--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... the sciences are like a beautiful…" description: "\"... the sciences are like a beautiful river, of which the course is easy to follow, when it has acquired a certain regularity; but if one wants to go b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/lazare-carnot-71332_beautiful_the-sciences-are-like-a-beautiful-river_1920482.png" --- # ... the sciences are like a beautiful river, of which the… ![“... the sciences are like a beautiful river, of which the course is easy to follow, when it has acquired a certain regularity; but if one wants to go back to the source, one will find it nowhere, because it is everywhere; it is spread so much [as to be] over all the surface of the earth; it is the…” quote by Lazare Carnot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/lazare-carnot-71332_beautiful_the-sciences-are-like-a-beautiful-river_1920482.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/lazare-carnot-71332_beautiful_the-sciences-are-like-a-beautiful-river_1920482.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/lazare-carnot-71332_beautiful_the-sciences-are-like-a-beautiful-river_1920482.png) > “... the sciences are like a beautiful river, of which the course is easy to follow, when it has acquired a certain regularity; but if one wants to go back to the source, one will find it nowhere, because it is everywhere; it is spread so much \[as to be\] over all the surface of the earth; it is the same if one wants to go back to the origin of the sciences, one will find only obscurity, vague ideas, vicious circles; and one loses oneself in the primitive ideas.” [Lazare Carnot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lazare-carnot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science appears orderly on the surface, but tracing its origins leads to complexity and uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Science seems simple but its roots are tangled. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty when exploring fundamentals. Themes science philosophy complexity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - research - education - philosophical inquiry - academic study Key Concepts epistemology origin theory systems thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle uncertainty in foundational research? - What does “everywhere” imply about knowledge? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify scientific progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beautiful river](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-river-16317/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Loses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loses/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Obscurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurity/) [Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself/) [Oneself Primitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself-primitive-2946163/) [Primitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primitive/) [Primitive Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primitive-ideas-2833915/) [Regularity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regularity/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sciences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sciences/) [Sciences Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sciences-like-667653/) [Sciences Obscurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sciences-obscurity-2946162/) [Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/source/) [Spread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spread/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) [Vague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vague/) [Vague ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vague-ideas/) [Vicious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vicious/) [Vicious circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vicious-circles/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [Laws have come down to us from old customs and folk-ways based on primitive ideas of man's origin, capacity and responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/laws-have-come-down-to-us-from-old-customs-and-folk-ways-based-on/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [In every science, after having analysed the ideas, expressing the more complicated by means of the more simple, one finds a certain number that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-peano/in-every-science-after-having-analysed-the-ideas-expressing-the-more/) [Giuseppe Peano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-peano/) > [Well, I'm leaning probably toward the sciences like physics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carter/well-i-m-leaning-probably-toward-the-sciences-like-physics/) [Amy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carter/) > [I've always liked all the sciences, like math, physics and biology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-agren/i-ve-always-liked-all-the-sciences-like-math-physics-and-biology/) [Sigrid Agren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-agren/) > [If I want to read something that's really giving me something serious and fundamental to think about, about the human condition, if you like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/if-i-want-to-read-something-that-s-really-giving-me-something-serious/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The affluent society has built well in terms of economic progress, but has neglected the protection of the very water we drink as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-church/the-affluent-society-has-built-well-in-terms-of-economic-progress-but/) [Frank Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-church/) > [The Yellowstone river is a beautiful river to navigate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-ashley/the-yellowstone-river-is-a-beautiful-river-to-navigate/) [William Henry Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-ashley/) > [Beautiful rocks - beautiful grass Beautiful soil where they both combine Beautiful river - covering sky Never thought of possession, but all this was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/beautiful-rocks-beautiful-grass-beautiful-soil-where-they-both/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so called scientific knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/until-man-duplicates-a-blade-of-grass-nature-can-laugh-at-his-so/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [It's so graceful to be blown by the wind, to go where the wind takes you. Just drifting over beautiful rivers in a balloon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/it-s-so-graceful-to-be-blown-by-the-wind-to-go-where-the-wind-takes/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [This song of mine Is a song of the vine To be sung by the glowing embers Of wayside inns, When the rain begins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/this-song-of-mine-is-a-song-of-the-vine-to-be-sung-by-the-glowing/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [When I started, they told me I only needed 3 chords and the truth... It turned out I could manage with 2 and some vague ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-strummer/when-i-started-they-told-me-i-only-needed-3-chords-and-the-truth-it/) [Joe Strummer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-strummer/) > [After giving a student the basic mating patterns and strategies you must begin giving them advanced concepts. At first these ideas will not make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-silman/after-giving-a-student-the-basic-mating-patterns-and-strategies-you/) [Jeremy Silman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-silman/) > [Architects and painters know precisely what they are about as long as they deal with material phenomena… But when they come to the aesthetics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/architects-and-painters-know-precisely-what-they-are-about-as-long-as/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [But what's your ultimate goal, you'll say. That goal will become clearer, will take shape slowly and surely, as the croquis becomes a sketch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/but-what-s-your-ultimate-goal-you-ll-say-that-goal-will-become/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) ## More by Lazare Carnot > [In a free country there is much clamor, with little suffering; in a despotic state there is little complaint, with much grievance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lazare-carnot/in-a-free-country-there-is-much-clamor-with-little-suffering-in-a/) [Lazare Carnot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lazare-carnot/) > [The General Order is always: …To manoeuver in a body and on the attack. …To maintain strict but not pettifogging discipline. …To keep the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lazare-carnot/the-general-order-is-always-to-manoeuver-in-a-body-and-on-the-attack/) [Lazare Carnot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lazare-carnot/) > [When a body acts upon another one, it is always immediately or through some intermediate body; this intermediate body is in general what one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lazare-carnot/when-a-body-acts-upon-another-one-it-is-always-immediately-or-through/) [Lazare Carnot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lazare-carnot/) [Explore all 4 Lazare Carnot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lazare-carnot/) ## More Beautiful quotes > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Being beautiful comes naturally!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-beautiful-comes-naturally/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. 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Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) [Tumblr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr/) > [You will never know just how beautiful you are to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-know-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. 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There was something about jazz music that had a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laufey/growing-up-in-iceland-it-was-very-beautiful-very-safe-but-quite/) [Laufey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laufey/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [God's Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rothschild/god-s-word-does-provide-life-lessons-to-teach-us-how-to-live-and-it/) [Jennifer Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rothschild/) [Browse all 17,976 Beautiful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "... the sciences are like a beautiful river, of which the course is easy to follow, when it has acquired a certain regularity; but if one wants to go back to the source, one will find it nowhere, because it is everywhere; it is spread so much [as to be] over all the surface of the earth; it is the same if one wants to go back to the origin of the sciences, one will find only obscurity, vague ideas, vicious circles; and one loses oneself in the primitive ideas.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lazare Carnot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lazare-carnot/the-sciences-are-like-a-beautiful-river-of-which-the-course-is-easy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beautiful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lazare-carnot/the-sciences-are-like-a-beautiful-river-of-which-the-course-is-easy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/lazare-carnot-71332_beautiful_the-sciences-are-like-a-beautiful-river_1920482.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/lazare-carnot-71332_beautiful_the-sciences-are-like-a-beautiful-river_1920482.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/lazare-carnot-71332_beautiful_the-sciences-are-like-a-beautiful-river_1920482.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... the sciences are like a beautiful river, of which the course is easy to follow, when it has acquired a…” — Lazare Carnot", "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": "Lazare Carnot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lazare-carnot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "... the sciences are like a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lazare-carnot/the-sciences-are-like-a-beautiful-river-of-which-the-course-is-easy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lazare-carnot/the-sciences-are-like-a-beautiful-river-of-which-the-course-is-easy/#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 } } ] } ```