萬物簡史 第70期:敲石頭的人們(2)

Yet almost singlehandedly, and quite brilliantly, hecreated the science of geology and transformed ourunderstanding of the Earth. Hutton was born in 1726into a prosperous Scottish family, and enjoyed thesort of material comfort that allowed him to passmuch of his life in a genially expansive round of lightwork and intellectual betterment.

不過，他幾乎獨自一人，而且非常英明地開創(chuàng)了地質學，改變了我們對地球的認識。赫頓1726年生于一個富裕的蘇格蘭家庭，享受著舒適的物質條件，所以能以工作輕松、全面提高學識的方式度過大半輩子。

He studied medicine, but found it not to his liking and turned instead to farming, which hefollowed in a relaxed and scientific way on the family estate in Berwickshire. Tiring of field andflock, in 1768 he moved to Edinburgh, where he founded a successful business producing salammoniac from coal soot, and busied himself with various scientific pursuits. Edinburgh at thattime was a center of intellectual vigor, and Hutton luxuriated in its enriching possibilities. Hebecame a leading member of a society called the Oyster Club, where he passed his evenings inthe company of men such as the economist Adam Smith, the chemist Joseph Black, and thephilosopher David Hume, as well as such occasional visiting sparks as Benjamin Franklin andJames Watt.

他學的是醫(yī)學，但發(fā)現(xiàn)自己不喜歡醫(yī)學，于是改學農(nóng)業(yè)。他一直在貝里克郡的自家農(nóng)場里以從容而又科學的方式務農(nóng)。1768年，他對土地和羊群感到厭倦，遷到了愛丁堡。他建立了一家很成功的企業(yè)，用煤煙生產(chǎn)氯化銨，同時忙于各種科學研究。那個時候，愛丁堡是知識分子活躍的中心，赫頓在這種充滿希望的環(huán)境里如魚得水。他成為一個名叫牡蠣俱樂部的學會的主要成員。他在那里和其他人一起度過了許多夜晚，其中有經(jīng)濟學家亞當·斯密、化學家約瑟夫·布萊克和哲學家戴維·休謨，還有偶爾光臨的本杰明·富蘭克林和詹姆斯·瓦特。

In the tradition of the day, Hutton took an interest in nearly everything, from mineralogy tometaphysics. He conducted experiments with chemicals, investigated methods of coal miningand canal building, toured salt mines, speculated on the mechanisms of heredity, collectedfossils, and propounded theories on rain, the composition of air, and the laws of motion,among much else. But his particular interest was geology.

按照那個年代的傳統(tǒng)，赫頓差不多對什么都有興趣，從礦物學到玄學。其中，他用化學品搞試驗，調查開采煤礦和修筑運河的方法，考察鹽礦，推測遺傳機制，收集化石，提出關于雨、空氣的組成和運動定律方面的理論。但是，他最感興趣的還是地質學。