HISTORY OF THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION 15 



his full strength. He urged the evidence of 

 mummies and other buried remains, which, after a 

 lapse of thousands of years, agree in the smallest 

 details with existing species. If a changing environ- 

 ment causes alterations, why, he asked, are these 

 not altered ? He demanded evidence of connecting 

 links between fossils and recent forms, and quoted 

 his own unrivalled experiences as to its absence. 

 Cuvier crushed his opponent by superior knowledge, 

 by the better management of his case, and by per- 

 sonal authority. The verdict was a definite one, 

 and the controversy was regarded as closed by final 

 decision. The fixity of species was regarded as 

 proved, and France has hardly yet recovered from 

 the traditions of Cuvier. 



We now approach the final stage in the great 

 controversy, and the scene of action shifts to our 

 own country. Light was first afforded, not by 

 zoology or botany, but by the sister science of 

 geology, a peculiarly British study, and a very recent 

 addition to the tree of knowledge. 



Hutton, 1 726-1 797, when sixty-two years old, 

 published his "Theory of the Earth." The main 

 motive of this book was to show that in order to 

 understand how the earth's crust, with its component 

 layers, was formed, and how fossils got into them, 

 we must not guess, but must look for ourselves, and 

 see what is now going on around us — how rivers 

 and glaciers are carrying down earth and stones 

 from the mountains to the sea, how the solid earth 

 is being wasted every day, and new rocks formed by 

 the disintegration of older ones. 



