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** Letter to [[w:Charles Lyell|Charles Lyell]] after being inspired by his ''Principles of Geology'' (1830-1833)
** Letter to [[w:Charles Lyell|Charles Lyell]] after being inspired by his ''Principles of Geology'' (1830-1833)
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* Not to feel elevated on an occasion like the present, by this noble, this magnificent testimony of approbation of my friends, is not in human nature — at all events, it is not in my nature; but if any overweaning self-complacency might arise, and mix itself with my feelings at this moment, there is one consideration which would suffice to set it at rest for ever. . . The assembly, magnificent as it is, comprising in itself, as it does
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, the elite of everything that is illustrious in rank, talent, wealth, in the metropolis — this very assembly is a proof of the justice to which I have adverted I should be weak indeed, if I supposed that all this glorious array has reference to myself. No; it has reference to a far higher and more dignified object. I am but as one drop in the ocean. Every man of science will feel quite as much a sharer in the honors of the day, will feel quite as much distinguished by this assembly as I can be; for when, ere this, would it have been possible to collect together such an assembly as is around me to do honor to science, place it n preeminence, and crown it with distinction? This is, indeed, a new era — this is a memorable day for science, and every man who regards truth for its own sake will feel that on this occasion the eyes of the country are on him, and that England expects every man to do his duty! By that I have been able to accomplish in Africa, I have been amply rewarded; but I stand here not so much for anything of this nature, but as the representative of a class that is distinguished — of a principle which is triumphant; and '''I hope we shall never allow ourselves to forget the infinitely higher and more important circumstance, that it is the great truths of science, that it is the interpretation of [[God]]'s great book of nature, and not the men who interpret these pages, that are the ultimate objects of all this praise.'''
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* Not to feel elevated on an occasion like the present, by this noble, this magnificent testimony of approbation of my friends, is not in human nature — at all events, it is not in my nature; but if any overweaning self-complacency might arise, and mix itself with my feelings at this moment, there is one consideration which would suffice to set it at rest for ever. . . The assembly, magnificent as it is, comprising in itself, as it does, the elite of everything that is illustrious in rank, talent, wealth, in the metropolis — this very assembly is a proof of the justice to which I have adverted I should be weak indeed, if I supposed that all this glorious array has reference to myself. No; it has reference to a far higher and more dignified object. I am but as one drop in the ocean. Every man of science will feel quite as much a sharer in the honors of the day, will feel quite as much distinguished by this assembly as I can be; for when, ere this, would it have been possible to collect together such an assembly as is around me to do honor to science, place it n preeminence, and crown it with distinction? This is, indeed, a new era — this is a memorable day for science, and every man who regards truth for its own sake will feel that on this occasion the eyes of the country are on him, and that England expects every man to do his duty! By that I have been able to accomplish in Africa, I have been amply rewarded; but I stand here not so much for anything of this nature, but as the representative of a class that is distinguished — of a principle which is triumphant; and '''I hope we shall never allow ourselves to forget the infinitely higher and more important circumstance, that it is the great truths of science, that it is the interpretation of [[God]]'s great book of nature, and not the men who interpret these pages, that are the ultimate objects of all this praise.'''
** ''The Athenaeum, Journal of English Foreign Literature, Science, and the fine arts.'', London (16 June 1838), p. 555
** ''The Athenaeum, Journal of English Foreign Literature, Science, and the fine arts.'', London (16 June 1838), p. 555
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=== ''A Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy'' (1831) ===
=== ''A Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy'' (1831) ===
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[[File:Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel.jpg |thumb|We must never forget that it is [[principles]], not [[phenomena]], — [[laws]] not insulated independent [[facts]], — which are the objects of inquiry to the [[natural]] [[philosopher]].]]
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[[File:Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel.jpg |thumb|We must never forget that it is [[principles]], not [[phenomena]], — [[laws]] not insulated independent [[facts]], — which are the objects of inquiry to the [[natural]] [[philosopher]].]]
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[[File:Sir John Herschel with Cap by Julia Margaret Cameron (detail).jpg|thumb|[[Science]] is the [[knowledge]] of many, orderly and methodically digested and arranged, so as to become attainable by one.]]
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[[File:Sir John Herschel with Cap by Julia Margaret Cameron (detail).jpg|thumb|[[Science]] is the [[knowledge]] of many, orderly and methodically digested and arranged, so as to become attainable by one.]]
* '''Man is constituted as a speculative being; he contemplates the world, and the objects around him, not with a passive indifferent eye, but as a system disposed with order and design.'''
* '''Man is constituted as a speculative being; he contemplates the world, and the objects around him, not with a passive indifferent eye, but as a system disposed with order and design.'''
