“Well-observed facts, though brought to light by passing theories, will never die; they are the material on which alone the house of science will at last be built.”

The fact that knowledge endlessly recedes as the investigator is about to grasp it is what constitutes at the same time his torment and happiness.

If I had to define life in a single phrase, I should clearly express my thought of throwing into relief one characteristic which, in my opinion, sharply differentiates biological science. I should say: life is creation.

First causes are outside the realm of science.

The great experimental principle, then, is doubt, that philosophic doubt which leaves to the mind its freedom and initiative, and from which the virtues most valuable to investigators in physiology and medicine are derived.

A great discovery is a fact whose appearance in science gives rise to shining ideas, whose light dispels many obscurities and shows us new paths.

A discovery is generally an unforeseen relation not included in theory.

Particular facts are never scientific; only generalization can establish science.

Men who believe too firmly in their theories, do not believe enough in the theories of others. So these despisers of their fellows make experiments only to destroy a theory, instead of to seek the truth.

The true worth of an experimenter consists in his pursuing not only what he seeks in his experiment, but also what he did not seek.

The mental never influences the physical. It is always the physical that modifies the mental, and when we think that the mind is diseased, it is always an illusion.

Science increases our power in proportion as it lowers our pride.

When we meet a fact which contradicts a prevailing theory, we must accept the fact and abandon the theory, even when the theory is supported by great names and generally accepted.

The terrain is everything; the germ is nothing.

The joy of discovery is certainly the liveliest that the mind of man can ever feel.

The experimenter who does not know what he is looking for will not understand what he finds.

The better educated we are and the more acquired information we have, the better prepared shall we find our minds for making great and fruitful discoveries.

The ideal weapons system is built in 435 congressional districts and it doesn’t matter whether it works or not.

As we write, so we build: to keep a record of what matters to us.

I’m delighted. I don’t know of anybody who had a statue built of them while they were living. It’s a great feeling.

The institutions that we’ve built up over the years to protect our individual privacy rights from the government don’t apply to the private sector.

Though I developed my own personal spiritual relationship later in life, the foundation they laid is what my faith was built upon.

Language is the ticket to plot and character, after all, because both are built out of language.

Bill Hicks – blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.

A few thousand are to be built in the next few years, all using taxpayer money. But there is no system, no research, no content, no good programs, no good managers.