Note 23 — Chapter II · (continued 2)

Footnote 23: (return) 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.