I hate a Barnacle as no man ever did before, not even a Sailor in a slow-sailing ship.
It may be doubted whether any character can be named which is distinctive of a race and is constant.
Sympathy beyond the confines of man, that is, humanity to the lower animals, seems to be one of the latest moral acquisitions.
Nothing can be more hopeless than to attempt to explain this similarity of pattern in members of the same class, by utility or by the doctrine of final causes.
A republic cannot succeed, till it contains a certain body of men imbued with the principles of justice and honour.
The school as a means of education to me was simply a blank.
We fancied even that the bushes smelt unpleasantly.
It is impossible to concieve of this immense and wonderful universe as the result of blind chance or necessity.
The man who walks with Henslow.
Formerly Milton’s Paradise Lost had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the Beagle, when I could take only a single small volume, I always chose Milton.
I can remember the very spot in the road, whilst in my carriage, when to my joy the solution occurred to me.
Nature will tell you a direct lie if she can.
Worms have played a more important part in the history of the world than humans would at first suppose.
So great is the economy of Nature, that most flowers which are fertilized by crepuscular or nocturnal insects emit their odor chiefly or exculsively in the evening.
I have deeply regretted that I did not proceed far enough at least to understand something of the great leading principles of mathematics, for men thus endowed seem to have an extra sense.
It is easy to specify the individual objects of admiration in these grand scenes; but it is not possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder, astonishment, and devotion, which fill and elevate the mind.
Great is the power of steady misrepresentation; but the history of science shows that fortunately this power does not long endure.
To my deep mortification my father once said to me, “You care for nothing but shooting, dogs, and rat-catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family.”
The most powerful natural species are those that adapt to environmental change without losing their fundamental identity which gives them their competitive advantage.
As the sense of smell is so intimately connected with that of taste, it is not surprising that an excessively bad odour should excite wretching or vomitting in some persons.