62 DEATH AND RESURRECTION. 



few words, nothing but Darwin's theory 

 in a paleontological light. What Buch- 

 ner shows by numerous examples from 

 fossil deposits, is that higher forms of 

 animals and plants have slowly devel- 

 oped from lower forms. But what has 

 this fact to do with generatio spontanea? 

 That higher forms have developed from 

 lower forms only confirms the dictum 

 that life implies life; in other words, 

 supports Harvey's law. But it is some- 

 thing else that Biichner should have 

 demonstrated. He should instead have 

 shown us that the first organisms owe 

 their existence to physical forces alone. 

 But on this subject he uses only vague 

 expressions, void of any real signifi- 

 cance, about the slow cooling off of the 

 earth; about the length of the geologi- 

 cal periods, and about favorable condi- 

 tions; but not a line to explain what 

 this word "favorable" stands for. 



Although Biichner here inadvertently 

 supports something different from what 

 he intended, his remark nevertheless 

 remains true that the present mode of 



