Marie Curie

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.

Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.

One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.

In science, we must be interested in things, not in persons.

After all, science is essentially international, and it is only through lack of the historical sense that national qualities have been attributed to it.

We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must be done for itself, for the beauty of science, and then there is always the chance that a scientific discovery may become like the radium a benefit for humanity.

You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for our own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we may be of service, to gain the love and avoid the hate of which you have spoken.

I am one of those who think like Nobel, that humanity will draw more good than evil from new discoveries.

Humanity needs practical men, who get the most out of their work, and, without forgetting the general good, safeguard their own interests. But humanity also needs dreamers, for whom the world is not enough and who discover because they seek and seek because they dream.

I have frequently been questioned, especially by women, of how I could reconcile family life with a scientific career. Well, it has not been easy.

I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale.

All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child.

The older one gets, the more one feels that the present moment must be enjoyed, comparable to a state of grace.

There are sadistic scientists who hurry to hunt down errors instead of establishing the truth.

I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy.

If it takes a thousand years, science will one day find a way to cure cancer.

We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.

More and more, I feel that people must find a way of living amidst this world’s staggering riches.

First principle: never to let one's subject get cold.