Hilbert, David

"The mind expanded by the pursuit of mathematics can never return to its former size."

"In mathematics, we find the eternal principles that guide all existence."

"A beautiful equation is a window into the mind of the creator of all things."

"The pursuit of mathematical truth is the noblest of all human endeavors."

"Every student of mathematics is a participant in the grand quest for universal knowledge."

"The infinite cannot be grasped by the finite mind, yet we persist in the attempt."

"Mathematics is the bridge between the visible and invisible worlds."

"To understand one mathematical truth is to begin understanding all truths."

"The beauty of mathematics is that it rewards both the careful analyst and the bold creator."

"Numbers are eternal; they existed before humans and will exist after."

"In mathematics, the art of asking the right question is more important than solving the problem."

"We must know, we will know."

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

"One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to preserve oneself, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny."

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

"The principal value of symbolic knowledge lies in economy of mental effort."

"Not by logic alone, but by intuition and imagination, do we advance in mathematical knowledge."

"Every great work of science is primarily a work of imagination."

"Profound simplicity is the ultimate sophistication in mathematical thought."

"The mind of man has no greater gift than the ability to perceive beauty and truth."

"One must always have chaos within oneself to give birth to a dancing star of mathematical insight."

"Intuitively, the continuum cannot be made into a set."

"Physics is really nothing more than a guide to profitably applying mathematics to nature."

"The axiomatic method is the highest expression of the mathematical spirit."

"When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven't."

"A proof should be like a clear window pane through which one can see the truth."

"The particular stands in relation to the universal as the body to the soul."

"Completeness and consistency—these are the twin pillars upon which all knowledge must rest."

"To understand mathematics is to participate in the divine."

"The mind does not work according to geometrical laws; it is fluid and organic."