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truth, but equally gigantic in their grasp of error? Are we 
not warned against that grand popular mistake which leads 
thousands to accept as true that which has no other evidence 
in their thoughts than the fact that great men believe it? 
And do we not see how important it ever must be to keep the 
Sacred testimony itself most carefully in view ? 
We do not think it necessary on our part in this paper to 
give any interpretation of what the Sacred Scriptures teach on 
geological subjects. Our present duty is not to interpret, but 
to state and illustrate relations which are not essentially de- 
pendent on any peculiar interpretation of Bible teaching. If 
we do not greatly err (and are not led on in our error by all 
we can learn as we go on with the study of our great subject), 
the Bible will turn out in the end to be its own best interpreter. 
The account of the creation and the flood, as given by Moses 
will, we think, prove to be only the plain truth, as the scien- 
tific world will be compelled to admit it at last. 
From what we have said thus far, it will appear that there 
are various fields of thought in which we might attempt to 
trace the relations of geological science to the Sacred Scriptures. 
These relations exist in the absolute truth as that stands in the 
Divine Mind. The thought of this leads us to raise our eye 
to that ocean on the shores of which we can only gather frag- 
ments of the wealth that lies hid in its waters. It is beyond 
measure cheering to the Christian to remember that endless 
time remains for the exploration of this expanse of thought. 
It is because he finds that he gathers most precious treasures 
cast up by this vast sea on Bible ground, that he so loves the 
Bible. But relations between geological science and the Sacred 
Scriptures exist also in that field of thought in which we meet 
with the true facts and sound inferences of geology, on the one 
hand, and the actual teachings of the Bible on the other. This 
is our true field of safe investigation. If we could only keep 
within its enclosures, all would go well. But neither have 
theologians nor geologists been as yet confined to such ground. 
As we have seen, the influence of great names — the power of 
great talents — the vanity which makes us proud of that which 
is knowledge in appearance only— the worship, we may say, 
of magnificent delusions, even after their delusive nature is 
exposed in a word, the deceivableness of our common hu- 
manity, seems to have swept us into a turbid stream of thought 
in which it is extremely difficult to say whether the teachings 
of the geologist or the interpretations of the expositor are 
most to be distrusted. 
In the way of reviewing the actual facts and such conclusions 
of true reasoning in geology as have been derived from the 
