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Quotes from A History of Science Vol.2 Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Three Centuries B.C — George Sarton

1884–1956 Belgium

← All quotes by George Sarton

12 quotes

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)

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)

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)

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 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)

If we are generous enough, we can stretch our souls everywhere and everywhen else. If we succeed in doing so, we shall discover that our present embraces the past and the future and that the whole world is our province.

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

All men are our brothers. As far as the discovery of the truth is concerned, they are all working for the same purpose; they may be separated by the accidents of space and time, and by the exigencies of race, religion, nationality, and other groupings; from the point of view of eternity they are working together.

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

The Hellenistic world was international to a degree, polyglot and inspired by many religious faiths. ...the Greek ideals were pagan and the Hellenistic age witnessed their death struggle against Asiatic and Egyptian mysteries, on the one side, and against Judaism, on the other.

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

Superstitions... are nothing but persistent errors, foolish beliefs, and irrational fears. Superstitions are infinite in number and scope... It would not do to ignore them altogether, only if we should never forget the weakness and fragility of our minds.

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.