Quotations and Literature Forum

Interested in the author of a couple of quotes altho' I am not certain I have the exact wording.
(1) "for in us, as men, matter has begun to contemplate itself".
(2) "we are the attempt of the universe to understand itself".
It is possible that the author was George Wald who was a Professor of Biology at the University of Chicago, and other institutions, in the United States.
Can anyone confirm this or suggest a different source?

This is widely attributed, in various forms, to Carl Sagan; but, I can't seem to find the actual quotation or the source.

"We are star stuff harvesting star light. Our lives, our past and our future are tied to the sun, the moon and the stars. [We are]...star stuff contemplating the stars, organized collections of ten billion, billion, billion atoms, contemplating the evolution of nature, tracing that long path by which it arrived at consciousness here on the planet earth, and perhaps throughout the cosmos."
~ Carl Sagan, "The Cosmos"

We are the dust of the universe, trying to understand where it is going and whence it came — sometimes through theology, sometimes through science, sometimes through a combination of both.
We are the dust of the Universe, trying to understand itself.
~ Charles R. Pellegrino, Ghosts of Vesuvius

"Then I will tell you a great secret, Captain. Perhaps the greatest of all time. The molecules of your body are the same molecules that make up this station and the nebula outside, that burn inside the stars themselves. We are starstuff, we are the universe made manifest, trying to figure itself out. As we have both learned, sometimes the universe requires a change of perspective."
~ Delenn to Sheridan in Babylon 5:A Distant Star

Some interesting quotes!
Haven't heard of Pellegrino or Sheridan. Are they science fiction writers?

it says: Delenn to Sheridan
Those are two characters in the TV show "Babylon 5". It ran five years on American TV and is a well written story (five years long). If you want to read about it search for "Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5". There's lots there.

As for the quote, After the Big Bang created protons, electrons and neutrons (and all those other fun subatomic particles), stars formed from the hydrogen and eventually died as supernova. Now a burning sun fuses hydrogen into all elements below Lead, and a supernova creates the heavier elements. Do this over and over again and dust spreads throughout the universe, stars form from the dust and planets form and life is created. All matter was created from the original hydrogen, thus we are all made of stuff from dead stars gone BOOM! Lots of stars, billions and billions of stars.

Carl Sagan's quote is quite good.