﻿114 
  NEW 
  yORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  did 
  Christian 
  nations 
  give 
  any 
  attention 
  to 
  geologic 
  phenomena, 
  

   and 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  men 
  to 
  appreciate 
  and 
  assert 
  the 
  true 
  origin 
  

   of 
  fossils 
  was 
  Leonardo 
  da 
  Vinci, 
  the 
  famous 
  painter. 
  In 
  his 
  

   time, 
  public 
  sentiment, 
  influenced 
  by 
  monastic 
  teachings, 
  was 
  

   so 
  biased 
  that 
  persons 
  who 
  held 
  the 
  opinion 
  that 
  fossils 
  were 
  

   the 
  remains 
  of 
  living 
  forms, 
  were 
  subjected 
  to 
  persecution. 
  The 
  

   orthodox 
  view 
  then 
  was, 
  that 
  fossils 
  were 
  freaks 
  of 
  nature 
  pro- 
  

   duced 
  by 
  the 
  influence 
  of 
  the 
  stars 
  and 
  other 
  mysterious 
  agencies. 
  

   As 
  various 
  religious 
  interests 
  were 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  jeopardized 
  

   by 
  the 
  more 
  scientific 
  deductions, 
  much 
  animosity 
  was 
  aroused 
  

   by 
  them. 
  

  

  After 
  100 
  years 
  wasted 
  in 
  fruitless 
  discussions 
  on 
  the 
  source 
  

   of 
  fossil 
  forms, 
  in 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  18th 
  century 
  the 
  theory 
  

   occurred 
  to 
  some 
  that 
  the 
  shells 
  which 
  were 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  rocks 
  

   were 
  relics 
  of 
  the 
  Noachian 
  Deluge 
  and 
  consequently 
  the 
  idea 
  

   of 
  their 
  organic 
  origin 
  was 
  adopted 
  by 
  many 
  as 
  a 
  confirmation 
  

   of 
  Biblical 
  history. 
  This 
  new 
  hypothesis 
  lasted 
  for 
  nearly 
  150 
  

   years 
  and 
  those 
  who 
  dared 
  to 
  assert 
  their 
  disbelief 
  in 
  it 
  were 
  ex- 
  

   posed 
  to 
  persecution 
  as 
  unbelievers 
  in 
  the 
  Holy 
  Scripture. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  last 
  half 
  century 
  an 
  invincible 
  array 
  of 
  facts 
  has 
  

   been 
  developed 
  by 
  diligent 
  scientific 
  workers 
  of 
  many 
  nations 
  

   in 
  geology, 
  biology, 
  physics, 
  chemistry 
  and 
  astronomy. 
  These 
  

   facts 
  have 
  been 
  classified 
  into 
  the 
  science 
  of 
  to-day. 
  

  

  ORIGIN 
  OF 
  THE 
  EARTH 
  AND 
  ITS 
  CRUST 
  

  

  The 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  origin 
  of 
  the 
  earth 
  is 
  not 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  study 
  

   of 
  the 
  earth 
  itself. 
  

  

  Geologic 
  history, 
  properly 
  speaking, 
  begins 
  with 
  the 
  period 
  

   of 
  the 
  earliest 
  geologic 
  record. 
  But 
  no 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  

   solid 
  crust 
  of 
  our 
  globe 
  is 
  known 
  to 
  be 
  exposed 
  to 
  view 
  nor 
  does 
  

   it 
  seem 
  likely 
  that 
  any 
  portion 
  of 
  it 
  will 
  ever 
  be 
  revealed. 
  From 
  

   the 
  kindred 
  sciences 
  of 
  physics, 
  chemistry 
  and 
  astronomy, 
  in 
  

   many 
  ways, 
  we 
  obtain 
  light 
  upon 
  the 
  origin 
  of 
  the 
  earth 
  prior 
  

   to 
  the 
  commencement 
  of 
  the 
  geologic 
  record. 
  

  

  