Einstein and Spinozza

Einstein's religious beliefs were a direct result of his love of Spinoza'a ethics in dealing with the dual questions concerning God and Free Will. Baruch Spinoza, like Einstein, was Jewish. He was a philosopher in 17th Century Amsterdam, where he was ex-communicated for his belief in Causal Determinism. (I did not know that the Jewish faith did ex-communications, having only heard previously of the practice in conjunction with the Catholic Church.) Causal Determinism is the belief that the existence of a superior being reveals itself in the harmony of nature and the natural order of all things. Einstein was interested in Spinoza as a way of reconciling science with his own religious beliefs.

I think that Einstein would be in agreement with the words of the late Pope John Paul II when he said, "Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes." I think he would have accepted that. I know that I do. It assumes the worst of both religion and science, while at the same time recognizing the strengths that each of the two bring to the human condition. In other words, it is a position of moderation.

In November of 1920, Einstein traveled to Spinoza's home in Leiden, Amsterdam for a visit. He even signed the guest book. The signature beneath his is that of Harm Kamerlingh Onnes, the nephew of the famed physicist, who accompanied him on the trip to Leiden. The visit so moved Einstein that he later wrote a poem about Spinoza, titled, "On Spinoza's Ethics."

I have reprinted the poem here, first in German, and then followed by the English translation. I have credited both translations to their sources at the end of each translation. The two lines in italics are ones which Einstein wrote and then put a line through, replacing them with the lines immediately following.

I have included them here simply because anything Einstein thought, or wrote, must be important in some way, even if I didn't fully understand it. The Latin phrase in the third line of the second verse translates as "For God's sake." Einstein uses the phrase here to call out Spinoza's aversion to faith alone, noting that the philosophy of amor dei "leaves him cold."

Zu Spinozas Ethik

Wie lieb ich diesen edlen Mann

Mehr als ich mit Worten sagen kann.

Doch fürcht' ich, dass er bleibt allein

Mit seinem strahlenen Heiligenschein.

So einen armen kleinen Wicht

Den führst du zu der Freiheit nicht

Der amor dei lässt ihn kalt

Das Leben zieht ihn mit Gewalt

Die Höhe bringt ihm nichts als Frost

Vernunft ist für ihn schale Kost

Besitz und Weib und Ehr' und Haus

Das füllt ihn von oben bis unten aus

Du musst schon gütig mir verzeih'n

Wenn hier mir fällt Münchhausen ein

Dem als Einzigem das Kunststück gedieh'n

Sich am eigenem Zopf aus dem Sumpf zu zieh'n

Du denkst sein Beispiel zeiget uns eben

Was diese Lehre dem Menschen kann geben

Mein lieber Sohn, was fällt dir ein?

Zur Nachtigall muss man geboren sein

Vertraue nicht dem tröstlichen Schein:

Zum Erhabenen muss man geboren sein.

Written circa 1920.

Transcribed from ms. facsimile, Albert Einstein Archive, 31-018

On Spinoza's Ethics

How I love this noble man

More than I can say with words.

Still, I fear he remains alone

With his shining halo.

Such a poor small lad

Whom you'll not lead to freedom

The amor dei leaves him cold

Mightily does this life attract him

Loftiness offers him nothing but frost

Reason for him is poor fare

Property and wife and honor and house

That fills him from top to bottom

You'll kindly forgive me

If Münchhausen here comes to mind

Who alone mastered the trick

Of pulling himself out of a swamp by his own pigtail

You think his example would show us

What this doctrine can give humankind

My dear son, what ever were you thinking?

One must be born a nightingale

Trust not the comforting façade

One must be born sublime

©2007-2008 English translation by Jonathan Ely

"The Shoes of The Fisherman" with Anthony Quinn, Oskar Werner and David Janssen (1968)

One of the main reasons I took this film out was to simply watch, and listen to, Oskar Werner, who plays a conflicted Priest in this high drama set in Rome during the 1980's. The film was made in 1968, and therefore assumes a lot about the direction of global affairs over the next 20 years. Notwithstanding, this is a very well made film, with many things to be said about world politics and religion. Who really drives the train?

Archbishop Kiril Lakota, played by Anthony Quinn, a Priest from the Ukraine, is freed after 20 years in Siberia, imprisoned for his religious beliefs. He is freed at the request of the Vatican, and on the verge of a nuclear confrontation between China and Russia, resulting from a widespread famine in China. This famine was caused by trade restrictions imposed by the United States. Once he arrives in Rome he meets the troubled Priest David Telemond. Father Telemond is undergoing an investigation into his beliefs, which at times seem to be at odds with church doctrine. His real crime, of course, is his expression of these beliefs. They pose a threat to those in power.

