Friedrich Wöhler

The synthesis of urea is a powerful argument for the unity of chemistry.

The vital force is a barrier to true scientific understanding.

Our work is opening up new avenues for research into the origins of life.

The synthesis of urea is a testament to the power of reductionism in science.

The vital force is a concept that belongs to metaphysics, not chemistry.

We are showing that the chemical processes of life are not fundamentally different from those in the laboratory.

The synthesis of urea is a turning point in the history of chemistry.

The vital force is a concept that has outlived its usefulness.

Organic chemistry just now is enough to drive one mad. It gives me the impression of a primeval tropical forest, full of the most remarkable things, a dreadful endless jungle into which one does not dare enter for there seems to be no way out.

I can no longer, so to speak, hold my chemical water and must tell you that I can make urea without the need of a kidney, whether of man or dog; the ammonium salt of cyanic acid is urea.

The great tragedy of science: the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.

I must tell you that I can prepare urea without requiring a kidney or an animal, either man or dog.

The artificial production of urea is perhaps the most striking example of the synthesis of an organic substance from inorganic materials.

The chemist who does not also have a philosophical mind will never rise above the level of a mere laboratory worker.

Inorganic chemistry is clear, organic chemistry is a jungle.

I have seen too much of the uncertainty of chemical theories to attach any great value to them.

The synthesis of urea opened a new field, showing that the products of the living organism could be formed without vital force.

It is not the possession of truth, but the success which attends the seeking after it, that enriches the seeker and brings happiness to him.

The so-called 'vital force' exists only in the imagination of the physiologists.

To discover something new, one must sometimes dare to think differently from the great masters.