"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death."

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More quotes from: Albert Einstein

• "A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend ..."
• "A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be. "
• "A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem. "
• "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. "
• "A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy? "
• "A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a ..."
• "All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must ..."
• "All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. "
• "All such action would cease if those powerful elemental forces were to cease stirring within ..."
• "All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the ..."
• "All these constructions and the laws connecting them can be arrived at by the principle ..."
• "All these primary impulses, not easily described in words, are the springs of man's actions. "
• "An empty stomach is not a good political adviser. "
• "Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools. "
• "Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch ..."
• "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of ..."
• "Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving ..."
• "Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones ..."
• "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. "
• "As far as I'm concerned, I prefer silent vice to ostentatious virtue. "
• "As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, and ..."
• "Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish. "
• "But their intervention makes our acts to serve ever less merely the immediate claims of ..."
• "Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen. "
• "Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical ..."
• "Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems, in my opinion, to characterize our age. "
• "Considered logically this concept is not identical with the totality of sense impressions referred to; ..."
• "Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still ..."
• "Do you believe in immortality? No, and one life is enough for me. "
• "Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. "
• "Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized. "
• "Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler. "
• "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. "
• "Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be ..."
• "Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts. "
• "Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of ..."
• "Force always attracts men of low morality. "
• "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth ..."
• "God always takes the simplest way. "
• "God does not care about our mathematical difficulties. He integrates empirically. "
• "God does not play dice. "
• "God may be subtle, but he isn't plain mean. "
• "Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love. "
• "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. "
• "He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as ..."
• "He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has ..."
• "He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. ..."
• "Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name ..."
• "How I wish that somewhere there existed an island for those who are wise and ..."
• "How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a ..."
• "Human beings must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. "
• "I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. "
• "I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more ..."
• "I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight ..."
• "I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best ..."
• "I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation and ..."
• "I consider it important, indeed urgently necessary, for intellectual workers to get together, both to ..."
• "I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be ..."
• "I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil. "
• "I do not believe that civilization will be wiped out in a war fought with ..."
• "I do not know with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World ..."
• "I don't know, I don't care, and it doesn't make any difference! "
• "I have just got a new theory of eternity. "
• "I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious. "
• "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War ..."
• "I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years ..."
• "I never think of the future - it comes soon enough. "
• "I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The ..."
• "I think that a particle must have a separate reality independent of the measurements. That ..."
• "I used to go away for weeks in a state of confusion. "
• "I want to know all Gods thoughts; all the rest are just details. "
• "I want to know God's thoughts... the rest are details. "
• "If A equals success, then the formula is: A = X + Y + Z, ..."
• "If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith. "
• "If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German ..."
• "If one were to take that goal out of out of its religious form and ..."

• "If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we ..."
• "If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts. "
• "If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, ..."
• "If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor. "
• "Imagination is more important than knowledge. "
• "In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, ..."
• "In order to be an immaculate member of a flock of sheep, one must above ..."
• "Information is not knowledge. "
• "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. "
• "Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them. "
• "Isn't it strange that I who have written only unpopular books should be such a ..."
• "It gives me great pleasure indeed to see the stubbornness of an incorrigible nonconformist warmly ..."
• "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. "
• "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. "
• "It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man. "
• "It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an ..."
• "It is not so very important for a person to learn facts. For that he ..."
• "It is only to the individual that a soul is given. "
• "It is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely. "
• "It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and ..."
• "It should be possible to explain the laws of physics to a barmaid. "
• "It stands to the everlasting credit of science that by acting on the human mind ..."
• "It was the experience of mystery - even if mixed with fear - that engendered ..."
• "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. "
• "Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift. "
• "Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow - perhaps it ..."
• "Knowledge of what is does not open the door directly to what should be. "
• "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to ..."
• "Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized. "
• "Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. "
• "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. "
• "Love is a better teacher than duty. "
• "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. "
• "Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today's events. "
• "Morality is of the highest importance - but for us, not for God. "
• "Most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple, and may, as a rule, ..."
• "Most people say that is it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They ..."
• "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself ..."
• "Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind. "
• "Nationalism is an infantile sickness. It is the measles of the human race. "
• "Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it. "
• "Never lose a holy curiosity. "
• "Never regard study as a duty, but as the enviable opportunity to learn to know ..."
• "Never regard your study as a duty, but as the enviable opportunity to learn to ..."
• "No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me ..."
• "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. "
• "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. "
• "Not until the creation and maintenance of decent conditions of life for all people are ..."
• "Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land ..."
• "Occurrences in this domain are beyond the reach of exact prediction because of the variety ..."
• "On the other hand, the concept owes its meaning and its justification exclusively to the ..."
• "Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them. "
• "One should guard against preaching to young people success in the customary form as the ..."
• "One strength of the communist system of the East is that it has some of ..."
• "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile. "
• "Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can ..."
• "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about ..."
• "Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace ..."
• "Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. "
• "People love chopping wood. In this activity one immediately sees results. "
• "Perfection of means and confusion of ends seem to characterize our age. "
• "Politics is for the present, but an equation is for eternity. "
• "Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them. "
• "Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas. "
• "Quantum mechanics is very impressive. But an inner voice tells me that it is not ..."
• "Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any ..."
• "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. "
• "Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at ..."
• "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. "
• "Small is the number of people who see with their eyes and think with their ..."
• "Solitude is painful when one is young, but delightful when one is more mature. "
• "Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, ..."
• "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. "
• "Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal. "
• "That deep emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed ..."

