Mary Hesse advocates a methodological stance pertaining to theory development based on James Clerk Maxwell’s ‘method of physical analogies’. It is an approach avoiding pitfalls such as unsupported hypotheses or losing sight of the object of research. Hesse’s claim about a unity of the Newtonian method of ‘deduction from phenomena’ with analogical reasoning is explored. In this spirit, it is argued that Hesse’s classification of analogies provides a dynamic tracking of the theory-building process. Three instances where Hesse’s classification of analogies plays a crucial role in contemporary debates in philosophy of science are briefly touched upon.