--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Notwithstanding, therefore, that we have…" description: "\"Notwithstanding, therefore, that we have not witnessed of a large continent, yet, as we may predict the future occurrence of such catastrophes, we are ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/charles-lyell-17452_accounts_notwithstanding-therefore-that-we-have-n_3108501.png" --- # Notwithstanding, therefore, that we have not witnessed of… ![“Notwithstanding, therefore, that we have not witnessed of a large continent, yet, as we may predict the future occurrence of such catastrophes, we are authorized to regard them as part of the present order of Nature.” quote by Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/charles-lyell-17452_accounts_notwithstanding-therefore-that-we-have-n_3108501.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/charles-lyell-17452_accounts_notwithstanding-therefore-that-we-have-n_3108501.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/charles-lyell-17452_accounts_notwithstanding-therefore-that-we-have-n_3108501.png) > “Notwithstanding, therefore, that we have not witnessed of a large continent, yet, as we may predict the future occurrence of such catastrophes, we are authorized to regard them as part of the present order of Nature.” [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even unseen, large‑scale catastrophes are part of nature’s ongoing processes and can be anticipated. **In simple terms:** Nature includes rare disasters. Key Takeaway Prepare for unlikely but possible events. Themes geology risk prediction Mood cautious analytical Type scientific pragmatic When to use this quote - disaster planning - insurance - environmental policy Key Concepts Catastrophic events natural order Questions to Reflect On - How should societies balance preparedness and cost? - What evidence guides your risk assessments? A Different Perspective Predicting rare events is uncertain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/) [Geology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geology/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [Geology is the science which investigates the successive changes that have taken place in the organic and inorganic kingdoms of nature; it enquires into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/geology-is-the-science-which-investigates-the-successive-changes-that/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Geology differs as widely from cosmogony, as speculations concerning the creation of man differ from history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/geology-differs-as-widely-from-cosmogony-as-speculations-concerning/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [ \[My Book\] will endeavour to establish the principle\[s\] of reasoning in ... \[geology\]; and all my geology will come in as illustration of my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/my-book-will-endeavour-to-establish-the-principle-s-of-reasoning-in/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [There is no foundation in geological facts, for the popular theory of the successive development of the animal and vegetable world, from the simplest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/there-is-no-foundation-in-geological-facts-for-the-popular-theory-of/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Millions of our race are now supported by lands situated where deep seas once prevailed in earlier ages. In many districts not yet occupied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/millions-of-our-race-are-now-supported-by-lands-situated-where-deep/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [But it seems to me equally obvious that the orderliness is not all-pervasive. There are streaks of order to be found among the chaos,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-david-ritchie/but-it-seems-to-me-equally-obvious-that-the-orderliness-is-not-all/) [Arthur David Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-david-ritchie/) > [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Every end is a beginning. Every stop a fresh start. All in order, as its nature, like the beating of my heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-t-moore/every-end-is-a-beginning-every-stop-a-fresh-start-all-in-order-as-its/) F.T. Moore > [People think that in order for nature to be sacred, you have to separate yourself from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-potter/people-think-that-in-order-for-nature-to-be-sacred-you-have-to/) [Dean Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-potter/) > [ The order of nature \[is\] that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-order-of-nature-is-that-individual-happiness-shall-be-inseparable/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The whole order of nature evinces a progressive march towards a higher life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-order-of-nature-evinces-a-progressive-march-towards-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man, as the minister and interpreter of nature, is limited in act and understanding by his observation of the order of nature; neither his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/man-as-the-minister-and-interpreter-of-nature-is-limited-in-act-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [It is the function of science to discover the existence of a general reign of order in nature and to find the causes governing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-mendeleev/it-is-the-function-of-science-to-discover-the-existence-of-a-general/) [Dmitri Mendeleev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-mendeleev/) > [“To upset the order of nature, and even more the order of God, who, for us, is more natural than nature itself, is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-sertillanges/to-upset-the-order-of-nature-and-even-more-the-order-of-god-who-for/) [Antonin Sertillanges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-sertillanges/) > [. . . to know the order of nature, and regard the universe as orderly is the highest function of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/to-know-the-order-of-nature-and-regard-the-universe-as-orderly-is-the/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) ## More by Charles Lyell > [It was a profound saying of Wilhelm Humboldt, that 'Man is man only by means of speech, but in order to invent speech he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/it-was-a-profound-saying-of-wilhelm-humboldt-that-man-is-man-only-by/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [In reply, I can only plead that a discovery which seems to contradict the general tenor of previous investigations is naturally received with much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/in-reply-i-can-only-plead-that-a-discovery-which-seems-to-contradict/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Such discoveries have led me, and other geologists, to reconsider the evidence previously derived from caves brought forward in proof of the high antiquity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/such-discoveries-have-led-me-and-other-geologists-to-reconsider-the/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Man, whose organization is regarded as the highest, departs from the vertebrate archetype; and it is because the study of anatomy is usually commenced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/man-whose-organization-is-regarded-as-the-highest-departs-from-the/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Probably there was a beginning-it is a metaphysical question, worthy a theologian-species have begun and ended-but the analogy is faint and distant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/probably-there-was-a-beginning-it-is-a-metaphysical-question-worthy-a/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [I may conclude this chapter by quoting a saying of Professor Agassiz, that whenever a new and startling fact is brought to light in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/i-may-conclude-this-chapter-by-quoting-a-saying-of-professor-agassiz/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Amidst the vicissitudes of the earth's surface, species cannot be immortal, but must perish, one after another, like the individuals which compose them. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/amidst-the-vicissitudes-of-the-earth-s-surface-species-cannot-be/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [It must have appeared almost as improbable to the earlier geologists, that the laws of earthquakes should one day throw light on the origin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/it-must-have-appeared-almost-as-improbable-to-the-earlier-geologists/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Millions of our race are now supported by lands situated where deep seas once prevailed in earlier ages. In many districts not yet occupied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/millions-of-our-race-are-now-supported-by-lands-situated-where-deep/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [So far, therefore, as we can draw safe conclusions from a single specimen, there has been no marked change of race in the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/so-far-therefore-as-we-can-draw-safe-conclusions-from-a-single/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [There is no foundation in geological facts, for the popular theory of the successive development of the animal and vegetable world, from the simplest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/there-is-no-foundation-in-geological-facts-for-the-popular-theory-of/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [That ere long, now that curiosity has been so much excited on this subject, some human remains will be detected in the older alluvium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/that-ere-long-now-that-curiosity-has-been-so-much-excited-on-this/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Hitherto, no rival hypothesis has been proposed as a substitute for the doctrine of transmutation; for 'independent creation,' as it is often termed, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/hitherto-no-rival-hypothesis-has-been-proposed-as-a-substitute-for/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [The present is the key to the past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/the-present-is-the-key-to-the-past/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > ['Time's noblest offspring is the last.' 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