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Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the first comer; there is nobility in preserving it coolly and proudly through long youth, until at last, in the ripeness of instinct and discretion, it can be safely exchanged for fidelity and happiness.

— Carl Sagan Contact (1985)

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More quotes by Carl Sagan

Human history can be viewed as a slowly dawning awareness that we are members of a larger group.

Cosmos (1980)

If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.

Cosmos (1980)

As the ancient myth makers knew, we are children equally of the earth and the sky.

Cosmos (1980)

For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.

Contact (1985)

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.

The Demon-Haunted World : Science as a Candle in the Dark (1995)

All Carl Sagan quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Carl Sagan (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.