The introduction to the book is a good example of Bergman’s writing talent: “If
Earth is viewed from a long distance and compared with other celestial bodies, its
size virtually disappears: it will look like an ant-hill against a mountain” [31]. After
discussing the size of Earth compared to the Sun and the planets he concluded:
“Such contemplations should diminish our pride and exterminate such presumptuous illusions, that all of this vast and amazing creation has been begun and
completed for man’s sake alone”. This view differentiated Bergman from an older
school of scientists, who regarded the whole world as created for us by God. Later
in the introduction he wrote that man has come to a point where the size and
trajectories of the planets can be determined, the orbits of their moons calculated,
the heights of the mountains on the Moon measured and “we even take the time to
speculate over the shapes and moods of the inhabitants of other celestial bodies, but
of our own home, we are still in such ignorance, that we do not even know if there
is solid ground or sea under the poles” [32]. Bergman assumed without discussion
that the stars were surrounded by planets, (of which there were no proofs until
1988), and taking into account the vast number of stars in the universe,
extra-terrestrial life was a natural thought for Bergman [33].
The book is divided into six parts, and the parts are divided into chapters. The
second edition has the same disposition as the first, with no new parts or chapters.
The first part is called “on Earth’s surface in general” and is a purely geographical
overview of Earth. The second part “on land” is divided into seven chapters. The
first chapter is the geography and history of exploration of the known world.
Through the works of Snorri Sturlason (c.1179–1241), Bergman knew of Leif
Ericsson, the Viking who visited North America 500 years before Columbus [34].
Chapter 2 deals with islands and Chapter 3 with “lesser known lands”, a hundred
pages about places which were not sufficiently studied and the places which were
completely unknown, such as the Polar Regions. Chapter 4 deals with mountains
and describes different types of mountains as well as a geographical overview.
It is Chapter 5 “on the soil layers” that Bergman developed his ideas of
stratigraphy that has attracted most interest from later scientists and historians. The
discussion is continued in the chapter “on the creation of Earth” in the fifth
part. Bergman started by describing the different accessible soil layers at different
geographical locations. “Thus the Earth crust, down to a considerable depth,
appears to consist of spherical shells that differ from each other with regard to size,
composition and thickness. Such layers really arise when a water several times are
mixed with different materials and between each time is allowed the stillness, so the
intermixed particles are allowed to settle at the bottom” [35]. Just three pages latter,
however, he described lava fields created by volcanoes, so Bergman was certainly
not purely a neptunist. Bergman continued by discussing layered mountains, the
occurrence of metals, ores and precious stones.
Chapter 6 is devoted to petrifications, or fossils as we say today; in Bergman’s
vocabulary the word “fossil” meant mineral in general. Bergman was apparently
slightly disturbed by the fact that elephant fossils had been found in Siberia, where
there should be no elephants. Of course, he was actually referring to mammoths.
The final chapter of the second part deals with caves.
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7 Bergman’s Geological Work
Earth is viewed from a long distance and compared with other celestial bodies, its
size virtually disappears: it will look like an ant-hill against a mountain” [31]. After
discussing the size of Earth compared to the Sun and the planets he concluded:
“Such contemplations should diminish our pride and exterminate such presumptuous illusions, that all of this vast and amazing creation has been begun and
completed for man’s sake alone”. This view differentiated Bergman from an older
school of scientists, who regarded the whole world as created for us by God. Later
in the introduction he wrote that man has come to a point where the size and
trajectories of the planets can be determined, the orbits of their moons calculated,
the heights of the mountains on the Moon measured and “we even take the time to
speculate over the shapes and moods of the inhabitants of other celestial bodies, but
of our own home, we are still in such ignorance, that we do not even know if there
is solid ground or sea under the poles” [32]. Bergman assumed without discussion
that the stars were surrounded by planets, (of which there were no proofs until
1988), and taking into account the vast number of stars in the universe,
extra-terrestrial life was a natural thought for Bergman [33].
The book is divided into six parts, and the parts are divided into chapters. The
second edition has the same disposition as the first, with no new parts or chapters.
The first part is called “on Earth’s surface in general” and is a purely geographical
overview of Earth. The second part “on land” is divided into seven chapters. The
first chapter is the geography and history of exploration of the known world.
Through the works of Snorri Sturlason (c.1179–1241), Bergman knew of Leif
Ericsson, the Viking who visited North America 500 years before Columbus [34].
Chapter 2 deals with islands and Chapter 3 with “lesser known lands”, a hundred
pages about places which were not sufficiently studied and the places which were
completely unknown, such as the Polar Regions. Chapter 4 deals with mountains
and describes different types of mountains as well as a geographical overview.
It is Chapter 5 “on the soil layers” that Bergman developed his ideas of
stratigraphy that has attracted most interest from later scientists and historians. The
discussion is continued in the chapter “on the creation of Earth” in the fifth
part. Bergman started by describing the different accessible soil layers at different
geographical locations. “Thus the Earth crust, down to a considerable depth,
appears to consist of spherical shells that differ from each other with regard to size,
composition and thickness. Such layers really arise when a water several times are
mixed with different materials and between each time is allowed the stillness, so the
intermixed particles are allowed to settle at the bottom” [35]. Just three pages latter,
however, he described lava fields created by volcanoes, so Bergman was certainly
not purely a neptunist. Bergman continued by discussing layered mountains, the
occurrence of metals, ores and precious stones.
Chapter 6 is devoted to petrifications, or fossils as we say today; in Bergman’s
vocabulary the word “fossil” meant mineral in general. Bergman was apparently
slightly disturbed by the fact that elephant fossils had been found in Siberia, where
there should be no elephants. Of course, he was actually referring to mammoths.
The final chapter of the second part deals with caves.
88
7 Bergman’s Geological Work