Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle Quotes

A true philosopher is like an elephant; he never puts the second foot down until the first one is solidly in place.

It is a great obstacle to happiness to expect too much.

Nature intends that, at fixed periods, men should succeed each other by the instrumentality of death. We shall never outwit Nature; we shall die as usual.

I detest war; it ruins conversation

Let us be well assured of the Matter of Fact, before we trouble our selves with enquiring into the Cause. It is true, that this Method is too slow for the greatest part of Mankind, who run naturally to the Cause, and pass over the Truth of the Matter of Fact.

It is high time for me to depart, for at my age I now begin to see things as they really are.

It takes time to ruin a world, but time is all it takes.

Behold a universe so immense that I am lost in it. I no longer know where I am. I am just nothing at all. Our world is terrifying in its insignificance.

Hardly anyone knows how much is gained by ignoring the future.

I shall leave the world without regret, for it hardly contains a single good listener.

A philosopher will not believe what he sees because he is too busy speculating about what he does not see.

As astronomy is the daughter of idleness, geometry is the daughter of property.