Madame Curie: A Biography (Secondary source)
Eve Curie crafted an intimate yet scientifically rigorous portrait of her mother’s extraordinary journey from Polish exile to Nobel laureate. This luminous biography captures both Marie Curie’s groundbreaking discoveries and her profound human struggles with remarkable literary grace.
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“But we must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must be done for itself, for the beauty of science, and then there is always the chance that a scientific discovery may become like the radium a benefit for humanity.”
— Marie Curie Primary source“One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.”
— Marie Curie Secondary source“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”
— Marie Curie Secondary source“I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale.”
— Marie Curie Secondary source“It is better to take many injuries, than to give one.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“I am thee and thou art me and all of one is the other.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“The only way to have a friend is to be one.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“It’s common for men to give pretended reasons instead of one real one.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary sourceFashion Gifts Practical Science Productivity