“{ Letter to his brother, 1861 } ... I remain an utter disbeliever in almost all that you consider the most sacred truths... But whether there be a God and whatever be His nature; whether we have an immortal soul… — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share Image
On the spiritual theory, man consists essentially of a spiritual nature or mind intimately associated with a spiritual body or soul, both of which are developed in and by means of a material organism — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share Image
Truth is born into this world only with pangs and tribulations, and every fresh truth is received unwillingly. — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share Image
Why do some die and some live? The answer was clearly, that on the whole the best fitted live. From the effects of disease the most healthy escaped; from enemies, the strongest, swiftest, or the most cunning; from famine, the best hunters or those with the best digestion; and so on. Then it suddenly flashed upon me that this self-acting… — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share
I think I have fairly heard and fairly weighed the evidence on both sides, and I remain an utter disbeliever in almost all that you consider the most sacred truths... I can see much to admire in all religions... But whether there be a God and whatever be His nature; whether we have an immortal soul or not, or whatever… — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share
To expect the world to receive a new truth, or even an old truth, without challenging it, is to look for one of those… — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share Image
I spent, as you know, a year and a half in a clergyman's family and heard almost every Tuesday the very best, most earnest… — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share Image
As well might it be said that, because we are ignorant of the laws by which metals are produced and trees developed, we cannot… — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share Image
It has been generally the custom of writers on natural history to take the habits and instincts of animals as the fixed point, and… — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share Image
In all works on Natural History, we constantly find details of the marvellous adaptation of animals to their food, their habits, and the localities… — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share Image
To say that mind is a product or function of protoplasm, or of its molecular changes, is to use words to which we can… — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share Image
In less than eight years "The Origin of Species" has produced conviction in the minds of a majority of the most eminent living men… — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share Image
In one of my latest conversations with Darwin he expressed himself very gloomily on the future of humanity, on the ground that in our modern civilization natural selection had no play, and the fittest did not survive. Those who succeed in the race for wealth are by no means the best or the most intelligent, and it is notorious that… — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share
If this is not done, future ages will certainly look back upon us as a people so immersed in the pursuit of wealth as… — Alfred Russel Wallace Copy Share Image
