If I have done the public any service, it is due to my patient thought.

Meaning of the quote

Isaac Newton, the famous English mathematician, believed that any good he did for the public was the result of his careful and patient thinking. He recognized that his achievements were not the product of sudden inspiration, but rather the outcome of his diligent and thoughtful approach to problem-solving. This quote suggests that Newton understood the importance of taking the time to thoroughly consider and explore ideas, rather than rushing to conclusions. His patient thought process allowed him to make significant contributions to the field of mathematics and science.

About Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton was an influential English polymath who made significant contributions to various fields, including mathematics, physics, astronomy, and optics. He is best known for his groundbreaking work on the laws of motion and universal gravitation, which revolutionized our understanding of the physical world and laid the foundation for classical mechanics.

More about the author

More quotes from Isaac Newton

To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)

If I have done the public any service, it is due to my patient thought.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)

I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)

To me there has never been a higher source of earthly honor or distinction than that connected with advances in science.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)

It is the weight, not numbers of experiments that is to be regarded.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)

We build too many walls and not enough bridges.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)

A man may imagine things that are false, but he can only understand things that are true, for if the things be false, the apprehension of them is not understanding.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)

We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)

Errors are not in the art but in the artificers.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)

If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)

To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)

I was like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)

Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy.

Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)