Charles Darwin — "I confess I am not much interested in the future, for I am too much occupied wit…"

"One day, on looking at an orchid, I was struck with the idea that the structure of the flower was adapted to the visits of insects."

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

"The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I for one must be content to remain an agnostic."

"I have always maintained that, in this country, a man can do whatever he likes, provided he is a gentleman."

"The astonishment which I felt on first seeing a party of Fuegians on a wild and broken shore will never be forgotten by me, for the reflection at once rushed into my mind—such were our ancestors."