ThesegenerallinesofthoughtupongeologyanditskindredscienceofzoologywerefollowedbySt。ThomasAquinasandbythewholebodyofmedievaltheologians，sofarastheygaveanyattentiontosuchsubjects。
Thenextdevelopmentofgeology，mainlyunderChurchguidance，wasbymeansofthescholastictheology。Phrase-makingwassubstitutedforinvestigation。WithouttheChurchandwithinitwonderfulcontributionswerethusmade。IntheeleventhcenturyAvicennaaccountedforthefossilsbysuggestinga“stone-makingforce“；[129]inthethirteenth，AlberttheGreatattributedthemtoa“formativequality；“[130]inthefollowingcenturiessomephilosophersventuredtheideathattheygrewfromseed；andtheAristoteliandoctrineofspontaneousgenerationwasconstantlyusedtoprovethatthesestonyfossilspossessedpowersofreproductionlikeplantsandanimals。[131]
[129]Vislapidifica。
[130]Virtusformativa。
[131]SeeauthoritiesgiveninMr。Ward’sassay，asabove。