"It is a sin to believe that God has forbidden us to examine His creation."

"I have always preferred the plainness of truth to the ornaments of eloquence."

"I have always looked upon the study of nature as a delightful and profitable employment."

"The proper method of inquiry is to begin with experiments and then proceed to reasoning."

"I once kept a viper in a sealed glass jar until it died, to observe the effects of air deprivation."