Albert Schweitzer: Prophet in the Wilderness [antikvár]

Chapter 1 Albert Schweitzer speaking: "Water and primeval forest! Who could possibly reproduce the impression they make? You would think you were dreaming! Fanciful pictures of antediluvian landscapes, seen somewhere, come to life. You cannot teli where the river ends and the land begins. A mighty network of roots, covered with tangled lianas, projects into the water. Palms and clumps of palms, interspersed with timber, bearing greenish boughs and huge leaves; single trees, towering high; wide stretches of papyrus clumps, tallér than a man, with great fan-like leaves. . . . Amid their luxuriant foliage, the rotting trunks of dead giants rising skyward. . . . "Out of every vista, water mirrors sparkle; at every bend new tributaries are revealed. A heron flaps heavily upward and settles on a dead tree-trunk; little blue birds skim over the water, and high in air a pair of ospreys circle. Then- yes, there can be no mistake!-from a palm something hangs down and swings: two monkey tails! Shortly, what goes with them, their owners, that is, become visible. Now it's really Africa!" Albert Schweitzer speaking: "The operation is finished, and in the dimly lighted dormitory I watch for the sick man's awaking. Scarcely has he recovered consciousness when he stares about him and ejaculates again and again: Tve no more pain! I've no more pain!' His hand feels for mine and will not let it go.