--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is often said that all the conditions…" description: "\"It is often said that all the conditions for the first production of a living organism are now present, which could ever have been present. But if (and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bba/charles-darwin-507_bigs_it-is-often-said-that-all-the-conditions_2567328.jpg" --- # It is often said that all the conditions for the first… ![“It is often said that all the conditions for the first production of a living organism are now present, which could ever have been present. But if (and oh! what a big if!) we could conceive in some warm little pond, with all sorts of ammonia and phosphoric salts, light, heat, electricity, &c…” quote by Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bba/charles-darwin-507_bigs_it-is-often-said-that-all-the-conditions_2567328.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bba/charles-darwin-507_bigs_it-is-often-said-that-all-the-conditions_2567328.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bba/charles-darwin-507_bigs_it-is-often-said-that-all-the-conditions_2567328.jpg) > “It is often said that all the conditions for the first production of a living organism are now present, which could ever have been present. But if (and oh! what a big if!) we could conceive in some warm little pond, with all sorts of ammonia and phosphoric salts, light, heat, electricity, &c., present, that a proteine compound was chemically formed ready to undergo stillmore complex changes, at the present day such matter would be instantly devoured or absorbed, which would not have been the case before living creatures were formed.” [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s building blocks could arise under conditions that now exist, but once life begins, it rapidly consumes those conditions, unlike before life existed. **In simple terms:** Life could start now, but would quickly change its environment. Key Takeaway Recognize how life transforms its surroundings. Themes evolution origin of life environment biology chemistry Mood curious analytical Type scientific explanatory When to use this quote - laboratory experiments - origin‑of‑life research - ecosystem studies - synthetic biology Key Concepts abiogenesis self‑organization resource consumption Questions to Reflect On - What environmental changes does life cause? - Can we recreate early Earth conditions? A Different Perspective Current conditions differ from early Earth, making spontaneous life formation unlikely today. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cases/) [Chemically Formed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemically-formed-1660113/) [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Compounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compounds/) [Conditions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditions/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Creatures Formed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures-formed-1660115/) [Electricity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electricity/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Heat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heat/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Ifs and](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs-and/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Living creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-creatures/) [Living organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-organisms/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Organism Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organism-present-1660114/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Ponds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ponds/) [Present day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-day/) [Present Proteine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-proteine-1660116/) [Productions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productions/) [Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Salt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salt/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Warm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warm/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [... 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The various functions of plants and animals and their specialized organs are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-szent-gyorgyi/all-living-organisms-are-but-leaves-on-the-same-tree-of-life-the/) [Albert Szent-Gyorgyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-szent-gyorgyi/) > [The surface of the earth is not simply a stage on which the thousands of present and past inhabitants played their parts in turn.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-agassiz/the-surface-of-the-earth-is-not-simply-a-stage-on-which-the-thousands/) [Louis Agassiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-agassiz/) > [Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge. Its goal is to find out how the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/science-is-a-way-of-thinking-much-more-than-it-is-a-body-of-knowledge/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [That's the argument of flexibility and it goes something like this: The Constitution is over 200 years old and societies change. It has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/that-s-the-argument-of-flexibility-and-it-goes-something-like-this/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [“A dying organism is often observed to be capable of extraordinary endurance and strength. ... When any living organism is attacked, its whole function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/a-dying-organism-is-often-observed-to-be-capable-of-extraordinary/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Living organisms are distinguished by their specified complexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-orgel/living-organisms-are-distinguished-by-their-specified-complexity/) [Leslie Orgel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-orgel/) > [I am of course getting angry if biologists try to use the general concept 'chance' in order to explain phenomena which are so typical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-paul/i-am-of-course-getting-angry-if-biologists-try-to-use-the-general/) [Wolfgang Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-paul/) > [The living environment is the biosphere, the thin layer around the world of living organisms. We're part of that. Our existence is dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-living-environment-is-the-biosphere-the-thin-layer-around-the/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [“Toshiaki learned that all living organisms were governed by their DNA. 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Humboldt's glorious descriptions are & will for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/darwin-landing-in-brazil-in-1832-had-a-similar-reaction-colored-by/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [...all nature is perverse & will not do as I wish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/all-nature-is-perverse-will-not-do-as-i-wish-it/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“To admit that species generally become rare before they become extinct—to feel no surprise at the comparative rarity of one species with another, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-admit-that-species-generally-become-rare-before-they-become/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank clothed with many plants of many kinds with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-interesting-to-contemplate-an-entangled-bank-clothed-with-many/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Explore all 497 Charles Darwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## More Bigs quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) [Browse all 15,539 Bigs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is often said that all the conditions for the first production of a living organism are now present, which could ever have been present. 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