70 Best Albert Schweitzer Quotes About Gratitude, Life And Success

Words of affirmation and positive thinking can go a long way in making a person feel better.

If you're looking for some encouraging words and thoughtful musings, then there's nobody better to turn to than Albert Schweitzer. He was, after all, a prominent philosopher, musician, physician, and writer.

His personal and literary philosophy was based on the concept of a 'reverence for life' and he ardently believed in the goodness of humanity and the prevalence of kindness and gratitude above all else. He was a distinguished medical missionary who gave benefit lectures and concerts in various parts of the world to raise funds for his hospital in Africa, a feat he's now best known for. Albert Schweitzer was born in a small town in France in 1875 and he passed away in Gabon, Africa in 1965 after a rich and illustrious career. Throughout his lifetime, he was presented various accolades, including The Nobel Peace Prize and the Goethe Prize. If you're looking for Albert Schweitzer 'Reverence For Life' quotes, or 'Albert Schweitzer quotes about animals', then you're in the ideal place because we have many on this list!

We have also had other fun articles about quotes, like 'The Alchemist' quotes and Toni Morrison quotes.
 

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Here's a list of the best Dr Albert Schweitzer quotes, which has various Albert Schweitzer animal quotes, and other famous quotes spoken by Albert Schweitzer.

1. "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."

- Albert Schweitzer.

2. "Happiness is nothing more than good health and bad memory."

- Albert Schweitzer.

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

- Albert Schweitzer.

4. "Seek always to do some good, somewhere."

- Albert Schweitzer.

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

- Albert Schweitzer.

6. "There are only three ways to teach a child. The first is by example, the second is by example, the third is by example."

- Albert Schweitzer.

7. "True philosophy must start from the most immediate and comprehensive fact of consciousness, which says: 'I am life, which will to life, in the midst of life, which will to live.'"

- Albert Schweitzer and Predrag Cicovacki, 'Albert Schweitzer's Ethical Vision: A Sourcebook', 2008.

8. "I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."

- Albert Schweitzer.

9. "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."

- Albert Schweitzer.

10. "Compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind."

- Albert Schweitzer.

11. "No one can give a definition of the soul. But we know what it feels like. The soul is the sense of something higher than ourselves, something that stirs in us thoughts, hopes, aspirations which go out to the world of goodness, truth, and beauty. The soul is a burning desire to breathe in this world of light and never to lose it - to remain children of the light."

- 'Reverence For Life', 1933.

12. “You must not expect anything from others. It’s you, of yourself, of whom you must ask a lot. Only from oneself has one the right to ask everything and anything. This way it’s up to you – your own choices – what you get from others remains a present, a gift.”

- James Brabazon, 'Albert Schweitzer: A Biography, Second Edition', 2000.

13. "When people have light in themselves, it will shine out from them. Then we get to know each other as we walk together in the darkness, without needing to pass our hands over each other's faces, or to intrude into each other's hearts."

- 'Albert Schweitzer: An Anthology', 1947.

14. "Joy, sorrow, tears, lamentation, laughter -- to all these music gives voice, but in such a way that we are transported from the world of unrest to a world of peace, and see reality in a new way, as if we were sitting by a mountain lake and contemplating hills and woods and clouds in the tranquil and fathomless water."

- Albert Schweitzer.

15. "Every patient carries his or her own doctor inside."

- Albert Schweitzer.

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

- 'Light Within Us', 1959.

17. "Do something wonderful, people may imitate it."

- Albert Schweitzer.

18. "Truth has no special time of its own. Its hour is now-- always and indeed then most truly when it seems unsuitable to actual circumstances."

- Albert Schweitzer.

19. "Therefore search and see if there is not some place where you may invest your humanity."

- 'Reverence For Life', 1933.

20. "The only escape from the miseries of life are music and cats."

- Albert Schweitzer.

21."Humanitarianism consists of never sacrificing a human being to a purpose."

- Albert Schweitzer.

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

- Albert Schweitzer.

23. "The greatest discovery of any generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering the attitudes of their minds."

- Albert Schweitzer.

24. “It is through the idealism of youth that man catches sight of truth, and in that idealism, he possesses a wealth which he must never exchange for anything else.”

- 'The Wisdom of Albert Schweitzer'.

25. "Do something for somebody every day for which you do not get paid."

- Albert Schweitzer.

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

- Albert Schweitzer.

Here's a curated list of Albert Schweitzer quotes about motivation. An Albert Schweitzer quote from this list might really resonate with you.

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

- Albert Schweitzer.

28. "Ethics is nothing else than reverence for life."

- Albert Schweitzer.

29. "My life is my argument."

- Albert Schweitzer.

30. "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."

- Albert Schweitzer.

31. "Man can no longer live for himself alone. We must realize that all life is valuable and that we are united to all life. From this knowledge comes our spiritual relationship with the universe."

