PARERGA UND PARALIPOMENA

 

(For all other members of the Schopenhauer series see the already posted entries: Schopenhauer And His Place In History [February 21^st, 2013]; Schopenhauer Junior And Schopenhauer Senior [February 22^nd, 2013]; From Theognis To La Rochefoucauld [February 23^rd, 2013]; and Ormuzd And Ahriman As The Philosopher’s Helpers [February 24^th, 2013]. This is the last entry in the Schopenhauer series.)

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This is my very limited selection of Schopenhauer’s wise sayings, under a title which has to be appreciated by anyone with the knowledge of what this Schopenhauerian title means in Greek. My commentaries are to be limited at first, but later on I may be expanding them considerably.

“Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.” (I quoted this one in my Genius section.)

“The deep pain which is felt at the death of every friendly soul, arises from the feeling that there is in every individual something that is inexpressible, peculiar to him alone, and is, therefore, absolutely and irretrievably lost.” (Compare this to my thought that the people whom we used to know well are like pegs attaching us to life, and that each such death gradually loosens our own attachment to the past resulting volens-nolens in an eventual disattachment from life in our old age.)

“Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized In the first it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident.” This is rather commonplace, but still pleasant enough to be included in this selection.)

“We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people.” (In fact, trying to be like others is a false pursuit, and the loss in it is somewhat greater.)

“A man can be himself only so long as he is alone.” (But what a wretched condition it is, to be alone…)

“Suicide may also be regarded as an experiment -- a question which man puts to Nature, trying to force her to answer. The question is this: What change will death produce in a man's existence and in his insight into the nature of things? It is a clumsy experiment to make as it involves the destruction of the very consciousness which puts the question and awaits the answer.” (On the question of suicide I am rather with Nietzsche who sees the thought of suicide as a furtive comfort on a particularly cold night. The act itself is, however, abhorrent.)

“After your death you will be what you were before your birth.” (Which is what?.. A rhetorical question…)

“The closing years of life are like a masquerade party, when the masks are dropped.” (A frightening prospect, unless you keep the masks on by the sheer force of your memory and determination.)

“Compassion is the basis of all morality.” (This is so true!)

“The doctor sees all the weakness of mankind; the lawyer all the wickedness, the theologian all the stupidity.” (The philosopher is all three of them wrapped in one.)

“The greatest achievements of the human mind are generally received with distrust.” (At first glance, this is a virtual truism, but after some deliberation we can expand this thought beyond the limits of triviality, and discover a treasure trove of priceless applications.)

“Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame.” (Both amount to the corruption of the soul, as much as anything that causes an unquenchable thirst in us.)

“Will minus intellect constitutes vulgarity.” (Come to think of it, this is true!)

“Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think.” (This is rather unfair toward the greater minds, who look upon religion as an integral part of one’s culture, and do not get so easily brainwashed. As for the little minds, why single out religion? They are like animals who ask to be trained by a superior authority, in any area of social activity.)

“The more unintelligent a man is, the less mysterious existence seems to him.” (Life is indeed a great mystery to all those who do not wish to equate themselves to lower animals; but, perhaps, the mystery stops on the doorstep of death, when the unpleasant equation forcibly crosses our mind…)