After once admitting that a straight line was the shortest distance between two points, no serious mathematician cared to deny anything that suited his convenience, and rejected no symbol, unproved or unproveable, that helped him to accomplish work.

在承认直线是两点之间的最短距离之后，没有一个严肃的数学家愿意否认任何适合他的方便，并且拒绝任何符号，无论是未经证明的还是不可证明的，都有助于他完成工作。