Quotes About Adaptation

If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down. But I can find no such case.

How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?

Diplomats are useful only in fair weather. As soon as it rains they drown in every drop.

Once upon a time there was an old country, wrapped up in habit and caution. ... We have to transform our old France into a new country and marry it to its time.

People are no longer afraid of him.The spirit and the time are with him. (Il ne fait plus peur. L'esprit et le temps sont avec lui.)"

The boa digests slowly. The habit digests slowly. (Le boa digère lentement. - L'habitude digère lentement.)

The survival instinct prove that we are alive. (L'instinct de survie - Prouve qu'on est en vie.)

One expected growth, change without it, the world was less, the well of inspiration dried up, the muses fled.

"It's nothing," returned Mrs Chick. "It's merely change of weather. We must expect change."

A man must take the fat with the lean.

Really, for a man who had been out of practice for so many years it was a splendid laugh!

Perhaps second-hand cares, like second-hand clothes, come easily off and on.

Every failure teaches a man something, if he will learn; and you are too sensible a man not to learn from this failure.

Sudden shifts and changes are no bad preparation for political life.

I never heard that it had been anybody's business to find out what his natural bent was, or where his failings lay, or to adapt any kind of knowledge to him. He had been adapted to the verses and had learnt the art of making them to such perfection. I did doubt whether Richard would not have profited by some one studying him a little, instead of his studying them quite so much.

Life is made of ever so many partings welded together ... Divisions among such must come, and must be met as they come.

They ran their heads very hard against wrong ideas, and persisted in trying to fit the circumstances to the ideas instead of trying to extract ideas from the circumstances.

When you go to Rome, do as Rome does. Rome will be a ugly customer to you, if you don't. I'm your Rome, you know.

He was too well accustomed to suffering, and had suffered too much where he was, to bewail the prospect of change very severely.

In London, he had expected neither to walk on pavements of gold, nor to lie on beds of roses; if he had had any such exalted expectation, he would not have prospered. He had expected labour, and he found it, and did it and made the best of it. In this, his prosperity consisted.

I'm wrong in these clothes. I'm wrong out of the forge, the kitchen, or off th' meshes.

Hay que tomar las cosas como vienen; eso es lo que tenemos que hacer en esta vida.

evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction on his head. They began to accommodate themselves to his level, calling him 'Mr Baptist,' but treating him like a baby, and laughing immoderately at his lively gestures and his childish English—more,

Now, being prepared for almost anything, he was not by any means prepared for nothing...