“I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves -- this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals that have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed empty to me. The trite objects of human efforts -- possessions, outward success, luxury -- have always seemed to me contemptible.”
―
Albert Einstein
“Even on the most solemn occasions I got away without wearing socks and hid that lack of civilization in high boots”
―
Albert Einstein
“The generalized theory of relativity has furnished still more remarkable results. This considers not only uniform but also accelerated motion. In particular, it is based on the impossibility of distinguishing an acceleration from the gravitation or other force which produces it. Three consequences of the theory may be mentioned of which two have been confirmed while the third is still on trial: (1) It gives a correct explanation of the residual motion of forty-three seconds of arc per century of the perihelion of Mercury. (2) It predicts the deviation which a ray of light from a star should experience on passing near a large gravitating body, the sun, namely, 1".7. On Newton's corpuscular theory this should be only half as great. As a result of the measurements of the photographs of the eclipse of 1921 the number found was much nearer to the prediction of Einstein, and was inversely proportional to the distance from the center of the sun, in further confirmation of the theory. (3) The theory predicts a displacement of the solar spectral lines, and it seems that this prediction is also verified.”
―
Albert Einstein
“The ideals which have always shone before me and filled me with joy are goodness, beauty, and truth.”
―
Albert Einstein
“In my view, it is the most important function of art and science to awaken this religious feeling and keep it alive in those who are receptive to it.”
―
Albert Einstein
“At least once a day, allow yourself the freedom to think and dream for yourself.”
―
Albert Einstein
“When I am judging a theory, I ask myself whether, if I were God, I would have arranged the world in such a way.”
―
Albert Einstein
“If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.”
―
Albert Einstein
“The idea of a personal God is quite alien to me and seems even naïve.”
―
Albert Einstein
“In the matter of physics, the first lessons should contain nothing but what is experimental and interesting to see. A pretty experiment is in itself often more valuable than twenty formulae extracted from our minds.”
―
Albert Einstein
“I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university.”
―
Albert Einstein
“The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the Prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced”
―
Albert Einstein
“As long as armies exist, any serious quarrel will lead to war.”
―
Albert Einstein
