62 DEATH AND RESURRECTION. 



few words, nothing but Darwin's theory 

 in a paleontological light. What Biich- 

 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 getieratio spontanea? 

 That higher forms have developed from 

 lower forms onlv confirms the dictum 

 that life implies life; in other words, 

 supports Harvey's law. But it is some- 

 thing else that Btichner should have 

 demonstrated. He should instead have 

 shown us that the first organisms owe 

 their existence to phj^sical 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 Btichner here inadvertently 

 supports something different from what 

 he intended, his remark nevertheless 

 remains true that the present mode of 



