330 EVOLUTION AND DOGMA. 



of life. Nor do we admit that spontaneous genera- 

 tion was "a necessary event in the process of the 

 development of the earth," because we contend that 

 so far as observation and experiment go, they can 

 tell us nothing more about the nature and origin of 

 life than they tell us about the origin of matter. 

 And yet, notwithstanding the last words of Van 

 Beneden and Pasteur, regarding the origination of 

 entozoa and microbes from antecedent life, it is quite 

 conceivable that with the progress of research and 

 the development of more delicate and powerful in- 

 struments of observation, it may one day be demon- 

 strated that spontaneous generation not only can 

 occur, but actually does occur daily in millions of 

 cases, in forms of life as far below microbes in size 

 and structure as these are below the entozoa. 

 Without hesitation, therefore, we can subscribe to 

 the declaration of Huxley when he states: "With 

 organic chemistry, molecular physics and physiology 

 yet in their infancy, and every day making prodi- 

 gious strides, I think it would be the height of pre- 

 sumption for any man to say that the conditions 

 under which matter assumes the properties we call 

 'vital,' may not, some day, be artificially brought 

 together." ' 



Artificial Production of Life. 



Should, then, such a discovery be made, as is 

 possible and conceivable I do not say probable 

 should some fortunate investigator some day detect, 



1 " Lay Sermons," p. 366. 



