A hypothesis or theory is clear, decisive, and positive, but it is believed by no one but the man who created it. Experimental findings, on the other…

- Harlow Shapley

The solar system is off center and consequently man is too.

- Harlow Shapley

Some piously record 'In the beginning God', but I say 'In the beginning hydrogen'.

- Harlow Shapley

Chaos is but unperceived order; it is a word indicating the limitations of the human mind and the paucity of observational facts. The words ‘chaos,’ …

- Harlow Shapley

It seems to me that the evidence ... is opposed to the view that the spirals are individual galaxies comparable with our own. In fact, there appears …

- Harlow Shapley

Theories crumble, but good observations never fade.

- Harlow Shapley

No one trusts a model except the man who wrote it; everyone trusts an observation, except the man who made it.

- Harlow Shapley