a la filtration des eaux), semble aussi-bien que le granit, anterieure a la creation organisee.  Une raison tres-forte pour appuyer cette supposition, c’est que la plupart de ces roches, quoique lamelleuse en facon d’ardoise, n’a jamais produit aux curieux la moindre trace de petrifactions ou empreintes de corps organises.  S’il s’en est trouve, c’est apparemment dans des fentes de ces roches ou ces corps ont ete apportes par un deluge, et encastrees apres dans une matiere infiltree, de meme qu’on a trouve des restes d’Elephans dans le filon de la mine d’argent du Schlangenberg.[23] Les caracteres par lesquels plusieurs de ces roches semblent avoir souffert des effets d’un feu-tres-violent, les puissantes veines et amas des mineraux les plus riches qui se trouvent principalement dans la bande qui en est composee, leur position immediate sur le granit, et meme le passage, par lequel on voit souvent en grand, changer le granit en une des autres especes; tout cela indique une origine bien plus ancienne, et des causes bien differentes de celles qui ont produit les montagnes secondaires.”

[Note 23:  This is a very natural way of reasoning when a philosopher finds a fact, related by some naturalists, that does not correspond with his theory or systematic view of things.  Here our author follows the general opinion in concluding that no organised body should be found in their primitive strata; when, therefore, such an object is said to have been observed, it is supposed that there may have been some mistake with regard to the case, and that all the circumstances may not have been considered.  This caution with regard to the inaccurate representation of facts, in natural history, is certainly extremely necessary; the relicts of an elephant found in a mineral vein, is certainly a fact of that kind, which should not be given as an example in geology without the most accurate scientifical examination of the subject.]

Here M. Pallas gives his reason for supposing those mountains primitive or anterior to the operations of this globe as a living world; first, because they have not, in general, marks of animals or plants; and that it is doubtful if they ever properly contain those marks of organised bodies; secondly, because many of those rocks have the appearance of having suffered the effects of the most violent fire.  Now, What are those effects?  Is it in their having been brought into a fluid state of fusion.  In that case, no doubt, they may have been much changed from the original state of their formation; but this is a very good reason why, in this changed state, the marks of organised bodies, which may have been in their original constitution, should be now effaced.