About thirty years ago there was much talk that geologists ought only to observe and not theorise; and I well remember some one saying that at this r… - Charles Darwin

How odd it is that anyone should not see that all observation must be for or against some view if it is to be of any service!

...ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge...

Hence if man goes on selecting, and thus augmenting, any peculiarity, he will almost certainly modify unintentionally other parts of the structure, owing to the mysterious laws of correlation.

If I had my life to live over again, I would make it a rule to read some poetry, listen to some music, and see some painting or drawing at least once a week, for perhaps the part of my brain now atrophied would then have been kept alive through life. The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness.