“The most trifling matters may sometimes be not only the commencement, but the causes, of the gravest discussions. The fall of an apple from a tree suggested the doctrine of gravitation; and the same apple, for aught we know, served up in a dumpling, may have assisted the philosopher in his notions of heat ; for who has not witnessed similar causes and effects at a dinner table ? I confess, a piece of mutton has supplied me with arguments, as well as chops, for a week ; I have seen a hare or a cod’s-head giving hints to a friend for his next Essay; and have known the most solemn reflections rise, with a pair of claws, out of a pigeon-pie.”