"I do not know who is responsible for this un-American act. The people in Pasadena
and the surrounding region are, in general, intelligent and patriotic. I have, however,
come in contact with a few people who do not know what the Bill of Rights is and what
the Four Freedoms are and what the principles are for which the United Nations are
fighting. I suspect that the trespass on our home was carried out by one or more
of these misguided people who believe that American citizens should be persecuted
in the same way that the Nazis have persecuted the Jewish citizens of Germany and
the conquered territories." Linus Pauling. "Vandals Victimize Scientist's Home Where Nisei Employed," Pasadena Independent. March 7, 1945.
"[May-Johnson is] the first totalitarian bill ever written by Congress. You can call
it a Communist bill or a Nazi bill, whichever you think is worse." Harold Urey. "Dr. Urey Excoriates Atom Bill," New York Times. October 31, 1945.
"Most scientists think wars and national boundaries are a menace to the true creative
spirit by which science must live, they hate war and they are terrified of atomic
war –- because they know its possibilities." Harold Urey. "I’m A Frightened Man," as told to Michael Amrine, Colliers. January 5, 1946.
"There is no foreseeable defense against atomic bombs... America has a temporary superiority
in armaments, but it is certain that we have no lasting secret. What nature tells
one group of men, she will tell in time to any group interested and patient enough
in asking the questions." Albert Einstein. "The Real Problem is in the Hearts of Men," New York Times Sunday Magazine. June 23, 1946.
"It is not the job of the scientist to be primarily a politician, a sociologist, a
military leader or a preacher... [But] the scientist or engineer -- like every other
human being -- bears also the responsibility of being a useful member of his community...and
should speak on issues which can be addressed with competence – including joining
hands with other citizens when called to tasks of peace." Lee A. DuBridge. "The Responsibility of the Scientist," California Institute Forum (1): 1-8. 1947.
"As far as I can see, I am not particularly qualified to speak about the problem of
peace. I am a scientist and science, which has created the bomb and confronted the
world with a problem, has no solution to offer to this problem. Yet a scientist may
perhaps be permitted to speak on the problem of peace, not because he knows more about
it than other people do, but rather because no one seems to know very much about it." Leo Szilard. "Calling for a Crusade," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, (3). April 1947.
"The American people will soon be faced with a crucial decision. This decision is
not so much what amount of national sovereignty we are willing to give up. Undoubtedly
more and more sovereignty will have to be given up as time goes on, but the main issue
is not the issue of sovereignty. The main issue is whether we are willing to base
our national policy on those higher loyalties which exists in the hearts and minds
of the individuals who form the population of this country but which do not find as
yet expression in our national policy. The main issue is whether we are willing to
assume our full share of responsibility in the creation of a world community." Leo Szilard. "Calling for a Crusade," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, (3). April 1947.
"It was made apparent to me that Military Intelligence considers practically all members
of the Federation of Atomic Scientists 'potentially subversive,' if not actually so.
Membership in the ICCASP, especially the worst section -- the Hollywood section --
is a definite indication of being a Communist or fellow traveller -- 'or both.' It
was also equally obvious that Military Intelligence is of the opinion that pretty
nearly all scientists would bear constant watching." David B. Tyler. Letter to Linus Pauling. August 18, 1947.
"Today we are engaged in a contest for human freedom. During the last war we crushed
one type of totalitarian tyranny in a military sense, but the ideological fight has
not been won, for we cannot eliminate ideas by physical means and yet maintain freedom
of thought. Only better and more inspiring ideas can be used to fight tyrannical ideas." Harold Urey. "Atomic Energy: How to Control It," California Monthly. December 1947.
"Our most precious freedoms are being underminded by the cry of Red! Red!" Henry A. Wallace. "Address," as quoted in American Dreamer: The Life and Times of Henry A. Wallace, by John C. Culver and John Hyde, New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2000. April 19, 1948.
"In short, the greatest contribution to real security that science can make is through
the extension of the scientific method to the social sciences and a solution of the
problem of complete avoidance of war." Edward Condon. "Science and Security," Science, Vol. 107, page 665. June 25, 1948.
"I am overcome with astonishment to learn that I am to receive the Medal of Merit
-- very pleased, of course; but I have not considered that my work justified the award.
I assure that nothing will interfere with my being present on Monday afternoon, October
4." Linus Pauling. Letter to Lee DuBridge. September 21, 1948.
