--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had gradually come, by this time…" description: "\"I had gradually come, by this time [1839-01], to see that the Old Testament from its manifestly false history of the world, with the Tower of Babel, th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/charles-darwin-507_babel_i-had-gradually-come-by-this-time-1839-0_1785401.jpg" --- # I had gradually come, by this time \[1839-01\], to see that… ![“I had gradually come, by this time [1839-01], to see that the Old Testament from its manifestly false history of the world, with the Tower of Babel, the rainbow as a sign, etc., etc. and from its attributing to God the feelings of a revengeful tyrant, was no more to be trusted than the sacred…” quote by Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/charles-darwin-507_babel_i-had-gradually-come-by-this-time-1839-0_1785401.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/charles-darwin-507_babel_i-had-gradually-come-by-this-time-1839-0_1785401.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/charles-darwin-507_babel_i-had-gradually-come-by-this-time-1839-0_1785401.jpg) > “I had gradually come, by this time \[1839-01\], to see that the Old Testament from its manifestly false history of the world, with the Tower of Babel, the rainbow as a sign, etc., etc. and from its attributing to God the feelings of a revengeful tyrant, was no more to be trusted than the sacred books of the Hindoos, or the beliefs of any barbarian.” [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 critiques the Old Testament’s historical claims and moral character, deeming it unreliable like other ancient texts. **In simple terms:** He sees the Old Testament as historically false and morally questionable. Key Takeaway Question traditional religious authority. Themes skepticism religion history Mood critical inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic debate - theological study - personal belief - cultural analysis Key Concepts Biblical criticism mythology Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile faith with historical criticism? - What role should ancient texts play in modern morality? A Different Perspective Religious faith may conflict with empirical evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Babel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babel/) [Barbarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarians/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Beliefs Barbarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beliefs-barbarian-1898207/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Etc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/etc/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [False History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-history-629336/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Manifestly False](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manifestly-false-1898206/) [Old testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-testament/) [Rainbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rainbow/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Revengeful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revengeful/) [Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testament/) [Testament Manifestly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testament-manifestly-1898205/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tower of babel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tower-of-babel/) [Towers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/towers/) [Trusted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trusted/) [Tyrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrants/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-history/) ## Related quotes > [“they slipped one by one again into the merely fictional – Hermes’s false Egypt, and Bruno’s false Hermes; Kraft’s false Bruno; Pierce’s false history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/they-slipped-one-by-one-again-into-the-merely-fictional-hermes-s/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [False history gets made all day, any day, the truth of the new is never on the news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/false-history-gets-made-all-day-any-day-the-truth-of-the-new-is-never-2/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [False history gets made all day, any day, the truth of the new is never on the news False history gets written every day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/false-history-gets-made-all-day-any-day-the-truth-of-the-new-is-never/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [My aim was to dismantle this false history that men created punk, because they didn't. And they were certainly never the best at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunx/my-aim-was-to-dismantle-this-false-history-that-men-created-punk/) [Hunx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunx/) > [“...Whilst on board the Beagle I was quite orthodox, and I remember being heartily laughed at by several of the officers... for quoting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/whilst-on-board-the-beagle-i-was-quite-orthodox-and-i-remember-being/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Do not mistake my kindness for weakness, I am kid to everyone, but if you are unkind to my it will not be weakness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-copone/do-not-mistake-my-kindness-for-weakness-i-am-kid-to-everyone-but-if/) [Al Copone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-copone/) > [The intrusions of the white race and the non- compliance with treaty obligations have been followed by atrocities that could alone satisfy a savage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-a-miles/the-intrusions-of-the-white-race-and-the-non-compliance-with-treaty/) [Nelson A. Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-a-miles/) > [Ah, God! what trances of torments does that man endure who is consumed with one unachieved revengeful desire. He sleeps with clenched hands; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael/ah-god-what-trances-of-torments-does-that-man-endure-who-is-consumed/) [Ishmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael/) > [I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-am-very-proud-revengeful-ambitious-with-more-offences-at-my-beck/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Revenge is as the tigers spring, Deadly, and quick, and crushing; yet, as real Torture is theirs, what they inflict they feel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron/revenge-is-as-the-tigers-spring-deadly-and-quick-and-crushing-yet-as/) [Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron/) > [Blood, though it sleep a time, yet never dies. The gods on murtherers fix revengeful eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-chapman/blood-though-it-sleep-a-time-yet-never-dies-the-gods-on-murtherers/) [George Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-chapman/) > [Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, let them complain over what might have been, but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/let-others-lead-small-lives-but-not-you-let-others-argue-over-small/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [The soul of mercy is better than a soul that is revengeful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-elise/the-soul-of-mercy-is-better-than-a-soul-that-is-revengeful/) [Angelina Elise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-elise/) > [“The master of this shop was sitting at the door in his shirt-sleeves, smoking; and as there were a great many coats and pairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-master-of-this-shop-was-sitting-at-the-door-in-his-shirt-sleeves/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I don't feel very revengeful in life at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-arnold/i-don-t-feel-very-revengeful-in-life-at-all/) [Andrea Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-arnold/) ## 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 Babel quotes > [How will the Tower of Babel be undone? How will we understand each other in Heaven? Will we all speak English or Dutch or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/how-will-the-tower-of-babel-be-undone-how-will-we-understand-each/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“Our modern era embodies both the Tower of Babel and Pentecost simultaneously. Like Babel, globalization and technological advancement have created linguistic and cultural fragmentation……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-patterson/our-modern-era-embodies-both-the-tower-of-babel-and-pentecost/) [Paule Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-patterson/) > [“An attempt to wrest from God the prerogatives of absolute freedom and infinity leads to the inversion of Pentecost and what is in effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-e-gunton/an-attempt-to-wrest-from-god-the-prerogatives-of-absolute-freedom-and/) [Colin E. 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"Oh," says man, "but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/i-refuse-to-prove-that-i-exist-says-god-for-proof-denies-faith-and/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [As a system of philosophy it is not like the Tower of Babel, so daring its high aim as to seek a shelter against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sedgwick/as-a-system-of-philosophy-it-is-not-like-the-tower-of-babel-so-daring/) [Adam Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sedgwick/) > [ What \[Franz\] Kafka says about the Tower of Babel: In the beginning there were actually many languages, and then as a punishment God gave… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/what-franz-kafka-says-about-the-tower-of-babel-in-the-beginning-there/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“The Babel fish is small, yellow and leech-like, and probably the oddest thing in the Universe. It feeds on brainwave energy received not from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-babel-fish-is-small-yellow-and-leech-like-and-probably-the-oddest/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > ['Babel' is about the point of view of others. It literally includes points of views as experienced from the other side. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/babel-is-about-the-point-of-view-of-others-it-literally-includes/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“In those days the world teemed, the people multiplied, the world bellowed like a wild bull, and the great god was aroused by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-those-days-the-world-teemed-the-people-multiplied-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Literatura e un Turn Babel de hartie;fiecare carte o treapta,fiecare biblioteca un etaj.Numai ca literatura are o tinta mai modesta,dar si mai dificila:sa ajunga…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-plesu/literatura-e-un-turn-babel-de-hartie-fiecare-carte-o-treapta-fiecare/) [Andrei Pleşu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-plesu/) > [“Transhumanism encapsulates a long-lived error among the headliners of science: in a world without a destination, we cannot even break ground on our Tower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/transhumanism-encapsulates-a-long-lived-error-among-the-headliners-of/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [But all this language gotten, and augmented by Adam and his posterity, was again lost at the tower of Babel , when by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/but-all-this-language-gotten-and-augmented-by-adam-and-his-posterity/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) [Browse all 60 Babel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had gradually come, by this time [1839-01], to see that the Old Testament from its manifestly false history of the world, with the Tower of Babel, the rainbow as a sign, etc., etc. and from its attributing to God the feelings of a revengeful tyrant, was no more to be trusted than the sacred books of the Hindoos, or the beliefs of any barbarian.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Darwin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-had-gradually-come-by-this-time-1839-01-to-see-that-the-old/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Babel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-had-gradually-come-by-this-time-1839-01-to-see-that-the-old/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/charles-darwin-507_babel_i-had-gradually-come-by-this-time-1839-0_1785401.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/charles-darwin-507_babel_i-had-gradually-come-by-this-time-1839-0_1785401.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/charles-darwin-507_babel_i-had-gradually-come-by-this-time-1839-0_1785401.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had gradually come, by this time [1839-01], to see that the Old Testament from its manifestly false…” — Charles Darwin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charles Darwin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I had gradually come, by this...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-had-gradually-come-by-this-time-1839-01-to-see-that-the-old/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-had-gradually-come-by-this-time-1839-01-to-see-that-the-old/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```