Gardening Quote by H.G. Wells
““After all, the sanitation and the agriculture of today are still in the rudimentary stage. The science of our time has attacked but a little department of the field of human disease, but even so, it spreads its operations very steadily and persistently. Our agriculture and horticulture destroy a weed just here and there and cultivate perhaps a score or so of wholesome plants, leaving the greater number to fight out a balance as they can. We improve our favourite plants and animals--and how few they are--gradually by selective breeding; now a new and better peach, now a seedless grape, now a sweeter and larger flower, now a more convenient breed of cattle. We improve them gradually, because our ideals are vague and tentative, and our knowledge is very limited; because Nature, too, is shy and slow in our clumsy hands. Some day all this will be better organized, and still better. That is the drift of the current in spite of the eddies.””
About This Quote
Source Speech: The Future of Science, H.G. Wells, 1930
Human progress in sanitation and agriculture is slow, incremental, and limited by current knowledge and natural constraints.
In simple terms: Progress is slow and limited by knowledge and nature.
Key Takeaway
Accept gradual improvement and keep learning.
Themes
science
agriculture
human progress
limitations
Mood
reflective
optimistic
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- public health policy
- farming practices
- plant breeding
- animal husbandry
Key Concepts
incremental improvement
selective breeding
knowledge gaps
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we accelerate scientific progress responsibly?
- What role does public policy play in improving sanitation?
A Different Perspective
Our ideals are vague and tentative, limiting breakthroughs.
![“The thing [Henry James'] novel is about is always there. It is like a church lit but without a congregation to distract you, with every light and line focused on the high altar. And on the altar, very reverently placed, intensely there, is a dead kitten, an egg-shell, a bit of string.” quote by H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/19f/h-g-wells-2-1299_books_the-thing-henry-james-novel-is-about-is_138893.jpg)
