The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin: Including an Autobiographical Chapter, Volume 1D. Appleton, 1887 - Naturalists |
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Page 20
... the same time that the sketch of his father was added to the ' Recollections ' : - * Of these Mrs. Wedgwood is now the sole survivor . " My brother Erasmus possessed a remarkably clear mind with 20 THE DARWIN FAMILY .
... the same time that the sketch of his father was added to the ' Recollections ' : - * Of these Mrs. Wedgwood is now the sole survivor . " My brother Erasmus possessed a remarkably clear mind with 20 THE DARWIN FAMILY .
Page 21
... sketch of his character in Carlyle's ' Reminiscences , ' which I here reproduce in part : - " Erasmus Darwin , a most diverse kind of mortal , came to seek us out very soon ( ' had heard of Carlyle in Germany , & c . ' ) and continues ...
... sketch of his character in Carlyle's ' Reminiscences , ' which I here reproduce in part : - " Erasmus Darwin , a most diverse kind of mortal , came to seek us out very soon ( ' had heard of Carlyle in Germany , & c . ' ) and continues ...
Page 22
... sketch of his brother ; he thought Carlyle had missed the essence of his most lovable nature . I am tempted by the wish of illustrating further the character of one so sincerely beloved by all Charles Darwin's children , to reproduce a ...
... sketch of his brother ; he thought Carlyle had missed the essence of his most lovable nature . I am tempted by the wish of illustrating further the character of one so sincerely beloved by all Charles Darwin's children , to reproduce a ...
Page 25
... sketch of my autobiography , I have thought that the attempt would amuse me , and might possibly interest my children or their children . I know that it would have interested me greatly to have read even so short and dull a sketch of ...
... sketch of my autobiography , I have thought that the attempt would amuse me , and might possibly interest my children or their children . I know that it would have interested me greatly to have read even so short and dull a sketch of ...
Page 68
... sketch of it . In June 1842 I first allowed myself the satisfaction of writing a very brief abstract of my theory in pencil in 35 pages ; and this was enlarged during the sum- mer of 1844 into one of 230 pages , which I had fairly ...
... sketch of it . In June 1842 I first allowed myself the satisfaction of writing a very brief abstract of my theory in pencil in 35 pages ; and this was enlarged during the sum- mer of 1844 into one of 230 pages , which I had fairly ...
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Common terms and phrases
abstract admiration affectionately 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 facts father feel Flora forms genera geological give glad Glen Roy hear heard hope Ilkley insects interest islands Journal kind letter Linnean London look Lyell Maer mind Moor Park 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 suppose sure tell thank theory things thought Tierra del Fuego tion told trouble varieties 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 370 - 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 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 diive me thirty miles to Shrewsbury, which few uncles would have done, and on such a trifle as the shape of my nose.
Page 25 - I have attempted to write the following account of myself, as if I were a dead man in another world looking back at my own life. Nor have I found this difficult, for life is nearly over with me. I have taken no pains about my style of writing.
Page 81 - My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts...
Page 372 - 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 555 - The teleological and the mechanical views of nature are not, necessarily, mutually exclusive. On the contrary, the more purely a mechanist the speculator is, the more firmly does he assume a primordial molecular arrangement of which all the phenomena of the universe...
Page 366 - Seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of birds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified for different ends.
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.