SIR WILLIAM DAWSON 73> 
Concerning this remarkable object there has been a widespread 
controversy and a great divergence of opinion. Some of the most 
experienced observers in the lower forms of life, such as Carpen- 
ter, accepted it as of organic origin, while others considered it 
to be inorganic, and while the balance of opinion now possibly 
favors the latter view, its resemblance microscopically to certain 
organic forms is certainly most remarkable. The literature of 
this subject, which includes many papers by Sir William, is quite 
voluminous, but the chief facts are summed up in his book, 
entitled Zhe Dawn of Life, which appeared in 1875. 
Sir William was also a prolific writer of popular works 
on various geological topics. Among these may be mentioned 
Fossil Men and Their Modern Representatives, The Chain of Life in 
Geological Time, Egypt and Syria their Geology and Physical Geogra- 
phy in Bible History, Modern Science in Bible Lands, Modern Ideas of 
Evolution, Salient Points tn the Science of the Earth, Eden Lost and 
Won, and Relics of Primeval Life. As may be inferred from their 
titles, many of these books display a strong theological bias. Sir 
William was a Presbyterian of the old school and _ strongly 
opposed to all theories of the evolution of man from brute ances- 
tors, nor would he allow anything more than a very moderate 
antiquity for the species. ‘He held that there is no adequate 
d 
reason for attributing the so-called ‘‘ Neolithic”? man to any time 
older than that of the early eastern empires, while he thought 
the time for Paleolithic man need not be more than twenty or 
thirty centuries in addition, man having thus made an abrupt 
appearance in full perfection not more than, say, six or eight 
thousand years ago. 
These works on the relation of science and religion met a 
popular need and were of great comfort to many a pious soul, who 
feared that the whole framework of faith was being swept away 
by the advancement of science. Their value, however, was not 
permanent, and they are not the works by which Sir William 
Dawson will be remembered. His reputation is founded on the 
great contributions to our permanent stock of knowledge which 
he has made and which are embodied in his works on pure 
