1 84 THE ORIGIN OF LIFE 



methods, and from evety fact that we can get 

 a hold of, arrive at some comprehension of the 

 manner in which probably the highest organisms also 

 arose. 



As we have seen from Pfliiger's analogies, cyan- 

 ogen or its compounds are the essential constituents 

 of which living matter is composed, and the pro- 

 duction of that substance and of these compounds 

 also necessitates intense heat. As Verworn remarks, 

 "When water was precipitated in the form of liquid 

 upon the earth's surface, these compounds entered 

 into chemical relations with the water that dissolves 

 salts and gases, and thus originated living proteids, 

 that is to say, extremely labile compounds like 

 other compounds containing the cyanogen radical, 

 and distinguished by their tendency to decomposi- 

 tion and polymerisation, which form the essential 

 constituent of living protoplasm. The first living 

 substance which may be formed spontaneously out 

 of lifeless matter is very simple and showed no 

 differentiations. It is very probable that, if it did 

 not have the morphological structure of the cells, 

 that is, that its mass was not yet separated into 

 different substances such as nucleus and protoplasm, 

 it was homogeneous in all its parts, as Haeckel 

 assumes for his Monera." 



Although we agree with him that cyanogen did 

 play a most important part in the formation of 

 proteids, we nevertheless doubt that the most 

 elementary types of life were absolutely structure- 

 less, as he supposes the Monera to be. Indeed, we 



