I hate a Barnacle as no man ever did before, not even a Sailor in a slow-sailing ship.
In plain words
Even great scientists get sick of the slow, boring parts.
Where these words come from
- 85% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
- Letter to William Darwin Fox, 24 October 1852, in The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin (1887).
- Letter to William Darwin Fox
- 1852
More from Charles Darwin
See allIt may turn out a mare’s nest, but I have often incidentally observed curious facts when making what I call “a fool’s experiment”.
Charles DarwinI have steadily endeavoured to keep my mind free so as to give up any hypothesis, however much beloved (and I cannot resist forming one on every subject), as soon as facts are shown to be opposed to it.Charles DarwinDelight itself, however, is a weak term to express the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first time, has wandered by himself in a Brazilian forest.Charles DarwinA most paradoxical mixture of sound and silence pervades the shady parts of the wood. The noise from the insects is so loud, that it may be heard even in a vessel anchored several hundred yards from the shore; yet within the recesses of the forest a universal silence appears to reign.Charles DarwinIt is easy to specify the individual objects of admiration in these grand scenes; but it is not possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder, astonishment, and devotion, which fill and elevate the mind.Charles DarwinThus do we see the soft and gelatinous body of a polypus, through the agency of the vital laws, conquering the great mechanical power of the waves of an ocean which neither the art of man nor the inanimate works of nature could successfully resist.Charles Darwin
Charles DarwinI have steadily endeavoured to keep my mind free so as to give up any hypothesis, however much beloved (and I cannot resist forming one on every subject), as soon as facts are shown to be opposed to it.Charles DarwinDelight itself, however, is a weak term to express the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first time, has wandered by himself in a Brazilian forest.Charles DarwinA most paradoxical mixture of sound and silence pervades the shady parts of the wood. The noise from the insects is so loud, that it may be heard even in a vessel anchored several hundred yards from the shore; yet within the recesses of the forest a universal silence appears to reign.Charles DarwinIt is easy to specify the individual objects of admiration in these grand scenes; but it is not possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder, astonishment, and devotion, which fill and elevate the mind.Charles DarwinThus do we see the soft and gelatinous body of a polypus, through the agency of the vital laws, conquering the great mechanical power of the waves of an ocean which neither the art of man nor the inanimate works of nature could successfully resist.Charles DarwinMore on perseverance
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
ConfuciusNature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Lao TzuSlow and steady wins the race.
AesopPatience is the key to relief.Arabic proverbDrops of water hollow out a stone.
OvidFew things are impossible to diligence and skill.
Samuel Johnson
ConfuciusNature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.Lao TzuSlow and steady wins the race.AesopPatience is the key to relief.Arabic proverbDrops of water hollow out a stone.OvidFew things are impossible to diligence and skill.Samuel Johnson