“ Darwin;s multifarious work has had upon modern thought and modern life in all its phases seems as difficult a task as it would be to count the number and trace the extent of the sound-waves from a park of artillery. The impetus he have given to science, not only in his own, but in other departments, can only find a parallel in Newton. Through his influence the whole method of seeking after knowledge has been changed, and the increasing rapidity with which the results are every day developed becomes more and more bewildering. ”

“ We must, however, acknowledge, as it seems to me that man with all his noble qualities, with sympathy which feels for the most debased, with benevolence which extends not only to other men, but to the humblest living creature, with his godlike intellect which has penetrated into the movements and constitution of the solar system—with all these exalted powers, man still bears his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his low origin. ”

“ Darwin's life has been marked mainly by the successive publication of those work which have revolutionized modern thought. In 1859 was published what may be regarded as the most momentous of all his works, "The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection." No one who had not reached manhood at the time can have any idea of the consternation caused by the publication of this work. We need not repeat the anathemas that were hurled at the head of the simple-minded observer, and the prophecies of ruin to religion and morality if Mr. Darwin's doctrines were accepted. ”

“ But it is not only in physical and natural science that the revolutionary influence of the "Origin of Species" is seen. It is not too much to say that the doctrines propounded in this volume, on "The Descent of Man," and other subsequent works, have influenced thought and research in every direction. It has been said, perhaps prematurely, that one must seek back to Newton or even Copernicus, to find a man whose influence on human thought and methods of looking at the universe has been as radical as that of the naturalist who has just died. ”

“ Darwin himself would have endorsed with all his strength.
"History warns us, however, that it is the customary fate of new truths to begin as heresies and to ends as superstitions; and, as matters now stand, it is hardly rash to anticipated that in another 20 years, the new generation educated under the influences of the present day, will be in danger of accepting the main doctrines of the Origin of Species with as little reflection, and it may be with as little justification, as so many of our contemporaries 20 years ago rejected them. ”

“ Against any such a consummation let us all devoutly pray; for the scientific spirit is of more value than its products, and irrationally-held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors. Now, the essence of the scientific spirit is criticism. ”

“ Darwin is most intimately associated in popular estimation, and indeed the works which have had the deepest influence on the the tendencies of modern thought and research in those departments in which humanity is most deeply interested, are those bearing on the natural history of man. ”

“ Darwin's best known and most influential works; and in this volume on the Voyage of the Beagle there is scarcely a page that will not interest any ordinarily intelligent man, and many pages that must claim the attention of the mere reader of stories of adventure. ”

“ After all, what have the highest aspirations of mankind to fear from the investigation and speculations of a man who is capable of writing as Mr. Darwin does in the concluding pages of his "Descent of Man." "Important as the struggle for existence has been, and even still is, yet as far as the highest part of man's nature is concerned, there are other agencies more important. ”

“ For the moral qualities are advanced either directly or indirectly, much more through the effects of habit, the reasoning powers, instruction, religion, &c., than through the natural selection, through to this latter agency may be safely attributed the social instincts which afforded the basis for the development of the moral sense. ”

“ Among scientific men themselves, among those who welcomed the Darwinian method and the distinctive doctrines of Darwinism, none of the master's works have probably met with more criticism than that on the Descent of Man. ”

“ Under the immediate influence of the sad loss we can only state a few obvious facts and make a few quite as obvious reflections; in time we may be able to realize how great a man no belongs to the past. That Mr. Darwin's work was not done nor his capacity for work exhausted was well enough seen in his recently-published work on Worms ”

“ With wonderful rapidity, however, did men of all shades of belief manage to reconcile themselves to the new and disturbing factor introduced into the sphere of scientific and philosophical speculation. ”

“ Man may be excused for feeling some pride at having risen, though not through his own exertions, to the very summit of the organic scale; and the fact of his having thus risen instead of having been aboriginally placed there may give him hope for a still higher destiny in the distant future. ”

“ Darwin's influence in these, as in others of his works, has acted like an inspiration , leading men to follow methods and attain results which a quarter of century ago were beyond the scope of the most fantastic dream. ”

“ Darwin's life. During these five years the Beagle circumnavigated the world, and it s not too much to say that singlehanded, Mr. Darwin during the voyage did more for natural history in all its varied departments than any expedition has done since; much more when we consider the momentous results that followed. No one can read the simple yet intensely interesting "Naturalist's Voyage Round the World," without tracing in it the germs of all that Mr. Darwin has subsequently done in natural science. Simplicity and freedom from technicality have been the leading characteristics of all Mr. ”

“ Other works belonging to this category are those "On the Movement and Habits of Climbing Plants," "Insectivorous Plants," and "The Movement of Plants" (1881) , all of which opened up perfectly fresh fields of investigation, and shed light on the most intimate workings of nature. ”

“ Not that the naturalists of the highest standing have any hesitation in accepting the general principles illustrated in the "Descent of Man;" the ablest and most candid biologists admit that in that direction the truth seems to lie ”