a.d. XIV Kal. Dec.

MEMORĀBILE DICTŪ

Hypothesēs nōn fingō.
“I make no guesses.” (Isaac Newton, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy)

Words of Isaac Newton, who in 1687 published Philosophiae nātūrālis prīncipia mathēmatica, a discussion of gravity and the laws of motion that is oft en referred to simply as the Prīncipia and is generally considered the most important scientific work ever written. The Latin phrase above comes from a supplement to the Prīncipia. Newton’s research brought the scientific work of Copernicus, Galileo, and the German astronomer Kepler to its crowning glory. With the exception of Galileo, who wrote in both Italian and Latin, all of these illustrious and influential physical scientists wrote primarily in Latin. Latin remained the official language of scientific communication for centuries.

From Latin for the New Millennium