,,the ,,essays ,,of ,,arthur ,,schopenhauer3 ,,studies ,,in ,,pessimism ,,translated ,,by ,t4 ,,bailey ,,saunders1 ,m4,a4 ,,contents4 ,,on ,,the ,,sufferings ,,of ,,the ,,world ,,on ,,the ,,vanity ,,of ,,existence ,,on ,,suicide ,,immortality3 ,a ,,dialogue ,,psychological ,,observations ,,on ,,education ,,of ,,women ,,on ,,noise ,a ,,few ,,parables ,,note4 ,the ,essays here presented form a further selection from ,schopenhauer's ,parerga1 brought together under a title which is not to be found in the original1 and does not claim to apply to every chapter in the volume4 ,the first essay is1 in the main1 a rendering of the philosopher's remarks under the heading of ,nachtrge zur ,lehre vom ,leiden der ,welt1 together with certain parts of another section entitled ,nachtrge zur ,lehre von der ,bejahung und ,verneinung des ,willens zum ,leben4 ,such omissions as ,i have made are directed chiefly by the desire to avoid repeating arguments already familiar to readers of the other volumes in this series4 ,the ,dialogue on ,immortality sums up views expressed at length in the philosopher's chief work1 and treated again in the ,parerga4 ,the ,psychological ,observations in this and the previous volume practically exhaust the chapter of the original which bears this title4 ,the essay on ,women must not be taken in jest4 ,it expresses ,schopenhauer's serious convictions2 and1 as a penetrating observer of the faults of humanity1 he may be allowed a hearing on a question which is just now receiving a good deal of attention among us4 ,t4,b4,s4 ,,on ,,the ,,sufferings ,,of ,,the ,,world4 ,unless suffering is the direct and immediate object of life1 our existence must entirely fail of its aim4 ,it is absurd to look upon the enormous amount of pain that abounds everywhere in the world1 and originates in needs and necessities inseparable from life itself1 as serving no purpose at all and the result of mere chance4 ,each separate misfortune1 as it comes1 seems1 no doubt1 to be something exceptional2 but misfortune in general is the rule4 ,i know of no greater absurdity than that propounded by most systems of philosophy in declaring evil to be negative in its character4 ,evil is just what is positive2 it makes its own existence felt4 ,leibnitz is particularly concerned to defend this absurdity2 and he seeks to strengthen his position by using a palpable and paltry sophism4#a ,it is the good which is negative2 in other words1 happiness and satisfaction always imply some desire fulfilled1 some state of pain brought to an end4 ,footnote #a3 ,translator's ,note1 cf4 ,thod1 #aec4--,leibnitz argued that evil is a negative quality--i4e41 the absence of good2 and that its active and seemingly positive character is an incidental and not an essential part of its nature4 ,cold1 he said1 is only the absence of the power of heat1 and the active power of expansion in freezing water is an incidental and not an essential part of the nature of cold4 ,the fact is1 that the power of expansion in freezing water is really an increase of repulsion amongst its molecules2 and ,schopenhauer is quite right in calling the whole argument a sophism4 ,this explains the fact that we generally find pleasure to be not nearly so pleasant as we expected1 and pain very much more painful4 ,the pleasure in this world1 it has been said1 outweighs the pain2 or1 at any rate1 there is an even balance between the two4 ,if the reader wishes to see shortly whether this statement is true1 let him compare the respective feelings of two animals1 one of which is engaged in eating the other4 ,the best consolation in misfortune or affliction of any kind will be the thought of other people who are in a still worse plight than yourself2 and this is a form of consolation open to every one4 ,but what an awful fate this means for mankind as a whole6 ,we are like lambs in a field1 disporting themselves under the eye of the butcher1 who chooses out first one and then another for his prey4 ,so it is that in our good days we are all unconscious of the evil ,fate may have presently in store for us--sickness1 poverty1 mutilation1 loss of sight or reason4 ,no little part of the torment of existence lies in this1 that ,time is continually pressing upon us1 never letting us take breath1 but always coming after us1 like a taskmaster with a whip4 ,if at any moment ,time stays his hand1 it is only when we are delivered over to the misery of boredom4 ,but misfortune has its uses2 for1 as our bodily frame would burst asunder if the pressure of the atmosphere was removed1 so1 if the lives of men were relieved of all need1 hardship and adversity2 if everything they took in hand were successful1 they would be so swollen with arrogance that1 though they might not burst1 they would present the spectacle of unbridled folly--nay1 they would go mad4 ,and ,i may say1 further1 that a certain amount of care or pain or trouble is necessary for every man at all times4 ,a ship without ballast is unstable and will not go straight4 ,certain it is that work1 worry1 labor and trouble1 form the lot of almost all men their whole life long4 ,but if all wishes were fulfilled as soon as they arose1 how would men occupy their lives8 what would they do with their time8 ,if the world were a paradise of luxury and ease1 a land flowing with milk and honey1 where every ,jack obtained his ,jill at once and without any difficulty1 men would either die of boredom or hang themselves2 or there would be wars1 massacres1 and murders2 so that in the end mankind would inflict more suffering on itself than it has now to accept at the hands of ,nature4 ,in early youth1 as we contemplate our coming life1 we are like children in a theatre before the curtain is raised1 sitting there in high spirits and eagerly waiting for the play to begin4 ,it is a blessing that we do not know what is really going to happen4 ,could we foresee it1 there are times when children might seem like innocent prisoners1 condemned1 not to death1 but to life1 and as yet all unconscious of what their sentence means4 ,nevertheless1 every man desires to reach old age2 in other words1 a state of life of which it may be said3 ,it is bad to-day1 and it will be worse to-morrow2 and so on till the worst of all4 ,if you try to imagine1 as nearly as you can1 what an amount of misery1 pain and suffering of every kind the sun shines upon in its course1 you will admit that it would be much better if1 on the earth as little as on the moon1 the sun were able to call forth the phenomena of life2 and if1 here as there1 the surface were still in a crystalline state4 ,again1 you may look upon life as an unprofitable episode1 disturbing the blessed calm of non-existence4 ,and1 in any case1 even though things have gone with you tolerably well1 the longer you live the more clearly you will feel that1 on the whole1 life is a disappointment1 nay1 a cheat4 ,if two men who were friends in their youth meet again when they are old1 after being separated for a life-time1 the chief feeling they will have at the sight of each other will be one of complete disappointment at life as a whole2 because their thoughts will be carried back to that earlier time when life seemed so fair as it lay spread out before them in the rosy light of dawn1 promised so much--and then performed so little4 ,this feeling will so completely predominate over every other that they will not even consider it necessary to give it words2 but on either side it will be silently assumed1 and form the ground-work of all they have to talk about4 ,he who lives to see two or three generations is like a man who sits some time in the conjurer's booth at a fair1 and witnesses the performance twice or thrice in succession4 ,the tricks were meant to be seen only once2 and when they are no longer a novelty and cease to deceive1 their effect is gone4 ,while no man is much to be envied for his lot1 there are countless numbers whose fate is to be deplored4 ,life is a task to be done4 ,it is a fine thing to say defunctus est2 it means that the man has done his task4 ,if children were brought into the world by an act of pure reason alone1 would the human race continue to exist8 ,would not a man rather have so much sympathy with the coming generation as to spare it the burden of existence8 or at any rate not take it upon himself to impose that burden upon it in cold blood4 ,i shall be told1 ,i suppose1 that my philosophy is comfortless--because ,i speak the truth2 and people prefer to be assured that everything the ,lord has made is good4 ,go to the priests1 then1 and leave philosophers in peace6 ,at any rate1 do not ask us to accommodate our doctrines to the lessons you have been taught4 ,that is what those rascals of sham philosophers will do for you4 ,ask them for any doctrine you please1 and you will get it4 ,your ,university professors are bound to preach optimism2 and it is an easy and agreeable task to upset their theories4 ,i have reminded the reader that every state of welfare1 every feeling of satisfaction1 is negative in its character2 that is to say1 it consists in freedom from pain1 which is the positive element of existence4 ,it follows1 therefore1 that the happiness of any given life is to be measured1 not by its joys and pleasures1 but by the extent to which it has been free from suffering--from positive evil4 ,if this is the true standpoint1 the lower animals appear to enjoy a happier destiny than man4 ,let us examine the matter a little more closely4 ,however varied the forms that human happiness and misery may take1 leading a man to seek the one and shun the other1 the material basis of it all is bodily pleasure or bodily pain4 ,this basis is very restricted3 it is simply health1 food1 protection from wet and cold1 the satisfaction of the sexual instinct2 or else the absence of these things4 ,consequently1 as far as real physical pleasure is concerned1 the man is not better off than the brute1 except in so far as the higher possibilities of his nervous system make him more sensitive to every kind of pleasure1 but also1 it must be remembered1 to every kind of pain4 ,but then compared with the brute1 how much stronger are the passions aroused in him6 what an immeasurable difference there is in the depth and vehemence of his emotions6--and yet1 in the one case1 as in the other1 all to produce the same result in the end3 namely1 health1 food1 clothing1 and so on4 ,the chief source of all this passion is that thought for what is absent and future1 which1 with man1 exercises such a powerful influence upon all he does4 ,it is this that is the real origin of his cares1 his hopes1 his fears--emotions which affect him much more deeply than could ever be the case with those present joys and sufferings to which the brute is confined4 ,in his powers of reflection1 memory and foresight1 man possesses1 as it were1 a machine for condensing and storing up his pleasures and his sorrows4 ,but the brute has nothing of the kind2 whenever it is in pain1 it is as though it were suffering for the first time1 even though the same thing should have previously happened to it times out of number4 ,it has no power of summing up its feelings4 ,hence its careless and placid temper3 how much it is to be envied6 ,but in man reflection comes in1 with all the emotions to which it gives rise2 and taking up the same elements of pleasure and pain which are common to him and the brute1 it develops his susceptibility to happiness and misery to such a degree that1 at one moment the man is brought in an instant to a state of delight that may even prove fatal1 at another to the depths of despair and suicide4 ,if we carry our analysis a step farther1 we shall find that1 in order to increase his pleasures1 man has intentionally added to the number and pressure of his needs1 which in their original state were not much more difficult to satisfy than those of the brute4 ,hence luxury in all its forms2 delicate food1 the use of tobacco and opium1 spirituous liquors1 fine clothes1 and the thousand and one things than he considers necessary to his existence4 ,and above and beyond all this1 there is a separate and peculiar source of pleasure1 and consequently of pain1 which man has established for himself1 also as the result of using his powers of reflection2 and this occupies him out of all proportion to its value1 nay1 almost more than all his other interests put together--,i mean ambition and the feeling of honor and shame2 in plain words1 what he thinks about the opinion other people have of him4 ,taking a thousand forms1 often very strange ones1 this becomes the goal of almost all the efforts he makes that are not rooted in physical pleasure or pain4 ,it is true that besides the sources of pleasure which he has in common with the brute1 man has the pleasures of the mind as well4 ,these admit of many gradations1 from the most innocent trifling or the merest talk up to the highest intellectual achievements2 but there is the accompanying boredom to be set against them on the side of suffering4 ,boredom is a form of suffering unknown to brutes1 at any rate in their natural state2 it is only the very cleverest of them who show faint traces of it when they are domesticated2 whereas in the case of man it has become a downright scourge4 ,the crowd of miserable wretches whose one aim in life is to fill their purses but never to put anything into their heads1 offers a singular instance of this torment of boredom4 ,their wealth becomes a punishment by delivering them up to misery of having nothing to do2 for1 to escape it1 they will rush about in all directions1 traveling here1 there and everywhere4 ,no sooner do they arrive in a place than they are anxious to know what amusements it affords2 just as though they were beggars asking where they could receive a dole6 ,of a truth1 need and boredom are the two poles of human life4 ,finally1 ,i may mention that as regards the sexual relation1 a man is committed to a peculiar arrangement which drives him obstinately to choose one person4 ,this feeling grows1 now and then1 into a more or less passionate love1#a which is the source of little pleasure and much suffering4 ,footnote #a3 ,i have treated this subject at length in a special chapter of the second volume of my chief work4 ,it is1 however1 a wonderful thing that the mere addition of thought should serve to raise such a vast and lofty structure of human happiness and misery2 resting1 too1 on the same narrow basis of joy and sorrow as man holds in common with the brute1 and exposing him to such violent emotions1 to so many storms of passion1 so much convulsion of feeling1 that what he has suffered stands written and may be read in the lines on his face4 ,and yet1 when all is told1 he has been struggling ultimately for the very same things as the brute has attained1 and with an incomparably smaller expenditure of passion and pain4 ,but all this contributes to increase the measures of suffering in human life out of all proportion to its pleasures2 and the pains of life are made much worse for man by the fact that death is something very real to him4 ,the brute flies from death instinctively without really knowing what it is1 and therefore without ever contemplating it in the way natural to a man1 who has this prospect always before his eyes4 ,so that even if only a few brutes die a natural death1 and most of them live only just long enough to transmit their species1 and then1 if not earlier1 become the prey of some other animal1--whilst man1 on the other hand1 manages to make so-called natural death the rule1 to which1 however1 there are a good many exceptions1--the advantage is on the side of the brute1 for the reason stated above4 ,but the fact is that man attains the natural term of years just as seldom as the brute2 because the unnatural way in which he lives1 and the strain of work and emotion1 lead to a degeneration of the race2 and so his goal is not often reached4 ,the brute is much more content with mere existence than man2 the plant is wholly so2 and man finds satisfaction in it just in proportion as he is dull and obtuse4 ,accordingly1 the life of the brute carries less of sorrow with it1 but also less of joy1 when compared with the life of man2 and while this may be traced1 on the one side1 to freedom from the torment of care and anxiety1 it is also due to the fact that hope1 in any real sense1 is unknown to the brute4 ,it is thus deprived of any share in that which gives us the most and best of our joys and pleasures1 the mental anticipation of a happy future1 and the inspiriting play of phantasy1 both of which we owe to our power of imagination4 ,if the brute is free from care1 it is also1 in this sense1 without hope2 in either case1 because its consciousness is limited to the present moment1 to what it can actually see before it4 ,the brute is an embodiment of present impulses1 and hence what elements of fear and hope exist in its nature--and they do not go very far--arise only in relation to objects that lie before it and within reach of those impulses3 whereas a man's range of vision embraces the whole of his life1 and extends far into the past and future4 ,following upon this1 there is one respect in which brutes show real wisdom when compared with us--,i mean1 their quiet1 placid enjoyment of the present moment4 ,the tranquillity of mind which this seems to give them often puts us to shame for the many times we allow our thoughts and our cares to make us restless and discontented4 ,and1 in fact1 those pleasures of hope and anticipation which ,i have been mentioning are not to be had for nothing4 ,the delight which a man has in hoping for and looking forward to some special satisfaction is a part of the real pleasure attaching to it enjoyed in advance4 ,this is afterwards deducted2 for the more we look forward to anything1 the less satisfaction we find in it when it comes4 ,but the brute's enjoyment is not anticipated1 and therefore1 suffers no deduction2 so that the actual pleasure of the moment comes to it whole and unimpaired4 ,in the same way1 too1 evil presses upon the brute only with its own intrinsic weight2 whereas with us the fear of its coming often makes its burden ten times more grievous4 ,it is just this characteristic way in which the brute gives itself up entirely to the present moment that contributes so much to the delight we take in our domestic pets4 ,they are the present moment personified1 and in some respects they make us feel the value of every hour that is free from trouble and annoyance1 which we1 with our thoughts and preoccupations1 mostly disregard4 ,but man1 that selfish and heartless creature1 misuses this quality of the brute to be more content than we are with mere existence1 and often works it to such an extent that he allows the brute absolutely nothing more than mere1 bare life4 ,the bird which was made so that it might rove over half of the world1 he shuts up into the space of a cubic foot1 there to die a slow death in longing and crying for freedom2 for in a cage it does not sing for the pleasure of it4 ,and when ,i see how man misuses the dog1 his best friend2 how he ties up this intelligent animal with a chain1 ,i feel the deepest sympathy with the brute and burning indignation against its master4 ,we shall see later that by taking a very high standpoint it is possible to justify the sufferings of mankind4 ,but this justification cannot apply to animals1 whose sufferings1 while in a great measure brought about by men1 are often considerable even apart from their agency4#a ,and so we are forced to ask1 ,why and for what purpose does all this torment and agony exist8 ,there is nothing here to give the will pause2 it is not free to deny itself and so obtain redemption4 ,there is only one consideration that may serve to explain the sufferings of animals4 ,it is this3 that the will to live1 which underlies the whole world of phenomena1 must1 in their case satisfy its cravings by feeding upon itself4 ,this it does by forming a gradation of phenomena1 every one of which exists at the expense of another4 ,i have shown1 however1 that the capacity for suffering is less in animals than in man4 ,any further explanation that may be given of their fate will be in the nature of hypothesis1 if not actually mythical in its character2 and ,i may leave the reader to speculate upon the matter for himself4 ,footnote #a3 ,cf4 ,welt als ,wille und ,vorstellung1 vol4 ii4 p4 #djd4 ,brahma is said to have produced the world by a kind of fall or mistake2 and in order to atone for his folly1 he is bound to remain in it himself until he works out his redemption4 ,as an account of the origin of things1 that is admirable6 ,according to the doctrines of ,buddhism1 the world came into being as the result of some inexplicable disturbance in the heavenly calm of ,nirvana1 that blessed state obtained by expiation1 which had endured so long a time--the change taking place by a kind of fatality4 ,this explanation must be understood as having at bottom some moral bearing2 although it is illustrated by an exactly parallel theory in the domain of physical science1 which places the origin of the sun in a primitive streak of mist1 formed one knows not how4 ,subsequently1 by a series of moral errors1 the world became gradually worse and worse--true of the physical orders as well--until it assumed the dismal aspect it wears to-day4 ,excellent6 ,the ,greeks looked upon the world and the gods as the work