John Ray
A naturalist who made significant contributions to taxonomy, defining the concept of a species and publishing influential works on plants and animals.
Most quoted
"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."
— from Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation
"The wisdom of God is conspicuously seen in the admirable contrivance of the bodies of animals, and the exquisite fitness of their several parts to their respective functions."
— from The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation, 1691
"Let us then with all diligence apply ourselves to the study of nature, that we may thereby be led to admire and adore its great Creator."
— from Preface to Synopsis Methodica Stirpium Britannicarum
All quotes by John Ray (391)
He who studies nature studies the art of God.
The world is a great book, of which they who never stir from home read only a page.
Ignorance is the mother of devotion, a saying of the Roman clergy.
Fish and guests smell after three days.
Blood is thicker than water.
The devil is not so black as he is painted.
Misery loves company.
A stitch in time saves nine.
One swallow does not make a summer.
The pot calls the kettle black.
Birds of a feather flock together.
Charity begins at home.
You cannot teach an old dog new tricks.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
The leopard cannot change his spots.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
Great minds think alike.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
Contemporaries of John Ray
Other Biologys born within 50 years of John Ray (1627–1705).