Facts from the Arcana of Nature. 107 



organisms of rock structure, which are as yet unaccounted 

 for by our philosophy, and thus, perhaps, regarded as sub- 

 verting the Mosaic version of the period of the human era 

 in our Earth's past history, instead of being really confirma- 

 tory of its truth, and furnishing elucidatory evidence in 

 favour of a literal descriptive meaning being assignable to 

 the sacred predictions as to the now looming future history 

 of our wondrous sphere. 



Aqueous action, resulting from denudation by the mighty 

 agency of oceanic disruption, is adequate to account for 

 comminution of sedimentary strata, and ultimate re-deposit 

 thereof. And chemical concretion, or igneous vitrifaction 

 of matter so commingled, may account satisfactorily for noted 

 facts respecting the jumbling together of relics of art of pon- 

 derous and durable materials, such as pottery, flint implements, 

 &c, of the human antediluvian era, in conjunction with fossil 

 organisms of the earlier epochs, in aqueous deposits, from the 

 vicinity of which the lighter carcases of the drowned beings, 

 and their cotemporary animals and vegetable organisms, or 

 fabrics, must have been swept off and accumulated in pre- 

 sently unexplored localities, perhaps ever since concealed in 

 icy regions. 



Our investigations justify the assumption that there are 

 moot points as yet undecided between the hypotheses 

 accounting for terrestrial phenomena as viewed by scientific 

 reasoners of the present day, and the tenor of received 

 theories of our early philosophers, based upon data from less 

 perfect sources of information than are now available. Inno- 

 vations may be humiliating, but truth must be sought for, 

 and, as found, retained at all hazards, even if the whole 

 structure accredited as the science of physical astronomy 

 require remodelling on the basis of ascertainable physical 

 facts, and not mere hypotheses backed up by geometric 

 demonstrations of the possibility of their accuracy, and 

 calculations of the momenta necessary, defined with mathe- 

 matical precision. Although scientific knoAvledge is wonder- 

 fully increased since the era of publication of Sir Isaac 

 Newton's " Principia," yet, still, as remarked by him, the 

 philosopher but wanders with child-like uncertain steps by 

 the margin of the ocean of Truth, securing here and there a 

 pebble-fact Of more than ordinary moment, while the bound- 

 less expanse of knowledge is beyond, ever tempting him 

 onward. 



Sir Charles Lyell remarks, " A false theory may render us 



