Science is the century-old endeavor to bring together by means of systematic thought the perceptible phenomena of this world into as thorough-going an association as possible.

The words of language, as they are written or spoken, do not seem to play any role in my mechanism of thought. The physical entities which seem to serve as elements in thought are certain...

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

I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion,...

In that way imagination and intelligence enter into our existence in the part of servants of the primary instincts.

To know is nothing at all; to imagine is everything.

God may be subtle, but he isn’t plain mean.

How can it be that mathematics, being after all a product of human thought which is independent of experience, is so admirably appropriate to the objects of reality? Is human reason, then, without experience, merely...

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

One reason why mathematics enjoys special esteem, above all other sciences, is that its laws are absolutely certain and indisputable, while those of other sciences are to some extent debatable and in constant danger of...

Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them.

I am not a genius, I am just curious. I ask many questions. and when the answer is simple, then God is answering.

If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the facts.

Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.

Information is not knowledge.

He who joyfully marches to music 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. This disgrace to...

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.

I received your letter of June 10th. I have never talked to a Jesuit priest in my life and I am astonished by the audacity to tell such lies about me. From the viewpoint of...

To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.

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

Every kind of peaceful cooperation among men is primarily based on mutual trust and only secondarily on institutions such as courts of justice and police

Only a life lived for others is worth living

All these primary impulses, not easily described in words, are the springs of man’s actions.

Occurrences in this domain are beyond the reach of exact prediction because of the variety of factors in operation, not because of any lack of order in nature.

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

You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.

…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...

God always takes the simplest way.

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

An attempt to find an out where there is no door

That a man can take pleasure in marching in formation to the strains of a band is enough to make me despise him. He has only been given his big brain by mistake; a backbone...

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

Most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple, and may, as a rule, be expressed in a language comprehensible to everyone.

I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it.

The only source of knowledge is experience.

We know from daily life that we exist for other people first of all, for whose smiles and well-being our own happiness depends.

I would not think that philosophy and reason themselves will be man’s guide in the foreseeable future; however, they will remain the most beautiful sanctuary they have always been for the select few.

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

The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights...

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

We can’t solve a problem by using the same kind of thinking we used to create them.

Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth.

The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unfortunate but almost disqualified for life.

I don’t know, I don’t care, and it doesn’t make any difference!

Without deep reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people .

I made one great mistake in my life-when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made but there was some justification-the danger that the Germans would make them.

To me the worst thing seems to be a school principally to work with methods of fear, force and artificial authority. Such treatment destroys the sound sentiments, the sincerity and the self-confidence of pupils and...

If one studies too zealously, one easily loses his pants.

Enjoying the joys of others and suffering with them – these are the best guides for man

Though love repine, and reason chafe, There came a voice without reply, – Truth is what stands the test of experience