--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have been battering away at Saturn…" description: "\"I have been battering away at Saturn, returning to the charge every now and then. I have effected several breaches in the solid ring, and now I am spla..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/james-clerk-maxwell-10636_air_i-have-been-battering-away-at-saturn-ret_2029691.jpg" --- # I have been battering away at Saturn, returning to the… ![“I have been battering away at Saturn, returning to the charge every now and then. I have effected several breaches in the solid ring, and now I am splash into the fluid one, amid a clash of symbols truly astounding. When I reappear it will be in the dusky ring, which is something like the state of…” quote by James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/james-clerk-maxwell-10636_air_i-have-been-battering-away-at-saturn-ret_2029691.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/james-clerk-maxwell-10636_air_i-have-been-battering-away-at-saturn-ret_2029691.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/james-clerk-maxwell-10636_air_i-have-been-battering-away-at-saturn-ret_2029691.jpg) > “I have been battering away at Saturn, returning to the charge every now and then. I have effected several breaches in the solid ring, and now I am splash into the fluid one, amid a clash of symbols truly astounding. When I reappear it will be in the dusky ring, which is something like the state of the air supposing the siege of Sebastopol conducted from a forest of guns 100 miles one way, and 30,000 miles the other, and the shot never to stop, but go spinning away round a circle, radius 170,000 miles.” [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer describes an ongoing, iterative effort to understand Saturn, likening progress to breaking through rings and navigating complex, endless cycles. **In simple terms:** Scientific research is a repetitive, breakthrough‑driven process. Key Takeaway Persist through repeated attempts and celebrate each breakthrough. Themes science exploration perseverance curiosity astronomy Mood inquisitive determined Type inspirational scientific When to use this quote - space missions - research labs - academic study - engineering projects Key Concepts hypothesis testing iterative discovery systems thinking Questions to Reflect On - What does the “ring” symbolize in your own work? - How can setbacks become stepping stones? A Different Perspective Progress may be hindered by limited data and unpredictable variables. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air/) [Away Saturn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away-saturn-3720380/) [Battering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battering/) [Breach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breach/) [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clash/) [Fluid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fluid/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miles/) [Now and then](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now-and-then/) [One way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-way/) [Radius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radius/) [Ring Splash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ring-splash-3720382/) [Rings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rings/) [Rounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rounds/) [Saturn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saturn/) [Saturn Returning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saturn-returning-3720379/) [Shots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shots/) [Siege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siege/) [Siege Sebastopol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siege-sebastopol-3720381/) [Spinning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spinning/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Supposing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supposing/) [Symbols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbols/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [ There's a rhythm to script \[ in "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore"\], as well, especially the pacing of it. But… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-lynskey/there-s-a-rhythm-to-script-in-i-don-t-feel-at-home-in-this-world/) [Melanie Lynskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-lynskey/) > [Here we find the moat of thieves. And just as a lizard, with a quick, slick slither, Flicks across the highway from hedge to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/here-we-find-the-moat-of-thieves-and-just-as-a-lizard-with-a-quick/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [This benefit of seeing...can come only if you pause a while, extricate yourself from the maddening mob of quick impressions ceaselessly battering our lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/this-benefit-of-seeing-can-come-only-if-you-pause-a-while-extricate/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [It is now quite obvious that the humanists are using public education as the battering ram with which to destroy Christianity in the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-blumenfeld/it-is-now-quite-obvious-that-the-humanists-are-using-public-education/) [Samuel Blumenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-blumenfeld/) > [“Some women chose to embody this new form of physical empowerment & transformed their words into actions. Exhibition boxer Minnie Rosenblatt Besser had spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-l-rouse/some-women-chose-to-embody-this-new-form-of-physical-empowerment/) [Wendy L. Rouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-l-rouse/) > [No system in history capitalism has been more relentless in battering down ancient and fragile cultures, devouring the resources of whole regions, pulverizing centuries-old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/no-system-in-history-capitalism-has-been-more-relentless-in-battering/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) > [A battering ram can knock down a city wall, but it cannot stop a hole. Different things have different uses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/a-battering-ram-can-knock-down-a-city-wall-but-it-cannot-stop-a-hole/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [“We are the square pegs that do not neatly fit into the round holes of life without taking a battering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-berry/we-are-the-square-pegs-that-do-not-neatly-fit-into-the-round-holes-of/) [Kevin Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-berry/) > [You had to form for yourself a lucid language for the world, to overcome the battering of experience, to replace everyday life's pain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/you-had-to-form-for-yourself-a-lucid-language-for-the-world-to/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [You don't really get fly-halves battering each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-farrell/you-don-t-really-get-fly-halves-battering-each-other/) [Owen Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-farrell/) > [The guarantee of safety in a battering relationship can never be based upon a promise from the perpetrator, no matter how heartfelt. Rather, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/the-guarantee-of-safety-in-a-battering-relationship-can-never-be/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [I will make a battering-ram of my head and make my way through this rough and tumble world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/i-will-make-a-battering-ram-of-my-head-and-make-my-way-through-this/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Battering