The Art of Scientific Investigation

The Art of Scientific Investigation
by William I.B. Beveridge (1908-2006)

Albert Einstein distinguishes three types of research workers: those who take up science because it offers them an opportunity to exercise their particular talents and who exult in it as an athlete enjoys exercising his prowess; those who regard it as a means of livelihood and who but for circumstances might have become successful business men; and lastly the true devotees, who are rare but make a contribution to knowledge out of proportion to their numbers.

Some psychologists consider that man’s best work is usually done under adversity and that mental stress and even physical pain may act as a mental stimulant. Many prominent men have suffered from psychological troubles and various difficulties but for which perhaps they would never have put forward that effort required to excel.

The scientist seldom gets a large monetary reward for his labours so he should be freely granted any just fame arising from his work. But the greatest reward is the thrill of discovery. As many scientists attest, it is one of the greatest joys that life has to offer. It gives a tremendous emotional uplift and great sense of well-being and satisfaction. Not only factual discoveries but the sudden realisation of a generalisation can give the same feeling of exhilaration. As Prince Kropotkin wrote:

“He who has once in his life experienced this joy of scientific creation will never forget it.”

Gone With the Wind

Gone With the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949)

The sun was now below the horizon and the red glow at the rim of the world faded into pink. The sky above turned slowly from azure to the delicate blue-green of a robin’s egg, and the unearthly stillness of rural twilight came stealthily down about her. Shadowy dimness crept over the countryside. The red furrows and the gashed red road lost their magical blood colour and became plain brown earth. Across the road, in the pasture, the horses, mules and cows stood quietly with heads over the split-rail fence, waiting to be driven to the stables and supper. They did not like the dark shade of the thickets hedging the pasture creek, and they twitched their ears at Scarlett as if appreciative of human companionship. in the strange half-light, the tall pines of the river swamp, so warmly green in the sunshine, were black against the pastel sky, an impenetrable row of black giants hiding the slow yellow water at their feet. On the hill across the river, the tall white chimneys of the Wilkes’ home faded gradually into the darkness of the thick oaks surrounding them, and only far-off pin-points of supper lamps showed that a house was here. The warm damp balminess of spring encompassed her sweetly with the moist smells of new-ploughed earth and all the fresh green things pushing up to the air. Sunset and spring and new-fledged greenery were no miracle to Scarlett. Their beauty she accepted as casually as the air she breathed and the water she drank, for she had never consciously seen beauty in anything but women’s faces, horses, silk dresses and like tangible things. Yet the serene half-light over Tara’s wellkept acres brought a measure of quiet to her disturbed mind. She loved this land so much, without even knowing she loved it, loved it as she loved her mother’s face under the lamp at prayer time.

Proverbs:Age

Age

Educators say that the character of a child is determined between the ages of two and five. It certainly is.
—Rodman
Childhood shows the man, as morning shows the day.
—John Milton(1608-1674 British poet)
What is learned in the cradle is carried to the grave.
—John Ruskin(1819-1900 British writer and art critic)
If you do not learn to think when you are young, you may never learn.
—Thomas Alva Edison(1847-1931 American inventor)
Youth, once gone, is gone; deeds, let escape, are never to be done.
—Robert Browning(1812-1889 British poet)
Enjoy thy youth, it will not stay.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1807-1882 American poet)
Young a gambler old beggar.
—John Ruskin(1819-1900 British writer, art critic)
Youth lives on hope, old age on remembrance.
—Oliver Goldsmith(1728-1774 British writer)
At 20 years of age the will reigns; at 30 the wit; at 40 the judgement.
—Benjamin Franklin(1706-1790 American politician and scientist)
Middle age is when your narrow waist and broad mind begin to change places.
—Ben Klitzner
Oh, only a free soul will never grow old.
—Burton Richter(1931- American physicist)
A man is not old as long as he is seeking something. A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.
—John Barrymore(1882-1942 American actor)
My old age judges more charitably and thinks better of mankind than my youth ever did.
—George Santayana(1863-1952 American philosopher and essayist)
In youth the days are short and the years are long, in old age the years are short and the days are long.
—Nikita Ivanovich Panin(1718-1783 Russian politician)
You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.
—Marcus Tullius Cicero(106-43 B.C. Roman statesman and orator)

