Young Men Should Prove Theorems, Old Men

In These Days Of Conflict Between Ancient And Modern Studies, There Must Surely Be Something To Be Said For A Study Which Did Not Begin With Pythagoras, And Will Not End With Einstein, But Is The Oldest And The Youngest Of All.

Mathematics May, Like Poetry Or Music, "promote And Sustain A Lofty Habit Of Mind."

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.

I Was At My Best At A Little Past Forty, When I Was A Professor At Oxford.

As History Proves Abundantly, Mathematical Achievement, Whatever Its Intrinsic Worth, Is The Most Enduring Of All.