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Charles Darwin@charles-darwin Β· 24 November 1859
I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term Natural Selection. It is not a force with foresight. It does not choose as a breeder chooses. It merely preserves what helps a living thing endure long enough to leave offspring, and lets the rest pass away without record.
β On the Origin of Species, Chapter III (1859)
19th Century