"By thus thinking [by analogy] you will get a more real grasp of the subject and insight into the actual processes occurring in Nature - unknown though these may still strictly be - than if you employed the old ideas of action at a distance, or contented yourselves with no theory at all on which to link the facts. You will have made a step in the direction of the truth, but I must beg you to understand that it is only a step; that what modifications and additions will have to be made to it before it becomes a complete theory of electricity I am unable fully to tell you." (Oliver J Lodge, "Modern Views of Electricity", 1889)
"The discovery which has been pointed to by theory is always one of profound interest and importance, but it is usually the close and crown of a long and fruitful period, whereas the discovery which comes as a puzzle and surprise usually marks a fresh epoch and opens a new chapter in science." (Sir Oliver J Lodge, [Becquerel Memorial Lecture] Journal of the Chemical Society, Transactions 101 (2), 1912)
"Every great revelation is likely to have been foreshadowed in more or less imperfect forms, so as to prepare our minds and make ready the way for complete perception hereafter. It is probable that the human race is quite incompetent to receive a really great idea the first time it is offered." (Oliver J Lodge, "Raymond, or Life and Death", 1916)
"The things to be investigated are either true or false. If false, pertinacious inquiry will reveal their falsity. If true, they are profoundly important. For there are no half-truths in Nature; every smallest departure has portentous consequences; our eyes must open slowly, or we should be overwhelmed." (Oliver J Lodge, "Raymond, or Life and Death", 1916)
"There is a conservation of matter and of energy, there may be a conservation of life; or if not of life, of something which transcends life." (Oliver J Lodge, "Christopher: A Study in Human Personality", 1918)
"It is undeniable that mathematicians, with a self-denying ordinance about coefficients, can thus attain remarkable criteria, and are able to anticipate definite results; but we need not seek to engraft their modes of expression on the real world of physics." (Oliver J Lodge, "Geometrization of Physics, and Its Supposed Bias on the, Michelson-Morley Experiment", Nature Vol. 106 (2677), 1921)
"The first thing to realise about the Ether is its absolute continuity." (Oliver Lodge, "Ether and Reality: A Series of Discourses on the Many Functions of the Ether of Space", 1925)
"A physical theory cannot take the whole universe into account; but if it is to be complete enough to be satisfactory, and to make trustworthy predictions, it must take all relevant factors into account." (Oliver J Lodge, "Contributions to a British Association Discussion on the Evolution of, the Universe", Nature, [Supplement] 1931)
"Life must be considered sui generis; it is not a form of energy, nor can it be expressed in terms of something else." (Oliver J Lodge)
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