“But anyone who is practically acquainted with scientific work is aware that those who refuse to go beyond fact, rarely get as far as fact; and anyone who has studied the history of science knows that almost every great step therein has been made by the 'anticipation of Nature,' that is, by the invention of hypotheses, which, though verifiable, often had very little foundation to start with.”

“History warns us ... that it is the customary fate of new truths to begin as heresies and to end as superstitions.”

“The man of science has learned to believe in justification, not by faith, but by verification.”

“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not. It is the first lesson that ought to be learned and however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly.”

“The scientific spirit is of more value than its products, and irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors.”

“I am too much of a skeptic to deny the possibility of anything.”

“The most considerable difference I note among men is not in their readiness to fall into error but in their readiness to acknowledge these inevitable lapses.”

“The great end of life is not knowledge but action.”

“Act decidedly and take the consequences. No good is ever done by hesitation.”

“The most considerable difference I note among men is not in their readiness to fall into error but in their readiness to acknowledge these inevitable lapses.”

“Of moral purpose I see no trace in Nature. That is an article of exclusively human manufacture and very much to our credit.”