"Without my attempts in natural science, I..." - Quote by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Without my attempts in natural science, I should never have learned to know mankind such as it is. In nothing else can we so closely approach pure contemplation and thought, so closely observe the errors of the senses and of the understanding, the weak and strong points of character.
More by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
More on Science
“The astronomers said, 'Give us matter and a little motion and we will construct the universe. It is not enough that we should have matter, we must also have a single impulse, one shove to launch the mass and generate the harmony of the centrifugal and centripetal forces.' ... There is no end to the consequences of the act. That famous aboriginal push propagates itself through all the balls of the system, and through every atom of every ball.”
“(Reply on what constitutes scientific proof:)"The question is much too difficult for me.”
“The most important tool of the theoretical physicist is his wastebasket.”
More on Human Nature
“Sometimes what my analytical mind says to me is not what I'll do.”
“Can one generation bind another, and all others, in succession forever? I think not. The Creator has made the earth for the living, not the dead. Rights and powers can only belong to persons, not to things, not to mere matter endowed with will...Nothing is unchangeable but the inherent and unalienable rights of man.”
“Coward: someone who in a bad situation thinks with his feet”