A biography for Maria Mitchellhasn’t been written yet.
“I was a little doubtful about the propriety of going to the Mammoth Cave without a gentleman escort, but if two ladies travel alone they must have the courage of men.”
“It is sad to see a woman sacrificing the ties of the affections even to do good.”
“The world of learning is so broad, and the human soul is so limited in power!”
“Every formula which expresses a law of nature is a hymn of praise to God.”
“The love of one's own sex is precious, for it is neither provoked by vanity nor retained by flattery; it is genuine and sincere.”
“Yesterday I had a Shaker visitor, and today a Catholic; and the more I see and hear, the less do I care about church doctrines.”
“There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.”
“Altogether, St. Louis is a growing place, and the West has a large hand and a strong grasp.”
“The Southern character is opposed to haste. Safety is of more worth than speed, and there is no hurry.”
“I made observations for three hours last night, and am almost ill today from fatigue; still I have worked all day, trying to reduce the places, and mean to work hard again tonight.”
“We especially need imagination in science. It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry.”
“Do not look at stars as bright spots only. Try to take in the vastness of the universe.”
“Small aids to individuals, large aid to masses.”
“I saw, in looking over Cooper, elements of a comet of 1825 which resemble what I get out for this, from my own observations, but I cannot rely upon my own.”
“I am just through with a summer, and a summer is to me always a trying ordeal.”