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The Wisdom of Life

Book by Arthur Schopenhauer · 17 quotes · Pessimism, Shows, Degrees

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The Wisdom of Life Quotes

“When we see that almost everything men devote their lives to attain, sparing no effort and encountering a thousand toils and dangers in the process, has, in the end, no further object than to raise themselves in the estimation of others; when we see that not only offices, titles, decorations, but also wealth, nay, even knowledge[1] and art, are striven for only to obtain, as the ultimate goal of all effort, greater respect from one's fellowmen,—is not this a lamentable proof of the extent to which human folly can go?”

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“In plain language, every man is pent up within the limits of his own consciousness, and cannot directly get beyond those limits any more than he can get beyond his own skin; so external aid is not of much use to him. On the stage, one man is a prince, another a minister, a third a servant or a soldier or a general, and so on, — mere external differences: the inner reality, the kernel of all these appearances is the same — a poor player, with all the anxieties of his lot. In life it is just the same. Differences of rank and wealth give every man his part to play, but this by no means implies a difference of inward happiness and pleasure; here, too, there is the same being in all — a poor mortal, with his hardships and troubles.”

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“ადამიანთა უბადრუკ სუბიექტურობას,რის შედეგადაც ყველაფერი თავიანთ თავზე დაჰყავთ და ნებისმიერი იდეიდან პირდაპირი გზით უბრუნდებიან საკუთარ თავს - შესანიშნავად ადასტურებს ასტროლოგია,ადამიანის უბადრუკ "მეს"-ს,რომ უსადაგებს უზარმაზარ კოსმიურ სხეულთა მოძრაობას და ამქვეყნიურ განხეთქილებებსა და უწმინდურობას კომეტების გამოჩენას უკავშირებს.თუმცა ეს ყოველთვის ასე იყო;თვით უძველეს დროშიაც კი (სტობეოსი,ეკლოგები).”

Astrology Bullshit
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“In travelling where novelties of all kinds press in upon us, mental food is often supplied so rapidly from without that there is no time for digestion. We regret that the quickly shifting impressions can leave no permanent imprint. In reality, however, it is with this as it is with reading. How often we regret not being able to retain in the memory one-thousandth part of what is read ! It is comforting in both cases to know that the seen as well as the read has made a mental impression before it is forgotten, and thus forms the mind and nourishes it, while that which is retained in the memory merely fills and swells the hollow of the head with matter which remains ever foreign to it, because it has not been absorbed, and therefore the recipient can be as empty as before.”

Travels Reading
Book:The Wisdom of Life
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