The altruism of foresters can serve as a motto for humanity in general: "We reap what we have not sown. We sow what we do not reap."

God is the mysterious veil under which we hide our ignorance of the cause.

"Le génie n'est qu'une longue patience", a dit Buffon. Cela est bien incomplet. Le génie, c'est l'impatience dans les idées et la patience dans les faits : une imagination vive et un jugement calme; quelque chose comme un liquide en ébullition dans un vase qui reste toujours froid. "Genius is just enduring patience," said Buffon. This is far from complete. Genius is impatience in ideas and patience with the facts: a lively imagination and a calm judgment, rather like a liquid boiling in a cup that remains cold.

Civilization is the art of creating useless needs.

To succeed in science, one must doubt; to succeed in life, one must be sure.

Truth is on a curve whose asymptote our spirit follows eternally.

The paradox is the seed of truth. This germ just needs a fertile ground to flourish and bear fruit.