THE EARTH AND MAN1860 |
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abundance Africa Alps already Asia Minor Asia-Europe Atlantic atmosphere Australia basin Cape Caucasus causes centre character civilization climate continental continents contrast countries currents depth desert direction earth Eastern element elevated epoch equator equatorial Europe existence extreme fact Fahr feet forms frozen gentlemen geographical give globe Gulf Gulf of Mexico heat height hemisphere Himalaya human important inches Indian Ocean influence interior islands latitude less Mexico miles monsoon mountain chains nations nature Nevertheless North north-east northern continents oceanic climate Old World organized Pacific Ocean peninsulas perfect Persia physical plains plateaus polar present principal progress proportion race rains relief rivers seas seems shores side slopes societies soil South America south-west southern species square miles superior surface table lands temperate regions temperature terrestrial masses three continents tinents tion trade wind tropical regions unequal vapors variety vast vegetation waters Western Asia western coast whole zone
Popular passages
Page 232 - As the plant is made for the animal, as the vegetable world is made for the animal world, America is made for the man of the Old World The man of the Old World sets out upon his way Leaving the highlands of Asia, he descends from station to station towards Europe. Each of his steps is marked by a new civilization superior to the preceding, by a greater power of development. Arrived at the Atlantic, he pauses on the shore of...
Page 254 - While all the types of animals and of plants go on decreasing in perfection, from the equatorial to the polar regions, in proportion to the temperatures, man presents to our view his purest, his most perfect type, at the very centre of the temperate continents, at the centre of AsiaEurope, in the regions of Iran, of Armenia, and of the Caucasus ; and, departing from this geographical centre in the three grand directions of the lands, the types gradually lose the beauty of their forms, in proportion...
Page 34 - ... appearance, yet reveal a plan which we are enabled to understand by the evolutions of history. 2. That the continents are made for human societies, as the body is made for the soul. 3. That each of the northern or historical continents is peculiarly adapted, by its nature, to perform a special part corresponding to the wants of humanity in one of the great phases of its history. Thus, nature and history, the earth and man, stand in the closest relations to each other, and form only one grand...
Page 82 - Friuli. It is the same with the Northern Sea, and with those which wash the British Islands. Here is found a submarine plateau, which serves as a common basis for the coasts of France and the British Islands ; nowhere does it sink lower than 600 feet, and frequently it rises much higher. Between France and England, the greatest depth does not exceed 300 feet...
Page 154 - Whenever the trade wind blows with its wonted regularity, the sky preserves a constant serenity, and a deep azure blue, especially when the sun is in the opposite hemisphere ; the air is dry, and the atmosphere cloudless. But in proportion as the sun approaches the zenith, the trade wind grows irregular, the sky assumes a whitish tint, it becomes overcast, clouds appear, sudden showers, accompanied with fierce storms, ensue.
Page 264 - In man, the degree of perfection of the types is in proportion to the degree of intellectual and moral improvement. The law is of a moral order.
Page 21 - Geography ought to be something different from a mere description. It should not only describe, it should compare, it should interpret, it should rise to the how and the wherefore of the phenomena which it describes. It is not enough for it coldly to anatomize the globe, by merely taking cognizance of the arrangement of the various parts which constitute it. It must endeavor to seize those incessant mutual actions of the different portions of physical nature upon each other, of inorganic nature upon...
Page 152 - The moist air here is like a sponge filled with water ; reduce its volume by pressure, there will run out a certain quantity of water ; in the air laden with moisture the diminution of the temperature takes the place of pressure. We can easily conceive the application of this principle in meteorology. A warm and moist wind, the south-west of the Atlantic, for example, setting from the tropics, comes in contact with the colder air of the temperate regions ; its temperature is lowered ; it can no longer...
Page 264 - The plant and the animal are not requi ^.d to become a different thing from what they already are at the moment of their birth. Their idea, as the philosophers would say, is realized in its fulness by the fact alone of their material appearance, and of their physical organization. The end of their existence is attained, for they are only of a physical nature. But with man it is quite otherwise. Man, created in the image of God, is of a free and moral nature.
Page 327 - Asia, Europe, and North America, are the three grand stages of humanity in its march through the ages. Asia is the cradle where man passed his infancy, under the authority of law, and where he learned his dependence upon a sovereign master. Europe is the school where his youth was trained, where he waxed in strength and knowledge, grew to manhood, and learned at once his liberty and his moral responsibility.