78 WHAT IS LIFE 



combination or application of the forms of energy 

 apart from life can it be repeated or simulated." 



It has seemed advisable to give this somewhat 

 lengthy list of quotations in order to show that, 

 though the possibility of spontaneous generation 

 occurring cannot be excluded, there is at least an 

 overwhelming belief that it does not take place. 



Two recent attempts to dispute this conclusion 

 must not be passed over without mention. The 

 first is that of the so-called radiobes produced by 



Burke Mr. Burke l by the action of radium upon beef 

 bouillon. We need not delay over these appear- 

 ances since they have been shown to be chemical in 

 their character and to have nothing whatever to do 

 with life or its beginnings. 



Bastian Dr. Charlton Bastian was one of Pasteur's 



antagonists during the time when the question of 

 biogenesis or abiogenesis was really a burning one, 

 and he has lately returned to the charge in a book 2 

 in which he maintains that Pasteur gained the 

 victory by the aid of " illogical methods,'' a remark 

 which is not very complimentary to the rest of the 

 scientific world which has been quite imposed upon 

 by these same methods. In this book he once 

 more declares that he has been able to produce 

 living from non-living materials. 



1 The Origin of Life, 1906. 



2 The Evolution of Life, 1907. 