of an inscrutable necessity4 ,a passable explanation3 we may be content with it until we can get a better4 ,again1 ,ormuzd and ,ahriman are rival powers1 continually at war4 ,that is not bad4 ,but that a ,god like ,jehovah should have created this world of misery and woe1 out of pure caprice1 and because he enjoyed doing it1 and should then have clapped his hands in praise of his own work1 and declared everything to be very good--that will not do at all6 ,in its explanation of the origin of the world1 ,judaism is inferior to any other form of religious doctrine professed by a civilized nation2 and it is quite in keeping with this that it is the only one which presents no trace whatever of any belief in the immortality of the soul4#a ,footnote #a3 ,see ,parerga1 vol4 i4 pp4 #aci et seq4 ,even though ,leibnitz' contention1 that this is the best of all possible worlds1 were correct1 that would not justify ,god in having created it4 ,for he is the ,creator not of the world only1 but of possibility itself2 and1 therefore1 he ought to have so ordered possibility as that it would admit of something better4 ,there are two things which make it impossible to believe that this world is the successful work of an all-wise1 all-good1 and1 at the same time1 all-powerful ,being2 firstly1 the misery which abounds in it everywhere2 and secondly1 the obvious imperfection of its highest product1 man1 who is a burlesque of what he should be4 ,these things cannot be reconciled with any such belief4 ,on the contrary1 they are just the facts which support what ,i have been saying2 they are our authority for viewing the world as the outcome of our own misdeeds1 and therefore1 as something that had better not have been4 ,whilst1 under the former hypothesis1 they amount to a bitter accusation against the ,creator1 and supply material for sarcasm2 under the latter they form an indictment against our own nature1 our own will1 and teach us a lesson of humility4 ,they lead us to see that1 like the children of a libertine1 we come into the world with the burden of sin upon us2 and that it is only through having continually to atone for this sin that our existence is so miserable1 and that its end is death4 ,there is nothing more certain than the general truth that it is the grievous sin of the world which has produced the grievous suffering of the world4 ,i am not referring here to the physical connection between these two things lying in the realm of experience2 my meaning is metaphysical4 ,accordingly1 the sole thing that reconciles me to the ,old ,testament is the story of the ,fall4 ,in my eyes1 it is the only metaphysical truth in that book1 even though it appears in the form of an allegory4 ,there seems to me no better explanation of our existence than that it is the result of some false step1 some sin of which we are paying the penalty4 ,i cannot refrain from recommending the thoughtful reader a popular1 but at the same time1 profound treatise on this subject by ,claudius#a which exhibits the essentially pessimistic spirit of ,christianity4 ,it is entitled3 ,cursed is the ground for thy sake4 ,footnote #a3 ,translator's ,note4--,matthias ,claudius 7#agdj-ahae71 a popular poet1 and friend of ,klopstock1 ,herder and ,leasing4 ,he edited the ,wandsbecker ,bote1 in the fourth part of which appeared the treatise mentioned above4 ,he generally wrote under the pseudonym of ,asmus1 and ,schopenhauer often refers to him by this name4 ,between the ethics of the ,greeks and the ethics of the ,hindoos1 there is a glaring contrast4 ,in the one case 7with the exception1 it must be confessed1 of ,plato71 the object of ethics is to enable a man to lead a happy life2 in the other1 it is to free and redeem him from life altogether--as is directly stated in the very first words of the ,sankhya ,karika4 ,allied with this is the contrast between the ,greek and the ,christian idea of death4 ,it is strikingly presented in a visible form on a fine antique sarcophagus in the gallery of ,florence1 which exhibits1 in relief1 the whole series of ceremonies attending a wedding in ancient times1 from the formal offer to the evening when ,hymen's torch lights the happy couple home4 ,compare with that the ,christian coffin1 draped in mournful black and surmounted with a crucifix6 ,how much significance there is in these two ways of finding comfort in death4 ,they are opposed to each other1 but each is right4 ,the one points to the affirmation of the will to live1 which remains sure of life for all time1 however rapidly its forms may change4 ,the other1 in the symbol of suffering and death1 points to the denial of the will to live1 to redemption from this world1 the domain of death and devil4 ,and in the question between the affirmation and the denial of the will to live1 ,christianity is in the last resort right4 ,the contrast which the ,new ,testament presents when compared with the ,old1 according to the ecclesiastical view of the matter1 is just that existing between my ethical system and the moral philosophy of ,europe4 ,the ,old ,testament represents man as under the dominion of ,law1 in which1 however1 there is no redemption4 ,the ,new ,testament declares ,law to have failed1 frees man from its dominion1#a and in its stead preaches the kingdom of grace1 to be won by faith1 love of neighbor and entire sacrifice of self4 ,this is the path of redemption from the evil of the world4 ,the spirit of the ,new ,testament is undoubtedly asceticism1 however your protestants and rationalists may twist it to suit their purpose4 ,asceticism is the denial of the will to live2 and the transition from the ,old ,testament to the ,new1 from the dominion of ,law to that of ,faith1 from justification by works to redemption through the ,mediator1 from the domain of sin and death to eternal life in ,christ1 means1 when taken in its real sense1 the transition from the merely moral virtues to the denial of the will to live4 ,my philosophy shows the metaphysical foundation of justice and the love of mankind1 and points to the goal to which these virtues necessarily lead1 if they are practised in perfection4 ,at the same time it is candid in confessing that a man must turn his back upon the world1 and that the denial of the will to live is the way of redemption4 ,it is therefore really at one with the spirit of the ,new ,testament1 whilst all other systems are couched in the spirit of the ,old2 that is to say1 theoretically as well as practically1 their result is ,judaism--mere despotic theism4 ,in this sense1 then1 my doctrine might be called the only true ,christian philosophy--however paradoxical a statement this may seem to people who take superficial views instead of penetrating to the heart of the matter4 ,footnote #a3 ,cf4 ,romans vii2 ,galatians ii1 iii4 ,if you want a safe compass to guide you through life1 and to banish all doubt as to the right way of looking at it1 you cannot do better than accustom yourself to regard this world as a penitentiary1 a sort of a penal colony1 or ,greek3 ergastaerion as the earliest philosopher called it4#a ,amongst the ,christian ,fathers1 ,origen1 with praiseworthy courage1 took this view1#b which is further justified by certain objective theories of life4 ,i refer1 not to my own philosophy alone1 but to the wisdom of all ages1 as expressed in ,brahmanism and ,buddhism1 and in the sayings of ,greek philosophers like ,empedocles and ,pythagoras2 as also by ,cicero1 in his remark that the wise men of old used to teach that we come into this world to pay the penalty of crime committed in another state of existence--a doctrine which formed part of the initiation into the mysteries4#c ,and ,vanini--whom his contemporaries burned1 finding that an easier task than to confute him--puts the same thing in a very forcible way4 ,man1 he says1 is so full of every kind of misery that1 were it not repugnant to the ,christian religion1 ,i should venture to affirm that if evil spirits exist at all1 they have posed into human form and are now atoning for their crimes4#d ,and true ,christianity--using the word in its right sense--also regards our existence as the consequence of sin and error4 ,footnote #a3 ,cf4 ,clem4 ,alex4 ,strom4 ,l4 iii1 c1 #c1 p4 #cii4 ,footnote #b3 ,augustine de cvitate ,dei41 ,l4 xi4 c4 #bc4 ,footnote #c3 ,cf4 ,fragmenta de philosophia4 ,footnote3 #d3 ,de admirandis naturae arcanis2 dial ,l4 p4 #ce4 ,if you accustom yourself to this view of life you will regulate your expectations accordingly1 and cease to look upon all its disagreeable incidents1 great and small1 its sufferings1 its worries1 its misery1 as anything unusual or irregular2 nay1 you will find that everything is as it should be1 in a world where each of us pays the penalty of existence in his own peculiar way4 ,amongst the evils of a penal colony is the society of those who form it2 and if the reader is worthy of better company1 he will need no words from me to remind him of what he has to put up with at present4 ,if he has a soul above the common1 or if he is a man of genius1 he will occasionally feel like some noble prisoner of state1 condemned to work in the galleys with common criminals2 and he will follow his example and try to isolate himself4 ,in general1 however1 it should be said that this view of life will enable us to contemplate the so-called imperfections of the great majority of men1 their moral and intellectual deficiencies and the resulting base type of countenance1 without any surprise1 to say nothing of indignation2 for we shall never cease to reflect where we are1 and that the men about us are beings conceived and born in sin1 and living to atone for it4 ,that is what ,christianity means in speaking of the sinful nature of man4 ,pardon's the word to all6 #a ,whatever folly men commit1 be their shortcomings or their vices what they may1 let us exercise forbearance2 remembering that when these faults appear in others1 it is our follies and vices that we behold4 ,they are the shortcomings of humanity1 to which we belong2 whose faults1 one and all1 we share2 yes1 even those very faults at which we now wax so indignant1 merely because they have not yet appeared in ourselves4 ,they are faults that do not lie on the surface4 ,but they exist down there in the depths of our nature2 and should anything call them forth1 they will come and show themselves1 just as we now see them in others4 ,one man1 it is true1 may have faults that are absent in his fellow2 and it is undeniable that the sum total of bad qualities is in some cases very large2 for the difference of individuality between man and man passes all measure4 ,footnote #a3 ,cymbeline1 ,act v4 ,sc4 #e4 ,in fact1 the conviction that the world and man is something that had better not have been1 is of a kind to fill us with indulgence towards one another4 ,nay1 from this point of view1 we might well consider the proper form of address to be1 not ,monsieur1 ,sir1 mein ,herr1 but my fellow-sufferer1 ,soc malorum1 compagnon de miseres6 ,this may perhaps sound strange1 but it is in keeping with the facts2 it puts others in a right light2 and it reminds us of that which is after all the most necessary thing in life--the tolerance1 patience1 regard1 and love of neighbor1 of which everyone stands in need1 and which1 therefore1 every man owes to his fellow4 ,,the ,,vanity ,,of ,,existence4 ,this vanity finds expression in the whole way in which things exist2 in the infinite nature of ,time and ,space1 as opposed to the finite nature of the individual in both2 in the ever-passing present moment as the only mode of actual existence2 in the interdependence and relativity of all things2 in continual ,becoming without ever ,being2 in constant wishing and never being satisfied2 in the long battle which forms the history of life1 where every effort is checked by difficulties1 and stopped until they are overcome4 ,time is that in which all things pass away2 it is merely the form under which the will to live--the thing-in-itself and therefore imperishable--has revealed to it that its efforts are in vain2 it is that agent by which at every moment all things in our hands become as nothing1 and lose any real value they possess4 ,that which has been exists no more2 it exists as little as that which has never been4 ,but of everything that exists you must say1 in the next moment1 that it has been4 ,hence something of great importance now past is inferior to something of little importance now present1 in that the latter is a reality1 and related to the former as something to nothing4 ,a man finds himself1 to his great astonishment1 suddenly existing1 after thousands and thousands of years of non-existence3 he lives for a little while2 and then1 again1 comes an equally long period when he must exist no more4 ,the heart rebels against this1 and feels that it cannot be true4 ,the crudest intellect cannot speculate on such a subject without having a presentiment that ,time is something ideal in its nature4 ,this ideality of ,time and ,space is the key to every true system of metaphysics2 because it provides for quite another order of things than is to be met with in the domain of nature4 ,this is why ,kant is so great4 ,of every event in our life we can say only for one moment that it is2 for ever after1 that it was4 ,every evening we are poorer by a day4 ,it might1 perhaps1 make us mad to see how rapidly our short span of time ebbs away2 if it were not that in the furthest depths of our being we are secretly conscious of our share in the exhaustible spring of eternity1 so that we can always hope to find life in it again4 ,consideration of the kind1 touched on above1 might1 indeed1 lead us to embrace the belief that the greatest wisdom is to make the enjoyment of the present the supreme object of life2 because that is the only reality1 all else being merely the play of thought4 ,on the other hand1 such a course might just as well be called the greatest folly3 for that which in the next moment exists no more1 and vanishes utterly1 like a dream1 can never be worth a serious effort4 ,the whole foundation on which our existence rests is the present--the ever-fleeting present4 ,it lies1 then1 in the very nature of our existence to take the form of constant motion1 and to offer no possibility of our ever attaining the rest for which we are always striving4 ,we are like a man running downhill1 who cannot keep on his legs unless he runs on1 and will inevitably fall if he stops2 or1 again1 like a pole balanced on the tip of one's finger2 or like a planet1 which would fall into its sun the moment it ceased to hurry forward on its way4 ,unrest is the mark of existence4 ,in a world where all is unstable1 and nought can endure1 but is swept onwards at once in the hurrying whirlpool of change2 where a man1 if he is to keep erect at all1 must always be advancing and moving1 like an acrobat on a rope--in such a world1 happiness in inconceivable4 ,how can it dwell where1 as ,plato says1 continual ,becoming and never ,being is the sole form of existence8 ,in the first place1 a man never is happy1 but spends his whole life in striving after something which he thinks will make him so2 he seldom attains his goal1 and when he does1 it is only to be disappointed2 he is mostly shipwrecked in the end1 and comes into harbor with masts and rigging gone4 ,and then1 it is all one whether he has been happy or miserable2 for his life was never anything more than a present moment always vanishing2 and now it is over4 ,at the same time it is a wonderful thing that1 in the world of human beings as in that of animals in general1 this manifold restless motion is produced and kept up by the agency of two simple impulses--hunger and the sexual instinct2 aided a little1 perhaps1 by the influence of boredom1 but by nothing else2 and that1 in the theatre of life1 these suffice to form the primum mobile of how complicated a machinery1 setting in motion how strange and varied a scene6 ,on looking a little closer1 we find that inorganic matter presents a constant conflict between chemical forces1 which eventually works dissolution2 and on the other hand1 that organic life is impossible without continual change of matter1 and cannot exist if it does not receive perpetual help from without4 ,this is the realm of finality2 and its opposite would be an infinite existence1 exposed to no attack from without1 and needing nothing to support it2 ,greek3 haei hosautos dn1 the realm of eternal peace2 ,greek3 oute giguomenon oute apollumenon1 some timeless1 changeless state1 one and undiversified2 the negative knowledge of which forms the dominant note of the ,platonic philosophy4 ,it is to some such state as this that the denial of the will to live opens up the way4 ,the scenes of our life are like pictures done in rough mosaic4 ,looked at close1 they produce no effect4 ,there is nothing beautiful to be found in them1 unless you stand some distance off4 ,so1 to gain anything we have longed for is only to discover how vain and empty it is2 and even though we are always living in expectation of better things1 at the same time we often repent and long to have the past back again4 ,we look upon the present as something to be put up with while it lasts1 and serving only as the way towards our goal4 ,hence most people1 if they glance back when they come to the end of life1 will find that all along they have been living ad interim3 they will be surprised to find that the very thing they disregarded and let slip by unenjoyed1 was just the life in the expectation of which they passed all their time4 ,of how many a man may it not be said that hope made a fool of him until he danced into the arms of death6 ,then again1 how insatiable a creature is man6 ,every satisfaction he attains lays the seeds of some new desire1 so that there is no end to the wishes of each individual will4 ,and why is this8 ,the real reason is simply that1 taken in itself1 ,will is the lord of all worlds3 everything belongs to it1 and therefore no one single thing can ever give it satisfaction1 but only the whole1 which is endless4 ,for all that1 it must rouse our sympathy to think how very little the ,will1 this lord of the world1 really gets when it takes the form of an individual2 usually only just enough to keep the body together4 ,this is why man is so very miserable4 ,life presents itself chiefly as a task--the task1 ,i mean1 of subsisting at all1 gagner sa vie4 ,if this is accomplished1 life is a burden1 and then there comes the second task of doing something with that which has been won--of warding off boredom1 which1 like a bird of prey1 hovers over us1 ready to fall wherever it sees a life secure from need4 ,the first task is to win something2 the second1 to banish the feeling that it has been won2 otherwise it is a burden4 ,human life must be some kind of mistake4 ,the truth of this will be sufficiently obvious if we only remember that man is a compound of needs and necessities hard to satisfy2 and that even when they are satisfied1 all he obtains is a state of painlessness1 where nothing remains to him but abandonment to boredom4 ,this is direct proof that existence has no real value in itself2 for what is boredom but the feeling of the emptiness of life8 ,if life--the craving for which is the very essence of our being--were possessed of any positive intrinsic value1 there would be no such thing as boredom at all3 mere existence would satisfy us in itself1 and we should want for nothing4 ,but as it is1 we take no delight in existence except when we are struggling for something2 and then distance and difficulties to be overcome make our goal look as though it would satisfy us--an illusion which vanishes when we reach it2 or else when we are occupied with some purely intellectual interest--when in reality we have stepped forth from life to look upon it from the outside1 much after the manner of spectators at a play4 ,and even sensual pleasure itself means nothing but a struggle and aspiration1 ceasing the moment its aim is attained4 ,whenever we are not occupied in one of these ways1 but cast upon existence itself1 its vain and worthless nature is brought home to us2 and this is what we mean by boredom4 ,the hankering after what is strange and uncommon--an innate and ineradicable tendency of human nature--shows how glad we are at any interruption of that natural course of affairs which is so very tedious4 ,that this most perfect manifestation of the will to live1 the human organism1 with the cunning and complex working of its machinery1 must fall to dust and yield up itself and all its strivings to extinction--this is the nave way in which ,nature1 who is always so true and sincere in what she says1 proclaims the whole struggle of this will as in its very essence barren and unprofitable4 ,were it of any value in itself1 anything unconditioned and absolute1 it could not thus end in mere nothing4 ,if we turn from contemplating the world as a whole1 and1 in particular1 the generations of men as they live their little hour of mock-existence and then are swept away in rapid succession2 if we turn from this1 and look at life in its small details1 as presented1 say1 in a comedy1 how ridiculous it all seems6 ,it is like a drop of water seen through a microscope1 a single drop teeming with infusoria2 or a speck of cheese full of mites invisible to the naked eye4 ,how we laugh as they bustle about so eagerly1 and struggle with one another in so tiny a space6 ,and whether here1 or in the little span of human life1 this terrible activity produces a comic effect4 ,it is only in the microscope that our life looks so big4 ,it is an indivisible point1 drawn out and magnified by the powerful lenses of ,time and ,space4 ,,on ,,suicide4 ,as far as ,i know1 none but the votaries of monotheistic1 that is to say1 ,jewish religions1 look upon suicide as a crime4 ,this is all the more striking1 inasmuch as neither in the ,old nor in the ,new ,testament is there to be found any prohibition or positive disapproval of it2 so that religious teachers are forced to base their condemnation of suicide on philosophical grounds of their own invention4 ,these are so very bad that writers of this kind endeavor to make up for the weakness of their arguments by the strong terms in which they express their abhorrence of the practice2 in other words1 they declaim against it4 ,they tell us that suicide is the greatest piece of cowardice2 that only a madman could be guilty of it2 and other insipidities of the same kind2 or else they make the nonsensical remark that suicide is wrong2 when it is quite obvious that there is nothing in the world to which every man has a more unassailable title than to his own life and person4 ,suicide1 as ,i have said1 is actually accounted a crime2 and a crime which1 especially under the vulgar bigotry that prevails in ,england1 is followed by an ignominious burial and the seizure of the man's property2 and for that reason1 in a case of suicide1 the jury almost always brings in a verdict of insanity4 ,now let the reader's own moral feelings decide as to whether or not suicide is a criminal act4 ,think of the impression that would be made upon you by the news that some one you know had committed the crime1 say1 of murder or theft1 or been guilty of some act of cruelty or deception2 and compare it with your feelings when you hear that he has met a voluntary death4 ,while in the one case a lively sense of indignation and extreme resentment will be aroused1 and you will call loudly for punishment or revenge1 in the other you will be moved to grief and sympathy2 and mingled with your thoughts will be admiration for his courage1 rather than the moral disapproval which follows upon a wicked action4 ,who has not had acquaintances1 friends1 relations1 who of their own free will have left this world2 and are these to be thought of with horror as criminals8 ,most emphatically1 ,no6 ,i am rather of opinion that the clergy should be challenged to explain what right they have to go into the pulpit1 or take up their pens1 and stamp as a crime an action which many men whom we hold in affection and honor have committed2 and to refuse an honorable burial to those who relinquish this world voluntarily4 ,they have no ,biblical authority to boast of1 as justifying their condemnation of suicide2 nay1 not even any philosophical arguments that will hold water2 and it must be understood that it is arguments we want1 and that we will not be put off with mere phrases or words of abuse4 ,if the criminal law forbids suicide1 that is not an argument valid in the ,church2 and besides1 the prohibition is ridiculous2 for what penalty can frighten a man who is not afraid of death itself8 ,if the law punishes people for trying to commit suicide1 it is punishing the want of skill that makes the attempt a failure4 ,the ancients1 moreover1 were very far from regarding the matter in that light4 ,pliny says3 ,life is not so desirable a thing as to be protracted at any cost4 ,whoever you are1 you are sure to die1 even though your life has been full of abomination and crime4 ,the chief of all remedies for a troubled mind is the feeling that among the blessings which ,nature gives to man1 there is none greater than an opportune death2 and the best of it is that every one can avail himself of it4#a ,and elsewhere the same writer declares3 ,not even to ,god are all things possible2 for he could not compass his own death1 if he willed to die1 and yet in all the miseries of our earthly life1 this is the best of his gifts to man4#b ,nay1 in ,massilia and on the isle of ,ceos1 the man who could give valid reasons for relinquishing his life1 was handed the cup of hemlock by the magistrate2 and that1 too1 in public4#c ,and in ancient times1 how many heroes and wise men died a voluntary death4 ,aristotle1#d it is true1 declared suicide to be an offence against the ,state1 although not against the person2 but in ,stobaeus' exposition of the ,peripatetic philosophy there is the following remark3 ,the good man should flee life when his misfortunes become too great2 the bad man1 also1 when he is too prosperous4 ,and similarly3 ,so he will marry and beget children and take part in the affairs of the ,state1 and1 generally1 practice virtue and continue to live2 and then1 again1 if need be1 and at any time necessity compels him1 he will depart to his place of refuge in the tomb4#e ,and we find that the ,stoics actually praised suicide as a noble and heroic action1 as hundreds of passages show2 above all in the works of ,seneca1 who expresses the strongest approval of it4 ,as is well known1 the ,hindoos look upon suicide as a religious act1 especially when it takes the form of self-immolation by widows2 but also when it consists in casting oneself under the wheels of the chariot of the god at ,juggernaut1 or being eaten by crocodiles in the ,ganges1 or being drowned in the holy tanks in the temples1 and so on4 ,the same thing occurs on the stage--that mirror of life4 ,for example1 in ,l',orphelin de la ,chine#f a celebrated ,chinese play1 almost all the noble characters end by suicide2 without the slightest hint anywhere1 or any impression being produced on the spectator1 that they are committing a crime4 ,and in our own theatre it is much the same--,palmira1 for instance1 in ,mahomet1 or ,mortimer in ,maria ,stuart1 ,othello1 ,countess ,terzky4#g ,is ,hamlet's monologue the meditation of a criminal8 ,he merely declares that if we had any certainty of being annihilated by it1 death would be infinitely preferable to the world as it is4 ,but there lies the rub6 ,footnote #a3 ,hist4 ,nat4 ,lib4 xxviii41 #a4 ,footnote #b3 ,loc4 cit4 ,lib4 ii4 c4 #g4 ,footnote #c3 #c ,valerius ,maximus2 hist4 ,lib4 ii41 c4 #f1 #g et #h4 ,heraclides ,ponticus2 fragmenta de rebus publicis1 ix4 ,aeliani variae historiae1 iii41 #cg4 ,strabo2 ,lib4 x41 c4 #e1 #f4 ,footnote #d3 ,eth4 ,nichom41 v4 #ae4 ,footnote #e3 ,stobaeus4 ,ecl4 ,eth44 ii41 c4 #g1 pp4 #bhf1 #cab ,footnote #f3 ,traduit par ,st4 ,julien1 #ahcd4 ,footnote #g3 ,translator's ,note4--,palmira3 a female slave in ,goethe's play of ,mahomet4 ,mortimer3 a would-be lover and rescuer of ,mary in ,schiller's ,maria ,stuart4 ,countess ,terzky3 a leading character in ,schiller's ,wallenstein's ,tod4 ,the reasons advanced against suicide by the clergy of monotheistic1 that is to say1 ,jewish religions1 and by those philosophers who adapt themselves thereto1 are weak sophisms which can easily be refuted4#a ,the most thorough-going refutation of them is given by ,hume in his ,essay on ,suicide4 ,this did not appear until after his death1 when it was immediately suppressed1 owing to the scandalous bigotry and outrageous ecclesiastical tyranny that prevailed in ,england2 and hence only a very few copies of it were sold under cover of secrecy and at a high price4 ,this and another treatise by that great man have come to us from ,basle1 and we may be thankful for the reprint4#b ,it is a great disgrace to the ,english nation that a purely philosophical treatise1 which1 proceeding from one of the first thinkers and writers in ,england1 aimed at refuting the current arguments against suicide by the light of cold reason1 should be forced to sneak about in that country1 as though it were some rascally production1 until at last it found refuge on the ,continent4 ,at the same time it shows what a good conscience the ,church has in such matters4 ,footnote #a3 ,see my treatise on the ,foundation of ,morals1 #e4 ,footnote #b3 ,essays on ,suicide and the ,immortality of the ,soul1 by the late ,david ,hume1 ,basle1 #agii1 sold by ,james ,decker4 ,in my chief work ,i have explained the only valid reason existing against suicide on the score of mortality4 ,it is this3 that suicide thwarts the attainment of the highest moral aim by the fact that1 for a real release from this world of misery1 it substitutes one that is merely apparent4 ,but from a mistake to a crime is a far cry2 and it is as a crime that the clergy of ,christendom wish us to regard suicide4 ,the inmost kernel of ,christianity is the truth that suffering--the ,cross--is the real end and object of life4 ,hence ,christianity condemns suicide as thwarting this end2 whilst the ancient world1 taking a lower point of view1 held it in approval1 nay1 in honor4#a ,but if that is to be accounted a valid reason against suicide1 it involves the recognition of asceticism2 that is to say1 it is valid only from a much higher ethical standpoint than has ever been adopted by moral philosophers in ,europe4 ,if we abandon that high standpoint1 there is no tenable reason left1 on the score of morality1 for condemning suicide4 ,the extraordinary energy and zeal with which the clergy of monotheistic religions attack suicide is not supported either by any passages in the ,bible or by any considerations of weight2 so that it looks as though they must have some secret reason for their contention4 ,may it not be this--that the voluntary surrender of life is a bad compliment for him who said that all things were very good8 ,if this is so1 it offers another instance of the crass optimism of these religions1--denouncing suicide to escape being denounced by it4 ,footnote #a3 ,translator's ,note4--,schopenhauer refers to ,die ,welt als ,wille und ,vorstellung1 vol4 i41 #fi1 where the reader may find the same argument stated at somewhat greater length4 ,according to ,schopenhauer1 moral freedom--the highest ethical aim--is to be obtained only by a denial of the will to live4 ,far from being a denial1 suicide is an emphatic assertion of this will4 ,for it is in fleeing from the pleasures1 not from the sufferings of life1 that this denial consists4 ,when a man destroys his existence as an individual1 he is not by any means destroying his will to live4 ,on the contrary1 he would like to live if he could do so with satisfaction to himself2 if he could assert his will against the power of circumstance2 but circumstance is too strong for him4 ,it will generally be found that1 as soon as the terrors of life reach the point at which they outweigh the terrors of death1 a man will put an end to his life4 ,but the terrors of death offer considerable resistance2 they stand like a sentinel at the gate leading out of this world4 ,perhaps there is no man alive who would not have already put an end to his life1 if this end had been of a purely negative character1 a sudden stoppage of existence4 ,there is something positive about it2 it is the destruction of the body2 and a man shrinks from that1 because his body is the manifestation of the will to live4 ,however1 the struggle with that sentinel is1 as a rule1 not so hard as it may seem from a long way off1 mainly in consequence of the antagonism between the ills of the body and the ills of the mind4 ,if we are in great bodily pain1 or the pain lasts a long time1 we become indifferent to other troubles2 all we think about is to get well4 ,in the same way great mental suffering makes us insensible to bodily pain2 we despise it2 nay1 if it should outweigh the other1 it distracts our thoughts1 and we welcome it as a pause in mental suffering4 ,it is this feeling that makes suicide easy2 for the bodily pain that accompanies it loses all significance in the eyes of one who is tortured by an excess of mental suffering4 ,this is especially evident in the case of those who are driven to suicide by some purely morbid and exaggerated ill-humor4 ,no special effort to overcome their feelings is necessary1 nor do such people require to be worked up in order to take the step2 but as soon as the keeper into whose charge they are given leaves them for a couple of minutes1 they quickly bring their life to an end4 ,when1 in some dreadful and ghastly dream1 we reach the moment of greatest horror1 it awakes us2 thereby banishing all the hideous shapes that were born of the night4 ,and life is a dream3 when the moment of greatest horror compels us to break it off1 the same thing happens4 ,suicide may also be regarded as an experiment--a question which man puts to ,nature1 trying to force her to an answer4 ,the question is this3 ,what change will death produce in a man's existence and in his insight into the nature of things8 ,it is a clumsy experiment to make2 for it involves the destruction of the very consciousness which puts the question and awaits the answer4 ,,immortality3#a ,a ,,dialogue4 ,footnote #a3 ,translator's ,note4--,the word immortality--,unsterblichkeit--does not occur in the original2 nor would it1 in its usual application1 find a place in ,schopenhauer's vocabulary4 ,the word he uses is ,unzerstrbarkeit--indestructibility4 ,but ,i have preferred immortality1 because that word is commonly associated with the subject touched upon in this little debate4 ,if any critic doubts the wisdom of this preference1 let me ask him to try his hand at a short1 concise1 and1 at the same time1 popularly intelligible rendering of the ,german original1 which runs thus3 ,zur ,lehre von der ,unzerstrbarkeit unseres wahren ,wesens durch den ,tod3 ,meine dialogische ,schlussbelustigung4 ,,thrasymachos--,,philalethes4 ,thrasymachos4 ,tell me now1 in one word1 what shall ,i be after my death8 ,and mind you be clear and precise4 ,philalethes4 ,all and nothing6 ,thrasymachos4 ,i thought so6 ,i gave you a problem1 and you solve it by a contradiction4 ,that's a very stale trick4 ,philalethes4 ,yes1 but you raise transcendental questions1 and you expect me to answer them in language that is only made for immanent knowledge4 ,it's no wonder that a contradiction ensues4 ,thrasymachos4 ,what do you mean by transcendental questions and immanent knowledge8 ,i've heard these expressions before1 of course2 they are not new to me4 ,the ,professor was fond of using them1 but only as predicates of the ,deity1 and he never talked of anything else2 which was all quite right and proper4 ,he argued thus3 if the ,deity was in the world itself1 he was immanent2 if he was somewhere outside it1 he was transcendent4 ,nothing could be clearer and more obvious6 ,you knew where you were4 ,but this ,kantian rigmarole won't do any more3 it's antiquated and no longer applicable to modern ideas4 ,why1 we've had a whole row of eminent men in the metropolis of ,german learning-- ,philalethes4 7,aside47 ,german humbug1 he means4 ,thrasymachos4 ,the mighty ,schleiermacher1 for instance1 and that gigantic intellect1 ,hegel2 and at this time of day we've abandoned that nonsense4 ,i should rather say we're so far beyond it that we can't put up with it any more4 ,what's the use of it then8 ,what does it all mean8 ,philalethes4 ,transcendental knowledge is knowledge which passes beyond the bounds of possible experience1 and strives to determine the nature of things as they are in themselves4 ,immanent knowledge1 on the other hand1 is knowledge which confines itself entirely with those bounds2 so that it cannot apply to anything but actual phenomena4 ,as far as you are an individual1 death will be the end of you4 ,but your individuality is not your true and inmost being3 it is only the outward manifestation of it4 ,it is not the thing-in-itself1 but only the phenomenon presented in the form of time2 and therefore with a beginning and an end4 ,but your real being knows neither time1 nor beginning1 nor end1 nor yet the limits of any given individual4 ,it is everywhere present in every individual2 and no individual can exist apart from it4 ,so when death comes1 on the one hand you are annihilated as an individual2 on the other1 you are and remain everything4 ,that is what ,i meant when ,i said that after your death you would be all and nothing4 ,it is difficult to find a more precise answer to your question and at the same time be brief4 ,the answer is contradictory1 ,i admit2 but it is so simply because your life is in time1 and the immortal part of you in eternity4 ,you may put the matter thus3 ,your immortal part is something that does not last in time and yet is indestructible2 but there you have another contradiction6 ,you see what happens by trying to bring the transcendental within the limits of immanent knowledge4 ,it is in some sort doing violence to the latter by misusing it for ends it was never meant to serve4 ,thrasymachos4 ,look here1 ,i shan't give twopence for your immortality unless ,i'm to remain an individual4 ,philalethes4 ,well1 perhaps ,i may be able to satisfy you on this point4 ,suppose ,i guarantee that after death you shall remain an individual1 but only on condition that you first spend three months of complete unconsciousness4 ,thrasymachos4 ,i shall have no objection to that4 ,philalethes4 ,but remember1 if people are completely unconscious1 they take no account of time4 ,so1 when you are dead1 it's all the same to you whether three months pass in the world of consciousness1 or ten thousand years4 ,in the one case as in the other1 it is simply a matter of believing what is told you when you awake4 ,so far1 then1 you can afford to be indifferent whether it is three months or ten thousand years that pass before you recover your individuality4 ,thrasymachos4 ,yes1 if it comes to that1 ,i suppose you're right4 ,philalethes4 ,and if by chance1 after those ten thousand years have gone by1 no one ever thinks of awakening you1 ,i fancy it would be no great misfortune4 ,you would have become quite accustomed to non-existence after so long a spell of it--following upon such a very few years of life4 ,at any rate you may be sure you would be perfectly ignorant of the whole thing4 ,further1 if you knew that the mysterious power which keeps you in your present state of life had never once ceased in those ten thousand years to bring forth other phenomena like yourself1 and to endow them with life1 it would fully console you4 ,thrasymachos4 ,indeed6 ,so you think you're quietly going to do me out of my individuality with all this fine talk4 ,but ,i'm up to your tricks4 ,i tell you ,i won't exist unless ,i can have my individuality4 ,i'm not going to be put off with 'mysterious powers1' and what you call 'phenomena4' ,i can't do without my individuality1 and ,i won't give it up4 ,philalethes4 ,you mean1 ,i suppose1 that your individuality is such a delightful thing1 so splendid1 so perfect1 and beyond compare--that you can't imagine anything better4 ,aren't you ready to exchange your present state for one which1 if we can judge by what is told us1 may possibly be superior and more endurable8 ,thrasymachos4 ,don't you see that my individuality1 be it what it may1 is my very self8 ,to me it is the most important thing in the world4 ,for ,god is ,god and ,i am ,i4 ,i want to exist1 ,i1 ,i4 ,that's the main thing4 ,i don't care about an existence which has to be proved to be mine1 before ,i can believe it4 ,philalethes4 ,think what you're doing6 ,when you say ,i1 ,i1 ,i want to exist1 it is not you alone that says this4 ,everything says it1 absolutely everything that has the faintest trace of consciousness4 ,it follows1 then1 that this desire of yours is just the part of you that is not individual--the part that is common to all things without distinction4 ,it is the cry1 not of the individual1 but of existence itself2 it is the intrinsic element in everything that exists1 nay1 it is the cause of anything existing at all4 ,this desire craves for1 and so is satisfied with1 nothing less than existence in general--not any definite individual existence4 ,no6 that is not its aim4 ,it seems to be so only because this desire--this ,will--attains consciousness only in the individual1 and therefore looks as though it were concerned with nothing but the individual4 ,there lies the illusion--an illusion1 it is true1 in which the individual is held fast3 but1 if he reflects1 he can break the fetters and set himself free4 ,it is only indirectly1 ,i say1 that the individual has this violent craving for existence4 ,it is the ,will to ,live which is the real and direct aspirant--alike and identical in all things4 ,since1 then1 existence is the free work1 nay1 the mere reflection of the will1 where existence is1 there1 too1 must be will2 and for the moment the will finds its satisfaction in existence itself2 so far1 ,i mean1 as that which never rests1 but presses forward eternally1 can ever find any satisfaction at all4 ,the will is careless of the individual3 the individual is not its business2 although1 as ,i have said1 this seems to be the case1 because the individual has no direct consciousness of will except in himself4 ,the effect of this is to make the individual careful to maintain his own existence2 and if this were not so1 there would be no surety for the preservation of the species4 ,from all this it is clear that individuality is not a form of perfection1 but rather of limitation2 and so to be freed from it is not loss but gain4 ,trouble yourself no more about the matter4 ,once thoroughly recognize what you are1 what your existence really is1 