Nicholas Oresme Quotes on Nature
Nicholas Oresme was a French scholastic philosopher, mathematician, economist, theologian, and bishop of Lisieux, and one of the most original thinkers of the fourteenth century. This page collects quotes attributed to Nicholas Oresme on the topic of nature, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
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Attributed to Nicholas Oresme:
“It is mathematically as reasonable to suppose the Earth turns daily as to suppose the heavens do.”
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Attributed to Nicholas Oresme:
“Quantities of any kind may be represented by lines and surfaces.”
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Attributed to Nicholas Oresme:
“Many natural marvels can be explained by ordinary causes, if we examine them with care.”
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“Nicole Oresme and The Marvels of Nature , Bert Hansen's translation (Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1985), p. 73.”
People marvel at … things only because they rarely happen; but the causes for these are as apparent as for others … For example, at night a fearful man who sees a wolf in the fields, or a cat in his room, will immediately assert and judge that it is an enemy or a devil … because he fixes his imagination on these and fears them. And a person devout and rapt [in ecstasy] will judge that it is an ang