"Woe unto ye beetles of South America"

I am reading Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea, by Carl Zimmer. It is a textbook-quality primer on where the knowledge of evolution currently stands, past, present, and pending discoveries included.

I was just reading about Charles Darwin’s preparations for the trip on the HMS Beagle, a story I’ve read many times. Apparently, Darwin was fascinated by beetles during his theological studies at Cambridge. Upon discovering that he would indeed be traveling around the world as a naturalist, he exposed his truly nerdy self by declaring, “Woe unto ye beetles of South America.”

What idealism and unabashed dedication to an obscure subject in the face of the adventure of a lifetime! I like to think that he said this without the obligatory quasi-sarcastic tone that contemporary idealists and nerds must employ to avoid seeming too eager or sincere. I like the idea of quoting Darwin when I am feeling particularly idealistic or nerdy or grandiose, but then, of course, I would be using that quasi-sarcastic tone…