George Sarton

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

— George Sarton

Men of science have made abundant mistakes of every kind; their knowledge has improved only because of their gradual abandonment of ancient…

— George Sarton

The history of science should not be an instrument to defend any kind of social or philosophic theory; it should be used…

— George Sarton

Greek culture is pleasant to contemplate because of its great simplicity and naturalness, and because of the absence of gadgets, each of…

— George Sarton

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

— George Sarton

It would be foolish to give credit to Euclid for pangeometrical conceptions; the idea of geometry deifferent from the common-sense one never…

— George Sarton

The historical order is very interesting, but accidental and capricious; if we would to understand the growth of knowledge, we cannot be…

— George Sarton

The rationalism of the creative minds was tempered by abundant fantasies, and the supreme beauty of the monuments was probably spoiled by…

— George Sarton

If we are generous enough, we can stretch our souls everywhere and everywhen else. If we succeed in doing so, we shall…

— George Sarton

The main, as well as the least obvious, achievement of the Middle Ages was the creation of the experimental spirit and this…

— George Sarton

On the basis of my historical experience, I fully believe that mathematics of the 25th century will be as different from that…

— George Sarton

It is childish to assume that science began in Greece; the Greek "miracle" was prepared by millenia of work in Egypt, Mesopotamia…

— George Sarton

In ancient times there was no public education, except that of the forum, the theater, and the street, and the general degree…

— George Sarton

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

— George Sarton

Wisdom is not mathematical, nor astronomical, nor zoological; when it talks too much of any one thing it ceases to be itself.…

— George Sarton

We have reason to believe that when, during the crusades, Europe at last began to establish hospitals, they were inspired by the…

— George Sarton

There are but few saints amongst scientists, as among other men, but truth itself is a goal comparable with sanctity.

— George Sarton

Hellenic science is a victory of rationalism, which appears greater, not smaller, when one is made to realize that it had been…

— George Sarton

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

— George Sarton

Erudition without pedantry is as a rare as wisdom itself.

— George Sarton

science is the most revolutionary force in the world.

— George Sarton

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

— George Sarton

Scientific achievements seem evanescent, because the very progress of science causes their supersedure; yet some of them are of so fundamental a…

— George Sarton

The Hellenistic world was international to a degree, polyglot and inspired by many religious faiths. ...the Greek ideals were pagan and the…

— George Sarton

The chief requisite for the making of a good chicken pie is chicken; no amount of culinary legerdemain can make up for…

— George Sarton