"Emboldened by their initial publicity and to bolster the Communist cause in California,
this Communist front, Arts, Sciences and Professions Council, now announce that the
visiting Moscow propagandists will come to Los Angeles to stage a second propaganda
show on behalf of the Kremlin..." California Senate Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Activities. "N.Y. World Peace Gathering Branded Communist Front," Los Angeles Examiner. March 24, 1949.
"The problem of an atomic war must not be confused by minor problems such as Communism
versus capitalism. An atomic war would kill everyone, left, right, or center." Linus Pauling. "The H-Bomb or Peace," sponsored by the National Council of the Arts, Sciences and
Professions, New York. February 13, 1950.
"Do you think that an American who insists on making up his own mind, who objects
to being told what to do, to being pushed around by officious officials, is thereby
made un-American? I do not. I think that he is being more American than people who
do not object." Linus Pauling. Letter to the Board of Regents, University of Hawaii. March 30, 1951.
"When the great advocate of abolition of slavery, Theodore Parker...delivered his
famous sermon on Justice he said, 'The Silesian merchant fattens on the weaver's tears,
and eats their children's bones. Three million slaves earn the enjoyment of Americans
who curse them in the name of Christ.' Parker did not ask the consent of President
Martin Van Buren, or a Congressional Committee. He was working and living under the
First Amendment to the Constitution. And in my own way I do the same." Stephen Fritchman. "Remarks of Reverend Stephen H. Fritchman at a Meeting of the Hollywood Council of
the Arts, Sciences and Professions, Embassy Auditorium, Los Angeles." September 21, 1951.
"None of the faculty at Cal Tech feel that Pauling is actually a Communist, but have
characterized him as a diluted [sic] exhibitionist and pointed out that his constant
desire to see his name in print has caused Cal Tech a great deal of grief." Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Report on Linus Pauling." October 17, 1951.
"Uncover a red doing his stuff on a college faculty and a hue and cry is raised over
'academic freedom,' as though these people had a God-given right to infect our children
with their made-in-Moscow virus....We should understand that this 'cause of peace'
as peddled by the reds is the destruction of the government of the United States" Louis Budenz. "Do Colleges Have to Hire Red Professors?" American Legion magazine. November 1951.
"He deserves the laurels he has received from the communists, and the fact that he
is an atomic physicist in one of our leading universities on the west coast is something
to think over seriously. The recent condemnation by Moscow of Dr. Pauling’s celebrated
'resonance theory' in chemistry does not seem to have dimmed his ardor on behalf of
Stalinite causes." Louis Budenz. "Do Colleges Have to Hire Red Professors?" American Legion magazine. November 1951.
"The fact that independent minds like you are being rebuked equally by official America
and official Russia is significant and, to a certain degree, also amusing." Albert Einstein. Letter to Linus Pauling. May 21, 1952.
"In connection with Dr. Pauling's many memberships on Communist fronts, I was officially
advised a number of times in the...Forties, that he was a member of the Communist
Party under discipline. The Communist leaders expressed the highest admiration and
confidence in Dr. Pauling." Louis Budenz. Testimony before the House Select Committee on Foundations. December 23, 1952.
"I made one great mistake in my life, when I signed a letter to President Roosevelt
recommending that atom bombs be made." Albert Einstein. Recounted by Linus Pauling in a July 28, 1969 letter to Ronald W. Clark. November 16, 1954.
"Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war? People will
not face this alternative because it is so difficult to abolish war. The abolition
of war will demand distasteful limitations of national sovereignty. But what perhaps
impedes understanding of the situation more than anything else is that the term "mankind"
feels vague and abstract. People scarcely realize in imagination that the danger is
to themselves and their children and their grandchildren, and not only to a dimly
apprehended humanity....And so they hope that perhaps war may be allowed to continue
provided modern weapons are prohibited. This hope is illusionary." Bertrand Russell. "The Russell-Einstein Manifesto." July 1955.
"The whole apparatus of using loyalty-security hearings for working off personal political
spite has been firmly established as a part of our 'way of life' and I do not see
anything happening yet to loosen the hold of this machinery on us." Edward Condon. Letter to Linus Pauling. September 8, 1955.
"That radioactive elements created by us are found in nature is an astounding event
in the history of the earth. And of the Human race. To fail to consider its importance
and its consequences would be a folly for which humanity would have to pay a terrible
price. When public opinion has been created in the countries concerned and among all
the nations, an opinion informed of the dangers involved in going on with the tests
and led by the reason which this information imposes, then the statesmen may reach
an agreement to stop the experiments." Albert Schweitzer. "Excerpts from Message by Schweitzer," The New York Times. April 24, 1957.
