My Object Will Be, First, To Show

It Has Been Long Considered Possible To Explain The More Ancient Revolutions On... The Earth Surface By Means Of These Still Existing Causes; In The Same Manner As It Is Found Easy To Explain Past Events In Political History, By An Acquaintance With The Passions And Intrigues Of The Present Day. But We Shall Presently See That Unfortunately This Is Not The Case In Physical History:-the Thread Of Operation Is Here Broken, The March Of Nature Is Changed, And None Of The Agents That She Now Employs Were Sufficient For The Production Of Her Ancient Works.

Genius And Science Have Burst The Limits Of Space, And Few Observations, Explained By Just Reasoning, Have Unveiled The Mechanism Of The Universe. Would It Not Also Be Glorious For Man To Burst The Limits Of Time, And, By A Few Observations, To Ascertain The History Of This World, And The Series Of Events Which Preceded The Birth Of The Human Race?

Since Nothing Can Exist That Does Not Fulfil The Conditions Which Render Its Existence Possible, The Different Parts Each Being Must Be Co-ordinated In Such A Way As To Render Possible The Existence Of The Being As A Whole, Not Only In Itself, But Also In Its Relations With Other Beings, And The Analysis Of These Conditions Often Leads To General Laws Which Are As Certain As Those Which Are Derived From Calculation Or From Experiment.

Secondly, The Nature Of The Revolutions Which Have Altered The Surface Of The Earth Must Have Had A More Decisive Effect On The Terrestrial Quadrupeds Than On The Marine Animals.

At The Sight Of A Single Bone, Of A Single Piece Of Bone, I Recognize And Reconstruct The Portion Of The Whole From Which It Would Have Been Taken. The Whole Being To Which This Fragment Belonged Appears In My Mind's Eye.