VIII BIOGENESIS AND ABIOGENESIS 255 



Vibriones and Bacteria live, as Pasteur has shown, 

 without air or free oxygen. It is not because the 

 boiled meats or vegetables are not putrescible or 

 fermentable, as those who have had the misfortune 

 to be in a ship supplied with unskilfully closed 

 tins well know. What is it, therefore, but the 

 exclusion of germs ? I think that Abiogenists are 

 bound to answer this question before they ask us 

 to consider new experiments of precisely the same 

 order. 



And in the next place, if the results of the 

 experiments I refer to are really trustworthy, it 

 by no means follows that Abiogenesis has taken 

 place. The resistance of living matter to heat is 

 known to vary within considerable limits, and to 

 depend, to some extent, upon the chemical and 

 physical qualities of the surrounding medium. 

 But if, in the present state of science, the alter- 

 native is offered us, either germs can stand a 

 greater heat than has been supposed, or the mole- 

 cules of dead matter, for no valid or intelligible 

 reason that is assigned, are able to re-arrange 

 themselves into living bodies, exactly such as can 

 be demonstrated to be frequently produced in 

 another way, I cannot understand how choice 

 can be, even for a moment, doubtful. 



But though I cannot express this conviction of 

 mine too strongly, I must carefully guard myself 

 against the supposition that I intend to suggest 

 that no such thing as Abiogenesis ever has taken 



