First Sentence

"AUGUST WEISMANN, in his work on The Evolution Theory, after referring to the observations of Pasteur concerning the prevalence of germs in the air, and the fact that his experiments tended to show that their exclusion from boiled organic infusions caused such infusions to remain barren, makes the following remarks: Strangely enough, these and similar experiments were at the time regarded as conclusive proof against the existence of spontaneous generation, though it is obvious enough that the first living being on the earth cannot have sprung from hay, or from any other organic substance, since that would presuppose what we are attempting to explain."