28 THE ORIGIN OF THE THEORY OF 



CHAPTER II. 



WHAT SPONTANEOUS GENERATION PROVES. THE EGG IS THE LOWEST PHASE 

 OF ANIMAL LIFE. -THE EGG A BIPOLAR ANIMAL. THE EGG CONTRASTED WITH 

 THE LOWEST FORMS OF ADULT BEINGS. THE EGG AS RELATED TO SECONDARY 



CAUSES. 



AT the end of' my last lecture I announced that I would next 

 take up the consideration of the egg of animals, as that is the 

 phase in which all animals, at one time, are in the lowest possible 

 condition of life. Before I proceed to do this, however, I wish 

 to preface it with some remarks upon the theory of spontaneous 

 generation, which may serve not only as a recapitulation of what 

 I have already said upon that subject, but will, I hope, make 

 more clear to your minds the object for which the experiments 

 in the sealed flasks were instituted ; and it will at the same time 

 lead in a direct line to the consideration of what may be the 

 relation of the egg-condition, of all animals, to the adult state of 

 the lowest forms of animate beings. 



When geologists first announced that the earth contained the 

 remains of animals and plants, which, from the nature of the 

 action of physical causes, and the position in which these fossils 

 were found, demonstrated that they belonged to a period, or 

 series of periods, anterior to the creation of man, the assertion 

 was received, by what was then called the " Church Party " in 

 England, with an expression of horror, that scientific men should 

 attempt to support atheism by the palpable evidence of scientific 

 facts ! Without stopping at the present time to show how this 

 holy horror was finally, and in the process of time, changed to 

 an enthusiastic and religious advocacy of this geological theory, 

 I will merely state the fact, and then pass on to the result of 

 this general recognition and admission of the existence of a pre- 

 Adamite world. 



Having made this admission, it became evident at the same 

 time that a series of creations had been going on previously to 



