Arthur Schopenhauer quotes

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

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

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

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“There is no doubt that life is given us, not to be enjoyed, but to be overcome; to be got over.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

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

— Arthur Schopenhauer

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

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

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

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“Sleep is the interest we have to pay on the capital which is called in at death; and the higher the rate of interest and the more regularly it is paid, the further the date of redemption is postponed.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

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

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“Journalists are like dogs, when ever anything moves they begin to bark.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

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

— 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.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

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

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“A man's delight in looking forward to and hoping for some particular satisfaction is a part of the pleasure flowing out of it, enjoyed in advance. But this is afterward deducted, for the more we look forward to anything the less we enjoy it when it comes.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“Reading is equivalent to thinking with someone else's head instead of with one's own.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“It is a clear gain to sacrifice pleasure in order to avoid pain.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“Music is the melody whose text is the world.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

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

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“In our monogamous part of the world, to marry means to halve one's rights and double one's duties.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“Every person takes the limits of their own field of vision for the limits of the world.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

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

— Arthur Schopenhauer

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

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“The greatest achievements of the human mind are generally received with distrust.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“Every nation ridicules other nations, and all are right.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“I've never known any trouble than an hour's reading didn't assuage.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

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

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“Friends and acquaintances are the surest passport to fortune.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“Honor has not to be won; it must only not be lost.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“Great minds are related to the brief span of time during which they live as great buildings are to a little square in which they stand: you cannot see them in all their magnitude because you are standing too close to them.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer