"In experimental researches... the ultimate object is to measure something which we have already seen—to obtain a numerical estimate of some magnitude. ...we must find out which of its features are capable of measurement, and what measurements are required in order to make a complete specification of the phenomenon. We must then make these measurements and deduce from them the result which we require to find."
January 1, 1970
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Scientific_Papers_of_James_Clerk_Maxwell