AND ITS INHABITANTS 91 



posed appearance of life where life had not been previously 

 was due to the introduction of foreign living material. 6 



One may imagine that the practical man of affairs, who 

 scoffed at Redi toiling under the Italian sun with meat and 

 maggots to satisfy a scientific curiosity, little dreamed that 

 the practical results which germinated from this folly would 

 be among the most important factors in twentieth-century 

 civilization. Indeed, it is difficult to overestimate the impor- 

 tance of Redi's conclusion from either the theoretical or prac- 

 tical viewpoint, for with it was definitely formulated the theory, 

 which has gained content and impetus as the years have rolle< 

 on, that matter does not assume the living state, at the presenF 

 time at least, except under the direct influence of preexisting 

 living matter. 



The influence of this work gradually became apparent in 

 scholarly literature; Derham, for instance, stating that "Spon- 

 taneous generation is a doctrine so generally exploded that I 

 shall not undertake to disprove it. It is so evident that all 

 animals, yea and vegetables, too, owe their production to 

 parent animals and vegetables, that I have often admired at 

 the sloth and prejudices of the ancient philosophers in so easily 

 taking upon trust the Aristotelian, or rather Egyptian doc- 

 trine of aequivocal generation." 7 Another writes: "I would 

 as soon say that rocks and woods engender stags and ele- 

 phants as affirm that a piece of cheese generates mites. Stags 

 are born and live in woods, and mites in cheese, but they both 

 owe their being to that of other animals." And again, Henry 

 Baker, the versatile microscopist of the Royal Society, says: 

 "Nothing seems now more contrary to reason, than that chance 

 and nastiness should give a being to uniformity, regularity 

 and beauty . . . and create living animals. . . . This, however, 



6 Redi, F., Esperienze intorno alia generazione degl' insetti, 1668. English 

 translation by M. Bigelow, 1909. 



7 Derham, W., Physico-Theology, 1713. 



