Interruption, incoherence, surprise are the ordinary conditions of our life. They have even become real needs for many people, whose minds are no longer fed by anything but sudden changes and constantly renewed stimuli. We can no longer bear anything that lasts. We no longer know how to make boredom bear fruit. So the whole question comes down to this: can the human mind master what the human mind has made?

Having precise ideas often leads to a man doing nothing.

The universe is built on a plan the profound symmetry of which is somehow present in the inner structure of our intellect.

Science means simply the aggregate of all the recipes that are always successful. All the rest is literature.

To see is to forget the name of the thing one sees.

A man who is 'of sound mind' is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key.

My hand feels touched as well as it touches; reality says this, and nothing more.