down solar cells on the roofs of Wal-Marts in California. I think that will be some of the highest-return investments that anyone ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-grantham/battering-down-solar-cells-on-the-roofs-of-wal-marts-in-california-i/) [Jeremy Grantham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-grantham/) > [The body image took a real battering. I had really not taken on board how I would feel dressed in a flimsy dress in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-bellingham/the-body-image-took-a-real-battering-i-had-really-not-taken-on-board/) [Lynda Bellingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-bellingham/) > [Battering the gates of heaven with the storms of prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/battering-the-gates-of-heaven-with-the-storms-of-prayer/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) ## More by James Clerk Maxwell > [This characteristic of modern experimentsthat they consist principally of measurements, is so prominent, that the opinion seems to have got abroad, that in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/this-characteristic-of-modern-experimentsthat-they-consist/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [That small word "Force," they make a barber's block, Ready to put on Meanings most strange and various, fit to shock Pupils of Newton……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/that-small-word-force-they-make-a-barber-s-block-ready-to-put-on/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [But I should be very sorry if an interpretation founded on a most conjectural scientific hypothesis were to get fastened to the text in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/but-i-should-be-very-sorry-if-an-interpretation-founded-on-a-most/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [It is a universal condition of the enjoyable that the mind must believe in the existence of a law, and yet have a mystery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/it-is-a-universal-condition-of-the-enjoyable-that-the-mind-must/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [In Science, it is when we take some interest in the great discoverers and their lives that it becomes endurable, and only when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/in-science-it-is-when-we-take-some-interest-in-the-great-discoverers/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [Colour as perceived by us is a function of three independent variables at least three are I think sufficient, but time will show if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/colour-as-perceived-by-us-is-a-function-of-three-independent/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [The true Logic for this world is the Calculus of Probabilities, which takes account of the magnitude of the probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/the-true-logic-for-this-world-is-the-calculus-of-probabilities-which/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [One of the chief peculiarities of this treatise is the doctrine that the true electric current, on which the electromagnetic phenomena depend, is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/one-of-the-chief-peculiarities-of-this-treatise-is-the-doctrine-that/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [The dimmed outlines of phenomenal things all merge into one another unless we put on the focusing-glass of theory, and screw it up sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/the-dimmed-outlines-of-phenomenal-things-all-merge-into-one-another/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [All the mathematical sciences are founded on relations between physical laws and laws of numbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/all-the-mathematical-sciences-are-founded-on-relations-between/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [Thoroughly conscious ignorance is the prelude to every real advance in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/thoroughly-conscious-ignorance-is-the-prelude-to-every-real-advance/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [The student who uses home made apparatus, which is always going wrong, often learns more than one who has the use of carefully adjusted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/the-student-who-uses-home-made-apparatus-which-is-always-going-wrong/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [My soul is an entangled knot, Upon a liquid vortex wrought By Intellect in the Unseen residing, And thine doth like a convict sit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/my-soul-is-an-entangled-knot-upon-a-liquid-vortex-wrought-by/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [The mathematical difficulties of the theory of rotation arise chiefly from the want of geometrical illustrations and sensible images, by which we might fix…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/the-mathematical-difficulties-of-the-theory-of-rotation-arise-chiefly/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [Mathematicians may flatter themselves that they possess new ideas which mere human language is as yet unable to express. Let them make the effort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/mathematicians-may-flatter-themselves-that-they-possess-new-ideas/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) [Explore all 64 James Clerk Maxwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [There was a little nook on Air Force Two that contained the vice presidential seal, and I would sort of wedge myself in there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/there-was-a-little-nook-on-air-force-two-that-contained-the-vice/) [Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) [Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have been battering away at Saturn, returning to the charge every now and then. I have effected several breaches in the solid ring, and now I am splash into the fluid one, amid a clash of symbols truly astounding. When I reappear it will be in the dusky ring, which is something like the state of the air supposing the siege of Sebastopol conducted from a forest of guns 100 miles one way, and 30,000 miles the other, and the shot never to stop, but go spinning away round a circle, radius 170,000 miles.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Clerk Maxwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/i-have-been-battering-away-at-saturn-returning-to-the-charge-every/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Air" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/i-have-been-battering-away-at-saturn-returning-to-the-charge-every/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/james-clerk-maxwell-10636_air_i-have-been-battering-away-at-saturn-ret_2029691.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/james-clerk-maxwell-10636_air_i-have-been-battering-away-at-saturn-ret_2029691.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/james-clerk-maxwell-10636_air_i-have-been-battering-away-at-saturn-ret_2029691.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have been battering away at Saturn, returning to the charge every now and then. I have effected several…” — James Clerk Maxwell", "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": "James Clerk Maxwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have been battering away at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/i-have-been-battering-away-at-saturn-returning-to-the-charge-every/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/i-have-been-battering-away-at-saturn-returning-to-the-charge-every/#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 } } ] } ```