Alfred Nobel

contentment wealth

"Contentment is the only real wealth."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

dynamite peace conventionarmies destroyed golden

"My dynamite will sooner lead to peace than a thousand world conventions. As soon as men will find that in one instant, whole armies can be utterly destroyed, they surely will abide by golden peace."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

nature man teacher treasure search eye mind heart

"Nature is man's teacher. She unfolds her treasures to his search, unseals his eye, illumes his mind, and purifies his heart; an influence breathes from all the sights and sounds of her existence."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

thousand ideas one good satisfied

"If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

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"I regard large inherited wealth as a misfortune, which merely serves to dull men's faculties. A man who possesses great wealth should, therefore, allow only a small portion to descend to his relatives. Even if he has children, I consider it a mistake to hand over to them considerable sums of money beyond what is necessary for their education. To do so merely encourages laziness and impedes the healthy development of the individual's capacity to make an independent position for himself."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

death fund peace idea skeptical result Nobel peace price

"I intend to leave after my death a large fund for the promotion of the peace idea, but I am skeptical as to its results."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

home work everywhere

"My home is where I work, and I work everywhere."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

guns weapons hell

"For my part, I wish all guns with their belongings and everything could be sent to hell, which is the proper place for their exhibition and use."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

recluse without books dead man

"A recluse without books and ink is already in life a dead man."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

good wishes ensure peace

"Good wishes alone will not ensure peace."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

lying greatest sin lie

"Lying is the greatest of all sins."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

man of action work dreamers life

"I would not leave anything to a man of action as he would be tempted to give up work; on the other hand, I would like to help dreamers as they find it difficult to get on in life."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

agriculture humbug big industry

"Second to agriculture, humbug is the biggest industry of our age."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

hope nature veil truth nakedness

"Hope is nature's veil for hiding truth's nakedness."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

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"Perhaps my dynamite plants will put an end to war sooner than your [pacifist] congresses. On the day two army corps can annihilate each other in one second all civilized nations will recoil from war in horror."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

lawyers living straight line crooked

"Lawyers have to make a living, and can only do so by inducing people to believe that a straight line is crooked."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

observation similarity difference basis human knowledge

"One can state, without exaggeration, that the observation of and the search for similarities and differences are the basis of all human knowledge."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

solution convention nations defend collectively country attacked

"The only true solution would be a convention under which all the governments would bind themselves to defend collectively any country that was attacked."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

misanthrope benevolent screw loose digest philosophy

"I am a misanthrope and yet utterly benevolent, have more than one screw loose yet am a super-idealist who digests philosophy more efficiently than food."

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)