namely1 the universal will to live1 and the whole question will seem to you childish1 and most ridiculous6 ,thrasymachos4 ,you're childish yourself and most ridiculous1 like all philosophers6 and if a man of my age lets himself in for a quarter-of-an-hour's talk with such fools1 it is only because it amuses me and passes the time4 ,i've more important business to attend to1 so ,good-bye4 ,,further ,,psychological ,,observations4 ,there is an unconscious propriety in the way in which1 in all ,european languages1 the word person is commonly used to denote a human being4 ,the real meaning of persona is a mask1 such as actors were accustomed to wear on the ancient stage2 and it is quite true that no one shows himself as he is1 but wears his mask and plays his part4 ,indeed1 the whole of our social arrangements may be likened to a perpetual comedy2 and this is why a man who is worth anything finds society so insipid1 while a blockhead is quite at home in it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,reason deserves to be called a prophet2 for in showing us the consequence and effect of our actions in the present1 does it not tell us what the future will be8 ,this is precisely why reason is such an excellent power of restraint in moments when we are possessed by some base passion1 some fit of anger1 some covetous desire1 that will lead us to do things whereof we must presently repent4 99 99 99 99 99 ,hatred comes from the heart2 contempt from the head2 and neither feeling is quite within our control4 ,for we cannot alter our heart2 its basis is determined by motives2 and our head deals with objective facts1 and applies to them rules which are immutable4 ,any given individual is the union of a particular heart with a particular head4 ,hatred and contempt are diametrically opposed and mutually exclusive4 ,there are even not a few cases where hatred of a person is rooted in nothing but forced esteem for his qualities4 ,and besides1 if a man sets out to hate all the miserable creatures he meets1 he will not have much energy left for anything else2 whereas he can despise them1 one and all1 with the greatest ease4 ,true1 genuine contempt is just the reverse of true1 genuine pride2 it keeps quite quiet and gives no sign of its existence4 ,for if a man shows that he despises you1 he signifies at least this much regard for you1 that he wants to let you know how little he appreciates you2 and his wish is dictated by hatred1 which cannot exist with real contempt4 ,on the contrary1 if it is genuine1 it is simply the conviction that the object of it is a man of no value at all4 ,contempt is not incompatible with indulgent and kindly treatment1 and for the sake of one's own peace and safety1 this should not be omitted2 it will prevent irritation2 and there is no one who cannot do harm if he is roused to it4 ,but if this pure1 cold1 sincere contempt ever shows itself1 it will be met with the most truculent hatred2 for the despised person is not in a position to fight contempt with its own weapons4 99 99 99 99 99 ,melancholy is a very different thing from bad humor1 and of the two1 it is not nearly so far removed from a gay and happy temperament4 ,melancholy attracts1 while bad humor repels4 ,hypochondria is a species of torment which not only makes us unreasonably cross with the things of the present2 not only fills us with groundless anxiety on the score of future misfortunes entirely of our own manufacture2 but also leads to unmerited self-reproach for what we have done in the past4 ,hypochondria shows itself in a perpetual hunting after things that vex and annoy1 and then brooding over them4 ,the cause of it is an inward morbid discontent1 often co-existing with a naturally restless temperament4 ,in their extreme form1 this discontent and this unrest lead to suicide4 99 99 99 99 99 ,any incident1 however trivial1 that rouses disagreeable emotion1 leaves an after-effect in our mind1 which for the time it lasts1 prevents our taking a clear objective view of the things about us1 and tinges all our thoughts3 just as a small object held close to the eye limits and distorts our field of vision4 99 99 99 99 99 ,what makes people hard-hearted is this1 that each man has1 or fancies he has1 as much as he can bear in his own troubles4 ,hence1 if a man suddenly finds himself in an unusually happy position1 it will in most cases result in his being sympathetic and kind4 ,but if he has never been in any other than a happy position1 or this becomes his permanent state1 the effect of it is often just the contrary3 it so far removes him from suffering that he is incapable of feeling any more sympathy with it4 ,so it is that the poor often show themselves more ready to help than the rich4 99 99 99 99 99 ,at times it seems as though we both wanted and did not want the same thing1 and felt at once glad and sorry about it4 ,for instance1 if on some fixed date we are going to be put to a decisive test about anything in which it would be a great advantage to us to come off victorious1 we shall be anxious for it to take place at once1 and at the same time we shall tremble at the thought of its approach4 ,and if1 in the meantime1 we hear that1 for once in a way1 the date has been postponed1 we shall experience a feeling both of pleasure and of annoyance2 for the news is disappointing1 but nevertheless it affords us momentary relief4 ,it is just the same thing if we are expecting some important letter carrying a definite decision1 and it fails to arrive4 ,in such cases there are really two different motives at work in us2 the stronger but more distant of the two being the desire to stand the test and to have the decision given in our favor2 and the weaker1 which touches us more nearly1 the wish to be left for the present in peace and quiet1 and accordingly in further enjoyment of the advantage which at any rate attaches to a state of hopeful uncertainty1 compared with the possibility that the issue may be unfavorable4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in my head there is a permanent opposition-party2 and whenever ,i take any step or come to any decision--though ,i may have given the matter mature consideration--it afterwards attacks what ,i have done1 without1 however1 being each time necessarily in the right4 ,this is1 ,i suppose1 only a form of rectification on the part of the spirit of scrutiny2 but it often reproaches me when ,i do not deserve it4 ,the same thing1 no doubt1 happens to many others as well2 for where is the man who can help thinking that1 after all1 it were better not to have done something that he did with great deliberation3 ,quid tam dextro pede concipis ut te ,conatus non poeniteat votique peracti8 99 99 99 99 99 ,why is it that common is an expression of contempt8 and that uncommon1 extraordinary1 distinguished1 denote approbation8 ,why is everything that is common contemptible8 ,common in its original meaning denotes that which is peculiar to all men1 i4e41 shared equally by the whole species1 and therefore an inherent part of its nature4 ,accordingly1 if an individual possesses no qualities beyond those which attach to mankind in general1 he is a common man4 ,ordinary is a much milder word1 and refers rather to intellectual character2 whereas common has more of a moral application4 ,what value can a creature have that is not a whit different from millions of its kind8 ,millions1 do ,i say8 nay1 an infiniture of creatures which1 century after century1 in never-ending flow1 ,nature sends bubbling up from her inexhaustible springs2 as generous with them as the smith with the useless sparks that fly around his anvil4 ,it is obviously quite right that a creature which has no qualities except those of the species1 should have to confine its claim to an existence entirely within the limits of the species1 and live a life conditioned by those limits4 ,in various passages of my works1#a ,i have argued that whilst a lower animal possesses nothing more than the generic character of its species1 man is the only being which can lay claim to possess an individual character4 ,but in most men this individual character comes to very little in reality2 and they may be almost all ranged under certain classes3 ce sont des espces4 ,their thoughts and desires1 like their faces1 are those of the species1 or1 at any rate1 those of the class to which they belong2 and accordingly1 they are of a trivial1 every-day1 common character1 and exist by the thousand4 ,you can usually tell beforehand what they are likely to do and say4 ,they have no special stamp or mark to distinguish them2 they are like manufactured goods1 all of a piece4 ,footnote #a3 ,grundprobleme der ,ethik1 p4 #dh2 ,welt als ,wille und ,vorstellung1 vol4 i4 p4 #cch4 ,if1 then1 their nature is merged in that of the species1 how shall their existence go beyond it8 ,the curse of vulgarity puts men on a par with the lower animals1 by allowing them none but a generic nature1 a generic form of existence4 ,anything that is high or great or noble1 must then1 as a mater of course1 and by its very nature1 stand alone in a world where no better expression can be found to denote what is base and contemptible than that which ,i have mentioned as in general use1 namely1 common4 99 99 99 99 99 ,will1 as the thing-in-itself1 is the foundation of all being2 it is part and parcel of every creature1 and the permanent element in everything4 ,will1 then1 is that which we possess in common with all men1 nay1 with all animals1 and even with lower forms of existence2 and in so far we are akin to everything--so far1 that is1 as everything is filled to overflowing with will4 ,on the other hand1 that which places one being over another1 and sets differences between man and man1 is intellect and knowledge2 therefore in every manifestation of self we should1 as far as possible1 give play to the intellect alone2 for1 as we have seen1 the will is the common part of us4 ,every violent exhibition of will is common and vulgar2 in other words1 it reduces us to the level of the species1 and makes us a mere type and example of it2 in that it is just the character of the species that we are showing4 ,so every fit of anger is something common--every unrestrained display of joy1 or of hate1 or fear--in short1 every form of emotion2 in other words1 every movement of the will1 if it's so strong as decidedly to outweigh the intellectual element in consciousness1 and to make the man appear as a being that wills rather than knows4 ,in giving way to emotion of this violent kind1 the greatest genius puts himself on a level with the commonest son of earth4 ,contrarily1 if a man desires to be absolutely uncommon1 in other words1 great1 he should never allow his consciousness to be taken possession of and dominated by the movement of his will1 however much he may be solicited thereto4 ,for example1 he must be able to observe that other people are badly disposed towards him1 without feeling any hatred towards them himself2 nay1 there is no surer sign of a great mind than that it refuses to notice annoying and insulting expressions1 but straightway ascribes them1 as it ascribes countless other mistakes1 to the defective knowledge of the speaker1 and so merely observes without feeling them4 ,this is the meaning of that remark of ,gracian1 that nothing is more unworthy of a man than to let it be seen that he is one--el mayor desdoro de un hombre es dar muestras de que es hombre4 ,and even in the drama1 which is the peculiar province of the passions and emotions1 it is easy for them to appear common and vulgar4 ,and this is specially observable in the works of the ,french tragic writers1 who set no other aim before themselves but the delineation of the passions2 and by indulging at one moment in a vaporous kind of pathos which makes them ridiculous1 at another in epigrammatic witticisms1 endeavor to conceal the vulgarity of their subject4 ,i remember seeing the celebrated ,mademoiselle ,rachel as ,maria ,stuart3 and when she burst out in fury against ,elizabeth--though she did it very well--,i could not help thinking of a washerwoman4 ,she played the final parting in such a way as to deprive it of all true tragic feeling1 of which1 indeed1 the ,french have no notion at all4 ,the same part was incomparably better played by the ,italian ,ristori2 and1 in fact1 the ,italian nature1 though in many respects very different from the ,german1 shares its appreciation for what is deep1 serious1 and true in ,art2 herein opposed to the ,french1 which everywhere betrays that it possesses none of this feeling whatever4 ,the noble1 in other words1 the uncommon1 element in the drama--nay1 what is sublime in it--is not reached until the intellect is set to work1 as opposed to the will2 until it takes a free flight over all those passionate movements of the will1 and makes them subject of its contemplation4 ,shakespeare1 in particular1 shows that this is his general method1 more especially in ,hamlet4 ,and only when intellect rises to the point where the vanity of all effort is manifest1 and the will proceeds to an act of self-annulment1 is the drama tragic in the true sense of the word2 it is then that it reaches its highest aim in becoming really sublime4 99 99 99 99 99 ,every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world4 ,this is an error of the intellect as inevitable as that error of the eye which lets us fancy that on the horizon heaven and earth meet4 ,this explains many things1 and among them the fact that everyone measures us with his own standard--generally about as long as a tailor's tape1 and we have to put up with it3 as also that no one will allow us to be taller than himself--a supposition which is once for all taken for granted4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is no doubt that many a man owes his good fortune in life solely to the circumstance that he has a pleasant way of smiling1 and so wins the heart in his favor4 ,however1 the heart would do better to be careful1 and to remember what ,hamlet put down in his tablets--that one may smile1 and smile1 and be a villain4 99 99 99 99 99 ,everything that is really fundamental in a man1 and therefore genuine works1 as such1 unconsciously2 in this respect like the power of nature4 ,that which has passed through the domain of consciousness is thereby transformed into an idea or picture2 and so if it comes to be uttered1 it is only an idea or picture which passes from one person to another4 ,accordingly1 any quality of mind or character that is genuine and lasting1 is originally unconscious2 and it is only when unconsciously brought into play that it makes a profound impression4 ,if any like quality is consciously exercised1 it means that it has been worked up2 it becomes intentional1 and therefore matter of affectation1 in other words1 of deception4 ,if a man does a thing unconsciously1 it costs him no trouble2 but if he tries to do it by taking trouble1 he fails4 ,this applies to the origin of those fundamental ideas which form the pith and marrow of all genuine work4 ,only that which is innate is genuine and will hold water2 and every man who wants to achieve something1 whether in practical life1 in literature1 or in art1 must follow the rules without knowing them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,men of very great capacity1 will as a rule1 find the company of very stupid people preferable to that of the common run2 for the same reason that the tyrant and the mob1 the grandfather and the grandchildren1 are natural allies4 99 99 99 99 99 ,that line of ,ovid's1 ,pronaque cum spectent animalia cetera terram1 can be applied in its true physical sense to the lower animals alone2 but in a metaphorical and spiritual sense it is1 alas6 true of nearly all men as well4 ,all their plans and projects are merged in the desire of physical enjoyment1 physical well-being4 ,they may1 indeed1 have personal interests1 often embracing a very varied sphere2 but still these latter receive their importance entirely from the relation in which they stand to the former4 ,this is not only proved by their manner of life and the things they say1 but it even shows itself in the way they look1 the expression of their physiognomy1 their gait and gesticulations4 ,everything about them cries out2 in terram prona6 ,it is not to them1 it is only to the nobler and more highly endowed natures--men who really think and look about them in the world1 and form exceptional specimens of humanity--that the next lines are applicable2 ,os homini sublime dedit coelumque tueri ,jussit et erectos ad sidera tollere vultus4 99 99 99 99 99 ,no one knows what capacities for doing and suffering he has in himself1 until something comes to rouse them to activity3 just as in a pond of still water1 lying there like a mirror1 there is no sign of the roar and thunder with which it can leap from the precipice1 and yet remain what it is2 or again1 rise high in the air as a fountain4 ,when water is as cold as ice1 you can have no idea of the latent warmth contained in it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,why is it that1 in spite of all the mirrors in the world1 no one really knows what he looks like8 ,a man may call to mind the face of his friend1 but not his own4 ,here1 then1 is an initial difficulty in the way of applying the maxim1 ,know thyself4 ,this is partly1 no doubt1 to be explained by the fact that it is physically impossible for a man to see himself in the glass except with face turned straight towards it and perfectly motionless2 where the expression of the eye1 which counts for so much1 and really gives its whole character to the face1 is to a great extent lost4 ,but co-existing with this physical impossibility1 there seems to me to be an ethical impossibility of an analogous nature1 and producing the same effect4 ,a man cannot look upon his own reflection as though the person presented there were a stranger to him2 and yet this is necessary if he is to take an objective view4 ,in the last resort1 an objective view means a deep-rooted feeling on the part of the individual1 as a moral being1 that that which he is contemplating is not himself#a2 and unless he can take this point of view1 he will not see things in a really true light1 which is possible only if he is alive to their actual defects1 exactly as they are4 ,instead of that1 when a man sees himself in the glass1 something out of his own egotistic nature whispers to him to take care to remember that it is no stranger1 but himself1 that he is looking at2 and this operates as a noli me tang ere1 and prevents him taking an objective view4 ,it seems1 indeed1 as if1 without the leaven of a grain of malice1 such a view were impossible4 ,footnote #a3 ,cf4 ,grundprobleme der ,ethik1 p4 #bge4 99 99 99 99 99 ,according as a man's mental energy is exerted or relaxed1 will life appear to him either so short1 and petty1 and fleeting1 that nothing can possibly happen over which it is worth his while to spend emotion2 that nothing really matters1 whether it is pleasure or riches1 or even fame1 and that in whatever way a man may have failed1 he cannot have lost much--or1 on the other hand1 life will seem so long1 so important1 so all in all1 so momentous and so full of difficulty that we have to plunge into it with our whole soul if we are to obtain a share of its goods1 make sure of its prizes1 and carry out our plans4 ,this latter is the immanent and common view of life2 it is what ,gracian means when he speaks of the serious way of looking at things--tomar muy de veras el vivir4 ,the former is the transcendental view1 which is well expressed in ,ovid's non est tanti--it is not worth so much trouble2 still better1 however1 by ,plato's remark that nothing in human affairs is worth any great anxiety--,greek3 oute ti ton anthropinon axion esti megalaes spoudaes4 ,this condition of mind is due to the intellect having got the upper hand in the domain of consciousness1 where1 freed from the mere service of the will1 it looks upon the phenomena of life objectively1 and so cannot fail to gain a clear insight into its vain and futile character4 ,but in the other condition of mind1 will predominates2 and the intellect exists only to light it on its way to the attainment of its desires4 ,a man is great or small according as he leans to the one or the other of these views of life4 99 99 99 99 99 ,people of very brilliant ability think little of admitting their errors and weaknesses1 or of letting others see them4 ,they look upon them as something for which they have duly paid2 and instead of fancying that these weaknesses are a disgrace to them1 they consider they are doing them an honor4 ,this is especially the case when the errors are of the kind that hang together with their qualities--conditiones sine quibus non--or1 as ,george ,sand said1 les dfauts de ses vertus4 ,contrarily1 there are people of good character and irreproachable intellectual capacity1 who1 far from admitting the few little weaknesses they have1 conceal them with care1 and show themselves very sensitive to any suggestion of their existence2 and this1 just because their whole merit consists in being free from error and infirmity4 ,if these people are found to have done anything wrong1 their reputation immediately suffers4 99 99 99 99 99 ,with people of only moderate ability1 modesty is mere honesty2 but with those who possess great talent1 it is hypocrisy4 ,hence1 it is just as