Let us not be attached to systems, but to truth; and when Nature speaks, let us listen to her voice in preference to that of a Stahl or a Lavoissier, a Descartes or a Newton. Whatever may be the result of our experiments, we shall profit by them: as we run the risqué of losing nothing but error, let us hasten to subject ourselves to that loss.

Memoir on Azot, and on the Question, Whether it be a simple or a, compound Body, Philosophical Magazine, Volume VI (p. 337)