Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer, OMwas a French-German theologian, organist, philosopher, and physician. He was born in the province of Alsace-Lorraine and although that region had been annexed by the German Empire four years earlier, and remained a German possession until 1918, he considered himself French and wrote mostly in French...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionDoctor
Date of Birth14 January 1875
CityKaysersberg, France
CountryGermany
life sunset mind
Late upon the third day, at the very moment when, at sunset . . . there flashed upon my mind, unforseen and unsought, the phrase 'Reverence for Life'.
life art inspiration
Reverence for life . . . does not allow the scholar to live for his science alone, even if he is very useful . . . the artist to exist only for his art, even if he gives inspiration to many. . . . It refuses to let the business man imagine that he fulfills all legitimate demands in the course of his business activities. It demands from all that they should sacrifice a portion of their own lives for others.
gratitude men heaven
The gratitude ascending from man to God is the supreme transaction between heaven and earth.
kindness heart men
All the kindness which a man puts out into the world works on the heart and thoughts of mankind.
kindness relax prejudice
Kindness works simply and perseveringly; it produces no strained relations which prejudice its working; strained relations which already exist it relaxes. Mistrust and misunderstanding it puts to flight, and it strengthens itself by calling forth answering kindness. Hence it is the furthest reaching and the most effective of all forces.
views optimism world
Our degeneration, when it is traced back to its origin in our view of the world really consists in the fact that true optimism has vanished unperceived from our midst.
health doctors knowing
The witch doctor succeeds for the same reason all the rest of us succeed. Each patient carries his or her own doctor inside him or her. They come to us not knowing that truth. We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to go to work.
carpe-diem kind public-service
Every kind of service necessary to the public good becomes honorable by being necessary.
gratitude sunshine expression
We ought all to make an effort to act on our first thoughts and let our unspoken gratitude find expression. Then there will be more sunshine in the world, and more power to work for what is good.
spiritual stronger reverence-for-life
The stronger the reverence for natural life, the stronger grows also that for spiritual life.
civilization balance disturbed
The disastrous feature of our civilization is that it is far more developed materially than spiritually. Its balance is disturbed.
mean views world
What the activity of this disposition of ours means in the evolution of the world, we do not know. Nor can we regulate this activity from outside; we must leave entirely to each individual its shaping and its extension. From every point of view, then, world- and life-affirmation and ethics are non-rational, and we must have the courage to admit it.
might
Do something good and someone might imitate it.
progress debate strikes
When we observe contemporary society one thing strikes us. We debate but make no progress. Why? Because as peoples we do not yet trust each other.