4 Quotes & Sayings By Christiaan Huygens

Christiaan Huygens, a Dutch physicist and mathematician who invented the pendulum clock and the hydrostatic balance, was born in The Hague on April 30, 1629. The son of a wealthy lens grinder, he was a prodigy from his early years. At age 17 he published a treatise in Latin on mechanical devices and soon after a book in French on navigational instruments. Bored by his official duties, he turned to astronomy and mathematics, making important contributions in both fields Read more

He invented the first pendulum clock and the hydrostatic balance, which allowed objects suspended from a liquid to be measured precisely. He also invented nautical instruments such as quadrants and compasses. In 1678 Huygens married Constantijn Huygens, the daughter of an astronomer well-known in Europe.

His scientific work was eclipsed by his interest in music and astronomy, but it is still remembered for its brilliance.

I believe that we do not know anything for certain,...
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I believe that we do not know anything for certain, but everything probably. Christiaan Huygens
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What a wonderful and amazing Scheme have we here of the magnificent Vastness of the Universe! So many Suns, so many Earths, and every one of them stock’d with so many Herbs, Trees and Animals, and adorn’d with so many Seas and Mountains! And how must our wonder and admiration be encreased when we consider the prodigious distance and multitude of the Stars? Christiaan Huygens
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How vast those Orbs must be, and how inconsiderable this Earth, the Theatre upon which all our mighty Designs, all our Navigations, and all our Wars are transacted, is when compared to them. A very fit consideration, and matter of Reflection, for those Kings and Princes who sacrifice the Lives of so many People, only to flatter their Ambition in being Masters of some pitiful corner of this small Spot. Christiaan Huygens