Here, as Mr. Gulick has already observed, "Mr. Wallace seems to admit that instead of useless specific characters being unknown, they are so common and so easily explained by 'the chemical constitution of the organism' that they claim no special attention[139]." And whatever answer Mr. Wallace may make to this criticism, I do not see how he is to meet the point at present before us--namely, that, upon his own showing, there are in nature numberless instances of "characters which are useless without being hurtful," and which nevertheless present absolute "constancy." If, in order to explain the contradiction, he should fall back upon the principle of correlation, the case would not be in any way improved. For, here again, if the term correlation were extended so as to include "the chemical constitution or the molecular structure of the organism," it would thereby be extended so as to discharge all Darwinian significance from the term. [139] _American Journal of Science_, Vol. XL. art. I. on _The Inconsistencies of Utilitarianism as the Exclusive Theory of Organic Evolution_. _Summary._ I will conclude this discussion of the Utility question by recapitulating the main points in an order somewhat different from that in which they have been presented in the foregoing chapters. Such a variation may render their mutual connexions more apparent. But it is only to the main points that allusion will here be made, and, in order the better to show their independent character, I will separately number them. * * * * * 1. The doctrine of utility as universal, whether with respect to species only or likewise with respect to specific characters, is confessedly an _a priori_ doctrine, deduced by way of general reasoning from the theory of natural selection. 2. Being thus founded exclusively on grounds of deduction, the doctrine cannot be combated by any appeal to facts. For this question is not one of fact: it is a question of reasoning. The treatment of our subject matter is logical: not biological. 3. The doctrine is both universal and absolute. According to one form of it _all_ species, and according to another form of it _all_ specific characters, must _necessarily_ be due to the principle of utility.