"To my mind, the distinction between a nuclear weapon and a conventional weapon is
the distinction between an effective weapon and an outmoded weapon." Edward Teller. "The Nature of Nuclear Warfare," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, (13). May 1957.
"I say that hundred of thousands of people have had or will have their lives cut short
by perhaps ten years, twenty years because of the bomb tests that have already been
made." Linus Pauling. "Linus Pauling Address," Jimmy Jones Recording Studios. June 4, 1957.
"There is no single provable case of any person being injured or seriously affected
by any of the slightly extra radiation created in the United States by these tests." Willard Libby. "A-Test Ban Called a Bid To Disaster," New York Herald Tribune. June 9, 1957.
"Unrestricted nationalism is, in the long run, incompatible with world peace." Bertrand Russell. "Survival through International Law," Grotius Day Address, Munich, West Germany. August 28, 1957.
"There has come about a general public awareness that America is not automatically,
and effortlessly, and unquestionably the leader of the world in science and technology....It
comes as no surprise to those who have known of dozens of cases of scientists who
have been hounded out of jobs by silly disloyalty charges, and kept out of all professional
employment by widespread blacklisting practices." Edward Condon. Speech presented at a banquet of the American Physical Society, St. Louis, Missouri. November 29, 1957.
"I believe that there is a greater power in the world than the evil power of military
force, of nuclear bombs -- there is the power of good, of morality, of humanitarianism." Linus Pauling. No More War! New York: Dodd, Mead and Co. 1958.
"Science is the search for truth -- it is not a game in which one tries to beat his
opponent, to do harm to others. We need to have the spirit of science in international
affairs, to make the conduct of international affairs the effort to find the right
solution, the just solution of international problems, not the effort by each nation
to get the better of the other nations, to do them harm when it is possible." Linus Pauling. "A Nobel scientist speaks: Every test kills..." Liberation (New York) 2, no. 11. February 1958.
"A humanitarian is a man who believes that no human being should be sacrificed to
a project –- especially to the project of perfecting nuclear weapons to kill hundreds
of millions of people." Albert Schweitzer. "A Nobel scientist speaks: Every test kills..." Liberation (New York) 2, no. 11. February 1958.
"This alleged damage which the small radioactivity is causing –- supposedly cancer
and leukemia –- has not been proved, to the best of my knowledge, by decent and clear
statistics. It is possible that there is damage. It is even possible, to my mind,
that there is no damage; and there is the possibility, further, that very small amounts
of radioactivity are helpful." Edward Teller. "Fallout and Disarmament: A Debate Between Linus Pauling and Edward Teller," KQED
television, San Francisco, California. February 20, 1958.
"Our ultimate end must be precisely what Dr. Pauling says, peace based on agreement,
upon understanding, on universally agreed and enforced law. I think this is a wonderful
idea, but peace based on force buys us the necessary time, and in this time we can
work for better understanding, for closer collaboration." Edward Teller. "Fallout and Disarmament: A Debate Between Linus Pauling and Edward Teller," KQED
television, San Francisco, California. February 20, 1958.
"Peace cannot be obtained by wishing for it. We live in the same world with Russia,
who's leader has said he 'wants to bury us' -- and he means it. Disarmament, the cessation
of tests, will not automatically bring us closer to peace." Edward Teller. "Fallout and Disarmament: A Debate Between Linus Pauling and Edward Teller," KQED
television, San Francisco, California. February 20, 1958.
"I venture to say that, precious as your time is, you could hardly use it to better
effect than to contribute to the resolution of some of the problems which you are
to discuss, for upon them depends the future existence of mankind. I believe that
the resolution of our present dilemma will be achieved only if we succeed in bringing
to bear on common problems an important part of the best creative intelligence of
mankind, and that only thus shall we avoid a threatening catastrophe." Bertrand Russell. "Welcoming Address by Lord Russell," delivered to participants in the Second Pugwash
Conference. March 1958.
"You can trust a nation to adhere to any agreement for so long as that agreement continues
to benefit the nation concerned. So long as they themselves can benefit, they will
continue to adhere to an agreement. The entire world would benefit by an agreement
to suspend nuclear explosions -- and would continue to benefit from such an accord." Linus Pauling. "Pauling in Interview Lays Bare Dangers of Continued H-Bomb Tests", by Chas. R. Allen,
Jr., UE News. June 23, 1958.
