Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Thomas Huxley

Quote by Thomas Huxley

“Not only does every animal live at the expense of some other animal or plant, but the very plants are at war.... The individuals of a species are like the crew of a foundered ship, and none but good swimmers have a chance of reaching the land.”

Quote by Thomas Huxley

Work

Collected essays

This book brings together a diverse range of essays, covering a wide array of topics and perspectives from various authors. more

Author

Thomas Huxley
Thomas Huxley

Thomas Huxley, a British biologist, was a staunch supporter of Darwin's theory of evolution. Renowned for his research in comparative anatomy, embryology, paleontology, and philosophy, Huxley made significant contributions to the field of biology. He had a profound influence on science, not only through his support of Darwin's theory of evolution but also through his role as a science popularizer and advocate for science education. more

You May Also Like

“Missionaries, whether of philosophy or religion, rarely make rapid way, unless their preachings fall in with the prepossessions ofthe multitude of shallow thinkers, or can be made to serve as a stalking-horse for the promotion of the practical aims of the still larger multitude, who do not profess to think much, but are quite certain they want a great deal.”

“The vast results obtained by Science are won by no mystical faculties, by no mental processes other than those which are practicedby every one of us, in the humblest and meanest affairs of life. A detective policeman discovers a burglar from the marks made by his shoe, by a mental process identical with that by which Cuvier restored the extinct animals of Montmartre from fragments of their bones.”

“Next to being right in this world, the best of all things is to be clearly and definitely wrong, because you will come out somewhere. If you go buzzing about between right and wrong, vibrating and fluctuating, you come out nowhere; but if you are absolutely and thoroughly and persistently wrong, you must, some of these days, have the extreme good fortune of knocking your head against a fact, and that sets you all straight again.”

“The besetting sin of able men is impatience of contradiction and of criticism. Even those who do their best to resist the temptation, yield to it almost unconsciously and become the tools of toadies and flatterers. "Authorities," "disciples," and "schools" are the curse of science and do more to interfere with the work of the scientific spirit than all its enemies.”