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The Quotable Darwin
A treasure trove of illuminating and entertaining quotations from the legendary naturalist
Here is Charles Darwin in his own words―the naturalist, traveler, scientific thinker, and controversial author of On the Origin of Species , the book that shook the Victorian world. Featuring hundreds of quotations carefully selected by world-renowned Darwin biographer Janet Browne, The Quotable Darwin draws from Darwin’s writings, letters to friends and family, autobiographical reminiscences, and private scientific notebooks. It offers a multifaceted portrait that takes readers through his youth, the famous voyage of the Beagle , the development of his thoughts about evolution, his gradual loss of religious faith, and the time spent turning his ideas into a well-articulated theory about the natural origin of all living beings―a theory that dangerously included the origin of humans.
The Quotable Darwin also includes many of the key responses to Darwin’s ideas from figures across the social spectrum, scientists and nonscientists alike―and criticism too. We see Darwin as an innovative botanist and geologist, an affectionate husband and father, and a lively correspondent who once told his cousin that he liked to play billiards because “it drives the horrid species out of my head.” This book gives us an intimate look at Darwin at work, at home, as a public figure, and on his travels.
Complete with a chronology of Darwin’s life by Browne, The Quotable Darwin provides an engagingly fresh perspective on a remarkable man who was always thinking deeply about the natural world.
Here is Charles Darwin in his own words―the naturalist, traveler, scientific thinker, and controversial author of On the Origin of Species , the book that shook the Victorian world. Featuring hundreds of quotations carefully selected by world-renowned Darwin biographer Janet Browne, The Quotable Darwin draws from Darwin’s writings, letters to friends and family, autobiographical reminiscences, and private scientific notebooks. It offers a multifaceted portrait that takes readers through his youth, the famous voyage of the Beagle , the development of his thoughts about evolution, his gradual loss of religious faith, and the time spent turning his ideas into a well-articulated theory about the natural origin of all living beings―a theory that dangerously included the origin of humans.
The Quotable Darwin also includes many of the key responses to Darwin’s ideas from figures across the social spectrum, scientists and nonscientists alike―and criticism too. We see Darwin as an innovative botanist and geologist, an affectionate husband and father, and a lively correspondent who once told his cousin that he liked to play billiards because “it drives the horrid species out of my head.” This book gives us an intimate look at Darwin at work, at home, as a public figure, and on his travels.
Complete with a chronology of Darwin’s life by Browne, The Quotable Darwin provides an engagingly fresh perspective on a remarkable man who was always thinking deeply about the natural world.
348 pages, Hardcover
Published October 31, 2017
8 people are currently reading
426 people want to read
About the author
Charles Darwin
2,395 books3,441 followersCharles Robert Darwin of Britain revolutionized the study of biology with his theory, based on natural selection; his most famous works include
On the Origin of Species
(1859) and
The Descent of Man
(1871).
Chiefly Asa Gray of America advocated his theories.
Works of Jacques Martin Barzun include Darwin, Marx, Wagner (1941).
Charles Robert Darwin, an eminent English collector and geologist, proposed and provided scientific evidence of common ancestors for all life over time through the process that he called. The scientific community and the public in his lifetime accepted the facts that occur and then in the 1930s widely came to see the primary explanation of the process that now forms modernity. In modified form, the foundational scientific discovery of Darwin provides a unifying logical explanation for the diversity of life.
Darwin developed his interest in history and medicine at Edinburgh University and then theology at Cambridge. His five-year voyage on the Beagle established him as a geologist, whose observations and supported uniformitarian ideas of Charles Lyell, and publication of his journal made him as a popular author. Darwin collected wildlife and fossils on the voyage, but their geographical distribution puzzled him, who investigated the transmutation and conceived idea in 1838. He discussed his ideas but needed time for extensive research despite priority of geology. He wrote in 1858, when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him an essay, which described the same idea, prompting immediate joint publication.
