“ Science, my lad, has been built upon many errors; but they are errors which it was good to fall into, for they led to the truth. ”
Jules Verne, Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864). copy citation
| Author | Jules Verne |
|---|---|
| Source | Journey to the Center of the Earth |
| Topic | truth science errors |
| Date | 1864 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Frederick Amadeus Malleson |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3748/3748-h/3748-h.htm |
Context
“"Exactly so; and it is likely enough that if we were to reach the spot beneath the polar regions, about that seventy-first degree where Sir James Ross has discovered the magnetic pole to be situated, we should see the needle point straight up. Therefore that mysterious centre of attraction is at no great depth."
I remarked: "It is so; and here is a fact which science has scarcely suspected."
"Science, my lad, has been built upon many errors; but they are errors which it was good to fall into, for they led to the truth."
"What depth have we now reached?"
"We are thirty-five leagues below the surface."
"So," I said, examining the map, "the Highlands of Scotland are over our heads, and the Grampians are raising their rugged summits above us."” source
I remarked: "It is so; and here is a fact which science has scarcely suspected."
"Science, my lad, has been built upon many errors; but they are errors which it was good to fall into, for they led to the truth."
"What depth have we now reached?"
"We are thirty-five leagues below the surface."
"So," I said, examining the map, "the Highlands of Scotland are over our heads, and the Grampians are raising their rugged summits above us."” source
Meaning and analysis
