Do not be angry with me if I tell you the truth.

If you aren't gonna say exactly how and what you feel, you might as well not say anything at all.

I believe there exists, & I feel within me, an instinct for the truth, or knowledge or discovery, of something of the same nature as the instinct of virtue, & that our having such an instinct is reason enough for scientific researches without any practical results ever ensuing from them.

We are not here concerned with hopes or fears, only with truth as far as our reason permits us to discover it.

To those searching for truth -- not the truth of dogma and darkness but the truth brought by reason, search, examination, and inquiry, discipline is required. For faith, as well intentioned as it may be, must be built on facts, not fiction -- faith in fiction is a damnable false hope.

Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults.