Charles Darwin's Works: The life and letters of Charles Darwin... ed. by his son, Francis Darwin. 2vD. Appleton, 1896 - Science |
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Page 4
... observation of the habits of various animals . It is always interesting to see how far a man's personal characteristics can be traced in his forefathers . Charles Dar- win inherited the tall stature , but not the bulky figure of Erasmus ...
... observation of the habits of various animals . It is always interesting to see how far a man's personal characteristics can be traced in his forefathers . Charles Dar- win inherited the tall stature , but not the bulky figure of Erasmus ...
Page 11
... observation and his sympathy , neither of which have I ever seen exceeded or even equalled . His sympathy was not only with the dis- tresses of others , but in a greater degree with the pleasures of all around him . This led him to be ...
... observation and his sympathy , neither of which have I ever seen exceeded or even equalled . His sympathy was not only with the dis- tresses of others , but in a greater degree with the pleasures of all around him . This led him to be ...
Page 15
... observation led him to predict with remarkable skill the course of any illness , and he suggested endless small details of relief . I was told that a young doctor in Shrewsbury , who disliked my father , used to say that he was wholly ...
... observation led him to predict with remarkable skill the course of any illness , and he suggested endless small details of relief . I was told that a young doctor in Shrewsbury , who disliked my father , used to say that he was wholly ...
Page 45
Charles Darwin. taste was to draw conclusions from long - continued minute observations . His judgment was excellent , and his whole mind well balanced ; but I do not suppose that any one would say that he possessed much original genius ...
Charles Darwin. taste was to draw conclusions from long - continued minute observations . His judgment was excellent , and his whole mind well balanced ; but I do not suppose that any one would say that he possessed much original genius ...
Page 51
... that I owe to the voyage the first real training or education of my mind ; I was led to attend closely to several branches of natural history , and thus my powers of observation were improved , though they were always THE VOYAGE . 51.
... that I owe to the voyage the first real training or education of my mind ; I was led to attend closely to several branches of natural history , and thus my powers of observation were improved , though they were always THE VOYAGE . 51.
Common terms and phrases
admiration affectionate afterwards animals answer Asa Gray asked Barmouth Beagle believe Cambridge Captain Beaufort Captain Fitz-Roy chapter CHARLES DARWIN Christ's College Cirripedes Cirripedia Coral curious Darwin to J. D. dear Fox DEAR HENSLOW dear Hooker DEAR HOOKER,-I delightful doubt edition England Erasmus Erasmus Darwin facts father feel felt Flora forms genera geological give glad Glen Roy hear heard hope insects interest islands Journal kind letter London look Lyell Maer mind Natural History natural selection naturalist never Origin of Species paper plants pleasant pleasure published Recollections remarks remember scientific seeds seems Shrewsbury sincerely Sir J. D. Hooker sketch Society South speaks suppose sure tell thank theory things thought Tierra del Fuego tion told trouble voyage W. D. Fox week whole wish write written wrote Zoology
Popular passages
Page 82 - I suppose, have thus suffered; and if I had to live my life again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week; for perhaps the parts of my brain now atrophied would thus have been kept active through use. The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature.
Page 368 - There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.
Page 69 - The solution, as I believe, is that the modified offspring of all dominant and increasing forms tend to become adapted to many and highly diversified places in the economy of nature.
Page 86 - Therefore my success as a man of science, whatever this may have amounted to, has been determined, as far as I can judge, by complex and diversified mental qualities and conditions. Of these, the most important have been — the love of science — unbounded patience in long reflecting over any subject — industry in observing and collecting facts — and a fair share of invention as well as of common sense. With such moderate abilities as I possess, it is truly surprising that I should have influenced...
Page 51 - Beagle" has been by far the most important event in my life, and has determined my whole career; yet it depended on so small a circumstance as my uncle offering to drive me thirty miles to Shrewsbury, which few uncles would 41 have done, and on such a trifle as the shape of my nose.
Page 81 - My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts...
Page 370 - After five years' work I allowed myself to speculate on the subject, and drew up some short notes; these I enlarged in 1844 into a sketch of the conclusions which then seemed to me probable; from that period to the present day I have steadily pursued the same object.
Page 277 - The old argument from design in Nature, as given by Paley, which formerly seemed to me so conclusive, fails, now that the law of natural selection has been discovered. We can no longer argue that, for instance, the beautiful hinge of a bivalve shell must have been made by an intelligent being, like the hinge of a door by man. There seems to be no more design in the variability of organic beings, and in the action of natural selection, than in the course which the wind blows.
Page 29 - 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.
Page 53 - Everything about which I thought or read was made to bear directly on what I had seen or was likely to see ; and this habit of mind was continued during the five years of the voyage. I feel sure that it was this training which has enabled me to do whatever I have done in science.