hardships. This conviction is a perpetual breeder of tolerance,
for it does not allow us to take ourselves or others too seri-
ously; it makes rather for a sense of humor.

To ponder interminably over the reason for one's own exist-
ence or the meaning of life in general seems to me, from an
objective point of view, to be sheer folly. And yet everyone
holds certain ideals by which he guides his aspiration and his
judgment. The ideals which have always shone before me and
filled me with the joy of living are goodness, beauty, and
truth. To make a goal of comfort or happiness has never
appealed to me; a system of ethics built on this basis would
be sufficient only for a herd of cattle.

Without the sense of collaborating with like-minded beings
in the pursuit of the ever unattainable in art and scientific
research, my life would have been empty. Ever since child-
hood I have scorned the commonplace limits so often set upon
human ambition. Possessions, outward success, publicity, lux-
ury--to me these have always been contemptible. I believe
that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for every-
one, best both for the body and the mind.

My passionate interest in social justice and social respon-
sibility has always stood in curious contrast to a marked lack
of desire for direct association with men and women. I am
a horse for single harness, not cut out for tandem or team
work. I have never belonged wholeheartedly to country or
state, to my circle of friends, or even to my own family.
These ties have always been accompanied by a vague aloof-
ness, and the wish to withdraw into myself increases with
the years.

Such isolation is sometimes bitter, but I do not regret being
cut off from the understanding and sympathy of other men. I
lose something by it, to be sure, but I am compensated for it
in being rendered independent of the customs, opinions, and

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