“Every operation in nature is in the shortest, best ordered, briefest, and best possible way.”

De iride published in Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie des Mittelalters, IX (1912) pp.74-75 as quoted in Carl B. Boyer, The Rainbow: From Myth to Mathematics (1959)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Every operation in nature is in the shortest, best ordered, briefest, and best possible way." by Robert Grosseteste?
Robert Grosseteste photo
Robert Grosseteste 22
English bishop and philosopher 1175–1253

Related quotes

Samuel Taylor Coleridge photo

“Prose: words in their best order; poetry: the best words in the best order.”

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) English poet, literary critic and philosopher

12 July 1827.
Table Talk (1821–1834)
Variant: Poetry: the best words in the best order.
Context: I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry; that is, prose = words in their best order; poetry = the best words in their best order.

Nalo Hopkinson photo

“She was hiding in the best possible way, masquerading as herself!”

Section 4 (p. 314)
Midnight Robber (2000)

Bill Thompson photo
John Heyl Vincent photo

“To live a godly life is the best way to light up a lesson that the teacher can possibly employ.”

John Heyl Vincent (1832–1920) American theologian

Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 572.

Melania Trump photo

“You judge a society by how it treats its citizens. We must do our best to ensure that every child can live in comfort and security, with the best possible education.”

Melania Trump (1970) Slovenian model, wife of Donald Trump and First Lady of the United States

Speech at 2016 Republican National Convention http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/trailguide/la-na-republican-convention-2016-live-melania-trump-speech-is-the-wrong-1468897600-htmlstory.html (July 18, 2016)

Samuel Taylor Coleridge photo
Jesper Kyd photo
Jean-Baptiste Say photo

“The best scheme of finance is, to spend as little as possible; and the best tax is always the lightest.”

Jean-Baptiste Say (1767–1832) French economist and businessman

Source: A Treatise On Political Economy (Fourth Edition) (1832), Book III, On Consumption, Chapter VIII, Section I, p. 449

Warren G. Harding photo

“The black man should seek to be, and he should be encouraged to be, the best possible black man and not the best possible imitation of a white man.”

Warren G. Harding (1865–1923) American politician, 29th president of the United States (in office from 1921 to 1923)

Speech delivered in Birmingham, Alabama, quoted in the Christian Science Monitor, 27 October 1921, p. 2.
1920s

Ralph Waldo Emerson photo

“Nature paints the best part of a picture, carves the best parts of the statue, builds the best part of the house, and speaks the best part of the oration.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet

1870s, Society and Solitude (1870), Art

Related topics