mary shelley

The ancient teachers of this science promised impossibilities, & performed nothing.  The modern masters promise very little..  but these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to dabble in dirt, & their eyes to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles.  They penetrate into the recesses of nature, & show how she works in her hiding places.. they have discovered how the blood circulates, & the nature of the air we breathe, & they have acquired new & almost unlimited powers.