This selection of Albert Einstein views on aging will make you feel grateful of old age and also a take on the follies of youth.
Besides being a brilliant man of groundbreaking discoveries in physics, he was also the man of immense wisdom, empathy, and emotional intelligence.
During his days, Einstein correspondent a lot with his family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers.
In his many mails, Einstein shared many nuggets of wisdom on grief, eternity, the follies of the human race, God, and the privilege of old age.
Sadly, on April 18, 1955, at the age of 76, Einstein passed away from an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
On the table next to him were a pen and pad on which the late theoretical physicist was working through math equations.
Albert Einstein Views On Aging
Now let’s check out Albert Einstein views on aging and the follies of youth.
“…I have remained a simple fellow who asks nothing of the world – only my youth is gone, the enchanting youth that walks forever on air.” – Albert Einstein
“…ein simpler Kerl bin ich geblieben, der der Welt nichts nachfragt-nur die Jugend ist hin, die entzückende, die alle Tage den Himmel voll Bassgeigen sieht.” (German)
(The Collected Papers Of Albert Einstein, Volume 5, The Swiss Years: Correspondence, 1902-1914 (English Translation Supplement), Translated By Anna Beck, Doc. 154, To Anna Meyer-Schmid, Bern, 12 May 1909, P. 115) source
(The quote in German is found in: The Collected Papers Of Albert Einstein, Volume 5, The Swiss Years: Correspondence, 1902-1914, Edited by Martin J. Klein, A. J. Kox, And Robert Schulmann, Doc. 154, To Anna Meyer-Schmid, Bern, 12 May 1909, P. 181) source
Note: From the letter to Anna Meyer-Schmid, May 12, 1909.
“I lived in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in maturity.” – Albert Einstein
“Ich lebte in einer Einsamkeit, die in der Jugend schmerzlich, in den Jahren der Reife aber köstlich ist” (German)
(Portraits And Self-Portraits By Thomas Mann, Illustrated By Georges Schreiber, Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1936, P. 27)
(The quote is also found in: Out Of My Later Years By Albert Einstein, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1970, Convictions And Beliefs, 2. Self-Portrait, P. 5)
(Two other sources of the book “Out Of My Later Years” are found here and here.)
(The quote in German is found in: Aus Meinen Späten Jahren By Albert Einstein, Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1979, P. 13)
“There is, after all, something eternal that lies beyond the reach of the hand of fate and of all human delusions. And such eternals lie closer to an older person than to a younger one who oscillates between fear and hope. For us, there remains the privilege of experiencing beauty and truth in their purest forms.” – Albert Einstein
(Albert Einstein, The Human Side: New Glimpses From His Archives Selected And Edited By Helen Dukas & Banesh Hoffmann, Princeton University Press, 1989, P. 52) source
(The quote is also found .)
Note: From the letter to Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, to comfort her who was grieving over the death of her husband and daughter-in-law, March 20, 1935.
“At our age, the devil doesn’t give you much time off!” – Albert Einstein
“…in unserem Alter wird der Teufel pride mit dem Urlauberteilen!” (German)
(The Ultimate Quotable Einstein Collected And Edited By Alice Calaprice, With A Foreword By Freeman Dyson, Princeton University Press, 2010, On Aging, P. 55)
(The quote in German is found in: Helle Zeit — Dunkle Zeit: In Memoriam Albert Einstein, Mit Einleitenden Bemerkungen Zur Neuausgabe Von Karl Von Meyenn, Edited By Carl Seelig, Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 2013, Freundschaft, Prof. Dr. Heinrich Zangger, P. 45)
Note: From the letter to Heinrich Zangger, February 27, 1938.
* Get the FREE book “Helle Zeit – Dunkle Zeit: In Memoriam Albert Einstein” from here.
“People like you and me, though mortal, of course, like everyone else, do not grow old no matter how long we live. What I mean is that we never cease to stand like curious children before the great Mystery into which we are born.” – Albert Einstein
(Albert Einstein, The Human Side: New Glimpses From His Archives Selected And Edited By Helen Dukas & Banesh Hoffmann, Princeton University Press, 1981, P. 82)
(The quote is also found here.)
Note: From the letter to Dr. Otto Juliusburger, an American-German psychiatrist, September 29, 1942.
“Though I am now an old fogey, I am still hard at work and still refuse to believe that God plays dice.” – Albert Einstein
“Obwohl ich nun ein alter Knochen bin, bin ich noch fest bei der Arbeit und glaube immer noch nicht, daß Gott würfelt.” (German)
(The Ultimate Quotable Einstein Collected And Edited By Alice Calaprice, With A Foreword By Freeman Dyson, Princeton University Press, 2010, On Aging, P. 56)
(The quote in German is found in: Begegnungen mit Einstein, Von Laue Und Planck: Realität Und Wissenschaftliche Wahrheit Von Ilse Rosenthal-Schneider, Mit Enem Vorwort Von Arthur I. Miller, Aus Dem Englischen Übersetzt Von Helmut Kühnelt, Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 2013, 2. Die Universellen Naturkonstanten, P. 24)
Note: From the letter to a former Berlin student Ilse Rosenthal-Schneider, May 11, 1945.
