Albert Einstein looked at the universe, saw what no one else had ever seen and devised the photon theory of light, atomic theory of matter and the theory of relativity.

For the past 40 years, since his death, the eyes that saw so much have been the property of Einstein's friend and ophthalmologist Dr. Henry Abrams. They are suspended in formaldehyde, in a glass vial, in a bank vault in New Jersey.

The retired physician is upset this week - at times even furious - about reports that the eyes are for sale.

They are not on the auction block and not on the market. They will not be sold to entertainer Michael Jackson or to anyone else, for any price.

"Albert Einstein was a very important part of my life - a lasting influence," Abrams, 82, said during an interview on Thursday at his winter home west of Boynton Beach. "Having his eyes means the professor's life has not ended. A part of him is still with me."

Abrams, who spends the warmer months in Long Beach Township, N.J., has been reluctant to grant interviews ever since the story of Einstein's eyes turned into what he equates as an international circus.

As best as anyone can trace the story, a Japanese professor conducting on-camera interviews almost two years ago for a British Broadcasting Corp. special on Einstein learned about the eyes during a session with Abrams.

The producer then told a writer for The Guardian, who produced a magazine-length article on Einstein for last weekend's edition. Included in the story was the following: "It is unconfirmed, but a source close to negotiations hints that Michael Jackson - who once bid for the bones of the Elephant Man - might be interested. The figure of $5 million has been mentioned."

Excerpting from that article, The Associated Press then prepared a story stating that Abrams was keeping the eyeballs in a jam jar, wants to sell them and "pop star Michael Jackson might be a bidder."

"At first, it seemed as though everything simply had become muddled," Abrams said. "Then it became sleazy."There are no negotiations, no price, and no thought of capitalizing on Einstein's eyes, he said.

His wife, Nona Abrams, who reads prepared statements to most media callers, added: "At first it was kind of exciting to get this much attention, but then the whole thing became demeaning. We're both very upset at the distortions."

Rather than talk about the eyes, Abrams prefers to remember "the professor" and the influence on his life.

He became the Einstein family physician in 1939 when the doctor next door, J. Conway Hiden, asked him to. Hiden planned to limit his practice to general surgery and needed a trusted replacement.

But after two years, Abrams began to specialize in ophthalmology - at Einstein's urging - and turned the professor's family over to Dr. Guy Dean. After Einstein's death, Dean signed a certificate of authenticity for the eyes in Abrams' possession.

Abrams remained Einstein's ophthalmologist and friend until the death of the genius in 1955.

The two spent much time in quiet conversation, and together they spearheaded fund-raisers in Abrams' hometown, Princeton, N.J., for Israel Bonds and the United Jewish Appeal. Though not a religious man, Einstein was an ardent Zionist.

"You'd always see him in baggy trousers, and he never wore socks," Abrams said. "While I was in general practice, from time to time, the professor's secretary would ask if I could come to the house.

"We'd sit in a very small front room and discuss general topics - anything and everything except math. I guess I was a bit uncomfortable with such a great man, so after 15 or 20 minutes, I'd tell a fib and say I'd like to be excused to attend to my patients at Princeton Hospital.

"It really was a fib. I didn't have many patients at that time. We were in the middle of the Depression.

"I was really bewildered the professor enjoyed my company until I read later he had spent very little time with his own two sons and may have felt guilty about his neglect."

Einstein came every year for his eye examination, choosing to sit patiently in the waiting room rather than ask for special treatment. And although prescription lenses would have improved his vision by 30 percent, Abrams said, the scientist chose to wear various off-the-shelf, dime store lenses.

In the early 1950s, doctors determined Einstein was suffering from an aneurysm of the aorta, or a ballooning of the main artery of the body caused by the pressure of blood flowing through a weakened area.

Today, surgery to correct that kind of problem is almost routine. But 40 years ago, the risk of death in the operating room was far greater. Einstein rejected surgery.

The aneurysm began to leak, and on April 18, 1955, the aorta burst and Einstein died. An autopsy was conducted the next day. Afterward, he was cremated.