David Hilbert

"To advance mathematics is to advance civilization itself."

"Mathematical proofs are our gifts to eternity."

"The infinite is not a destination but a direction of thought."

"Mathematics reveals that necessity and beauty are one."

"To think mathematically is to think like the universe thinks."

"Every mathematical discovery was once an impossible dream."

"The clarity of mathematics is both punishment and reward for the untidy mind."

"In mathematics, understanding is the only true currency."

"To be a mathematician is to accept that some questions may never be answered, yet we must continue asking."

"Mathematics is the instrument which has been created by the human spirit for understanding the universe."

"In mathematics, as in physics and biology, it is the constructions of new concepts which are more important than the construction of proofs."

"The art of doing mathematics is finding that special case which contains all the germs of generality."

"A mathematical problem should be difficult in order to entice us, yet not completely inaccessible, lest it mock at our efforts."

"One should as a rule respect public opinion in its undisguised form, but not in its criticism of individuals."

"The subject matter of mathematics is so vast and time is so limited that the student must make a selection."

"Physics is becoming too important to be left to physicists - they should consult with mathematicians more."

"Wherever there is number, there is beauty."

"A proof should be like a clear window pane: we should see through it to the truth beyond."

"The most important principle for the thinker is to convert the problem into another problem that is easier to solve."

"In the old times they had no statistics, and so they had to fall back on lies. Then we discovered statistics, so now we have no need to resort to falsehoods - we have statistics."

"I have had my results for a long time: but I do not yet know how I am to arrive at them."

"The infinite! No other question has ever moved so profoundly the spirit of man."

"Every mathematician worthy of the name has experienced the state of being at a loss without an idea, without a glimmer of light."

"We forget that before Euclid, people were not sure about the nature of space."

"The task of the mathematician is to work with concepts, not numbers or formulas."

"If we would have new knowledge, we must get us a wholly new world."

"There is no ignorabimus - we must know, we shall know."

"A problem which can be solved by mathematics must be formulated in mathematical terms first."

"The mathematician does not work like the experimentalist, in the visible world of sensory phenomena, but in the inner world of the mind."

"Logic and intuition have equal roles in mathematical discovery."