The HyperTexts
Albert Einstein Poetry and Quotes
Was Albert Einstein a poet? Was Einstein, perhaps, a major poet who remains
better known for other, far less significant things―small
things such as discovering the relativistic nature of time and space? Of course
I'm teasing, but I will make the case that Albert Einstein was not only a poet,
but a very romantic poet!
A question that sometimes drives me hazy:
am I or are the others crazy?
—Albert Einstein, poetic interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Albert Einstein was undoubtedly a poet, in my opinion.
The poetry of Albert Einstein is merely another aspect of his genius. The
following poems are comprised of quotations by Einstein that I combined into
poems, changing a word here and there for the sake of meter and rhyme, while
hopefully preserving the reason.—Michael R. Burch, editor, The HyperTexts
Relativity and the "Physics" of Love
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
Sit next to a pretty girl for an hour,
it seems like a minute.
Sit on a red-hot
stove for a minute,
it seems like an hour.
That's relativity!
Oh, it should be possible
to explain the laws of physics
to a barmaid! . . .
but how could she ever,
in a million years,
explain
love
to an Einstein?
All these primary impulses,
not easily described in words,
are the springboards
of man's actions—because
any man who can drive safely
while kissing a pretty girl
is simply not giving the kiss
the attention it deserves!
Solitude
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
Solitude is painful
when one is young,
but delightful
when one is more mature.
I live in that solitude
which was painful in my youth,
but seems delicious now,
in the years of my maturity.
Now it gives me great pleasure, indeed,
to see the stubbornness
of an incorrigible nonconformist
so warmly acclaimed . . .
and yet
it seems vastly strange
to be known so universally
and yet be so lonely.
Morality
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
Still, as far as I'm concerned,
I prefer silent vice
to ostentatious virtue:
I don't know,
I don't care,
and it doesn't make any difference!
The Top Ten Einstein Quotations: The Wit and Wisdom of Albert
Einstein
You never truly understand something until you can explain it to your
grandmother.
We all know that light travels faster than sound. That's why certain people
appear bright until we hear them speak.
Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity (and I'm not sure
about the former).
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
An intellectual solves a problem. A genius avoids it.
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.
The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is at all
comprehensible.
The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.
Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be
counted.
Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love!
Against Hubris
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
Science without religion is lame,
religion without science is blind,
and whoever undertakes to establish himself
as the judge of Truth
and Knowledge
is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.
War and Peace
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
But heroism on command,
senseless violence,
and all the loathsome nonsense
that goes by the name of patriotism:
how passionately I hate them!
Perfection of means
and confusion of ends
seem to characterize our age
and it has become appallingly obvious
that our technology
has exceeded our humanity,
that technological progress
is like an axe
in the hands of a pathological criminal,
and that the attempt to combine wisdom
and power
has only rarely been successful
and then only for a short while.
It is my conviction
that killing under the cloak of war
is nothing but an act of murder.
(I do not know what weapons
World War III will be fought with,
but World War IV will be fought
with sticks and stones.)
Oh, how I wish that
somewhere
there existed an island
for those who are wise
and of goodwill! . . .
In such a place even I
would be an ardent patriot,
for I am not only a pacifist,
but a militant pacifist.
I am willing to fight for peace,
for nothing will end war
unless the people themselves
refuse to go to war.
Our task must be to free ourselves
by widening our circle of compassion
to embrace all living creatures
and the whole of nature and its beauty.
And peace cannot be kept by force;
it can only be achieved by understanding.
Mystery
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
There are two ways to live your life—
one is as though nothing is a
miracle,
the other is as though everything is a miracle.
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the
mysterious:
it is the source of all true art and all science.
He to whom this
emotion is a stranger,
who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe,
is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.
Curiosity
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Curiosity has its own reason for existing.
One cannot help but be in awe when he
contemplates the mysteries of eternity,
of life, of the marvelous structure of
reality.
It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery
every day.
Never lose a holy curiosity.
People do not grow old no matter how long we live.
We
never cease to stand like curious children
before the great Mystery into which
we were born.
Character
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds
because anger dwells only in the bosom of fools
and weakness of attitude soon becomes weakness of character.
Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity (and I'm not sure
about the former);
furthermore, we can't solve problems by using the same kind of
thinking we used when we created them.
The world is a dangerous place: not just because of the
people who are evil,
but also because of the good people who don't do anything about it.
He who joyfully marches to music rank and file has
already earned my contempt:
he has been given a large brain by mistake, since
for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.
