Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

Morality is of the highest importance - but for us, not for God.

The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax.

True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.

He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.

Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.

Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.

The process of scientific discovery is, in effect, a continual flight from wonder.

It`s not that I`m so smart, it`s just that I stay with problems longer.

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I`m not sure about the universe.

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.

Joy in looking and comprehending is nature`s most beautiful gift.

We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality.

A religious person is devout in the sense that he has no doubt about the significance of those superpersonal objects and goals which neither require nor are capable of rational foundation

I have no particular talent. I am merely inquisitive.

The ideals which have always shone before me and filled me with the joy of living are goodness, beauty, and truth. To make a goal of comfort or happiness has never appealed to me; a system of ethics built on this basis would be sufficient only for a herd of cattle.

The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don`t do anything about it.

Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.

We can`t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.

Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -how passionately I hate them!

Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools.

As far as I`m concerned, I prefer silent vice to ostentatious virtue.

The search for truth is more precious than its possession.

It is the theory that decides what can be observed

True religion is real living; living with all one`s soul, with all one`s goodness and righteousness.

To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.

The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully have been kindness, beauty, and truth

Solitude is painful when one is young, but delightful when one is more mature.

I am convinced that He (God) does not play dice.

Information is not knowledge.

The idle man does not know what it is to enjoy rest.

Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

Innovation is not the product of logical thought, although the result is tied to logical structure.

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT`S relativity.

When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That`s relativity.

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.

It is my view that the vegetarian manner of living by its purely physical effect on the human temperament would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind.

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I`m not sure about the former.

I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.

Only a life lived for others is worth living

Reality is merely an illusion, although a very persistent one

It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs.

I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.

Relativity applies to physics, not ethics

Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.

Space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and only a kind union of the two will preserve an independent reality

It is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

I lived in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.

If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.

Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.

for those who would joyously march in rank and file, they have already earned my contempt, for they were given a large brain by accident when a spinal chord would have sufficed.

At any rate, I am convinced that He [God] does not play dice.

No, this trick won`t work...How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.

When the solution is simple, God is answering.

Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater.

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.

Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.

Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices, but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence and fulfills the duty to express the results of his thought in clear form.

I sometimes ask myself how it came about that I was the one to develop the theory of relativity. The reason, I think, is that a normal adult never stops to think about problems of space and time. These are things which he has thought about as a child.

One should guard against preaching to young people success in the customary form as the main aim in life. The most important motive for work in school and in life is pleasure in work, pleasure in its result and the knowledge of the value of the result to the community.

If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.

Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means.

"Scientists investigate that which already is;

Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.

Women marry men hoping they will change. Men marry women hoping they will not. So each is inevitably disappointed.

It is appallingly obvious our technology has exceeded our humanity

If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y and Z, with X being work, Y play, and Z keeping your mouth shut.

The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest

As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.

The only reason for time is so that everything doesn`t happen at once.

The only real valuable thing is intuition.

It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure.

Never do anything against conscience, even if the state demands it

Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism - how passionately I hate them!

Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.

No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.

The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.

You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.

The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.

The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.

The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything

A person starts to live when he can live outside himself.

The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for a short while

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.

Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I`m not sure about the the universe.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Politics is for the present, but an equation is for eternity.

Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.

He who joyfully marches to music in 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.

The man of science is a poor philosopher.

What really interests me is whether God had any choice in the creation of the world.

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.

Desire for approval and recognition is a healthy motive, but the desire to be acknowledged as better, stronger or more intelligent than a fellow being or fellow scholar easily leads to an excessively egoistic psychological adjustment, which may becom

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.

...beware of mathematicians, and all those who make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that the mathematicians have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and to confine man in the bonds of Hell.

Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury - to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for every one, best both for the body and the mind.

Force always attracts men of low morality, and I believe it to be an invariable rule that tyrants of genius are succeeded by scoundrels.

The release of atomic energy has not created a new problem. It has merely made more urgent the necessity of solving an existing one.

Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death

Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish.

As a young man, my fondest dream was to become a geographer. However while working in the customs office I thought deeply about the matter and concluded that it was far too difficult a subject. With some reluctance, I then turned to physics as a substitute.

There is a race between mankind and the universe. Mankind is trying to build bigger, better, faster, and more foolproof machines. The universe is trying to build bigger, better, and faster fools. So far the universe is winning.

I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.

The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. The trite subjects of human efforts, possessions, outward success, luxury have always seemed to me contemptible.

Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.

Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater.

A photograph never grows old. You and I change, people change all through the months and years but a photograph always remains the same. How nice to look at a photograph of mother or father taken many years ago. You see them as you remember them. But as people live on, they change completely. That is why I think a photograph can be kind.

Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.

Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.

If the facts don`t fit the theory, change the facts.

[Upon learning of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima] If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith!

[Quoted by Ted Morgan in the book "FDR", Simon & Schuster, 1985] I made one great mistake in my life - when I signed the letter to [President Franklin Delano Roosevelt] recommending that atom bombs be made . . . but there was some justification - the danger that the Germans would make them.

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age 18.

Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.

The eternal mystery of the universe is its comprehensibility.

The wireless telegraph is not difficult to understand. The ordinary telegraph is like a very long cat. You pull the tail in New York, and it meows in Los Angeles. The wireless is the same, only without the cat.

The release of atomic energy has not created a new problem. It has merely made more urgent the necessity of solving an existing one.

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.

Truth is what stands the test of experience.

The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is at all comprehensible.

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.

The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.

An empty stomach is not a good political adviser.

Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.

I never think of the future - it comes soon enough.

The hardest thing in the world to understand is income tax.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

I assert that the cosmic religious experience is the strongest and the noblest driving force behind scientific research.

We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

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.

It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

Ethical axioms are found and tested not very differently from the axioms of science. Truth is what stands the test of experience.

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 mind.

Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That`s relativity.

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.

[giving the most practical, understandable explanation of the Theory of Relativity; how time can expand or contract] You spend 30 minutes with a beautiful girl, it seems like a moment. You spend a moment sitting on a hot stove, it seems like 30 minutes.

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population.

Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.

If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.

Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.

The important thing is not to stop questioning.

[Referring to Mahatma Gandhi after Gandhi`s assassination] Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth!

Imagination is more important than knowledge...

When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come close to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.

Too many of us look upon Americans as dollar chasers. This is a cruel libel, even if it is reiterated thoughtlessly by the Americans themselves.

If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith.

I do not much believe in education. Each man ought to be his own model, however frightful that may be.

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

If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.

If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?

[quoted in Life magazine, 9 January 1950] The grand aim of all science is to cover the greatest number of empirical facts by logical deduction from the smallest number of hypotheses or axioms.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.

I am a deeply religious nonbeliever. This is a somewhat new kind of religion.

I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."

"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."

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."

"Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."