Charles Darwin Quotes - Page 10

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Mere chance ... alone would never account for so habitual and large an amount of difference as that between varieties of the same species.

Charles Darwin

Differences, Chance, Origin Of Species

Charles Darwin (2010). “Evolutionary Writings: including the Autobiographies”, p.286, OUP Oxford

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The love of a dog for his master is notorious; in the agony of death he has been known to caress his master, and everyone has heard of the dog suffering under vivisection, who licked the hand of the operator; this man, unless he had a heart of stone, must have felt remorse to the last hour of his life.

Charles Darwin

Dog, Heart, Animal

"The Descent of Man". Book by Charles Darwin, volume I, chapter II: "Comparison of the Mental Powers of Man and the Lower Animals", p. 40, darwin-online.org.uk. 1871.

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It has sometimes been said that the success of the Origin proved "that the subject was in the air," or "that men's minds were prepared for it." I do not think that this is strictly true, for I occasionally sounded not a few naturalists, and never happened to come across a single one who seemed to doubt about the permanence of species.

Charles Darwin

Success, Science, Men

Charles Darwin (2003). “On the Origin of Species”, p.440, Broadview Press

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In however complex a manner this feeling may have originated, as it is one of high importance to all those animals which aid and defend one another, it will have been increased through natural selection; for those communities, which included the greatest number of the most sympathetic members, would flourish best, and rear the greatest number of offspring.

Charles Darwin

Animal, Numbers, Community

Charles Darwin (1875). “The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex”, p.107

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I long to set foot where no man has trod before.

Charles Darwin

Men, Feet, Long

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I often had to run very quickly to be on time, and from being a fleet runner was generally successful; but when in doubt I prayed earnestly to God to help me, and I well remember that I attributed my success to the prayers and not to my quick running, and marvelled how generally I was aided.

Charles Darwin

Running, Prayer, Successful

Charles Darwin (2010). “The Works of Charles Darwin, Volume 29: “Erasmus Darwin” by Ernest Krause, with a Preliminary Notice by Charles Darwin; “The Autobiography of Charles Darwin” Edited by Nora Barlow; and Consolidated Index”, p.77, NYU Press

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Progress has been much more general than retrogression

Charles Darwin

Progress, Has Beens

Charles Darwin (1872). “The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex”, p.177

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Disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but at last it was complete.

Charles Darwin

Atheism, Lasts, Rate

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... if variations useful to any organic being do occur, assuredly individuals thus characterized will have the best chance of being perserved in the struggle for life; and from the strong principle of inheritance they will tend to produce offsping similarly characterized. This principle of preservation, I have called, for the sake of brevity, Natural Selection.

Charles Darwin

Strong, Struggle, Principles

Charles Darwin, Paul H. Barrett (1987). “The Works of Charles Darwin: On the origin of species 1959”

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I could show fight on natural selection having done and doing more for the progress of civilization than you seem inclined to admit. Remember what risk the nations of Europe ran, not so many centuries ago of being overwhelmed by the Turks, and how ridiculous such an idea now is! The more civilised so-called Caucasian races have beaten the Turkish hollow in the struggle for existence. Looking to the world at no very distant date, what an endless number of the lower races will have been eliminated by the higher civilized races throughout the world.

Charles Darwin

Struggle, Fighting, Ideas

Charles Darwin (2016). “Life and Letters of Charles Darwin: the Evolution”, p.209, VM eBooks

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I am actually weary of telling people that I do not pretend to adduce [direct] evidence of one species changing into another, but I believe that this view is in the main correct, because so many phenomena can thus be grouped end explained.

Charles Darwin

Believe, Views, People

Charles Darwin (1960). “Notebooks on Transmutation of Species”

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...all nature is perverse & will not do as I wish it.

Charles Darwin

Science, Wish

Charles Darwin, Frederick Burkhardt, Sydney Smith (1985). “The Correspondence of Charles Darwin: 1851-1855”, p.326, Cambridge University Press

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Daily it is forced home on the mind of the biologist that nothing, not even the wind that blows, is so unstable as the level of the crust of this earth.

