58 DEATH AND RESURRECTION. 



great number of scientists, especially 

 bv the Englishman Needham. 



During all these disputes Harvey's 

 formula had, however, won such a 

 stability and approbation that Biichner 

 himself under its pressure formulated 

 his position in the following cautious 

 words: "Even if recent scientific re- 

 searches have more and more limited 

 the ground for spontaneous generation, 

 it is nevertheless not improbable that 

 it even now takes place among the lowest 

 and least developed organisms" 



It may willingly be conceded that 

 this assertion was in its time by no 

 means without foundation. But 

 scarcely could Biichner or anybody 

 else at that moment imagine how soon 

 the hour of decision would strike. 

 Shortly after 1860 the many centuries 

 old question was finally settled almost 

 simultaneously by Hoffman and Pas- 

 teur. Through the latter's masterly in- 

 vestigations it was fully demonstrated 

 that parentless generation does not 

 exist in the micro-organic world either. 



