Einstein by Philipp Frank Read Free Book Online Page A

of mathematics Einstein was far ahead of his fellow students, but by no means so in classical languages. He felt miserable at having to occupy himself with things in which he was not interested but which he was supposed to learn only because he had to take an examination in them. This feeling of dissatisfaction grew greater when his parents departed and left him in a boarding-house. He felt himself a stranger among his fellow students and regarded their insistence upon his participation in all forms of athletic activities as inconsiderate and coarse. He was probably friendly to all, but his skeptical attitude toward the organization and the spirit of the school as a whole was quite clear to the teachers and students and aroused a sense of uneasiness in many of them.
    As he developed into an independently thinking man, the thought of having to submit for some time yet to the pedagogical methods of the gymnasium became more and more unbearable. Although he was good-natured and modest in personal intercourse, nevertheless then as well as later he stubbornly defended his intellectual life against the entry of any external constraint. He found it more and more intolerable to be compelled to memorize rules mechanically, and he even preferred to suffer punishment rather than to repeat something he had learned by rote without understanding.
    After half a year of suffering in solitude Einstein tried to leave the school and follow his parents to Italy. To Einstein, living in Munich, which was dominated by the cold, rigid Prussian spirit, colorful Italy, with its art- and music-loving people living a more natural and less mechanized life, appeared to be a beckoning paradise. He worked out a plan that would enable him to run away from school, at least for a while, without forfeiting his chances of continuing his studies. Since his knowledge of mathematics was far ahead of the requirements of the gymnasium, he hoped that he might perhaps be admitted to a foreign institute of technology even without a diploma. He may even have thought that, once he was out of Germany, everything would take care of itself.
    From a physician he obtained a certificate stating that because of a nervous breakdown it was necessary for him to leave school for six months to stay with his parents in Italy, where he could recuperate. He also obtained a statement from his mathematics teacher affirming that his extraordinary knowledge of mathematics qualified him for admission to an advanced institution for the study of such subjects. His departure from the gymnasiumwas ultimately much easier than he had anticipated. One day his teacher summoned him and told him that it would be desirable if he were to leave the school. Astonished at the turn of events, young Einstein asked what offense he was guilty of. The teacher replied: “Your presence in the class destroys the respect of the students.” Evidently Einstein’s inner aversion to the constant drill had somehow manifested itself in his behavior toward his teachers and fellow students.
    On arriving at Milan he told his father that he wanted to renounce his German citizenship. His father, however, kept his own, so that the situation was rather unusual. Also, since Einstein could not acquire any other citizenship immediately, he became stateless. Simultaneously he renounced his legal adherence to the Jewish religious community.
    The first period of his stay in Italy was an ecstasy of joy. He was enraptured by the works of art in the churches and in the art galleries, and he listened to the music that resounded in every corner of this country, and to the melodic voices of its inhabitants. He hiked through the Apennines to Genoa. He observed with delight the natural grace of the people, who performed the most ordinary acts and said the simplest things with a taste and delicacy that to young Einstein appeared in marked contrast to the prevalent demeanor in Germany. There he had seen human beings turned into spiritually