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This book has a collection of Schweitzer's quotations on ethics and the human spirit. The emphasis is on the importance of the reverence for life and how following that ethic leads us to what is essential for civilization. The table of contents: Introductory Note; Feeling for Animal Life; Respect for Life; Mutual Knowledge; Riddles of Existence; The Meaning of Philosophy; Goethe; The Sanctuary of Thought; Religion Is Not a Force; When Thinking Was Religious; What Do I Think? A New Ethical System Needed; Reverence for Life; Human Awareness; The Goal of True Thought; The Only Way to Save Ourselves; Among the Africans; The Will to Live.

The dimensions of the central theme are illuminated by Schweitzer's discussions of his philosophy of culture, the course of his life, his ministry to human needs in Africa, the idea of reverence for life, the ideal of world peace, the significance of liberal Christianity, and the lives, world-views, and contributions of Johann Goethe, J. S. Bach, and Jesus of Nazareth. The pages of these selections give a remarkable revelation of the creative spirit of a modern saint and philosopher. The translation is by Water E. Stuermann, University of Tulsa.

"We are committing a folly of thoughtlessness. It must not happen that we do not pull ourselves together before it is too late. We must muster the insight, the seriousness, and the courage to leave folly and face reality." —Albert Schweitzer A Declaration of Conscience, 1957