AMONG THE GREEKS 99 



on by ambition to overcome all obstacles in ob- 

 servation and discovery. 



The Origin of Life 



The iirst biological question asked by the 

 Greeks was as to the origin of life. Extremely 

 early arose the doctrine of Anaximander that all 

 life originated in spontaneous generation from 

 the water. Later this was somewhat modified into 

 the doctrine held by Empedocles that life origi- 

 nated in the primordial terrestrial slime, or 

 mingling of earth and water, especially along the 

 emerging shores of the earth. Later still, quite a 

 distinct idea was put forth by Anaxagoras, that 

 life originated in the coming together and devel- 

 opment of pre-existent germs in the air or ether, 

 animals and plants springing directly from them. 

 This origin of life from germs of course sur- 

 reptitiously placed the problem only one degree 

 farther back, apparently but not really evading 

 the difficulty. It was a fruitful idea, and there- 

 after many of the doctrines as to the origin of 

 life contained the conception of primordial 

 germs. Aristotle came nearest the modern con- 

 ception of protozoan primordial life when he 

 wrote that all animals and plants originated in 

 germs composed of soft masses of matter, al- 

 though he inconsistently taught that even some 



