Einstein Poem: On Spinoza's <I>Ethics</I>

Einstein Poem:
On Spinoza's Ethics

Peter Y. Chou
WisdomPortal
August 17, 2023

Preface: Ann's August 16 email @ 8:48 pm, wondered if I knew Einstein's tribute to Spinoza—
(Didn't know if original was in English or German)— "How much do I love that noble man, / More than I could tell with words! / I fear though he'll remain alone / With a holy halo of his own." Emailed Ann @ 10:47 pm— I have a web page on Spinoza (done 10-25-2007) after attending Rebecca Goldstein's Stanford lecture. Einstein's original poem was in German— "Zu Spinozas Ethik"; Reading my web page on Spinoza, to see why I hold him so dear to my heart. Last lines of Baruch Spinoza's Ethics (1677): "But all things noble are as difficult as they are rare." brought me to tears when I first read it at Columbia (1960), and again when Anthony Damiani read me these lines in his Ithaca bookstore American Brahman (1968). Why? Never asked this question until now. I believe Baruch Spinoza touched the depth of my soul as cited "O my soul, remember past strivings, remember!" in the Isa Upanishad (400 BC).

Albert Einstein
(1879-1955)
"Zu Spinozas Ethik"
by Einstein 1920
Baruch Spinoza
(1632-1677).

"Zu Spinozas Ethik" by Einstein (1920)
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.

On Spinoza's Ethics": Google Translate (2023)
How I love this noble man
More than I can say with words.
But I fear that he will remain alone
With his radiant halo.

Such a poor little wretch
You don't lead him to freedom
The amor dei leaves him cold
Life pulls him by force

The height brings him nothing but frost
Reason is stale food for him
Property and wife and honor and house
It fills him up from top to bottom

You have to kindly forgive me
When Munchausen comes to mind here
Who was the only one who achieved the feat
Pulling yourself out of the swamp by your own braid

You think his example just shows us
What this teaching can give to man
[My dear son, what are you thinking of?
You have to be born to be a nightingale]
Do not trust the comforting appearance:
One must be born to be sublime.

— translated by Google