182 ORIGIN AND NATURE OF LIFE 



all experimental work designed to discover 

 a bridge over the interval between the 

 inorganic and the organic. The modern 

 problem of spontaneous generation dawns 

 upon us from these considerations. 



If a mental picture be conjured up of a 

 world in which there is as yet no life, but 

 where conditions are suitable for life to appear, 

 it is evident that a spontaneous production 

 of such a thing as even a bacterium or other 

 unicellular organism, would by no means 

 solve the problem, the new-born cell would 

 have no organic pabulum and must perish. 

 The production of anything so complex as 

 chlorophyll at such a stage is unthinkable 

 to any one acquainted with the subtle con- 

 tinuity of all nature. In such a world 

 inorganic colloids must first develop, and in 

 time one of these must begin to evolve, not a 

 living cell, not anything so complex as a 

 micro-coccus or a bacillus, not even a complex 

 protein, carbohydrate, or fat, but some quite 

 simple form of organic molecule, holding a 

 higher store of chemical energy than the 

 simple inorganic bodies from which it was 

 formed. To carry out such a function the 

 inorganic colloid must possess the property 

 of transforming sunlight, or some other form 

 of radiant energy, into chemical energy. 



