Meteorology has ever been an apple of contention, as if the violent commotions of the atmosphere induced a sympathetic effect on the minds of those who have attempted to study them.

Modern civilization depends on science … James Smithson was well aware that knowledge should not be viewed as existing in isolated parts, but as a whole, each portion of which throws light on all the other, and that the tendency of all is to improve the human mind, and give it new sources of power and enjoyment … narrow minds think nothing of importance but their own favorite pursuit, but liberal views exclude no branch of science or literature, for they all contribute to sweeten, to adorn, and to embellish life … science is the pursuit above all which impresses us with the capacity of man for intellectual and moral progress and awakens the human intellect to aspiration for a higher condition of humanity.
[Joseph Henry was the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, named after its benefactor, James Smithson. The first phrase is inscribed on the National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.]

The person who thinks there can be any real conflict between science and religion must be either very young in science or very ignorant in religion.

The seeds of great discoveries are constantly floating around us, but they only take root in minds well-prepared to receive them.

The seeds of great discovery are constantly floating around us, but they only take root in minds well prepared to receive them.