/--

UOMING
OF AGE
IN THE
MTLKY
Vey
-I= ---!
-

IIIOT H\', |,ERRIS

f

rfl
\v/
1\N(iltoR l]a)()(s
t)ouBl.laDAY
N[Wy(ttK L ( : t N I ) ( ) N 1 l ) R ( ) N . t 0 s l , t ) N t . _ \ ,A t ( i t i t . A N r )

l7 r<
.ltl^-

/
 12

rr{
SEnmoxs
Sroxrs
We espirein vain to assignlimits ro the u,orks
of creation in rpace,u,hether rve examinc thc
starry heavens,or that world of minute ani,
malculess'hich is rcvealedto rrs L1'the nri-
croscope. l\/e:rrc prep:rrcrl, therefore, ro 6nd
rh^t in tirre rlsri the corrfines of the univcrse
lie beyonrl the reach of rnortal kcn.
-Char'les l,yrll

Antl this otrr iife, exenrptfrorn public h:tuni.

Finds tonguesin rrees,books in thc lunning
trnroks,
Serrnonsin stones,and good in cvervthing.
-Shakcsllearc

irI
I lrc conccPtit,nut rintr rlrat lrel,l ss,.ryin arrcierrt
Greecewascyclical,and asclosedasthe crvstrrllincspheresin which
Arisrot)c imprisonerl cosmic spacc. Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras,
andthe Stoicsall espousedthe vieu', inheritedfron an oltl (lhaldean
belief,that the history of the universeconsisredof a seriesof "grear
years,"cach a cycle t,f unspccilieclduration rhar en(led u,hen the
planetsall came togetherin conjurrction,trnleashingl carestrophe
218 TINICIfI IY t,-ljRITIS
COAIlNG OII ACT: IN T'HI.:MII,KY W.4Y I l')
fronr the ashe.^of u,hich thc ne_r-t

"ili*t T*J;i::,*ffi
*h'1 :: l Ti!..il} :iliii:!: thc inhxl)it.tts ansrr,ererl
mc, "lrs riseis k,st in rcoxrtclntiq_
ruiry:\l/t arc ignoranrhow longit ha.\cxisted,ln<l,rur fathcis
paradoxic'ar
.,,J"rl,rir,,",i,,;;:?';;:'.|i;:lil;Tr),Hl.,'lj rlere on rlrjsslrbi.ctrs ignorrntts orrrsetr,cs.',1
so the cosmic cvclesmust eternall,y 'lakcn
recrrr. iiter:rlly, c,vclic;rltinr: evcn prrifieretl a speciesof imnr,r-
The cy,clicrlvie,rvrrf timc wa

:::::1"_"il Ji:.-",;1,#:ffi i:,"':i'lil} tilif\'r ,,\s ,\risrorle'spupil liudenrusof Ilhorles ioltl his studenrs,
:,;,:h;;;i:.,t:ffi "lf lou |elieve the Pvthagoreans,evcr,vthingwi eventtrlll_1,
i',r"rl,i"i,.l
ll,'rl..lii,il',i'l"rlll,|i:.,{;,."1|i;'li"^'1,,"'r*",'" turn in the selfslmenumericalorder anclI shall converservitli you
re-

:*y:i;t#: ii:'&i"*,:l,Ti
i.ii:lli:'iti:#,li,l,i: s t a l i n l r r r r Jl r r , l v , ' t r r r i l l s i r : r s1 , , r ra r e s i r t i r r qr r o r r .r r r . l s , ,i r i v r l l
bein everythingelse."rWhethcr frrr rlrese,rI- oih". rea.u.rs.cvclical
l i n r c i s s l i l l p , , l r r r l arro d i r r , u . i t l r m . r n v c . s r r r . l o l l i s tlsr u r r i i r r 'ft, , r
' nscill,rr
i n g r r rirr e r s e "r n ,r l < l si r rw l r i c hri r ce r p : r n , i , i ,.rt t l r " r l r i u c r s , .
,,,,..T;,":1,r:,,.Jil
::J;;li1ffi:;lli!Tll::jll,i,,;,1; is envisioneclas cventually coming to a halt, to bc follorvc<lbv
cosnriccollapseintu-thc clerrnsing6res of rhe ncxt big bang.
-cvclicat
ljut f<rr ali its feliciries,the oici doctrine of infilite.
{i:'iii;;t:i:it,i.:;'::
r:il::iill:iillt
lgn()rantas ourselves.
"
*:,il:},:l hisrtrryhad the perniciotrseffcct trf tcnding to discr,urageattenrpts
to gaugcthc genuineextcnt of the past. Ifcosrnic historv crxrsi"^ie.l/
of an encllessseriesof repctitiorr-s ptrnctuarcdby rrniversaldestnrc-