* '''We must never forget that it is [[principles]], not [[phenomena]], — [[laws]] not insulated independent [[facts]], — which are the objects of inquiry to the [[natural]] [[philosopher]].''' As [[truth]] is single, and consistent with itself, a principle may be as completely and as plainly elucidated by the most familiar and simple fact, as by the most imposing and uncommon phenomenon. The colours which glitter on a soapbubble are the immediate consequence of a principle the most important, from the variety of phenomena it explains, and the most beautiful, from its simplicity and compendious neatness, in the whole science of optics. If the nature of periodical colours can be made intelligible by the contemplation of such a trivial object, from that moment it becomes a noble instrument in the eye of correct judgment; and to blow a large, regular, and durable soap-bubble may become the serious and praise-worthy endeavour of a sage, while children stand round and scoff, or children of a larger growth hold up their hands in astonishment at such waste of time and trouble. '''To the natural philosopher there is no natural object unimportant or trifling. From the least of nature's works he may learn the greatest lessons.''' The fall of an apple to the ground may raise his thoughts to the laws which govern the revolutions of the planets in their orbits; or the situation of a pebble may afford him evidence of the state of the globe he inhabits, myriads of ages ago, before his species became its denizens. <br /> And this, is, in fact, one of the great sources of delight which the study of natural science imparts to its votaries. '''A [[mind]] which has once imbibed a taste for [[scientific]] inquiry, and has learnt the habit of applying its principles readily to the cases which occur, has within itself an inexhaustible source of pure and exciting contemplations.''' One would think that [[Shakspeare]] had such a mind in view when he describes a contemplative man as finding
* '''We must never forget that it is [[principles]], not [[phenomena]], — [[laws]] not insulated independent [[facts]], — which are the objects of inquiry to the [[natural]] [[philosopher]].''' As [[truth]] is single, and consistent with itself, a principle may be as completely and as plainly elucidated by the most familiar and simple fact, as by the most imposing and uncommon phenomenon. The colours which glitter on a soapbubble are the immediate consequence of a principle the most important, from the variety of phenomena it explains, and the most beautiful, from its simplicity and compendious neatness, in the whole science of optics. If the nature of periodical colours can be made intelligible by the contemplation of such a trivial object, from that moment it becomes a noble instrument in the eye of correct judgment; and to blow a large, regular, and durable soap-bubble may become the serious and praise-worthy endeavour of a sage, while children stand round and scoff, or children of a larger growth hold up their hands in astonishment at such waste of time and trouble. '''To the natural philosopher there is no natural object unimportant or trifling. From the least of nature's works he may learn the greatest lessons.''' The fall of an apple to the ground may raise his thoughts to the laws which govern the revolutions of the planets in their orbits; or the situation of a pebble may afford him evidence of the state of the globe he inhabits, myriads of ages ago, before his species became its denizens. <br /> And this, is, in fact, one of the great sources of delight which the study of natural science imparts to its votaries. '''A [[mind]] which has once imbibed a taste for [[scientific]] inquiry, and has learnt the habit of applying its principles readily to the cases which occur, has within itself an inexhaustible source of pure and exciting contemplations.''' One would think that [[Shakspeare]] had such a mind in view when he describes a contemplative man as finding
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:: "Tongues in [[trees]] — [[books]] in the running brooks — Sermons in stones — and [[good]] in every thing."
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:: "Tongues in [[trees]] — [[books]] in the running brooks — Sermons in stones — and [[good]] in every thing."
: '''Accustomed to trace the operation of general causes, and the exemplification of general laws, in circumstances where the uninformed and uninquiring eye perceives neither novelty nor [[beauty]], he walks in the midst of wonders: every object which I fells in his way elucidates some principle, affords some instruction, and impresses him with a sense of [[harmony]] and [[order]].''' Nor is it a mere passive pleasure which is thus communicated. A thousand questions are continually arising in his mind, a thousand subjects of inquiry presenting themselves, which keep his faculties in constant exercise, and his thoughts perpetually on the wing, so that lassitude is excluded from his life, and that craving after artificial excitement and dissipation of mind, which leads so many into frivolous, unworthy, and destructive pursuits, is altogether eradicated from his bosom.
: '''Accustomed to trace the operation of general causes, and the exemplification of general laws, in circumstances where the uninformed and uninquiring eye perceives neither novelty nor [[beauty]], he walks in the midst of wonders: every object which I fells in his way elucidates some principle, affords some instruction, and impresses him with a sense of [[harmony]] and [[order]].''' Nor is it a mere passive pleasure which is thus communicated. A thousand questions are continually arising in his mind, a thousand subjects of inquiry presenting themselves, which keep his faculties in constant exercise, and his thoughts perpetually on the wing, so that lassitude is excluded from his life, and that craving after artificial excitement and dissipation of mind, which leads so many into frivolous, unworthy, and destructive pursuits, is altogether eradicated from his bosom.
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==Quotes about Herschel ==
==Quotes about Herschel ==
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* What is there in ''Paradise Lost'' to elevate and astonish like Herschel or Somerville?
* What is there in ''Paradise Lost'' to elevate and astonish like Herschel or Somerville?
** [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], quoted in Robert D. Richardson, Jr., ''Emerson, the Mind On Fire'' (Univ. of Calif Press 1995), p124
** [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], quoted in Robert D. Richardson, Jr., ''Emerson, the Mind On Fire'' (Univ. of Calif Press 1995), p124