On Unity (1925-1949)

"A poem therefore is to be defined as a structure of words whose sound constitutes a rhythmical unity, complete in itself, irrefragable, unanalyzable, completing its symbolic references within the ambit of its sound effects." (Herbert Read, "What is a Poem", 1926)

"It seems to be the impression among students that mathematical physics consists in deriving a large number of partial differential equations and then solving them, individually, by an assortment of special mutually unrelated devices. It has not been made clear that there is any underlying unity of method and one has often been left entirely in the dark as to what first suggested a particular device to the mind of its inventor." (Arthur G Webster, "Partial Differential Equations of Mathematical Physics", 1927)

"The force acting on the pendulum is proportional to its active mass, its inertia is proportional to its passive mass, so that the period will depend on the ratio of the passive and the active mass. Consequently the fact that the period of all these different pendulums was the same, proves that this ratio is a constant, and can be made equal to unity by a suitable choice of units, i. e., the inertial and the gravitational mass are the same." (Willem de Sitter, "The Astronomical Aspect of the Theory of Relativity", 1933)

"Science is a system of statements based on direct experience, and controlled by experimental verification. Verification in science is not, however, of single statements but of the entire system or a sub-system of such statements." (Rudolf Carnap, "The Unity of Science", 1934)

"We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are a part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity." (Maria Montessori, "To Educate the Human Potential", 1947)

"As the complexity of the structure of matter became revealed through research, its basic simplicity, unity, and dependability became equally evident. So we now see ourselves in a world governed by natural laws instead of by capricious deities and devils. This does not necessarily mean that God has been ruled out of the picture, but it does mean that the architect and engineer of the universe is a far different type of being from the gods assumed by the ancients, and that man lives and dies in a world of logical system and orderly performance." (Karl T Compton, cca. 1930–1949)