When a scientist is ahead of his times, it is often through misunderstanding of current, rather than intuition of future truth. In science there is never any error so gross that it won't one day, from some perspective, appear prophetic.
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I think I am one of those who can manage not to take on a completely different appearance under their own glance.
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I don't judge a regime by the damning criticism of the opposition, but by the ingenuous praise of the partisan.
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Falsity cannot keep an idea from being beautiful; there are certain errors of such ingenuity that one could regret their not ranking among the achievements of the human mind.
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Greatness, in order to gain recognition, must all too often consent to ape greatness.
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The least one can say of power is that a vocation for it is suspicious.
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Kill one man and you are a murderer. Kill millions and you are a conqueror. Kill all and you are a God.
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It may offend us to hear our own thoughts expressed by others: we are not sure enough of their souls.
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My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of other pessimists.
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Nothing leads the scientist so astray as a premature truth.
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It is sometimes well for a blatant error to draw attention to overmodest truths.
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Take heed of critics even when they are not fair; resist them even when they are.
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My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of the pessimists.
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Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god.
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Prerequisite for rereadability in books: that they be forgettable.
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We must watch over our modesty in the presence of those who cannot understand its grounds.
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To reflect is to disturb one's thoughts.
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Certain brief sentences are peerless in their ability to give one the feeling that nothing remains to be said.
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There are certain moments when we might wish the future were built by men of the past.
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The books one has written in the past have two surprises in store: one couldn't write them again, and wouldn't want to.
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To love an idea is to love it a little more than one should.
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My pessimism goes to the point of suspecting the sincerity of the pessimists.
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Truth is always served by great minds, even if they fight it.
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In politics, yesterday's lie is attacked only to flatter today's.
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To be an adult is to be alone.
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It takes a very deep-rooted opinion to survive unexpressed.
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In order to remain true to oneself one ought to renounce one's party three times a day.
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We are not na?ve enough to ask for pure men; we ask merely for men whose impurity does not conflict with the obligations of their job.
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To be adult is to be alone.
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A man is not old as long as he is seeking something.
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