--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After five years' work I allowed myself…" description: "\"After five years' work I allowed myself to speculate on the subject, and drew up some short notes; these I enlarged in 1844 into a sketch of the conclu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/charles-darwin-507_conclusion_after-five-years-work-i-allowed-myself-t_1320919.jpg" --- # After five years' work I allowed myself to speculate on… ![“After five years' work I allowed myself to speculate on the subject, and drew up some short notes; these I enlarged in 1844 into a sketch of the conclusions, which then seemed to me probable: from that period to the present day I have steadily pursued the same object. I hope that I may be excused…” quote by Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/charles-darwin-507_conclusion_after-five-years-work-i-allowed-myself-t_1320919.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/charles-darwin-507_conclusion_after-five-years-work-i-allowed-myself-t_1320919.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/charles-darwin-507_conclusion_after-five-years-work-i-allowed-myself-t_1320919.jpg) > “After five years' work I allowed myself to speculate on the subject, and drew up some short notes; these I enlarged in 1844 into a sketch of the conclusions, which then seemed to me probable: from that period to the present day I have steadily pursued the same object. I hope that I may be excused for entering on these personal details, as I give them to show that I have not been hasty in coming to a decision.” [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Darwin reflects on his long, methodical research process, emphasizing patience and gradual development of ideas. **In simple terms:** He took years to develop his theory carefully. Key Takeaway Value patience and thorough research. Themes science patience research evolution Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - scientific writing - theory development Key Concepts methodology incremental discovery Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance speed and depth in your work? - What habits support long‑term inquiry? A Different Perspective Progress can be slow and requires sustained effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Present day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-day/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [People will speculate about what they want, but that is not my intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/people-will-speculate-about-what-they-want-but-that-is-not-my/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [I will never speculate on data. I always need to see data.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-birx/i-will-never-speculate-on-data-i-always-need-to-see-data/) [Deborah Birx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-birx/) > [We can speculate on what's likely, but what's needed is an investigation. And speculation is no substitute for facts. As a former prosecutor, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blumenthal/we-can-speculate-on-what-s-likely-but-what-s-needed-is-an/) [Richard Blumenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blumenthal/) > [“If you have to speculate if someone loves you and wants to be with you, chances are they don't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/if-you-have-to-speculate-if-someone-loves-you-and-wants-to-be-with/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [When people mention our solo projects, people start guessing: What will Rose do? What will Lisa do? I enjoy watching fans speculate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jisoo/when-people-mention-our-solo-projects-people-start-guessing-what-will/) [Jisoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jisoo/) > [I secretly think reality exists so we can speculate about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-secretly-think-reality-exists-so-we-can-speculate-about-it/) [Slavoj Zizek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [The 3-point shot would have certainly added more to my career points, but I don't know how many. It's one of those things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-havlicek/the-3-point-shot-would-have-certainly-added-more-to-my-career-points/) [John Havlicek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-havlicek/) > [I will not rule out anything. I don't speculate on my own future. I'll wait and see what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyrone-willingham/i-will-not-rule-out-anything-i-don-t-speculate-on-my-own-future-i-ll/) [Tyrone Willingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyrone-willingham/) > [Rumours are rumours. The Internet is going to report whatever they have to speculate on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/future/rumours-are-rumours-the-internet-is-going-to-report-whatever-they/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/future/) > [I can't speculate on what did or did not happen. I only know what I said and what I intended to convey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-can-t-speculate-on-what-did-or-did-not-happen-i-only-know-what-i/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I have a novel that I can write. It's about three soldiers from Somalia. Some babies have been disappearing up on 144th Street, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-have-a-novel-that-i-can-write-it-s-about-three-soldiers-from/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [“Yes, yes, but the freedom to speculate is essential-" "No one has tried to deprive you of that. Nor is anyone offended. But to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-m-miller-jr/yes-yes-but-the-freedom-to-speculate-is-essential-no-one-has-tried-to/) [Walter M. Miller Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-m-miller-jr/) > [It is much better to learn to deal with the ills we have now than to speculate on those that may befall us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/it-is-much-better-to-learn-to-deal-with-the-ills-we-have-now-than-to/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [It's hard to speculate what tomorrow may bring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/it-s-hard-to-speculate-what-tomorrow-may-bring/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The goal is not to speculate on what might happen, but to imagine what you can make happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hamel/the-goal-is-not-to-speculate-on-what-might-happen-but-to-imagine-what/) [Gary Hamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hamel/) ## More by Charles Darwin > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The main conclusion here arrived at ... is that man is descended from some less highly organized form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-main-conclusion-here-arrived-at-is-that-man-is-descended-from/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [So great is the economy of nature, that most flowers which are fertilised by crepuscular or nocturnal insects emit their odour chiefly or exclusively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/so-great-is-the-economy-of-nature-that-most-flowers-which-are/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious