[June, 
232 Scepticism in Geology . 
teacher of this new philosophy assures us both that time is 
power , and that to attribute great effects to great causes is a 
prejudice.” I have already suggested that time is simply an 
abstract conception of the changes which are continually 
going on in Nature. Time, in fact, represents the united 
forces (or the sum total of all the forces) of Nature. Whilst, 
therefore, time, apart from these forces, is a purely meta- 
physical idea, and can do nothing, as the representative of 
these forces it is omnipotent, having for its origin the Great 
Mover of the Universe. When we say that time will con- 
vert the sapling into a tree, we do not mean that the meie 
tick of the clock, or a number of rotations of the Earth 
upon its axis, will transform the sapling into a tree, but that 
certain forces or conditions, adting according to the ordei of 
God in Nature, will produce such a result. Take away the 
life of the sapling, and the rain and dew will fall, the sun 
will shine, and the air and soil will encompass it, all in 
vain. . , , . • . 
Behind all the other forces recognised by geologists as 
having played important parts in producing the changes 
which have taken place on our globe, lies that of vital force, 
to which all the others are subservient. This is the force 
so sagaciously surmised by Lyell when he asks “ What is 
the origin of the force which governs the motions of the 
heavenly bodies ? ” and which, he observes, “ has been 
likened to the intellectual power of the human will, which 
initiates and directs all our muscular actions.” Admit the 
presence of vital action in the form of growth, and all the 
conflicting theories to account for the changes which have 
taken place on the Earth’s surface are reconciled. Electri- 
city, magneticism, earthquakes, volcanoes, heat, and other 
“ modes of motion,” may be described as physiological pro- 
cesses due to or connected with vital action, whilst the fall 
of water, denudation, river erosion, sedimentary deposits, 
&c., are the mechanical effects ; the whole being illustrative 
of “ the unity of Nature.” The slow expansion of the more 
plastic matter of the interior of the Earth has acted upon 
its crust like the growing tissue of a tree upon its bark. 
Cracks, and subsequently Assures, have thus been produced 
where the crust has been of a dry unyielding nature. These 
fissures have, in numerous cases, slowly widened, and be- 
come water-courses ; and, where the material of the sides 
has been of a soft nature, it has, under suitable circum- 
stances, been simultaneously corroded by the action of air 
and water, assisted by a changing temperature. The loose 
material thus produced, having been carried by successive 
