“We shall not read it for its sociological insights, which are non-existent, nor as science fiction, because it has a general air of implausibility; but there is one high poetic fancy in the New Atlantis that stays in the mind after all its fancies and inventions have been forgotten. In the New Atlantis, an island kingdom lying in very distant seas, the only commodity of external trade is — light: Bacon's own special light, the light of understanding.”
On Francis Bacon's New Atlantis
1960s, Presidential Address, 1969
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Peter Medawar 40
scientist 1915–1987Related quotes

In 'Dynanisme plastique' 1914, Boccioni; as quoted in Futurism, ed. Didier Ottinger; Centre Pompidou / 5 Continents Editions, Milan, 2008, p. 132
1914 - 1916

“Open the window of your mind. Allow the fresh air, new lights and new truths to enter.”
Walking the Path of Compassion (2015)

Source: Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers
“In the light, we read the inventions of others; in the darkness we invent our own stories.”
Source: The Library at Night

Preface
A Course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy and the Mechanical Arts (1807)
Zend explaining the Spawn of Dagon to Elak
Short fiction, The Spawn Of Dagon (1938)
Context: "They dare'd not invade the palace while the globe shone, for the light-rays would have killed them. … This island-continent would have gone down beneath the sea long ago if I hadn't pitted my magic and my science against that of the children of Dagon. They are masters of the earthquake, and Atlantis rests on none too solid a foundation. Their power is sufficient to sink Atlantis forever beneath the sea. But within that room" — Zend nodded toward the curtain that hid the sea-bred horrors — "in that room there is power far stronger than theirs. I have drawn strength from the stars, and the cosmic sources beyond the universe. You know nothing of my power. It is enough — more than enough — to keep Atlantis steady on its foundation, impregnable against the attacks of Dagon's breed. They have destroyed other lands before Atlantis."