Almost every where on land we meet with fossil-shells, and of those of the same kind, some are small, others large, some young, others old; some imperfect, others extremely perfect and we likewise sometimes see the young ones adhering to the old.
The shell-fish called purpura has a long tongue, the extremity of which is bony, and so sharp, that it pierces the shells of other fish; by which means it draws nutriment from them. Shells pierced in this manner are frequently found in the earth, which is an incontestible proof that they formerly inclosed living fish, and existed in those parts where there were the Purpura.
The obelisks of St. Peter's at Rome, according to John of Latran, were said to come from the pyramids of Egypt; they are of red granite, which is a kind of rock-stone, and, as
we have observed, contains no shells; but the African and Egyptian marble, and the porphyry said to have been cut from the temple of Solomon, and the palaces of the kings of Egypt, and used at Rome in different buildings, are filled with shells. Red porphyry is composed of an infinite number of prickles of the species of echinus, or sea chesnut; they are placed pretty near each other, and form all the small white spots which are in the porphyry. Each of these white spots has a black one in its centre, which is the section of the longitudinal tube of the prickles of the echinus. At Fichen, three leagues from Dijon, in Burgundy, is a red stone perfectly similar in its composition to porphyry, and which differs from it only in hardness, not being more so than marble; it appears almost formed of prickles of the echini, and its beds are of a very great extent. Many beautiful pieces of workmanship have been made of it in this province, and particularly the steps of the pedestal of the equestrian statue of Louis le Grand, at Dijon.
This species of stone is also found at Montbard, in Burgundy, where there is an extensive quarry; it is not so hard as marble, contains more of the echini, and less of the red matter.
From this it appears that the ancient porphyry of Egypt differs only from that of Burgundy in the degree of hardness, and the number of the points of the echini.
With respect to what the curious call green porphyry, I rather suppose it to be a granite than a porphyry; it is not composed of spots like the red porphyry, and its substance appears to be similar to that of a common granite. In Tuscany, in the stone with which the ancient walls of Volatera were built, there are a great quantity of shells, and this wall was built 2500 years ago. Most marbles, porphyries, and other stones of the most ancient buildings, contain shells and other wrecks of marine productions, as well as the marble we at present take from the quarry; therefore it cannot be doubted, independent even of the sacred testimony of holy writ, that before the deluge the earth was composed of the same materials at it is at present.
From all these facts it is plain that petrified shells are found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and in every place where the observations have been made; they are also found in America, in the Brasils; for example, in Tucumama, in Terra Magellinica, and in such a great quantity in the
Antilles, that directly below the cultivable land, the bottom of which the inhabitants call lime, is nothing but a composition of shells, madrepores, astroites, and other productions of the sea. These facts would have made me think that shells and other petrified marine productions were to be found in the greatest part of the continent of America, and especially in the mountains, as Woodward asserts; but M. Condamine, who lived several years at Peru, has assured me he could not discover any in the Cordeliers, although he had carefully sought for them. This exception would be singular, and the consequences that might be drawn from it would be still more so; but I own that, in spite of the testimony of this celebrated naturalist, I am much inclined to suppose, that in the mountains of Peru, as well as elsewhere, there are shells and other marine petrifications, although they have not been discovered. It is well known, that in matter of testimonies, two positive witnesses, who assert to have seen a thing, is sufficient to make a complete proof; whereas ten thousand negative witnesses, and who can only assert not to have seen a thing, can only raise a slight doubt. This reason, united with the strength of analogy, induces me to persist in
thinking the shells will be found on the mountains of Peru, especially if we search for them on the rise of the mountain, and not at the summit.