George Sarton Quotes

1884–1956 Belgium

George Sarton (August 31, 1884 – March 22, 1956) is considered by some to be the "father" of the history of science, having established the history of science as a discipline in its own right.

Belgium
Academics
Chemists
Historians

Random George Sarton quote

33 quotes

There are two kinds of people in the world, whom we might dub the jobholders and the enthusiasts.

A History of Science Vol.1 Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece (1952)

History has often proved the shortsightedness of the practical men and vindicated the "lazy" dreamers; it has also proved that the dreamers are often mistaken.

A History of Science Vol.1 Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece (1952)

The history of science should be the leading thread in the history of civilization.

From the humanistic point of view every human achievement is unforgettable and immortal in its essence, even if it is replaced by a "better" one.

A History of Science Vol.1 Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece (1952)

I am obliged to deal with hundreds of men and to make them live without killing the reader.

A History of Science Vol.2 Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Three Centuries B.C (1959)

Erudition without pedantry is as a rare as wisdom itself.

A History of Science Vol.1 Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece (1952)

The whole iconography of ancient science is simply the fruit of wishful thinking.

A History of Science Vol.2 Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Three Centuries B.C (1959)

The whole past and the whole world are alive in my heart, and I shall do my part to communicate their presence to my readers.

A History of Science Vol.2 Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Three Centuries B.C (1959)

The scientific books written in Arabic during the Middle Ages were, for a few centuries, the main vehicle of the living science.

My gratitude to them [my first teachers] grows as I myself grow older.

A History of Science Vol.2 Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Three Centuries B.C (1959)

Some forty years of experience in my field as a scholar and as a teacher have given me great confidence mixed with greater humility.

A History of Science Vol.2 Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Three Centuries B.C (1959)

A deed happens in a definite place at a definite time, but if it be sufficiently great and pregnant, its virtue radiates everywhere in time and space.

A History of Science Vol.2 Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Three Centuries B.C (1959)

The general acceptance of simple ideas is difficult and rare, and yet it is only when simple, fundamental, ideas have been accepted that further progress becomes possible on a higher level.

A History of Science Vol.1 Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece (1952)

Arabic science was the fruit of Semitic genius fertilized by the Iranian genius.

Scientific achievements seem evanescent, because the very progress of science causes their supersedure; yet some of them are of so fundamental a nature that they are immortal in a deeper way.

A History of Science Vol.1 Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece (1952)

Men of science have made abundant mistakes of every kind; their knowledge has improved only because of their gradual abandonment of ancient errors, poor approximations, and premature conclusions.

A History of Science Vol.2 Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Three Centuries B.C (1959)

The historical order is very interesting, but accidental and capricious; if we would to understand the growth of knowledge, we cannot be satisfied with accidents, we must explain how knowledge was gradually built up.

A History of Science Vol.1 Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece (1952)

Greek culture is pleasant to contemplate because of its great simplicity and naturalness, and because of the absence of gadgets, each of which is sooner or later a cause of servitude.

A History of Science Vol.1 Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece (1952)

It is childish to assume that science began in Greece; the Greek "miracle" was prepared by millenia of work in Egypt, Mesopotamia and possibly in other regions. Greek science was less an invention than a revival.

A History of Science Vol.1 Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece (1952)

The intensity of a national culture should be represented by... the general education level and... the exceptional merit of a small elite of pioneers.

A History of Science Vol.2 Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Three Centuries B.C (1959)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: George Sarton (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.