CHAPTER III 



LIFE IN THE PRIMITIVE OCEAN 



From this broad picture of the universe we must now 

 come down to our little earth, and study the evolution 

 of life on it. There used to be writers who told us 

 how we were ** dwarfed" by the vastness of the 

 universe. It really makes no difference whatever to 

 us how vast the universe is. We remain just the 

 same size, however much the universe grows. Then 

 there were writers who tried to console us by saying 

 that probably we were the only living inhabitants of 

 the universe. No man of science would now entertain 

 that. We cannot prove that there is life anywhere 

 except on the earth; but we will study the develop- 

 ment of the earth and the life on it, and we shall 

 realize that the same t?iing has probably happened in 

 countless parts of the universe. 



I spoke of a great dust cloud which might condense 

 into patches, and these in turn into stars. Now, in 

 each patch, or region of concentration, there are sure 

 to be irregularities. Some parts will be denser than 

 others. The dust will, therefore, not all be drawn to 

 the central part. Some will gather round the other 

 denser centres. In other words, the last result will 



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