Charles Goodyear Quotes

“I was encouraged in my efforts by the reflection that what is hidden and unknown, and cannot be discovered by scientific research, will most likely be discovered by accident, if at all, by the man who applies himself most perseveringly to the subject.”

“The inventor of this process has not merely discovered something, but he has discovered how to make discoveries. He has not merely added to the stock of human knowledge, but he has added to the power of human acquisition.”

“The writer is not disposed to repine, and say that he has planted and others have gathered the fruits. The advantages of a career in life should not be estimated exclusively by the standard of dollars and cents, as is too often done. Man has just cause for regret when he sows and no one reaps.”

“Life should not be estimated exclusively by the standard of dollars and cents. I am not disposed to complain that I have planted and others have gathered the fruits. A man has cause for regret only when he sows and no one reaps.”

“The discovery of this process has been attended with much labor, anxiety, and expense, as well as ridicule and reproach. The writer does not wish to occupy the time of the reader with a detail of his embarrassments, but he would say that he has found the business of introducing a new manufacture, with insufficient means, to be like sailing against wind and tide.”

“There is probably no other inert substance which so excites the mind, and offers such great advantages to the human family, as caoutchouc, when its properties are properly developed.”

“The writer has found the business of introducing a new manufacture, with insufficient means, to be like sailing against wind and tide.”

“In prosecuting his experiments, he has uniformly found that the results of his labors have exceeded his most sanguine expectations. In every instance where he has had occasion to prepare fabrics for a specific purpose, they have proved better adapted to that purpose than he had dared to hope.”

“The properties of gum-elastic are not fully understood. Like the metals, it is capable of being vulcanized or sulfurized to different degrees, for different purposes, and the degree of vulcanization may be varied to suit the purpose for which it is intended.”

“The writer would remark that, although he has spoken of this discovery as an accident, it is not to be supposed that it was the result of what is commonly termed chance; it was the direct result of the application of heat to a compound of gum-elastic, sulfur, and white lead.”

“I am disposed to apply the same rule to the judgment of experiments with gum-elastic as others do to the judgment of the fine arts, and say that the excellence of the work, and not the time it takes to perform it, should be the standard by which it should be judged.”

“The writer believes that he has opened a new field for enterprise and given employment to thousands of persons, and that the results of his labors will be beneficial to mankind for ages to come.”

“It may be that I am not to enjoy, in my lifetime, the fruits of my labor, but I am cheered by the reflection that, should my efforts prove successful, the benefits will not be limited to myself or my family, but will be shared by the whole human race.”

“A man has cause for regret only when he sows and no one reaps.”