The Works Which This Man [joseph Banks]

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.

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.

A Famous Anecdote Concerning Cuvier Involves The Tale Of His Visitation From The Devil—only It Was Not The Devil But One Of His Students Dressed Up With Horns On His Head And Shoes Shaped Like Cloven Hooves. This Frightening Apparition Burst Into Cuvier's Bedroom When He Was Fast Asleep And Claimed: 'wake Up Thou Man Of Catastrophes. I Am The Devil. I Have Come To Devour You!' Cuvier Studied The Apparition Carefully And Critically Said, 'i Doubt Whether You Can. You Have Horns And Hooves. You Eat Only Plants.

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.

But The Revolutions And Changes Which Are Responsible For The Present State Of The Earth Are Not Limited To The Upsetting Of The Ancient Strata And To The Ebbing Of The Sea After The Formations Of New Layers.