Pierre-Simon Laplace

"All human knowledge begins with wonder."

"The beautiful order of the universe reveals the wisdom of the creator."

"To understand a phenomenon, we must reduce it to its mathematical elements."

"Nature guards her secrets jealously from the curious."

"The greatest truths are the simplest things in the world, simple as your own breath."

"Man's superiority consists in his faculty of knowing."

"In the pursuit of knowledge, we must follow where observation leads."

"The infinite variety of nature cannot be reduced to systems without losing its infinite character."

"True knowledge consists in knowing things not words."

"Nature always tends towards her greatest perfection."

"The essential point is not to know the universe but to understand it."

"Life demands that we should read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest."

"Probability is relative, partly to our knowledge, partly to our ignorance of the causes."

"We live under the dominion of chance and must make the most of it."

"The degree of probability depends upon the facts we already know."

"Let us construct a cosmos where facts are never wasted."

"The mathematical mind is free from prejudice."

"Nature is written in the language of mathematics."

"To succeed in the world we must look foolish but be wise."

"The true genius is a mind of large general powers."

"In nature there are no contradictions; all contradictions are in the mind."

"The causes of events are ever hidden from us, but their effects are plain to see."

"Perfect knowledge would make prophecy certain."

"The greatest discovery of all is that a person can change his circumstances by changing his thoughts."

"Nature compels us to acknowledge her infinite complexity."

"The mathematical sciences are the product of the human mind and must be so constituted."

"Let us reason together about the wonders we observe."

"To penetrate nature's secrets we must be as patient as nature is vast."

"The world is not understood by the mind alone but by the marriage of mind and observation."

"Every effect must have a cause; this is the foundation of all science."