Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879-April 18, 1955) was a German-born American theoretical physicist. He developed the theory of relativity, which was the basis for the application of atomic energy. In 1921, Albert Einstein was the recipient of the Nobel Prize, and in 1952 he was offered the position of President of Israel, but turned it down.
On November 9, 1930, in an article in the The New York Times, Albert Einstein's statement was recorded:
<I assert that the cosmic religious experience is the strongest and noblest driving force behind scientific research.> 1879AE001
Albert Einstein stated:
<God Almighty does not throw dice.> 1879AE002 In commenting on wealth, Albert Eistein stated:
<I am absolutely convinced that no wealth in the world can help humanity forward, even in the hands of the most devoted worker in this cause. The example of great and pure individuals is the only thing that can lead us to noble thoughts and deeds. Money only appeals to selfishness and irresistibly invites abuse. Can anyone imagine Moses, Jesus, or Gandhi armed with the moneybags of Carnegie?> 1879AE003
In describing the theory of relativity, Albert Einstein stated:
<When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute-and it's longer than any hour. That's relativity.> 1879AE004
Albert Einstein's statement inscribed in Fine Hall at Princeton University reads:
<Raffiniert ist der Herr Gott, aber Boshaft ist er nicht." (God is clever, but not dishonest.)> 1879AE005
Albert Einstein stated:
<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 minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God.> 1879AE006
Though not believing in a personal God, The Saturday Evening Post, October 26, 1929, published "An Interview with George Sylvester Viereck," in which Einstein stated:
<As a child, I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene...Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrasemongers, however artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with a bon mot. No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.> 1879AE007
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1879AE001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Albert Einstein, November 9, 1930, statement in an article in the The New York Times, recounted in an obituary reporting Albert Einstein's death, April 19, 1955. James Beasely Simpson, Best Quotes of '54, '55, '56 (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1957), p. 185.
1879AE002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Albert Einstein. Philip Frank, Einstein, His Life and Times (1947). ("I shall never believe that God plays dice with the world.") John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855, 1980), p. 763. ("I cannot believe that God plays dice with the cosmos!") James Beasely Simpson, Best Quotes of '54, '55, '56 (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1957), p. 186. Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation, Dennis R. Petersen, B.S., M.A. (El Cajon, CA: Master Books, 1988), p. 79. Willard Cantelon, New Money or None? (Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1979), p. 239.
1879AE003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Albert Einstein. James Beasely Simpson, Best Quotes of '54, '55, '56 (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1957), p. 187. Quotations recalled in obituaries reporting his death, April 19, 1955.
1879AE004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Albert Einstein, statement describing the theory of relativity. James Beasely Simpson, Best Quotes of '54, '55, '56 (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1957), p. 188. Quotations recalled in obituaries reporting his death, April 19, 1955.
1879AE005. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Albert Einstein, engraved over the fireplace in Fine Hall, Princeton, N.J. Burton Stevenson, The Home Book of Quotations-Classical & Modern (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1967). ("Raffiniert ist der Herr Gott, aber Boshaft ist er nicht,"-"The Lord God is subtle, but malicious he is not.") John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855, 1980), p. 764. ("God is subtle but he is not malicious") James Beasely Simpson, Best Quotes of '54, '55, '56 (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1957), p. 186.
1879AE006. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Albert Einstein, statement. Spiegel Daily Calendar Appointment Book (Ogle Publishing Co., 20723 S.W. Settlement Drive, sherwood, OR 97140, 1-800-914-6453), 2.24.
1879AE007. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Albert Einstein, October 26, 1929, "What Life Means to Einstein: An Interview by George Sylvester Viereck" The Saturday Evening Post (October 29, 1929) p. 17. As reported in Einstein - A Life (1996) by Denis Brian, when asked about a clipping from a magazine article reporting his comments on Christianity as taken down by Viereck, Einstein carefully read the clipping and replied, "That is what I believe."