supposed that this fair world was occasionally, or cally destroyed, and again renovated under a new and that a new creation of men and animals took after every such renovation. The ancient Egyp believed that this world was subject to occasional s and conflagrations, and that the gods by such awAgments arrested the career of human wickedness, rified the habitation of man from his own guilt. It pposed that all the wicked were destroyed by such rs, and that the few who escaped, were the wise, is, and happy, but that their descendants gradually wicked, and were in like manner swept away by ath of the gods. on Humboldt states, that after the destruction of a portion of the inhabitants of Cumana, in South ca, by an earthquake, in 1766, an extraordinary fernsued, in consequence of the rain which had accomthe convulsion. On this occasion, says he, the s celebrated, in conformity to an ancient superstifestivals and dancing, the destruction of the world, e approaching epoch of its renovation. y - Egyptian priests assigned certain periods of time The ea has been handed dow Fore Come to treat of the Delu er at present, that it is phers, nor modern of the final destruct g derived exclusively are seen that several an perpetual changes, on and renovation of th aid to have been taugh Toomers who flourishe elieved that after ever produced twentyals, male and female ver the face of this low lation of the heavenly d in the above named of animals are created. things, and so it History. It is the light of re debted at the present d sanding which places trines of heathen philo never yet corrected religious opinions of e connection between the doctrine of successive cahes, and repeated deteriorations in the moral charof the human race, is more intimate and natural to nds of men than might at first be imagined. For ude state of society, all great calamities are regarded people as the immediate judgments of God on the dness of man. Thus, says Mr. Lyell, in our own the priests persuaded a large part of the population ili, and perhaps believed themselves, that the great uake of 1822, which convulsed that country was goes wrath of heaven on them, for the great politi- ect will come under consideration when we respect to the knowledge which the ancients posgeology, nothing of importance can be said. The aturalists, and the Arabian physicians and philohave recorded some few geological facts, and seatin writers have noticed phenomena connected thquakes and volcanoes, especially the rising of out of the sea. But the geologist will search in any facts or speculations concerning the history arth, worthy his notice, until the beginning of the tury; when some shells dug out of the Earth at in Italy, became the subject of a controversy which considered as having laid the foundation of geoloowledge. fossil, or petrified shells, were found in 1517, in ence of some excavations which were made for pose of repairing some part of the city of Verona. mains, it is true, had long before been discovered us places; but no persons of learning or judgment eviously to have troubled themselves about such The idea seems to have prevailed, that these e products of what was then termed "plastic nahat is, that shells, and other organic remains, found olid earth, above the sea, were not the exuviæ of but were formed in the rocks where they were ed, and that they were nothing more than imitareal shells and bones. This idea was probably d for the purpose of accounting for the appearshells in places where it was supposed impossible should ever have been; the idea that the sea had its bed, or that the strata had been elevated by nean forces, being then entirely unknown. such phenomena are readily accounted for on the sis that many parts of the earth have been thrown the bottom of the sea by volcanic action. At shells at Verona furnished matter for much specund many writers gave their opinions concerning well as of other fossils found in similar situations. these, one writer named Fracastoro, gave it as his onviction that these and other fossil shells, wherey were found, had once belonged to living animals, he same time ridiculed the notion that the "plas" of nature ever formed them, or any other such ductions. He also maintained that these belong where they were found was before Noah's floo such new and strange many bitter opponents. were disregarded, his i ted, and the passio learning of the times, w The questions discus mains had ever belong if this be admitted, wh ing them can be explai which took place by th At this period, the id that the earth had unde rept those produced by fore, to attempt to shew rated by any other cata cal appearances again this ground, entered wa same time, it appears t canvassed with consid ments on both sides we effect on the mind of a nimals which grew and multiplied in the places. "The system of scho and object of such inte No theory, at that p were found, and that the time of their growth Noah's flood. All this no doubt was true; but nd strange doctrines raised against Fracastoro - opponents. His clear and philosophical views garded, his ideas concerning plastic nature comthe passions, as well as the arguments and the times, were arrayed against him. stions discussed, were, first, whether fossil reever belonged to living animals; and, second, _dmitted, whether all the phenomena concernan be explained in consequence of the changes - place by the waters of Noah's flood. period, the idea prevailed in the christian world, th had undergone no considerable changes, exproduced by the general deluge, and that, therempt to shew that fossil remains had been cleny other catastrophe, would be opposing physiances against christian faith. The clergy, on 1, entered warmly into this dispute, but at the it appears that they allowed the subject to be with considerable freedom, though the arguoth sides were often such as would have little e mind of a geologist at the present day. stem of scholastic disputation" says Mr. Lyell, on this subject,) "encouraged in the universiniddle ages, had unfortunately trained men to definite argumentation, and they often preferred extravagant propositions, because greater skill ess was required to maintain them; the end of such intellectual combats, being victory, and ry, at that period, was so whimsical as not to tes, and as theories of the earth were chiefly opinions and conceits, rather than on facts and s, the greatest latitude was indulged in the dis enuity and imagination in their support. Some ations brought forward in the shape of argunst the doctrine that shells once belonged to als, were indeed quite too ridiculous to have any source claiming to possess the power of Thus one of the opposers of Fracastoro, by ioli, professed to account satisfactorily for the case of the shells at Verona, and other such into fermentation by the heat of substance to these objects. AnoPadua, Professor, &c., conceived been generated by fermentation, y were found, and that in some caquired their forms by the "tumulrrestrial exhalations." Fallopio ssor of anatomy at the celebrated nose name, on account of his disry book of anatomy, to this day. ught his pupils, from the chair of hat certain elephant's tusks which part of Italy, were nothing more And agreeably to the same docin his opinion, some ancient vared at Rome, were natural impresstic force of nature, and that they orks of man. To the same school Iercati, who published a book in -ood figures of fossil shells, preservat Rome. In explaining these subdoubt that the fossils there reprels, but mere stones, which had asof shells, "through the influence Olivi, a contemporary author, n these subjects, satisfied himself and such like things, were nothing f nature." ad been living plants. Steno, as well as some 0 ty, especially that of th ology, they accounted who could not asc nd in rocks, to the e at the Mosaic history pposing the shells in Here that catastrophe d In the mean time, am ine that petrified shell mals, still maintained it the famous Dr. Plott, i shire attributes the o "a plastic virtue latent Our limits will not a subject, and to detail th Fossil strictly signifie geology this term is rest petrified, or mineralized fossils are supposed to be |