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The improver of natural knowledge absolutely refuses to acknowledge authority, as such. For him, skepticism is the highest of duties; blind faith the one unpardonable sin.

Authority is something from which we are constantly subtracting, of which there remains always a residue, and which we attempt to make smaller and smaller.

The disappearance of a sense of responsibility is the most far-reaching consequence of submission to authority.

The progress of the natural sciences in modern times has of course so much exceeded all expectations that any suggestion that there may be some limits to it is bound to arouse suspicion.

Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic, for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.

The authority of those who teach is often an obstacle to those who want to learn.

Every addition to true knowledge is an addition to human power.

At a time when science plays such a powerful role in the life of society, when the destiny of the whole of mankind may hinge on the results of scientific research, it is incumbent on all scientists to be fully conscious of that role, and conduct themselves accordingly.

No authority is higher than reality.

A leading authority is anyone who has guessed right more than once.