Sir Isaac Newton was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist, widely known for his contribution to the scientific revolution of the 17th century.

As a child, his mother pulled him out of school as she wanted Newton to become a farmer. As expected, such a bright kid was no fit to be a farmer, and was obviously terrible at it. As a consequence, he was sent back to school to finish his education.

Newton developed the laws of motion and the theory of gravity. He also made discoveries in optics – a theory of colors – stating that the white light is a composite of all colors of the spectrum. His masterpiece Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) brought him fame in the world of physics. After publishing the book, Newton was knighted and became Sir Isaac Newton.

A lot of his work remained unpublished long after his death, especially studies on alchemy and biblical chronology. However, we have enough access to his work nowadays and, of course, to his words of wisdom. So here are 17 Isaac Newton quotes to help you develop your inner curiosity.

isaac-newton-quotes

If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.

 

I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies but not the madness of people.

 

Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.

 

What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean.

 

Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who sets the planets in motion.

 

Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.

 

isaac-newton-quote-discoveryNo great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.

 

Genius is patience.

 

To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.

 

What goes up must come down.

 

A man may imagine things that are false, but he can only understand things that are true.

 

Live your life as an Exclamation rather than an Explanation

 

To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.

 

isaac-newton-quote-building-bridges-not-wallsWe build too many walls and not enough bridges.

 

The more time and devotion one spends in the worship of false gods, the less he is able to spend in that of the True One.

 

As a blind man has no idea of colors, so have we no idea of the manner by which the all-wise God perceives and understands all things.

 

If others would think as hard as I did, then they would get similar results.

 

Truth is the offspring of silence and meditation. I keep the subject constantly before me and wait ’til the first dawning opens slowly, by little and little, into a full and clear light.