Charles Darwin

Home, Science, Blow

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So in regard to mental qualities, their transmission is manifest in our dogs, horses and other domestic animals. Besides special tastes and habits, general intelligence, courage, bad and good tempers. etc., are certainly transmitted.

Charles Darwin

Dog, Horse, Animal

Charles Darwin (2015). “The Descent of Man: Human Sexuality”, p.26, 谷月社

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If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down. But I can find no such case.

Charles Darwin

Theory Of Evolution, Creation Science, Evolution Of Man

Charles Darwin (2003). “On the Origin of Species”, p.213, Broadview Press

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He who understands baboon would do more towards metaphysics than Locke.

Charles Darwin

Baboons, Metaphysics

"Evolutionary Writings: including the Autobiographies".

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Nevertheless so profound is our ignorance, and so high our presumption, that we marvel when we hear of the extinction of an organic being; and as we do not see the cause, we invoke cataclysms to desolate the world, or invent laws on the duration of the forms of life!

Charles Darwin

Ignorance, Law, Profound

Charles Darwin (2015). “Delphi Complete Works of Charles Darwin (Illustrated)”, p.3445, Delphi Classics

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Man is more courageous, pugnacious, and energetic than woman, and has a more inventive genius. His brain is absolutely larger, but whether relatively to the larger size of his body, in comparison with that of woman, has not, I believe been fully ascertained. In woman the face is rounder; the jaws and the base of the skull smaller; the outlines of her body rounder, in parts more prominent; and her pelvis is broader than in man; but this latter character may perhaps be considered rather as a primary than a secondary sexual character. She comes to maturity at an earlier age than man.

Charles Darwin

Women, Believe, Character

"The Descent of Man". Book by Charles Darwin, volume II, chapter XIX: "Secondary Sexual Characters of Man", pages 316-317, 1871.

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After my return to England it appeared to me that by following the example of Lyell in Geology, and by collecting all facts which bore in any way on the variation of animals and plants under domestication and nature, some light might perhaps be thrown on the whole subject.

Charles Darwin

Animal, Light, Example

Charles Darwin (2016). “Life and Letters of Charles Darwin: the Evolution”, p.53, VM eBooks

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Man selects only for his own good: Nature only for that of the being which she tends.

Charles Darwin

Men, Origin Of Species, Good Nature

Charles Darwin, Duncan M. Porter, Frederick Burkhardt (2004). “The Correspondence of Charles Darwin:”, p.228, Cambridge University Press

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You will be astonished to find how the whole mental disposition of your children changes with advancing years. A young child and the same when nearly grown, sometimes differ almost as much as do a caterpillar and butterfly.

Charles Darwin

Children, Butterfly, Years

Charles Darwin (2016). “Life and Letters of Charles Darwin: the Evolution”, p.621, VM eBooks

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Nothing could have been worse for the development of my mind than Dr. Butler's school, as it was strictly classical, nothing else being taught, except a little ancient geography and history. The school as a means of education to me was simply a blank. During my whole life I have been singularly incapable of mastering any language. Especial attention was paid to versemaking, and this I could never do well. I had many friends, and got together a good collection of old verses, which by patching together, sometimes aided by other boys, I could work into any subject.

Charles Darwin

Teaching, Mean, School

Charles Darwin (2016). “Life and Letters of Charles Darwin: the Evolution”, p.25, VM eBooks

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In the survival of favoured individuals and races, during the constantly-recurring struggle for existence, we see a powerful and ever-acting form of selection.

Charles Darwin

Powerful, Struggle, Race

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People complain of the unequal distribution of wealth [but it is a far greater] injustice that any one man should have the power to write so many brilliant essays... There is no one who writes like [Thomas Huxley].

Charles Darwin

Writing, Men, Thinking

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Seeing every height crowned with its crater, and the boundaries of most of the lava-streams still distinct, we are led to believe that within a period, geologically recent, the unbroken ocean was here spread out. Hence, both in space and time, we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact — that mystery of mysteries — the first appearance of new beings on this earth.

Charles Darwin

Believe, Ocean, Space

Charles Darwin (2006). “Voyage of the Beagle”, p.548, National Geographic Books

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Born: February 12, 1809
Died: April 19, 1882
Occupation: Naturalist
Cite this Page: Citation

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