Albert Schweitzer Quotes

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.

The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.

We are all so much together, but we are all dying of loneliness.

Man is a clever animal who behaves like an imbecile.

In the hopes of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet.

A man does not have to be an angel in order to be saint.

Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.

Wherever you turn, you can find someone who needs you. Even if it is a little thing, do something for which there is no pay but the privilege of doing it. Remember, you don't live in a world all of your own

Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean, so must I never live my life for itself, but always in the experience which is going on around me.

The thinking (person) must oppose all cruel customs, no matter how deeply rooted in tradition and surrounded by a halo. When we have a choice, we must avoid bringing torment and injury into the life of another.

The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.

For animals that are overworked, underfed, and cruelly treated; for all wistful creatures in captivity that beat their wings against bars; for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry; for all that must be put to death...and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion and gentle hands and kindly words.

The the question whether I am a pessimist or an optimist, I answer that my knowledge is pessimistic, but my willing and hope are optimistic.

Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.

I can do no other than be reverent before everything that is called life. I can do no other than to have compassion for all that is called life. That is the beginning and the foundation of all ethics.

We must never allow the voice of humanity within us to be silenced. It is humanity's sympathy with all creatures that first makes us truly human.

Anyone who proposes to do good must not expect people to roll stones out of his way, but must accept his lot calmly, even if they roll a few stones upon it.

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.

Man has lost the capacity to foresee and to forestall. He will end by destroying the earth.

As soon as man does not take his existence for granted, but beholds it as something unfathomably mysterious, thought begins.

Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light.

Whatever you have received more than others-in health, in talents, in ability, in success, in a pleasant childhood, in harmonious conditions of home life-all this you must not take to yourself as a matter of course. In gratitude for your good fortune, you must remember in return some sacrifice of your own life for another life.

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

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

Ethics, too, are nothing but reverence for life. This is what gives me the fundamental principle of morality, namely, that good consists in maintaining, promoting, and enhancing life, and that destroying, injuring, and limiting life are evil.

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

Whoever is spared personal pain must feel himself called to help in diminishing the pain of others. We must all carry our share of the misery which lies upon the world.

Humanitarianism consists in never sacrificing a human being to a purpose.

By respect for life we become religious in a way that is elementary, profound and alive.

Man can hardly even recognize the devils of his own creation.

One truth stands firm. All that happens in world history rests on something spiritual. If the spiritual is strong, it creates world history. If it is weak, it suffers world history.

The fundamental rights of [humanity] are, first: the right of habitation; second, the right to move freely; third, the right to the soil and subsoil, and to the use of it; fourth, the right of freedom of labor and of exchange; fifth, the right to justice; sixth, the right to live within a natural national organization; and seventh, the right to education.

It is not enough merely to exist. It's not enough to say, "I'm earning enough to support my family. I do my work well. I'm a good father, husband, churchgoer." That's all very well. But you must do something more. 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. Even if it's a little thing, do something for those who need help, something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it. For remember, you don't live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here too.

The quiet conscience is an invention of the devil

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.

Life becomes harder for us when we live for others, but it also becomes richer and happier.

From naive simplicity we arrive at more profound simplicity.

Do not let Sunday be taken from you. If your soul has no Sunday, it becomes an orphan.

The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings.

The awareness that we are all human beings together has become lost in war and through politics.

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.

Only those who respect the personality of others can be of real use to them.

Revenge... is like a rolling stone, which, when a man hath forced up a hill, will return upon him with a greater violence, and break those bones whose sinews gave it motion.

Let me give you a definition of ethics: It is good to maintain and further life it is bad to damage and destroy life.

The time will come when public opinion will no longer tolerate amusements based on the mistreatment and killing of animals. The time will come, but when? When will we reach the point that hunting, the pleasure in killing animals for sport, will be regarded as a mental aberration?

Do something for somebody everyday for which you do not get paid.

Ethics is nothing else than reverence for life.

I have always held firmly to the thought that each one of us can do a little to bring some portion of misery to an end

Truth has no special time of its own. Its hour is now - always.