It is not easy to imagine how little interested a scientist usually is in the work of any other, with the possible exception of the teacher who backs him or the student who honors him.

Somebody told me I should put a pebble in my mouth to cure my stuttering. Well, I tried it, and during a scene I swallowed the pebble. That was the end of that.

A body of work such as Pasteur's is inconceivable in our time: no man would be given a chance to create a whole science. Nowadays a path is scarcely opened up when the crowd begins to pour in.

We spend our time envying people whom we wouldn't wish to be.

My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of other pessimists.

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.

Kill one man, and you are murderer.

Science has made us gods even before we are worthy of being men.

To be adult is to be alone.

A man is not old as long as he is seeking something.

In order to remain true to oneself one ought to renounce one's party three times a day.

Why had she imagined he was attractive? He was absolutely the biggest, most complete and utter jackass she'd ever had the bad fortune to meet.

In any case, muffins that are only imaginary aren't liable to get stuck.

Cowards drown in a pond. The extraordinary flourish in the middle of the ocean.

They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they'd make up their minds.

Immature love says "I love you because I need you." Mature love says "I need you because I love you."

If Anthony Johnson ever gets a jumper, who's going to stop him?

Your good friend has just taken a piece of cake out of the garbage and eaten it. You will probably need this information when you check me into the Betty Crocker Clinic.

We live in a world which respects power above all things. Power, intelligently directed, can lead to more freedom. Unwisely directed, it can be a dreadful, destructive force.

Where magic is concerned, there is always an initial decision, an initial willingness to let it enter your life. If that is not there neither is magic.

I think I'm probably much better at the boots and pocket knife thing than I am at the high heels and martini thing.