“The greatest wisdom is to get to know oneself.”

You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself.

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.

Two truths cannot contradict one another.

I am certainly interested in a tribunal in which, for having used my reason, I was deemed little less than a heretic.

In time you may discover everything that can be discovered, and still your progress will only be progress away from humanity.

That sculpture is more admirable than painting for the reason that it contains relief and painting does not is completely false.

See now the power of truth; the same experiment which at first glance seemed to show one thing, when more carefully examined, assures us of the contrary.

The Divine intellect indeed knows infinitely more propositions.

To be humane, we must ever be ready to pronounce that wise, ingenious and modest statement ‘I do not know’.

Philosophy is written in this grand book, the universe, which stands continually open to our gaze.

To be humane, we must ever be ready to pronounce that wise, ingenious and modest statement ‘I do not know’.

Philosophy is written in this grand book, the universe, which stands continually open to our gaze.

We see only the simple motion of descent, since that other circular one common to the Earth, the tower, and ourselves remains imperceptible.

What greater stupidity can be imagined than that of calling jewels, silver, and gold “precious,” and earth and soil “base”?

I do not know what to say in a case so surprising, so unlooked for and so novel.

I entertain no doubts as to the truth of the transfinites, which I have recognized with God’s help.

Those that were up themselves, kept others low; Those that were low themselves, held others hard; He suffered them to ryse or greater grow; But every one did strive his fellow down to throw.

I think that the formation of [DNA’s] structure by Watson and Crick may turn out to be the greatest developments in the field of molecular genetics in recent years.

The superiority of some men is merely local. They are great because their associates are little.

Words, as is well known, are the great foes of reality.

My great forte in killing buffaloes was to get them circling by riding my horse at the head of the herd and shooting their leaders. Thus the brutes behind were crowded to the left, so that they were soon going round and round.

The great charm in argument is really finding one’s own opinions, not other people’s.

The greatest obstacle to being heroic is the doubt whether one may going to prove one’s self a fool.

I’m looking for the teacher who is simple enough to be great, and great enough to be simple.