THE ORIGIN OF LIFE 



FOREWORD 



IN this volume a memoir is reproduced on " The 

 Origin of Life Question " that was submitted early 

 in October, 1910, to the Royal Society, and which, 

 as I was informed after an interval of a few weeks, 

 was "not considered suitable for acceptance by 

 the Society." 



I desire, therefore, to make a few observations 

 in the first place in reference to the subject of the 

 paper; and, secondly, in regard to the action of 

 the Society, and the probable causes that have led 

 to such action. 



i 



Concerning the main question that of the Ori- 

 gin of Life on this Earth men of science, or at 

 least a majority of them, no longer appeal to the 

 intervention of any non-natural or miraculous 

 cause. As believers in the Doctrine of Evolution 



