ralists_ (evolutionists)
are to-day well agreed among themselves that all animal and vegetable
forms are derivatives from forms that preceded them..... Hence it is,
that, in following the geological record, we speak of progressive
evolution, the evolving of higher or more complicated types of organisms
from those simpler and more general in structure." Now read carefully
the following: _"This fact_ has permitted geologists to mark off
distinct eras or periods in the life-history of the planet, each of them
determined by certain characteristic animal or vegetable forms, which
either do not appear before or after such period, or else are by numbers
so distinctive of it as to typify it clearly." Evidently, the
Philadelphia professor, too, _assumes_ "progressive evolution" _as an
ascertained fact_ and in accordance therewith classifies the layers of
the earth's surface. "Almost every species of fossil has a definite
position in the geological scale, and would by itself serve to locate a
formation; but oftentimes the determination of species, owing to
insufficiency of knowledge of the obliteration of characters, is a most
difficult task, and then recourse is had to the aspect of the entire
group 'of fossils which a given rockmass contains. This generally _gives
the age_ or position without difficulty." Edward Clodd, in _"The Story
of Creation, a Plain Account of Evolution,"_ says, page 18. "The
relative _age and place of each stratum .... are fixed by the fossils."_

Now, is not this a most extraordinary situation? The evolutionist says:
The science of paleontology furnishes the basic argument for our
hypothesis,--the older the strata of the earths surface, the simpler the
fossils found therein. This sounds impressive. But we ask him: How do
you know the age of the strata,--and the answer is, that, of course, is
the business of the geologist to determine. We now turn to the geologist
and ask: How do you determine the age of the strata? And the geologist
answers: Why, evolutionary science has proven that the simplest animals
and plants appeared first; hence, where I find simple fossils, I know
that I have a more ancient bed of lime-stone or sand-stone than the
strata which contain more complex forms,--which appeared later. Note
well, the geologists which we have quoted assert that this is the best
and final proof for the position of a stratum in the scale of geological
history. The geologist depends on the fossils. But he beli