Quotes from Fontenelle

A great obstacle to happiness is the expectation of too great a happiness.

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

A well cultivated mind is made up of all the minds of preceding ages; it is only the one single mind educated by all previous time.

As astronomy is the daughter of idleness, geometry is the daughter of property, and if it were a question of poetry we would likely find that she is the daughter of love.

Pour juger de la beauté d'un ouvrage, il suffit de le considérer en lui-même ; mais, pour juger du mérite de l'auteur, il faut le comparer à son siècle

Ne prenez pas la vie au sérieux; de toute façon, vous n'en sortirez pas vivant Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle (11 février 1657- 9 janvier 1757) mort à 99 ans...

There are three things I have always loved, and never understood - painting, music, women.