Einstein on Palestine
compiled and edited
by Michael R. Burch
What would Albert Einstein have said about the modern state of Israel, and its treatment of Palestinians? Was he
a Zionist, and if so, in what way?
Einstein said, "Oppressive nationalism must be conquered." He also called
nationalism the "infantile sickness" of the human race. But what about
the Jewish state of Israel, which has created a system of apartheid designed to
deny non-Jews the most basic of human rights, such as the right to buy land, the right to due
process in fair courts, and the right to marry and raise children without
government interference? Israel's government has gone as far as forcing
Palestinian mothers to either leave their native land, or be separated from
their own children. Why are Palestinian mothers and their children being forced to
walk this new Trail of Tears? How can a modern democracy continue to insist that
Jewish babies are born with infinitely superior rights to all other babies?
Einstein opposed both nationalism and racism, saying: "I have conceived of
Judaism as a community of tradition. Both friend and foe, on the other hand,
have often asserted that the Jews represent a race; that their characteristic
behavior is the result of innate qualities transmitted by heredity from one
generation to the next ... The Jews, however, are beyond doubt a mixed race,
just as are all other groups of our civilization. Sincere anthropologists are
agreed on this point; assertions to the contrary all belong to the field of
political propaganda and must be rated accordingly."
Einstein was right because geneticists tell us that all human DNA is virtually
identical. There isn't a "Jewish" race or a "Palestinian" race, really. We are
all members of the same species and our differences are
primarily traditional (i.e., cultural), not racial. Politicians, religious
figures and demagogues often use cultural differences to convince us to oppose
each other, and even to go to war, but if we examined our bloodlines closely enough, we'd find that we're
all "mongrels" of the same species. So why fight wars over differences
that are less even than skin deep?
Einstein was also aware that widespread anti-Semitism on the part of Arabs was
not a historical fact, and that friction between Jews and Arabs was due
largely to legitimate fears and grievances on the part of Arabs who faced a
host of problems due to the migration of large numbers of Jews to Palestine (many of them with the obvious intention of taking over). Einstein said, "There
could be no greater calamity than a permanent discord between us and the Arab
people. Despite the great wrong that has been done to us [the Holocaust], we
must strive for a just and lasting compromise with the Arab people ... Let us
recall that in former times no people lived in greater friendship with us than
the ancestors of these Arabs."
What the early Zionists did, in effect, was use European racism against Jews to excuse
Jewish racism against Palestinians. This was simply wrong. Historically the Arabs had treated
the Jews far better than European Christians had. Until Jews began arriving in
large numbers with the stated intention of taking over, Jews and Arabs
had lived together in peace. Why then were Arabs singled
out for oppression and domination by Jews?
Einstein lamented the failure of the Jews to reach a just understanding with
the Arabs, and criticized their reliance on their influence with powerful
Englishmen like Winston Churchill. (Churchill sympathized strongly with Zionism and had much to
do with the transfer of political power to the Jewish minority in the early
1920's.) In a letter to a friend, Einstein said: "I also think that during these
last years an understanding between us and the Arabs which could have led to a
bi-national administration was no longer possible. Earlier, however—actually,
since 1918—we neglected the Arabs and trusted in the Englishmen over and over
again." But to be fair to the Englishmen, they often did much—though never
all—of what the more ardent Zionists demanded, to the anguish of the Palestinian
majority, who were denied their right to self-determination. It would have
been impossible for Englishmen to make one side happy without bitterly
disappointing the other. But if true democracy had been enacted, the Arab
majority could have prevented what eventually happened in 1948: the ethnic
cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian farmers and their families,
most of whom were not combatants and had every right to return to their
land once the fighting was over. For someone like Einstein, who believed in the
equality of human beings, and for everyone who abhors racism and believes in
equal human rights, a Jewish state in Palestine presents a real dilemma. The
Palestinians are, and have always been, the majority. Only by keeping millions
of Palestinians in refugee camps and in political limbo in Gaza and the West
Bank can Israeli Jews claim to constitute the
"majority."
Einstein denied any superior rights for Jews, calling for "complete equality" for
Palestinian Arabs as the "most important aspect" of Jewish policy: "The most
important aspect of our policy must be our ever-present, manifest desire
to institute complete equality for the Arab citizens living in our midst ... The
attitude we adopt toward the Arab minority will provide the real test of our
moral standards as a people."Only cooperation with Arabs, led by "educated, spiritually
alert" Jewish workers, he wrote, "can create a dignified and safe life. What
saddens me is less the fact that the Jews are not smart enough to understand
this, but rather, that they are not just smart enough to want it."
