... yes, i know that's become an oxymoron
by the mere existence of his stomach everyone was condemned to participate in 'the chase'. the stomach might well be satisfied by such participation, but not man insofar as he is a thinking and feeling being
out yonder there is this huge world, which exists independently of us human beings and which stands before us like a great, eternal riddle, at least partially accessible to our inspection and thinking.
the contemplation of this world beckoned as a liberation, and i soon noticed that many a man whom i had learned to esteem and to admire had found inner freedom and security in its pursuit.
the mental grasp of this extra-personal world within the frame of our capabilities presented itself to my mind, half consciously, half unconsciously, as a supreme goal.
similarly motivated men of the present and of the past, as well as the insights they had achieved, were the friends who could not be lost.
the road to this paradise was not as comfortable and alluring as the road to the religious paradise; but it has shown itself reliable, and i have never regretted having chosen it
~albert einstein