Quotes & anectdotes from the wise, the foolish, the courageous & the drunk

Arthur Schopenhauer Philosopher

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: Germany
  • Born: Feb 22, 1788
  • Died: Sep 21, 1860

Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher best known for his book, The World as Will and Representation, in which he claimed that our world is driven by a continually dissatisfied will, continually seeking satisfaction. Influenced by Eastern philosophy, he maintained that the "truth was recognized by the sages of India"; consequently, his solutions to suffering were similar to those of Vedantic and Buddhist thinkers. The influence of "transcendental ideality" led him to choose atheism.

At age 25, he published his doctoral dissertation, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, which examined the four distinct aspects of experience in the phenomenal world; consequently, he has been influential in the history of phenomenology. He has influenced many thinkers, including Friedrich Nietzsche, Richard Wagner, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Erwin Schrödinger, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Otto Rank, Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, Leo Tolstoy, Thomas Mann, and Jorge Luis Borges, among others.

To live alone is the fate of all great souls. being alone & greatness

Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal. being alone & change

Because people have no thoughts to deal in, they deal cards, and try and win one another's money. Idiots! money

Every parting gives a foretaste of death, every reunion a hint of the resurrection. death

Every possession and every happiness is but lent by chance for an uncertain time, and may therefore be demanded back the next hour. happiness & time

Music is the melody whose text is the world. music

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

A man can be himself only so long as he is alone. being alone

The fundament upon which all our knowledge and learning rests is the inexplicable. knowledge & learning

Men are by nature merely indifferent to one another but women are by nature enemies. men, nature & women

The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom. happiness

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

Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude. greatness & men

Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think. art & religion

Patriotism, when it wants to make itself felt in the domain of learning, is a dirty fellow who should be thrown out of doors. learning & patriotism

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

Politeness is to human nature what warmth is to wax. nature

With people of limited ability modesty is merely honesty. But with those who possess great talent it is hypocrisy. greatness

Martyrdom is the only way a man can become famous without ability. fame

Satisfaction consists in freedom from pain, which is the positive element of life. freedom & positive

Almost all of our sorrows spring out of our relations with other people. sympathy

Hatred is an affair of the heart contempt that of the head. anger

Will power is to the mind like a strong blind man who carries on his shoulders a lame man who can see. power

It is with trifles, and when he is off guard, that a man best reveals his character. best

Suffering by nature or chance never seems so painful as suffering inflicted on us by the arbitrary will of another. nature

The doctor sees all the weakness of mankind the lawyer all the wickedness, the theologian all the stupidity. medical

The greatest of follies is to sacrifice health for any other kind of happiness. happiness & health

Treat a work of art like a prince. Let it speak to you first. art & work

In action a great heart is the chief qualification. In work, a great head. greatness, wisdom & work

Mother's Day May 12, 2025

Motherhood: All love begins and ends there. 22 sayings from Robert Browning

22 sayings from Robert Browning

A mother's happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories. 53 views from Honore de Balzac

53 views from Honore de Balzac

With what price we pay for the glory of motherhood. 5 thoughts from Isadora Duncan

5 thoughts from Isadora Duncan

The babe at first feeds upon the mother's bosom, but it is always on her heart. 58 thoughts from Henry Ward Beecher

58 thoughts from Henry Ward Beecher