---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Modern masters of science are much…"
description: "\"Modern masters of science are much impressed with the need of beginning all inquiry with a fact. The ancient masters of religion were quite equally imp..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_ancient_modern-masters-of-science-are-much-impre_1625834.jpg"
---

#  Modern masters of science are much impressed with the need…

![“Modern masters of science are much impressed with the need of beginning all inquiry with a fact. The ancient masters of religion were quite equally impressed with that necessity. They began with the fact of sin-a fact as practical as potatoes. Whether or not man could be washed in miraculous…” quote by Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_ancient_modern-masters-of-science-are-much-impre_1625834.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_ancient_modern-masters-of-science-are-much-impre_1625834.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_ancient_modern-masters-of-science-are-much-impre_1625834.jpg)

> “Modern masters of science are much impressed with the need of beginning all inquiry with a fact. The ancient masters of religion were quite equally impressed with that necessity. They began with the fact of sin-a fact as practical as potatoes. Whether or not man could be washed in miraculous waters, there was no doubt at any rate that he wanted washing.”

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Science and religion both start from a basic fact—science from observation, religion from sin—shaping their quests.

**In simple terms:** Both fields begin with a core fact.

Key Takeaway

Identify your foundational assumptions.

Themes

philosophy religion science human nature

Mood

contemplative analytical

Type

philosophical critical

When to use this quote

- academic research
- theological study
- ethical decision‑making

Key Concepts

epistemology metaphysics moral psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What core fact drives your worldview?
- Can multiple facts coexist?

A Different Perspective

Relying on a single fact can oversimplify complexity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Inquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Miraculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miraculous/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/)

## Related quotes

> [“But in an age of intelligence, when the keys of science have unlocked the sacred shrines and hallowed vaults of sacerdotal mysteries, and modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kersey-graves/but-in-an-age-of-intelligence-when-the-keys-of-science-have-unlocked/)

Kersey Graves

> [When the ancient Masters said, "If you want to be given everything, give everything up," they weren't using empty phrases. Only in being lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-the-ancient-masters-said-if-you-want-to-be-given-everything-give/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [Ancient masters of excellence had a subtle essence, and a depth too profound to comprehend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/ancient-masters-of-excellence-had-a-subtle-essence-and-a-depth-too/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [“Do not follow the ancient masters, seek what they sought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/do-not-follow-the-ancient-masters-seek-what-they-sought/)

[Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/)

> [It was not the volume of sin that sent Christ to the cross; it was the fact of sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/it-was-not-the-volume-of-sin-that-sent-christ-to-the-cross-it-was-the/)

[Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/)

> [It should console us for the fact that sin has not totally disappeared from the world, that the saints are not wholly deprived of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gilmore-simms/it-should-console-us-for-the-fact-that-sin-has-not-totally/)

[William Gilmore Simms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gilmore-simms/)

> [“In fact, the only sin which we never forgive in each other is difference of opinion.” Ralph Waldo Emerson”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-m-grant/in-fact-the-only-sin-which-we-never-forgive-in-each-other-is/)

[Adam M. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-m-grant/)

> [The fact is that sin is the most unmanly thing in God's world. You never were made for sin and selfishness. You were made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/the-fact-is-that-sin-is-the-most-unmanly-thing-in-god-s-world-you/)

[J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/)

> [In a way it was like washing your laundry in public and, yep, there you go, you've seen my underwear. And now I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jude-law/in-a-way-it-was-like-washing-your-laundry-in-public-and-yep-there-you/)

[Jude Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jude-law/)

> [“Washing your hands of something requires soap.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough-2/washing-your-hands-of-something-requires-soap/)

Craig D Lounsbrough

> [Being unique is what's cool. Normal? What's normal? A setting on a washing machine. No one wants to be that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-purdy/being-unique-is-what-s-cool-normal-what-s-normal-a-setting-on-a/)

[Ashley Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-purdy/)

> [If you're at the sink washing the cup, wash the cup. Don't worry about everything else. ... We forget to appreciate the simplest moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/if-you-re-at-the-sink-washing-the-cup-wash-the-cup-don-t-worry-about/)

[Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/)

> [You don't merely give over your creativity to making a film - you give over your life! In theatre, by contrast, you live these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-day-lewis/you-don-t-merely-give-over-your-creativity-to-making-a-film-you-give/)

