How has all this
history been worked out from the shapeless stone? It has been
done by the sculptor's chisel. A piece chipped off here, a
wrinkle cut there, a smooth surface rounded off in another place,
so as to give a gentle curve; all these touches gradually shape
the figure and mould it out of the rough stone, first into a
rude shape and afterwards, by delicate strokes, into the form of
a living being.
Now, just in the same way as the wrinkles and curves of a statue
are cut by the sculptor's chisel, so the hills and valleys, the
steep slopes and gentle curves on the face of our earth, giving
it all its beauty, and the varied landscapes we love so well,
have been cut out by water and ice passing over them. It is true
that some of the greater wrinkles of the earth, the lofty
mountains, and the high masses of land which rise above the sea ,
have been caused by earthquakes and shrinking of the
earth. We shall not speak of these to-day, but put them aside as
belonging to the rough work of the statuary yard.
Pages:
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139