On the question of the partitioning of Palestine in order to create a Jewish
state, he said: "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. Apart from
practical consideration, my awareness of the essential nature of Judaism resists
the ideas 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. We are no longer the Jews of the Maccabee period. A return to a
nation in the political sense of the word would be equivalent to turning away
from the spiritualization of our community which we owe to the genius of our
prophets."
He also said, "A just solution of this problem
and one worthy of both nations is an end no less important and no less worthy of
our efforts than the promotion of the work of construction itself [i.e., than
the creation of a Jewish homeland in Israel]."
Furthermore, he said, "... it is for us to solve the problem of living side by
side with our brother the Arab in an open, generous, and worthy manner."
Einstein obviously believed the first priority of Zionism should be a just agreement
with the Arabs. He was not alone in this opinion, as other Jewish leaders and
intellectuals, including Freud, Fromm, Buber, Magnes, Hugo Bergmann, Ruppin and
Calvaresci spoke along the same lines. Norman Bentwich said, "That conviction
was expressed emphatically by Albert Einstein when I visited him in his cottage
during my stay in Berlin in 1930. He would not remain associated, he said, with
the Zionist movement unless it tried to make peace with the Arabs in deed as
well as in word. The Jews should form committees with the Arab peasants and
workers, and not try to negotiate only with the leaders."
Einstein did not think the partitioning of Palestine was a good idea, writing to
an unidentified Mr. Brainin in the US: ""[I have a] long-held ... conviction
... that for Palestine the only fair and suitable form of government is a
bi-national arrangement. However, the management would have to be substantially
taken over by the United Nations for the foreseeable future, because the
political life of Palestine is thoroughly muddled and, therefore, the land is
not ripe for political independence."
Einstein became more and more disillusioned with the lip service Zionists paid
to justice, while descending into racism and
nationalism, saying, "... [the Zionist] movement [must] avoid the danger of
degenerating into a blind nationalism. In my opinion, we must endeavor above all
that psychological understanding and an honorable will towards cooperation take
the place of resentment towards the Arabs. The overcoming of this difficulty
will, in my opinion, be the touchstone that our community has a right to
existence in the higher sense. I must unfortunately openly acknowledge that the
attitude of our [Zionist] officialdom, as well as the majority of public
expressions in this connection, appear to me to leave much to be desired."
Einstein also feared the growing military mentality he saw among Jews: "It is quite
true that our situation has once again become perilous and that we lack all
power to check the danger. But when I look at Russia and America, I cannot help
wondering whether we would behave more sensibly if we were as powerful as they
are." Today Israel reportedly has the fourth most powerful
military on the planet, despite its tiny area and small population compared
to those of the superpowers America, Russia and China. How did tiny Israel
become so incredibly powerful? Because American taxpayers have
contributed hundreds of billions of dollars in financial aid and advanced
weapons to a nation that increasingly seems to have a police state mentality.
Now that awesome military power is being used to occupy the West Bank and allow robber
barons to take the ever-dwindling land of Palestinian farm families.
Einstein also recognized that Zionists were provoking the Arabs to "acts of
hostility" (such tactics have been freely admitted by Israeli military leaders like
Moshe Dayan, who admitted trying to lure Syrians to attack Israelis in border
skirmishes). Einstein said, "We need to pay greater attention to our relations
with the Arabs. By cultivating these carefully we shall be able in future to
prevent things from becoming so dangerously strained that people can take
advantage of them to provoke acts of hostility. This goal is perfectly within
our reach, because our work of construction has been, and must continue to be,
carried out in such a manner as to serve the real interests of the Arab
population also."
Einstein clearly saw a just peace with Arabs as vital, saying, "When appraising
the achievement, however, let us not lose sight of the cause to be served by
this achievement: rescue of our endangered brethren, dispersed in many lands, by
uniting them in Israel; creation of a community which conforms as closely as
possible to the ethical ideals of our people as they have been formed in the
course of a long history. One of these ideals is peace, based on understanding
and self-restraint, and not on violence. If we are imbued with this ideal, our
joy becomes somewhat mingled with sadness, because our relations with the Arabs
are far from this ideal at the present time. It may well be that we would have
reached this idea, had we been permitted to work out, undisturbed by others, our
relations with our neighbors, for we want peace and we realize that our future
development depends on peace." How very different his words sound, than those of
Israeli leaders like Ariel Sharon and Binyamin Netanyahu!
