THE ORIGIN OF LIFE 163 



which the great practical applications of 

 Pasteur's discoveries monopolized attention, 

 before the main quest could begin to be 

 thought of in the light of Pasteur's investi- 

 gations. 



The great merit of Schafer's Presidential 

 Address (1912) to the British Association at 

 Dundee lies in this, that it has once more 

 centred the attention of the scientific world 

 upon the main inquiry, and marked it out 

 as a problem that may be solved and one 

 demanding experimental enquiry. 



Life probably arose as a result of the 

 operation of causes which may still be at 

 work to-day causing life to arise afresh. 

 Although Pasteur has conclusively proven 

 that life did not originate in certain ways, 

 that does not exclude the view that it arose 

 in other ways. The problem is one that 

 demands thought and experimental work, 

 and is not an exploded chimera. Therein 

 lies the value of Schafer's contribution to the 

 question, and it is a most refreshing and 

 valuable one. 



Before approaching the modern aspects of 

 the problem, it may be of historical interest 

 to enquire what was the position evacuated 

 as a result of Pasteur's researches. 



The question of spontaneous generation 



