“No doubt that there are laws in science, the discovery of which depended on the abilities and diligence of its discoverers, without whom, perhaps, they would still remain a mystery.”

Bright Galaxies, Dark Matters (1997), preface

"The Painter in the Press", 'X magazine, Vol. I, No.4 (October 1960).

The Law of Mind (1892)
Context: But no mental action seems necessary or invariable in its character. In whatever manner the mind has reacted under a given sensation, in that manner it is the more likely to react again; were this, however, an absolute necessity, habits would become wooden and ineradicable, and no room being left for the formulation of new habits, intellectual life would come to a speedy close. Thus, the uncertainty of the mental law is no mere defect of it, but is on the contrary of its essence. The truth is, the mind is not subject to "law," in the same rigid sense that matter is. It only experiences gentle forces which merely render it more likely to act a given way than it otherwise would be. There always remains a certain amount of arbitrary spontaneity in its action, without which it would be dead.

Source: Derb Quotes https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/derb-quotes-john-derbyshire/, National Review, November 20, 2003.

Einstein's Legacy: The Unity of Space and Time (2002) p. 2

The Study of History (1895)

Arie de Geus, in: " Arie de Geus: The Thought Leader http://www.strategy-business.com/article/17421?gko=cedb2," in: Strategy & Business. April 1, 2001, Nr 22-25. p. 26

Ben Yamen's Song of Geometry (1853)
Context: The Key! it is of wonderful construction, with its infinity of combination, and its unlimited capacity to fit every lock. … it is the great master-key which unlocks every door of knowledge and without which no discovery which deserves the name — which is law, and not isolated fact — has been or ever can be made. Fascinated by its symmetry the geometer may at times have been too exclusively engrossed with his science, forgetful of its applications; he may have exalted it into his idol and worshipped it; he may have degraded it into his toy... when he should have been hard at work with it, using it for the benefit of mankind and the glory of his Creator.