Upon his arrival at the Vatican, Archbishop Kiril is made Cardinal Priest by the Pope himself, which places Kiril in the line of succession, should anything happen to the Pope. When the Pope, played by Sir John Gielgud, does pass away, the College of Cardinals vote, seven times, to name a new Pope. When they become deadlocked in their decision, the Cardinals elect Kiril as the new leader of one of the world's largest religious denominations. He will be called Pope Kiril I.

Serving as a guide throughout the movie is David Janssen, who plays a news reporter, plagued by his own self-doubts, and a troubled marriage. His doubts and questions mirror those of Pope Kiril, as the Pontiff struggles with a world crisis and the investigation of Father Telemond. Somehow he must find a way to bring these separate, but equally important issues, into harmony.

The best scenes in this movie are all concerned with religious doctrine as Father Telemond is questioned about his faith. Oskar Werner is brilliant in his role as the beleaguered Priest. This may be one of his best performances ever, almost eclipsing his role as the East German Prosecutor in the film "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold."

Great performances by all, especially Oskar Werner and Anthony Quinn, with a multi-layered storyline, make this a film worth watching.

Einstein and Spinoza

Einstein's religious beliefs were a direct result of his love of Spinoza'a ethics in dealing with the dual questions concerning God and Free Will. Baruch Spinoza, like Einstein, was Jewish. He was a philosopher in 17th Century Amsterdam, where he was ex-communicated for his belief in Causal Determinism. (I did not know that the Jewish faith did ex-communications, having only heard previously of the practice in conjunction with the Catholic Church.) Causal Determinism is the belief that the existence of a superior being reveals itself in the harmony of nature and the natural order of all things. Einstein was interested in Spinoza as a way of reconciling science with his own religious beliefs.

I think that Einstein would be in agreement with the words of the late Pope John Paul II when he said, "Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes." I think he would have accepted that. I know that I do. It assumes the worst of both religion and science, while at the same time recognizing the strengths that each of the two bring to the human condition. In other words, it is a position of moderation.

In November of 1920, Einstein traveled to Spinoza's home in Leiden, Amsterdam for a visit. He even signed the guest book. The signature beneath his is that of Harm Kamerlingh Onnes, the nephew of the famed physicist, who accompanied him on the trip to Leiden. The visit so moved Einstein that he later wrote a poem about Spinoza, titled, "On Spinoza's Ethics." I have reprinted the poem here, first in German, and then followed by the English translation. I have credited both translations to their sources at the end of each translation. The two lines in italics are ones which Einstein wrote and then put a line through, replacing them with the lines immediately following. I have included them here simply because anything Einstein thought, or wrote, must be important in some way, even if I do not fully understand it. The Latin phrase in the third line of the second verse translates as "For God's sake." Einstein uses the phrase here to call out Spinoza's aversion to faith alone, noting that the philosophy of amor dei "leaves him cold."

Zu Spinozas Ethik

Wie lieb ich diesen edlen Mann
Mehr als ich mit Worten sagen kann.
Doch fürcht' ich, dass er bleibt allein
Mit seinem strahlenen Heiligenschein.

So einen armen kleinen Wicht
Den führst du zu der Freiheit nicht
Der amor dei lässt ihn kalt
Das Leben zieht ihn mit Gewalt

Die Höhe bringt ihm nichts als Frost
Vernunft ist für ihn schale Kost
Besitz und Weib und Ehr' und Haus
Das füllt ihn von oben bis unten aus

Du musst schon gütig mir verzeih'n
Wenn hier mir fällt Münchhausen ein
Dem als Einzigem das Kunststück gedieh'n
Sich am eigenem Zopf aus dem Sumpf zu zieh'n

Du denkst sein Beispiel zeiget uns eben
Was diese Lehre dem Menschen kann geben
Mein lieber Sohn, was fällt dir ein?
Zur Nachtigall muss man geboren sein
Vertraue nicht dem tröstlichen Schein:
Zum Erhabenen muss man geboren sein.

Written circa 1920.
Transcribed from ms. facsimile, Albert Einstein Archive, 31-018

On Spinoza's Ethics

How I love this noble man
More than I can say with words.
Still, I fear he remains alone
With his shining halo.

Such a poor small lad
Whom you'll not lead to freedom
The amor dei leaves him cold
Mightily does this life attract him

Loftiness offers him nothing but frost
Reason for him is poor fare
Property and wife and honor and house
That fills him from top to bottom

You'll kindly forgive me
If Münchhausen here comes to mind
Who alone mastered the trick
Of pulling himself out of a swamp by his own pigtail

You think his example would show us
What this doctrine can give humankind
My dear son, what ever were you thinking?
One must be born a nightingale
Trust not the comforting façade
One must be born sublime

©2007-2008 English translation by Jonathan Ely