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)
Nature is a book, whose pages are always open.
The more one knows, the more one realizes how little one knows.
True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and nothing more.
The most beautiful discoveries are those which open new paths to knowledge.
The world is a theater, and we are all actors.
To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.
The greatest victory is that which is won over oneself.
Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonders.
The human mind is a vast ocean, full of mysteries.
The most beautiful music is that which speaks to the soul.
The earth is a living organism, constantly evolving.
The greatest wealth is health.
The universe is a vast and complex machine, whose laws we are only beginning to understand.
The most beautiful flowers are those which bloom in adversity.
To understand nature, one must observe it without prejudice.
Nature is a perpetual spectacle, always new and always admirable.
The human heart is a labyrinth, full of hidden passages.
The most beautiful poems are those which sing of nature.
The true art of writing is to make difficult things easy to understand.
The earth is a vast laboratory, where nature performs its experiments.
Contemporaries of Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Other Biologys born within 50 years of Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707–1788).