Top 100 Inspiring Isaac Newton Quotes About Science, Life & Wisdom
Have you ever thought about the exceptional individual who reasoned out the causes behind apples falling down instead of going upwards? This is Sir Isaac Newton – an English scientist of the 17th century who completely transformed world perception.
Newton wasn’t simply intelligent; he was actually groundbreaking. He discovered gravity, invented calculus, and explained planetary movement around the sun. But what is astonishing is that his quotes are just as impactful as his works and inventions.
His words teach us lessons about curiosity, persistence, and remaining modest even in the face of epic success. Newton once remarked that he felt like “a boy playing on the seashore” while the “great ocean of truth” was the reality. That is the wonderful aspect of his quotes; they encourage us that learning never ceases and there is a lot to uncover.
Now, what about you? Do you feel ready to be inspired by one of the greatest intellectuals of all time? His quotes are certain to intrigue you and challenge you to keep searching.
The Pursuit of Knowledge
1. “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
2. “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
3. “Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.”
4. “To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age.”
5. “I keep the subject constantly before me, and wait till the first dawnings open slowly, by little and little, into a full and clear light.”
6. “What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean.”
7. “I frame no hypotheses; for whatever is not deduced from the phenomena is to be called a hypothesis.”
8. “Nature is pleased with simplicity, and affects not the pomp of superfluous causes.”
9. “We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.”
10. “I have not been able to discover the cause of those properties of gravity from phenomena, and I frame no hypotheses.”
11. “God geometrizes continually.”
12. “To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.”
13. “Genius is patience.”
14. “I was like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
15. “If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent.”
16. “Nature does nothing in vain when less will serve; for Nature is pleased with simplicity and affects not the pomp of superfluous causes.”
17. “The most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”
18. “Errors are not in the art but in the artificers.”
19. “Plato is my friend, Aristotle is my friend, but my greatest friend is truth.”
20. “I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
Curiosity & Inquiry
1. “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
2. “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
3. “I keep the subject constantly before me, and wait till the first dawnings open slowly, by little and little, into a full and clear light.”
4. “What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean.”
5. “I frame no hypotheses; for whatever is not deduced from the phenomena is to be called a hypothesis.”
6. “To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.”
7. “Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.”
8. “I have not been able to discover the cause of those properties of gravity from phenomena, and I frame no hypotheses.”
9. “We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.”
10. “Nature is pleased with simplicity, and affects not the pomp of superfluous causes.”
11. “If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent.”
12. “To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age.”
13. “I was like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
14. “It is the weight, not numbers of experiments that is to be regarded.”
15. “The description of right lines and circles, upon which geometry is founded, belongs to mechanics.”
16. “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.”
17. “No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.”
18. “The changing of bodies into light, and light into bodies, is very conformable to the course of Nature.”
19. “To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age. ‘Tis much better to do a little with certainty, and leave the rest for others that come after you.”
20. “I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
Perseverance Through Challenges
1. “If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent.”
2. “I keep the subject constantly before me, and wait till the first dawnings open slowly, by little and little, into a full and clear light.”
3. “Genius is patience.”
4. “To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age.”
5. “What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean.”
6. “I have not been able to discover the cause of those properties of gravity from phenomena, and I frame no hypotheses.”
7. “Errors are not in the art but in the artificers.”
8. “It is the weight, not numbers of experiments that is to be regarded.”
9. “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.”
10. “No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.”
11. “Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.”
12. “Nature is pleased with simplicity, and affects not the pomp of superfluous causes.”
13. “We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.”
14. “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
15. “To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.”
16. “The description of right lines and circles, upon which geometry is founded, belongs to mechanics.”
17. “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore.”
18. “The changing of bodies into light, and light into bodies, is very conformable to the course of Nature.”
19. “Tis much better to do a little with certainty, and leave the rest for others that come after you.”
20. “I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
Humility & Reflection
1. “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
2. “To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.”
3. “What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean.”
4. “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
5. “I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
6. “I have not been able to discover the cause of those properties of gravity from phenomena, and I frame no hypotheses.”
7. “To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age.”
8. “Errors are not in the art but in the artificers.”
9. “I was like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
10. “I frame no hypotheses; for whatever is not deduced from the phenomena is to be called a hypothesis.”
11. “If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent.”
12. “We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.”
13. “Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.”
14. “Nature is pleased with simplicity, and affects not the pomp of superfluous causes.”
15. “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.”
16. “Tis much better to do a little with certainty, and leave the rest for others that come after you.”
17. “It is the weight, not numbers of experiments that is to be regarded.”
18. “I keep the subject constantly before me, and wait till the first dawnings open slowly, by little and little, into a full and clear light.”
19. “The description of right lines and circles, upon which geometry is founded, belongs to mechanics.”
