It is the function of science to discover the existence of a general reign of order in nature and to find the causes governing this order. And this refers in equal measure to the relations of man - social and political - and to the entire universe as a whole.
— Mendeleev on the Periodic Law: Selected Writings, 1869 - 1905
Work, look for peace and calm in work: you will find it nowhere else.
There is nothing in this world that I fear to say.
I want you to have this feeling too - it is my moral responsibility to help you achieve this inner freedom.
I have achieved an inner freedom.
Why do they [Americans] quarrel, why do they hate Negroes, Indians, even Germans, why do they not have science and poetry commensurate with themselves, why are there so many frauds and so much nonsense? I cannot soon give a solution to these questions ... It was clear that in the United States there was a development not of the best, but of the middle and worst sides of European civilization; the notorious general voting, the tendency to politics... all the same as in Europe. A new dawn is not to be seen on this side of the ocean.