Two and two the mathematician continues to make four, in spite of the whine of the amateur for three, or the cry of the critic for five. – James McNeill Whistler, Whistler Versus Ruskin, 1878
Our dream dashes itself against the great mystery like a wasp against a window pane. Less merciful than man, God never opens the window. – Jules Renard, Journal, 1906
The universe is simmering down, like a giant stew left to cook for four billion years. Sooner or later we won’t be able to tell the carrots from the onions. – Arthur Bloch