As one of his biographers, Ronald Clark, pointed out, "Along with these feelings
which tended to qualify Einstein's enthusiasm for Zionism there was the
essentially pacifist nature of his approach to the problems of the world. Even
when it came to Zionism, a subject as emotionally close to his heart as anything
ever was, he could never look on his opponents, in this case Arabs, as the
deep-eyed villains which the sentiments of the case demanded. He was all for the
policy of live and let live."
In the end, Einstein foresaw the problem of European-style ultra-nationalism leading
to similar woes for the Jews. In his testimony of January 1946 before the
Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, he said: "The State idea is not according
to my heart. I cannot understand why it is needed. It is connected with
narrow-mindedness and economic obstacles. I believe that it is bad. I have
always been against it [i.e., against a Jewish political state rather than a
Jewish homeland]." He went further to deride the concept of a Jewish
commonwealth as an "imitation of Europe, the end of which was brought about by
nationalism."
Once the true nature of the fledgling Jewish state became evident, a number of prominent Jewish
voices of conscience rose to the occasion and sent an Open Letter to The New York
Times. Einstein, Sidney Hook, Hannah Arendt and Seymour Milman were among the
signers of this letter, which appeared in the Times
on December 4, 1948.
The letter said:
Among the most disturbing political phenomena of our time is
the emergence in the newly created state of Israel of the 'Freedom Party' ...
a political party closely akin in its organization, methods, political
philosophy, and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties. It was formed out
of the membership and following of the former Irgun Zvai Leumi, a terrorist
right-wing chauvinist organization in Palestine.
The current visit of Menachem Begin, leader of this party, to
the United States is obviously calculated to give the impression of American
support for his party in the coming Israeli elections, and to cement political
ties with conservative Zionist elements in the United States. Several Americans
of national repute have lent their names to welcome his visit. It is
inconceivable that those who opposed fascism throughout the world, if currently
informed as to Mr. Begin's political record and perspectives, could add their
names and support to the movement he represents ... A shocking example was
their behavior in the Arab village of Deir Yassin ... this incident
exemplified the character and actions of the Freedom Party. Within the Jewish
community they have preached an admixture of ultra-nationalism, religious
mysticism, and racial superiority. Like other fascist parties, they have been
used to break strikes, and have themselves pressed for the destruction of free
trade unions.
The discrepancies between the bold claims now being made by
Begin and his party, and their record of past performance in Palestine, bear the
imprint of no ordinary political party. This is the unmistakable stamp of a
Fascist party for whom terrorism (against Jews, Arabs, and British alike) and
misrepresentation are means, and a 'Leader State' is the goal.
In the light of the foregoing consideration, it is imperative
that the truth about Mr. Begin and his movement be made known in this country.
It is all the more tragic that the top leadership of American Zionism has
refused to campaign against Begin's efforts, or even to expose to its own
constituents the dangers to Israel of support to Begin. The undersigned
therefore take the means publicly presenting a few salient facts concerning
Begin and his party, and of urging all concerned not to support this latest
manifestation of fascism." [pp. 352-353]
A scanned image of this Open Letter to The New York Times is available at this
link.
The Official Einstein Archive contains the draft of an address Einstein prepared
for a dinner for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 1950. Zionists
seem to have
drafted an earlier version of the text, which contained "eulogistic expressions"
about Israel. The original draft stated: "The people of America will welcome this
great orchestra because it is sent to us in a spirit of gratitude for the part
we have played in helping to establish a democratic state of Israel. Israel's
contribution to the beauty of living, like all artistic creations, will help not
only Israel, but the entire Middle East." Einstein crossed out parts of the
original draft, including the reference to Israel as "a democratic state," and
stated his consistent view that "The meaning of Israel lay always and still
lies in the spiritual values which it creates and embodies. The new state should
only be seen as a means to serve these ends efficiently, not as an end in itself
or even as an instrument of political ambitions." The document is dated
almost two years after the State of Israel was founded. It seems Einstein did
not consider Israel to be a "democratic state" and did not see the creation of a
Jewish state in Palestine being a "help" to the "entire Middle East." Einstein
had a different dream than the dream of political Zionists. His early support for a
Jewish presence in Palestine clearly did not extend to Jews seizing control of
the region and subduing or displacing Palestinians. While some commentators
seem to see Einstein as either an ardent political Zionist, or a man who
vacillated on the subject of a Jewish state, to me he seems remarkably
consistent. His dream was always of a form of Judaism that lived up to the
visions of Hebrew prophets who called for chesed [mercy,
compassion, lovingkindness] and social justice. As he saw the nature of the Jewish
state that emerged, he distanced himself from the racism, nationalism and
militarism which soon became its watchwords. Einstein turned down the presidency of
Israel when it was offered to him, and he continued to voice his fears "for the soul of Israel." A few
months before his death, he remembered his "great hopes that Israel might be
better than other nations," only to conclude that "it is no better."
