People love quoting Darwin out of context. Quote-mining, it's called. Creationists are particularly prone to the practice—the one about the eye is one of their favourites— but Darwin groupies are not above cherry-picking their hero's words from time to time, to prove some point or other.
So why shouldn't I?
As a proud Brit, I am of the opinion—don't try to gainsay me—that I live on the most beautiful island on this most wonderful of planets. The British countryside is second to none. Which is why I love walking in it so much. And, every time I repeat the same old walk, I delight in spotting something new to catch my interest.
So imagine my delight when I came across this lovely quote from the great man himself:
In England any person fond of natural history enjoys in his walks a great advantage, by always having something to attract his attention;
Correct as ever, Mr D.
I might be doing a talk about Darwin and quote-mining at Science Online 2011, so I'll keep your post in mind...