"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth..." Whatever our speculations may be in regard to a "beginning," and when it was, it is written in the rocks that, like the animals and plants upon its surface, the earth itself grew.
Elisha Gray (1899). “Nature's Miracles: Familiar Talks on Science”, W. Briggs ; Montreal : C.W. Coates ; Halifax : S.F. Huestis, [19--?]