• "The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only ..."
• "The devil has put a penalty on all things we enjoy in life. Either we ..."
• "The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. "
• "The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. "
• "The environment is everything that isn't me. "
• "The faster you go, the shorter you are. "
• "The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there's no risk ..."
• "The foundation of morality should not be made dependent on myth nor tied to any ..."
• "The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive ..."
• "The grand aim of all science is to cover the greatest number of empirical facts ..."
• "The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax. "
• "The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule. "
• "The ideals which have always shone before me and filled me with the joy of ..."
• "The important thing is not to stop questioning. "
• "The mere formulation of a problem is far more essential than its solution, which may ..."
• "The minority, the ruling class at present, has the schools and press, usually the Church ..."
• "The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind. "
• "The more success the quantum theory has, the sillier it looks. "
• "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of ..."
• "The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions. Our inner ..."
• "The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible. "
• "The only real valuable thing is intuition. "
• "The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once. "
• "The only source of knowledge is experience. "
• "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education. "
• "The opinion prevailed among advanced minds that it was time that belief should be replaced ..."
• "The pioneers of a warless world are the young men (and women) who refuse military ..."
• "The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of ..."
• "The process of scientific discovery is, in effect, a continual flight from wonder. "
• "The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are ..."
• "The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking... the solution ..."
• "The release of atomic energy has not created a new problem. It has merely made ..."
• "The road to perdition has ever been accompanied by lip service to an ideal. "
• "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. "
• "The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend ..."
• "The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives. "
• "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination. "
• "The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking and ..."
• "The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in ..."
• "The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking. "
• "The wireless telegraph is not difficult to understand. The ordinary telegraph is like a very ..."
• "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are ..."
• "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because ..."
• "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is ..."
• "There comes a time when the mind takes a higher plane of knowledge but can ..."
• "There is no logical way to the discovery of these elemental laws. There is only ..."
• "They come into being not through demonstration but through revelation, through the medium of powerful ..."
• "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler. "
• "To know what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom ..."
• "To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires ..."
• "To the Master's honor all must turn, each in its track, without a sound, forever ..."
• "Too many of us look upon Americans as dollar chasers. This is a cruel libel, ..."
• "True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist. "
• "True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and ..."
• "Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man ..."
• "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the ..."
• "Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth. "
• "We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings. "
• "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. "
• "We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive. "
• "We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, ..."
• "Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character. "
• "When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that ..."
• "When the solution is simple, God is answering. "
• "When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you ..."
• "Where the world ceases to be the scene of our personal hopes and wishes, where ..."
• "Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters. "
• "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked ..."
• "Why does this applied science, which saves work and makes life easier, bring us so ..."
• "Without deep reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people. "
• "You ask me if I keep a notebook to record my great ideas. I've only ..."
• "You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created. "
• "You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war. "
• "You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull ..."