The world as I see it - Albert Einstein (easy books to read .txt) 📗

/> feeling similar to that of a child for its father, a being to whom one
stands to some extent in a personal relation, however deeply it may be
tinged with awe.

But the scientist is possessed by the sense of universal causation. The
future, to him, is every whit as necessary and determined as the past. There
is nothing divine about morality, it is a purely human affair. His religious
feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural
law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with
it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly
insignificant reflection. This feeling is the guiding principle of his life
and work, in so far as he succeeds in keeping himself from the shackles of
selfish desire. It is beyond question closely akin to that which has
possessed the religious geniuses of all ages.

The Plight of Science

The German-speaking countries are menaced by a danger to which those in
the know are in duty bound to call attention in the most emphatic terms. The
economic stress which political events bring in their train does not hit
everybody equally hard. Among the hardest hit are the institutions and
individuals whose material existence depends directly on the State. To this
category belong the scientific institutions and workers on whose work not
merely the well-being of science but also the position occupied by Germany
and Austria in the scale of culture very largely depends.

To grasp the full gravity of the situation it is necessary to bear in
mind the following consideration. In times of crisis people are generally
blind to everything outside their immediate necessities. For work which is
directly productive of material wealth they will pay. But science, if it is
to flourish, must have no practical end in view. As a general rule, the
knowledge and the methods which it creates only subserve practical ends
indirectly and, in many cases, not till after the lapse of several
generations. Neglect of science leads to a subsequent dearth of intellectual
workers able, in virtue of their independent outlook and judgment, to blaze
new trails for industry or adapt themselves to new situations. Where
scientific enquiry is stunted the intellectual life of the nation dries up,
which means the withering of many possibilities of future development. This
is what we have to prevent. Now that the State has been weakened as a result
of nonpolitical causes, it is up to the economically stronger members of the
community to come to the rescue directly, and prevent the decay of
scientific life.

Far-sighted men with a clear understanding of the situation have set up
institutions by which scientific work of every sort is to be kept going in
Germany and Austria. Help to make these efforts a real success. In my
teaching work I see with admiration that economic troubles have not yet
succeeded in stifling the will and the enthusiasm for scientific research.
Far from it! Indeed, it looks as if our disasters had actually quickened the
devotion to non-material goods. Everywhere people are working with burning
enthusiasm in the most difficult circumstances. See to it that the
will-power and the talents of the youth of to-day do not perish to the
grievous hurt of the community as a whole.

Fascism and Science

A letter to Signor Rocco, Minister of State, Rome.

My dear Sir,

Two of the most eminent and respected men of science in Italy
have applied to me in their difficulties of conscience and
requested me to write to you with the object of preventing, if
possible, a piece of cruel persecution with which men of learning
are threatened in Italy. I refer to a form of oath in which fidelity
to the Fascist system is to be promised. The burden of my
request is that you should please advise Signor Mussolini to
spare the flower of Italy's intellect this humiliation.

However much our political convictions may differ, I know that
we agree on one point: in the progressive achievements of the
European mind both of us see and love our highest good. Those
achievements are based on the freedom of thought and of
teaching, on the principle that the desire for truth must take
precedence of all other desires. It was this basis alone that
enabled our civilization to take its rise in Greece and to celebrate
its rebirth in Italy at the Renaissance. This supreme good has
been paid for by the martyr's blood of pure and great men, for
whose sake Italy is still loved and reverenced to-day.

Far be it from me to argue with you about what inroads on
human liberty may be justified by reasons of State. But the
pursuit of scientific truth, detached from the practical interests of
everyday life, ought to be treated as sacred by every
Government, and it is in the highest interests of all that honest
servants of truth should be left in peace. This is also undoubtedly
in the interests of the Italian State and its prestige in the eyes of
the world.

Hoping that my request will not fall on deaf ears, I am, etc.

A. E.

Interviewers

To be called to account publicly for everything one has said, even in
jest, an excess of high spirits, or momentary anger, fatal as it must be in
the end, is yet up to a point reasonable and natural. But to be called to
account publicly for what others have said in one's name, when one cannot
defend oneself, is indeed a sad predicament. "But who suffers such a
dreadful fate?" you will ask. Well, everyone who is of sufficient interest
to the public to be pursued by interviewers. You smile incredulously, but I
have had plenty of direct experience and will tell you about it.

Imagine the following situation. One morning a reporter comes to you
and asks you in a friendly way to tell him something about your friend N. At
first you no doubt feel something approaching indignation at such a
proposal. But you soon discover that there is no escape. If you refuse to
say anything, the man writes: "I asked one of N.'s supposedly best friends
about him. But he prudently avoided my questions. This in itself enables the
reader to draw the inevitable conclusions." There is, therefore, no escape,
and you give the following information: "Mr. N. is a cheerful,
straightforward man, much liked by all his friends. He can find a bright
side to any situation. His enterprise and industry know no bounds; his job
takes up his entire energies. He is devoted to his family and lays
everything he possesses at his wife's feet. . . "

Now for the reporter's version : "Mr. N. takes nothing very seriously
and has a gift for making himself liked, particularly as he carefully
cultivates a hearty and ingratiating manner. He is so completely a slave to
his job that he has no time for the considerations of any non-personal
subject or for any mental activity outside it. He spoils his wife
unbelievably and is utterly under her thumb. . ."

A real reporter would make it much more spicy, but I expect this will
be enough for you and your friend N. He reads this, and some more like it,
in the paper next morning, and his rage against you knows no bounds, however
cheerful and benevolent his natural disposition may be. The injury done to
him gives you untold pain, especially as you are really fond of him.

What's your next step, my friend? If you know, tell me quickly, so that
I may adopt your method with all speed.


Thanks to America

Mr. Mayor, Ladies, and Gentlemen,

The splendid reception which you have accorded to me to-day puts me to
the blush in so far as it is meant for me personally, but it gives me all
the more pleasure in so far as it is meant for me as a representative of
pure science. For this gathering is an outward and visible sign that the
world is no longer prone to regard material power and wealth as the highest
goods. It is gratifying that men should feel an urge to proclaim this in an
official way.

In the wonderful two months which I have been privileged to spend in
your midst in this fortunate land, I have had many opportunities of
observing what a high value men of action and of practical life attach to
the efforts of science; a good few of them have placed a considerable
proportion of their fortunes and their energies at the service of scientific
enterprises and thereby contributed to the prosperity and prestige of this
country.

I cannot let this occasion pass without referring in a