192 ORIGIN AND NATURE OF LIFE 



retaining and utilizing light energy for the 

 further development of structure, or, in other 

 words, synthesis of more complex colloids. 



A second point of importance is the gradual 

 increase in time periods arising as development 

 progressed. The simpler a chemical reaction 

 is, as a general rule, the more instantaneous 

 it is ; with increasing complexity, the time 

 phases grow longer. 



The early stages in development up towards 

 life would hence be rushed through rapidly, 

 and be easily and constantly reproducible. 

 As complexity increased so would the time 

 grow longer for any chemical evolution. 

 More especially the time necessary to reach any 

 higher stage of organization de novo would 

 be immensely increased on account of instab- 

 ility and tendency to break down again, as 

 different and more delicately balanced stages 

 were passed. There would here come in the 

 tendency of external conditions to stop the 

 process at certain levels, and the steeper slopes 

 of development would only be infrequently 

 ascended, until the establishment of something 

 resembling a species, but still short of life 

 arose by a run over into a stable condition 

 in one case out of many millions. This 

 species of highly organized colloid could then 

 more easily sustain and reproduce itself by 