20. “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
The Beauty of Nature & the Universe
1. “The most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”
2. “Nature is pleased with simplicity, and affects not the pomp of superfluous causes.”
3. “God geometrizes continually.”
4. “Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.”
5. “The wonderful arrangement and harmony of the cosmos would only originate in the plan of an almighty omniscient being.”
6. “Nature does nothing in vain when less will serve; for Nature is pleased with simplicity and affects not the pomp of superfluous causes.”
7. “The changing of bodies into light, and light into bodies, is very conformable to the course of Nature.”
8. “We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.”
9. “To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.”
10. “The description of right lines and circles, upon which geometry is founded, belongs to mechanics.”
11. “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.”
12. “The universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.”
13. “In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence.”
14. “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”
15. “Nature is exceedingly simple and harmonious with itself.”
16. “The elegant simplicity of the three laws of motion is a thing of beauty.”
17. “Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who sets the planets in motion.”
18. “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
19. “The universe is written in the language of mathematics.”
20. “What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean.”
Innovation & Creative Thinking
1. “No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.”
2. “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
3. “I frame no hypotheses; for whatever is not deduced from the phenomena is to be called a hypothesis.”
4. “Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.”
5. “The changing of bodies into light, and light into bodies, is very conformable to the course of Nature.”
6. “I keep the subject constantly before me, and wait till the first dawnings open slowly, by little and little, into a full and clear light.”
7. “We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.”
8. “Nature is pleased with simplicity, and affects not the pomp of superfluous causes.”
9. “If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent.”
10. “The description of right lines and circles, upon which geometry is founded, belongs to mechanics.”
11. “It is the weight, not numbers of experiments that is to be regarded.”
12. “Genius is patience.”
13. “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.”
14. “To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age.”
15. “What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean.”
16. “The most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”
17. “Errors are not in the art but in the artificers.”
18. “God geometrizes continually.”
19. “Tis much better to do a little with certainty, and leave the rest for others that come after you.”
20. “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
Faith, Philosophy & the Metaphysical
1. “The most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”
2. “God geometrizes continually.”
3. “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”
4. “The wonderful arrangement and harmony of the cosmos would only originate in the plan of an almighty omniscient being.”
5. “In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence.”
6. “Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who sets the planets in motion.”
7. “Plato is my friend, Aristotle is my friend, but my greatest friend is truth.”
8. “Nature is pleased with simplicity, and affects not the pomp of superfluous causes.”
9. “The universe is written in the language of mathematics.”
10. “What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean.”
11. “Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.”
12. “The changing of bodies into light, and light into bodies, is very conformable to the course of Nature.”
13. “Nature does nothing in vain when less will serve; for Nature is pleased with simplicity and affects not the pomp of superfluous causes.”
14. “I have not been able to discover the cause of those properties of gravity from phenomena, and I frame no hypotheses.”
15. “To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.”
Enduring Wisdom & Life Lessons
1. “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
2. “Plato is my friend, Aristotle is my friend, but my greatest friend is truth.”
3. “What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean.”
4. “Genius is patience.”
5. “If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent.”
6. “Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.”
7. “To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.”
8. “No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.”
9. “Errors are not in the art but in the artificers.”
10. “Nature is pleased with simplicity, and affects not the pomp of superfluous causes.”
11. “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.”
12. “Tis much better to do a little with certainty, and leave the rest for others that come after you.”
13. “I keep the subject constantly before me, and wait till the first dawnings open slowly, by little and little, into a full and clear light.”
14. “It is the weight, not numbers of experiments that is to be regarded.”
15. “We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.”
16. “To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age.”
17. “I frame no hypotheses; for whatever is not deduced from the phenomena is to be called a hypothesis.”
18. “The changing of bodies into light, and light into bodies, is very conformable to the course of Nature.”
19. “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
20. “To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.”
Conclusion
Revolutionary as he was in the world of physics, Isaac Newton is often regarded as an extremely humble individual. His words portray an immensely deep ocean of wisdom that remained undiscovered when he described himself as “a boy playing on the seashore.” This was the very paradox behind Newton’s quotes; our beloved physicist was one of the finest scientific minds of history.
Moreover, three core principles of intellect emerge from what Newton described. First is the patient persistence to endure through quiet moments, for as he stated, “genius is patience,” proving that remarkable discovery can occur if we allow it our full focus instead of fleeting inspiration. Second, pursuing the vast wonders while recognizing intellect as “a drop” in the ocean of unknown speaks to the second principle of simplicity. Lastly, humble persistence brings us to seeking the untouched world.
These principles bound together reveal a timeless truth. Alongside Newton’s legacy comes the reminder that true wisdom is to remain deeply curious and driven by the mysteries we know so little about. Knowledge never ceases, so the thirst to discover must continue to grow each day.
