The quality and richness of Perthshire's natural environment were formative influences on a young James Croll (1821–1890), which left him with a life-long appreciation of nature, landscape and natural meditation. Although Croll himself declares to have had little interest in geology in his earlier years, it became a central theme of his scientific understanding, which implies the clear influence of both his local environment and of his father David, a stonemason. His family and friends also shaped him in other ways, not least his love of reading, his unconstrained thinking and intellectual acuity. He inherited his father's moral character, amiability and an excitement about intellectual inquiry, which drew friends to him who made great efforts to assist him in his work, both personally and professionally, and played a role in his being offered a position by James Geikie with the Geological Survey of Scotland. Croll's financial position was often precarious; he spent a good deal of his life in relative poverty. Whilst this affected his opportunities for formal learning, it may well have led to his ability to think creatively and to seek answers more broadly than he might have if he had been able to engage in a more formal education. Ill health, which affected him throughout his life, could be seen to both hamper his work – but also through circumstance lead him to pursue a more academic path, as other routes of work were shut off to him. Ultimately Whitefield, Wolfhill and the wider Perthshire countryside in which he grew up can clearly be seen to have influenced his life in many ways, even, perhaps, to the extent of his chosen surname.

中文翻译：

---

James Croll 博士：环境的产物？探索影响他非凡生活的自然、社会、个人和经济因素

珀斯郡自然环境的质量和丰富性对年轻的詹姆斯·克罗尔 (James Croll，1821-1890 年) 产生了影响，这使他对自然、风景和自然冥想有了终生的欣赏。尽管克罗尔本人宣称早年对地质学兴趣不大，但这已成为他科学理解的中心主题，这意味着他的当地环境和他的父亲石匠大卫的明显影响。他的家人和朋友也在其他方面塑造了他，尤其是他对阅读的热爱、无拘无束的思维和敏锐的智力。他继承了父亲的道德品质、和蔼可亲以及对知识探究的热情，这吸引了他的朋友，他们在个人和专业上都努力帮助他的工作，并在苏格兰地质调查局的詹姆斯·盖基（James Geikie）为他提供职位方面发挥了作用。Croll 的财务状况经常不稳定。他一生中的大部分时间都在相对贫困中度过。虽然这影响了他接受正规学习的机会，但与接受更正规的教育相比，这很可能使他能够创造性地思考和寻求更广泛的答案。健康状况不佳影响了他的一生，这既阻碍了他的工作，也通过环境引导他走上了一条更加学术的道路，因为其他工作路线对他来说是封闭的。最终，可以清楚地看出，怀特菲尔德、沃尔夫希尔和他长大的更广阔的珀斯郡乡村在许多方面影响了他的生活，甚至可能影响到他选择的姓氏。