"In regard to useful objects, it does not seem necessary to wait till a large collection of materials be made before they be begun. The conviction of their utility being once firmly fixed in the mind, let them be attempted in dependence on divine providence, and on the co-operation of those men to whom they approve themselves. If they be essentially connected with the improvement and happiness of but a small portion of mankind, they will ultimately prosper, however unpromising in their first stages."
— William Milne
Source: A Retrospect of the First Ten Years of the Protestant Mission to China (1820), Section XIV