the infinite greatness of the works of Creation as disclosed by
Astronomy, with the extreme lowness of man's first condition as
made evident by Archaeology, that lend new force to the words,
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him!"

The evidences on which we predicate an extreme antiquity for man
are necessarily cumulative. It is not from one source alone that
we obtain information, but from many. Eminent men in nearly
every department of knowledge have lent their aid to the
elucidation of this subject. It can only be understood by those
who will fairly weigh the facts that modern discoveries have
unrolled before their eyes. There are many who have not done
this, and are consequently unable to project their mental vision
so far back into the very night of time, as is now demanded for
the beginning of man's first appearance on the earth.
And, indeed, so enormously has this period been extended--so far
back does it require us to go--that even the most enlightened
investigator may well recoil in dismay when he first perceives
the almost infinite lapse of years that are required by his
calculation since the creation of man.

At this day the scholar must be ready to explain the steps by
which he reaches his conclusions. Not necessarily explaining the
minutiae of his journey hither, but the main outlines of his
course. This seems to call for a slight outline of Geology.
The animal and vegetable tribes which have come and gone upon
the earth, following each other like the shadows of passing
clouds on a Summer's day, have left their remains in the rocks
which at that time were forming. A close investigation of these
remains shows that they form the record book of nature, wherein