I have frequently been questioned, especially by women, of how I could reconcile family life with a scientific career. Well, it has not been easy.

It was like a new world opened to me, the world of science, which I was at last permitted to know in all liberty.

First principle: never to let one's self be beaten down by persons or by events.

There are sadistic scientists who hurry to hunt down errors instead of establishing the truth.

Pierre Curie voluntarily exposed his arm to the action of radium for several hours. This resulted in damage resembling a burn that developed progressively and required several months to heal. Henri Becquerel had by accident a similar burn as a result of carrying in his vest pocket a glass tube containing radium salt. He came to tell us of this evil effect of radium, exclaiming in a manner at once delighted and annoyed: "I love it, but I owe it a grudge."

We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must be done for itself, for the beauty of science, and then there is always the chance that a scientific discovery may become like the radium a benefit for humanity.

I am one of those who think like Nobel, that humanity will draw more good than evil from new discoveries.