views of anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-see-no-good-reasons-why-the-views-given-in-this-volume-should-shock/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science…It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-am-quite-conscious-that-my-speculations-run-beyond-the-bounds-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [If worms have the power of acquiring some notion, however rude, of the shape of an object and over their burrows, as seems the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/if-worms-have-the-power-of-acquiring-some-notion-however-rude-of-the/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [We can allow satellites, planets, suns, universe, nay whole systems of universes, to be governed by laws, but the smallest insect, we wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/we-can-allow-satellites-planets-suns-universe-nay-whole-systems-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Formerly Milton's Paradise Lost had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the Beagle, when I could take only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/formerly-milton-s-paradise-lost-had-been-my-chief-favourite-and-in-my/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [May we not suspect that the vague but very real fears of children, which are quite independent of experience, are the inherited effects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/may-we-not-suspect-that-the-vague-but-very-real-fears-of-children/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It may be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-may-be-said-that-natural-selection-is-daily-and-hourly/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Darwin, landing in Brazil in 1832, had a similar reaction, colored by his reading of his predecessor." Humboldt's glorious descriptions are & will for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/darwin-landing-in-brazil-in-1832-had-a-similar-reaction-colored-by/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [...all nature is perverse & will not do as I wish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/all-nature-is-perverse-will-not-do-as-i-wish-it/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“To admit that species generally become rare before they become extinct—to feel no surprise at the comparative rarity of one species with another, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-admit-that-species-generally-become-rare-before-they-become/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank clothed with many plants of many kinds with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-interesting-to-contemplate-an-entangled-bank-clothed-with-many/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Explore all 497 Charles Darwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## More Conclusion quotes > [I'm not going to be part of looking at information only partially. I'm not going to be part of just coming to quick conclusions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-cleland/i-m-not-going-to-be-part-of-looking-at-information-only-partially-i-m/) [Max Cleland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-cleland/) > [From what I have seen, I am driven to the conclusion that religion is only good for good people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/from-what-i-have-seen-i-am-driven-to-the-conclusion-that-religion-is/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [The main conclusion here arrived at ... is that man is descended from some less highly organized form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-main-conclusion-here-arrived-at-is-that-man-is-descended-from/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Your deeper sense isn’t a springboard; it’s a landing place. If you draw conclusions too quickly or too slowly, you’ll establish your self where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-deeper-sense-isn-t-a-springboard-it-s-a-landing-place-if-you/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/) [Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/) > [Every study on chocolate is pointing to the same conclusion: there is something in chocolate that is really good for us. That something is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/every-study-on-chocolate-is-pointing-to-the-same-conclusion-there-is/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [I have come to the definite conclusion that musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability which can be developed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinichi-suzuki/i-have-come-to-the-definite-conclusion-that-musical-ability-is-not-an/) [Shinichi Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinichi-suzuki/) > [Study how a society uses its land, and you can come to pretty reliable conclusions as to what its future will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/study-how-a-society-uses-its-land-and-you-can-come-to-pretty-reliable/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [Dr. Arnold . . . the admired reformer of public schools, came across some cranks who thought it a mistake to flog boys. Anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/dr-arnold-the-admired-reformer-of-public-schools-came-across-some/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [That's what politics is. It's the story of what's happening, what does it mean, what's the conclusion, who are the interesting characters?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickerson/that-s-what-politics-is-it-s-the-story-of-what-s-happening-what-does/) [John Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickerson/) > [It's my firm conclusion that human meaning comes from humans, not from a supernatural source. After we die, our hopes for an afterlife reside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/it-s-my-firm-conclusion-that-human-meaning-comes-from-humans-not-from/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [To each eye, perhaps, the outlines of a great civilization present a different picture. In the wide ocean upon which we venture, the possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-burckhardt/to-each-eye-perhaps-the-outlines-of-a-great-civilization-present-a/) [Jacob Burckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-burckhardt/) > [If you jump to conclusion you can't step on a clue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-santinello/if-you-jump-to-conclusion-you-can-t-step-on-a-clue/) [James Santinello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-santinello/) > [I cannot escape from the conclusion that the great ages of progress have depended upon a small number of individuals of transcendent ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-cannot-escape-from-the-conclusion-that-the-great-ages-of-progress/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Browse all 1,619 Conclusion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "After five years' work I allowed myself to speculate on the subject, and drew up some short notes; these I enlarged in 1844 into a sketch of the conclusions, which then seemed to me probable: from that period to the present day I have steadily pursued the same object. 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