“It is certain that the labors of these early workers in the field of natural knowledge were brought to a standstill by the decay and disruption of the Roman Empire, the consequent disorganisation of society, and the diversion of men's thoughts from sublunary matters to the problems of the supernatural world suggested by Christian dogma in the Middle Ages. And, notwithstanding sporadic attempts to recall men to the investigation of nature, here and there, it was not until the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that physical science made a new start, founding itself, at first, altogether upon that which had been done by the Greeks. Indeed, it must be admitted that the men of the Renaissance, though standing on the shoulders of the old philosophers, were a long time before they saw as much as their forerunners had done.”

“It is certain that the labors of these early workers in the field of natural knowledge were brought to a standstill by the decay and disruption of the Roman Empire, the consequent disorganisation of society, and the diversion of men's thoughts from sublunary matters to the problems of the supernatural world suggested by Christian dogma in the Middle Ages. And, notwithstanding sporadic attempts to recall men to the investigation of nature, here and there, it was not until the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that physical science made a new start, founding itself, at first, altogether upon that which had been done by the Greeks. Indeed, it must be admitted that the men of the Renaissance, though standing on the shoulders of the old philosophers, were a long time before they saw as much as their forerunners had done.”

“History warns us ... that it is the customary fate of new truths to begin as heresies and to end as superstitions.”

“The man of science has learned to believe in justification, not by faith, but by verification.”

“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not. It is the first lesson that ought to be learned and however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly.”

“The scientific spirit is of more value than its products, and irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors.”

“I am too much of a skeptic to deny the possibility of anything.”

“The most considerable difference I note among men is not in their readiness to fall into error but in their readiness to acknowledge these inevitable lapses.”

“The great end of life is not knowledge but action.”

“Act decidedly and take the consequences. No good is ever done by hesitation.”

“The most considerable difference I note among men is not in their readiness to fall into error but in their readiness to acknowledge these inevitable lapses.”

“Of moral purpose I see no trace in Nature. That is an article of exclusively human manufacture and very much to our credit.”