becoming in the latter to make no secret of the respect they bear themselves and no disguise of the fact that they are conscious of unusual power1 as it is in the former to be modest4 ,valerius ,maximus gives some very neat examples of this in his chapter on self-confidence1 de fiducia sui4 99 99 99 99 99 ,not to go to the theatre is like making one's toilet without a mirror4 ,but it is still worse to take a decision without consulting a friend4 ,for a man may have the most excellent judgment in all other matters1 and yet go wrong in those which concern himself2 because here the will comes in and deranges the intellect at once4 ,therefore let a man take counsel of a friend4 ,a doctor can cure everyone but himself2 if he falls ill1 he sends for a colleague4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in all that we do1 we wish1 more or less1 to come to the end2 we are impatient to finish and glad to be done4 ,but the last scene of all1 the general end1 is something that1 as a rule1 we wish as far off as may be4 99 99 99 99 99 ,every parting gives a foretaste of death2 every coming together again a foretaste of the resurrection4 ,this is why even people who were indifferent to each other1 rejoice so much if they come together again after twenty or thirty years' separation4 99 99 99 99 99 ,intellects differ from one another in a very real and fundamental way3 but no comparison can well be made by merely general observations4 ,it is necessary to come close1 and to go into details2 for the difference that exists cannot be seen from afar2 and it is not easy to judge by outward appearances1 as in the several cases of education1 leisure and occupation4 ,but even judging by these alone1 it must be admitted that many a man has a degree of existence at least ten times as high as another--in other words1 exists ten times as much4 ,i am not speaking here of savages whose life is often only one degree above that of the apes in their woods4 ,consider1 for instance1 a porter in ,naples or ,venice 7in the north of ,europe solicitude for the winter months makes people more thoughtful and therefore reflective72 look at the life he leads1 from its beginning to its end3--driven by poverty2 living on his physical strength2 meeting the needs of every day1 nay1 of every hour1 by hard work1 great effort1 constant tumult1 want in all its forms1 no care for the morrow2 his only comfort rest after exhaustion2 continuous quarreling2 not a moment free for reflection2 such sensual delights as a mild climate and only just sufficient food will permit of2 and then1 finally1 as the metaphysical element1 the crass superstition of his church2 the whole forming a manner of life with only a low degree of consciousness1 where a man hustles1 or rather is hustled1 through his existence4 ,this restless and confused dream forms the life of how many millions6 ,such men think only just so much as is necessary to carry out their will for the moment4 ,they never reflect upon their life as a connected whole1 let alone1 then1 upon existence in general2 to a certain extent they may be said to exist without really knowing it4 ,the existence of the mobsman or the slave who lives on in this unthinking way1 stands very much nearer than ours to that of the brute1 which is confined entirely to the present moment2 but1 for that very reason1 it has also less of pain in it than ours4 ,nay1 since all pleasure is in its nature negative1 that is to say1 consists in freedom from some form of misery or need1 the constant and rapid interchange between setting about something and getting it done1 which is the permanent accompaniment of the work they do1 and then again the augmented form which this takes when they go from work to rest and the satisfaction of their needs--all this gives them a constant source of enjoyment2 and the fact that it is much commoner to see happy faces amongst the poor than amongst the rich1 is a sure proof that it is used to good advantage4 ,passing from this kind of man1 consider1 next1 the sober1 sensible merchant1 who leads a life of speculation1 thinks long over his plans and carries them out with great care1 founds a house1 and provides for his wife1 his children and descendants2 takes his share1 too1 in the life of a community4 ,it is obvious that a man like this has a much higher degree of consciousness than the former1 and so his existence has a higher degree of reality4 ,then look at the man of learning1 who investigates1 it may be1 the history of the past4 ,he will have reached the point at which a man becomes conscious of existence as a whole1 sees beyond the period of his own life1 beyond his own personal interests1 thinking over the whole course of the world's history4 ,then1 finally1 look at the poet or the philosopher1 in whom reflection has reached such a height1 that1 instead of being drawn on to investigate any one particular phenomenon of existence1 he stands in amazement before existence itself1 this great sphinx1 and makes it his problem4 ,in him consciousness has reached the degree of clearness at which it embraces the world itself3 his intellect has completely abandoned its function as the servant of his will1 and now holds the world before him2 and the world calls upon him much more to examine and consider it1 than to play a part in it himself4 ,if1 then1 the degree of consciousness is the degree of reality1 such a man will be said to exist most of all1 and there will be sense and significance in so describing him4 ,between the two extremes here sketched1 and the intervening stages1 everyone will be able to find the place at which he himself stands4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we know that man is in general superior to all other animals1 and this is also the case in his capacity for being trained4 ,mohammedans are trained to pray with their faces turned towards ,mecca1 five times a day2 and they never fail to do it4 ,christians are trained to cross themselves on certain occasions1 to bow1 and so on4 ,indeed1 it may be said that religion is the chef d'oeuvre of the art of training1 because it trains people in the way they shall think3 and1 as is well known1 you cannot begin the process too early4 ,there is no absurdity so palpable but that it may be firmly planted in the human head if you only begin to inculcate it before the age of five1 by constantly repeating it with an air of great solemnity4 ,for as in the case of animals1 so in that of men1 training is successful only when you begin in early youth4 ,noblemen and gentlemen are trained to hold nothing sacred but their word of honor--to maintain a zealous1 rigid1 and unshaken belief in the ridiculous code of chivalry2 and if they are called upon to do so1 to seal their belief by dying for it1 and seriously to regard a king as a being of a higher order4 ,again1 our expressions of politeness1 the compliments we make1 in particular1 the respectful attentions we pay to ladies1 are a matter of training2 as also our esteem for good birth1 rank1 titles1 and so on4 ,of the same character is the resentment we feel at any insult directed against us2 and the measure of this resentment may be exactly determined by the nature of the insult4 ,an ,englishman1 for instance1 thinks it a deadly insult to be told that he is no gentleman1 or1 still worse1 that he is a liar2 a ,frenchman has the same feeling if you call him a coward1 and a ,german if you say he is stupid4 ,there are many persons who are trained to be strictly honorable in regard to one particular matter1 while they have little honor to boast of in anything else4 ,many a man1 for instance1 will not steal your money2 but he will lay hands on everything of yours that he can enjoy without having to pay for it4 ,a man of business will often deceive you without the slightest scruple1 but he will absolutely refuse to commit a theft4 ,imagination is strong in a man when that particular function of the brain which enables him to observe is roused to activity without any necessary excitement of the senses4 ,accordingly1 we find that imagination is active just in proportion as our senses are not excited by external objects4 ,a long period of solitude1 whether in prison or in a sick room2 quiet1 twilight1 darkness--these are the things that promote its activity2 and under their influence it comes into play of itself4 ,on the other hand1 when a great deal of material is presented to our faculties of observation1 as happens on a journey1 or in the hurly-burly of the world1 or1 again1 in broad daylight1 the imagination is idle1 and1 even though call may be made upon it1 refuses to become active1 as though it understood that that was not its proper time4 ,however1 if the imagination is to yield any real product1 it must have received a great deal of material from the external world4 ,this is the only way in which its storehouse can be filled4 ,the phantasy is nourished much in the same way as the body1 which is least capable of any work and enjoys doing nothing just in the very moment when it receives its food which it has to digest4 ,and yet it is to this very food that it owes the power which it afterwards puts forth at the right time4 99 99 99 99 99 ,opinion is like a pendulum and obeys the same law4 ,if it goes past the centre of gravity on one side1 it must go a like distance on the other2 and it is only after a certain time that it finds the true point at which it can remain at rest4 99 99 99 99 99 ,by a process of contradiction1 distance in space makes things look small1 and therefore free from defect4 ,this is why a landscape looks so much better in a contracting mirror or in a camera obscura1 than it is in reality4 ,the same effect is produced by distance in time4 ,the scenes and events of long ago1 and the persons who took part in them1 wear a charming aspect to the eye of memory1 which sees only the outlines and takes no note of disagreeable details4 ,the present enjoys no such advantage1 and so it always seems defective4 ,and again1 as regards space1 small objects close to us look big1 and if they are very close1 we may be able to see nothing else1 but when we go a little way off1 they become minute and invisible4 ,it is the same again as regards time4 ,the little incidents and accidents of every day fill us with emotion1 anxiety1 annoyance1 passion1 as long as they are close to us1 when they appear so big1 so important1 so serious2 but as soon as they are borne down the restless stream of time1 they lose what significance they had2 we think no more of them and soon forget them altogether4 ,they were big only because they were near4 99 99 99 99 99 ,joy and sorrow are not ideas of the mind1 but affections of the will1 and so they do not lie in the domain of memory4 ,we cannot recall our joys and sorrows2 by which ,i mean that we cannot renew them4 ,we can recall only the ideas that accompanied them2 and1 in particular1 the things we were led to say2 and these form a gauge of our feelings at the time4 ,hence our memory of joys and sorrows is always imperfect1 and they become a matter of indifference to us as soon as they are over4 ,this explains the vanity of the attempt1 which we sometimes make1 to revive the pleasures and the pains of the past4 ,pleasure and pain are essentially an affair of the will2 and the will1 as such1 is not possessed of memory1 which is a function of the intellect2 and this in its turn gives out and takes in nothing but thoughts and ideas1 which are not here in question4 ,it is a curious fact that in bad days we can very vividly recall the good time that is now no more2 but that in good days1 we have only a very cold and imperfect memory of the bad4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we have a much better memory of actual objects or pictures than for mere ideas4 ,hence a good imagination makes it easier to learn languages2 for by its aid1 the new word is at once united with the actual object to which it refers2 whereas1 if there is no imagination1 it is simply put on a parallel with the equivalent word in the mother tongue4 ,mnemonics should not only mean the art of keeping something indirectly in the memory by the use of some direct pun or witticism2 it should1 rather1 be applied to a systematic theory of memory1 and explain its several attributes by reference both to its real nature1 and to the relation in which these attributes stand to one another4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there are moments in life when our senses obtain a higher and rarer degree of clearness1 apart from any particular occasion for it in the nature of our surroundings2 and explicable1 rather1 on physiological grounds alone1 as the result of some enhanced state of susceptibility1 working from within outwards4 ,such moments remain indelibly impressed upon the memory1 and preserve themselves in their individuality entire4 ,we can assign no reason for it1 nor explain why this among so many thousand moments like it should be specially remembered4 ,it seems as much a matter of chance as when single specimens of a whole race of animals now extinct are discovered in the layers of a rock2 or when1 on opening a book1 we light upon an insect accidentally crushed within the leaves4 ,memories of this kind are always sweet and pleasant4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it occasionally happens that1 for no particular reason1 long-forgotten scenes suddenly start up in the memory4 ,this may in many cases be due to the action of some hardly perceptible odor1 which accompanied those scenes and now recurs exactly same as before4 ,for it is well known that the sense of smell is specially effective in awakening memories1 and that in general it does not require much to rouse a train of ideas4 ,and ,i may say1 in passing1 that the sense of sight is connected with the understanding1#a the sense of hearing with the reason1#b and1 as we see in the present case1 the sense of smell with the memory4 ,touch and ,taste are more material and dependent upon contact4 ,they have no ideal side4 ,footnote #a3,wierfache ,wurzel #ba4 ,footnote #b3 ,parerga vol4 ii1 #caa4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it must also be reckoned among the peculiar attributes of memory that a slight state of intoxication often so greatly enhances the recollection of past times and scenes1 that all the circumstances connected with them come back much more clearly than would be possible in a state of sobriety2 but that1 on the other hand1 the recollection of what one said or did while the intoxication lasted1 is more than usually imperfect2 nay1 that if one has been absolutely tipsy1 it is gone altogether4 ,we may say1 then1 that whilst intoxication enhances the memory for what is past1 it allows it to remember little of the present4 99 99 99 99 99 ,men need some kind of external activity1 because they are inactive within4 ,contrarily1 if they are active within1 they do not care to be dragged out of themselves2 it disturbs and impedes their thoughts in a way that is often most ruinous to them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i am not surprised that some people are bored when they find themselves alone2 for they cannot laugh if they are quite by themselves4 ,the very idea of it seems folly to them4 ,are we1 then1 to look upon laughter as merely ,o signal for others--a mere sign1 like a word8 ,what makes it impossible for people to laugh when they are alone is nothing but want of imagination1 dullness of mind generally--,greek3 anaisthaesia kai bradutaes psuchaes1 as ,theophrastus has it4#a ,the lower animals never laugh1 either alone or in company4 ,myson1 the misanthropist1 was once surprised by one of these people as he was laughing to himself4 ,why do you laugh8 he asked2 there is no one with you4 ,that is just why ,i am laughing1 said ,myson4 ,footnote #a3 ,characters1 c4 #bg4 99 99 99 99 99 ,natural gesticulation1 such as commonly accompanies any lively talk1 is a language of its own1 more widespread1 even1 than the language of words--so far1 ,i mean1 as it is independent of words and alike in all nations4 ,it is true that nations make use of it in proportion as they are vivacious1 and that in particular cases1 amongst the ,italians1 for instance1 it is supplemented by certain peculiar gestures which are merely conventional1 and therefore possessed of nothing more than a local value4 ,in the universal use made of it1 gesticulation has some analogy with logic and grammar1 in that it has to do with the form1 rather than with the matter of conversation2 but on the other hand it is distinguishable from them by the fact that it has more of a moral than of an intellectual bearing2 in other words1 it reflects the movements of the will4 ,as an accompaniment of conversation it is like the bass of a melody2 and if1 as in music1 it keeps true to the progress of the treble1 it serves to heighten the effect4 ,in a conversation1 the gesture depends upon the form in which the subject-matter is conveyed2 and it is interesting to observe that1 whatever that subject-matter may be1 with a recurrence of the form1 the very same gesture is repeated4 ,so if ,i happen to see--from my window1 say--two persons carrying on a lively conversation1 without my being able to catch a word1 ,i can1 nevertheless1 understand the general nature of it perfectly well2 ,i mean1 the kind of thing that is being said and the form it takes4 ,there is no mistake about it4 ,the speaker is arguing about something1 advancing his reasons1 then limiting their application1 then driving them home and drawing the conclusion in triumph2 or he is recounting his experiences1 proving1 perhaps1 beyond the shadow of a doubt1 how much he has been injured1 but bringing the clearest and most damning evidence to show that his opponents were foolish and obstinate people who would not be convinced2 or else he is telling of the splendid plan he laid1 and how he carried it to a successful issue1 or perhaps failed because the luck was against him2 or1 it may be1 he is saying that he was completely at a loss to know what to do1 or that he was quick in seeing some traps set for him1 and that by insisting on his rights or by applying a little force1 he succeeded in frustrating and punishing his enemies2 and so on in hundreds of cases of a similar kind4 ,strictly speaking1 however1 what ,i get from gesticulation alone is an abstract notion of the essential drift of what is being said1 and that1 too1 whether ,i judge from a moral or an intellectual point of view4 ,it is the quintessence1 the true substance of the conversation1 and this remains identical1 no matter what may have given rise to the conversation1 or what it may be about2 the relation between the two being that of a general idea or class-name to the individuals which it covers4 ,as ,i have said1 the most interesting and amusing part of the matter is the complete identity and solidarity of the gestures used to denote the same set of circumstances1 even though by people of very different temperament2 so that the gestures become exactly like words of a language1 alike for every one1 and subject only to such small modifications as depend upon variety of accent and education4 ,and yet there can be no doubt but that these standing gestures1 which every one uses1 are the result of no convention or collusion4 ,they are original and innate--a true language of nature2 consolidated1 it may be1 by imitation and the influence of custom4 ,it is well known that it is part of an actor's duty to make a careful study of gesture2 and the same thing is true1 to a somewhat smaller degree1 of a public speaker4 ,this study must consist chiefly in watching others and imitating their movements1 for there are no abstract rules fairly applicable to the matter1 with the exception of some very general leading principles1 such as--to take an example--that the gesture must not follow the word1 but rather come immediately before it1 by way of announcing its approach and attracting the hearer's attention4 ,englishmen entertain a peculiar contempt for gesticulation1 and look upon it as something vulgar and undignified4 ,this seems to me a silly prejudice on their part1 and the outcome of their general prudery4 ,for here we have a language which nature has given to every one1 and which every one understands2 and to do away with and forbid it for no better reason than that it is opposed to that much-lauded thing1 gentlemanly feeling1 is a very questionable proceeding4 ,,on ,,education4 ,the human intellect is said to be so constituted that general ideas arise by abstraction from particular observations1 and therefore come after them in point of time4 ,if this is what actually occurs1 as happens in the case of a man who has to depend solely upon his own experience for what he learns--who has no teacher and no book1--such a man knows quite well which of his particular observations belong to and are represented by each of his general ideas4 ,he has a perfect acquaintance with both sides of his experience1 and accordingly1 he treats everything that comes in his way from a right standpoint4 ,this might be called the natural method of education4 ,contrarily1 the artificial method is to hear what other people say1 to learn and to read1 and so to get your head crammed full of general ideas before you have any sort of extended acquaintance with the world as it is1 and as you may see it for yourself4 ,you will be told that the particular