French Mathematician Quotes

Blaise Pascal

Henri Poincaré

Pierre-Simon Laplace

Joseph Fourier

André-Marie Ampère

Joseph Louis Lagrange

Évariste Galois

Sneezing absorbs all the functions of the soul just as much as the [sexual] act, but we do not draw from it the same conclusions against the greatness of man, because it is involuntary; although we bring it about, we do so involuntarily. It is not for the sake of the thing in itself but for another end, and is therefore not a sign of man's weakness, or his subjection to this act.

If paparazzi specialized in mathematical celebrities they'd camp outside the dining hall at the IAS and come away with a new batch of pictures every day.

Cédric Villani

I cannot tell you the efforts to which I was condemned to understand something of the diagrams of Descriptive Geometry, which I detest.

Charles Hermite

Indeed every mathematician knows that a proof has not been "understood" if one has done nothing more than verify step by step the correctness of the deductions of which it is compose d and has not tried to gain a clear insight into the ideas which have led to the construction of this particular chain of deductions in preference to every other one.

Nicolas Bourbaki

The engineer should receive a complete mathematical education, but for what should it serve him? To see the different aspects of things and to see them quickly; he has no time to hunt mice.

Siméon Denis Poisson

Papers should include more side remarks, open questions, and such. Very often, these are more interesting than the theorems actually proved. Alas, most people are afraid to admit that they don't know the answer to some question, and as a consequence they refrain from mentioning the question, even if it is a very natural one. What a pity! As for myself, I enjoy saying 'I do not know'.

Jean-Pierre Serre

This is what it behoves us to know: as Frenchmen, for the advantage of France; as friends of all humanity, by that just and generous sentiment which makes us feel interest in the dignity, the peace, the independence, the happiness of all nations, on whatever spot of the globe nature may have placed their country.

We have found a beautiful and most general proposition, namely, that every integer is either a square, or the sum of two, three or at most four squares. This theorem depends on some of the most recondite mysteries of number, and is not possible to present its proof on the margin of this page.

Pierre de Fermat

The mathematics have been in all ages the implacable adversaries of scientific romances.

François Arago

He who shall wish to disentangle this proposition will easily be able to compose a volume.

Girard Desargues

Functions, just like living beings are characterized by their singularities.

Modesty is a desertion of ourselves, a kind of avowal of inferiority, at which mediocrity catches greedily as a source of consolation, which it endeavors to interpret in the literal sense, and which it frequently employs as a weapon to keep at a distance the timid man of genius,

When a branch of mathematics ceases to interest any but the specialists, it is very near its death, or at any rate dangerously close to paralysis, from which it can be rescued only by being plunged back into the vivifying source of the science.

I have always thought that morality in politics was something essential, just like feelings and affinities.

Laurent Schwartz

A very extensive class of phenomena exists, not produced by mechanical forces, but resulting simply from the presence and accumulation of heat. This part of natural philosophy cannot be connected with dynamical theories, it has principles peculiar to itself, and is founded on a method similar to that of other exact sciences.

Anyone who understands algebraic notation, reads at a glance in an equation results reached arithmetically only with great labour and pains.

Antoine Augustin Cournot

Mathematicks therefore is a Science which teaches or contemplates whatever is capable of Measure or Number as such. When it relates to Number, it is called Arithmetick; but when to measure, as Length, Breadth, Depth, Degrees of Velocity in Motion, Intenseness or Remissness of Sounds, Augmentation or Diminution of Quality, 6tc. it is called Geometry.

Axiomatization is what one does last, it's rubbish. It's the hygiene of mathematics, axiomatization.

Mathematicians have never been in full agreement on their science, though it is said to be the science of self-evident verities — absolute, indisputable and definitive. They have always been in controversy over the developing aspects of mathematics, and they have always considered their own age to be a period of crisis.

We use Reason for improving the Sciences; whereas we ought to use the Sciences for improving our Reason.

Antoine Arnauld

I had become interested in economics, an interest that was transformed into a lifetime dedication when I met with the mathematical theory of general economic equilibrium.

In repeating an argument that I have learned, I could readily have discovered it myself: or rather, even if this is an illusion, if I were not clever enough to have created it myself, I rediscover it myself, to the extent that I repeat it.

Henri Poincaré

[Mathematics] is the work of the human mind, which is destined rather to study than to know, to seek the truth rather than to find it.

Évariste Galois

Chaos cuts with two edges. We have seen how it is impossible to retrieve past history from current observations. We will now show that it is impossible to predict future states from the current observations.

In general, nothing measurable can be measured except by fractions expressing the result of the measurement, unless the measure be contained an exact number of times in the thing to be measured.

Joseph Louis Lagrange