ABSTRACT
One of the great outstanding ideas of geology is that life has been on the globe for many millions of years, that in fact there has been a graded succession of different types of life in a well defined invariable order, from the lower and more generalized to the higher and more specialized. The amusement with which the onion-coat theory is regarded is hardly appropriate in view of its universal vogue among geologists about the beginning of the nineteenth century, and in view of the further fact that a very similar and only slightly modified substitute theory has been universally taught for three-quarters of a century and still prevails. This chapter discusses the prime postulates of the current system of geology, namely the theory of Successive Ages. The science of geology is truly in a most astonishing condition, and doubtless presents the most peculiar mixture of fact and nonsense to be found in the whole range of our modern knowledge.
