422 FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE 



nuity of nature, I cannot stop abruptly where our micro- 

 scopes cease to be of use. At this point the vision of the 

 mind authoritatively supplements that of the eye. By an 

 intellectual necessity I cross the boundary of the experi- 

 mental evidence, and discern in that 4 matter' which we, 

 in our ignorance of its latent powers, and notwithstanding 

 our professed reverence for its Creator, have hitherto cov- 

 ered, with opprobrium, the promise and potency of all ter- 

 restrial life." Without halting for a moment I go on to 

 do the precise thing which Professor Yirchow declares to 

 be necessary. "If you ask me," I say, "whether there 

 exists the least evidence to prove that any form of life 

 can be developed out of matter independently of antece- 

 dent life, my reply is that evidence considered perfectly 

 conclusive by many has been adduced, and that were we 

 to follow a common example, and accept testimony be- 

 cause it falls in with our belief, we should eagerly close 

 with the evidence referred to. But there is in the true 

 man of science a desire stronger than the wish to have his 

 beliefs upheld; namely, the desire to have them true. 

 And those to whom I refer as having studied this ques- 

 tion, believing the evidence offered in favor of 'spontane- 

 ous generation' to be vitiated by error, cannot accept it. 

 They know full well that the chemist now prepares from 

 inorganic matter a vast array of substances, which were 

 some time ago regarded as the products solely of vitality. 

 They are intimately acquainted with the structural power 

 of matter, as evidenced in the phenomena of crystalliza- 

 tion. They can justify scientifically their belief in its po- 

 tency, under the proper conditions, to produce organisms. 

 But, in reply to your question, they will frankly admit 

 their inability to point to any satisfactory experimenta* 



