94 HAS SCIENCE DISCOVERED GOD? 



hardships. This conviction is a perpetual breeder of 

 tolerance, for it does not allow us to take ourselves or 

 others too seriously. It makes rather for a sense of 

 humor. 



To ponder interminably over the reason for one's 

 own existence, or the meaning of life in general, seems 

 to me, from an objective point of view, to be sheer 

 folly. And yet every one holds certain ideals by which 

 he guides his aspiration and his judgment. The ideals 

 which have always shone before me and filled me with 

 the joy of living are goodness, beauty and truth. To 

 make a goal of comfort or happiness has never ap- 

 pealed to me: a system of ethics built on this basis 

 would be sufficient only for a herd of cattle. 



Without the sense of collaborating with like-minded 

 beings in the pursuit of the ever unattainable in art 

 and scientific research, my life would have been empty. 

 Ever since childhood I have scorned the commonplace 

 limits so often set upon human ambition. Possessions, 

 outward success, publicity, luxury — to me these have 

 always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and 

 unassuming manner of life is best for every one, best 

 both for the body and for the mind. 



My passionate interest in social justice and social 

 responsibility has always stood in curious contrast to 

 a marked lack of desire for direct association with 

 men and women. I am a horse for single harness, not 

 cut out for tandem or team work. I have never be- 

 longed wholeheartedly to country or state, to my 

 circle of friends, or even to my own family. These 

 ties have always been accompanied by a vague aloof- 