"At the end of the talks, I made a value judgement. I said that I thought there were
better ways to use atomic energy than spewing it forth into the atmosphere while telling
everybody it was good for them....I received an interesting letter from the Atomic
Energy Commission shortly thereafter, asking me what my qualifications were to talk
on such matters, and that after all, I had an Atomic Energy Commission grant, and
shouldn't I maybe shape up?" Paul Saltman. Speech titled "The Scientist Looks Ahead," presented at a Scripps-Caltech student
and faculty conference. February 1959.
"Hiroshima does not call itself the Atomic City....because it is not honorable but
rather disgraceful, both for those who dropped and those who were dropped. On the
contrary, what Hiroshima City is at least proud of is that the city...has come to
stand out from the ashes of the atomic bomb, not as a city of hostility and revenge,
but as a city of peace and reconciliation." Tatsuo Morito. "Speech text for greeting Dr. Linus Pauling." August 5, 1959.
"Dear Dr. Pauling, Will you be so kind as to stay off precipitous cliffs until the
question of disarmament and atomic testing is finished? A needy citizen." Marlon Brando. Telegram to Linus Pauling. February 1960.
"I am astonished that in the United States a scientist gets into such trouble because
of his scientific beliefs; that your activity in 1957 and 1958 in relation to the
petition to the United Nations asking for a bomb-test agreement causes you now to
be called before the authorities and ordered to give the names of the scientists who
have the same opinions that you have and who have helped you to gather signatures
to the petition. I think that I must be dreaming!" Albert Schweitzer. Letter to Linus Pauling. July 23, 1960.
"It was difficult for me to decide that I would refuse to give the names of the people
who had returned signatures to me....I had about two hours to think about this matter...during
the lunch period. I thought about the fate of the people who had invoked the First
Amendment in refusing to conform to the demands of investigating committees, and of
the possibility that I would go to jail....I finally decided that I had to decide
in such a way as to permit me to keep my respect for myself." Linus Pauling. Letter to Chauncey Leake. September 29, 1960.
"The danger is not from peace or from the workers for peace, or from the circulators
of petitions urging international law and international agreements. It is from the
stockpiles of nuclear weapons that exist in the world." Linus Pauling. "Testimony of Dr. Linus Pauling," Hearing Before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee. October 11, 1960.
"There are other professors and scientists who are in jail for having used the First
Amendment to the Constitution, which protects freedom of speech. If you invoke the
Fifth Amendment instead, you don’t get sent to jail, you just lose your job." Linus Pauling. "The War Against War -- Personal Attack and the Attempt to Smear the Peace Movement,"
interview conducted by Virginia Mill and Robert Carl Cohen. November 2, 1960.
"If you want to suppress any movement or any organization in the USA you accuse them
of being 'pro-Communist' or 'infiltrated' with Communism." Linus Pauling. "The War Against War -- Personal Attack and the Attempt to Smear the Peace Movement,"
interview conducted by Virginia Mill and Robert Carl Cohen. November 2, 1960.
"There’s no doubt that we have in this country a very powerful group of people, 'defense
contractors,' so-called, who are profiting greatly from the military activities, and
who will oppose international agreements that lead to a decrease in the military budget." Linus Pauling. "The War Against War -- The Enemies of Peace: Cold War Profiteers, Politicians and
the Press," interview conducted by Virginia Mill and Robert Carl Cohen. November 2, 1960.
"I know that no rational person, no sane person would work to initiate a nuclear war,
but accidents can happen of one sort or another. A hydrogen bomb might accidentally
explode. Or some step might be taken by some persons who are not sane, and there are
a large number of these people. In the United States ten percent of the people who
are born spend at some time during their lives a period in a mental hospital. This
represents the incidence of mental disease. And we can’t be sure that everyone who
is in a position of responsibility is really sane." Linus Pauling. "The War Against War -- The Fight for an A-Bomb Test Ban," interview conducted by
Virginia Mill and Robert Carl Cohen. November 2, 1960.
"We are spending in the world a large share, on the order of magnitude of 10 to 15
percent, of our national income, of world income, in a nonproductive way that doesn’t
benefit the people, on armaments." Linus Pauling. "The War Against War -- World Crisis, Possible Solutions, The Atomic Future," interview
conducted by Virginia Mill and Robert Carl Cohen. November 2, 1960.
