Reviews of and Quotes From Dr. Schweitzer's Books

Here are my reviews of some of Albert Schweitzer's books. All are English translations from French or German. Some of them are out of print, but generally can be found by a book search from a good used-book dealer or in softcopy from the Internet Archive. Also included here are reviews of compilations of his writings. See The Albert Schweitzer Page for reviews of books about Dr. Schweitzer and related information.

Albert Schweitzer: Thoughts for Our Times

Written By:  Albert Schweitzer

Edited by: Erica Anderson

Reviewed Edition:  The Peter Pauper Press, Mount Vernon, NY, 1975

Hardcover, 61 pages

No ISBN Shown

Quotes

Table of Contents

This slim volume contains short but profound quotations from Albert Schweitzer. Erica Anderson filmed a biography of Schweitzer, and spent much time with him in his final decade of life. Sources for the quotations are not provided; some are recognizable excerpts from his writings and speeches, others may be from Anderson's own experience with Schweitzer.

The quotations selected are almost all related to ethics, particularly Schweitzer's philosophy of Reverence for Life. They are very short, often simply aphorisms. While not a substitute for larger collections such as The Spiritual Life, Albert Schweitzer: Thoughts for Our Times contains inspiring messages and a few quotation not available elsewhere.

Quotes from Albert Schweitzer: Thoughts for Our Times

"Responsibility is a great thing. To shoulder responsibility, not to shirk it. Poitically, economically, in so many respects, people in our time don't seem to face their duties. If we learned early in life not to avoid responsibility, the world would look brighter."

"True knowledge of the world consists in our being penetrated by a sense of the mystery of existence and of life."

"Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing. Hope is renewed each time that you see a person you know, who is deeply involved in the struggle of life, helping another person. You are the unaffected witness and must agree that there is hope for mankind." [emphasis in original]

"When a man feels the shadow of death upon him and has an urge to speak with his loved ones about it to help him to understand it and to face up to it, they stop him from doing so. They play a comedy, pretending that such a prospect is out of the question, keeping up the pretense to the very end. They believe they are doing him a service by persuading him not to think about it. But all they have done is to make him lonely. They have refused to help him."

Table of Contents of Albert Schweitzer: Thoughts for Our Times

There is no Table of Contents included in the book, but it is divided into the following sections:

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