astonishing and indubitable testimony of Divine Power.

The physical act of generation is accomplished by the union of two
cells; and as this conjugation is known to be so generally indispensable
to the organization of life, we may fairly infer that it is a universal
necessity. Investigations with the microscope have destroyed the
hypothesis of "spontaneous generation." These show us that even the
minutest living forms are derived from a parent organization.

GENERATION. So long as the vital principle remains in the sperm-cell, it
lies dormant. That part of the cell which contains this principle is
called the _spermatozoön_, which consists of a flattened body, having a
long appendage tapering to the finest point. If it be remembered that a
line is the one-twelfth part of an inch in length, some idea may be
formed of the extreme minuteness of the body of a human spermatozoön,
when we state that it is from 1/800 to 1/600 part of a line, and the
filiform tail 1/50 of a line, in length. This life-atom, which can be
discerned only with a powerful magnifying glass, is perfectly
transparent, and moves about by executing a vibratile motion with its
long appendage. Within this speck of matter are hidden the multifarious
forces which, under certain favorable conditions, result in
organization. Magnify this infinitesimal atom a thousand times, and no
congeries of formative powers is perceived wherewith to work out the
wonders of its existence. Yet it contains the principle, which is the
contribution on the part of the male toward the generation of a new
being.

The _ovum_ or germ-cell, is the special contribution on the part of the
female for the production of another being. The human ovum, though
larger than the spermatozoön, is also extremely small, measuring not