"I am not an Atheist. I do not know if I can define myself as a Pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. May I not reply with a parable? The human mind, no matter how highly trained, cannot grasp the universe. We are in the position of a little child, entering a huge library whose walls are covered to the ceiling with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written those books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books, a mysterious order, which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of the human mind, even the greatest and most cultured, toward God. We see a universe marvelously arranged, obeying certain laws, but we understand the laws only dimly. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that sways the constellations. I am fascinated by Spinoza's Pantheism. I admire even more his contributions to modern thought. Spinoza is the greatest of modern philosophers because he is the first philosopher who deals with the soul and the body as one, not as two separate things."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Albert Einstein
1879 – 1955
deutsch-schweizerischer Physiker und Nobelpreisträger
614 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Albert Einstein →
Related Quotes
"Clarity about the aims and problems of socialism is of greatest significance in our age of transition. Since, under p…"
"It is an irony of fate that myself have been the recipient of excessive admiration and reverence from my fellow-being…"
"There is no provision that all those able and willing to work will always be in a position to find employment; an “ar…"
"Technological progress frequently results in more unemployment rather than in an easing of the burden of work for all…"
"Production is carried on for profit, not for use. There is no provision that all those able and willing to work will …"
"Man ska inte buga för dumheten bara för att den är gammal."
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
"Einstein did not consider the concept of 'determinism' to be as fundamental as it is frequently held to be (as he tol…"
"It is true that many mathematicians and physicists do their best work when young. But in Einstein's later work we see…"
"The man who was best known for his legendary struggle with the most inaccessible and recondite theories... was—and to…"