“All of one’s contemporaries and aging friends are living in a delicate balance, and one feels that one’s own consciousness is no longer as brightly lit as it once was. But then, twilight with its more subdued colors has its charms as well.” – Albert Einstein
(The Ultimate Quotable Einstein Collected And Edited By Alice Calaprice, With A Foreword By Freeman Dyson, Princeton University Press, 2010, On Aging, PP. 56-57) source
Note: From the letter to Gertrud Warschauer, April 4, 1952.
“I feel like an egg, of which only the shell remains at 75 years old, one can’t expect anything else. One should prepare a person for his death.” – Albert Einstein
(The Ultimate Quotable Einstein Collected And Edited By Alice Calaprice, With A Foreword By Freeman Dyson, Princeton University Press, 2010, On Aging, P. 57)
Note: Quoted by Johanna Hanna Fantova (a former curator of maps in the Firestone Library at Princeton University), in “Conversations with Einstein,” January 1, 1954.
You can read about Einstein and Fantova’s diary aka “Gespräche mit Einstein” (Conversations with Einstein) here.
Here is another article titled “A Final Glimpse At Genius” about Einstein, Fantova and her manuscript.
Note: During his later years, Einstein liked to called himself “empty eggshell“, as shown in his letter to friend Heinrich Zangger.
“What do you want from an old wreck or empty eggshell like me?” – Albert Einstein
“Was wollen Sie denn von einer Ruine oder von einem ausgebrüteten Ei?” (German)
(The Collected Papers Of Albert Einstein, Volume 8, The Berlin Years: Correspondence, 1914-1918 (English Translation Supplement), Translated by Ann M. Hentschel, Doc. 597, To Heinrich Zangger, Ahrenshoop, before 11 August 1918, P. 622) source
(The German quote is found in: The Collected Papers Of Albert Einstein, Volume 8, Part B: The Berlin Years: Correspondence, 1918, Edited by Robert Schulmann, A. J. Kox, Michel Janssen, and József Illy, Doc. 597, To Heinrich Zangger, Ahrenshoop, before 11 August 1918, P. 849) source
“I [have] always loved solitude, a trait that tends to increase with age.” – Albert Einstein
(The Ultimate Quotable Einstein Collected And Edited By Alice Calaprice, With A Foreword By Freeman Dyson, Princeton University Press, 2010, On Aging, P. 57) source
Note: To Emesta Pelizza Marangoni, October 1, 1952. You can read about Einstein and the Marangoni family over here.
“In one’s youth every person and every event appear to be unique. With age, one becomes much more aware that similar events recur. Later on, one is less often delighted or surprised, but also less disappointed.” – Albert Einstein
(The Ultimate Quotable Einstein Collected And Edited By Alice Calaprice, With A Foreword By Freeman Dyson, Princeton University Press, 2010, On Aging, PP. 57-58)
Note: To Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, January 3, 1954. Einstein
“…as I’m getting older and I have the sense of distance to life that older people tend to develop.” – Albert Einstein
(Historical Auction 84, April 18, 2016, P. 59) source
The image of the original letters in German, together with the English translation is found here.
Note: In the letter to his son Eduard Enstein, Einstein philosophisized about old age, encouraged his son to write and recommended him reading materials, November 19, 1944.
“I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it.” – Albert Einstein
“Ich glaube nicht an die Unsterblichkeit des Individuums, und ich halte Ethik für ein ausschließlich menschliches Unterfangen, hinter dem keine übermenschliche Autorität steht.” (German)
(Albert Einstein, The Human Side: Glimpses From His Archives, Edited By Helen Dukas And Banesh Hoffmann, With A New Foreword By Ze’ev Rosenkranz, Princeton University Press, 2013, P. 39)
(The quote is also found here.)
Note: Reply written in English by Einstein to Alice M. Nickerson, a licensed Baptist pastor in Manchester, New Hampshire, on 17 July 1953.
“Youth is always the same, endlessly the same.” – Albert Einstein
(Einstein On Cosmic Religion And Other Opinions & Aphorisms, With Appreciation By George Bernard Shaw, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2009, Ch. IV. Opinions And Aphorisms, Miscellaneous, P. 53) source
(The quote is also found in: Einstein On Cosmic Religion And Other Opinions & Aphorisms, With Appreciation By George Bernard Shaw, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2009, Ch. IV. Opinions And Aphorisms, Miscellaneous, P. 104) source
Note: All the above Albert Einstein views on aging and youth are quoted from authentic sources.
*Here is a great list of authentic Albert Einstein thoughts on God and religion, that linked to reliable sources.