Claude Bernard Quotes

A fact in itself is nothing. It is valuable only for the idea attached to it, or for the proof which it furnishes.

Man can learn nothing unless he proceeds from the known to the unknown.

Observation is a passive science, experimentation an active science.

It is what we know already that often prevents us from learning.

The experimenter who does not know what he is looking for will not understand what he finds.

Mediocre men often have the most acquired knowledge.

The investigator should have a robust faith - and yet not believe.

In teaching man, experimental science results in lessening his pride more and more by proving to him every day that primary causes, like the objective reality of things, will be hidden from him forever and that he can only know relations.

The true worth of an experimenter consists in his pursuing not only what he seeks in his experiment, but also what he did not seek.

Put off your imagination, as you put off your overcoat, when you enter the laboratory. Put it on again, as you put on your overcoat, when you leave.