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The quantity of action is the product of the mass of the bodies times their speed and the distance they travel. When a body is transported from one place to another, the action is proportional to the mass of the body, to its speed and to the distance over which it is transported.

— Pierre Louis Maupertuis Les Loix du Mouvement et du Repos, déduites d'un Principe Métaphysique (1746)

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More quotes by Pierre Louis Maupertuis

Nature always uses the simplest means to accomplish its effects.

When a change occurs in Nature, the quantity of action necessary for that change is as small as possible.

Les Loix du Mouvement et du Repos, déduites d'un Principe Métaphysique (1746)

Despite the disorder observed in Nature, one finds enough traces of the wisdom and power of its Author that one cannot fail to recognize Him.

Les Loix du Mouvement et du Repos, déduites d'un Principe Métaphysique (1746)

Everything is so arranged that the blind logic of mathematics executes the will of the most enlightened and free Mind.

Les Loix du Mouvement et du Repos, déduites d'un Principe Métaphysique (1746)

The elements that make up all other bodies, these must be bodies that are perfectly inelastic, undeformable and unchangeable.

Les Loix du Mouvement et du Repos, déduites d'un Principe Métaphysique (1746)

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