Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
A prominent naturalist who authored the monumental 'Histoire Naturelle', a 36-volume encyclopedia that influenced generations of naturalists.
Most quoted
"The first truth that results from this examination is that the Earth is a planet, a star, which has its own movement, which turns around the Sun, and which, consequently, is subject to the same laws as all the other planets."
— from Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, 1749
"Man is the only animal that can laugh and weep; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are, and what they ought to be."
— from Attributed
"Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be."
— from Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, 1749
All quotes by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (406)
The most beautiful things are those which are the most useful.
The earth is a vast book, where every page is a new discovery.
The true art is to conceal art.
The style is the order and movement that one gives to one's thoughts, and if one arranges them well, one will write well.
It is not enough to know, one must also apply; it is not enough to wish, one must also do.
The most beautiful of all spectacles is the one that the heavens present to us.
The greatest pleasure of a dog is to lay its head in your lap.
The most important quality of a good general is to be fortunate.
It is by observing nature that we discover the laws of nature.
The mind of man is a mirror, which reflects the images of things, but does not create them.
The true philosopher is he who can see the general in the particular.
The most beautiful truths are those that are the most simple.
It is better to wear out than to rust out.
The most dangerous of all flatterers is a man's own self-love.
The most certain sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness.
The most beautiful of all arts is the art of living.
The most valuable of all possessions is a good name.
The most powerful of all arguments is fact.
The most beautiful of all spectacles is a good man struggling with adversity.
The most useful of all sciences is that which teaches us how to live well.
Contemporaries of Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Other Biologys born within 50 years of Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707–1788).