''i{11,.*:=." ll i[":
ll;l';ll
E'Jiiili:,x'"l.itil.i
r" i
r..,.".,if
t r o n ,l h < n i r u l s i n r p , r s . i l r lre, , d c i ( . n u i n (u. h r i r l r c r , , r a lr u c r r i r h <

ii,i,.
i"iji';i1"i'.I"i.,r"1,5;:,|:t;.i:." unilcrsemight actuall_y be: An irrfinitc,cl,clicalpast is b), (l-efinition
iurmeasurablc-is"tirle out of mirrcl,"a.sAlexariderthe flreat used
i'.
,,.;L
;:i,';ff ^,,1f"""jr*-r,,.
,;1;il1"-'-,,.n';',J:::, ro s11,.Nor diil cyclical time leavenrrrchroon for tlre cr>nceptof
evohrrion,thc fruirful idca thar therc can tre llenuineinnovation in
$i,).iil; IJri;:::ll.'rr-'t"t..;'trrrrc' I r:kc'l
scerr.
rrrrtne'crrrid
t h er r o r l . l .
-fhe
{\rr.rrrnrr\\rcdkr,,,, Clrcekskneu' that the torld changes,anci that some ol.
r", ,,,.itr".iii
"r i n t h a r q e :a r c g r : r J u a l L . i r i r r ga s r h e r d i d r v i r hr l r es c aa r t l r r - i rf e e r
,r: l:ll, i;,:'Til:";1,.1:: '"''\ rr'ierv'
rrrs.r i,,rnJ
j ["J','J.'"''
",;; ;il,.ffi,lindil",l;ii,i::
il::i-i;Jl;ii,,,,;
andthe rnountainsat their backs,rhey appreciatcdthat wlves crode
the lantl, nnd were acquaintedv,ith the stralge fact rhat seashells
and f,,rsilsof m,rrine( redlurcsmly l,e [,-,rrnd ,,n m,,ltnrilint(]nsfirr

;';lil:ii i5'illiJll,',I;JJ'*t sa
i'lr"'r'his
t""'"'lhe' spot atnvc sea level.* r\t leasr tu,o of the realiz_ations
nrodernscienceof geologv-that nountains can be thrust up front
cssentialto thc

.""T"lii,,:"il:;i":l',T;Jli#,;;r"erterrver(rs,
andthe \rhat u,asonce a seabeci, and that they can be worn tiorvn by u,ind
i:,', a n L\j \ i l t c r * q r r c m e r i r r r r c da , e a r l v a : ,t h c s i x t he e r r t r r r u y .t.. hv
il::
;:i:'*:;ii*il'l;lir*.H]*iilij::',ffi T h r r l r .r ' f , \ l i l c r r r s. r n , lX c n , , f l r . r r r e * , r f ( ) o l , r p l r oBnu.r r h e , , . r c n , l . l
ro rcg/r\l tltc)-srr.rlrs[,,rrnltiorrs as mcre dctiils, limire.l to rlre crrr_

l.'trllii ilii?e,H'j;ir;i;1;6;H'
iil':,:t:J
;:; renr cycle of a cosnrosrhat rvas in the long rurr eternal and un_

