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Hutton, James, 1726-1797

"Theory of the Earth, Volume 1 (of 4)"

"
This author has a theory by which he explains to himself the former
residence of the sea, above the summits of our mountains; this,
however, is not the theory by which we are now endeavouring to explain
appearances; we must therefore be allowed to reason from our own
principles, in considering the facts here set forth by our author.
Nothing, I think, is more evident, than that in this mineral country of
the Hartz, we may find the clearest marks of fracture, elevation, and
dislocation of the strata, and of the introduction of foreign matter
among those separated bodies. All those appearances, our author would
have to be nothing but some particular accident, which is not to enter
into the physiology of the earth. I wish again to generalise these
facts, by finding them universal in relation to the globe, and
necessarily to be found in all the consolidated parts of our land.
It was not to refute our author's reasoning that I have here introduced
so much of his observations, but to give an extensive view of the
mineral structure of this interesting country. This therefore being
done, we now proceed to what is more peculiarly our business in this
place, or the immediate subject of investigation, viz.


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