72 ORIGINATION OF LIVING BEINGS. 



do it. But tlie thing is by no means so impossible as 

 it looks ; for the researches of modern chemistry have 

 shown us — I won't say the road towards it, but, if I 

 may so say, they have shown the finger-post pointing 

 to the road that may lead to it. 



It is not many years ago — and you must recollect 

 that Organic Chemistry is a young science, not above 

 a couple of generations old, — you must not expect too 

 much of it ; it is not many years ago since it was said 

 to be perfectly impossible to fabricate any organic com- 

 pound ; that is to say, any non-mineral compound which 

 is to be found in an organized being. It remained so 

 for a very long period ; but it is now a considerable 

 number of years since a distinguished foreign chemist 

 contrived to fabricate Urea, a substance of a very 

 complex character, which forms one of the waste pro- 

 ducts of animal structures. And of late years a 

 number of other compounds, such as Butyric Acid, 

 and others, have been added to the list. I need not 

 tell you that chemistry is an enormous distance from 

 the goal I indicate ; all I wish to point out to you is, 

 that it is by no means safe to say that that goal may 

 not be reached one day. It may be that it is impossible 

 for us to produce the conditions requisite to the origi- 

 nation of life; but we must speak modestly about the 

 matter, and recollect that Science has put her foot 

 upon the bottom round of the ladder. Truly he would 

 be a bold man who would venture to predict where 

 she will be fifty years hence. 



There is another inquiry which bears indirectly 

 upon this question, and upon which I must say a few 



