THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE. 633 



We must hope it is not so; and in spite of such 

 demoralizing beliefs must battle on along the path of 

 knowledge and of duty, trusting in that natural progress 

 towards a far distant future for the human race., such as 

 its past history may warrant us in anticipating. For, 

 as Mr. Wallace points out, those natural influences 

 which have hitherto promoted man's progress, c still 

 acting on his mental organization, must ever lead to 

 the more perfect adaptation of man's higher faculties 

 to the conditions of surrounding nature and to the 

 exigencies of the social state,' so that c his mental 

 constitution may continue to advance and improve, 

 till the world is again inhabited by a single, nearly 

 homogeneous race, no individual of which will be infe- 

 rior to the noblest specimens of existing humanity.' 



Conclusion. 



From what has been recorded in this work, it appears, 

 therefore, that both observation and experiment unmis- 

 takeably testify to the fact that c living' matter is 

 constantly being formed de novo^ in obedience to the 

 same laws and tendencies as those which determine 

 all the more simple chemical combinations : the 

 qualities which we summarize under the word c life' 

 being in all cases due to the combined molecular ac- 

 tions and properties of the aggregate which displays 

 them, just as the properties which we include under 

 the word < magnetism ' are due to particular modes of 



