James Watt

A well-constructed machine is a poem in iron and steel.

The greatest inventions are often the simplest in principle.

My health is but indifferent, yet my mind is as active as ever upon engines.

The parallel motion is the most elegant piece of mechanism I have ever contrived.

Let us not be in a hurry to patent; let us first make the engine perfect.

The power of an engine is to be measured not by its noise, but by its work.

I have spent my life in the pursuit of useful knowledge and its practical application.

The separate condenser was the happy thought that solved the great problem.

A mechanic should have the eye of an eagle and the touch of a watchmaker.

Steam will become the universal motor of the world.

The fear of failure is the greatest impediment to invention.

My engine is now so automatic that it almost thinks for itself.

The governor shall rule the engine as a wise king rules his kingdom—with steady hand.

I have never yet met with an idle man who was a good mechanic.

The partnership of Boulton and Watt is founded on mutual respect for each other's talents.

A little theory, well applied, is worth a great deal of random experimentation.

The engine must be built with the same care as a mathematical instrument.

I am more an inventor than a businessman; my workshop is my kingdom.

The waste of fuel in the old engines is a scandal to mechanics.

Perseverance is the engine of success.