130 THE PROBLEM OF EVOLUTION 



the organisms occur in the inorganic constituents 

 of the earth.' 



Two things may be said against this assertion 

 as to the extreme probability of the spontaneous 

 generation of very simple primary organisms : 

 (1) From the fact that the same elements, which 

 compose the organisms, occur also in inorganic 

 nature, we may infer that the first simple 

 organisms were formed out of inorganic matter, 

 but not that they formed themselves from it, 

 as the theory of spontaneous generation 

 maintains. 1 



(2) It is of no advantage to the theory of 

 spontaneous generation to assume that the 

 first organisms must have been very simple. 

 The point is that they must have had life. 

 Whether the spark of life showed itself first 

 in some hypothetical c autoblast,' or in a real 

 ' primary cell,' is quite immaterial ; it must have 

 shown itself somewhere. 2 



The speaker went on to say that it would be 

 possible for him to touch upon many differences 

 between his opinions and those of Father Wasmann. 

 He would, however, refer only to the theological 

 aspect of this question. ' We hold,' he said, ' two 

 different opinions. Father Wasmann thinks that 



1 Of. my remarks on Plate's speech, p. 99, etc. 



2 See my remarks in the 3rd edition of Biology and Evolution, 

 p. 202. 



