In England in 1809 a biologist and naturalist, Charles Darwin, was born. Known for his theory on natural selection, Darwin published a book in 1859 called On the Origin of Species. Darwin’s book explained his theories on natural selection and evolution and convinced readers that over a lot of time, species change. Charles explored places such as Argentina and Brazil on a five year voyage to take notes and collect samples of animals, plants, fossils and rocks to shape his theory. In the Galapagos, Darwin studied zoology and botany.
The information and samples he collected on his voyage were studied by scientists, concluding that his theory may be scientifically correct. He had written a few more books surrounding his theory of evolution by natural selection. After spending his life studying natural history and developing his theory, Charles Darwin died in 1882.
Charles Darwin Quotes
- “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” – Charles Darwin
- “The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.” – Charles Darwin
- “If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week.” – Charles Darwin, The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, 1809–82
- “Animals, whom we have made our slaves, we do not like to consider our equal.” – Charles Darwin
- “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.” – Charles Darwin
- “A republic cannot succeed, till it contains a certain body of men imbued with the principles of justice and honour.” – Charles Darwin
- “Animals manifestly enjoy excitement, and suffer from annul and may exhibit curiosity.” – Charles Darwin
- “but if we were intentionally to neglect the weak and helpless, it could only be for a contingent benefit, with a certain and great present evil.” – Charles Darwin
- “A man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth.” – Charles Darwin
- “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin
- “We stopped looking for monsters under our bed when we realized that they were inside us.” – Charles Darwin
- “Man tends to increase at a greater rate than his means of subsistence.” – Charles Darwin
- “Great is the power of steady misrepresentation.” – Charles Darwin
- “My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts.” – Charles Darwin
- “Any one whose disposition leads him to attach more weight to unexplained difficulties than to the explanation of facts will certainly reject my theory.” – Charles Darwin
- “A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections, – a mere heart of stone.” – Charles Darwin
- “I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection.” – Charles Darwin
- “False facts are highly injurious to the progress of science, for they often endure long…” – Charles Darwin
- “I am not apt to follow blindly the lead of other men” – Charles Darwin
- “The very essence of instinct is that it’s followed independently of reason.” – Charles Darwin
- “Man selects only for his own good: Nature only for that of the being which she tends.” – Charles Darwin
- “Man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits.” – Charles Darwin
- “As for a future life, every man must judge for himself between conflicting vague probabilities.” – Charles Darwin
- “If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.” – Charles Darwin
- “An agnostic would be the more correct description of my state of mind.” – Charles Darwin
- “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, not the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin
- “Man in his arrogance thinks himself a great work, worthy of the interposition of a deity. More humble, and I believe truer, to consider him created from animals.” – Charles Darwin
- “A man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth.” – Charles Darwin
- “I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious views of anyone.” – Charles Darwin
- “Building a better mousetrap merely results in smarter mice.” – Charles Darwin
- “An American monkey, after getting drunk on brandy, would never touch it again, and thus is much wiser than most men.” – Charles Darwin
- “Intelligence is based on how efficient a species became at doing the things they need to survive.” – Charles Darwin
- “The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I for one must be content to remain an agnostic.” – Charles Darwin
- “My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts.” – Charles Darwin
- “…for the shield may be as important for victory, as the sword or spear.” – Charles Darwin
- “Conscience looks backwards and judges past actions, inducing that kind of dissatisfaction, which if weak we call regret, and if severe remorse.” – Charles Darwin
- “But then with me the horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of man’s mind, which has been developed from the mind of the lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy.” – Charles Darwin
- “The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.” – Charles Darwin
- “Nothing exists for itself alone, but only in relation to other forms of life” – Charles Darwin
- “Blushing is the most peculiar and most human of all expressions.” – Charles Darwin, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
- “To kill an error is as good a service as, and sometimes even better than, the establishing of a new truth or fact.” – Charles Darwin
- “I am not the least afraid to die.” – Charles Darwin
- “It is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.” – Charles Darwin
- “He who remains passive when over-whelmed with grief loses his best chance of recovering his elasticity of mind.” – Charles Darwin
- “I love fools’ experiments. I am always making them.” – Charles Darwin
- “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.” – Charles Darwin
- “One general law, leading to the advancement of all organic beings, namely, multiply, vary, let the strongest live and the weakest die.” – Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species
- “It is a cursed evil to any man to become as absorbed in any subject as I am in mine.” – Charles Darwin
- “I feel most deeply that the whole subject is too profound for the human intellect. A dog might as well speculate on the mind of Newton. Let each man hope & believe what he can.” – Charles Darwin
- “I have always maintained that, excepting fools, men did not differ much in intellect, only in zeal and hard work; and I still think there is an eminently important difference.” – Charles Darwin
- “I have tried lately to read Shakespeare, and found it so intolerably dull that it nauseated me.” – Charles Darwin
- “A mathematician is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat which isn’t there.” – Charles Darwin
- “In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” – Charles Darwin
- “On the ordinary view of each species having been independently created, we gain no scientific explanation.” – Charles Darwin
- “We are always slow in admitting any great change of which we do not see the intermediate steps.” – Charles Darwin
- “A surprising number [of novels] have been read aloud to me, and I like all if moderately good, and if they do not end unhappily against which a law ought to be passed.” – Charles Darwin
- “We must, however, acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities… Still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.” – Charles Darwin
- “Besides love and sympathy, animals exhibit other qualities connected with the social instincts which in us would be called moral.” – Charles Darwin
- “We must, however, acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities… still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.” – Charles Darwin
- “How paramount the future is to the present when one is surrounded by children.” – Charles Darwin
- “Only picture to yourself a nice soft wife on a sofa with good fire, & books & music.” – Charles Darwin
- “I am like a gambler, and love a wild experiment.” – Charles Darwin
- “In conclusion, it appears that nothing can be more improving to a young naturalist, than a journey in distant countries.” – Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin Video – The Theory of Evolution
The theory of evolution by natural selection is explored briefly in this fun to watch video. This is a quick refresher on Darwin’s theories.
40 Thought-Provoking Dr. Jane Goodall Quotes
Summary
Charles Darwin’s discoveries and theory of evolution are an important part of history to scientists, zoologists, biologists, archeologists, and naturalists world wide. His theories are still being studied today. In his time it was hard to come out with this theory because people believed that God had created all things.
Darwin’s theory and lifetime work went completely against the religious theory. It doesn’t matter what you believe though, these quotes will get you thinking, and inspire you.
Image Credit: Elliott & Fry, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
I’m Alice Judy and AnQuotes is a fun hobby for me. We know that everyone loves a great quote and our mission here is simple – to be the best and most interesting quote site in the world! If you have quotes you would like us to cover, please contact us.
