Arthur Schopenhauer quotes - page 4

There are two things which make it impossible to believe that this world is the successful work of an all-wise, all-good, and at the same time, all-powerful being; firstly, the misery which abounds in it everywhere; and secondly, the obvious imperfection of its highest product, man, who is a burlesque of what he should be. (Arthur Schopenhauer)
The charlatan takes very different shapes according to circumstances; but at bottom he is a man who cares nothing about knowledge for its own sake, and only strives to gain the semblance of it that he may use it for his own personal ends, which are always selfish and material. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
For what is modesty but hypocritical humility, by means of which, in a world swelling with vile envy, a man seeks to beg pardon for his excellences and merits from those who have none? For whoever attributes no merit to himself because he really has none is not modest, but merely honest. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
In youth it is the outward aspect of things that most engages us; while in age, thought or reflection is the predominating qualityof the mind. Hence, youth is the time for poetry, and age is more inclined to philosophy. In practical affairs it is the same: a man shapes his resolutions in youth more by the impression that the outward world makes upon him; whereas, when he is old, it is thought that determines his actions. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
The majority of men... are not capable of thinking, but only of believing, and... are not accessible to reason, but only to authority. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
The person who writes for fools is always sure of a large audience. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
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. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
Wicked thoughts and worthless efforts gradually set their mark on the face, especially the eyes. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
For our improvement we need a mirror. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
Every nation ridicules other nations, and all are right. (Arthur Schopenhauer)
Every time a man is begotten and born, the clock of human life is wound up anew to repeat once more its same old tune that has already been played innumerable times, movement by movement and measure by measure, with insignificant variations. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
Life is a business that does not cover the costs. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
The first forty years of life give us the text; the next thirty supply the commentary on it. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
Journalists are like dogs, when ever anything moves they begin to bark. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
Our moral virtues benefit mainly other people; intellectual virtues, on the other hand, benefit primarily ourselves; therefore the former make us universally popular, the latter unpopular. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
The effect of music is so very much more powerful and penetrating than is that of the other arts, for these others speak only of the shadow, but music of the essence. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
As the biggest library if it is in disorder is not as useful as a small but well-arranged one, so you may accumulate a vast amount of knowledge but it will be of far less value than a much smaller amount if you have not thought it over for yourself. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
The truth can wait, for she lives a long life. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
Pride is an established conviction of one's own paramount worth in some particular respect, while vanity is the desire of rousing such a conviction in others, and it is generally accompanied by the secret hope of ultimately coming to the same conviction oneself. Pride works from within; it is the direct appreciation of oneself. Vanity is the desire to arrive at this appreciation indirectly, from without. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
If, while hurrying ostensibly to the temple of truth, we hand the reins over to our personal interests which look aside at very different guiding stars, for instance at the tastes and foibles of our contemporaries, at the established religion, but in particular at the hints and suggestions of those at the head of affairs, then how shall we ever reach the high, precipitous, bare rock whereon stands the temple of truth? (Arthur Schopenhauer)
Friends and acquaintances are the surest passport to fortune. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
One can forget everything, everything, only not oneself, one's own being. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
Life swings like a pendulum backward and forward between pain and boredom. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer
With people of limited ability modesty is merely honesty. But with those who possess great talent it is hypocrisy. View quote
Arthur Schopenhauer