Everything Should Be Made As Simple As Possible, but Not Simpler

If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

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

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

God does not play dice with the universe.

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

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.

These thoughts did not come in any verbal formulation. I rarely think in words at all. A thought comes, and I may try to express it in words afterward.

A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest by a kind of optical delusion of his 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. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.

It is nothing short of a miracle that modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry.

The search for truth is more precious than its possession.

If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am 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.

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

Before God we are all equally wise - equally foolish.

My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slightest details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds.

The most incomprehensible fact about the universe is that it is comprehensible.
There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.