ORIGIN OF LIFE. 29 
tween Heterogenesis, or the mere allotropic modifi- 
cation of already existing living matter, and Arche- \ 
biosis, or the independent origination of living matter. { 
Thirdly, it should be distinctly understood that 
those who strictly adhere to the Evolution Hypothesis 
could never believe in the origination of any but the 
‘lowest and simplest” organic forms by a process of 
Archebiosis. So that the gradual driving of the 
question back as one possibly applicable to such 
organisms only, is just what the Evolutionist would 
have expected, and therefore the objection above 
indicated should have been quite pointless for Pro- 
fessor Huxley. 
Molecular combinations giving rise to units of pro- 
toplasm far below the mzndmum visibile stage of our 
most powerful microscope, would represent those ini- 
tial collocations by which alone living matter could 
come into being—though the invisible ‘germs’ thus 
initiated may afterwards appear as minutest visible 
specks which grow into Bacteria, Vibriones, or Torulz. 
We may, therefore, be further permitted to remark 
that even if it were given to Professor Huxley to 
“look beyond the abyss of geologically recorded 
time,” he would be extremely unlikely to witness an 
“evolution of living protoplasm from not-living mat- 
ter.” At the most, he might see (that is, if equipped 
with a powerful microscope) only what he may 
