Principles of Geology: or, The Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants Considered as Illustrative of GeologyLyell, Charles, Sir
Science
Principles of Geology: or, The Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants Considered as Illustrative of Geology
Lyell, Charles, Sir
Geology
_William Smith_, 1790.--While the tenets of the rival schools of
Freyberg and Edinburgh were warmly espoused by devoted partisans, the
labors of an individual, unassisted by the advantages of wealth or
station in society, were almost unheeded. Mr. William Smith, an English
surveyor, published his "Tabular View of the British Strata" in 1790,
wherein he proposed a classification of the secondary formations in the
West of England. Although he had not communicated with Werner, it
appeared by this work that he had arrived at the same views respecting
the laws of superposition of stratified rocks; that he was aware that
the order of succession of different groups was never inverted; and that
they might be identified at very distant points by their peculiar
organized fossils.
From the time of the appearance of the "Tabular View," the author
labored to construct a geological map of the whole of England; and with
the greatest disinterestedness of mind, communicated the results of his
investigations to all who desired information, giving such publicity to
his original views, as to enable his contemporaries almost to compete
with him in the race. The execution of his map was completed in 1815,
and remains a lasting monument of original talent and extraordinary
perseverance; for he had explored the whole country on foot, without the
guidance of previous observers, or the aid of fellow-laborers, and had
succeeded in throwing into natural divisions the whole complicated
series of British rocks. D'Aubuisson, a distinguished pupil of Werner,
paid a just tribute of praise to this remarkable performance, observing,
that "what many celebrated mineralogists had only accomplished for a
small part of Germany in the course of half a century, had been effected
by a single individual for the whole of England."[119]
Werner invented a new language to express his divisions of rocks, and
some of his technical terms, such as grauwacke, gneiss, and others,
passed current in every country in Europe. Smith adopted for the most
part English provincial terms, often of barbarous sound, such as gault,
cornbrash, clunch clay; and affixed them to subdivisions of the British
series. Many of these still retain their place in our scientific
classifications, and attest his priority of arrangement.
MODERN PROGRESS OF GEOLOGY.
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