--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is needless to say how great has been…" description: "\"It is needless to say how great has been the influence of the doctrine of Evolution, or rather perhaps of the method of investigation to which it has g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/goldwin-smith-17422_been_it-is-needless-to-say-how-great-has-been_631429.jpg" --- # It is needless to say how great has been the influence of… ![“It is needless to say how great has been the influence of the doctrine of Evolution, or rather perhaps of the method of investigation to which it has given birth, upon the study of history, especially the history of institutions.” quote by Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/goldwin-smith-17422_been_it-is-needless-to-say-how-great-has-been_631429.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/goldwin-smith-17422_been_it-is-needless-to-say-how-great-has-been_631429.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/goldwin-smith-17422_been_it-is-needless-to-say-how-great-has-been_631429.jpg) > “It is needless to say how great has been the influence of the doctrine of Evolution, or rather perhaps of the method of investigation to which it has given birth, upon the study of history, especially the history of institutions.” [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that evolutionary thinking reshapes historical analysis of institutions. **In simple terms:** Evolutionary ideas change how we view history. Key Takeaway Apply scientific methods to historical inquiry. Themes history science methodology Mood analytical critical Type academic philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - policy analysis - education reform Key Concepts evolution institutional analysis philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does evolution inform institutional change? - What limits exist in applying biological concepts to history? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Needless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needless/) [Study Of History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study-of-history/) ## Related quotes > [I like to read about subjects unrelated to my work, especially history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-tonioli/i-like-to-read-about-subjects-unrelated-to-my-work-especially-history/) [Bruno Tonioli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-tonioli/) > [Schools don't teach American history that well, especially a lot of black American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/schools-don-t-teach-american-history-that-well-especially-a-lot-of/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid ... research and discussions ... with regard to the doctrine of evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xii/teaching-authority-of-the-church-does-not-forbid-research-and/) [Pope Pius XII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xii/) > [“The doctrine of evolution thus takes the place of the old religion in the modern man.320It is no science; it does not rest on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/the-doctrine-of-evolution-thus-takes-the-place-of-the-old-religion-in/) [Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/) > [As someone who has long loved history and reads a lot of history, especially when you get a distance like 130 years, these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candice-millard/as-someone-who-has-long-loved-history-and-reads-a-lot-of-history/) [Candice Millard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candice-millard/) > [“The belief in a happy "state of nature" in the remote past is derived partly from the biblical narrative of the age of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-belief-in-a-happy-state-of-nature-in-the-remote-past-is-derived/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I'm obsessed with history, especially WWII and the Jews in Europe during the Holocaust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-heckerling/i-m-obsessed-with-history-especially-wwii-and-the-jews-in-europe/) [Amy Heckerling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-heckerling/) > [“Wherever sufficiently numerous series of the remains of any given group, which has endured for a long space of time, are carefully examined, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/wherever-sufficiently-numerous-series-of-the-remains-of-any-given/) [Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/) > [The doctrine of evolution implies the passage from the most organised to the least organised, or, in other terms, from the most general to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hughlings-jackson/the-doctrine-of-evolution-implies-the-passage-from-the-most-organised/) John Hughlings Jackson > [The Doctrine of Evolution states the fact that the present is the child of the past and the parent of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-arthur-thomson/the-doctrine-of-evolution-states-the-fact-that-the-present-is-the/) [J. Arthur Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-arthur-thomson/) > [For my part, I consider that it will be found much better by all parties to leave the past to history, especially as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/for-my-part-i-consider-that-it-will-be-found-much-better-by-all/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“To understand Darwin's work, you have to distinguish between his theory of descent and his theory of natural selection. THe full name of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/to-understand-darwin-s-work-you-have-to-distinguish-between-his/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [All that is noble in the world's past history, and especially the minds of the great and the good, are never lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-martineau/all-that-is-noble-in-the-world-s-past-history-and-especially-the/) [James Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-martineau/) > [In the end, history, especially British history with its succession of thrilling illuminations, should be, as all her most accomplished narrators have promised, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/in-the-end-history-especially-british-history-with-its-succession-of/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [All that is noble in the world's past history, and especially the minds of the great and good, are, in like manner, never lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-martineau/all-that-is-noble-in-the-world-s-past-history-and-especially-the-2/) [James Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-martineau/) ## More by Goldwin Smith > [As to London we must console ourselves with the thought that if life outside is less poetic than it was in the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/as-to-london-we-must-console-ourselves-with-the-thought-that-if-life/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [The novelist must look on humanity without partiality or prejudice. His sympathy, like that of the historian, must be unbounded, and untainted by sect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-novelist-must-look-on-humanity-without-partiality-or-prejudice/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [The Romans, we are told, were by nature a peculiarly warlike race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-romans-we-are-told-were-by-nature-a-peculiarly-warlike-race/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Canada is said to have got its name from the two Spanish words aca and nada, signifying 'there is nothing here.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/canada-is-said-to-have-got-its-name-from-the-two-spanish-words-aca/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [We must also be permitted to bear in mind that evolution, though it may explain everything else, cannot explain itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/we-must-also-be-permitted-to-bear-in-mind-that-evolution-though-it/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Who can doubt that between the English and the French, between the Scotch and the Irish, there are differences of character which have profoundly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/who-can-doubt-that-between-the-english-and-the-french-between-the/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Never had there been such an attempt to make conquest the servant of civilization. About keeping India there is no question. England has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/never-had-there-been-such-an-attempt-to-make-conquest-the-servant-of/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Rich by nature, poor by policy' might be written over Canada's door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/rich-by-nature-poor-by-policy-might-be-written-over-canada-s-door/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Above all nations is humanity,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/above-all-nations-is-humanity/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Art is expression, and to have high expression you must have something high to express.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/art-is-expression-and-to-have-high-expression-you-must-have-something/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [In my youth,geology was nervously striving to accommodate itself to Genesis. Now it is Genesis that is striving to accommodate itself to geology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/in-my-youth-geology-was-nervously-striving-to-accommodate-itself-to/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [The natural barriers between England and Scotland were not sufficient to prevent the extension of the Saxon settlements and kingdoms across the border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-natural-barriers-between-england-and-scotland-were-not-sufficient/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Dante himself is open to the suspicion of partiality: it is said, not without apparent ground, that he puts into hell all the enemies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/dante-himself-is-open-to-the-suspicion-of-partiality-it-is-said-not/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [The father of confederation is deadlock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-father-of-confederation-is-deadlock/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Rome was great in arms, in government, in law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/rome-was-great-in-arms-in-government-in-law/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) [Explore all 37 Goldwin Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) ## More Been quotes > [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [I once told someone I could act. 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