Albert Schweitzer Quotes

As we acquire knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible, but more mysterious.

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

Seek always to do some good, somewhere. Every man has to seek in his own way to realize his true worth. You must give some time to your fellow man. For remember, you don't live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here too.

We wander through this life together in a semi-darkness in which none of us can distinguish exactly the features of his neighbour. Only from time to time, through some experience that we have of our companion, or through some remark that he passes, he stands for a moment close to us, as though illuminated by a flash of lightning. Then we see him as he really is.

The gratitude that we encounter helps us believe in the goodness of the world, and strengthens us thereby to do what's good.

For us the great men are not those who solved the problems, but those whodiscovered them.

Think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flames within us.

One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity.

Happiness is the only thing that multiplies when you share it.

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.

Open your eyes and look for some man, or some work for the sake of men, which needs a little time, a little friendship, a little sympathy, a little sociability, a little human toil....It is needed in every nook and corner. Therefore search and see if there is not some place where you may invest your humanity.

The gratitude ascending from man to God is the supreme transaction between earth and heaven.

Man must cease attributing his problems to his environment, and learn again to exercise his will - his personal responsibility in the realm of faith and morals.

Don't let your hearts grow numb. Stay alert. It is your soul which matters.

The willow which bends to the tempest, often escapes better than the oak which resists it; and so in great calamities, it sometimes happens that light and frivolous spirits recover their elasticity and presence of mind sooner than those of a loftier character.

Only when an ideal of peace is born in the minds of the peoples will the institutions set up to maintain this peace effectively fulfill the function expected of them.

If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

No one may shut his eyes to think the pain, which is therefore not visible to him, is non-existent.

It is not always granted to the sower to see the harvest.

Don't blame, forgive, All healing is self-healing

Truth has not special time of its own. Its hour is now - always and, indeed then most truly, when it seems unsuitable to actual circumstances.

Not one of us knows what effect his life produces, and what he gives to others; that is hidden from us and must remain so, though we are often allowed to see some little fraction of it, so that we may not lose courage.

It is the fate of every truth to be an object of ridicule when it is first acclaimed.

O heavenly Father, protect and bless all things that have breath: guard them from all evil and let them sleep in peace.

Every patient carries his or her own doctor inside.

In the same way as the tree bears the same fruit year after year, but each time new fruit, all lastingly valuable ideas in thinking must always be reborn.

Renunciation of thinking is a declaration of spiritual bankruptcy.

A man can do only what he can do. But if he does that each day he can sleep at night and do it again the next day.

Civilization can only revive when there shall come into being in a number of individuals a new tone of mind, independent of the prevalent one among the crowds, and in opposition to it - a tone of mind which will gradually win influence over the collective one, and in the end determine its character. Only an ethical movement can rescue us from barbarism, and the ethical comes into existence only in individuals.

Affirmation of life is the spiritual act by which man ceases to live unreflectively and begins to devote himself to his life with reverence in order to raise it to its true value. To affirm life is to deepen, to make more inward, and to exalt the will.

Does my behavior in respect of love affect nothing? That is because there is not enough love in me.

The great fault of all ethics hitherto has been that they believed themselves to have to deal only with the relations of man to man. In reality, however, the question is what is his attitude to the world and all life that comes within his reach.

The great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets used to failing.

Do not lose heart, even if you must wait a bit before finding the right thing. Be prepared for disappointment also, but do not abandon the quest.

He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lakeside, He came to those men who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same words: "Follow thou me!" and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands. And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and, as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is.

There can be no Kingdom of God in the world without the Kingdom of God in our hearts.

To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kindness that stands behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.

Only through love can we obtain communion with God.

I see in him (Dr. Max Gerson) one of the most eminent medical geniuses in the history of medicine...he was greatly impeded by adverse political conditions.

Any religion or philosophy which is not based on a respect for life is not a true religion or philosophy.

Not only is example the best way to teach, it is the only way.

No man need fear death, he need fear only that he may die without having known his greatest power: the power of his free will to give his life for others

It is not enough to merely exist. It's not enough to say, 'I'm earning enough to live and support my family. I do my work well. I'm a good parent.' That's all very well. But you must do something more.

At 20 everyone has the face that God gave them, at 40 the face that life gave them, and at 60 the face they earned.

World-view is a product of life-view, not vice versa.

We cannot abdicate our conscience to an organization, nor to a government. 'Am I my brother's keeper?' Most certainly I am! I cannot escape my responsibility by saying the State will do all that is necessary. It is a tragedy that nowadays so many think and feel otherwise.

An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight... the truly wise person is colorblind.

You know of the disease in Central Africa called sleeping sickness. . . . There also exists a sleeping sickness of the soul. Its most dangerous aspect is that one is unaware of its coming. That is why you have to be careful. As soon as you notice the slightest sign of indifference, the moment you become aware of the loss of a certain seriousness, of longing, of enthusiasm and zest, take it as a warning. You should realize your soul suffers if you live superficially.