He knew, as did Socrates, that we know nothing.

He loved Jewish jokes. I have told him many, and the thing I wish most is that I would have a record in which I could capture Einstein's laughter when he heard a good Jewish joke. His laughter sounded something like the bark of a contented seal. It was a very strange sound.

He never forgave the Germans for what they had done. Never. On the other hand he was deeply rooted in the German culture. We always spoke German together, because that was the best way I could follow the nuance of his personality. German was the language in which he was free to modulate and to express himself.

He said he would be willing to subscribe to the idea to resist force with force. Because he said otherwise it's like trying to cure a sick tribe of people. You try to cure them, in a way it is too slow. By the time you cure them with pacifism, they're all dead. That's not very efficient.

He who cherishes the values of culture cannot fail to be a pacifist.

He who is untrue to his own cause cannot command the respect of others.

He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.

He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.

Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!

Hitler appeared, a man with limited intellectual abilities and unfit for any useful work, bursting with envy and bitterness against all whom circumstance and nature had favored over him… He picked up this human flotsam on the streets and in the taverns and organized them around himself. This is the way he launched his political career.