The Testimony of the Rocks: or, Geology in Its Bearings on the Two Theologies, Natural and Revealed — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
The Testimony of the Rocks: or, Geology in Its Bearings on the Two Theologies, Natural and Revealed
John Stuart Mill · en
bronze into gold, and anon the gold becomes fire, and at length the
glorious sun arises out of the sea, and enters on his course rejoicing.
It is a brilliant day; the waves, of a deeper and softer blue than
before, dance and sparkle in the light; the earth, with little else to
attract the gaze, has assumed a garb of brighter green; and as the sun
declines amid even richer glories than those which had encircled his
rising, the moon appears full orbed in the east,--to the human eye the
second great luminary of the heavens,--and climbs slowly to the zenith
as night advances, shedding its mild radiance on land and sea.
Again the day breaks; the prospect consists, as before, of land and
ocean. There are great pine woods, reed-covered swamps, wide plains,
winding rivers, and broad lakes; and a bright sun shines over all. But
the landscape derives its interest and novelty from a feature unmarked
before. Gigantic birds stalk along the sands, or wade far into the water
in quest of their ichthyic food; while birds of lesser size float upon
the lakes, or scream discordant in hovering flocks, thick as insects in
the calm of a summer evening, over the narrower seas, or brighten with
the sunlit gleam of their wings the thick woods. And ocean has its
monsters: great "_tanninim_" tempest the deep, as they heave their huge
bulk over the surface, to inhale the life-sustaining air; and out of
their nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a "seething pot or cauldron."
Monstrous creatures, armed in massive scales, haunt the rivers, or scour
the flat rank meadows; earth, air, and water are charged with animal
life; and the sun sets on a busy scene, in which unerring instinct
pursues unremittingly its few simple ends,--the support and preservation
of the individual, the propagation of the species, and the protection
and maintenance of the young.