The study of mathematics is, if an unprofitable, a perfectly harmless and innocent occupation.
In these days of conflict between ancient and modern studies, there must surely be something to be said for a study which did not begin with Pythagoras, and will not end with Einstein, but is the oldest and the youngest of all.
[Regarding mathematics,] there are now few studies more generally recognized, for good reasons or bad, as profitable and praiseworthy. This may be true; indeed it is probable, since the sensational triumphs of Einstein, that stellar astronomy and atomic physics are the only sciences which stand higher in popular estimation.
The findings of this study are extremely important.
It is important to study our basic framework. It's not some dust-covered relic, it's a guide book to how we live our lives.