- Albert Schweitzer.

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

- Albert Schweitzer.

33. "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."

- George Seaver, 'Albert Schweitzer: The Man and His Mind', 1947.

34. "Grow into your ideals so that life cannot rob you of them."

- Albert Schweitzer.

35. "Affirmation of the world, which means affirmation of the will-to-live that manifests itself around me, is only possible if I devote myself to the other life."

- 'The Philosophy of Civilization', 1923.

37. "We are united with all life that is in nature. Man can no longer live his life for himself alone."

- 'Albert Schweitzer: An Anthology', 1947.

38. "The stronger the reverence for natural life, the stronger grows also for that spiritual life."

- 'Albert Schweitzer: An Anthology', 1947.

39. "My life is full of meaning to me. The life around me must be full of significance to it. If I want others to respect my life, then I must respect the other life I see however strange it may be to mine."

- Albert Schweitzer.

40. "All art speaks in signs and symbols. No one can explain how it happens that the artist can waken to life in us the existence that he has seen and lives through."

- Albert Schweitzer.

41. "If a man loses his reverence for any part of life, he will lose his reverence for all of life."

- Albert Schweitzer.

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

- Albert Schweitzer.

43. "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."

- Albert Schweitzer.

Here's a list of Albert Schweitzer quotes on love, all for you!

44. "The highest proof of the spirit is love. Love the eternal thing which can already on earth possess as it really is."

- Albert Schweitzer.

45. "We all know how important love is, yet how often is it really emoted or exhibited? What so many sick people in this world suffer from - loneliness, boredom, and fear- can't be cured with a pill."

- Albert Schweitzer.

46. "If you love something so much let it go. If it comes back it was meant to be; if it doesn't it never was."

- Albert Schweitzer.

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

- 'Albert Schweitzer: An Anthology', 1947.

48. "Love is the only thing that increases twofold every time it is shared."

- Albert Schweitzer.

49. "To think out in every implication the ethic of love for all creation... this is the difficult task which confronts our age."

- Albert Schweitzer.

50. "Profound love demands a deep conception and out of this develops reverence for mystery of life. It brings us close to all beings, to the poorest and smallest as well as all others."

- Albert Schweitzer.

51. "Only by means of reverence for life can we establish a spiritual and humane relationship with both people and all living creatures within our reach."

- Albert Schweitzer.

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

- Albert Schweitzer.

Here's a comprehensive list of Albert Schweitzer quotes on religion and God.

53."Only through love can we obtain communion with God."

- Albert Schweitzer.

54. "He who does not reflect his life back to God in gratitude does not know himself."

- Albert Schweitzer.

55. "In order to make the Kingdom of God a practical reality, it was necessary for Him to dissociate it from all the forces of this world, and to bring morality and religion into the closest connexion."

- 'The Quest of The Historical Jesus', 1906.

56. "Jesus was called to throw himself on the wheel of world history, so that, even though it crushed him, it might start to turn in the opposite direction."

- Albert Schweitzer.

57. "At that point in life where your talent meets the needs of the world, that is where God wants you to be."

- Albert Schweitzer.

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

- Albert Schweitzer.

59. "This is the only sense in which Jesus thinks of the Kingdom as present. He does not 'establish it.' He only proclaims its coming. He exercises no 'Messianic functions', but waits, like others, for God to bring about the coming of the Kingdom by supernatural means."

- 'The Quest of the Historical Jesus', 1906.

60. "The 'Son of Man' was buried in the ruins of the falling eschatological world; there remained alive only Jesus 'the Man'."

- 'The Quest of the Historical Jesus', 1906.

61. "Just as the wind is driven to spend its force in the big empty spaces so must the people who know the laws of the spirit go where we are most needed."

- Albert Schweitzer.

62. "The demands of Jesus are difficult because they require us to do something extraordinary. At the same time, He asks us to regard these [acts of goodness] as something usual, ordinary."

- 'The Quest of the Historical Jesus', 1906.

If you're interested in some Albert Schweitzer quotes about happiness and gratitude, we have just the thing for you! Here's a compiled list of Albert Schweitzer quotes on gratitude.

63. "To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted."

- Albert Schweitzer.

64. "In gratitude for your good fortune, you must remember in return some sacrifice of your own life for another life."

- Albert Schweitzer.

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

- Albert Schweitzer.

66. "The greatest thing to give is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live."

- 'Reverence For Life", 1933.

67. "We ought to all make an effort to act on our first thoughts and let our unspoken gratitude find expression."

- Albert Schweitzer.

68. "Those who thank god much are the truly wealthy."

- Albert Schweitzer.

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

- Albert Schweitzer.

70. "In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit."

- Albert Schweitzer.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Albert Schweitzer Quotes then why not take a look at Transcendentalism Quotes, or Albert Ellis Quotes?