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Art. XV. — Discourse on the History and Progress of Geo- 
logy^ delivered hy Professor Necker at the Meeting of the 
Magistrates and Teachers rvhich takes place annually at 
Geneva^ on the occasion of distributing the Literary Prizes 
to the successfid Candidates 
Cxentlemen, — Called to address you upon a subject relating 
to one of the branches of Natural History, the teaching of which 
the Academy has done me the honour to confide to me, I have 
thought that a rapid view of the general progress which the phy- 
sical examination of the globe which we inhabit has made, and 
still continues to make, might not be without interest. Geolo- 
gy is still a young and new science, and, viewing it in this light, 
the history of the successes and failings, of the trials felicitous 
or unfortunate, which have accelerated or retarded its progress ; 
the inspection of those oscillations around the true path, which, 
in the more advanced sciences, have preceded their fixed and re- 
gular march, may present to the contemplation of enlightened 
men some interesting perceptions with relation to the study of 
the human mind. Besides, the country of the Saussures and 
De Lucs, and this Academy, which has seen all that is positive 
and accurate in geology springing from its bosom, could not re- 
main indifferent to the progress of a science to which they have 
so largely contributed. It can only, however, be a very general 
sketch of the progressive developments of Geology that I can 
venture to trace here. And, in the first place, we may divide the 
picture into two very distinct portions : the first, a period the 
longest in time, but the poorest in useful results, commencing 
with the birth of the science, and leading it to the middle of the 
last century ; the period of cosmogonies and geogonies, in which 
geology, placed in the rank of vain speculations, presents no- 
thing but fanciful hypotheses, and systems without foundation : 
the second, in which it really becomes a science, includes but a 
short space, of from sixty to seventy years, but is distinguished 
by the constantly increasing extent of solid and useful observa- 
tions, and by the abandonment of idle geogonical discussions. 
* A copy of this Memoir Wtis communicated by our former pupil Professor 
Necker for this Journal. 
