Wisdom of Arthur Schopenhauer

Arthur Schopenhauer (February 22, 1788 – September 21 1860) was a German philosopher and is best known for his book The World as Will and Representation.

He was one of the first in Western philosophy to share and affirm significant tenets of Indian philosophy.

His work didn’t attract much attention while he was alive, but gained in popularity after his death in science, philosophy, and literature. His writings on morality, aesthetics, and psychology have influenced many.

Below we list some words of wisdom from Arthur Schopenhauer.

"It is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else."

"Just remember, once you're over the hill you begin to pick up speed."

"Education perverts the mind since we are directly opposing the natural development of our mind by obtaining ideas first and observations last. This is why so few men of learning have such sound common sense as is quite common among the illiterate."

"The real meaning of persona is a mask, such as actors were accustomed to wear on the ancient stage; and it is quite true that no one shows himself as he is, but wears his mask and plays his part. Indeed, the whole of our social arrangements may be likened to a perpetual comedy; and this is why a man who is worth anything finds society so insipid, while a blockhead is quite at home in it."

"Thus, the task is not so much to see what no one yet has seen, but to think what nobody yet has thought about that which everybody sees."

"Genius and madness have something in common: both live in a world that is different from that which exists for everyone else."

"To use many words to communicate few thoughts is everywhere the unmistakable sign of mediocrity. To gather much thought into few words stamps the man of genius."

"To overcome difficulties is to experience the full delight of existence."

"After your death you will be what you were before your birth."

"A sense of humour is the only divine quality of man"

"The assumption that animals are without rights, and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance, is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality."

"I know of no more beautiful prayer than that which the Hindus of old used in closing: May all that have life be delivered from suffering."

"We forfeit three-quarters of ourselves in order to be like other people."

"The more unintelligent a man is, the less mysterious existence seems to him."

"If we suspect that a man is lying, we should pretend to believe him; for then he becomes bold and assured, lies more vigorously, and is unmasked."

"Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame."

"The wise have always said the same things, and fools, who are the majority have always done just the opposite."

"A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free."
"Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think."

"Happiness belongs to those who are sufficient unto themselves. For all external sources of happiness and pleasure are, by their very nature, highly uncertain, precarious, ephemeral and subject to chance."

"The safest way of not being very miserable is not to expect to be very happy."

"A high degree of intellect tends to make a man unsocial."

"Without books the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are the engines of change, windows on the world, "Lighthouses" as the poet said "erected in the sea of time." They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind, Books are humanity in print."

"When you look back on your life, it looks as though it were a plot, but when you are into it, it's a mess: just one surprise after another. Then, later, you see it was perfect."

"There is something in us that is wiser than our head."

"We seldom think of what we have but always of what we lack. Therefore, rather than grateful, we are bitter."

"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."

"The majority of men... are not capable of thinking, but only of believing, and... are not accessible to reason, but only to authority."

"A pessimist is an optimist in full possession of the facts."

Copyright © Stephen Petullo, Scott Petullo