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Whether we speak of the cedar, the oak, the lichens, or the grasses, all equally derive their support from the elements afforded by the mineral world, which, in its widest sense, includes not only the solid earth, but its waters, and all its fiuids—its atmosphere, and all its gases.

— Gideon Mantell The Wonders of Geology (1839)

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More quotes by Gideon Mantell

Upon fixing my residence at Lewes, I resolved to devote my leisure moments to the investigation of the "Organic remains of a former world"...

The Fossils of the South Downs; or Illustrations of the Geology of Sussex (1822)

Our beautiful planet is indeed worthy of our study; it was once our cradle—it will soon be our grave: between the dawn and the night of life, it is the scene of our busy action, and from it we shall rise to another state of being.

The Wonders of Geology (1839)

A mere savage, ignorant and brutal, and the creature of appetite alone, can never rise from his degradation, until he has learned to draw from the mineral kingdom the instruments of arts and civilization, or, at least, to use the aids that are thus obtained. The axe, the hoe, the plough, the loom, are inseparable means and companions of his advancement.

The Wonders of Geology (1839)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Gideon Mantell (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.