fute my theory,
when either the entire opinion, or the facts on which the opinion had
been founded, would have confirmed it?

I have thus endeavoured to put in its true light a species of reasoning,
which, while it assumes the air and form of that inductive train of
thought employed by men of science for the investigation of nature, is
only fit to mislead the unwary, and, when closely examined, will appear
to be inconsequential or unfounded. How mortifying then to find, that
one may be employed almost a lifetime in generalising the phenomena of
nature, or in gathering an infinity of evidence for the forming of a
theory, and that the consequence of this shall only be to give offence,
and to receive reproach from those who see not things in the same
light!--While man has to learn, mankind must have different opinions.
It is the prerogative of man to form opinions; these indeed are often,
commonly I may say, erroneous; but they are commonly corrected, and it
is thus that truth in general is made to appear.

I wrote a general Theory for the inspection of philosophers, who
doubtless will point out its errors; but this requires the study of
nature, which is not the work of a day; and, in this political age, the
study of nature seems to be but little pursued by our philosophers. In
the mean time, there are, on the one hand, sceptical philosophers, who
think there is nothing certain in nature, because there is misconception
in the mind of man; on the other hand, there are many credulous
amateurs, who go to nature to be entertained as we go to see a
pantomime: But there are also superficial reasoning men, who think
themselves qualified to write on subjects on which they may have read
in books,--subjects which they may have seen in cabinets, and which,
perhaps, they have just learned to name; without truly knowing what they
see, they think they know those regions of the earth which never can be
seen; and they judge of the great operations of the mineral kingdom,
from having kindled a fire, and looked into the bottom of a little
crucible.

In the Theory of the Earth which was published, I was anxious to warn
the reader against the notion that subterraneous heat and fusion could
be compared with that which we induce by our chemical operations
on mineral substances here upon the surface of the earth; yet,
notwithstanding all the precaution I had taken, our author has bestowed
four quarto pages in proving to me, that our fires hav