Isaac Newton Quotes
Newton's letters, the Principia and his private manuscripts survive, and the quotes below come from them or from people who recorded his words. A couple of popular “Newton quotes” belong to other people.
4 real Isaac Newton quotes, with sources
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”Isaac Newton — Letter to Robert Hooke, 5 February 1676
“I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore… whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”Isaac Newton — Recorded by Joseph Spence; in David Brewster, Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton (1855), vol. 2, ch. 27
“I frame no hypotheses.”Isaac Newton — Principia, General Scholium (2nd ed., 1713)
“Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.”Isaac Newton — Rules for methodizing the Apocalypse, rule 9 (manuscript, in F. E. Manuel, The Religion of Isaac Newton, 1974)
Famous quotes Isaac Newton never said
“Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.”Written by the American advertising executive Howard W. Newton (1903–1951), not Isaac Newton.
“What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean.”A modern compression of Newton's real remark about the “great ocean of truth”, quoted above.
Who was Isaac Newton?
During a plague year away from Cambridge, the young Newton laid the groundwork for calculus, optics and his theory of gravitation. His Principia (1687) set out the laws of motion that governed physics for over two centuries. Read more on Wikipedia.
One real quote from history, every morning.
Kleos sends you a verified quote, the story behind it and a wallpaper, every day. Free to start.
Join the waitlistQuestions
What is Isaac Newton's most famous quote?
One of the best known is “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” (Letter to Robert Hooke, 5 February 1676)
Did Isaac Newton really say “Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.”?
No. Written by the American advertising executive Howard W. Newton (1903–1951), not Isaac Newton.
Did Isaac Newton really say “What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean.”?
No. A modern compression of Newton's real remark about the “great ocean of truth”, quoted above.
Where do these Isaac Newton quotes come from?
Newton's letters, the Principia and his private manuscripts survive, and the quotes below come from them or from people who recorded his words. A couple of popular “Newton quotes” belong to other people.
More real quotes from history
