"Hero of Alexandria" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... step—one man transmitting the result of his labours, at the time apparently useless, to his successors, who took it up and carried it forward another stage,— the prosecution of the inquiry extending over many generations. Thus the idea promulgated by Hero of Alexandria was never altogether lost; but, like the grain of wheat hid in the hand of the Egyptian mummy, it sprouted and again grew vigorously when brought into the full light of modern science. The steam-engine was nothing, however, until it emerged from the state of theory, ...
— Self Help • Samuel Smiles |
