An Outline of a System of Natural Theology

us labour; but we have to reply to those who admit not the evidence of revelation: and when that source of our knowledge is closed by the very nature of the inquiry, it becomes necessary to rest on some other very solid foundation. The natural proof of a beginning of the present phenomena of matter was, till very lately, extremely unsatisfactory, being chiefly metaphysical : and Paley completely fails, as was observed in the Introduction, in the evidence of this very important point. But the recent discoveries in geology have afforded us physical proofs of a commencement of organic existence, and of the present and past disposition of the crust of the earth: nor am I aware that this conclusion of the geologists (according with every explanation of the Mosaic statements) has been lately disputed. Nevertheless, the natural proof must not be omitted. The value of such evidence (in a natural point of view) is indeed incalculable; for it forms a solid basis for the inferences on which the conclusion is built; and this will appear, if we reflect how difficult would be the proof of the independence of a system, exhibiting evidences of an eternal rotation of the same phenomena. The following are the physical proofs of a beginning, and of the gradational evolution of the present system. First: The shape of this globe is just such an oblate spheroid as would be produced by its revolving on its axis at some former period in a fluid or semi-fluid state,?fluid t...