"The state of mind which enables a man to do work of this kind ... is akin tothat of the religious worshipper or the lover; the daily effort comes from nodeliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart."
—From "Principles of Research," a speech delivered at Max Planck's 60thbirthday celebration, 1918; published in Mein Weltbild, by AlbertEinstein (Amsterdam: Querido Verlag, 1934); reprinted in Ideas andOpinions, by Albert Einstein (New York: Crown, 1954), pp. 224-227;Expanded, p. 235
"The ordinary adult never gives a thought to space-time problems.... I, on thecontrary, developed so slowly that I did not begin to wonder about space andtime until I was an adult. I then delved more deeply into the problem than anyother adult or child would have done."
—To Nobel laureate James Franck, on his belief that it is usuallychildren, not adults, who reflect on space-time problems. Quoted in HelleZeit, Dunkle Zeit: In Memoriam Albert Einstein, edited by Carl Seelig(Zurich: Europa Verlag, 1956), p. 72; Expanded, pp. 20-21
"It is important for the common good to foster individuality: for only theindividual can produce the new ideas which the community needs for itscontinuous improvement and requirements—indeed, to avoid sterility andpetrification."
—From a message for a Ben Schemen dinner, March 1952; Einstein Archive28-932; Expanded, p. 286
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reasonfor existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteriesof eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough ifone tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day."
—From the memoirs of William Miller, an editor, quoted in Lifemagazine, May 2, 1955; Expanded, p. 281
"My interest in science was always essentially limited to the study ofprinciples.... That I have published so little is due to this samecirc*mstance, as the great need to grasp principles has caused me to spend mostof my time on fruitless pursuits."
—Letter to Maurice Solovine, October 30, 1924; Einstein Archive 21-195;published in Letters to Solovine, 1906-1955, by Albert Einstein. Trans.from the French by Wade Baskin, with facsimile letters in German. (New York:Carol Publishing, 1993); Expanded, p. 245
"One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measuredagainst reality, is primitive and childlike—and yet it is the mostprecious thing we have."
—Quoted in Albert Einstein: Creator and Rebel, by Banesh Hoffmann(New York: Viking, 1972), v; Expanded, p. 261
"Why is it that nobody understands me, and everybody likes me?"
—From an interview, The New York Times, March 12, 1944;Expanded, p. 14
Note: All quotes drawn from The Expanded Quotable Einstein, collectedand edited by Alice Calaprice (Princeton University Press, 2000)
