68 Quotes by Maria Mitchell

Why can a man not act himself, be himself, and think for himself? It seems to me that naturalness alone is power; that a borrowed word is weaker than our own weakness, however small we may be.

The greatest benefit derived from the study of science is that it lifts you out of and above the littleness of daily trials. We learn to live in the universe as a part of it; we cannot seperate ourselves from it - our every act connects us with it - our every act affects the whole. Standing under the canopy of stars and remembering their presence you could scarcely do a petty deed, or think a wicked thought.

Besides learning to see, there is another art to be learned - not to see what is not.

The world of learning is so broad, and the human soul is so limited in power! We reach forth and strain every nerve, but we seize only a bit of the curtain that hides the infinite from us.

When we are chafed and fretted by small cares, a look at the stars will show us the littleness of our own interests.

No woman should say, "I am but a woman!" But a woman! What more can you ask to be?

In my younger days, when I was painted by the half-educated, loose and inaccurate ways women had, I used to say, “How much women need exact science” But since I have known some workers in science, I have now said, “How much science needs women”

No woman should say, “I am but a woman!” But a woman! What more can you ask to be?

A sphere is made up of not one, but an infinite number of circles; women have diverse gifts, and to say that women’s sphere is the family circle is a mathematical absurdity.