“What wretched doings come from the ardor of fame; the love of truth alone would never make one man attack another bitterly.”

I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection.

Man in his arrogance thinks himself a great work, worthy of the interposition of a deity. More humble, and I believe truer, to consider him created from animals.

It is a cursed evil to any man to become as absorbed in any subject as I am in mine.

If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week.

Man selects only for his own good: Nature only for that of the being which she tends.

We stopped looking for monsters under our bed when we realized that they were inside us.

Nothing exists for itself alone, but only in relation to other forms of life.

The most powerful natural species are those that adapt to environmental change without losing their fundamental identity which gives them their competitive advantage.

Such simple instincts as bees making a beehive could be sufficient to overthrow my whole theory.

In conclusion, it appears that nothing can be more improving to a young naturalist, than a journey in distant countries.

I am dying by inches, from not having any body to talk to about insects.

Light may be shed on man and his origins.

It is always advisable to perceive clearly our ignorance.

The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognise that we ought to control our thoughts.

Attention, if sudden and close, graduates into surprise; and this into astonishment; and this into stupefied amazement.

I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious views of anyone.

The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points.

Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack.

I’m motivated by fear. Fear of fear. I hate being scared to do something. And I think what developed in my early days was the attitude that I started attacking things that I was scared of.

Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.

You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.

I believe that the message of Apollo XI was that in the spirit of Apollo, a free and open spirit, you can attack a very difficult goal and achieve it, if you can all agree and work together to achieve that goal.

When we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago.

Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm.