Jean Rostand Quotes

A man is not old as long as he is seeking something.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man, 1962)

My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of the pessimists.

Jean Rostand (Journal of a Character, 1931)

Certain brief sentences are peerless in their ability to give one the feeling that nothing remains to be said.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man, 1962)

Far too often the choices reality proposes are such as to take away one's taste for choosing.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man - Chapter 10, 1962)

Science has made us gods even before we are worthy of being men.

Jean Rostand (Thoughts of a Biologist, 1939)

It is not easy to imagine how little interested a scientist usually is in the work of any other, with the possible exception of the teacher who backs him or the student who honors him.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man, 1962)

It takes a very deep-rooted opinion to survive unexpressed.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man, 1962)

One must either take an interest in the human situation or else parade before the void.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man, 1962)

lready at the origin of the species man was equal to what he was destined to become.

Jean Rostand (Can Man be Modified, 1959)

I still understand a few words in life, but I no longer think they make a sentence.

Jean Rostand (Thoughts of a Biologist, 1939)

The divine is perhaps that quality in man which permits him to endure the lack of God.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man, 1962)

To say of men that they are bad is to say they are worse than we think we are, or worse than the ideal man whose image we have built up on the basis of a certain few.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man, 1962)

To be adult is to be alone.

Jean Rostand (Thoughts of a Biologist, 1939)

Nothing leads the scientist so astray as a premature truth. 

Jean Rostand

Not to believe that something exists because it would be too horrible if it does not exist. There is no proof owing to the horrible one.

Jean Rostand (Thoughts of a Biologist, 1939)

When I was young, I pitied the old. Now old, it is the young I pity.

Jean Rostand

Science had better not free the minds of men too much, before it has tamed their instincts.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man, 1962)

Falsity cannot keep an idea from being beautiful; there are certain errors of such ingenuity that one could regret their not ranking among the achievements of the human mind.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man, 1962)

As well as thoughts which are unworthy of us, we have thoughts of which we are unworthy.

Jean Rostand

The nobility of a human being is strictly independent of that of his convictions.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man, 1962)

The ideal, without doubt, varies, but its enemies, alas, are always the same.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man, 1962)

I should have no use for a paradise in which I should be deprived of the right to prefer hell.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man - Chapter 10, 1962)

Hatred, for the man who is not engaged in it, is a little like the odor of garlic for one who hasn't eaten any.

Jean Rostand (Thoughts of a Biologist, 1939)

To be an adult is to be alone.

Jean Rostand (Thoughts of a Biologist, 1939)

There are certain moments when we might wish the future were built by men of the past.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man, 1962)

Few people are worthy to believe in nothing.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man - Chapter 10, 1962)

To reflect is to disturb one's thoughts.

Jean Rostand (The Substance of Man - Chapter 10, 1962)

Kill one man, and you are a murderer.
Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror.
Kill them all, and you are a god.

Jean Rostand (Thoughts of a Biologist, 1939)

Jean Rostand Biography

Born: October 30, 1894
Died: September 4, 1977

Jean Rostand was a French author, biologist and philosopher. He is famous for his various works as a science writer and philosopher.

Notable Works

Marriage (1927)
Journal of a Character (1931)
Thoughts of a Biologist (1939)
The Substance of Man (1962)