llJtli,:l:'
J:l"'j'il::J
I[:l:;ii,1#1
:::?i]t
iTi;,il: ']tl,l."l,ll
.^rt.,i,'.,rn,'.il hJi,l,r.p.^r,,1.,(ins
rr,.,rrhed,t,h.,,rg.,,\r nteLl
rnJ
l r e . ql i l l e l ' , , r g L U l , , r f r ' . 1 i r , s r r l , r c r r a n t "Lr a
r rcrrrr
)2t) I'I]\'IO-IIIY FI]RRIS
chrnging. "-l'here is necessarilysornechangein the rvhole rvorld,"
rvrote Aristotle, "but not in the way of coming into cxisrenceor
pcrishing, for thc rrniverscis yrernranent."'
lior scienccrr) begin ro lssessthe inri(i(rity of the earth and
rhc u,i<leruniverse-to locatehLrmanit;/splrrcein the dcprtrsof the
past:ls it was to chart ollr locationin cosrric space-it had lirsr to
breaktlre closedcircle of c1'clic:rl tinre rnd to replaceit with a linear
rinre rhrt, thorrglrI(mg, had a definablebcginning and a finire du-
rltion. (juriouslt'cnorrgh,this stePrvasinitiltcd try a clevcio|nent
thrt u,rs in most other respects.r calarrity ftrr the progressof em-
pirical intluiry thc ascentof the Christian rnoclelof thc universe.
lnitially, Christian cosmolop;y riiminishedthe scopeof cosmic
lrisrorr',much as it shronkrhe spatiil clinrensions
acccssitrle universc.Thc grantl, inrpersonllswecpofthe Cireekand
Islenriccyclesof tirne rvere replaccd,in Cltristian thotrght, by an
atrbrcviatectand anecdotalconception of the past, in which the
affairsof men an(l C;od c()unte(lfbr more than tlre inhuman rvork-
irrgsof u'eter on stonr:.If hisrorv for Aristorlt-u,aslike the turning
ot r gixnt wheel, fi)r the Christi:tnsit u,aslike a play, w'ith a dehnite
lleginningand end, punctuatetltry unique, singulareventslike the
birth of fesusor rhc giving of the larv to N'loses.
(lhristian schollrs estinratcdthe ageof the rvorld by consulting
scriptur'.rlchrolologies of hurnrn birth arrd tlerth-bv adding up
the "lregats,"as thcy say. This was the merhodof Eusebius,(lhair-
man <rftlre Council of Nicaeaconvenedlry thc enperor Constantine
in,r.u. 125 to de6neChristiancioctrine,u,ho determinedthat 3,lill
years had elapsedl>enveenAdam and Abralrrm; of ,Augustincof
Hippo u4renhe estinratc(lthe d:rtcthe Crertion at abour -5500u.c;
of Kcplcr, rvho datcd it at 1991u.c.; anclof Neu'ton, rvlro arrived
at a date iust livc years earlier than Kcpler's. Its apotheosiscame
in thc seventccnthcentury, u,henJarnesUssher,bishopof Armagh,
lrelnntl, concluclerithat "thc beqinning of time . . fell on the
begilning of thc night u,hich precedeclthe 23rd drrl' of (l*ober,
in tlre yerr . . . '1004B.c."a
Ussher'sspurious exactitu(lelrasmade him the butt of many
a l l t t c r - d 1 1 s c l r , l a r l l s n i g g e r ,[ r r r t , f o r r l i i t s a b s t r r d i t i e sl.r l
approach-and, rrrore generall\', the Christian approlch to
historiograph'y -dirl rnore r<renco\rrlgescientificinquirt' into the
past than had the krfty pessinrismof the Grccks. Ily pronrulgating
the i<leathet the universehad a beginningin timc, anclthat rhe age
CO,I/INGOI; .4GF:IN'ITII' TlII,KY IYAT' 221
oftheearth \\,asthcreforclxrth finite and measurablc,thc Christirn
chronologists un*'ittinglv set the stagcfor tlrc epoch of scientillc
age-(lxring follorved.
that
'l
he tliffcrcnce,of c,lrrst', was that tlle scicntistsstudic(l not
-l
Scripturcsbut stones. his u,ashou thc natrrrllist (icorge lrruis
Leclercexpressecl the geolrgists'screcd, in 1778:
Jrrst.rsin civil historyu'e corrsulrrvarrlnrs,srudymed-
allions,lnd decipher ancientinscriptions, in ordcrto dcternline
tlreeprrchs of the hurnlnrevolutions :rn<llix thedetesof rrxrral
evcrts,soin nlnrralIlistoryooen)usidig throughthe archives
of theq,orl<1, errractancientrelicsfrorntheborvels oftheearth,
-l-hir
oftlre elnpiricalll [anril gather togetherthrir frNgments. . .. is rhe only
u et' of tixingcertainpointsin thr inrnrcnsitl, of ._pece, antlr,f
pllcingI nunrbcrof milcstones on thc rterrr.lpttrhr)f tinle.'
'lir
lcarn fronr thc srones,hou,cver,geologistsba(i 6rst to l)c
ableto sce them, and here the steam cngine, prirrc nrover of the
lndustrill [{cvrrlurion,plal'eda key role. Stean-tlrivenpumps cvac-
uatedrvatcrfrom coal nrinesin (lermanv lnd thc ntrrth of l)nglantl,
