--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That a country, [England], eminently…" description: "\"That a country, [England], eminently distinguished for its mechanical and manufacturing ingenuity, should be indifferent to the progress of inquiries w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/charles-babbage-8461_attention_that-a-country-england-eminently-disting_2538969.png" --- # That a country, \[England\], eminently distinguished for its… ![“That a country, [England], eminently distinguished for its mechanical and manufacturing ingenuity, should be indifferent to the progress of inquiries which form the highest departments of that knowledge on whose more elementary truths its wealth and rank depend, is a fact which is well deserving…” quote by Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/charles-babbage-8461_attention_that-a-country-england-eminently-disting_2538969.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/charles-babbage-8461_attention_that-a-country-england-eminently-disting_2538969.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/charles-babbage-8461_attention_that-a-country-england-eminently-disting_2538969.png) > “That a country, \[England\], eminently distinguished for its mechanical and manufacturing ingenuity, should be indifferent to the progress of inquiries which form the highest departments of that knowledge on whose more elementary truths its wealth and rank depend, is a fact which is well deserving the attention of those who shall inquire into the causes that influence the progress of nations.” [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Industrial nations must value scientific research because technological progress underpins economic power. **In simple terms:** Science drives national wealth and status. Key Takeaway Invest in research to sustain prosperity. Themes industrialization science policy economic development Mood concerned analytical Type policy historical educational When to use this quote - government funding for R&D - corporate R&D - educational curricula - public science communication Key Concepts innovation knowledge economy national competitiveness Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance short‑term profit with long‑term scientific investment? - What mechanisms ensure that basic research receives adequate support? A Different Perspective Neglecting basic research can stall long‑term growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Department](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/department/) [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Deserving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserving/) [Distinguished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinguished/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [England Eminently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england-eminently-1415858/) [Fact Deserving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-deserving-1415861/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest/) [Indifferent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifferent/) [Indifferent Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifferent-progress-1415860/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Ingenuity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ingenuity/) [Ingenuity Indifferent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ingenuity-indifferent-1415859/) [Inquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Manufacturing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manufacturing/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [Unless there exist peculiar institutions for the support of such inquirers, or unless the Government directly interfere, the contriver of a thaumatrope may derive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/unless-there-exist-peculiar-institutions-for-the-support-of-such/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > […it cannot be called ingenuity to kill one's fellow citizens, to betray friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without religion; by these means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/it-cannot-be-called-ingenuity-to-kill-one-s-fellow-citizens-to-betray/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [The peril of every fine faculty is the delight of playing with it for pride. 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However, if his achievement is not carried on by disciples of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-founder-of-any-branch-must-be-more-ingenious-than-the-common-man/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Ultimately, of course, you must decide for yourself whether the subjective psychological effects created by your evolved cognitive biases reflect an objective reality, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-bering/ultimately-of-course-you-must-decide-for-yourself-whether-the/) [Jesse Bering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-bering/) > [Human ingenuity has given centuries to the goal of ensuring that the human body might move around at an even 68 degrees all year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-morrow/human-ingenuity-has-given-centuries-to-the-goal-of-ensuring-that-the/) [Lance Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-morrow/) > [Perhaps a creature of so much ingenuity and deep memory is almost bound to grow alienated from his world, his fellows, and the objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/perhaps-a-creature-of-so-much-ingenuity-and-deep-memory-is-almost/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [It's still possible to savor the remarkable foods that millennia of human ingenuity have teased from milk. 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Our language itself contains no single term by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/science-in-england-is-not-a-profession-its-cultivators-are-scarcely/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [Of Cooking. This is an art of various forms, the object of which is to give ordinary observations the appearance and character of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/of-cooking-this-is-an-art-of-various-forms-the-object-of-which-is-to/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [The quantity of meaning compressed into small space by algebraic signs, is another circumstance that facilitates the reasonings we are accustomed to carry on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/the-quantity-of-meaning-compressed-into-small-space-by-algebraic/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [Some kinds of nails, such as those used for defending the soles of coarse shoes, called hobnails, require a particular form of the head,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/some-kinds-of-nails-such-as-those-used-for-defending-the-soles-of/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [That the state of knowledge in any country will exert a directive influence on the general system of instruction adopted in it, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/that-the-state-of-knowledge-in-any-country-will-exert-a-directive/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [It can happen to but few philosophers, and but at distant intervals, to snatch a science, like Dalton, from the chaos of indefinite combination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/it-can-happen-to-but-few-philosophers-and-but-at-distant-intervals-to/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [ \[In response to Alfred Tennyson's poem "Vision of Sin," which included the line "Every moment dies a man, every moment one is born."\] If… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/in-response-to-alfred-tennyson-s-poem-vision-of-sin-which-included/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [The difference between a tool and a machine is not capable of very precise distinction; nor is it necessary, in a popular explanation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/the-difference-between-a-tool-and-a-machine-is-not-capable-of-very/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [Unless there exist peculiar institutions for the support of such inquirers, or unless the Government directly interfere, the contriver of a thaumatrope may derive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/unless-there-exist-peculiar-institutions-for-the-support-of-such/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) [Explore all 80 Charles Babbage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. 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