Proverbs:Time

Time

Time and tide wait for no man.
—Alexander Pope(1688-1744 British poet)
Seize the day.
—Horace(65-8 B.C. Roman poet)
He who neglects the present moment throws away all he has.
—Friedrich Schiller(1759-1805 German poet and playwright)
The little minutes, humble they be, make the mighty ages of eternity.
—Robert Fletcher(British writer)
One today is worth two tomorrows.
—Francis Quarles(1592-1644 British poet)
Gather your rosebuds while you may, /Old time is still a-flying; /And this same flower that smiles today, /Tomorrow will be dying.
—Robert Herrick(1591-1674 British poet)
Write it on your heart that every day is the best of the year.
—Rolph Waldo Emerson(1830-1882 American essayist and poet)
Procrastination is the thief of time.
—Edward Young(1683-1765 British poet)
Our costliest expenditure is time.
—Theophrastus(370-287 B.C. Greek philosopher and naturalist)
Remember that time is money. Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.
—Benjamin Franklin(1706-1790 American politician and scientist)
Age is a matter of feeling, not of years.
—Glenn Curtiss(1878-1930 American aviation pioneer and inventor)
Ordinary people merely think how they shall spend their time; a man of talent tries to use it.
—Arthur Schopenhauer(1788-1860 German philosopher)
Let bygones be bygones.
—Homer(9th Century B.C. Greek poet)
When all else is lost, the future still remains.
—Christian Nestell Bovee(1820-1904 American author)
The golden age is before us, not behind us.
—Mark Twain(Samuel Langhorne Clemens 1835-1910 American author)

Proverbs:Wealth and Money

Wealth and Money

The love of money is the root of all evil.
—New Testament
Men do not desire merely to be rich, but to be richer than other men.
—John Stuart Mill(1806-1873 British philosopher and economist)
The fly that sips treacle is lost in the sweet.
—John Gay(1865-1732 British poet and dramatist)
Economy is in itself a source of great revenue.
—Lucius Annaeus Seneca(ca. 4 B.C. – A.D. 65 Roman philosopher and statesman)
I would rather have my people laugh at my economies than weep for my extravagance.
—Oscar II(1829-1907 the King of Sweden and Norway)
There are only two families in the world, as a grandmother of mine used to say, the haves and the have-nots.
—Miguel Cervantes(1547-1616 Spanish novelist)
Creditors have better memories than debtors.
—Benjamin Franklin(1706-1790 American politician and scientist)
Money makes the mare go.
—James Sanford(1917-1998 American politician and educationist)
Few rich men own their property. The property owns them.
—Robert Ingersoll(1833-1899 American lawer and “the Great Agnostic”)
Riches serve a wise man but command a fool.
—Pierre Charron(1541-1603 French philosopher)
If your Riches are yours, why don’t you take them with you to the other world?
—Benjamin Franklin(1706-1790 American politician and scientist)
All good things are cheap, all bad things are very dear.
—Henry David Thoreau(1817-1862 American author)
All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.
—Voltaire(Francois Marie Arouet 1694-1778 French writer)
Money may be the husk of many things, but not the kernel. It brings you food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; acquaintances, but not friends; servants, but not loyalty; days of joy, but not peace of happiness.
—Henrik Ibsen(1828-1906 Norwegian playwright and poet)
The wealth of the mind is the only true wealth.
—Hesiod(8th Century B.C. Greek poet)

Proverbs:Health

Health

The first wealth is health.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson(1830-1882 American essayist and poet)
Health is better than wealth.
—John Ray(1627-1705 British naturalist)
He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything.
—Arabic proverb
A healthy mind is in a healthy body.
—Juvenal(ca. 60-140 Roman poet and author of the Satires)
Health is like money, we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it.
—Josh Billings(1818-1885 American humorist)
Sickness is felt, but health not at all.
—Thomas Fuller(1608-1661 British churchman)
Good health is a crollary of having good habits.
—Anonymous
Early to bed and early to rise. makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
—Benjamin Franklin(1706-1790 American politician and scientist)
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
—Anonymous
Bitter pills may have blessed effects.
—Anonymous
Diseases of the soul are more dangerous than those of the body.
—Marcus Tullius Cicero(106-43 B.C. Roman statesman and orator)
One cannot help being old, but one can resist being aged.
—Herbert Samuel(1870-1963 British politician)
Cheerfulness is the promoter of health.
—Joseph Addison(1672-1719 British poet and essayist)
A light heart lives long.
—William Shakespeare(1564-1616 British playwright and poet)
None so old that he hopes not for a year of life.
—John Ray(1627-1705 British naturalist)

 

Proverbs:Men, Women and Marriage

Men, Women and Marriage

Man is always looking for someone to boast to; woman is always looking for a shoulder to put her head on.
—Henry Mencken(1880-1956 American writer and scholar of American English)
Women are born with more sensitivity and intuition than men.
—Marion Hilliard(1902-1958 Canadian doctor)
Women are perfectly well aware that the more they seem to obey the more they rule.
—Jules Michelet(1798-1874 French historian)
It is God who makes woman beautiful, it is the devil who makes her pretty.
—Victor Marie Hugo(1802-1885 French poet, novelist and dramatist)
The more women look in their glass, the less they look to their house.
—Pythagoras(ca. 572-497 B.C. Greek philosopher and mathematician)
Frailty, thy name is woman.
—William Shakespeare(1564-1616 British playwright and poet)
Love is the dawn of marriage, and marriage is the sunset of love.
—French proverb
Hasty marriage seldom proves well.
—William Shakespeare(1564-1616 British playwright and poet)
Marriage may be compared to a cage: the birds outside despair to get in and those within despair to get out.
—Michel Eyguem Montaigne(1533-1592 French essayist)
They dream in courtship, but in wedlock wake.
—Alexander Pope(1688-1744 British poet)
Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half shut afterwards.
—Benjamin Franklin(1706-1790 American politician and scientist)
It takes two to make marriage a success and only one a failure.
—Herbert Samuel(1870-1963 British politician)
If you fight for yourself, only you can win; when you fight for your marriage, you both win.
—Saint Paul(ca. 5-67 Jesus’ apostle who preaches the Christianity to the non-jews.)
Marriage resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they cannot be separated; often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them.
—Sydney Smith(1771-1845 British writer)
Marriage is meant to be a permanent union of two unselfish people.
—Saint Paul(ca. 5-67 Jesus apostle who preaches the Christianity to the non-Jews.)

