"The mineral kingdom consists of the fossil substances found in the earth. These are either entirely destitute of organic structure, or, having once possessed it, possess it no longer: such are the petrefactions."
"Fossils are of four kinds, viz. saline, earthy, inflammable and metallic; hence arise four classes."
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Source: William Withering, Torbern Bergman (1822). “The miscellaneous tracts of the late William Withering: to which is prefixed a memoir of his life, character, and writings”, p.15
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"A scientist strives to understand the work of Nature. But with our insufficient talents as scientists, we do not hit upon the truth all at once. We must content ourselves with tracking it down, enveloped in considerable darkness, which leads us to make new mistakes and errors. By diligent examination, we may at length little by little peel off the thickest layers, but we seldom get the core quite free, so that finally we have to be satisfied with a little incomplete knowledge."