observations which go to make these general ideas will come to you later on in the course of experience2 but until that time arrives1 you apply your general ideas wrongly1 you judge men and things from a wrong standpoint1 you see them in a wrong light1 and treat them in a wrong way4 ,so it is that education perverts the mind4 ,this explains why it so frequently happens that1 after a long course of learning and reading1 we enter upon the world in our youth1 partly with an artless ignorance of things1 partly with wrong notions about them2 so that our demeanor savors at one moment of a nervous anxiety1 at another of a mistaken confidence4 ,the reason of this is simply that our head is full of general ideas which we are now trying to turn to some use1 but which we hardly ever apply rightly4 ,this is the result of acting in direct opposition to the natural development of the mind by obtaining general ideas first1 and particular observations last3 it is putting the cart before the horse4 ,instead of developing the child's own faculties of discernment1 and teaching it to judge and think for itself1 the teacher uses all his energies to stuff its head full of the ready-made thoughts of other people4 ,the mistaken views of life1 which spring from a false application of general ideas1 have afterwards to be corrected by long years of experience2 and it is seldom that they are wholly corrected4 ,this is why so few men of learning are possessed of common-sense1 such as is often to be met with in people who have had no instruction at all4 ,to acquire a knowledge of the world might be defined as the aim of all education2 and it follows from what ,i have said that special stress should be laid upon beginning to acquire this knowledge at the right end4 ,as ,i have shown1 this means1 in the main1 that the particular observation of a thing shall precede the general idea of it2 further1 that narrow and circumscribed ideas shall come before ideas of a wide range4 ,it means1 therefore1 that the whole system of education shall follow in the steps that must have been taken by the ideas themselves in the course of their formation4 ,but whenever any of these steps are skipped or left out1 the instruction is defective1 and the ideas obtained are false2 and finally1 a distorted view of the world arises1 peculiar to the individual himself--a view such as almost everyone entertains for some time1 and most men for as long as they live4 ,no one can look into his own mind without seeing that it was only after reaching a very mature age1 and in some cases when he least expected it1 that he came to a right understanding or a clear view of many matters in his life1 that1 after all1 were not very difficult or complicated4 ,up till then1 they were points in his knowledge of the world which were still obscure1 due to his having skipped some particular lesson in those early days of his education1 whatever it may have been like--whether artificial and conventional1 or of that natural kind which is based upon individual experience4 ,it follows that an attempt should be made to find out the strictly natural course of knowledge1 so that education may proceed methodically by keeping to it2 and that children may become acquainted with the ways of the world1 without getting wrong ideas into their heads1 which very often cannot be got out again4 ,if this plan were adopted1 special care would have to be taken to prevent children from using words without clearly understanding their meaning and application4 ,the fatal tendency to be satisfied with words instead of trying to understand things--to learn phrases by heart1 so that they may prove a refuge in time of need1 exists1 as a rule1 even in children2 and the tendency lasts on into manhood1 making the knowledge of many learned persons to consist in mere verbiage4 ,however1 the main endeavor must always be to let particular observations precede general ideas1 and not vice versa1 as is usually and unfortunately the case2 as though a child should come feet foremost into the world1 or a verse be begun by writing down the rhyme6 ,the ordinary method is to imprint ideas and opinions1 in the strict sense of the word1 prejudices1 on the mind of the child1 before it has had any but a very few particular observations4 ,it is thus that he afterwards comes to view the world and gather experience through the medium of those ready-made ideas1 rather than to let his ideas be formed for him out of his own experience of life1 as they ought to be4 ,a man sees a great many things when he looks at the world for himself1 and he sees them from many sides2 but this method of learning is not nearly so short or so quick as the method which employs abstract ideas and makes hasty generalizations about everything4 ,experience1 therefore1 will be a long time in correcting preconceived ideas1 or perhaps never bring its task to an end2 for wherever a man finds that the aspect of things seems to contradict the general ideas he has formed1 he will begin by rejecting the evidence it offers as partial and one-sided2 nay1 he will shut his eyes to it altogether and deny that it stands in any contradiction at all with his preconceived notions1 in order that he may thus preserve them uninjured4 ,so it is that many a man carries about a burden of wrong notions all his life long--crotchets1 whims1 fancies1 prejudices1 which at last become fixed ideas4 ,the fact is that he has never tried to form his fundamental ideas for himself out of his own experience of life1 his own way of looking at the world1 because he has taken over his ideas ready-made from other people2 and this it is that makes him--as it makes how many others6--so shallow and superficial4 ,instead of that method of instruction1 care should be taken to educate children on the natural lines4 ,no idea should ever be established in a child's mind otherwise than by what the child can see for itself1 or at any rate it should be verified by the same means2 and the result of this would be that the child's ideas1 if few1 would be well-grounded and accurate4 ,it would learn how to measure things by its own standard rather than by another's2 and so it would escape a thousand strange fancies and prejudices1 and not need to have them eradicated by the lessons it will subsequently be taught in the school of life4 ,the child would1 in this way1 have its mind once for all habituated to clear views and thorough-going knowledge2 it would use its own judgment and take an unbiased estimate of things4 ,and1 in general1 children should not form their notions of what life is like from the copy before they have learned it from the original1 to whatever aspect of it their attention may be directed4 ,instead1 therefore1 of hastening to place books1 and books alone1 in their hands1 let them be made acquainted1 step by step1 with things--with the actual circumstances of human life4 ,and above all let care be taken to bring them to a clear and objective view of the world as it is1 to educate them always to derive their ideas directly from real life1 and to shape them in conformity with it--not to fetch them from other sources1 such as books1 fairy tales1 or what people say--then to apply them ready-made to real life4 ,for this will mean that their heads are full of wrong notions1 and that they will either see things in a false light or try in vain to remodel the world to suit their views1 and so enter upon false paths2 and that1 too1 whether they are only constructing theories of life or engaged in the actual business of it4 ,it is incredible how much harm is done when the seeds of wrong notions are laid in the mind in those early years1 later on to bear a crop of prejudice2 for the subsequent lessons1 which are learned from real life in the world have to be devoted mainly to their extirpation4 ,to unlearn the evil was the answer1 according to ,diogenes ,laertius1#a ,antisthenes gave1 when he was asked what branch of knowledge was most necessary2 and we can see what he meant4 ,footnote #a3 vi4 #g4 ,no child under the age of fifteen should receive instruction in subjects which may possibly be the vehicle of serious error1 such as philosophy1 religion1 or any other branch of knowledge where it is necessary to take large views2 because wrong notions imbibed early can seldom be rooted out1 and of all the intellectual faculties1 judgment is the last to arrive at maturity4 ,the child should give its attention either to subjects where no error is possible at all1 such as mathematics1 or to those in which there is no particular danger in making a mistake1 such as languages1 natural science1 history and so on4 ,and in general1 the branches of knowledge which are to be studied at any period of life should be such as the mind is equal to at that period and can perfectly understand4 ,childhood and youth form the time for collecting materials1 for getting a special and thorough knowledge of the individual and particular things4 ,in those years it is too early to form views on a large scale2 and ultimate explanations must be put off to a later date4 ,the faculty of judgment1 which cannot come into play without mature experience1 should be left to itself2 and care should be taken not to anticipate its action by inculcating prejudice1 which will paralyze it for ever4 ,on the other hand1 the memory should be specially taxed in youth1 since it is then that it is strongest and most tenacious4 ,but in choosing the things that should be committed to memory the utmost care and forethought must be exercised2 as lessons well learnt in youth are never forgotten4 ,this precious soil must therefore be cultivated so as to bear as much fruit as possible4 ,if you think how deeply rooted in your memory are those persons whom you knew in the first twelve years of your life1 how indelible the impression made upon you by the events of those years1 how clear your recollection of most of the things that happened to you then1 most of what was told or taught you1 it will seem a natural thing to take the susceptibility and tenacity of the mind at that period as the ground-work of education4 ,this may be done by a strict observance of method1 and a systematic regulation of the impressions which the mind is to receive4 ,but the years of youth allotted to a man are short1 and memory is1 in general1 bound within narrow limits2 still more so1 the memory of any one individual4 ,since this is the case1 it is all-important to fill the memory with what is essential and material in any branch of knowledge1 to the exclusion of everything else4 ,the decision as to what is essential and material should rest with the masterminds in every department of thought2 their choice should be made after the most mature deliberation1 and the outcome of it fixed and determined4 ,such a choice would have to proceed by sifting the things which it is necessary and important for a man to know in general1 and then1 necessary and important for him to know in any particular business or calling4 ,knowledge of the first kind would have to be classified1 after an encyclopaedic fashion1 in graduated courses1 adapted to the degree of general culture which a man may be expected to have in the circumstances in which he is placed2 beginning with a course limited to the necessary requirements of primary education1 and extending upwards to the subjects treated of in all the branches of philosophical thought4 ,the regulation of the second kind of knowledge would be left to those who had shown genuine mastery in the several departments into which it is divided2 and the whole system would provide an elaborate rule or canon for intellectual education1 which would1 of course1 have to be revised every ten years4 ,some such arrangement as this would employ the youthful power of the memory to best advantage1 and supply excellent working material to the faculty of judgment1 when it made its appearance later on4 ,a man's knowledge may be said to be mature1 in other words1 it has reached the most complete state of perfection to which he1 as an individual1 is capable of bringing it1 when an exact correspondence is established between the whole of his abstract ideas and the things he has actually perceived for himself4 ,this will mean that each of his abstract ideas rests1 directly or indirectly1 upon a basis of observation1 which alone endows it with any real value2 and also that he is able to place every observation he makes under the right abstract idea which belongs to it4 ,maturity is the work of experience alone2 and therefore it requires time4 ,the knowledge we derive from our own observation is usually distinct from that which we acquire through the medium of abstract ideas2 the one coming to us in the natural way1 the other by what people tell us1 and the course of instruction we receive1 whether it is good or bad4 ,the result is1 that in youth there is generally very little agreement or correspondence between our abstract ideas1 which are merely phrases in the mind1 and that real knowledge which we have obtained by our own observation4 ,it is only later on that a gradual approach takes place between these two kinds of knowledge1 accompanied by a mutual correction of error2 and knowledge is not mature until this coalition is accomplished4 ,this maturity or perfection of knowledge is something quite independent of another kind of perfection1 which may be of a high or a low order--the perfection1 ,i mean1 to which a man may bring his own individual faculties2 which is measured1 not by any correspondence between the two kinds of knowledge1 but by the degree of intensity which each kind attains4 ,for the practical man the most needful thing is to acquire an accurate and profound knowledge of the ways of the world4 ,but this1 though the most needful1 is also the most wearisome of all studies1 as a man may reach a great age without coming to the end of his task2 whereas1 in the domain of the sciences1 he masters the more important facts when he is still young4 ,in acquiring that knowledge of the world1 it is while he is a novice1 namely1 in boyhood and in youth1 that the first and hardest lessons are put before him2 but it often happens that even in later years there is still a great deal to be learned4 ,the study is difficult enough in itself2 but the difficulty is doubled by novels1 which represent a state of things in life and the world1 such as1 in fact1 does not exist4 ,youth is credulous1 and accepts these views of life1 which then become part and parcel of the mind2 so that1 instead of a merely negative condition of ignorance1 you have positive error--a whole tissue of false notions to start with2 and at a later date these actually spoil the schooling of experience1 and put a wrong construction on the lessons it teaches4 ,if1 before this1 the youth had no light at all to guide him1 he is now misled by a will-o'-the-wisp2 still more often is this the case with a girl4 ,they have both had a false view of things foisted on them by reading novels2 and expectations have been aroused which can never be fulfilled4 ,this generally exercises a baneful influence on their whole life4 ,in this respect those whose youth has allowed them no time or opportunity for reading novels--those who work with their hands and the like--are in a position of decided advantage4 ,there are a few novels to which this reproach cannot be addressed--nay1 which have an effect the contrary of bad4 ,first and foremost1 to give an example1 ,gil ,blas1 and the other works of ,le ,sage 7or rather their ,spanish originals72 further1 ,the ,vicar of ,wakefield1 and1 to some extent ,sir ,walter ,scott's novels4 ,don ,quixote may be regarded as a satirical exhibition of the error to which ,i am referring4 ,,of ,,women4 ,schiller's poem in honor of women1 ,wrde der ,frauen1 is the result of much careful thought1 and it appeals to the reader by its antithetic style and its use of contrast2 but as an expression of the true praise which should be accorded to them1 it is1 ,i think1 inferior to these few words of ,jouy's3 ,without women1 the beginning of our life would be helpless2 the middle1 devoid of pleasure2 and the end1 of consolation4 ,the same thing is more feelingly expressed by ,byron in ,sardanapalus3 ,the very first ,of human life must spring from woman's breast1 ,your first small words are taught you from her lips1 ,your first tears quench'd by her1 and your last sighs ,too often breathed out in a woman's hearing1 ,when men have shrunk from the ignoble care ,of watching the last hour of him who led them4 7,act ,i ,scene #b47 ,these two passages indicate the right standpoint for the appreciation of women4 ,you need only look at the way in which she is formed1 to see that woman is not meant to undergo great labor1 whether of the mind or of the body4 ,she pays the debt of life not by what she does1 but by what she suffers2 by the pains of child-bearing and care for the child1 and by submission to her husband1 to whom she should be a patient and cheering companion4 ,the keenest sorrows and joys are not for her1 nor is she called upon to display a great deal of strength4 ,the current of her life should be more gentle1 peaceful and trivial than man's1 without being essentially happier or unhappier4 ,women are directly fitted for acting as the nurses and teachers of our early childhood by the fact that they are themselves childish1 frivolous and short-sighted2 in a word1 they are big children all their life long--a kind of intermediate stage between the child and the full-grown man1 who is man in the strict sense of the word4 ,see how a girl will fondle a child for days together1 dance with it and sing to it2 and then think what a man1 with the best will in the world1 could do if he were put in her place4 ,with young girls ,nature seems to have had in view what1 in the language of the drama1 is called a striking effect2 as for a few years she dowers them with a wealth of beauty and is lavish in her gift of charm1 at the expense of all the rest of their life2 so that during those years they may capture the fantasy of some man to such a degree that he is hurried away into undertaking the honorable care of them1 in some form or other1 as long as they live--a step for which there would not appear to be any sufficient warranty if reason only directed his thoughts4 ,accordingly1 ,nature has equipped woman1 as she does all her creatures1 with the weapons and implements requisite for the safeguarding of her existence1 and for just as long as it is necessary for her to have them4 ,here1 as elsewhere1 ,nature proceeds with her usual economy2 for just as the female ant1 after fecundation1 loses her wings1 which are then superfluous1 nay1 actually a danger to the business of breeding2 so1 after giving birth to one or two children1 a woman generally loses her beauty2 probably1 indeed1 for similar reasons4 ,and so we find that young girls1 in their hearts1 look upon domestic affairs or work of any kind as of secondary importance1 if not actually as a mere jest4 ,the only business that really claims their earnest attention is love1 making conquests1 and everything connected with this--dress1 dancing1 and so on4 ,the nobler and more perfect a thing is1 the later and slower it is in arriving at maturity4 ,a man reaches the maturity of his reasoning powers and mental faculties hardly before the age of twenty-eight2 a woman at eighteen4 ,and then1 too1 in the case of woman1 it is only reason of a sort--very niggard in its dimensions4 ,that is why women remain children their whole life long2 never seeing anything but what is quite close to them1 cleaving to the present moment1 taking appearance for reality1 and preferring trifles to matters of the first importance4 ,for it is by virtue of his reasoning faculty that man does not live in the present only1 like the brute1 but looks about him and considers the past and the future2 and this is the origin of prudence1 as well as of that care and anxiety which so many people exhibit4 ,both the advantages and the disadvantages which this involves1 are shared in by the woman to a smaller extent because of her weaker power of reasoning4 ,she may1 in fact1 be described as intellectually short-sighted1 because1 while she has an intuitive understanding of what lies quite close to her1 her field of vision is narrow and does not reach to what is remote2 so that things which are absent1 or past1 or to come1 have much less effect upon women than upon men4 ,this is the reason why women are more often inclined to be extravagant1 and sometimes carry their inclination to a length that borders upon madness4 ,in their hearts1 women think that it is men's business to earn money and theirs to spend it--- if possible during their husband's life1 but1 at any rate1 after his death4 ,the very fact that their husband hands them over his earnings for purposes of housekeeping1 strengthens them in this belief4 ,however many disadvantages all this may involve1 there is at least this to be said in its favor2 that the woman lives more in the present than the man1 and that1 if the present is at all tolerable1 she enjoys it more eagerly4 ,this is the source of that cheerfulness which is peculiar to women1 fitting her to amuse man in his hours of recreation1 and1 in case of need1 to console him when he is borne down by the weight of his cares4 ,it is by no means a bad plan to consult women in matters of difficulty1 as the ,germans used to do in ancient times2 for their way of