His book of 1859 commonly established the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature. He examined human sexuality in Selection in Relation to Sex , and The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals followed. A series of books published his research on plants, and he finally examined effect of earthworms on soil.
A state funeral recognized Darwin in recognition of preeminence and only four other non-royal personages of the United Kingdom of the 19th century; people buried his body in Westminster abbey, close to those of John Herschel and Isaac Newton.
Her fathered Francis Darwin, astronomer George Darwin, and politician, economist and eugenicist Leonard Darwin.
(Arabic: تشارلز داروين)
Chiefly Asa Gray of America advocated his theories.
Works of Jacques Martin Barzun include Darwin, Marx, Wagner (1941).
Charles Robert Darwin, an eminent English collector and geologist, proposed and provided scientific evidence of common ancestors for all life over time through the process that he called. The scientific community and the public in his lifetime accepted the facts that occur and then in the 1930s widely came to see the primary explanation of the process that now forms modernity. In modified form, the foundational scientific discovery of Darwin provides a unifying logical explanation for the diversity of life.
Darwin developed his interest in history and medicine at Edinburgh University and then theology at Cambridge. His five-year voyage on the Beagle established him as a geologist, whose observations and supported uniformitarian ideas of Charles Lyell, and publication of his journal made him as a popular author. Darwin collected wildlife and fossils on the voyage, but their geographical distribution puzzled him, who investigated the transmutation and conceived idea in 1838. He discussed his ideas but needed time for extensive research despite priority of geology. He wrote in 1858, when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him an essay, which described the same idea, prompting immediate joint publication.
His book of 1859 commonly established the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature. He examined human sexuality in Selection in Relation to Sex , and The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals followed. A series of books published his research on plants, and he finally examined effect of earthworms on soil.
A state funeral recognized Darwin in recognition of preeminence and only four other non-royal personages of the United Kingdom of the 19th century; people buried his body in Westminster abbey, close to those of John Herschel and Isaac Newton.
Her fathered Francis Darwin, astronomer George Darwin, and politician, economist and eugenicist Leonard Darwin.
(Arabic: تشارلز داروين)
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 15, 2018
My goal in picking up this book was to get acquainted with Darwin’s full body of writings and I think I did achieve that. He has many interesting insights, though overall this was a light-read as I was already familiar with The Origin of the Species. Still, I found this very compelling.
November 24, 2017
There's something rather satisfying about a nice, chunky book of quotations. I treasure my Oxford Dictionary of Scientific Quotations, for example. However, single author collections can be quite a struggle to get through.
I've already seen both The Quotable Feynman and The Ultimate Quotable Einstein for two of the great names of physics, each of them rather good at profound sound bites and witty interjections. But also in each case, even though I like the author's writing, I found it difficult to get too enthusiastic, as it's neither a book you can read from end to end, nor one where you can necessarily find a useful quote on a particular topic, as is the case with the dictionary of quotations. And any concerns I have about those two are probably increased here because, though Darwin was, without doubt, an accomplished writer, the Victorian style rarely makes for a pithy quote.
As I'd recently seen (in the excellent Inferior, for example) some sharp criticism of Darwin for his remarks about women, the first thing I tried was to find some of these, and already the format let me down. There is quite a long index - but 'Women' does not appear in it (nor does 'Female'). Admittedly I was helped out by the arrangement into sections - so looking through the Intellect sub-section of 'Mankind' I did find what I was looking for. This section also led with a good example of why it might be best not to look for consistency in Darwin. The first quote is 'There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties' and the second (just 69 pages away in the same book) is 'There can be note doubt that the difference between the mind of the lowest man and that of the highest animal is immense.'
Dipping into the book is certainly a quick, if disjointed, way to get an improved picture of Darwin, the man - whether it's appreciation of his disgust for slavery and hope for its abolition, or to get a more nuanced view of his attitude to religion and creationism. But I think I would get significantly more from a well-written scientific biography. This collection of quotes is incredibly useful for anyone who regularly writes about Darwin, but I'm not sure it's something that has a place on every science-lover's shelves.
