--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Science is] piecemeal revelation." description: "\"[Science is] piecemeal revelation.\" — Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-18686_revelations_science-is-piecemeal-revelation-2168328_2168328.jpg" --- # \[Science is\] piecemeal revelation. ![“[Science is] piecemeal revelation.” quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-18686_revelations_science-is-piecemeal-revelation-2168328_2168328.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-18686_revelations_science-is-piecemeal-revelation-2168328_2168328.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-18686_revelations_science-is-piecemeal-revelation-2168328_2168328.jpg) > “\[Science is\] piecemeal revelation.” [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) ## 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 arrives in fragments, each piece adding to a larger picture. **In simple terms:** Science reveals truth piece by piece. Key Takeaway Embrace incremental discoveries. Themes science knowledge progress Mood curious analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - research - education - innovation - policy making Key Concepts epistemology incremental discovery Questions to Reflect On - How do you integrate new facts into existing understanding? - What risks arise from focusing on isolated data? A Different Perspective Fragmentary insights may miss the whole context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Piecemeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piecemeal-558162/) [Piecemeal Revelation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piecemeal-revelation-4632194/) [Revelation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelation/) [Revelations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelations/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Piecemeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-piecemeal-4632195/) ## Related quotes > [“Alfred is taken past this broom, and enters this room; which can only be described as 'piecemeal'. It is full of pieces of fish-market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-sheldon/alfred-is-taken-past-this-broom-and-enters-this-room-which-can-only/) [Joss Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-sheldon/) > [I woke in bits, like all children, piecemeal over the years. I discovered myself and the world, and forgot them, and discovered them again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-woke-in-bits-like-all-children-piecemeal-over-the-years-i/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I have never fit into this town, this marriage, this skin. I am the child who was picked last to play tag; I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-have-never-fit-into-this-town-this-marriage-this-skin-i-am-the/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [My belief is that policy cannot be piecemeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smriti-irani/my-belief-is-that-policy-cannot-be-piecemeal/) [Smriti Irani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smriti-irani/) > [Death takes us piecemeal, not at a gulp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/death-takes-us-piecemeal-not-at-a-gulp/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Do you know, Masha, how revelation comes? Like death. So sudden, though you knew all along it must occur. A revelation is always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/do-you-know-masha-how-revelation-comes-like-death-so-sudden-though/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [I've read the Book of Revelation a million times. It does not make sense, obviously. It needs to be decoded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/i-ve-read-the-book-of-revelation-a-million-times-it-does-not-make/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [Christianity must be regarded not as a final revelation but as a phase of revelation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-final-revelation-but-as-a/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Why is the truth, it would seem, revealed to some and not to others? Is there a special organ for receiving revelation from God?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seraphim-rose/why-is-the-truth-it-would-seem-revealed-to-some-and-not-to-others-is/) [Seraphim Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seraphim-rose/) > [We honor revelation too highly to make it the antagonist of reason, or to believe that it calls us to renounce our highest powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/we-honor-revelation-too-highly-to-make-it-the-antagonist-of-reason-or/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [REVELATION, n. A famous book in which St. John the Divine concealed all that he knew. The revealing is done by the commentators, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/revelation-n-a-famous-book-in-which-st-john-the-divine-concealed-all/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [If we have to sum up the Book of Revelation in one phrase, it would be, 'Jesus wins.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jud-wilhite/if-we-have-to-sum-up-the-book-of-revelation-in-one-phrase-it-would-be/) [Jud Wilhite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jud-wilhite/) > [No man can come to God but by an extraordinary revelation of the Spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/no-man-can-come-to-god-but-by-an-extraordinary-revelation-of-the/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Mine would be, "We will stand together, he and I. One in victory, one in shame. Only then can I truly own the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mine-would-be-we-will-stand-together-he-and-i-one-in-victory-one-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Therefore, brethren, pray until God gives us revelation so that "knowing this" in our spirit we may truly confess "that our old man has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/therefore-brethren-pray-until-god-gives-us-revelation-so-that-knowing/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) ## More by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr > [No families take so little medicine as those of doctors, except those of apothecaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/no-families-take-so-little-medicine-as-those-of-doctors-except-those/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [What refuge is there for the victim who is oppressed with the feeling that there are a thousand new books he ought to read,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/what-refuge-is-there-for-the-victim-who-is-oppressed-with-the-feeling/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [Science is the topography of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/science-is-the-topography-of-ignorance/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [“My experience with public libraries is that the first volume of the book I inquire for is out, unless I happen to want the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/my-experience-with-public-libraries-is-that-the-first-volume-of-the/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [“The great thing in this world, is not so much where we are, but in which direction we are moving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/the-great-thing-in-this-world-is-not-so-much-where-we-are-but-in/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [And if I should live to be The last leaf upon the tree In the spring, Let them smile, as I do now, At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/and-if-i-should-live-to-be-the-last-leaf-upon-the-tree-in-the-spring/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [“Yet in opinions look not always back,-- Your wake is nothing, mind the coming track; Leave what you've done for what you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/yet-in-opinions-look-not-always-back-your-wake-is-nothing-mind-the/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [“The Last Leaf I saw him once before, As he passed by the door, And again The pavement stones resound, As he totters o'er…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/the-last-leaf-i-saw-him-once-before-as-he-passed-by-the-door-and/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [Me wretched! Let me curr to quercine shades! Effund your albid hausts, lactiferous maids! O, might I vole to some umbrageous clump,-- Depart,--be off,--excede,--evade,--erump!