"Communists may represent a threat to our civil rights and liberties that we should
be aware of and prepared to guard ourselves against if it ever becomes serious...
[but] the anti-Communist forces of repression that are now in positions of great authority
are more than a threat -- they are taking our rights away from us right now." Linus Pauling. Letter to Donald Harrington. November 11, 1960.
"What, more petitions! Won't you be, and stay, intimidated? You must really annoy
Sen. Dodd. Here it is [my signature], and I hope it does some good." Edward Condon. Letter to Linus and Ava Helen Pauling. January 17, 1961.
"The real success of the conference was the uninhibited exchange of views. Participants
left the conference with a greater understanding of the points of agreement and division.
I was impressed by the evidence of goodwill, and by the determination of all who attended
the conference -- particularly those from the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. -- to reach agreement." Walter Boas. "Conference Against the Spread of Nuclear Weapons," Meanjin Quarterly (2). July 1961.
"If there were nobody in the world but politicians, I would feel that there was no
hope for mankind, no hope for civilization, no hope for the world." Linus Pauling. No More Hiroshimas! Robert Carl Cohen, producer. August 6, 1961.
"My own estimate is that all of the people in the United States would be killed in
a nuclear war, if we do not build fallout shelters, and that if we do build them and
train the American people, all of the American people would be killed in a nuclear
war." Linus Pauling. "Why I am opposed to fallout shelters." Liberation, (New York) 6. November 1961.
"On many questions I have a better understanding of the issues than any politicians.
If [Secretary of State] Dean Rusk had studied science as much as I have studied world
affairs then I would consider him qualified to determine U.S. nuclear policy." Linus Pauling. "Linus Pauling -- Interviewed", by Martin H. Wiener. 1963.
"We think of this honor as an indication of the rightness of our position during these
many years. You know, of course, my husband would have preferred to have remained
quietly in his laboratory thinking about his scientific problems. However, people
are more important that scientific truths." Ava Helen Pauling. Letter to Victoria Orellana. 1963.
"This was good news, to many who are strangers to you, but even more to those who
are not. It is good to think of you in the company of George Marshall and Albert Schweitzer." Robert Oppenheimer. Letter to Linus Pauling. October 11, 1963.
"On May 15, 1957 Linus Pauling made an extraordinary speech to the students of Washington
University....It was at this time that the idea of the scientists' petition against
nuclear weapons tests was born. That evening we discussed it at length after dinner
at my house and various ones of those present were scribbling and suggesting paragraphs.
But it was Linus Pauling himself who contributed the simple prose of the petition
that was much superior to any of the suggestions we were making." Edward Condon. Speech titled "The 1962 Nobel Peace Prize," presented at the Unitarian Church, Boulder,
Colorado. October 20, 1963.
"No one would suggest that the nuclear test ban is the sole work of Linus Pauling.
But does anyone believe that the treaty would have been reached if there had been
no responsible scientists who, tirelessly, unflinchingly, year in and year out, impressed
on the authorities and on the general public the real menace of nuclear tests?" Gunnar Jahn. "Linus Pauling on Science and Peace (1962 Nobel Peace Prize Lecture), with an introduction
by Gunnar Jahn." New York: Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. 1964.
"There came in February the issue of Life saying on the cover "Dr. Teller Refutes 9000 Scientists"... I wrote to Life and said first that Teller hadn’t refuted 9000 scientists and second I felt that
they should publish the article that I had written... They sent the article back and
said that they didn’t want it and then I offered it to Look. The editor of Look called me and said they couldn’t get into a controversy with Life. Then I offered it to the Saturday Evening Post and the Ladies Home Journal and Readers Digest and none of them were interested in it. And then I thought, ‘What shall I do? I’ll
have to write a book and see if I can’t get it published.’" Linus Pauling. Linus Pauling: A Life in Science and Politics, by Ted Goertzel, et al. August 24, 1965.
"Science is a most peculiar enterprise. Science professes to seek knowledge for the
pure joy of knowing, but measures this knowledge by the power over nature it endows.
Science strives to separate what is known about nature from what is imagined or wished
for in the mind; but such knowledge is best sought by a mind which is stirred by imaginings
and driven by wishes. Science is thus divided in a deep dualism, knowledge and objectivity
clashing with power and desires of man." Barry Commoner. "The Implications of Molecular Biology for Man," address presented at the New School
for Social Research. April 21, 1967.