[Daniel Day-Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-day-lewis/)

> [“I wash with the can of water I set aside the night before, and eat whatever I put next to it. The washing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-marshall-smith/i-wash-with-the-can-of-water-i-set-aside-the-night-before-and-eat/)

[Michael Marshall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-marshall-smith/)

> [“Which people take the time to care for their souls, these days? I reckon not many. But...hear this: I think that maybe in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fletcher/which-people-take-the-time-to-care-for-their-souls-these-days-i/)

[Susan Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-fletcher/)

## More by Gilbert K. Chesterton

> [The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-aim-of-good-prose-words-is-to-mean-what-they-say-the-aim-of-good/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [Youth is always too serious, and just now it is too serious about frivolity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/youth-is-always-too-serious-and-just-now-it-is-too-serious-about/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [Tradition does not mean a dead town; it does not mean that the living are dead but that the dead are alive. It means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/tradition-does-not-mean-a-dead-town-it-does-not-mean-that-the-living/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [It is shorter to state the things forbidden than the things permitted; precisely because most things are permitted and only a few things forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/it-is-shorter-to-state-the-things-forbidden-than-the-things-permitted/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [Everyone seems to assume that the unscrupulous parts of journalism will be the frivolous or jocular parts. This is against all ethical experience. Jokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/everyone-seems-to-assume-that-the-unscrupulous-parts-of-journalism/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [For Scotland has a double dose of the poison called heredity; the sense of blood in the aristocrat, the sense of doom in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/for-scotland-has-a-double-dose-of-the-poison-called-heredity-the/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [Faith is always at a disadvantage; it is a perpetually defeated thing which survives all conquerors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/faith-is-always-at-a-disadvantage-it-is-a-perpetually-defeated-thing/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [A building is akin to dogma; it is insolent, like dogma. Whether or no it is permanent, it claims permanence, like a dogma. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-building-is-akin-to-dogma-it-is-insolent-like-dogma-whether-or-no/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [The triangle of truisms, of father, mother and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-triangle-of-truisms-of-father-mother-and-child-cannot-be/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [Criticism is only words about words, and of what use are words about such words as these?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/criticism-is-only-words-about-words-and-of-what-use-are-words-about/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place...The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping; not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/what-we-suffer-from-today-is-humility-in-the-wrong-place-the-old/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [Plato was only a Bernard Shaw who unfortunately made his jokes in Greek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/plato-was-only-a-bernard-shaw-who-unfortunately-made-his-jokes-in/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [The word good has many meanings...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-word-good-has-many-meanings/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [Music with dinner is an insult both to the cook and the violinist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/music-with-dinner-is-an-insult-both-to-the-cook-and-the-violinist/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [Eugenics asserts that all men must be so stupid that they cannot manage their own affairs; and also so clever that they can manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/eugenics-asserts-that-all-men-must-be-so-stupid-that-they-cannot/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

[Explore all 868 Gilbert K. Chesterton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

## More Ancient quotes

> [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/)

[Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/)

> [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/)

[Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/)

> [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/)

[Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/)

> [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/)

[Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/)

> [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/)

[Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/)

> [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/)

[Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/)

> [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/)

[Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/)

> [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

> [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/so-what-if-i-m-ninety-three-so-what-if-i-m-ancient-and-cranky-and-my/)

[Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/)

> [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/)

[Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/)

[Browse all 2,415 Ancient quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Modern masters of science are much impressed with the need of beginning all inquiry with a fact. The ancient masters of religion were quite equally impressed with that necessity. They began with the fact of sin-a fact as practical as potatoes. Whether or not man could be washed in miraculous waters, there was no doubt at any rate that he wanted washing.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Gilbert K. Chesterton"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/modern-masters-of-science-are-much-impressed-with-the-need-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ancient"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/modern-masters-of-science-are-much-impressed-with-the-need-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_ancient_modern-masters-of-science-are-much-impre_1625834.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_ancient_modern-masters-of-science-are-much-impre_1625834.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_ancient_modern-masters-of-science-are-much-impre_1625834.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Modern masters of science are much impressed with the need of beginning all inquiry with a fact. The ancient…” — Gilbert K. Chesterton",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Gilbert K. Chesterton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Modern masters of science are much...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/modern-masters-of-science-are-much-impressed-with-the-need-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/modern-masters-of-science-are-much-impressed-with-the-need-of/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
