Mankind cannot get on without a certain amount of absurdity. Arthur Schopenhauer More Quotes by Arthur Schopenhauer More Quotes From Arthur Schopenhauer The first forty years of life give us the text; the next thirty supply the commentary on it. Arthur Schopenhauer philosophicalbirthdayyears Vulgar people take huge delight in the faults and follies of great men. Arthur Schopenhauer greatnessmenpeople The doctor sees all the weakness of mankind; the lawyer all the wickedness, the theologian all the stupidity. Arthur Schopenhauer doctorsstupidsilly If the lives of men were relieved of all need, hardship and adversity; if everything they took in hand were successful, they would be so swollen with arrogance that, though they might not burst, they would present the spectacle of unbridled folly-nay, they would go mad. And I may say, further, that a certain amount of care or pain or trouble is necessary for every man at all times. A ship without ballast is unstable and will not go straight. Arthur Schopenhauer adversitypainsuccessful If you want to know your true opinion of someone, watch the effect produced in you by the first sight of a letter from him. Arthur Schopenhauer sightletterswatches A man finds himself, to his great astonishment, suddenly existing, after thousands and thousands of years of non-existence: he lives for a little while; and then, again, comes an equally long period when he must exist no more. The heart rebels against this, and feels that it cannot be true. Arthur Schopenhauer heartmenyears How very paltry and limited the normal human intellect is, and how little lucidity there is in the human consciousness, may be judged from the fact that, despite the ephemeral brevity of human life, the uncertainty of our existence and the countless enigmas which press upon us from all sides, everyone does not continually and ceaselessly philosophize, but that only the rarest of exceptions do. Arthur Schopenhauer ephemeraldoephilosophy When a man has reached a condition in which he believes that a thing must happen because he does not wish it, and that what he wishes to happen never will be, this is really the state called desperation. Arthur Schopenhauer wishmenbelieve Life is full of troubles and vexations, that one must either rise above it by means of corrected thoughts, or leave it. Arthur Schopenhauer vexationlife-ismean The shortness of life, so often lamented, may be the best thing about it. Arthur Schopenhauer being-the-bestwisdommay In the sphere of thought, absurdity and perversity remain the masters of the world, and their dominion is suspended only for brief periods. Arthur Schopenhauer saddominionworld To overcome difficulties is to experience the full delight of existence. Arthur Schopenhauer copingdelightovercoming The bad thing about all religions is that, instead of being able to confess their allegorical nature, they have to conceal it. Arthur Schopenhauer pessimismbad-thingsable If God made the world, I would not be that God, for the misery of the world would break my heart. Arthur Schopenhauer miseryheartworld Students and scholars of all kinds and of every age aim, as a rule, only at information, not insight. They make it a point of honour to have information about everything, every stone, plant, battle, or experiment and about all books, collectively and individually. It never occurs to them that information is merely a means to insight, but in itself is of little or no value. Arthur Schopenhauer agemeanbook The life of every individual is really always a tragedy, but gone through in detail, it has the character of a comedy. Arthur Schopenhauer detailstragedycharacter Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame. Arthur Schopenhauer philosophicalmoneysea Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think. Arthur Schopenhauer philosophicalfearart Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world. Arthur Schopenhauer inspirationalmenscience If you feel irritated by the absurd remarks of two people whose conversation you happen to overhear, you should imagine that you are listening to a dialogue of two fools in a comedy. Arthur Schopenhauer listeningtwopeople
