896 



THE WONDERS OF GEOLOGY. Lf,ct. VIII. 



time, the changes on the earth's surface have been subser- 

 vient to the same physical and organic laws ; and that the 

 paroxysmal terrestrial disturbances, though apparently in 

 the earlier ages involving larger areas, and operating with 

 greater violence, than the volcanic eruptions and earth- 

 quakes of later periods, did not affect the established order 

 of organic life upon the surface of the globe ; and we may 

 also conclude, that throughout the innumerable ages indi- 

 cated by the sedimentary formations, there was at no period 

 a greater anomaly in the assemblages of animals and vege- 

 tables on particular regions, than exists at the present time.* 



48. Corollary. — Thus the general result of our in- 

 quiries into the ancient condition of the earth, proves that 

 the changes produced by mechanical, chemical, and vital 

 agency, whether on the surface or in the interior, have 

 been the same as at the present time, throughout all the 

 periods revealed by Geology ; and as like causes must 

 produce like effects, will continue so long as the present 

 material system shall endure. 



Hence, deposits now in progress may subside to the in- 

 nermost regions of the globe, and from exposure to intense 

 heat, under great pressure, all traces of sedimentary origin 

 may be obliterated ; and at some future period, these meta- 

 morphosed rocks may be elevated above the surface, and 

 appear as peaks of granite, or as primary mountain-chains, 

 rising from beneath strata teeming with organic remains. 



I cannot, therefore, concur in the generally received 

 opinion, that in the most ancient granite accessible to human 

 observation, we see the primeval framework of our globe — 



* Hence the so-called Picturesque Sketches of Creation — the An- 

 cient Worlds— the Vestiges of Creation — the Romance of Geology — 

 and other works of a like nature, are in relation to the philosophy of 

 Geology what the historical novels and romances are to History — 

 medleys of facts and fictions. 



