Before God we are all equally wise – and equally foolish.
I thought of that while riding my bicycle.
I see my life in terms of music.
A student is not a container you have to fill, but a torch you have to light up.
The only source of knowledge is experience.
Force always attracts men of low morality.
I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.
The past is dead. The future is uncertain; the present is all you have. So eat, drink, and live merrily.
At least once a day, allow yourself the freedom to think and dream for yourself.
If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare me a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German, and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.
If I were to remain silent, I’d be guilty of complicity.
An empty stomach is not a good political adviser.
We experience ourselves our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?
No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.
Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed.
The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size.
I don’t try to imagine a personal God; it suffices to stand in awe at the structure of the world, insofar as it allows our inadequate senses to appreciate it.
The human spirit must prevail over technology.
It is harder to crack prejudice than an atom.