looking at things is quite different from ours1 chiefly in the fact that they like to take the shortest way to their goal1 and1 in general1 manage to fix their eyes upon what lies before them2 while we1 as a rule1 see far beyond it1 just because it is in front of our noses4 ,in cases like this1 we need to be brought back to the right standpoint1 so as to recover the near and simple view4 ,then1 again1 women are decidedly more sober in their judgment than we are1 so that they do not see more in things than is really there2 whilst1 if our passions are aroused1 we are apt to see things in an exaggerated way1 or imagine what does not exist4 ,the weakness of their reasoning faculty also explains why it is that women show more sympathy for the unfortunate than men do1 and so treat them with more kindness and interest2 and why it is that1 on the contrary1 they are inferior to men in point of justice1 and less honorable and conscientious4 ,for it is just because their reasoning power is weak that present circumstances have such a hold over them1 and those concrete things1 which lie directly before their eyes1 exercise a power which is seldom counteracted to any extent by abstract principles of thought1 by fixed rules of conduct1 firm resolutions1 or1 in general1 by consideration for the past and the future1 or regard for what is absent and remote4 ,accordingly1 they possess the first and main elements that go to make a virtuous character1 but they are deficient in those secondary qualities which are often a necessary instrument in the formation of it4#a ,footnote #a3 ,in this respect they may be compared to an animal organism which contains a liver but no gall-bladder4 ,here let me refer to what ,i have said in my treatise on ,the ,foundation of ,morals1 #ag4 ,hence1 it will be found that the fundamental fault of the female character is that it has no sense of justice4 ,this is mainly due to the fact1 already mentioned1 that women are defective in the powers of reasoning and deliberation2 but it is also traceable to the position which ,nature has assigned to them as the weaker sex4 ,they are dependent1 not upon strength1 but upon craft2 and hence their instinctive capacity for cunning1 and their ineradicable tendency to say what is not true4 ,for as lions are provided with claws and teeth1 and elephants and boars with tusks1 bulls with horns1 and cuttle fish with its clouds of inky fluid1 so ,nature has equipped woman1 for her defence and protection1 with the arts of dissimulation2 and all the power which ,nature has conferred upon man in the shape of physical strength and reason1 has been bestowed upon women in this form4 ,hence1 dissimulation is innate in woman1 and almost as much a quality of the stupid as of the clever4 ,it is as natural for them to make use of it on every occasion as it is for those animals to employ their means of defence when they are attacked2 they have a feeling that in doing so they are only within their rights4 ,therefore a woman who is perfectly truthful and not given to dissimulation is perhaps an impossibility1 and for this very reason they are so quick at seeing through dissimulation in others that it is not a wise thing to attempt it with them4 ,but this fundamental defect which ,i have stated1 with all that it entails1 gives rise to falsity1 faithlessness1 treachery1 ingratitude1 and so on4 ,perjury in a court of justice is more often committed by women than by men4 ,it may1 indeed1 be generally questioned whether women ought to be sworn in at all4 ,from time to time one finds repeated cases everywhere of ladies1 who want for nothing1 taking things from shop-counters when no one is looking1 and making off with them4 ,nature has appointed that the propagation of the species shall be the business of men who are young1 strong and handsome2 so that the race may not degenerate4 ,this is the firm will and purpose of ,nature in regard to the species1 and it finds its expression in the passions of women4 ,there is no law that is older or more powerful than this4 ,woe1 then1 to the man who sets up claims and interests that will conflict with it2 whatever he may say and do1 they will be unmercifully crushed at the first serious encounter4 ,for the innate rule that governs women's conduct1 though it is secret and unformulated1 nay1 unconscious in its working1 is this3 ,we are justified in deceiving those who think they have acquired rights over the species by paying little attention to the individual1 that is1 to us4 ,the constitution and1 therefore1 the welfare of the species have been placed in our hands and committed to our care1 through the control we obtain over the next generation1 which proceeds from us2 let us discharge our duties conscientiously4 ,but women have no abstract knowledge of this leading principle2 they are conscious of it only as a concrete fact2 and they have no other method of giving expression to it than the way in which they act when the opportunity arrives4 ,and then their conscience does not trouble them so much as we fancy2 for in the darkest recesses of their heart1 they are aware that in committing a breach of their duty towards the individual1 they have all the better fulfilled their duty towards the species1 which is infinitely greater4#a ,footnote #a3 ,a more detailed discussion of the matter in question may be found in my chief work1 ,die ,welt als ,wille und ,vorstellung1 vol4 ii1 ch4 #dd4 ,and since women exist in the main solely for the propagation of the species1 and are not destined for anything else1 they live1 as a rule1 more for the species than for the individual1 and in their hearts take the affairs of the species more seriously than those of the individual4 ,this gives their whole life and being a certain levity2 the general bent of their character is in a direction fundamentally different from that of man2 and it is this to which produces that discord in married life which is so frequent1 and almost the normal state4 ,the natural feeling between men is mere indifference1 but between women it is actual enmity4 ,the reason of this is that trade-jealousy--odium figulinum--which1 in the case of men does not go beyond the confines of their own particular pursuit2 but1 with women1 embraces the whole sex2 since they have only one kind of business4 ,even when they meet in the street1 women look at one another like ,guelphs and ,ghibellines4 ,and it is a patent fact that when two women make first acquaintance with each other1 they behave with more constraint and dissimulation than two men would show in a like case2 and hence it is that an exchange of compliments between two women is a much more ridiculous proceeding than between two men4 ,further1 whilst a man will1 as a general rule1 always preserve a certain amount of consideration and humanity in speaking to others1 even to those who are in a very inferior position1 it is intolerable to see how proudly and disdainfully a fine lady will generally behave towards one who is in a lower social rank 7,i do not mean a woman who is in her service71 whenever she speaks to her4 ,the reason of this may be that1 with women1 differences of rank are much more precarious than with us2 because1 while a hundred considerations carry weight in our case1 in theirs there is only one1 namely1 with which man they have found favor2 as also that they stand in much nearer relations with one another than men do1 in consequence of the one-sided nature of their calling4 ,this makes them endeavor to lay stress upon differences of rank4 ,it is only the man whose intellect is clouded by his sexual impulses that could give the name of the fair sex to that under-sized1 narrow-shouldered1 broad-hipped1 and short-legged race2 for the whole beauty of the sex is bound up with this impulse4 ,instead of calling them beautiful1 there would be more warrant for describing women as the un-aesthetic sex4 ,neither for music1 nor for poetry1 nor for fine art1 have they really and truly any sense or susceptibility2 it is a mere mockery if they make a pretence of it in order to assist their endeavor to please4 ,hence1 as a result of this1 they are incapable of taking a purely objective interest in anything2 and the reason of it seems to me to be as follows4 ,a man tries to acquire direct mastery over things1 either by understanding them1 or by forcing them to do his will4 ,but a woman is always and everywhere reduced to obtaining this mastery indirectly1 namely1 through a man2 and whatever direct mastery she may have is entirely confined to him4 ,and so it lies in woman's nature to look upon everything only as a means for conquering man2 and if she takes an interest in anything else1 it is simulated--a mere roundabout way of gaining her ends by coquetry1 and feigning what she does not feel4 ,hence1 even ,rousseau declared3 ,women have1 in general1 no love for any art2 they have no proper knowledge of any2 and they have no genius4#a ,footnote #a3 ,lettre d',alembert1 ,note xx4 ,no one who sees at all below the surface can have failed to remark the same thing4 ,you need only observe the kind of attention women bestow upon a concert1 an opera1 or a play--the childish simplicity1 for example1 with which they keep on chattering during the finest passages in the greatest masterpieces4 ,if it is true that the ,greeks excluded women from their theatres they were quite right in what they did2 at any rate you would have been able to hear what was said upon the stage4 ,in our day1 besides1 or in lieu of saying1 ,let a woman keep silence in the church1 it would be much to the point to say ,let a woman keep silence in the theatre4 ,this might1 perhaps1 be put up in big letters on the curtain4 ,and you cannot expect anything else of women if you consider that the most distinguished intellects among the whole sex have never managed to produce a single achievement in the fine arts that is really great1 genuine1 and original2 or given to the world any work of permanent value in any sphere4 ,this is most strikingly shown in regard to painting1 where mastery of technique is at least as much within their power as within ours--and hence they are diligent in cultivating it2 but still1 they have not a single great painting to boast of1 just because they are deficient in that objectivity of mind which is so directly indispensable in painting4 ,they never get beyond a subjective point of view4 ,it is quite in keeping with this that ordinary women have no real susceptibility for art at all2 for ,nature proceeds in strict sequence--non facit saltum4 ,and ,huarte#a in his ,examen de ingenios para las scienzias--a book which has been famous for three hundred years--denies women the possession of all the higher faculties4 ,the case is not altered by particular and partial exceptions2 taken as a whole1 women are1 and remain1 thorough-going ,philistines1 and quite incurable4 ,hence1 with that absurd arrangement which allows them to share the rank and title of their husbands they are a constant stimulus to his ignoble ambitions4 ,and1 further1 it is just because they are ,philistines that modern society1 where they take the lead and set the tone1 is in such a bad way4 ,napoleon's saying--that women have no rank--should be adopted as the right standpoint in determining their position in society2 and as regards their other qualities ,chamfort#b makes the very true remark3 ,they are made to trade with our own weaknesses and our follies1 but not with our reason4 ,the sympathies that exist between them and men are skin-deep only1 and do not touch the mind or the feelings or the character4 ,they form the sexus sequior--the second sex1 inferior in every respect to the first2 their infirmities should be treated with consideration2 but to show them great reverence is extremely ridiculous1 and lowers us in their eyes4 ,when ,nature made two divisions of the human race1 she did not draw the line exactly through the middle4 ,these divisions are polar and opposed to each other1 it is true2 but the difference between them is not qualitative merely1 it is also quantitative4 ,footnote #a3 ,translator's ,note4--- ,juan ,huarte 7#aebj8-aeij7 practised as a physician at ,madrid4 ,the work cited by ,schopenhauer is known1 and has been translated into many languages4 ,footnote #b3 ,translator's ,note4--,see ,counsels and ,maxims1 p4 #ab1 ,note4 ,this is just the view which the ancients took of woman1 and the view which people in the ,east take now2 and their judgment as to her proper position is much more correct than ours1 with our old ,french notions of gallantry and our preposterous system of reverence--that highest product of ,teutonico-,christian stupidity4 ,these notions have served only to make women more arrogant and overbearing2 so that one is occasionally reminded of the holy apes in ,benares1 who in the consciousness of their sanctity and inviolable position1 think they can do exactly as they please4 ,but in the ,west1 the woman1 and especially the lady1 finds herself in a false position2 for woman1 rightly called by the ancients1 sexus sequior1 is by no means fit to be the object of our honor and veneration1 or to hold her head higher than man and be on equal terms with him4 ,the consequences of this false position are sufficiently obvious4 ,accordingly1 it would be a very desirable thing if this ,number-,two of the human race were in ,europe also relegated to her natural place1 and an end put to that lady nuisance1 which not only moves all ,asia to laughter1 but would have been ridiculed by ,greece and ,rome as well4 ,it is impossible to calculate the good effects which such a change would bring about in our social1 civil and political arrangements4 ,there would be no necessity for the ,salic law3 it would be a superfluous truism4 ,in ,europe the lady1 strictly so-called1 is a being who should not exist at all2 she should be either a housewife or a girl who hopes to become one2 and she should be brought up1 not to be arrogant1 but to be thrifty and submissive4 ,it is just because there are such people as ladies in ,europe that the women of the lower classes1 that is to say1 the great majority of the sex1 are much more unhappy than they are in the ,east4 ,and even ,lord ,byron says3 ,thought of the state of women under the ancient ,greeks--convenient enough4 ,present state1 a remnant of the barbarism of the chivalric and the feudal ages--artificial and unnatural4 ,they ought to mind home--and be well fed and clothed--but not mixed in society4 ,well educated1 too1 in religion--but to read neither poetry nor politics-- nothing but books of piety and cookery4 ,music--drawing--dancing--also a little gardening and ploughing now and then4 ,i have seen them mending the roads in ,epirus with good success4 ,why not1 as well as hay-making and milking8 ,the laws of marriage prevailing in ,europe consider the woman as the equivalent of the man--start1 that is to say1 from a wrong position4 ,in our part of the world where monogamy is the rule1 to marry means to halve one's rights and double one's duties4 ,now1 when the laws gave women equal rights with man1 they ought to have also endowed her with a masculine intellect4 ,but the fact is1 that just in proportion as the honors and privileges which the laws accord to women1 exceed the amount which nature gives1 is there a diminution in the number of women who really participate in these privileges2 and all the remainder are deprived of their natural rights by just so much as is given to the others over and above their share4 ,for the institution of monogamy1 and the laws of marriage which it entails1 bestow upon the woman an unnatural position of privilege1 by considering her throughout as the full equivalent of the man1 which is by no means the case2 and seeing this1 men who are shrewd and prudent very often scruple to make so great a sacrifice and to acquiesce in so unfair an arrangement4 ,consequently1 whilst among polygamous nations every woman is provided for1 where monogamy prevails the number of married women is limited2 and there remains over a large number of women without stay or support1 who1 in the upper classes1 vegetate as useless old maids1 and in the lower succumb to hard work for which they are not suited2 or else become filles de joie1 whose life is as destitute of joy as it is of honor4 ,but under the circumstances they become a necessity2 and their position is openly recognized as serving the special end of warding off temptation from those women favored by fate1 who have found1 or may hope to find1 husbands4 ,in ,london alone there are #hj1jjj prostitutes4 ,what are they but the women1 who1 under the institution of monogamy have come off worse8 ,theirs is a dreadful fate3 they are human sacrifices offered up on the altar of monogamy4 ,the women whose wretched position is here described are the inevitable set-off to the ,european lady with her arrogance and pretension4 ,polygamy is therefore a real benefit to the female sex if it is taken as a whole4 ,and1 from another point of view1 there is no true reason why a man whose wife suffers from chronic illness1 or remains barren1 or has gradually become too old for him1 should not take a second4 ,the motives which induce so many people to become converts to ,mormonism#a appear to be just those which militate against the unnatural institution of monogamy4 ,footnote #a3 ,translator's ,note4--,the ,mormons have recently given up polygamy1 and received the ,american franchise in its stead4 ,moreover1 the bestowal of unnatural rights upon women has imposed upon them unnatural duties1 and1 nevertheless1 a breach of these duties makes them unhappy4 ,let me explain4 ,a man may often think that his social or financial position will suffer if he marries1 unless he makes some brilliant alliance4 ,his desire will then be to win a woman of his own choice under conditions other than those of marriage1 such as will secure her position and that of the children4 ,however fair1 reasonable1 fit and proper these conditions may be1 and the woman consents by foregoing that undue amount of privilege which marriage alone can bestow1 she to some extent loses her honor1 because marriage is the basis of civic society2 and she will lead an unhappy life1 since human nature is so constituted that we pay an attention to the opinion of other people which is out of all proportion to its value4 ,on the other hand1 if she does not consent1 she runs the risk either of having to be given in marriage to a man whom she does not like1 or of being landed high and dry as an old maid2 for the period during which she has a chance of being settled for life is very short4 ,and in view of this aspect of the institution of monogamy1 ,thomasius' profoundly learned treatise1 de ,concubinatu1 is well worth reading2 for it shows that1 amongst all nations and in all ages1 down to the ,lutheran ,reformation1 concubinage was permitted2 nay1 that it was an institution which was to a certain extent actually recognized by law1 and attended with no dishonor4 ,it was only the ,lutheran ,reformation that degraded it from this position4 ,it was seen to be a further justification for the marriage of the clergy2 and then1 after that1 the ,catholic ,church did not dare to remain behind-hand in the matter4 ,there is no use arguing about polygamy2 it must be taken as de facto existing everywhere1 and the only question is as to how it shall be regulated4 ,where are there1 then1 any real monogamists8 ,we all live1 at any rate1 for a time1 and most of us1 always1 in polygamy4 ,and so1 since every man needs many women1 there is nothing fairer than to allow him1 nay1 to make it incumbent upon him1 to provide for many women4 ,this will reduce woman to her true and natural position as a subordinate being2 and the lady--that monster of ,european civilization and ,teutonico-,christian stupidity--will disappear from the world1 leaving only women1 but no more unhappy women1 of whom ,europe is now full4 ,in ,india1 no woman is ever independent1 but in accordance with the law of ,mamu1#a she stands under the control of her father1 her husband1 her brother or her son4 ,it is1 to be sure1 a revolting thing that a widow should immolate herself upon her husband's funeral pyre2 but it is also revolting that she should spend her husband's money with her paramours--the money for which he toiled his whole life long1 in the consoling belief that he was providing for his children4 ,happy are those who have kept the middle course--medium tenuere beati4 ,footnote #a3 ,ch4 ,v41 v4 #adh4 ,the first love of a mother for her child is1 with the lower animals as with men1 of a purely instinctive character1 and so it ceases when the child is no longer in a physically helpless condition4 ,after that1 the first love should give way to one that is based on habit and reason2 but this often fails to make its appearance1 especially where the mother did not love the father4 ,the love of a father for his child is of a different order1 and more likely to last2 because it has its foundation in the fact that in the child he recognizes his own inner self2 that is to say1 his love for it is metaphysical in its origin4 ,in almost all nations1 whether of the ancient or the modern world1 even amongst the ,hottentots1#a property is inherited by the male descendants alone2 it is only in ,europe that a departure has taken place2 but not amongst the nobility1 however4 ,that the property which has cost men long years of toil and effort1 and