Origin of Species is one long argument from the beginning to the end, and it has convinced not a few able men. No one could have written it without having some power of reasoning." - Meaning and context.">
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page 140
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Some of my critics have said, "Oh, he is a good observer, but has no power of reasoning." I do not think that this can be true, for the Origin of Species is one long argument from the beginning to the end, and it has convinced not a few able men. No one could have written it without having some power of reasoning.

— Charles Darwin

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Some of my critics have said, "Oh, he is a good observer, but has no power of reasoning." I do not think that this can be true, for the Origin of Species is one long argument from the beginning to the end, and it has convinced not a few able men. No one could have written it without having some power of reasoning." in the context of "page 140" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Charles Darwin" (Quotes, Autobiography (1958): All quotes from The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882. With the Original Omissions Restored. (1958) Edited and with appendix and notes by his grand-daughter Nora Barlow. Spelling and punctuation as in the book ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#Charles Darwin#reasoning#power#beginning#convinced#observer#argument#critics#species#written#without#origin
Charles Darwin

About Charles Darwin

Charles Robert Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. He proposed that evolution could be explained in part through natural and sexual selection. Prompted by awareness that Alfred Russel Wallace was developing similar theories he published his own sooner than he had originally intended. This theory is now an integral component of biological science.