It Is Evident That One Cannot Say

In Spite Of What Moralists Say, The, Animals Are Scarcely Less Wicked Or Less Unhappy Than We Are Ourselves. The Arrogance Of The Strong, The Servility Of The Weak, Low Rapacity, Ephemeral Pleasure Purchased By Great Effort, Death Preceded By Long Suffering, All Belong To The Animals As They Do To Men.

The Appearance Of The Bones Of Quadrupeds, Especially Those Of Complete Bodies In The Strata, Tells Us Either That The Layer Itself Which Carries Them Was In Earlier Times Dry Land Or That Dry Land Was At Least Formed In The Immediate Area.

It Is My Object, In The Following Work, To Travel Over Ground Which Has As Yet Been Little Explored And To Make My Reader Acquainted With A Species Of Remains, Which, Though Absolutely Necessary For Understanding The History Of The Globe, Have Been Hitherto Almost Uniformly Neglected.

To Spread Healthy Ideas Among Even The Lowest Classes Of People, To Remove Men From The Influence Of Prejudice And Passion, To Make Reason The Arbiter And Supreme Guide Of Public Opinion; That Is The Essential Goal Of The Sciences; That Is How Science Will Contribute To The Advancement Of Civilization, And That Is What Deserves Protection Of Governments Who Want To Insure The Stability Of Their Power.

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.