140 ON THE REVOLUTIONS 



has so ably illustrated and maintained his geological opinions. 

 These gentlemen have expressed themselves, on all occasions, 

 in a manner peculiarly hostile to the employment of such 

 torrents as geological agents, believing that all the phenomena 

 may be traced to the influence of diurnal causes only. 



I have no hesitation in declaring my hearty concurrence in 

 what I consider as the essence of the Huttonian Theory ; I 

 mean as to all that relates to the influence of internal heat in 

 the formation of our rocks and mountains : But I could never 

 help differing from Dr Hutton, as to the particular mode in 

 which he conceived our continents to have risen from the bot- 

 tom of the sea, by a motion so gentle, as to leave no trace 

 of the event, and so as to have had no share in producing the 

 present state of.the Earth's surface. 



At an early period of life, while I imbibed from the delight- 

 ful conversation of my worthy friend Dr Hutton, the spirit of 

 his geological views, I retained my attachment to opinions 

 suggested by M. de Saussure's observations, which, at a 

 still earlier period, I had acquired in the Alps, and which 

 had been rivetted in my mind by the sight of the pheno- 

 mena from which they have been inferred. The facts also 

 observed in the Russian empire, and brought forward by 

 Professor Pallas, relative to the productions of the tropics, 

 which are found upon the banks of the Frozen Sea, appeared 

 to me of sufficient force to justify his belief, that, at some re- 

 mote period, a torrent of water had swept across the conti- 

 nent of Asia. I have, therefore, been always disposed to com- 

 bine the doctrines of Hutton with those professed by the gen- 

 tlemen just named, relative to marine inundations ; and a num- 

 ber of facts which I have observed in this country, will con- 

 tribute, I hope, to throw some additional light upon this diffi- 

 cult subject.. 



Before 



