Santiago Ramón y Cajal

man sculptor brain

“Any man could, if he were so inclined, be the sculptor of his own brain.”

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

perseverance virtue brilliant

“Perseverance is a virtue of the less brilliant.”

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

reverence old man change mind

“Nothing inspires more reverence and awe in me than an old man who knows how to change his mind.”

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

brain mystery universe

“As long as our brain is a mystery, the universe, the reflection of the structure of the brain will also be a mystery.”

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

solution fail appear rest sleep morning flower truth

“If a solution fails to appear ... and yet we feel success is just around the corner, try resting for a while. ... Like the early morning frost, this intellectual refreshment withers the parasitic and nasty vegetation that smothers the good seed. Bursting forth at last is the flower of truth.”

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

populace tale witch saint disdain world secret mystery marvel

“It is strange to see how the populace, which nourishes its imagination with tales of witches or saints, mysterious events and extraordinary occurrences, disdains the world around it as commonplace, monotonous and prosaic, without suspecting that at bottom it is all secret, mystery, and marvel.”

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

solitude original thought

“Oh comforting solitude, how favorable thou art to original thought!”

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

mediocre educate genius autodidact

“The mediocre can be educated; geniuses educate themselves.”

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

outstanding work science zeal idea

“All outstanding work, in art as well as in science, results from immense zeal applied to a great idea.”

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

brain mind unexplored continent unknown territory

"The brain is a world consisting of a number of unexplored continents and great stretches of unknown territory."

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

great work patience perseverance months years

"In summary, all great work is the fruit of patience and perseverance, combined with tenacious concentration on a subject over a period of months or years."

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

mistake justify ignorance

"The worst part is not in making a mistake but in trying to justify it, instead of using it as a heaven-sent warning of our mindlessness or our ignorance."

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

problems small large understood

"There are no small problems. Problems that appear small are large problems that are not understood"

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

argue old men opinion ossified

"It is idle to dispute with old men. Their opinions, like their cranial sutures, are ossified."

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

mind reason correct faith

"That which enters the mind through reason can be corrected. That which is admitted through faith, hardly ever."

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

physical pain forget forgotten moral chagrin

"Physical pain is easily forgotten, but a moral chagrin lasts indefinitely."

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

desire live increase life shortens old age

"It is notorious that the desire to live increases as life itself shortens."

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

genius error discover

"Even granting that the genius subjected to the test of critical inspection emerges free from all error, we should consider that everything he has discovered in a given domain is almost nothing in comparison with what is left to be discovered."

—Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)