--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The sciences are found, like Hercules's…" description: "\"The sciences are found, like Hercules's oxen, by tracing them backward; and old sciences are unravelled like old stockings, by beginning at the foot.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/jonathan-swift-433_accounts_the-sciences-are-found-like-hercules-s-o_2063229.jpg" --- # The sciences are found, like Hercules's oxen, by tracing… ![“The sciences are found, like Hercules's oxen, by tracing them backward; and old sciences are unravelled like old stockings, by beginning at the foot.” quote by Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/jonathan-swift-433_accounts_the-sciences-are-found-like-hercules-s-o_2063229.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/jonathan-swift-433_accounts_the-sciences-are-found-like-hercules-s-o_2063229.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/jonathan-swift-433_accounts_the-sciences-are-found-like-hercules-s-o_2063229.jpg) > “The sciences are found, like Hercules's oxen, by tracing them backward; and old sciences are unravelled like old stockings, by beginning at the foot.” [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific knowledge advances by examining origins and deconstructing old ideas. **In simple terms:** Study history to innovate. Key Takeaway Trace roots, then innovate. Themes science methodology history Mood analytical curious Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - research projects - educational curricula - technology development Key Concepts inductive reasoning paradigm shift Questions to Reflect On - What old theories can be reexamined today? - How does backward tracing aid discovery? A Different Perspective Historical methods may overlook modern data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accounts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounts/) [Backward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backward/) [Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Old Sciences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-sciences-2189823/) [Oxen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxen/) [Oxen Tracing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxen-tracing-3946164/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sciences Unravelled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sciences-unravelled-3946162/) [Stockings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stockings/) [Tracing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tracing/) [Tracing Backward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tracing-backward-3946163/) ## Related quotes > [Old sciences are unraveled like old stockings, by beginning at the foot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/old-sciences-are-unraveled-like-old-stockings-by-beginning-at-the-foot/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Beauty draws more than oxen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/beauty-draws-more-than-oxen/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Christmas Eve I saw a stable, low and very bare, A little child in a manger. The oxen knew Him, had Him in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-coleridge/christmas-eve-i-saw-a-stable-low-and-very-bare-a-little-child-in-a/) [Mary Elizabeth Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-coleridge/) > [The earth was our home, she would have said, but no less was it home to the oxen that pulled our plows or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eknath-easwaran/the-earth-was-our-home-she-would-have-said-but-no-less-was-it-home-to/) [Eknath Easwaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eknath-easwaran/) > [“Oxen that rattle the yoke and chain or halt in the leafy shade, what is that you express in your eyes? It seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/oxen-that-rattle-the-yoke-and-chain-or-halt-in-the-leafy-shade-what/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Who drives fat oxen should himself be fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/who-drives-fat-oxen-should-himself-be-fat/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Money appears as measure (in Homer, e.g. oxen) earlier than as medium of exchange, because in barter each commodity is still its own medium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/money-appears-as-measure-in-homer-e-g-oxen-earlier-than-as-medium-of/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Graciousness, courtesy, compassion-this is hesed. Hesed is a quality that extends even to the animals and the land. The sabbath rest principle of Hebrew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/graciousness-courtesy-compassion-this-is-hesed-hesed-is-a-quality/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [If one ox could not do the job they did not try to grow a bigger ox, but used two oxen. When we need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-hopper/if-one-ox-could-not-do-the-job-they-did-not-try-to-grow-a-bigger-ox/) [Grace Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-hopper/) > [One hair of a woman can draw more than a hundred pair of oxen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/one-hair-of-a-woman-can-draw-more-than-a-hundred-pair-of-oxen/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [And God, the herdsman, goads them on behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/and-god-the-herdsman-goads-them-on-behind/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [If oxen and lions had hands and could paint with their hands and produce works of art, as men do, horses would paint the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xenophanes/if-oxen-and-lions-had-hands-and-could-paint-with-their-hands-and/) [Xenophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xenophanes/) > [If you were plowing a field, which would you rather use? Two strong oxen or 1024 chickens?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-cray/if-you-were-plowing-a-field-which-would-you-rather-use-two-strong/) [Seymour Cray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-cray/) > [It is true, these Roman Catholics, priests and all, impress me as a people who have fallen far behind the significance of their symbols.