Schweitzer and the Statue
Poem★★★★Albert Schweitzer tells us that when he was a boy one of the things that had the greatest influence on him was a stone statue of a Negro in the town of Colmar. The statue was the work of Bartholdi, the sculptor who made our Statue of Liberty. Doctor Schweitzer thinks it is one of the most expressive pieces of work the chisel of Bar- tholdi ever produced. When he was a boy he often con- templated it.
The face wears a thoughtful expression. ‘The countenance spoke to me of the mystery of the Dark Continent,” he says, ‘“‘and even today I make a pilgrimage to it when I am in Colmar.”
Something in that statue challenged him. Through it he caught a vision of the ignorant, pagan multitudes in Africa. He followed the gleam. Today he is feeding their bodies and souls.
His fine hospital on the banks of the Ogowe in Equatorial Africa is one of the most remarkable achievements of modern times. Before us today stands something more challenging than a statue, something that stirs us more deeply.
‘There stands a great personality. Whoever is willing seriously and thoughtfully to look at Him is never the same again.
Harold Cooke Phillips, D.D.
The point
A sculpture of a man from Africa inspired young Albert Schweitzer with a vision of unmet spiritual and physical needs, launching a lifetime of dedicated medical and missionary service.