The establishment of a law, moreover, does not take place when the first thought of it takes form, or even when its significance is recognised, but only when it has been confirmed by the results of the experiment.

No law of nature, however general, has been established all at once; its recognition has always been preceded by many presentiments.

The elements which are the most widely diffused have small atomic weights.

There exists everywhere a medium in things, determined by equilibrium.

Work, look for peace and calm in work: You will find it nowhere else. Pleasures flit by -- they are only for yourself; work leaves a mark of long-lasting joy, work is for others.

It is the function of science to discover the existence of a general reign of order in nature and to find the causes governing this order. And this refers in equal measure to the relations of man - social and political - and to the entire universe as a whole.

There is nothing in this world that I fear to say.