Albert Einstein? Anatole France? Apocryphal?
Question for Quote Investigator: A famous scientist has received credit for an eloquent statement about the goals of teaching. Here are two versions:
(1) It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.
(2) The most important art of the teacher is to awaken the joy of creating and discovering.
These words have been attributed to physicist Albert Einstein. I am skeptical. Was the original statement written in German or English? Would you please help me to find a citation?
Reply from Quote Investigator: On February 26, 1931, the “Pasadena Star-News” of Pasadena, California published an article about a ceremony for a new astronomical observatory at Pasadena Junior College (now Pasadena City College). Albert Einstein delivered a speech to the students, faculty, and other attendees which included the following:1
Bear in mind the fact that the wonderful things which you come to know in your schools are the product of many generations which has been accomplished in enthusiastic struggle and with great effort in all countries of the earth.
All this is now laid in your hands as your inheritance to the end that you may receive, honor and advance it and some day faithfully convey it to your posterity. Thus we mortals are immortal in that we work together in never-ending achievement.
The saying under examination was not in Einstein’s speech; instead, Einstein provided a German inscription for a bronze plaque of dedication. A picture of the plaque appeared in the reference work “The Ultimate Quotable Einstein” edited by Alice Calaprice published by Princeton University Press. Oddly, the plaque specified “E” as the initial for Einstein’s middle name; however, Einstein did not have a middle name. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:2
ASTRONOMY BUILDING
DEDICATED 26 FEBRUARY 1931
by ALBERT E. EINSTEIN“Es ist die wichtigste Kunst des Lehrers, die Freude am Schaffen und am Erkennen zu wecken”
Here is one possible translation of this German epigram into English:
“The most important art of the teacher is to awaken the joy of creating and discovering.”
The 1931 article in the “Pasadena Star-News” provided the following translation:
For the inscription to go on the bronze plaque dedicating the observatory, Dr. Einstein contributed this significant epigram: “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
This theme has a long history. For example, in 1881 French man of letters Anatole France published the novel “Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard” which contained the following passage:3
On n’apprend qu’en s’amusant, répondis-je. L’art d’enseigner n’est que l’art d’éveiller la curiosité des jeunes âmes pour la satisfaire ensuite, et la curiosité n’est vive et saine que dans les esprits heureux. Les connaissances qu’on entonne de force dans les intelligences les bouchent et les étouffent.
Here is one possible rendering into English:
“We only learn when we are having fun,” I replied. “The art of teaching is simply the art of awakening curiosity in young souls—and then satisfying it—and curiosity is only lively and healthy in happy minds. Knowledge that is forcibly crammed into the intellect merely clogs and stifles it.”
On February 27, 1932, the day after Einstein’s speech, the Associated Press published a piece about the event which appeared in many newspapers:4
Some 4,000 boys and girls were his audience in the dedication of a new astronomy building at the Pasadena Junior College.
“I am glad to see you this day, happy youths of this sunny and blessed land,” the German scientist told them …
Prof. Einstein also gave the following sentence for a bronze plaque: to be placed on the building: “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”
In 1934 the collection “The World as I See It” by Albert Einstein contained the following instance:5
The principal art of the teacher is to awaken the joy in creation and knowledge.
The book above was derived from “Mein Weltbild” (“My Worldview”) by Albert Einstein which contained a German version which differed slightly from the statement on the plaque. The word “erwecken” appeared instead of “wecken”:6
Es ist die wichtigste Kunst des Lehrers, die Freude am Schaffen und am Erkennen zu erwecken.
In 1949 “The Home Book of Quotations: Classical and Modern” edited by Burton Stevenson included the following entry:7
It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.
ALBERT EINSTEIN, Motto, for the astronomy building of Junior College, at Pasadena, Calif.
In conclusion, in February 1931 Albert Einstein supplied a German statement which was inscribed on a brass plaque displayed at the new astronomical observatory on the campus of Pasadena Junior College. QI believes Einstein deserves credit for the expression although it echoed ideas from the past. A couple different English translations of the statement have entered circulation.
Image Notes: Teacher’s desk with an apple, books, and blocks from Element5 Digital at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Andrew Old whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. The citation in the “Pasadena Star-News” and the quotation from Anatole France were mentioned in “The Ultimate Quotable Einstein”.
- 1931 February 26, Pasadena Star-News, City’s Youth Greeted by Scientists, Quote Page 11, Column 6, Pasadena, California. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 2010, The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, Edited by Alice Calaprice, Section: On Education, Students, and Academic Freedom, Quote Page 97, 100 and 101, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. (Verified with hardcopy) ↩︎
- 1881, Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard: Membre de l’Institut par Anatole France, Section: 6 juin, Quote Page 209, Calmann Lévy Éditeur, Paris, France. (Internet Archive at archive.org) link ↩︎
- 1931 February 27, Daily Capital News, Prof. Einstein Asserts Faith in Modern Youth (AP), Quote Page 2, Column 7, Jefferson City, Missouri. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1934 Copyright, The World as I See It by Albert Einstein, (Originally published as Mein Weltbild), Chapter 5: The World as I See It, Topic: Teachers and Pupils, Quote Page 260, Covici Friede Publishers, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1954, Mein Weltbild (The World as I See It) by Albert Einstein Chapter: WIE ICH DIE WELT SEHE, Quote Page 25, Ullstein Bücher, Frankfurt, Germany. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1949, The Home Book of Quotations: Classical and Modern, Selected by Burton Stevenson, Sixth Edition, Section: Teaching, Page 1969, Dodd, Mead and Company, New York. (Internet Archive at archive.org) ↩︎