rnakingit possibleto dig deeper than cver before; sterm-driven
hoistsbrought the coal to the surface;coal from the mincs was then
transporte(l on brrpqesthrough canals,anti on railrolrl tr'.rinspullcrl
bl,stearnlocornotives,to fucl the stexnrenginesof the ships an<l
factories of the industriallydevelopingrvorkl. (lanal wrter and stccl
railshave in co mon that both u'ork trest l4ren level, and the
engineers who dug the canlls and laid the tracks tlealt with hills
thatblockedtheir rvay bl cutting throLrshthenr rvlrcneycrpossitrle.
ln doing so they "opencd the veins of thc earth," as the buil(lers
of dre (lreat Wall of China haclprrt it, exposingpreviouslyunseen
lal,ersof geologicalstratil depositedover hundreds of nrillions of
years.Iludding gcologistsprrt to uork irr the field ro help supervisc
th€seerc^\'.ti()nsfountl thtnselves presentedwith rr gift as lroun-
t€ousas il litrrary-evitlence of the long history of orrr planct,
inscribccl in the strata as if on the corrrrgatecl
pagcsof an ancient
book.
Among the first to lcarn to read the languagerrf the stones
u'ereAbralranrGottlob \l'erner, a (lernran mining geologist,and
. lVilliarnSrnith, an Ilnglish canalsurvcy()rand consultingenginecr
whohelpedexcavatethe Somersetshire Coal Canalin 1791.lVcrner
 222 TINIOT'HY FIi,RI{IS
noted thxt the sanc strtla coukl be lottnd itr the sanrertrder at
widely scparatecl loc,rtions,indiclting that the mechanismthat laid
rhem in placehacloperaterlon a largc scale.This inrplicd thlt local
strata migbt holtl eviclenccof hou' the planet as a u'hole hed chlnged.
Smith, for his prrt, obserrcd thit tlrc strirta-laicl otrt, as he put
it, likc "slicesoi lrrcirtiarrtl lrutter"-cottld tre iclentiiiednot onlr
by their grosscomposiriottlrut also b1' the v:rriottssorts ctf f<tssils
they contlined. Crisscrossingthe Iinglish corrntrvsidetlay and night,
by coaclron r conrp,rnvp:rss,Sntith observedthat "the sameslrara
rvcre foun.l ah.vavsin the s;rmeoriler anrl containeclthe sanrefos-
sils."aTlris, thcn, wns a kev to deciphcling thc hieroslvPhicsof
thc r()cks-tire realizati<rn thlt the uorl.l's history coitld bc re.rclin
the se(lucnceof fossilsrhe rockscontainer.l.
-fhe
1, firssilrecortl, however, soortlregantttrning ttp evitlence
.rf.reat.r.er no krngerto be fbrrntlin thc uorld toclav.l-be absence
li'
,T of thcir living counterpirrtspresenteda chollengcto advocates0f
the biblical accountof Iristor\,,$'ho lrnti maintained,relviDg upon
Scripttrres,that all lnimals werc creilredit the s:rmetitrtearrdthat
\ none had sincetrecomee\tinct- Iior a while it wasarguedtltat living
specimensof the unfanriliar speciesmight yet sttrvive, in distant
Iandsto u'hich thcy ha(l nigrated in the vearssincethc stratarvere
formed. Thomas entertaineclthis possibility and urged
v naturalistsbeodedJefl'erson
rvest ro ltxrk for u'orrly mlmmoths, whose roar
one pioneer had rcp<rrtedhearingcchoing rhrough the f<rresrs o[
Virginia. But as the ,\'cdrspassedthe rlorltl's u'ildernessesu'ere
ever more thoroughlv expkfed, antl still no sign of tbe mamrroth
or its lost cousins turned up. Melnrvhile, the roster of rnissing
speciesgrew longer-Georgcs Cuvier, tlte French zoologistwho
foundedthc scienceof lta)eontology, had bv I fl()l iclenti6cdtrventy'
three sDecicsof extitrctanitruls in rhc ftrssilrecord-rnd thc rlord
"extinci" bcgxn tolling like a bell in the scientificliteratrrrcand the
university lectrrrchalls. lt hasgonc on tolling ever since;lnd today
it is understoodthat 99 percentof all the spcciestlrat have livedon
the eanh heve sincedictl ottt.
Almost as troublcsorrrcto Christiln irrrerpretersof rhe earth's
hisrrrrl' rvas the be"vilclering varictl' of liriq speciesbcin6Jdiscov'
ered bv bioLrgistsin rheir laboratoriesancltty naturalistscxploring
the junglesof Africa, S<ruthAmerica, an<lSoutheastAsia. Some,
likc the giant subtropicalbcetlesthrt bit thc young Darwin, $'ere
noxious;their benefitto hunanity, for whom Clodrvassaidto hale
COI,IINGOF A(}II IN I'fII:,I,IILKY W,1)' 223
mlde tlre urrrld, rvasnot inmediltely evident. Iltn\, rvsaara mi-