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/me-wretched-let-me-curr-to-quercine-shades-effund-your-albid-hausts/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [Man is born a predestined idealist, for he is born to act. To act is to affirm the worth of an end, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/man-is-born-a-predestined-idealist-for-he-is-born-to-act-to-act-is-to/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [“If the wild filly, "Progress," thou wouldst ride, Have young companions ever at thy side; But wouldst thou stride the stanch old mare, "Success,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/if-the-wild-filly-progress-thou-wouldst-ride-have-young-companions/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall. A mother's secret love outlives them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/youth-fades-love-droops-the-leaves-of-friendship-fall-a-mother-s/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [“Have faith and pursue the unknown end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/have-faith-and-pursue-the-unknown-end/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [“A man's mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/a-man-s-mind-is-stretched-by-a-new-idea-or-sensation-and-never/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [The year is getting to feel rich, for his golden fruits are ripening fast, and he has a large balance in the barns, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/the-year-is-getting-to-feel-rich-for-his-golden-fruits-are-ripening/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) [Explore all 34 Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) ## More Revelation quotes > [Therefore, brethren, pray until God gives us revelation so that "knowing this" in our spirit we may truly confess "that our old man has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/therefore-brethren-pray-until-god-gives-us-revelation-so-that-knowing/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) > [Mine would be, "We will stand together, he and I. One in victory, one in shame. Only then can I truly own the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mine-would-be-we-will-stand-together-he-and-i-one-in-victory-one-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don’t waste your time trying to explain yourself to people that are committed to misunderstanding you. Instead, commit your time to explaining who they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/don-t-waste-your-time-trying-to-explain-yourself-to-people-that-are/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“No revelation can be other than partial. If for true revelation a man must be told all the truth, then farewell to revelation; yea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/no-revelation-can-be-other-than-partial-if-for-true-revelation-a-man/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Don't live by my words, don't die by them, chew them slowly digest them, and smile if they give nourishment to your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/don-t-live-by-my-words-don-t-die-by-them-chew-them-slowly-digest-them/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [“The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. – Revelation 21:23”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-morgan/the-city-had-no-need-of-the-sun-or-of-the-moon-to-shine-in-it-for-the/) [Robert J. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-morgan/) > [“God reserves the right to say what gets to enter the gates and what does not. Revelation 21 concludes with these words: “Nothing impure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/god-reserves-the-right-to-say-what-gets-to-enter-the-gates-and-what/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [No man can come to God but by an extraordinary revelation of the Spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/no-man-can-come-to-god-but-by-an-extraordinary-revelation-of-the/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [“And we cannot keep our balance. Myth gives way to Reason. Revelation to Orthodoxy. We must dance or go mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cheetham/and-we-cannot-keep-our-balance-myth-gives-way-to-reason-revelation-to/) [Tom Cheetham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cheetham/) > [“Let us be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has prepared herself. Revelation 19:7”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/let-us-be-glad-rejoice-and-give-him-glory-because-the-marriage-of-the/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [“I have scarcely heard of a truer sacrament, that is, as the dictionary defines it, "outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-have-scarcely-heard-of-a-truer-sacrament-that-is-as-the-dictionary/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > ['Tryin' to Get the Feeling' has been a revelation. I'd forgotten how powerful that was. I'd forgotten how deep I can crawl into that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-manilow/tryin-to-get-the-feeling-has-been-a-revelation-i-d-forgotten-how/) [Barry Manilow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-manilow/) > [If we have to sum up the Book of Revelation in one phrase, it would be, 'Jesus wins.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jud-wilhite/if-we-have-to-sum-up-the-book-of-revelation-in-one-phrase-it-would-be/) [Jud Wilhite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jud-wilhite/) > [“Selah Moments: those times we lean into God's presence, hear His voice, and willingly receive the golden nuggets of truth-revelation He gifts us with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-fore/selah-moments-those-times-we-lean-into-god-s-presence-hear-his-voice/) [Jo Ann Fore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-fore/) > [The Antichrist is often identified with the second beast in the Book of Revelation that arises from the land, the beast that tries to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-antichrist-is-often-identified-with-the-second-beast-in-the-book/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) [Browse all 781 Revelation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[Science is] piecemeal revelation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/science-is-piecemeal-revelation/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Revelation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/science-is-piecemeal-revelation/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-18686_revelations_science-is-piecemeal-revelation-2168328_2168328.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-18686_revelations_science-is-piecemeal-revelation-2168328_2168328.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-18686_revelations_science-is-piecemeal-revelation-2168328_2168328.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[Science is] piecemeal revelation.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr", "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": "Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "[Science is] piecemeal revelation.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/science-is-piecemeal-revelation/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/science-is-piecemeal-revelation/#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 } } ] } ```