--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We thus learn that man is descended from…" description: "\"We thus learn that man is descended from a hairy quadruped, furnished with a tail and pointed ears, probably arboreal in its habits, and an inhabitant ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/charles-darwin-507_ears_we-thus-learn-that-man-is-descended-from_1784688.jpg" --- # We thus learn that man is descended from a hairy… ![“We thus learn that man is descended from a hairy quadruped, furnished with a tail and pointed ears, probably arboreal in its habits, and an inhabitant of the Old World.” quote by Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/charles-darwin-507_ears_we-thus-learn-that-man-is-descended-from_1784688.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/charles-darwin-507_ears_we-thus-learn-that-man-is-descended-from_1784688.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/charles-darwin-507_ears_we-thus-learn-that-man-is-descended-from_1784688.jpg) > “We thus learn that man is descended from a hairy quadruped, furnished with a tail and pointed ears, probably arboreal in its habits, and an inhabitant of the Old World.” [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. The quote humorously outlines human evolutionary traits, noting our primate ancestry and physical features, linking us to other mammals. **In simple terms:** Humans evolved from primates with tails and ears. Key Takeaway Remember our animal roots. Themes evolution biology human origins Mood educational reflective Type scientific historical When to use this quote - education - science communication - public health messaging Key Concepts anthropology comparative anatomy natural history Questions to Reflect On - What traits link us to other mammals? - How does evolutionary knowledge affect self‑view? A Different Perspective Simplifies complex evolutionary pathways. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Descended Hairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/descended-hairy-1891639/) [Ears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Hairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hairy/) [Hairy Quadruped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hairy-quadruped-1891638/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Old world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-world/) [Probably Arboreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probably-arboreal-1891640/) [Quadruped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quadruped-1331035/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Tails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tails/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/man-is-descended-from-a-hairy-tailed-quadruped-probably-arboreal-in/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The "hairy quadruped furnished with a tail and, pointed ears, probably arboreal in his habits," this good fellow carried hidden in his nature, apparently,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/the-hairy-quadruped-furnished-with-a-tail-and-pointed-ears-probably/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Each has his own tree of ancestors, but at the top of all sits Probably Arboreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/each-has-his-own-tree-of-ancestors-but-at-the-top-of-all-sits/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [For he is the cleanest in the use of his forepaws of any quadruped. For the dexterity of his defense is an instance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-smart/for-he-is-the-cleanest-in-the-use-of-his-forepaws-of-any-quadruped/) [Christopher Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-smart/) > [“A horse is a quadruped, and quadruped's latin for beast, as everybody that's gone through grammar knows, or else what's the use in having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-horse-is-a-quadruped-and-quadruped-s-latin-for-beast-as-everybody/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Dear Girls: I don't care about your looks and your body, don't care how messy your hair is, don't care if you have hairy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeri-hernandez/dear-girls-i-don-t-care-about-your-looks-and-your-body-don-t-care-how/) [Valeri Hernandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeri-hernandez/) > [“Seriously hairy shit was going down on a regular basis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/seriously-hairy-shit-was-going-down-on-a-regular-basis/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [My uncles, who are farmers in Minooka, Illinois - I grew up with them and their pickup trucks and mustaches, and to me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/my-uncles-who-are-farmers-in-minooka-illinois-i-grew-up-with-them-and/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [She's so hairy - when she lifted up her arm I thought it was Tina Turner in her armpit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/she-s-so-hairy-when-she-lifted-up-her-arm-i-thought-it-was-tina/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [“If you were born an animal—you’d be a Llama,” he called after me. That stopped me. Was this douche seriously comparing me to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarryn-fisher/if-you-were-born-an-animal-you-d-be-a-llama-he-called-after-me-that/) [Tarryn Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarryn-fisher/) > [Fame looks like a really hairy affair. But if it's part of the job, I'll figure out a way to deal with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-everett-scott/fame-looks-like-a-really-hairy-affair-but-if-it-s-part-of-the-job-i/) [Tom Everett Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-everett-scott/) > [Because of both hipster culture and Facebook culture, the human race is starting to resemble a school of hairy piranhas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/because-of-both-hipster-culture-and-facebook-culture-the-human-race/) [Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/) > [What would he imagine next? Little hairy beasties tap-dancing on his sofa, or other fey creatures sneaking up on him in the shower?’ (Syn)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/what-would-he-imagine-next-little-hairy-beasties-tap-dancing-on-his/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [I've always just been this hairy, wild man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chiesa/i-ve-always-just-been-this-hairy-wild-man/) [Michael Chiesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chiesa/) > [I was born with a beard. We're quite hairy down in Latin America. We don't have to use sponges when we wash dishes. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devendra-banhart/i-was-born-with-a-beard-we-re-quite-hairy-down-in-latin-america-we/) [Devendra Banhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devendra-banhart/) ## 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 Ears quotes > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Somehow the river is louder when you cover your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/somehow-the-river-is-louder-when-you-cover-your-ears/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [Men trust rather to their eyes than to their ears; the effect of precepts is therefore slow and tedious, whilst that of examples is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-trust-rather-to-their-eyes-than-to-their-ears-the-effect-of/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [The more that you act on your intuition fearlessly, the more your intuition will serve you. Intuition is the ear of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-more-that-you-act-on-your-intuition-fearlessly-the-more-your/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [it'll be this kind of deep blue”she said. “The kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/it-ll-be-this-kind-of-deep-blue-she-said-the-kind-of-color-that/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) [Browse all 2,987 Ears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We thus learn that man is descended from a hairy quadruped, furnished with a tail and pointed ears, probably arboreal in its habits, and an inhabitant of the Old World.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Darwin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/we-thus-learn-that-man-is-descended-from-a-hairy-quadruped-furnished/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ears" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/we-thus-learn-that-man-is-descended-from-a-hairy-quadruped-furnished/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/charles-darwin-507_ears_we-thus-learn-that-man-is-descended-from_1784688.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/charles-darwin-507_ears_we-thus-learn-that-man-is-descended-from_1784688.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/charles-darwin-507_ears_we-thus-learn-that-man-is-descended-from_1784688.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We thus learn that man is descended from a hairy quadruped, furnished with a tail and pointed ears, probably…” — 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": "We thus learn that man is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/we-thus-learn-that-man-is-descended-from-a-hairy-quadruped-furnished/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/we-thus-learn-that-man-is-descended-from-a-hairy-quadruped-furnished/#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 } } ] } ```