15 
LIFE: ITS ORIGIN AND NATURE 
Doctor Benjamin Moore, in his work on the 
“Origin and Nature of Life,” has pointed out 
that “the spontaneous production ,of any such 
a thing as a bacterium or other unicellular or¬ 
ganism, would by no means solve the problem, 
since the new-born cell would have no organic 
pabulum, and must perish (in a world in which 
there is yet no life). The production of any¬ 
thing so complex as chlorophyll at such a stage 
is unthinkable to anyone acquainted with the 
subtle continuity of all nature. In such a world, 
inorganic colloids must first develop, and in 
time one of these must begin to evolve, not a 
living cell, not anything so complex as a micro¬ 
coccus, or a bacillus, not even a complex pro¬ 
tein, carbohydrate, or fat, but some quite simple 
form of organic molecule, holding a higher 
store of chemical energy than the simple inor¬ 
ganic bodies from which it was formed. To 
carry out such a function, the inorganic colloid 
must posses the property of transforming sun¬ 
light or some other form of radiant energy into 
chemical energy. Later, such simple organic 
compounds, by the agency of the same, or some 
other colloid, and with a supply of external 
energy, would begin to condense and form more 
complex organic molecules, and finally com¬ 
plexes of indrganic and organic matter would 
come into existence as crystallo-colloids. In this 
way, without any hiatus, life would be led-up-to 
and inaugurated.” 
This view is somewhat different than that 
maintained by Doctor Henry Fairfield Osborn, 
who, in his work, “The Origin and Evolution 
of Liie,” advances the following theory: 
