Georges Cuvier
A founder of paleontology and comparative anatomy, known for his work on extinction and his opposition to evolutionary theories.
Most quoted
"The animal kingdom, viewed in its entirety, presents a vast and complex network of relationships, where every part is connected to every other part, and where the destruction of one link can reverberate throughout the whole."
— from Le Règne Animal distribué d'après son organisation
"Every organized being forms a whole, a unique and closed system, of which all the parts mutually correspond and concur to the same definitive action by a reciprocal reaction."
— from The Animal Kingdom, 1817
"Our consciousness allows us to reflect on our own mortality, to ponder the meaning of our brief existence, and to seek solace in the enduring patterns of the natural world."
— from Discourse on the Revolutions of the Surface of the Globe
All quotes by Georges Cuvier (414)
The study of nature is a source of inexhaustible pleasure.
The species are immutable, and the differences between them are not the result of gradual change.
The fossil record provides irrefutable evidence of past extinctions.
The study of the structure of animals is the only solid foundation for their classification.
The Earth has a history, and that history can be read in its strata.
The correlation of parts is the fundamental principle of comparative anatomy.
Show me your teeth, and I will tell you who you are.
The animal kingdom is a vast and intricate machine, and I, gentlemen, am its mechanic.
A single bone is often enough to reconstruct a whole animal, provided one has the proper understanding of the laws of correlation.
Nature, in her wisdom, has made nothing in vain.
The more I study nature, the more I am amazed at the stupidity of man.
I have no time for theories that do not rest on solid facts. They are like castles in the air, beautiful but insubstantial.
One must be careful not to mistake a fossil for a living creature, or a theory for a fact.
The history of the Earth is written in its rocks, and I am merely learning to read the language.
To understand the present, one must first understand the past. And the past, gentlemen, is full of surprises.
Some people believe in spontaneous generation. I believe in careful observation.
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.
I have often been accused of being too precise. But in science, precision is a virtue, not a vice.
The world is full of wonders, if only one takes the time to look.
It is not enough to see; one must also understand what one sees.
Contemporaries of Georges Cuvier
Other Biologys born within 50 years of Georges Cuvier (1769–1832).