Einstein, the searcher

by Alexander Moszkowski

Einstein, however, contradicted this emphatically: "Inherited talent certainly occurs in many cases, where we do not observe it, for genius in itself and the possibility of genius being apprehended are certainly far from always appearing in conjunction. There are only insignificant differences between the genius that expresses itself in remarkable achievements and the genius that is latent. At a certain instant, perhaps, only some impulse was wanting for the latent genius to burst forth with all clearness and brilliance; or, perhaps, it required only an unusual situation in the development of science to call into action his special talents, and thus it remained dormant, whereas a very slight change of circumstances would have caused them to assert themselves in definite results.

"In passing I should like to remark that you just now mentioned the two Humboldts; it seems to me that Alexander von Humboldt, at least, is not to be counted as a genius. It has struck me repeatedly that you pronounced his name with particular reverence——"

"And I have observed equally often, Professor, that you made a sign of disapproval. For this reason slight doubts have gradually been rising in me. But it is difficult to get free from the orders of greatness that one has recognized for decades. In my youth people spoke of 'a Humboldt' just as we speak of 'a Cæsar' or 'a Michelangelo,' to denote some pinnacle of unrivalled height. To me at that time Humboldt's Kosmos was the Bible of Natural Science, and probably such memories have a certain after-effect."

"That is easy to understand," said Einstein. "But we must make it clear to ourselves that for us of the present day Humboldt scarcely comes into consideration when we direct our gaze on to the great seers. Or, let us say more clearly, he does not belong to this category. I certainly grant him his immense knowledge and his admirable faculty of getting into touch with the unity of Nature, which reminds us of Goethe."

"Yes; this feeling for the uniformity of the cosmos had probably persuaded me in his favour," I answered, "and I am glad that you draw a parallel with Goethe in this respect. It reminds me of Heine's story: If God had created the whole world, except the trees and the birds, and had said to Goethe: 'My dear Goethe, I leave it to you to complete this work,' Goethe would have solved the problem correctly and in a god-like manner—that is, he would have painted the trees green and given the birds feathers.

"Humboldt could equally well have been entrusted with this task. But various objections may be raised against such reflections of a playful poetic character ... one objection being that Goethe's own knowledge of ornithology was exceedingly limited. Even when nearly eighty he could not distinguish a lark from a yellow-hammer or a sparrow! Is that a fact?"

"Fully confirmed: Eckermann gives a detailed report of it in a conversation which took place in 1827. As I happened to come across the passage only yesterday, I can quote the exact words if you will allow me: 'Great and good man,' thought Eckermann, 'who hast explored Nature as few have ever done, in ornithology thou seemest still a child!'"

For a speculative philosopher, it may here be interposed, this might well serve as the starting-point of an attractive investigation. Goethe, on the one hand, cannot recognize a lark, but would have been able to grasp the Platonic idea of the feathered species, even if there had been no such things as birds: Humboldt, on the other hand, would perhaps have been able to create the revolving planets, if Heaven had commanded it; but he would never have succeeded in becoming the author of what we call an astronomical achievement, such as that of Copernicus or of Kepler.

And with reference to certain other men I elicited from Einstein utterances that reduced somewhat my estimate of their importance.

We were speaking of Leonardo da Vinci, omitting all reference to his significance in the world of Art—that is, only of Leonardo the Scholar and the Searcher. Einstein is far from disputing his place in the Valhalla of great minds, but it was clear that he wished to recommend a re-numbering of my list, so that the Italian master would not occupy a position in just the first rank.