James Clerk Maxwell

"A successful scientific theory must not only describe known phenomena but must also predict new ones."

"The scientific imagination does not wait for facts to suggest their meaning; it provides the framework into which facts fit."

"What is the nature of the lines of force which we see revealed by the iron filings about a magnet?"

"The great achievement of nineteenth-century science has been to establish a connection between electricity and magnetism."

"Nature always works in the direction of least resistance."

"A mathematician may say anything he pleases, but a physicist must at least have some common sense."

"To those who understand mathematics, the universe is written in the language of mathematics."

"The foundation of theology is the belief that God exists and that He is perfect."

"The true scientific spirit is one of humble inquiry and careful observation."

"The measure of the universe is not its size, but the depth of its truth."

"All the most important scientific discoveries are fundamentally simple and at the same time of profound importance."

"The work of the laboratory is the soul of science."

"All analogies are imperfect, yet it is by means of analogies that we understand the world."

"The electric and magnetic forces are not independent of each other; they are aspects of one force."

"It has long been an article of faith among natural philosophers that everything was made for a purpose."

"I do not think I have ever come across a problem that did not have within it the elements of its own solution."

"The real work of science is the collecting and arranging of facts according to some rational principle."

"The fundamental idea of modern physics is that the phenomena of nature depend upon the motions and interactions of matter."

"Truth is the most important goal in any scientific endeavor."

"Every important discovery in physics has been preceded by a period of confusion and controversy."

"The work of the mind does not always flow smoothly; sometimes we must wait for the right inspiration."

"The greatest instrument of discovery is not the telescope, but the thinking mind."

"Science is the study of those judgments concerning which universal agreement may be expected."

"The existence of the electromagnetic field is among the most important scientific discoveries of all time."

"The careful and methodical investigation of nature is the true path to understanding."

"We must learn to distinguish between the shadow and the reality, the symbol and the thing symbolized."

"The human mind is so constituted that it cannot remain content with mere empirical knowledge."

"All the facts of science are expressed in the language of mathematics."

"The universe is not composed of discrete atoms acting at a distance; it is a continuum of fields."

"I have tried to put my theoretical results into a form which will allow of experimental verification."