374 Schvarcz — Geology in Ancient Greece, 



we must be aware that they possess the very smallest possible title 

 to be considered of scientific value. For history affords abundant 

 proof, that even down to a very late period, the belief in the super- 

 natural so universally prevailed, that, in almost every case, observed 

 facts were so fictitiously recorded as to be utterly valuless as matters 

 of scientific evidence. 



Dr Schvarcz has certainly left no stone unturned in order to 

 complete his researches into the state of Geological knowledge 

 amongst the early Greeks. The public libraries of Europe have 

 been diligently searched and every author consulted, lest any 

 omission should occur to mar the completeness of the task. In 1861 

 he published the result of his researches in the Hungarian language, 

 and afterwards in classical Greek. In 1862 he commenced the work 

 in English, and this year he published the present enlarged and re- 

 vised edition, which is dedicated to Professor Owen. 



The six chapters contain (1), the views of the Greeks as to the 

 etiology of volcanic agency ; (2), as to the physical changes now 

 taking place in the earth ; (3), as to the changes taking place in the 

 organic world; (4), the physical formation of our earth as understood 

 by the Greeks ; (5), their notions as to the origin of the animal and 

 vegetable kingdoms; and how far fossils attracted their attention; (6), 

 in the sixth chapter, the author reviews the amount of knowledge of 

 the natural sciences really arrived at by the Greeks, and their social, 

 political, and religious condition as a nation, which he considers 

 would naturally have so great an influence on the success or failure 

 of the scientific attainments of any nation. 



Dr. Schvarcz has arrived at the following results, as expressed in 

 his six chapters — (1) The Greeks were acquainted with all four 

 classes of volcanic action, earthquakes, thermal springs, solfataros 

 volcanos proper : he notices all the authors who have observed and 

 described their phenomena and the theories which were propounded 

 to explain them. (2) The Greeks also observed and investigated 

 the phenomena of alluvial activity. (3) The changes taking place 

 in the organic world did not form a part of the study of the Greeks, 

 for they had arrived at no idea of a *' genus" or '' species," nor even 

 of the distinctions of Animal and Vegetable Kingdoms. The whole 

 life of the universe appeared to them as the life of an organism, 

 ever fluctuating without any such pivots as the divisions and sub- 

 divisions of our modern zoological and botanical classifications. 

 Their idea of the ongin of animals was that genesis was not yet 

 finished, but was going on in the days of Pericles, even in the formation 

 of new stars. (4) They knew and understood the real organic origin 

 of fossils ; it was only in the time of Aristotle that such remains 

 were attributed to *' peculiar species of animals living underground." 

 (5) The doctrine of the gradual degeneration of mankind, com- 

 mon to most Greek sages, may have originated from the misinterpre- 

 tation of the huge fossil skeletons of Pachyderms, discovered in 

 Greece, and held to be the remains of men of gigantic size. (6) 

 Perhaps the highest idea which seems to have been actually arrived 

 at by Aristarchus in the third century before Christ — if not at a far 



