It is the function of science to discover the existence of a general reign of order in nature and to find the causes governing this order. And this refers in equal measure to the relations of man - social and political - and to the entire universe as a whole.
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"The periodic law is now so firmly established that no one can gainsay its fundamental truth."
"I have spent twenty-five years in the study of petroleum and have come to the conclusion that it is a product of the earth's interior, formed at great depths."
"It is the function of the scientist to do 3 things: to observe, to generalize, and to predict."
"The greatest joy of the scientist is in discovering some new truth, some new regularity, some new law."
"The future of the Russian nation lies in the hands of the schoolmaster and the priest."
From 'Mendeleev on the Periodic Law: Selected Writings', reflecting his broad view of science's role.
Date: Unknown, likely related to his writings on the periodic law
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Science exists to uncover the hidden order running through nature and to identify the causes that produce that order. The same approach applies everywhere: not just to atoms, planets, or chemicals, but also to how people organize themselves socially and politically. Reality, whether physical or human, is governed by discoverable patterns, and the scientist's job is to map those patterns and explain why they exist.
Mendeleev built the periodic table by trusting that scattered chemical elements obeyed an underlying law, even predicting undiscovered elements from gaps in the pattern. That faith in hidden order defines this quote. He also wrote on Russian economics, tariffs, and agriculture, applying the same systematizing mind to society. For him, chemistry and statecraft were not separate domains but parallel arenas where rational inquiry could expose governing causes.
Mendeleev worked in late-19th-century Russia, an era when science was rapidly professionalizing and thinkers believed natural laws could explain everything from gases to governments. Positivism, Darwinism, and Marxism all framed society as lawful and analyzable. Russia itself was wrestling with serfdom's aftermath, industrialization, and political reform, so claims that science could illuminate social and political relations carried real weight in public debate, not merely academic curiosity.
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