Most People Can Do Nothing At All

[regarding Mathematics,] There Are Now Few Studies More Generally Recognized, For Good Reasons Or Bad, As Profitable And Praiseworthy. This May Be True; Indeed It Is Probable, Since The Sensational Triumphs Of Einstein, That Stellar Astronomy And Atomic Physics Are The Only Sciences Which Stand Higher In Popular Estimation.

Pure Mathematics Is On The Whole Distinctly More Useful Than Applied... For What Is Useful Above All Is Technique, And Mathematical Technique Is Taught Mainly Through Pure Mathematics.

A Chess Problem Is Simply An Exercise In Pure Mathematics.

Chess Problems Are The Hymn-tunes Of Mathematics.

Good Work Is No Done By "humble" Men. It Is One Of The First Duties Of A Professor, For Example, In Any Subject, To Exaggerate A Little Both The Importance Of His Subject And His Own Importance In It. A Man Who Is Always Asking "is What I Do Worth While?" And "am I The Right Person To Do It?" Will Always Be Ineffective Himself And A Discouragement To Others. He Must Shut His Eyes A Little And Think A Little More Of His Subject And Himself Than They Deserve. This Is Not Too Difficult: It Is Harder Not To Make His Subject And Himself Ridiculous By Shutting His Eyes Too Tightly.