Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws.
Charles DarwinRead
But I own that I cannot see as plainly as others do, and I should wish to do, evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created that a cat should play with mice.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Darwin expresses skepticism about the existence of a benevolent God in light of the suffering observed in the world.
In this quote, Charles Darwin reflects on the conflict between the suffering observed in nature and the concept of a benevolent, omnipotent deity. He questions how such a deity could allow for cruelty and misery, particularly in natural behaviors like a cat playing with mice. This contemplation showcases a profound struggle with theodicy, as Darwin grapples with understanding the relationship between divine intention and the stark realities of life.
Themes
DesignSufferingGodNatureMisery
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about faith and science, one might use this quote to illustrate doubts about divine benevolence.
More from Charles Darwin
All quotes →The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.
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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 flaw[s] & holes as sound parts.
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We cannot fathom the marvelous complexity of an organic being; but on the hypothesis here advanced this complexity is much increased. Each living creature must be looked at as a microcosm--a little universe, formed of a host of self-propagating organisms, inconceivably minute and as numerous as the stars in heaven.
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I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection.
Charles DarwinRead
we are always slow in admitting any great change of which we do not see the intermediate steps
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