OCEANOGRAPHY. 1 



By M. J. Thoulet. 



A new science has lately made its appearance and is beginning- to be 

 recognized. To be exact, it is not absolutely new; it is nearly two cen- 

 turies old in its well defined aim, its methods of investigation, its known 

 laws, the indication of possible discoveries which remain to be accom- 

 plished; in a word, in its individuality as a didactic science, but until 

 very lately it was the object of individual research only, and as it was 

 studied but by a few specialists it remained almost unknown to the 

 public. 



This science is oceanography. Its purpose is to ascertain the phe- 

 nomena which are going on in the depths of that immense mass of water 

 which covers more than three fourths of our globe, to consider them, 

 explain them, discover and formulate the laws that govern them on the 

 surface and at the bottom of those abysses which were once supposed 

 to be unfathomable— at the time when people believed in the unfathom- 

 able. To-day oceanography is progressing with giant strides. All mar- 

 itime nations contribute to its development, no less from the theoretical 

 point of view,, for its great benefit to the human mind, whose right and 

 duty it is to seek to know all things, than from the practical point of 

 view of the material advantages to be derived from it; for the contest 

 between man and nature, growing always more severe, makes it imper- 

 ative that no force be left unproductive. France established ocean- 

 ography. She made important discoveries and then stopping, left the 

 care of continuing the work to others, forgetting even those of her 

 children whose attainments, unnoticed by her, were elsewhere seized 

 upon and utilized. Now that foreigners have made an advance which 

 it is impossible to ignore, she seems to be aroused to a regret for the 

 time and territory lost. She is certainly in a position to promptly regain 

 both if she desires it. 



We intend to explain of what oceanography consists, to show its direct 

 relation with other sciences, its theoretical and practical utility; we 

 shall give a short history of its progress from its beginning until the time 

 when it became a complete whole; a clear and systematic exposition 



1 Translated from the Revue des Deux Mondes, Vol. CXLVI, pp. 897-921. 



407 