nusculcthat thel could be derectcclonly uith a nicrcrscopc;their
rolein Ciod'splan had not becn anticil>ated.Others rvere instinc-
tilell rrnsettlin€i-r()ne more so than fhe orangutan!rvlxrsenanre
derircsfronr thc,\lrrllv for "*'ild man" and rvhoscrvarm, almost
irttirnatcg:rze,coming ls it does frorl onll a plddle or t\r'o ocross
th€ prirnatc gcnc prxrl, seen)edto rrxrck human pretensionsoi
unirlrreness. None of thcse creaturcs\\/asthought ro have shorvn
up on the passenger's roster of Noah's arc. What were they doing
hcrcl
'I'he
religionsortlrotloxytook rentporaryrcftrgcitr the concept
ofa "(ircrt Clrain oI lleing."'fhis preccpt heltl rhar thc hierarchy
of living beings,frrrnrthc lou'liesrnricroorganisnrs to tlre apes.n(i
gre,rtu,hales,had bcen createdby (iotl sirnultaneor.rsly, and that
all, toqerher,formetl one m:rrvelotrsstructure, a magic mountain
rvitbhumans at .)r nerr-its apex. The importanccof thc (lreat
Chainof lleing in eiglrreenth-cenrurv rhoughr is rlif6cuit to over-
rstiDrrtc;it ligrrred in thc frrnring of nrost i)f the scicntific h1'-
-fhe
porhcscs of the tinrc. Chain, however, \{'asno stronger than
irsq eakestlink; its vcry completeness u,asitself pr<rrfof the per-
fectionof God, and therc coulcl,therefore,lrc no "rnissinglink."
(Theterm, latcr adopreclby rhe evolutionisrs,begln here.)As John
Lockervrote:
ln all rhe visilrlecorpore.rl rrtrkl we seeno chasnrs or
gaps.All quitcdou'nfrom us theJescentis by eas;steps,and
a cont;irtred seriesthat in eachrernovecliffervery lirtle onc
fnrm the other-.Thereorc tishesthat havewingsand are not
stranliersto tlrc airv region,andthcrearesomebirdsthat are
inhabitants rrf tlreu ater,whoselrhrd is ascoldasJishcs.
lVhenrvecrrosirler thc infinireporverandwisrixnof the,\,1aker,
s,ehavereas<rn to (hink that it is suirableto the tt{gnificent
harmonyof the universe,anclthe greatdesignan,.linfinite
goodness of the architect,that the species of crelturesshould
llso, by gentlcdcgrees, ascencl uprverdsfrom us towirds his
infiniteperfcctron. irs\\,eseetllcv graduallydescend from us
dourrn'anls,'
Llereresidedthe horror that the prospectof extinctionelicited
in the thoughtsof tlre pious. "lt is contrary to the common course
ofprovidence to sufferany ofhis crearuresto be annilrilated,"wrote
 224 I-INIOTHY FLRRIS
the Quaker naturalistPeter Collinson, as in awe he contempllted
the mighty reeth of tbe extinct rDastodonand the wcighty bones
of the equully extinct Irish elk.3The seventeenth-century natrlralist
John Ray noted that evidence of "thc tlestmction of env one spe-
cies," would anount to "r disrnernbringof the Univcrse, and
rentlring it imperfect.""
Yet still the tleath knell tolled, rs the geologists'spaclesand
the railroadbuilders'steamslrovelscontinue(lto turn up the rernains
of an ever increasingvariety of organismsthat clearlv oncc had
lived but were to be found no more. l'here u,ls fossilevidenceof
flowersneverknown to havebloonredil hurnansight, biz-arrclishes
and birds that no one had evcr secnsrvirnor fly, anrlexoticcrcatures
that could not fail to crpture thc pr4rularas well as rhe scientiiic
imagination-thc saber-toorhed tiser, the "dawn horse," the gianr
armadillo, the uoolly rhino, an<lthe (linosaurs-all gone firrever.
r\nd, sincefossilsof mrny of thesecreatures\r'erefollnd in clirnates
where they could not have thrivecl (fish on mountaintops,polar
bears in the tropics) the earth must luve unriergone profor.rndand
wide-reachingchangessincethc time when the extinct spcies had
lived. I{ow could all this havehappenerlin the short sprn of I}ishop
Usshcr'ssix thousandyears?
-lhe
most promisingansrverfor the fundarnenralists laf in rvhat
came to be called catastrophisn,the hypothesisthat such mljor
geologicalchangcsrs had occurred hnd conreabout snddsnll, xt
the result of cataclysmic,alrnosrsupernaturalupheavalsthat had
leveled mountains, raised seabe(lstorvard tbe sky, lnd doomed
whole speciesto extinction almost overnight. Catastrophismac-
counted for the extinction of species in the fossil recrircl wirhout
violating biblicrl chronology, and it enjoycclstrong supporr fron
