Wonder at the Age of the Earth
The great age of the earth will appear greater to man when he understands the origin of living organisms and the reasons for the gradual development and improvement of their organization. This antiquity will appear even greater when he realizes the length of time and the particular conditions which were necessary to bring all the living species into existence. This is particularly true since man is the latest result and present climax of this development, the ultimate limit of which, if it is ever reached, cannot be known.
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Hydrogéologie (1802)
Notes
Lamarck believes we will marvel at the time it took us to get here, and wonder at the future apex we might reach.
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Concepts
Keywords
Earth Lamarck, future apex, present climax, gradual development, ultimate limit, latest result, particular conditions, great age, time, antiquity, organisms, reasons
6 more keywords
existence, length, origin, improvement, organization, species