It's an awful stretcher to believe that a peacock's tail was thus formed but ... most people just don't get it - I must be a very bad explainer

When the sexes differ in beauty, in the power of singing, or in producing what I have called instrumental music, it is almost invariably the male which excels the female.

Progress has been much more general than retrogression

Worms have played a more important part in the history of the world than humans would at first suppose.

Nature will tell you a direct lie if she can.

If man had not been his own classifier, he would never have thought of founding a separate order for his own reception.

I have at least, as I hope, done good service in aiding to overthrow the dogma of separate creations.