"The blacklist was a time of evil...no one on either side who survived it came through
untouched by evil...[Looking] back on this time...it will do no good to search for
villains or heroes or saints or devils because there were none; there were only victims." Dalton Trumbo. Laurel Award acceptance speech delivered to the Writers Guild of America West, as
reprinted in The Writers Guild of America Newsletter. April 1970.
"Future generations should...not be deprived of their share of the world's natural
resources. Some of these resources are inexhaustible. An example is sunlight. We
may convert some of the energy of sunlight into electric power, which, after doing
useful work, is finally converted to heat and warms the Earth, as it would have done
if it had not been converted to electric power. The sun will continue to shine for
future generations, whether we use it for electric power or not. Solar energy, like
energy obtained from the wind or tides, does not rob future generations." Linus Pauling. "What Should Be Our Goals?" Senate Committee on Government Operations, Hearings on
"Our Third Century: Directions," Washington, D.C. February 6, 1976.
"I suppose that I am responsible to some degree for Linus’s deciding to put so much
of his effort into peace activities. In talking with him, I said I thought that it
was of course important that he do his scientific work. But if the world were destroyed,
then that work would not be of any value -- so he should take part of his time and
devote it to peace work." Ava Helen Pauling. NOVA Interview. June 1977.
"My estimate was that the 600 megatons of testing that had been done up to 1963 would
in the course of time cause fifteen million children to be born with gross physical
defects who would otherwise have been normal, and would cause about 15 million cases
of cancer that would not have occurred otherwise. So if you test one twenty-megaton
bomb, that would be at the sacrifice of one-thirtieth of those numbers. That would
be 500,000 unborn children, 500,000 cases of cancer per twenty-megaton bomb tested." Linus Pauling. NOVA Interview. June 1977.
"It seemed to me that he felt so alienated from the whole department of chemistry
that he went ahead and moved in this dramatic way. But once again, ever mindful of
everyone else, he worked hard for weeks to make sure that every single one of his
associates was taken care of, including myself." Frank Catchpool. NOVA Interview. June 1977.
"Mrs. Kennedy said, 'Dr. Pauling do you think that it is right to march back and forth
out there in front of the White House carrying a sign and cause Caroline to say, 'Mummy,
what has Daddy done wrong now?'' I thought that was pretty clever." Linus Pauling. NOVA Interview. June 1977.
"Ava Helen had been interested in social, political and economic problems ever since
she was a teenage girl. She used to argue with a friend of the family, one of the
judges of the Oregon State Supreme Court. She had a general interest in science and
was very able, very smart, but she was really concerned about human beings. The humanistic
concern she had was very great. I'm sure that if I had not married her, I would not
have had this aspect of my career -- working for world peace." Linus Pauling. NOVA Interview. June 1977.
"Each morning at 11, the fellows gathered at a green, felt-covered rectangular table
equipped with microphones and tape recording equipment and commanding a spectacular
view of the sea. They then discussed a topic suggested by one of them or by an eminent
invited guest. Even the Center's critics agree that in the early years the brainpower
around that table identified and illuminated some important and complex issues." Edwin Kiester, Jr. "A Place to Think Out Loud," Parade magazine. December 2, 1979.
"Nowhere did the prostitution of scientific integrity match that of the Atomic Energy
Commission's technical staff, including the weapons laboratories and extending to
its present-day successors. And all for the sake of building more numerous and more
lethal nuclear warheads." George Kistiakowsky. "The Four Anniversaries," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (38). December 1982.
"Scientists have an important role to play in the creation of conditions for a secure
and peaceful world, but I do not believe that scientists alone can achieve the goal." Linus Pauling. No More War! (25th Anniversary Edition), New York: Dodd, Mead and Co. 1983.
"We have learned...that the pressure exerted on the end of the piston in the engine
of an automobile is the result of bombardment by the trillions...of molecules in the
hot gas. The contribution of each molecule is very small, relative to the total pressure
exerted, but if each molecule were to decide that it was unimportant the engine would
not operate. In the same way the success of a mass movement depends upon the participation
of individual human beings in exerting pressure toward the goal." Linus Pauling. "The Duties of a Graduate," Commencement Address, Rutgers University -- Cook College,
New Brunswick, New Jersey. May 27, 1983.