the biblical story of the Flood, rvhich rhe c.tastrophistscamer0
regard as but the most clramaticanrong scveraldisastersvisited
upon the world by a wrathful God. As to the questionof whether
all these cataclysmshad Lreendivineiy ortlaineti there was some
disparity of opinion, q,ith Ouvier like rnany geologistsin the early
nineteenthcentury proposingthat u'hile the Lord had rvroughtdre
Flood and earlier disasters,the ones since might be ascribedro
conventionallycausalagencics.
ll From a scientificsrandpoint,the most perniciouslmplicrtion
ll ofcatastrophism was that it severc(lthe pastfrorn the presenr,nruch
as Aristotle'sastrophysicshad divorcetlthe aetherealfron the mun-
CO,I.IING01; :IGIi ]N TIrE NIILK}' VlAT' 22t
d a n r .I l y r c l c g . r r i r rrgn a i n rg c o l o g i c aclh a n g e sr , r r h c a c r i r r n, , f p r r . _
ternalurall\ prrrrtrful fort.esthlt hrrrlrnanifcstedrherlsclvcs
,',nlt
in the early hisrory of the carth, catasrrophismbarred rhe extrao_
ola-tioninto history of scienti6c lal,s gleanctl from the u,<>rld
rotlai,.
" N c v e r . "r v r o r et.l r e S c o t r i s hg e o k r g i i C r l r a r l e sL v c l l . . . w r \ r t t e r e : l
dogmarnore calcularcrlto foircr indolence,and to blunt th"
k..n I
edgc,rf curiosiry, rhan this rssrrmptionof the discordanc.b",*""r,
7
l h el o r m c r a n d t l l e e x i s t i n gc a U s ( \( , f c l t a n R r . ' . r . .
L v e l l h e l dl c o n r r a r )r r c r r ,c r l l e Ju r r i f o - r m i t r r i . r n i sHme. m a i n .
tainedrhat ,?//geologicalanrl biologicalchangewls due ro ordinarv.
naturalcauresthat had operatedin much the samervay throushoiri
theeardr'slong history,.'fhe extinctionofspecies,bv uirifr,.,r,ii".i"n
Iights,u,as brarrght-atroutby evcnts vcry much rki,, t., th,,se
r"e /
s e eI n a c t t o na n , u n ( ll t \ r r d a y - r l r c s l r , u .e r , , s i o no f r , , <k a n r l
soil
by u rnrl 'rn,1wlter. grrdu,tl changesirr clirrrlre,,rrrdrht occrrsion:rl
rarsrng lncl lrrueri g of mrnlntains
This steady-srareview of rhe earth's history had firsr
. been
advanced bv rhe ScorrishchemistJamesI Iurton. ihe Herschelof
geological-history, Hutton was a farsighteduirinn"ry r*1r,,."_ ih.
imprint of aeonsetched in conrmonricks, ,,The ruins of an
older
u'orldare visible in thc presentstructureof our planet," he lvrote.
He illustraredhis thesis wirh a cuta,n,Nydrawing thar a.p;.t.,i,
abovegr,.'und,-r plaeiJ l.nglislr cr)untry\rJc sccnc _.ll en(.L,serl
carrr.]Fc orawn bv two llor\es stan(linBl)v I fcncc in thc rvoodr
whilebelorvstrctcheda frie?cofstrata, and, lrcneaththat, a twisteci
a n di r r m L l e dr a l r l e r uo f m e t a m o r p h i cr r r k , r l r e f r r r z c ni n , " , l "
oi,,
(unl l(Uousantl crcr r lr:rngingrr'orltl.
A s c h r n g ci n a n , ' r r c e r a s r r o p lwr ioer l l r n r r s o t r r t h c r r h , , l co r o -
c r c d : , l o w l vl,h e r r n i f . r m i r l r r a lh y p r r r l r e sri se r ; r r i r e r, h l . r rr h e r ' r r r r h
0e verv ld I l)crc was sontc lltc,,rericalc|iclr ce rlrar rllis
michl
be rhe caserGerrrgeslluflirn, the French naturalist, had ars;ed
from astronomicalpremisesthat the earth began,, nr,rt,",r't"tt
t h a r , r l , r r r icl r r u l c r la, n d r l r : r ri r s r g r n r i g h rr h c r e t i r r "ea n r u u n rr o a ;
m u c ha \ h v e h u n d r e dt l t o r r s a n d
1 . c a r s\ .o w l l r r t t r , n .c o n c e r n e n r lo t
w r t ht h e ( l r i g i n o t ' r h e e a n h l r r r ru r r l r r h e g c r , l , , g i c aplr o c e s \ e s
lo
whichit was currently being subjcctecl,arri'vetl
n..n.I..
e 5 t i ' l l x t i orrrlf t h c t x r e n t { } f a n r i r l u t r y .. . \ V c h r r"id ."n.u.n
. h. u r.i., ..n,,
v f s l g eo t . ah c g l n n t n g , _ n , ,p r o s p e cot f l n e n d . . . l f l r i s u . J s( l . r i n E .
perh.rpr,f'rrt alsoreckless:tn infute
Vt.r is rr grcarrJcal,,,,,relr.,,i,_
l e m J t t c at l l J n r t \ c r y l , , g p : r s r .{ l ) l r r r i n $ i r r r { , ) a k ( i r s i ; r r i l . r r
 I I N I O T H YF I I R R I S CO,IIINGOII AGD IN 7'HE l|lILK'' \Y,II' 2]7
226

