Organisms and Their Origin 127 



credible. We would then know, what no natural- 

 ist at present knows, however strongly he may be- 

 lieve it, that what we call not-living has in it the 

 potentiality of giving origin to what we call living. 

 But the hypothetical discovery would in no way 

 affect the dignity and value of living creatures, or 

 of our own life. The whole world would be more 

 continuous and vital, (d) If it came about that 

 we were able to bring materials and energies to- 

 gether in such a way that living creatures of a sim- 

 ple sort resulted, we should still have to remember 

 that we had acted as directive agents in the syn- 

 thesis, (e) Finally, if the experiment succeeded, 

 we should not have arrived at any explanation of 

 life. We should be able to say that, given certain 

 antecedent conditions, certain consequences en- 

 sue, but we should still be unable to answer the 

 question how or why. We should have a genetic 

 description of an occurrence, but no explanation 

 of it. For that is what science never supplies.^ 



In conclusion, to quote Principal Lloyd Morgan, 

 "Those who would concentrate the mystery of ex- 

 istence on the pin-point of the genesis of proto- 



^ The intellectual outcome of the long-drawn-out discus- 

 sion on the origin of living organisms is certainly disap- 

 pointing, but it is interesting to notice that it has been 

 richly rewarded in practice. It has led to discoveries in 

 the preservation and improvement of food, to an entirely 

 new view of parasites, to the use of antiseptics, and to the 

 cure of many diseases. 