The Hebrew prophets called for compassion and
social justice. Einstein considered this message of the prophets to be the
living, beating heart of Judaism, saying: "The Zionist goal gives us an actual
opportunity to put into practice, through a viable solution of the Jewish-Arab
problem, those principles of tolerance and justice that we owe primarily to our
prophets. I am convinced that the living transmission of those principles is the
most important thing in Judaism." He also said: "To be a Jew, after all, means
first of all, to acknowledge and follow in practice those fundamentals in
humaneness laid down in the Bible: fundamentals without which no sound and happy
community of men can exist."
Was Einstein a prophet himself? Just before he died
on April 18, 1955, Einstein signed what became known as The Einstein-Russell
Manifesto. In it, the theoretical physicist and the philosopher-mathematician
Bertrand Russell went beyond vague moral arguments for pacifism. Instead they
posed political choices: "There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress
in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we
cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal as human beings to human beings: Remember
your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new
Paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death."
Was Einstein a Zionist? Yes, because he shared
the dream of a Jewish homeland: a community where Jews would be safe and
live together in peace. But he was not a political Zionist who demanded a Jewish
state bristling with weapons. Einstein was an idealist who heeded the call of the Hebrew prophets for
compassion and justice. Just before he
died, he sounded like one of those prophets himself, saying that the
difference between Paradise and Sheol [the grave, destruction, death] is a
matter of choice, of human desire and will. We can choose to see all men as equals,
respect their rights as we wish them to respect our own, and live in peace, or we can call ourselves the
Chosen Few, trample the rights of others, and go down to Sheol: to death, to
destruction. The world is, to a large degree, what we choose to make of it. We
can subdue and tame wild beasts, making the savage wolf man's best friend, the
loving and loyal dog ... but what will we do about ourselves? Will we ever use our
hearts and brains simultaneously, to our own best advantage? —
Michael R. Burch
Research
I used to go away for weeks in a state of confusion.
Now I think and think for months and years.
Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false.
The hundredth time I am right.
But I never think of the future—
that comes soon enough.
Learn from yesterday,
live for today,
hope for tomorrow.
The important thing is never
to stop questioning.
Never lose a holy curiosity.
It is a miracle that curiosity
survives formal education
and yet it is the supreme art
of the teacher to awaken joy
in creative expression
and knowledge.
Still, it sometimes seems
that "education" is what remains
after one has forgotten
everything he learned in school,
and the only thing that interferes
with my learning is my
education.
But always remember that all that is valuable in human society
depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual!
If you are out to describe the truth,
leave elegance to the tailor . . .
and yet
if you can't explain it simply,
you don't understand it.
Still, if we knew what it was we were doing,
it wouldn't be called "research,"
would it?
Blindness
Few are those
who see
with their own eyes,
and feel
with their own hearts,
and think
with their own minds . . .
and he who can no longer pause
to wonder
and stand rapt in awe,
is as good as dead;
his eyes are closed.
Uncommon Sense
An empty stomach
is not a good political adviser,
yet anger dwells
only in the bosom of fools,
while "common sense"
is the collection of prejudices
acquired by age eighteen.
New Math
Concern for man and his fate
must always form the chief interest
of all technical endeavors.
Never forget this
in the midst of your diagrams
and equations.
Yet never over-worry
about your difficulties
in Mathematics.
I can assure you mine are still greater!
Imagination
Imagination is everything.
It is the preview of life's coming attractions.
(I am enough of an artist
to draw freely upon my imagination.)
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Information is not knowledge
and yet knowledge is still limited,
for knowledge of what is
does not open the door directly to what should be.
Yes, logic may get you from A to B,
but Imagination will take you everywhere.
Imagination encircles the world.
Imagination is everything.
I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination,
and to raise new questions, new possibilities,
to regard old
problems from new angles,
requires creative imagination and marks real advance
in science.
Thus, the true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but
imagination.