I've already seen both The Quotable Feynman and The Ultimate Quotable Einstein for two of the great names of physics, each of them rather good at profound sound bites and witty interjections. But also in each case, even though I like the author's writing, I found it difficult to get too enthusiastic, as it's neither a book you can read from end to end, nor one where you can necessarily find a useful quote on a particular topic, as is the case with the dictionary of quotations. And any concerns I have about those two are probably increased here because, though Darwin was, without doubt, an accomplished writer, the Victorian style rarely makes for a pithy quote.
As I'd recently seen (in the excellent Inferior, for example) some sharp criticism of Darwin for his remarks about women, the first thing I tried was to find some of these, and already the format let me down. There is quite a long index - but 'Women' does not appear in it (nor does 'Female'). Admittedly I was helped out by the arrangement into sections - so looking through the Intellect sub-section of 'Mankind' I did find what I was looking for. This section also led with a good example of why it might be best not to look for consistency in Darwin. The first quote is 'There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties' and the second (just 69 pages away in the same book) is 'There can be note doubt that the difference between the mind of the lowest man and that of the highest animal is immense.'
Dipping into the book is certainly a quick, if disjointed, way to get an improved picture of Darwin, the man - whether it's appreciation of his disgust for slavery and hope for its abolition, or to get a more nuanced view of his attitude to religion and creationism. But I think I would get significantly more from a well-written scientific biography. This collection of quotes is incredibly useful for anyone who regularly writes about Darwin, but I'm not sure it's something that has a place on every science-lover's shelves.
January 7, 2018
Great quotes by Darwin well researched by the author highly recommend.
December 12, 2023
Readers will come to know Charles Darwin through this book. The author has selected representative quotes from Darwin's writings and compiled them into chapters focused on various topics. Most of the quotations are from Darwin's published writings and written correspondence. The author, however, also include relevant quotations by others about Darwin and his work.
This readable and enjoyable book helps us get to know Darwin from his scientific thought to his family life. It can be read straight through or used as more of a reference by selecting the topic of interest. The author clarifies the quotations are not exhaustive, just representative. While not a full biography, it gives a clear biographical sketch. Anyone who want to get to know more about Charles Darwin should read this.
This readable and enjoyable book helps us get to know Darwin from his scientific thought to his family life. It can be read straight through or used as more of a reference by selecting the topic of interest. The author clarifies the quotations are not exhaustive, just representative. While not a full biography, it gives a clear biographical sketch. Anyone who want to get to know more about Charles Darwin should read this.
December 19, 2017
Some of my favorite quotations are from Darwin. This collection shows what an intelligent, level-headed and humble man he was. To me, the great genius of his works is not that they show such brilliant intuition, but, on the contrary, they show methodical collection of appropriate data, wide reading, evidence of extensive discussion with his colleagues (and pigeon fanciers), and the application of the thoughts of Lyell and Malthus. If you've never read On the Origin of Species, even if you have little interest, you should pick it up and read a chapter or two. Unlike other seminal works, e.g. Newton's Principia.., it is immediately accessible.
The comments about and from his friends and family are especially moving. In the chapter on recollections from his family is this:
The way he brought us up is shown by a little story about my brother Leonard, which my father was fond of telling. He came into the drawing room and found Leonard dancing on the sofa, which was forbidden, for the sake of the springs, and said, “Oh, Lenny, Lenny, that is against all rules,” and received for answer, “Then I think you’d better go out of the room.”
The comments about and from his friends and family are especially moving. In the chapter on recollections from his family is this:
The way he brought us up is shown by a little story about my brother Leonard, which my father was fond of telling. He came into the drawing room and found Leonard dancing on the sofa, which was forbidden, for the sake of the springs, and said, “Oh, Lenny, Lenny, that is against all rules,” and received for answer, “Then I think you’d better go out of the room.”
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews