Organisms and Their Origin 113 



toplasm we know that was encradled in the fire- 

 mist; it was a kind of movement, a particular dance 

 of corpuscles, different in its measures from in- 

 organic dances. But there does not seem much 

 utility in discussing a hypothetical kind of organ- 

 ism which could live in nebulae; our conception 

 of organic life must be based on the organisms 

 we know. It is interesting, however, to note that 

 Preyer strongly opposed the view that organic sub- 

 stance could arise or could have arisen from in- 

 organic substance; the reverse supposition seemed 

 to him more tenable. 



As a corollary of the second answer we may 

 notice the view that organisms came to the earth 

 from elsewhere. 



As far back as 1865, H. E. Richter started the 

 idea that germs of life are continually being thrown 

 off from the heavenly bodies, and that some of 

 these found lodgment on the earth, when it was 

 ready for them. For him, as for Preyer, it was 

 impossible to think of life beginning; his dictum 

 was, Omne vivum ab ceternitate e cellula. To 

 Helmholtz (1884) and to Sir William Thomson 

 (Lord Kelvin) the same idea occurred, that germs 

 of life may have come to the earth embosomed 

 in meteorites. 'I cannot contend," Helmholtz 

 said, "against one who would regard this hypoth- 

 esis as highly or wholly improbable. But it 

 appears to me to be a wholly correct scientific pro- 



