A person’s first duty, a young person’s at any rate, is to be ambitious, and the noblest ambition is that of leaving behind something of permanent value.

Good work is not done by 'humble' men

Exposition, criticism, appreciation, is work for second-rate minds.

Asked if he believes in one G-d, a mathematician answered: "Yes, up to isomorphism".

A mathematician, like a painter or a poet, is a maker of patterns.

The fact is there are few more popular subjects than mathematics. Most people have some appreciation of mathematics, just as most people can enjoy a pleasant tune.

The mathematician's patterns, like the painter's or the poet's must be beautiful; the ideas, like the colours or the words must fit together in a harmonious way. Beauty is the first test: there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics.