62 ORGANIC EVOLUTION CONSIDERED 



great many times. And yet all the known evidence is 

 against the belief that nature can create a living 

 organism from dead matter. 



If, therefore, we cannot look to spontaneous gen- 

 eration, which represents only secondary causes, we 

 must look beyond to the First Cause as the Creator of 

 life. 



I am aware that there are those who question the 

 legitimacy of this conclusion. There are those who 

 claim that matter and the forces of nature are the 

 only cause, and they, of course, must believe that 

 spontaneous generation has taken place. 



The functions performed by the living organism, 

 however simple it may be, are so different from any 

 thing in the inorganic world that a priori we would 

 not expect the former to spring from the latter by 

 spontaneous generation. The functions of the organ- 

 ism, including the prehension, digestion, circulation, 

 and assimilation of food, the reproduction of other 

 organisms like itself, and then decay and death, 

 followed by the return of the body to comparatively 

 simple inorganic forms of matter, constitute a cycle 

 of changes for which we find no analogy in the inor- 

 ganic world. 



It is true that the chemist has manufactured cer- 

 tain organic compounds from their inorganic ele- 

 ments, but in no case has he been able to produce 

 from inorganic matter an organic compound that is 

 a,n essential part of the tissues of a living being, and, 

 least of all, has he been able to manufacture pro- 

 toplasm, which is the absolutely essential substance in 

 every living thing. And even if he could build up 

 protoplasm by starting with the elements, a thing 

 which is beyond all hope, still the manufactured 

 protoplasm would be destitute of life, and the ques- 

 tion as to the origin of life would remain unanswered. 



