958 Quotes by Arthur Schopenhauer

If children were brought into the world by an act of pure reason alone, would the human race continue to exist? Would not a man rather have so much sympathy with the coming generation as to spare it the burden of existence, or at any rate not take it upon himself to impose that burden upon it in cold blood?

No one reveals himself as he is; we all wear a mask and play a role.- On Psychology

We can regard our life as a uselessly disturbing episode in the blissful repose of nothingness.

Bei gleicher Umgebung lebt doch jeder in einer anderen Welt.

The life of every individual, viewed as a whole and in general, and when only its most significant features are emphasized, is really a tragedy; but gone through in detail it has the character of a comedy.

Life swings like a pendulum backward and forward between pain and boredom.

The shortness of life, so often lamented, may be the best thing about it.

... that when you're buying books, you're optimistically thinking you're buying the time to read them.(Paraphrase of Schopenhauer)

The art of not reading is a very important one. It consists in not taking an interest in whatever may be engaging the attention of the general public at any particular time. When some political or ecclesiastical pamphlet, or novel, or poem is making a great commotion, you should remember that he who writes for fools always finds a large public. A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short.