sight, s'ho pecretlat the u'orl<laround hirrrs ith nrlrpic intelsity.

\Vhilc still an unrlergratluarestudying ggel6gy at Oxford, Llell
took:r holid:rytrip ro a sptrton thc seashoreth:lt he hi(l visited as
a child, and he noticcd,asInany anotherlratherhad not, that crosion
had slightly altered the shapeof the corstline near Norrvich. Hc
beglrlrto conceivcof rlre plarret as I secttling, chlrrging entitr',
urirlring in its os'rr good time like a living organism.
,\ltrch of the prior dcbate()l,crrhe rqe of the s,or'ldharl been
condrrctedfrom easy chlirs, ll, the Iikes ol the I,.nglishdivine
ThornasIlurnet, u'ho lnasted th:rt he basedhis effortsto reconcile
scientificnnrl bilrlicrrl nccorrntsoi histrlry on but three sour-ces,
"Scripture, lleason,anclancientTradition."'! Lyell spent his days
uantlering to and fro uPon the earth, and in his sixtiesrvrrsstill
scramtriingup mountainsidesanrl <ioun dry u,aslres,miking notes
allthe rvhile.l\4ountlltna in Sicily, the traditionalabodeof Vulcan's
forte, hatl long lrecn r filvoritr slbjcct r)f strrrliousscholarsu,ho
hadr icrvetlir, if rt oll, from afar. I-ycll climbetl its slopesof freshly
frozcnlava, lnd deduced,frorr his measurenrents of the shcertrulk
of thc ren-tlrousand-firot rnountoin,thar it ha(i been luilt u1rfrom
a g r m t n r r n v l a r ' . rf l o us . l l r r a c c u m l r l r t i o n, r i n h i c l r " r r r r ' r l r , r v c
retluiretlcn inmcnse seriesof lgcs dlrteri()rto our histrrricirl1>eriods
for its grorvth."rrIn Chile, Lycll estimaredthar a singleearthqrrake
could clevatetlre coxstalrnountlins try ls rnr,rchas thrce fcet. :ln(l
speculared that "a rcpetitionof trvo thorrsanci shocks,of equal vio-
lence,might producea mountainchainone hurrdredrnileskrng and
trfg.'ologicalupheavalu'lrsdePict<dia curlrva)'dra*ings
Iltrricd eviclence -l'hc
of th /iarth (Afier llutton' l?9i )
7'heory sixthousandfeethigh."'{ idcntjlicitjon of \\,arnl-\\'atcrserrshells
likc rhis one in Fluiron's
in northcrn Italv and of the bodicsof mammoth frozen in Sikrian
, , t 6 n ; 1 " 1 r" 'l t l f : r r t h r r n ti l l t i s r r r l tl t e t t r ' tttt i a n
ice, lte noterl, indicate th:rt tlre liuropcarrclimate u'as once "sufli-
m i \ t . l k e , a r g r t i n gn , t -
"n i \ s r r r ' r r g' n r l cientlv rnikl to atlord fhd for numerrus herds of elephanrsantl
i.i.",ft ,,,,if.him rri.lc.trd exPliinetl thai irrlinit\
rhinocer()ses.of species distinctlrom tbosenow livitg" (l .vell's it.lics). rj
d a n t e r o t t s t t t c d i c i t t e: r t t , l t t . t i t t s t : r I ' i g n ( r m l ' c r ' ) '.rnd
'lhe Erctl n)r)rr- A lucid viliLl sriter, I-1'ellsls as arlept at Llenrolishing
i l r r r t g r r r , rilo r l l l l l c s o f ( l l l i f t t r l ) l l tl r l s n i < r l l s i l l i -l'Leory
literarl' st;'le; his oJ t-he the argumcDts()f the catrstrophistsas he was at comprehending
over. frtrm tlre-liaLrilities of I lutton's
u'as rvtitten in:r svntax as.irtnrblcd rs the the consrructi()nof mount.in rcnses. "(;cok)gii^tshavc bcen ever
lzrrl, ptrblished in 179!.
\ ! r r l . r t i ( ' n i m P r " r ' c J \ o r n c \ \ l ) a l r r h r n J " hn proncto representNaturc as ha|ing lleclr prorligalof violenceand
, , , r a r ^i t , l " . . r i l n . l . T h r
r r r r l t r e i ' l i t t eh r s l r i e n ' l I I t r t t ^ n - s v t c r t ' rn parsimoniorrs of time," he wrote, but, lrc noted, tlre frirctrtrin11 rnd
Plryfair to,'k rllc tr,,rrlrle 'l'hertrv
of the Eartb.' btlt the reii) u'ecthcringof firck taken by thc catastropbisrsr{) rrPreseDtthe
hi's' llltrstr,tins of the Httttonut
hy- violenccof the errly liarth coulti as easilt' have becn imposcd lry
lrreakthrough caInc,r gcneratiolr later, tvhen rhc uniformitarian
t t l i l , v l v c l l l l . ' r n i r r l T r ) - t h ( v ( J r o f H r r l l " nr the rlvagcs of tinre.16A *rraciotrs strr<lcntof hiologv as uell as
,rotlrcsis. i t r k e , ,
\ r ' r r n g m i n ' l r l F s \ e d wrth Pt'r e\e- geolo(y(his fathcl had bcen ir lir,ranist,and Lvell.lil"rhad studied
itelrh. L v c l l * r s a , t
",t.'getic
 -f COMING OT'AGIi IN 7'IIE ,IlII,KY WAT' 22()
22Il I]\4O'fIIY III.]RRIS
'l-he
entonoi(rg\')hc dreu' tlPon the life scicnccsas lvcll catastro to deprrt on a voyilgc arollnd the wrrrld, u,ith a copy of the lirst
'fhc
phisrs relcgarcextinction to brief he
cataclvsnrs. urote' bttt lolunc of |,yell's Prirciplesof Geohtg1in his portable library.
brr,k,puhlisheclrhe previousyear, harl been recommendedby his
if rlc tbcn tutn to tllc lrescllr stric oi rltr irninl:rtccreltion. frirn,j ,rrrd teacherJohn llenslow. A cat'rstrophistlikc virtually
lnd inqrrirc rr'lletherit hds t)t)u l)Lc(tllr llr((l rlnd stillil'narl, evrr\' {)rhergcologistat the tinrc, I lenslou advisedhis former sru-
r v c . l i s < r , v e(rl r r r , ( ' I r t h c a l r n t r r r r \ i' t, i s i n . r s t l t t o f < r r n t i n r r ' t l dentto cnjo.vl,)ell'i^ \!riring, but c,tutiorredhinr on no accottntto
llrl\-lll:lr llt.rc nre n)atlJ Cirtlsciio Jcli(rn rrlriclr terltl to llle t'.rkcits rrdical viervsseriouslr'.Chrrles I)arwin cheerfullv agreetl.
c\tincci()n ('f sPccies'ln(l rrhich lrc -c'rrrclLrsive :r{eiost tlrc
p.rckctltlrc tnok, rntl set slil on rhe lleagle.
.1<rctrinc oI rheil urrlinritetl tlrrrrbilitr'.

