The quotations of

Carl Sagan

American astrophysicist, cosmologist and author

1934–1996

27 quotes, most often on Science, Truth & Lies and Reading.

For the first time, we have the power to decide the fate of our planet and ourselves. This is a time of great danger, but our species is young, and curious, and brave. It shows much promise.
The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean [Episode 1]
- Hope
Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. We speak for Earth. Our obligation to survive and flourish is owed not just to ourselves, but also to that Cosmos, ancient and vast, from which we spring.
Who Speaks for Earth? [Episode 13], 54 min 25 sec
- Nature
- Responsibility
In the fabric of space and in the nature of matter, as in a great work of art, there is, written small, the artist’s signature.
Contact (1985), Chapter 24 (p. 431)
- Art
- Science
The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be.
Cosmos (1980), p. 4
- Science
Once we overcome our fear of being tiny, we find ourselves on the threshold of a vast and awesome Universe that utterly dwarfs — in time, in space, and in potential — the tidy anthropocentric proscenium of our ancestors.
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (1994), p. 53
- Science
Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you.
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980), Episode 11, “The Persistence of Memory”
- Reading
- Writing
I believe our future depends powerfully on how well we understand this Cosmos in which we float like a mote of dust in the morning sky.
Cosmos (1980), p. 4
- Science
I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.
Cosmos (1980), p. 282
- Reading
As the ancient myth makers knew, we are children equally of the earth and the sky.
Cosmos (1980), p. 318
- Nature
Human history can be viewed as a slowly dawning awareness that we are members of a larger group.
Cosmos (1980), p. 339
- History
We wish to pursue the truth no matter where it leads — but to find the truth, we need imagination and skepticism both.
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, Episode 1: “The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean” (1980)
- Science
- Truth & Lies
It does no harm to the romance of the sunset to know a little bit about it.
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (1994), p. 159
- Knowledge
- Science

Most quoted

People A to Z

C. S. Lewis1898–1963151 quotes

Mark Twain1835–1910151 quotes

Benjamin Franklin1706–179098 quotes

Martin Luther King Jr.1929–196884 quotes

Albert Einstein1879–195595 quotes

Dave Barryborn 1947100 quotes