4 THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF LIFE 



atoms, and molecules break forth into new forms and mani- 

 festations of energy which appear to be "creative," convey- 

 ing to our eyes at least the impression of incessant genesis of 

 new combinations of energy, of matter, of form, of function, 

 of character? 



To our senses it appears as if the latter view were the cor- 

 rect one, as if something new is breathed into the aging dust, 

 as if the first appearance of life on this planet marks an actual 

 reversal of the previous order of things. Certainly the cosmic 

 processes cease to run down and begin to build up, abandoning 

 old forms and constructing new ones. Through these activities 

 within matter in the living state the dying earth, itself a mere 

 cinder from the sun, develops new chemical compounds; the 

 chemical elements of the ocean are enriched from new sources 

 of supply, as additional amounts of chemical compounds, pro- 

 duced by organisms from the soil or by elements in the earth 

 that were not previously dissolved, are liberated by life proc- 

 esses and ultimately carried out to sea; the very composition 

 of the rocks is changed; a new life crust begins to cover the 

 earth and to spread over the bottom of the sea. Our old in- 

 organic planet is reorganized, and we see in living matter a 

 reversal of the melancholy conclusion reached by CampbelP 

 that ''Everything in nature is growing older and changing in 

 condition; slowly or rapidly, depending upon circumstances; 

 the meteorological elements and gravitation are tearing down 

 the high places of the earth; the eroded materials are trans- 

 ported to the bottoms of valleys, lakes, and seas; and these 

 results beget further consecjuences." 



Thus it certainly appears, in answer to our second ques- 

 tion, that living matter does not follow the old evolutionary or- 

 der, but represents a new assemblage of energies and new types 



1 Campbell, William Wallace, 1915, p. 209. 