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-true-these-roman-catholics-priests-and-all-impress-me-as-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When the chopper would praise a pine, he will commonly tell you that the one he cut was so big that a yoke of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-the-chopper-would-praise-a-pine-he-will-commonly-tell-you-that/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Jonathan Swift > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“He said, he knew no reason why those who entertain opinions prejudicial to the public should be obliged to change, or should not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/he-said-he-knew-no-reason-why-those-who-entertain-opinions/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A favor is half granted, when graciously refused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-favor-is-half-granted-when-graciously-refused/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-never-wonder-to-see-men-wicked-but-i-often-wonder-to-see-them-not/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [The best Maxim I know in this life is, to drink your Coffee when you can, and when you cannot, to be easy without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-best-maxim-i-know-in-this-life-is-to-drink-your-coffee-when-you/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A lie is an excuse guarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-lie-is-an-excuse-guarded/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A forward critic often dupes us With sham quotations peri hupsos, And if we have not read Longinus, Will magisterially outshine us. Then, lest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-forward-critic-often-dupes-us-with-sham-quotations-peri-hupsos-and/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [May you live every day of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/may-you-live-every-day-of-your-life/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Ale is meat, drink and cloth; it will make a cat speak and a wise man dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/ale-is-meat-drink-and-cloth-it-will-make-a-cat-speak-and-a-wise-man/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [All fits of pleasure are balanced by an equal degree of pain or languor; it is like spending this year part of the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/all-fits-of-pleasure-are-balanced-by-an-equal-degree-of-pain-or/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Satire is a sort of glass wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/satire-is-a-sort-of-glass-wherein-beholders-do-generally-discover/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“When a great genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/when-a-great-genius-appears-in-the-world-you-may-know-him-by-this/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities, and all my love is toward individuals: for instance, I hate the tribe of lawyers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-have-ever-hated-all-nations-professions-and-communities-and-all-my/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [So endless and exorbitant are the desires of men that they will grasp at all, and can form no scheme of perfect happiness with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/so-endless-and-exorbitant-are-the-desires-of-men-that-they-will-grasp/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) [Explore all 535 Jonathan Swift quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## More Accounts quotes > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [I had a very blessed journey with the upbringing I had. When you're working on sets as a stuntman, you have a firsthand account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/i-had-a-very-blessed-journey-with-the-upbringing-i-had-when-you-re/) [Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/you-ve-got-to-exercise-your-health-account-your-bank-account-they-re/) [Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) > [Stop trying to treat music like it's a tennis shoe, something to be branded. If the music industry wants to save money, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-tweedy/stop-trying-to-treat-music-like-it-s-a-tennis-shoe-something-to-be/) [Jeff Tweedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-tweedy/) > [Anyone who thinks science is trying to make human life easier or more pleasant is utterly mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/anyone-who-thinks-science-is-trying-to-make-human-life-easier-or-more/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [That surely must be a concern to anyone who decides this drug must be given to stop transmissions, again from mother to child, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/that-surely-must-be-a-concern-to-anyone-who-decides-this-drug-must-be/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) [Browse all 2,677 Accounts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The sciences are found, like Hercules's oxen, by tracing them backward; and old sciences are unravelled like old stockings, by beginning at the foot.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Swift" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-sciences-are-found-like-hercules-s-oxen-by-tracing-them-backward/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accounts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-sciences-are-found-like-hercules-s-oxen-by-tracing-them-backward/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/jonathan-swift-433_accounts_the-sciences-are-found-like-hercules-s-o_2063229.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/jonathan-swift-433_accounts_the-sciences-are-found-like-hercules-s-o_2063229.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/jonathan-swift-433_accounts_the-sciences-are-found-like-hercules-s-o_2063229.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The sciences are found, like Hercules's oxen, by tracing them backward; and old sciences are unravelled like…” — Jonathan Swift", "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": "Jonathan Swift", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The sciences are found, like Hercules's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-sciences-are-found-like-hercules-s-oxen-by-tracing-them-backward/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-sciences-are-found-like-hercules-s-oxen-by-tracing-them-backward/#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 } } ] } ```