Evolutionary biology is genuinely scientific, but more than that it opens the door to a world more marvellous than any Christian fundamentalist has ever read into the pages of the Bible.

YESTERDAY, n. The infancy of youth, the youth of manhood, the entire past of age.

WHEAT, n. A cereal from which a tolerably good whisky can be made; . . . also for bread. The French are said to eat more bread "per capita" of population than any other people, which is natural, for only they know how to make the stuff palatable.

Edible, adj.: Good to eat, and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm.

OATH, n. In law, a solemn appeal to the Deity, made binding upon the conscience by a penalty for perjury.

Liberty is one of the imagination's most precious possessions.

PENITENT, adj. Undergoing or awaiting punishment.