34 quotes
Science, which brings man nearer to God
You bring me the deepest joy that can be felt by a man whose invincible belief is that Science and Peace will triumph over Ignorance and War, that nations will unite, not to destroy, but to build, and that the future will belong to those who will have done most for suffering humanity.
The Life of Pasteur (1902)
Great problems are now being handled, keeping every thinking man in suspense; the unity or multiplicity of human races; the creation of man 1,000 years or 1,000 centuries ago; the fixity of species, or the slow and progressive transformation of one species into another; the eternity of matter; the idea of a God unnecessary: such are some of the questions that humanity discusses nowadays.
Soirées scientifiques de la Sorbonne (1864)
The Greeks understood the mysterious power of the hidden side of things. They bequeathed to us one of the most beautiful words in our language — the word "enthusiasm" — en theos [Εν Θεος] — a god within. The grandeur of human actions is measured by the inspiration from which they spring. Happy is he who bears a god within and obeys it.
Discours de réception de Louis Pasteur (1882)
The Greeks have given us one of the most beautiful words of our language, the word "enthusiasm" — a God within. The grandeur of the acts of men are measured by the inspiration from which they spring. Happy is he who bears a God within.
No, there is now no circumstance known in which it can be affirmed that microscopic beings came into the world without germs, without parents similar to themselves. Those who affirm it have been duped by illusions, by ill-conducted experiments, spoilt by errors that they either did not perceive or did not know how to avoid.
Soirées scientifiques de la Sorbonne (1864)
Every chemical substance, whether natural or artificial, falls into one of two major categories, according to the spatial characteristic of its form. The distinction is between those substances that have a plane of symmetry and those that do not. The former belong to the mineral, the latter to the living world.
If it is terrifying to think that life may be at the mercy of the multiplication of infinitesimally small creatures, it is also consoling to hope that science will not always remain powerless before such enemies
La Théorie des germes (1878)
A little science estranges men from God, but much science leads them back to Him.
Misattributed
Religion has no more place in science than science has in religion.
Disputed
When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments; tenderness for what he is, and respect for what he may become.
Disputed The phrase in French is found in Étienne Blanchard (1941)
It is surmounting difficulties that makes heroes.
Misattributed
The more I know, the more nearly is my faith that of the Breton peasant. Could I but know all I would have the faith of a Breton peasant woman.
Disputed
The microbe is nothing. The terrain is everything.
Misattributed