"When that program came to an end, Spivak took off down the hall, running as fast
as he could go, with my wife after him, waving her fists. I guess she had a hard
time restraining herself during the program. But he managed to escape." Linus Pauling. Oral history interview conducted by John L. Greenberg, California Institute of Technology
Archives. May 1984.
"Most scientists had stopped. I could understand that. I could understand why some
thought it was just too much of a sacrifice. They knew they could lose their jobs.
They might not be able to continue their scientific work. I felt the same way, but
I kept on in order to retain the respect of my wife." Linus Pauling. "The Deeply Personal War of Linus Pauling," Los Angeles Times. June 2, 1985.
"For years I devoted more than half my time, perhaps, to giving hundreds of lectures
[on peace]... But in the earlier years, especially to studying international affairs
and social, political and economic theory to the extent that enabled me ultimately
to feel that I was speaking with the same authority as when I talked about science.
This is what my wife said to me back around 1946, that if I wanted to be effective,
I’d have to reach the point where I could speak with authority about these matters..." Linus Pauling. Interview with Wayne Reynolds, American Academy of Achievement. November 11, 1990.
"When the atomic bomb was dropped at Hiroshima and then at Nagasaki, I was immediately
asked, within a month or two...to give a talk...about atomic bombs. My talk, as I
recall, was entirely on what the atom is, what the atomic nucleus is, what nuclear
fission is... A couple of days after my talk, there was a man in my office from the
FBI saying, ‘Who told you how much plutonium there is in an atomic bomb?’ And I said,
‘Nobody told me, I figured it out.’ And he went away and that was the end of that." Linus Pauling. Interview with Wayne Reynolds, American Academy of Achievement. November 11, 1990.
"Originally it was a petition by American scientists, but eventually it became a petition
by world scientists. I think it was about nine thousand that...my wife and I gave
to Dag Hammarskjöld, and ultimately about thirteen thousand scientists all over the
world had signed this petition." Linus Pauling. Interview with Wayne Reynolds, American Academy of Achievement. November 11, 1990.
"The McCarthy period came along...and many of the other scientists who had been working
on these same lines gave up. Probably saying ‘Why should I sacrifice myself? I am
a scientist, I am supposed to be working on scientific things, so I don’t need to
put myself at risk by talking about these possibilities.’ And I have said that perhaps
I’m just stubborn... I don’t like anybody to tell me what to do or to think, except
Mrs. Pauling." Linus Pauling. Interview with Wayne Reynolds, American Academy of Achievement. November 11, 1990.
"An absolutely smashing advertisement, exactly on target! Everyone once again is
in your debt, dear friend!" W.H. Ferry. Letter to Linus Pauling. January 9, 1991.
"In the summer of 1953, he and my mother said, 'come meet us in Athens.' So I went
to the hotel -- they weren't there. There were storms on the North Atlantic and I
thought the plane had been delayed, and it finally occurred to me that they were never
going to show up. What had happened, of course, is that Ruth Shipley, who ran the
passport department, entirely at her own whim had refused him a passport." Peter Pauling. Lifestory: Linus Pauling, produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation. 1997.
"There was a thing called the Hollywood Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions,
and I went with the parents to a rally in some football stadium, ten thousand people,
not a very big one. I sat next to Katharine Hepburn." Peter Pauling. Lifestory: Linus Pauling, produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation. 1997.
"At that time in the United States it took a lot of courage to be against the establishment...He
became, to some extent, less popular with the trustees of Caltech, because Caltech,
as a private institution, was supported by rich wealthy Americans. And rich wealthy
Americans were less and less ready to give their money to institutions which supported
people like Pauling with his 'anti-government, revolutionary, left-wing communist
activities.'" Jack Dunitz. Lifestory: Linus Pauling, produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation. 1997.
"December 8, 1941 was a memorable day on the normally quiet Caltech campus....At 10
a.m. we dutifully assembled in Culbertson Hall where our registrar, in full National
Guard uniform complete with pistols, gave a most intemperate speech about the dastardly
‘Japs’....Linus Pauling was standing in the back of the hall...and interrupted the
speech by bursting out with the question, ‘By what authority have you called this
impromptu convocation?’ He then proceeded to remind the registrar that Caltech was
known for being a place of thoughtful and factual reason, but the registrar had turned
it into a place of pure hysteria. The student body stood up and clapped for Linus.
The registrar dismissed the meeting and retreated in some disarray." Doug Strain. Interview with OSU Libraries Special Collections. 2000.
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