- 1. Historical sketch of the early progress of geology, chaps. i. to iv.
- 2. Circumstances which combined to make the first cultivators of the science regard the former course of nature as different from the present, and the former changes of the earth's surface as the effects of agents different in kind and degree from those now acting, chap. v.
- 3. Whether the former variations in climate established by geology are explicable by reference to existing causes, chaps. vi. to viii.
- 4. Theory of the progressive development of organic life in former ages, and the introduction of man into the earth, chap. ix.
- 5. Supposed former intensity of aqueous and igneous causes considered, chaps. x. and xi.
- 6. How far the older rocks differ in texture from those now forming, chap. xii.
- 7. Supposed alternate periods of repose and disorder, chap. xiii.
Book II.
CHANGES NOW IN PROGRESS IN THE INORGANIC WORLD.
- 8. Aqueous causes now in action: Floods—Rivers—Carrying power of ice—Springs and their deposits—Deltas—Waste of cliffs and strata produced by marine currents: chaps. xiv. to xxii.
- 9. Permanent effects of igneous causes now in operation: Active volcanos and earthquakes—their effects and causes: chaps. xxiii. to xxxiii.
Book III.
CHANGES OF THE ORGANIC WORLD NOW IN PROGRESS.
- 10. Doctrine of the transmutation of species controverted, chaps. xxxiv. and xxxv.
- 11. Whether species have a real existence in nature, chaps. xxxvi. and xxxvii.
- 12. Laws which regulate the geographical distribution of species, chaps. xxxviii. to xl.
- 13. Creation and extinction of species, chaps. xli. to xliv.
- 14. Imbedding of organic bodies, including the remains of man and his works, in strata now forming, chaps. xlv. to l.
- 15. Formation of coral reefs, chap. li.
It will be seen on comparing this analysis of the contents of the "Principles" with the headings of the chapters of the present work (see [p. xxiii.]), that the two treatises have but little in common; or, to repeat what I have said in the Preface to the 8th edition of the "Principles," they have the same kind of connection which Chemistry bears to Natural Philosophy, each being subsidiary to the other, and yet admitting of being considered as different departments of science.[vi-A]
Charles Lyell.
11 Harley Street, London, December 10. 1851.