(And the secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources!)
Holy Curiosity
Learn from yesterday,
live for today,
hope for tomorrow.
The important thing is never
to stop questioning.
Never lose a holy curiosity.
Science
Most people say that it is the intellect
which makes a great scientist.
They are wrong:
it is character.
and the whole of science is nothing more than a refinement
of everyday thinking.
Science is a wonderful thing if one doesn't have to earn one's living at it,
although the process of scientific discovery is, in effect, a
continual flight from wonder.
Still, look deep into nature, and then you will understand
everything better.
Nationalism
Nationalism is the infantile sickness
of mankind,
the measles of the human race,
and so never do anything against your conscience
even if the state demands it.
New Math (II)
Not everything that can be counted
counts,
and not everything that counts
can be counted.
Mastery
Only one who devotes himself
to a cause
with his whole strength and soul
can be a true master.
For this reason mastery
demands all of a person.
Education
It is a miracle that curiosity
survives formal education
and yet it is the supreme art
of the teacher to awaken joy
in creative expression
and knowledge.
Still, it sometimes seems
that "education" is what remains
after one has forgotten
everything he learned in school.
Poetic Logic
Politics is for the present,
but an equation is for eternity.
Pure mathematics is, in its way,
the poetry of logical ideas.
Reality and Illusion
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent
one.
The distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly
persistent illusion
and the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent
for absorbing positive knowledge.
The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility
and the most incomprehensible thing about the world is that
it is comprehensible.
False Idols
Let every man be respected
but no man idolized.
New Math (III)
The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax
(everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler)
and anyway, I don't believe in mathematics
because as far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they
are not certain,
while as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.
So please don't worry about your difficulties in Mathematics: I can assure you
that mine are still greater!
(And please keep in mind that the difference between stupidity and genius is
that genius has its limits
and that anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new).
Suffering
The devil has put a penalty
on all things we enjoy in life.
Either we suffer in health
or we suffer in soul
or we get fat.
Science and Religion
Science without religion is lame;
religion without science is blind.
Never lose a holy curiosity.
It was the experience of mystery
—even if mixed with fear—
that engendered religion.
Fickle Fame
If my theory of relativity is proven correct,
Germany
will claim me as a German
and France will declare that
I am a citizen of the
world.
Should my theory prove untrue,
France will say that I am a German
and
Germany will declare that I am a Jew.
(And if I could only remember the names of all these particles I'd be a
botanist!)
Life
I never think of the future (it comes soon enough!)
and the tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he
lives.
The life of the individual has meaning only insofar
as
it aids in making the life of every living thing nobler and more beautiful.
Life
is sacred, that is to say, it is the supreme value,
to which all other values are subordinate
and human beings can attain a worthy and harmonious life
only if they are able to rid themselves, within the limits of human nature,
of
the striving for the wish fulfillment of material kinds.
The goal is to raise
the spiritual values of society.
A human being is a part of a whole, called by us
"universe,"
a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his
thoughts and feelings
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.
So let every man be respected
but no man idolized.
I believe that a simple
and unassuming
manner of life
is best for everyone—
best both for the body
and the mind.
Determinism
Everything is determined by forces over which we have no
control.
It is determined for the insect as well as for the star.
Human beings,
vegetables, or cosmic dust—we all dance to a mysterious tune,
intoned
from a distance by an invisible piper.
I assert that the cosmic religious experience
is the strongest and the noblest driving force behind scientific research
and my religion consists of a humble admiration of the
illimitable superior spirit
who reveals himself in the slight details we are
able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds.
Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind
and whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth
and Knowledge
is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.
Before God
I want to know God's thoughts;
the rest are details.
God does not play dice with the universe.
God is subtle, but not malicious;
clever, but not dishonest.
God does not care about our mathematical difficulties.
He integrates empirically.
Before God
we are all equally wise
and equally foolish.
That deep emotional conviction
of the presence
of a superior reasoning power,
which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe,
forms my idea of God.
But I cannot imagine a God
who rewards and punishes
the objects of his creation
and is thus but a reflection
of human frailty.
Morality is of the highest importance—
but for us, not God!
Immortality
Do I believe in immortality?
No, and one life is more than enough for me!
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Muhammad Ali Poems,
Albert Einstein Poems
Abraham Lincoln Poems,
Mark Twain Poems,
Nelson Mandela Poems,
Pope Francis Poems,
Ronald Reagan Poems
The HyperTexts