Every one is fond of comparing himself to something great and grandiose, as Louis XIV likened himself to the sun, and others have had like similes. I am more humble. I am a mere street scavenger (chiffonier) of science. With my hook in my hand and my basket on my back, I go about the streets of science, collecting what I find.

~ François Magendie

François Magendie Chiffonier Comparison Discovery Grandiose Greatness Humbleness Louis Xiv Passion Scavenger Science

I know that certain minds would regard as audacious the idea of relating the laws which preside over the play of our organs to those laws which govern inanimate bodies; but, although novel, this truth is none the less incontestable. To hold that the phenomena of life are entirely distinct from the general phenomena of nature is to commit a grave error, it is to oppose the continued progress of science.

~ François Magendie

François Magendie Audacious Biology Determinism Error Freedom Idea Lack Of Free Will Laws Life Materialism Minds Nature Organs Phenomena Physiology Progress Truth

Facts, and facts alone, are the foundation of science... When one devotes oneself to experimental research it is in order to augment the sum of known facts, or to discover their mutual relations.

~ François Magendie

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