"Analogy, although it is not infallible, is yet that telescope of the mind by which it is marvellously assisted in the discovery of both physical and moral truth." (Charles C Colton, "Lacon", 1820)
"On the whole, Analogy is to be regarded as a step towards satisfactory proof, much in advance of first presumptions, if skillfully applied; [...]" (Francis W Newman, "Lectures on Logic", 1838)
"Analogies are figures intended to serve as fatal weapons if they succeed, and as innocent toys if they fail." (Henry Adams, "Mont Saint Michel and Chartres", 1904)
“It must be gently but firmly pointed out that analogy is the very corner-stone of scientific method.” (Archie E Heath, “On Analogy”, The Cambridge Magazine, 1918)
"[…] analogies are not ‘aids’ to the establishment of theories; they are an utterly essential part of theories, without which theories would be completely valueless and unworthy of the name." (Norman R Campbell, "Physics: The Elements", 1920)
"An analogy is not a reason […]" (Hardy Cross, "Engineers and Ivory Towers", 1952)
"Analogy is even slipperier than logic." (Robert A Heinlein, "Stranger in a Strange Land", 1961)
"An analogy is a relationship between two entities, processes, or what you will, which allows inferences to be made about one of the things, usually that about which we know least, on the basis of what we know about the other." (Rom Harré," The Philosophies of Science" , 1972)
"Analogies, metaphors, and emblems are the threads by which the mind holds on to the world even when, absentmindedly, it has lost direct contact with it, and they guarantee the unity of human experience." (Hannah Arendt, "The Life of the Mind", 1981)
"Analogy, in its most general sense, is this ability to think about relational patterns.” (Keith Holyoak et al, “Introduction: The Place of Analogy in Cognition”, 2001)
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