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Science, my lad, has been built upon many errors; but they are errors which it was good to fall into, for they led to the truth.

— Jules Verne Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864)

La science, mon garçon, est faite d’erreurs, mais d’erreurs qu’il est bon de commettre, car elles mènent peu à peu à la vérité.

Original text (French)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Ch. XXXI: Preparations for a voyage of discovery

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Science

More quotes by Jules Verne

While his heart still beats, while his flesh still moves, I cannot accept that a being endowed with will-power can give in to despair.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864)

What good would it be to discuss such a proposition, when force could destroy the best arguments?

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870)

An energetic man will succeed where an indolent one would vegetate and inevitably perish.

The Mysterious Island (1874)

Civilization never recedes; the law of necessity ever forces it onwards.

The Mysterious Island (1874)

Poets are like proverbs: you can always find one to contradict another.

The Survivors of the Chancellor (1875)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Jules Verne (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.