results. In any case, 

 no doubt, the value of the researches hitherto made 

 may be diminished. It is always the fate of dis- 

 coverers in Natural Science, either to be followed 

 by opponents who temporarily or permanently im- 

 pucjn or destroy the value of their new facts, or by 

 other investij^ators who push on the knowledge 

 of facts and principles so far beyond their stand- 

 point that the original discoveries are cast into the 

 shade. This is a fatality incident to the progress 

 of scientific work, from which no man can be free ; 

 and in so far as such matters are concerned, we 

 must all be content to share the fate of the old 

 fossils whose history we investigate, and, having 

 served our day and generation, to give place to 

 others. If any part of our work should stand the 

 fire of discussion, let us be thankful. One thing 

 at least is certain, that such careful surveys as those 

 in the Laurentian rocks of Canada which led to 

 the discovery of Eozoon, and such microscopic ex- 

 aminations as those by which it has been worked 

 up and presented to the public, cannot fail to yield 

 good results of one kind or another. Already the 

 attention excited by the controversies about Eozoon, 



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