“The longing to behold this pre-established harmony [of phenomena and theoretical principles] is the source of the inexhaustible patience and perseverance with which Planck has devoted himself ... The state of mind which enables a man to do work of this kind is akin to that of the religious worshiper or the lover; the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.”
―
Albert Einstein
“The best that Gauss has given us was likewise an exclusive production. If he had not created his geometry of surfaces, which served Riemann as a basis, it is scarcely conceivable that anyone else would have discovered it. I do not hesitate to confess that to a certain extent a similar pleasure may be found by absorbing ourselves in questions of pure geometry.”
―
Albert Einstein
“If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.”
―
Albert Einstein
“Brief is this existence, as a visit in a strange house. The path to be pursued is poorly lit by a flickering consciousness.”
―
Albert Einstein
“We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library, whose walls are covered to the ceiling with books in many different languages. The child knows that someone must have written those books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the the languages in which they are written. The child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books, a mysterious order, which it does not comprehend but only dimly suspects.”
―
Albert Einstein
“The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”
―
Albert Einstein
“Man is here for the sake of other men - above all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness depends.”
―
Albert Einstein
“Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”
―
Albert Einstein
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. 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 each day.
—"Old Man's Advice to Youth: 'Never Lose a Holy Curiosity.'"
―
Albert Einstein
“I have not eaten enough of the tree of knowledge, though in my profession I am obligated to feed on it regularly.”
―
Albert Einstein
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.”
―
Albert Einstein
“Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity, but don't rule out malice.”
―
Albert Einstein
“Isn't it strange that I who have written only unpopular books should be such a popular fellow?”
―
Albert Einstein
“Problems cannot be solved with the same mind set that created them.”
―
Albert Einstein
