Georges-Louis Leclerc Buffon

"Genius is patience."

"Style is the man himself."

"The more we know, the more we see how much we have yet to learn."

"Nature never wears the same expression twice."

"The test of knowledge is experiment."

"Man is not born free; he is born weak and needs assistance."

"Time is the greatest teacher; unfortunately it kills all its students."

"The greatest geniuses have always had the greatest contempt for riches."

"A fact is the simplest statement of observation; it is free from theory."

"The secret to life is work."

"An important art of life is to learn what to overlook."

"Nature is a great teacher; only through constant observation can we truly understand."

"The beauty of nature lies in its infinite complexity."

"Patience is the art of hope."

"True knowledge consists in knowing things, not words."

"The span of life is determined not by the length of years, but by the depth of experience."

"In nature, there is no blemish but the mind; none can be called deformed but the unkind."

"Writing is the painting of the voice."

"The more extensive a man's knowledge of what has been done, the greater will be his power of doing what ought to be done."

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."

"To understand God's thoughts, we must study statistics, for these are the measure of His purpose."

"Nature is never finished."

"Every object, every being, every truth finds its meaning only in relation to the whole."

"Method is the soul of art."

"The strongest conviction upon which we base our conduct is not always the truest."

"Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance."

"In writing there must be no such word as easy; whatever is written with ease will be read with difficulty."

"To judge the character of a man, look at how he treats those who can do nothing for him."

"History is filled with the sound of silken slippers going downstairs and wooden shoes coming up."

"The love of science among the generality of mankind is much weaker than it is supposed to be."