"Hypotheses non fingo!" This phrase of Newton's remains true, if we maintain Einstein's interpretation: "He did not wish to go further back in his analysis of causes than was absolutely inevitable." It interested me to pursue this line of thought suggested by Einstein still further, and I discovered that these words of Newton had actually been falsely accentuated and hence misinterpreted by many authorities on science. Even Mill and the great scholar, William Whewell, succumbed to this misunderstanding. Credit must be given to a more modern scholar, Professor Vaihinger of Halle, for being sufficiently keen of hearing to detect the true accentuation; and now that Einstein has corroborated fully this explanation, doubts as to the true sense of the words are no longer to be feared. The trend of our talk brought us to a discussion of the conception, "law of nature." Einstein recalled Mach's remarks, and indicated that the point was to determine how much we read out of Nature; and these observations made at least one thing clear, namely, that every law signifies some limitation; in the case of human laws, expressed in the civil and penal code, the limitation affects the will, and possible actions, whereas natural laws signify the limitations which we, taught by experience, prescribe to our expectations. Nevertheless, the conception remains elastic, for the question will always intrude itself: What does prescription mean? Who prescribes? Kant has assigned to Man the foremost position inasmuch as it is he who is regarded by Kant as prescribing laws to Nature. Bacon of Verulam emphasizes the ambiguous point of view by asserting: "Natura non vincitur nisi parendo," Man conquers Nature only by obeying her, that is, by conforming to her immanent norms. Thus the laws exist without us, and we have only to discover them. When they have been found, Man can react by applying them to subdue Nature. Man becomes the dictator and dictates to Nature the laws according to which she for her part has to subjugate mankind. Whether we adopt the one view or the other, there is a vicious circle, from which there is no escape. A law is a creation of intellect, and Mephisto's words remain true: "In the end we depend on the creatures of our own making!" In Newton's soul obedience and the wish to obey must have been pre-eminent traits. Is he not reputed to have been pious and strong of faith? Einstein confirmed this, and, raising his voice, he generalized from it, saying: "In every true searcher of Nature there is a kind of religious reverence; for he finds it impossible to imagine that he is the first to have thought out the exceedingly delicate threads that connect his perceptions. The aspect of knowledge which has not yet been laid bare gives the investigator a feeling akin to that experienced by a child who seeks to grasp the masterly way in which elders manipulate things."