the theory in question? It is true that some who recognize the fact
that life is the result of organization maintain the doctrine of
_spontaneous generation_; that is, the production of life without any
agency other than the recognized forces of nature being brought about
simply by a fortuitous combination of atoms. Although this doctrine
cannot be said to be inconsistent with the theory of life presented,
yet it is by no means a legitimate or necessary result of it; and
observation proves its falsity.

The testimony of all nature, as almost universally admitted by
scientific men, is that life originated through a creative act by the
first Great Cause, who gave to certain bodies the requisite arrangement
or organization to enable them to perform certain functions, and
delegated to them the power to transmit the same to other matter, and
thus to perpetuate life. The Creator alone has the power to originate
life. Man, with all his wisdom and attainments, cannot discover the
secret of organization. He may become familiar with its phenomena, but
he cannot unravel, further, the mystery of life. The power of organizing
is possessed only by the lower class of living or organized bodies,
those known as vegetable organisms or plants. A grain of wheat, a kernel
of corn, a potato, when placed under favorable conditions, takes the
inert, lifeless particles of matter which lie about it in the earth
and air, and organizes them into living substances like itself.

To man and animals the Creator delegated the power to form their own
peculiar structures from the vitalized tissues of plants. Thus, both
animal and vegetable life is preserved without the necessity of
continued acts of creative power, each plant and each animal possessing
the power not only to preserve its own life, but also to aid, at least,
in the perpetuation of the species. The record of creation in Genesis
harmonizes perfectly with this view, it being represented that God
formed (organized or arranged) man, animals, and vegetable productions
from the earth.

Simplest Form of Generation.--Deep down beneath the waters of the ocean,
covering its bottom in certain localities, is found a curious slime,
which, under the microscope, is seen to be composed of minute rounded
masses of gelatinous matter, or protoplasm. By watching these little
bodies intently for a few minutes, the observer will discover that each
is a living creature capable of moving, growing, and assuming a