Proverbs:Friendship

Friendship

Treasure is not always a friend, but a friend is always a treasure.
—Francis Bacon (1561-1626 British philosopher and author)
Friendship is love without his wings.
—George Gordon Byron (1788-1824 British poet)
Friendship is both a source of pleasure and a component of good health.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1830-1882 American essayist and poet)
No road is long with good company.
—English proverb
A true friend is forever a friend.
—George MacDonald(1824-1905 British author and poet)
Old friends and old wine are best.
—John Ray (1627-1705 British naturalist)
There are three faithful friends — an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790 American politician and scientist)
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
—John Ray (1627-1705 British naturalist)
He that will not allow his friend to share the prize must not expect him to share the danger.
—Aesop (620-560 B.C. Greeks fabulist)
The language of friendship is not words but meanings.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862 American author)
Admonish your friends privately, but praise them openly.
—Publilius Syrus (1st century B.C. Roman writer)
Like knows like.
—Draxe
Tell me thy company, I will tell thee what thou art.
—Miguel Cervantes (1547-1616 Spanish novelist)
A friend’s eye is a good looking glass.
—Benjamin Franklin(1706-1790 American politician and scientist)
A friend is, as it were, a second self.
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C. Roman statesman and orator)

Proverbs:Family, Parents and Children

Family, Parents and Children

Home is where the heart is.
—Pliny the Elder(Gaius Plinius Secundus 23-79 Roman scholar)
He is the happiest, be he King or peasant, who finds peace in his home.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832 German poet and dramatist)
The family you came from isn’t as important as the family you are going to have.
—D. H. Laurence(1885-1930 British writer)
Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home.
—John Howard Payne(1791-1852 American playwright)
There is no friendship, no love, like that of the parent for the child.
—Henry Ward Beecher(1813-1887 American clergyman)
Happy are the families where the government of parents is the reign of affection, and obedience of the children the submission to love.
—Francis Bacon(1561-1626 British philosopher and author)
Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.
—Sir Rabindranath Tagore(1861-1941 Indian poet)
Birth is much, but breeding is more.
—Thomas Fuller(1608-1661 British churchman)
There is a skeleton in every house.
—William Makepeace Thackeray(1811-1863 British novelist)
Where parents do too much for their children, the children will not do much for themselves.
—Elbert Hubbard(1856-1915 American publisher and author)
Spare the rod and spoil the child.
—Thomas Fuller(1608-1661 British churchman)
Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.
—James Baldwin(1924-1987 American novelist)
Children need models rather than critics.
—Joseph Joubert(1754-1824 French essayist)
Like father, like son.
—Latin proverb
The father’s virtue is the child’s best inheritance.
—Francis Bacon(1561-1626 British philosopher and author)

Proverbs:Work and Leisure

Work and Leisure

If one desires to succeed in everything, he must pay the price.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson(1830-1882 American essayist and poet)
The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.
—Arthur Brisbane(1864-1910 American journalist)
The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today.
—Elbert Hubbard(1856-1915 American philosopher and writer)
Work as though your strength were limitless.
—Sarah Bernhardt(1844-1923 French actress)
Whoever is in a hurry shows that the thing he is about is too big for him.
—Philip Dormer Stanhope(1694-1773 British statesman and writer)
To do great work a man must be very idle as well as very industrious.
—Samuel Burler(1835-1902 British author)
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
—William Howells(1837-1920 American novelist and literary critic)
Leisure is the time for doing something useful
—Elias Howe(1819-1867 American inventor)
We must beat the iron while it is hot, but we may polish it at leisure.
—John Dryden(1631-1700 British Poet Laureate and playwright)
Leisure is the mother of philosophy.
—Thomas Hobbes(1588-1679 British philosopher)
If all the year were playing holidays, to sport would be as tedious as to work.
—William Shakespeare(1564-1616 British playwright and poet)
Work is the grand cure for all the maladies and miseries that ever beset mankind.
—Thomas Carlyle(1795-1881 British essayist and historian)
Work has a bitter root but sweet fruit.
—German proverb
The fortunate people in the world — the only really fortunate people in the world, in my mind, — are those whose work is also their pleasure.
—Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill(1874-1965 British Prime Minister)
Every man’s work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself.
—Samuel Butler(1835-1902 British author)