The man of science is a poor philosopher.

Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities.

The idle man does not know what it is to enjoy rest.

One flower is beautiful, a surfeit of flowers is vulgar.

A little knowledge is dangerous. So is a lot.

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.

The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.

The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything.

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.

The only real valuable thing is intuition.

I believe in intuition and inspiration. At times I feel certain I am right while not knowing the reason.

I am by heritage a Jew, by citizenship a Swiss, and by makeup a human being, and only a human being, without any special attachment to any state or national entity whatsoever.

The only thing I did was this: in long intervals I have expressed an opinion on public issues whenever they appeared to me so bad and unfortunate that silence would have made me feel guilty of complicity.

I do not at all believe in human freedom in the philosophical sense. Everybody acts not only under external compulsion but also in accordance with inner necessity.

If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.

The ideals which have lighted me on my way and time after time given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been truth, goodness, and beauty.

Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.

The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance.

Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools.

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed. 

I salute the man who is going through life always helpful, knowing no fear, and to whom aggressiveness and resentment are alien. 

Imagination is the highest form of research.

The only way to escape the corruptible effect of praise is to go on working.

The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule.