Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, 
the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, 
the production of the higher animals, directly follows. 
There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, 
having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; 
and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according 
to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning 
endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, 
and are being, evolved.

About the headline (FAQ)

The final paragraph of Charles Darwin's 1859 book, On the Origin of Species.

Text Authorship:

• by Charles Robert Darwin (1809 - 1882), appears in On the Origin of Species, first published 1859 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

[ None yet in the database ]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by Lucy Blomfield (b. 2001), "A Struggle for Life", first performed 2024 [ mixed chorus and organ ], Text for this work is taken from Hildegard von Bingen's c.1152 morality play, 'Ordo Virtutum' and the final paragraph of Charles Darwin's 1859 book, 'On the Origin of Species'. The translation of Ordo Virtutum used in this work is by Peter Dronke
  • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]
    

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-11-08
Line count: 9
Word count: 86