The nobility of a human being is strictly independent of that of his convictions.

God, that checkroom of our dreams.

My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of other pessimists.

We must watch over our modesty in the presence of those who cannot understand its grounds.

I think I am one of those who can manage not to take on a completely different appearance under their own glance.

A body of work such as Pasteur's is inconceivable in our time: no man would be given a chance to create a whole science. Nowadays a path is scarcely opened up when the crowd begins to pour in.

There are big and little truths, but all belong to the same race.