“This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of herd life, the military system, which I abhor... This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!”

“The only justifiable purpose of political institutions is to ensure the unhindered development of the individual.”

“The tendencies we have mentioned are something new for America. They arose when, under the influence of the two World Wars and the consequent concentration of all forces on a military goal, a predominantly military mentality developed, which with the almost sudden victory became even more accentuated. The characteristic feature of this mentality is that people place the importance of what Bertrand Russell so tellingly terms “naked power” far above all other factors which affect the relations between peoples. The Germans, misled by Bismarck’s successes in particular, underwent just such a transformation of their mentality—in consequence of which they were entirely ruined in less than a hundred years. I must frankly confess that the foreign policy of the United States since the termination of hostilities has reminded me, sometimes irresistibly, of the attitude of Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm II, and I know that, independent of me, this analogy has most painfully occurred to others as well. It is characteristic of the military mentality that non-human factors (atom bombs, strategic bases, weapons of all sorts, the possession of raw materials, etc.) are held essential, while the human being, his desires and thoughts—in short, the psychological factors—are considered as unimportant and secondary. Herein lies a certain resemblance to Marxism, at least insofar as its theoretical side alone is kept in view. The individual is degraded to a mere instrument; he becomes “human materiel.” The normal ends of human aspiration vanish with such a viewpoint. Instead, the military mentality raises “naked power” as a goal in itself—one of the strangest illusions to which men can succumb.”

“The formulation of the problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill.”

“There is far too great a disproportion between what one is and what others think one is, or at least what they say they think one is.”

“It is the theory which decides what can be observed”

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.”

“I maintain that the cosmic religious feeling is the strongest and noblest motive for scientific research.”

“To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself.”

“Out yonder there is this huge world, which exists independently of us human beings and which stands before us like a great, eternal riddle, at least partially accessible to our inspection and thinking”

“Barangsiapa yang tidak pernah melakukan kesalahan, maka dia tidak pernah mencoba sesuatu yang baru”

“live as if you were to die tommorow. dream as if you were to live forever”

“Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.”

“Past is dead Future is uncertain; Present is all you have, So eat, drink and live merry.”

“A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?”