[The Noble Prize--is it still up-to-date (author's transl)]

Alfred Nobel was an original personality: inventor, cosmopolitan, pacifist. Concern for the future and belief in scientific progress provided the motive for the foundation of the Prize which, in our time, is one of the most coveted of honours. But times have changed and closer consideration shows that the award today neither corresponds to Nobel's intentions nor does it take into account the circumstances of modern sciences. These developments could not have been foreseen at the turn of the century. Attempts to actualize the Foundation meet growing criticism.