It is tnre, as tlre crttrrstropltistspoint or.tt, tlut tlte fossil rccord is

fragrrentccl and lJrokefl. llut, l,t'cll lrgue(I. (lisllstrous evellts \\'ere
not requircd to l)re.k it:

l'orr:stsnral bc as derrserncl bfty as tlvrsc'rfI]r'azil, and rrtal

sruornrrtitir tlrredrrrpeds, [rirt]s,Irn,l ilscts, \'tr at the cnd r)f
tcrt th(nrsitn(llcars one layer,rf l,l,rcI rr:"rrl,l' :r ferv incllcs
tltick, D)i\ lrc thc solereprcscnt^tilr of rhr)sc'r)\'riil(lsr)f trees'
lxrrrcsrnrl skcl
lervct, tiorvcrr, rrntl frtrits, rhosi inrrrrnrcr':Ilrlc
ctons of trird:r.qrrrtlrrrpeds.rrrrtlrcptiles. \hich tenxlrtcdthe
ltrrilc rcgion. Shotrld this lancl trc rt lcngtlr irrlrtncrgc(I.thc
rr',rvesof the seirnrev *ash arvrt in rr tcu h"rtrs thc scantv
eor criog of morrltl.r'

If Lyell was right in crxrcluding tlut "the causes r'r'hich prtxltrccil

thc forrner revolutiotrs li e , dramltic ch.rngesJof the glott" scrc
the srrne as "those nort' in evcr) (lay oPerrition," then tllc lge of the
eanh must be reckoncd not in thousen(ls lrtlt irt Inillions of t'ears "'
llut thc clroice, Lvcll arguctl, wrrs llr)t s()lclv bcnveen a young
anrl an rrid lrarth. Nor *'ls it a clelr-ctlt ci\c of c'.rtislr(,Phisnl rersus
rurrifirnrritrrilnisnr (each of which rvottld in atlt cnsc Prove to contatn
seeclsrrf thc trLrtlr). l-hc rcll cltrricc $ds Irct\r'een I clr>scrtsciencc,
resigrrcd rcr turn l blind eye on iln| cvi.lencc thlt contradicted rhe
exisiing c,,nsctrstts,alrd an oPen sciencc tltlt (lirre(l to fi)llow the
cvidcnc'c torvard unkno$'n inferenccs. If tlle lirst Plth, is l'yell
wrotc, u'as "cllculatetl to lrlttnt thc kcen eclge of curiosity"'
the sccond "cherishcs a slngtline hope tlrat thc resotlrccs to be
clelivetl fron observati<tn and experiment, or lroln the stu(iy of
natrlrc sllch xs slre no\\'is, lre very far f|orlr lleing cxhlustcd "r"
ln l)ecember ltlS l the young man u'lro s'ould iournct' farthest
aLrrrg tlrc rxrti lea(ling into the deptlts of tirrrc wrrs Picking his l)rlgs