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."

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

It's always good to marry your best friend.

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

Sometimes my courage fails me and I think I ought to stop working, live in the country and devote myself to gardening. But I am held by a thousand bonds, and I don't know when I shall be able to arrange things otherwise. Nor do I know whether, even by writing scientific books, I could live without the laboratory.

You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals.

The older one gets, the more one feels that the present must be enjoyed; it is a precious gift, comparable to a state of grace