Alfred Nobel

I am a pessimist in the sense that I believe the worst, but an optimist in the sense that I hope for the best.

It is my express wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration be given to the nationality of the candidates, but that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be Scandinavian or not.

The practical side of life is an inexhaustible source of interest.

I detest weapons, but I love inventing.

In the great chessboard of life, events seldom occur as predicted.

The soundest criticism of a generation is made by the generation that follows.

Work is the only true diversion I know.

A man's worth should be judged by what he gives, not by what he is able to receive.

I can't see that I deserve any fame, and I have no taste for it.

The future will assign a greater importance to the influence of science on the mind than to its practical applications.

It is not in the nature of things for any one man to make a sudden, violent discovery; science goes step by step.

I owe my success to the fact that I never had a clock in my workroom.

The true civilization is that which promotes peace and the well-being of all.

I have never been able to understand how a man could deserve a monument during his lifetime.

A good reputation is the only thing worth having, and it is the hardest to get and the easiest to lose.

The most successful inventor is the one who builds upon the failures of others.

I prefer to interest myself in how people live rather than in how they die.

The thought of being remembered only as a merchant of death is unbearable to me.