“In this case, therefore, the worms judged with a considerable degree of correctness how best to draw the withered leaves of this foreign plant into their burrows; notwithstanding that they had to depart from their usual habit of avoiding the foot-stalk.”
Source: The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms (1881), Chapter 2: Habits of Worms, p. 70. http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=85&itemID=F1357&viewtype=image
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Charles Darwin 161
British naturalist, author of "On the origin of species, by… 1809–1882Related quotes

“Maidens withering on the stalk.”
Personal Talk, Stanza 1.
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

"On the Physiological Causes of Harmony" (1857), p. 81
Popular Lectures on Scientific Subjects (1881)
Context: As you are aware, no perceptions obtained by the senses are merely sensations impressed on our nervous systems. A peculiar intellectual activity is required to pass from a nervous sensation to the conception of an external object, which the sensation has aroused. The sensations of our nerves of sense are mere symbols indicating certain external objects, and it is usually only after considerable practice that we acquire the power of drawing correct conclusions from our sensations respecting the corresponding objects.

Sussex Peerage Case (1844), 11 Cl. & F. 115.

“Bradbury Fisher shuddered from head to foot, and his legs wobbled like asparagus stalks.”
The Heart of a Goof (1926)

“If you don't want to explode with rage, leave your memory alone, abstain from burrowing there.”
Anathemas and Admirations (1987)

Source: L’exposé des principes généraux d’administration, 1908, p. 911