With even a superficial knowledge of mathematics, it is easy to recognize certain characteristic features: its abstractions, its precision, its logical rigor, the indisputable character of its conclusions, and finally, the exceptionally broad range for its applications.

In: A.D. Aleksandrov, A.N. Kolmogorov and M.A. Laverent'ev (eds.), Mathematics: Its Contents, Methods, and Meaning (p. 1), The MIT Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1963