Albert Einstein Quotes

In my view, it is the most important function of art and science to awaken this feeling and keep it alive in those who are capable of it.

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

If you took half of something and continued to take half of that half and so on, you would never reach an end.

Don't wait for miracles, your whole life is a miracle.

The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there's no risk of accident for someone who's dead.

True knowledge comes with deep understanding of a topic and its inner workings.

There is, fortunately, a minority composed of those who recognize early in their lives that the most beautiful and satisfying experiences open to humankind are not derived from the outside, but are bound up with the development of the individual's own feeling, thinking and acting. The genuine artists, investigators and thinkers have always been persons of this kind. However inconspicuously the life of these individuals runs its course, none the less the fruits of their endeavors are the most valuable contributions which one generation can make to its successors.

You imagine that I look back on my life's work with calm satisfaction. But from nearby it looks quite different. There is not a single concept of which I am convinced that it will stand firm, and I feel uncertain whether I am in general on the right track.

Strenuous intellectual work and the study of God's Nature are the angels that will lead me through all the troubles of this life with consolation, strength, and uncompromising rigor.

The human mind has first to construct forms, independently, before we can find them in things.

It is only to the individual that a soul is given. And the high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule, or to impose himself in any other way.

I believe my theory of relativity to be true. But it will only be proved for certain in 1981, when I am dead.

The tyranny of the ignoramuses is insurmountable and assured for all time.

If we have the courage to decide ourselves for peace we will have peace.

Belief in an external world independent of the perceiving subject is the basis of all natural science.

I advocate world government because I am convinced that there is no other possible way of eliminating the most terrible danger in which man has ever found himself. The objective of avoiding total destruction must have priority over any other objective.

If you feed your mind as often as you feed your stomach, then you'll never have to worry about feeding your stomach or a roof over your head or clothes on your back.

Money only appeals to selfishness and always tempts its owners irresistibly to abuse it. Can anyone imagine Moses, Jesus, or Gandhi armed with the money-bags of Carnegie?

I think we have to safeguard ourselves against people who are a menace to others, quite apart from what may have motivated their deeds.

Scarcely anyone who comprehends this theory can escape its magic.

I regard class differences as contrary to justice and, in the last resort, based on force.

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

All the fifty years of conscious brooding have brought me no closer to answer the question, "What are light quanta?" Of course today every rascal thinks he knows the answer, but he is deluding himself.

The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it.

It has often been said, and certainly not without justification, that the man of science is a poor philosopher.

The last thing to collapse is the surface.

The important things are always simple.

Classical thermodynamics ... is the only physical theory of universal content which I am convinced ... will never be overthrown.

Nationalism is the measels of mankind.

Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly.

The most valuable thing a teacher can impart to children is not knowledge and understanding per se but a longing for knowledge and understanding, and an appreciation for intellectual values, whether they be artistic, scientific, or moral. It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. Most teachers waste their time by asking questions that are intended to discover what a pupil does not know, whereas the true art of questioning is to discover what the pupil does know or is capable of knowing.

Although I cannot believe that the individual survives the death of his body, feeble souls harbor such thought through fear or ridiculous egotism.

In a healthy nation there is a kind of dramatic balance between the will of the people and the government, which prevents its degeneration into tyranny.

I should much rather see reasonable agreement with the Arabs on the basis of living together in peace than the creation of a Jewish state. My awareness of the essential nature of Judaism resists the idea of a Jewish state with borders, an army, and a measure of temporal power, no matter how modest. I am afraid of the inner damage Judaism will sustain—especially from the development of a narrow nationalism within our own ranks, against which we have already had to fight strongly, even without a Jewish state.

I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.

Some men spend a lifetime in an attempt to comprehend the complexities of women. Others pre-occupy themselves with somewhat simpler tasks, such as understanding the theory of relativity!

Nuclear power is one hell of a way to boil water

The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions.

Anyone can be a genius, if they pick just one specific subject and study it diligently just 15 minutes each day.

There does, in fact, appear to be a plan.

I would not think that philosophy and reason themselves will be man's guide in the foreseeable future; however, they will remain the most beautiful sanctuary they have always been for the select few.

I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.

Since the mathematicians have invaded the theory of relativity I do not understand it myself any more.

The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure.

The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it Intuition or what you will, the solution comes to you and you don't know how or why.

But there is another reason for the high repute of mathematics: it is mathematics that offers the exact natural sciences a certain measure of security which, without mathematics, they could not attain.

America is today the hope of all honorable men who respect the rights of their fellow men and who believe in the principle of freedom and justice.