Each department of knowledge passes through three stages. The theoretic stage; the theological stage and the metaphysical or abstract stage. Auguste Comte
Wherefore the mere practical architect is not able to assign sufficient reasons for the forms he adopts; and the theoretic architect also fails, grasping the shadow instead of the substance. Marcus V. Pollio
The first, or theoretic branch, that which explains the nature, production, and distribution of wealth, will be found to rest on a very few general propositions, which are the result of observation, or consciousness. Nassau William Senior