been won with so much difficulty1 should afterwards come into the hands of women1 who then1 in their lack of reason1 squander it in a short time1 or otherwise fool it away1 is a grievance and a wrong as serious as it is common1 which should be prevented by limiting the right of women to inherit4 ,in my opinion1 the best arrangement would be that by which women1 whether widows or daughters1 should never receive anything beyond the interest for life on property secured by mortgage1 and in no case the property itself1 or the capital1 except where all male descendants fail4 ,the people who make money are men1 not women2 and it follows from this that women are neither justified in having unconditional possession of it1 nor fit persons to be entrusted with its administration4 ,when wealth1 in any true sense of the word1 that is to say1 funds1 houses or land1 is to go to them as an inheritance they should never be allowed the free disposition of it4 ,in their case a guardian should always be appointed2 and hence they should never be given the free control of their own children1 wherever it can be avoided4 ,the vanity of women1 even though it should not prove to be greater than that of men1 has this much danger in it1 that it takes an entirely material direction4 ,they are vain1 ,i mean1 of their personal beauty1 and then of finery1 show and magnificence4 ,that is just why they are so much in their element in society4 ,it is this1 too1 which makes them so inclined to be extravagant1 all the more as their reasoning power is low4 ,accordingly we find an ancient writer describing woman as in general of an extravagant nature--,greek3 ,gynae to synolon esti dapanaeron ,physei#b ,but with men vanity often takes the direction of non-material advantages1 such as intellect1 learning1 courage4 ,footnote #a3 ,leroy1 ,lettres philosophiques sur l'intelligence et la perfectibilit des animaux1 avec quelques lettres sur l'homme1 p4 #bih1 ,paris1 #ahjb4 ,footnote #b3 ,brunck's ,gnomici poetae graeci1 v4 #aae4 ,in the ,politics#a ,aristotle explains the great disadvantage which accrued to the ,spartans from the fact that they conceded too much to their women1 by giving them the right of inheritance and dower1 and a great amount of independence2 and he shows how much this contributed to ,sparta's fall4 ,may it not be the case in ,france that the influence of women1 which went on increasing steadily from the time of ,louis ,,xiii41 was to blame for that gradual corruption of the ,court and the ,government1 which brought about the ,revolution of #aghi1 of which all subsequent disturbances have been the fruit8 ,however that may be1 the false position which women occupy1 demonstrated as it is1 in the most glaring way1 by the institution of the lady1 is a fundamental defect in our social scheme1 and this defect1 proceeding from the very heart of it1 must spread its baneful influence in all directions4 ,footnote #a3 ,bk4 ,i1 ch4 #i4 99 99 99 99 99 ,that woman is by nature meant to obey may be seen by the fact that every woman who is placed in the unnatural position of complete independence1 immediately attaches herself to some man1 by whom she allows herself to be guided and ruled4 ,it is because she needs a lord and master4 ,if she is young1 it will be a lover2 if she is old1 a priest4 ,,on ,,noise4 ,kant wrote a treatise on ,the ,vital ,powers4 ,i should prefer to write a dirge for them4 ,the superabundant display of vitality1 which takes the form of knocking1 hammering1 and tumbling things about1 has proved a daily torment to me all my life long4 ,there are people1 it is true--nay1 a great many people--who smile at such things1 because they are not sensitive to noise2 but they are just the very people who are also not sensitive to argument1 or thought1 or poetry1 or art1 in a word1 to any kind of intellectual influence4 ,the reason of it is that the tissue of their brains is of a very rough and coarse quality4 ,on the other hand1 noise is a torture to intellectual people4 ,in the biographies of almost all great writers1 or wherever else their personal utterances are recorded1 ,i find complaints about it2 in the case of ,kant1 for instance1 ,goethe1 ,lichtenberg1 ,jean ,paul2 and if it should happen that any writer has omitted to express himself on the matter1 it is only for want of an opportunity4 ,this aversion to noise ,i should explain as follows3 ,if you cut up a large diamond into little bits1 it will entirely lose the value it had as a whole2 and an army divided up into small bodies of soldiers1 loses all its strength4 ,so a great intellect sinks to the level of an ordinary one1 as soon as it is interrupted and disturbed1 its attention distracted and drawn off from the matter in hand2 for its superiority depends upon its power of concentration--of bringing all its strength to bear upon one theme1 in the same way as a concave mirror collects into one point all the rays of light that strike upon it4 ,noisy interruption is a hindrance to this concentration4 ,that is why distinguished minds have always shown such an extreme dislike to disturbance in any form1 as something that breaks in upon and distracts their thoughts4 ,above all have they been averse to that violent interruption that comes from noise4 ,ordinary people are not much put out by anything of the sort4 ,the most sensible and intelligent of all nations in ,europe lays down the rule1 ,never ,interrupt6 as the eleventh commandment4 ,noise is the most impertinent of all forms of interruption4 ,it is not only an interruption1 but also a disruption of thought4 ,of course1 where there is nothing to interrupt1 noise will not be so particularly painful4 ,occasionally it happens that some slight but constant noise continues to bother and distract me for a time before ,i become distinctly conscious of it4 ,all ,i feel is a steady increase in the labor of thinking--just as though ,i were trying to walk with a weight on my foot4 ,at last ,i find out what it is4 ,let me now1 however1 pass from genus to species4 ,the most inexcusable and disgraceful of all noises is the cracking of whips--a truly infernal thing when it is done in the narrow resounding streets of a town4 ,i denounce it as making a peaceful life impossible2 it puts an end to all quiet thought4 ,that this cracking of whips should be allowed at all seems to me to show in the clearest way how senseless and thoughtless is the nature of mankind4 ,no one with anything like an idea in his head can avoid a feeling of actual pain at this sudden1 sharp crack1 which paralyzes the brain1 rends the thread of reflection1 and murders thought4 ,every time this noise is made1 it must disturb a hundred people who are applying their minds to business of some sort1 no matter how trivial it may be2 while on the thinker its effect is woeful and disastrous1 cutting his thoughts asunder1 much as the executioner's axe severs the head from the body4 ,no sound1 be it ever so shrill1 cuts so sharply into the brain as this cursed cracking of whips2 you feel the sting of the lash right inside your head2 and it affects the brain in the same way as touch affects a sensitive plant1 and for the same length of time4 ,with all due respect for the most holy doctrine of utility1 ,i really cannot see why a fellow who is taking away a wagon-load of gravel or dung should thereby obtain the right to kill in the bud the thoughts which may happen to be springing up in ten thousand heads--the number he will disturb one after another in half an hour's drive through the town4 ,hammering1 the barking of dogs1 and the crying of children are horrible to hear2 but your only genuine assassin of thought is the crack of a whip2 it exists for the purpose of destroying every pleasant moment of quiet thought that any one may now and then enjoy4 ,if the driver had no other way of urging on his horse than by making this most abominable of all noises1 it would be excusable2 but quite the contrary is the case4 ,this cursed cracking of whips is not only unnecessary1 but even useless4 ,its aim is to produce an effect upon the intelligence of the horse2 but through the constant abuse of it1 the animal becomes habituated to the sound1 which falls upon blunted feelings and produces no effect at all4 ,the horse does not go any faster for it4 ,you have a remarkable example of this in the ceaseless cracking of his whip on the part of a cab-driver1 while he is proceeding at a slow pace on the lookout for a fare4 ,if he were to give his horse the slightest touch with the whip1 it would have much more effect4 ,supposing1 however1 that it were absolutely necessary to crack the whip in order to keep the horse constantly in mind of its presence1 it would be enough to make the hundredth part of the noise4 ,for it is a well-known fact that1 in regard to sight and hearing1 animals are sensitive to even the faintest indications2 they are alive to things that we can scarcely perceive4 ,the most surprising instances of this are furnished by trained dogs and canary birds4 ,it is obvious1 therefore1 that here we have to do with an act of pure wantonness2 nay1 with an impudent defiance offered to those members of the community who work with their heads by those who work with their hands4 ,that such infamy should be tolerated in a town is a piece of barbarity and iniquity1 all the more as it could easily be remedied by a police-notice to the effect that every lash shall have a knot at the end of it4 ,there can be no harm in drawing the attention of the mob to the fact that the classes above them work with their heads1 for any kind of headwork is mortal anguish to the man in the street4 ,a fellow who rides through the narrow alleys of a populous town with unemployed post-horses or cart-horses1 and keeps on cracking a whip several yards long with all his might1 deserves there and then to stand down and receive five really good blows with a stick4 ,all the philanthropists in the world1 and all the legislators1 meeting to advocate and decree the total abolition of corporal punishment1 will never persuade me to the contrary6 ,there is something even more disgraceful than what ,i have just mentioned4 ,often enough you may see a carter walking along the street1 quite alone1 without any horses1 and still cracking away incessantly2 so accustomed has the wretch become to it in consequence of the unwarrantable toleration of this practice4 ,a man's body and the needs of his body are now everywhere treated with a tender indulgence4 ,is the thinking mind then1 to be the only thing that is never to obtain the slightest measure of consideration or protection1 to say nothing of respect8 ,carters1 porters1 messengers--these are the beasts of burden amongst mankind2 by all means let them be treated justly1 fairly1 indulgently1 and with forethought2 but they must not be permitted to stand in the way of the higher endeavors of humanity by wantonly making a noise4 ,how many great and splendid thoughts1 ,i should like to know1 have been lost to the world by the crack of a whip8 ,if ,i had the upper hand1 ,i should soon produce in the heads of these people an indissoluble association of ideas between cracking a whip and getting a whipping4 ,let us hope that the more intelligent and refined among the nations will make a beginning in this matter1 and then that the ,germans may take example by it and follow suit4#a ,meanwhile1 ,i may quote what ,thomas ,hood says of them#b3 ,for a musical nation1 they are the most noisy ,i ever met with4 ,that they are so is due to the fact1 not that they are more fond of making a noise than other people--they would deny it if you asked them--but that their senses are obtuse2 consequently1 when they hear a noise1 it does not affect them much4 ,it does not disturb them in reading or thinking1 simply because they do not think2 they only smoke1 which is their substitute for thought4 ,the general toleration of unnecessary noise--the slamming of doors1 for instance1 a very unmannerly and ill-bred thing--is direct evidence that the prevailing habit of mind is dullness and lack of thought4 ,in ,germany it seems as though care were taken that no one should ever think for mere noise--to mention one form of it1 the way in which drumming goes on for no purpose at all4 ,footnote #a3 ,according to a notice issued by the ,society for the ,protection of ,animals in ,munich1 the superfluous whipping and the cracking of whips were1 in ,december1 #aheh1 positively forbidden in ,nuremberg4 ,footnote #b3 ,in ,up the ,rhine4 ,finally1 as regards the literature of the subject treated of in this chapter1 ,i have only one work to recommend1 but it is a good one4 ,i refer to a poetical epistle in terzo rimo by the famous painter ,bronzino1 entitled ,de' ,romori3 a ,messer ,luca ,martini4 ,it gives a detailed description of the torture to which people are put by the various noises of a small ,italian town4 ,written in a tragicomic style1 it is very amusing4 ,the epistle may be found in ,opere burlesche del ,berni1 ,aretino ed altri1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #beh2 apparently published in ,utrecht in #agga4 ,a ,,few ,,parables4 ,in a field of ripening corn ,i came to a place which had been trampled down by some ruthless foot2 and as ,i glanced amongst the countless stalks1 every one of them alike1 standing there so erect and bearing the full weight of the ear1 ,i saw a multitude of different flowers1 red and blue and violet4 ,how pretty they looked as they grew there so naturally with their little foliage6 ,but1 thought ,i1 they are quite useless2 they bear no fruit2 they are mere weeds1 suffered to remain only because there is no getting rid of them4 ,and yet1 but for these flowers1 there would be nothing to charm the eye in that wilderness of stalks4 ,they are emblematic of poetry and art1 which1 in civic life--so severe1 but still useful and not without its fruit--play the same part as flowers in the corn4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there are some really beautifully landscapes in the world1 but the human figures in them are poor1 and you had not better look at them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the fly should be used as the symbol of impertinence and audacity2 for whilst all other animals shun man more than anything else1 and run away even before he comes near them1 the fly lights upon his very nose4 99 99 99 99 99 ,two ,chinamen traveling in ,europe went to the theatre for the first time4 ,one of them did nothing but study the machinery1 and he succeeded in finding out how it was worked4 ,the other tried to get at the meaning of the piece in spite of his ignorance of the language4 ,here you have the ,astronomer and the ,philosopher4 99 99 99 99 99 ,wisdom which is only theoretical and never put into practice1 is like a double rose2 its color and perfume are delightful1 but it withers away and leaves no seed4 ,no rose without a thorn4 ,yes1 but many a thorn without a rose4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a wide-spreading apple-tree stood in full bloom1 and behind it a straight fir raised its dark and tapering head4 ,look at the thousands of gay blossoms which cover me everywhere1 said the apple-tree2 what have you to show in comparison8 ,dark-green needles6 ,that is true1 replied the fir1 but when winter comes1 you will be bared of your glory2 and ,i shall be as ,i am now4 99 99 99 99 99 ,once1 as ,i was botanizing under an oak1 ,i found amongst a number of other plants of similar height one that was dark in color1 with tightly closed leaves and a stalk that was very straight and stiff4 ,when ,i touched it1 it said to me in firm tones3 ,let me alone2 ,i am not for your collection1 like these plants to which ,nature has given only a single year of life4 ,i am a little oak4 ,so it is with a man whose influence is to last for hundreds of years4 ,as a child1 as a youth1 often even as a full-grown man1 nay1 his whole life long1 he goes about among his fellows1 looking like them and seemingly as unimportant4 ,but let him alone2 he will not die4 ,time will come and bring those who know how to value him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the man who goes up in a balloon does not feel as though he were ascending2 he only sees the earth sinking deeper under him4 ,there is a mystery which only those will understand who feel the truth of it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,your estimation of a man's size will be affected by the distance at which you stand from him1 but in two entirely opposite ways according as it is his physical or his mental stature that you are considering4 ,the one will seem smaller1 the farther off you move2 the other1 greater4 99 99 99 99 99 ,nature covers all her works with a varnish of beauty1 like the tender bloom that is breathed1 as it were1 on the surface of a peach or a plum4 ,painters and poets lay themselves out to take off this varnish1 to store it up1 and give it us to be enjoyed at our leisure4 ,we drink deep of this beauty long before we enter upon life itself2 and when afterwards we come to see the works of ,nature for ourselves1 the varnish is gone3 the artists have used it up and we have enjoyed it in advance4 ,thus it is that the world so often appears harsh and devoid of charm1 nay1 actually repulsive4 ,it were better to leave us to discover the varnish for ourselves4 ,this would mean that we should not enjoy it all at once and in large quantities2 we should have no finished pictures1 no perfect poems2 but we should look at all things in that genial and pleasing light in which even now a child of ,nature sometimes sees them--some one who has not anticipated his aesthetic pleasures by the help of art1 or taken the charms of life too early4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,cathedral in ,mayence is so shut in by the houses that are built round about it1 that there is no one spot from which you can see it as a whole4 ,this is symbolic of everything great or beautiful in the world4 ,it ought to exist for its own sake alone1 but before very long it is misused to serve alien ends4 ,people come from all directions wanting to find in it support and maintenance for themselves2 they stand in the way and spoil its effect4 ,to be sure1 there is nothing surprising in this1 for in a world of need and imperfection everything is seized upon which can be used to satisfy want4 ,nothing is exempt from this service1 no1 not even those very things which arise only when need and want are for a moment lost sight of--the beautiful and the true1 sought for their own sakes4 ,this is especially illustrated and corroborated in the case of institutions--whether great or small1 wealthy or poor1 founded1 no matter in what century or in what land1 to maintain and advance human knowledge1 and generally to afford help to those intellectual efforts which ennoble the race4 ,wherever these institutions may be1 it is not long before people sneak up to them under the pretence of wishing to further those special ends1 while they are really led on by the desire to secure the emoluments which have been left for their furtherance1 and thus to satisfy certain coarse and brutal instincts of their own4 ,thus it is that we come to have so many charlatans in every branch of knowledge4 ,the charlatan takes very different shapes according to circumstances2 but at bottom he is a man who cares nothing about knowledge for its own sake1 and only strives to gain the semblance of it that he may use it for his own personal ends1 which are always selfish and material4 99 99 99 99 99 ,every hero is a ,samson4 ,the strong man succumbs to the intrigues of the weak and the many2 and if in the end he loses all patience he crushes both them and himself4 ,or he is like ,gulliver at ,lilliput1 overwhelmed by an enormous number of little men4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a mother gave her children ,aesop's fables to read1 in the hope of educating and improving their minds2 but they very soon brought the book back1 and the eldest1 wise beyond his years1 delivered himself as follows3 ,this is no book for us2 it's much too childish and stupid4 ,you can't make us believe that foxes and wolves and ravens are able to talk2 we've got beyond stories of that kind6 ,in these young hopefuls you have the enlightened ,rationalists of the future4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a number of porcupines huddled together for warmth on a cold day in winter2 but1 as they began to prick one another with their quills1 they were obliged to disperse4 ,however the cold drove them together again1 when just the same thing happened4 ,at last1 after many turns of huddling and dispersing1 they discovered that they would be best off by remaining at a little distance from one another4 ,in the same way the need of society drives the human porcupines together1 only to be mutually repelled by the many prickly and disagreeable qualities of their nature4 ,the moderate distance which they at last discover to be the only tolerable condition of intercourse1 is the code of politeness and fine manners2 and those who transgress it are roughly told--in the ,english phrase--to keep their distance4 ,by this arrangement the mutual need of warmth is only very moderately satisfied2 but then people do not get pricked4 ,a man who has some heat in himself prefers to remain outside1 where he will neither prick other people nor get pricked himself4