242 VITALISM AND SCHOLASTICISM 



to be known about that Law and must set 

 ourselves to make a further study of it. 



The other obstacle to the acceptance of the 

 vitalistic theory was the sudden rise of what 

 Darwinism * s called Darwinism and the altogether mistaken 

 opinion then held of the bearings of this doctrine 

 on the question with which we are concerned. 

 It will suffice to say that the estimation in which 

 Natural Selection the central theory is now 

 held, is not by any means that which it was in 

 the latter part of the last century. Further, it 

 is very hard to see what bearing, if any, that 

 theory has even if accepted in all its fulness 

 on the question of Vitalism, for Natural Selec- 

 tion can only act upon the living thing when it 

 is in existence ; it cannot produce it. 



