Literature adds to reality, 

it does not simply describe it. 

It enriches the necessary competencies 

that daily life requires and provides;

What is now proved was once only imagined.

In the fields I know best, 

among the life sciences, 

it is required 

that the most expert and sophisticated minds 

be capable of changing course 

— often with a great lurch — 

every few years.

The world would be happier 

if men had the same capacity to be silent 

that they have to speak.

Everything we see 

hides another thing, 

we always want to see 

what is hidden 

by what we see.

The history of astronomy is a history of receding horizons.

A single idea, 

if it is right, 

saves us the labour 

of an infinity of experiences.

The simplicities of natural laws arise 

through the complexities of the language we use for their expression.

All speech, written or spoken, is a dead language, 

until it finds a willing and prepared hearer.

Man is a microcosm, 

or a little world, 

because he is an extract 

from all the stars and planets 

of the whole firmament, 

from the earth and the elements; 

and so he is their quintessence.

The brain is like a muscle. 

When it is in use 

we feel very good. 

Understanding is joyous.

Without work, 

all life goes rotten. 

But when work is soulless, 

life stifles and dies.

All still lifes 

are actually 

paintings of the world 

on the sixth day of creation, 

when God and the world 

were alone together, 

without man!

Drawing is a way 

of coming upon the connection between things, 

just like metaphor in poetry 

reconnects what has become separated.

Don't let yesterday use up too much of today.