Science depends on argument. This is one of eight theses in which the author summarizes his personal view of chemistry and which the cartoon on the right illustrates. In his essay, which is based on a lecture presented at the Chemiedozententagung held in Mainz on March 14, 1988 and at a special session of which the 100th anniversary of Angewandte Chemie was celebrated, Roald Hoffmann pleads for a revival of the personal, emotional style when describing the efforts made to discover and creatively extend the world of molecules.