,by the same ,author4 ,,balzac4 ,a ,,study4 ,with a ,bibliography of ,balzac's ,writings1 and a ,portrait4 ,crown #hvo1 gilt top1 #a4be4 ,,houghton1 ,,mifflin ,,co4 ,publishers1 ,,boston4 ,,the ,,philosophy ,,of ,,disenchantment ,,by ,,edgar ,,evertson ,,saltus ,in ,arkadien geboren sind wir ,alle ,,schiller ,illustration ,,boston ,,houghton1 ,,mifflin ,,and ,,company ,new ,york3 #aa ,east ,seventeenth ,street1 ,the ,riverside ,press1 ,cambridge #ahhg ,copyright1 #ahhe1 ,,by ,,edgar ,,evertson ,,saltus4 ,all rights reserved4 ,the ,riverside ,press1 ,cambridge3 ,electrotyped and printed by ,h4 ,o4 ,houghton ,co4 ,,contents4 ,,page ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,genesis ,,of ,,disenchantment #a ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,high ,,priest ,,of ,,pessimism #cf ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,sphinx',s ,,riddle #gg ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,borderlands ,,of ,,happiness #abd ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,great ,,quietus #afc ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,is ,,life ,,an ,,affliction8 #bjh ,,the ,,philosophy ,,of ,,disenchantment4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,genesis ,,of ,,disenchantment4 ,the trite and commonplace question of contentment and dissatisfaction is a topic which is not only of every-day interest1 but one which in recent years has so claimed the attention of thinkers1 that they have broadly divided mankind into those who accept life off-hand1 as a more or less pleasing possession1 and those who resolutely look the gift in the mouth and say it is not worth the having4 ,viewed simply as systems of thought1 the first of these two divisions is evidently contemporaneous with humanity1 while the second will be found to be of purely modern origin2 for from the earliest times man1 admittedly and with but few exceptions1 has been ever accustomed to regard this world as the best one possible1 and through nearly every creed and sect he has considered happiness somewhat in the light of an inviolable birthright4 ,within the last half century1 however1 there has come into being a new school1 which1 in denying the possibility of any happiness1 holds as first principle that the world is a theatre of misery in which1 were the choice accorded1 it would be preferable not to be born at all4 ,in stating that this view of life is of distinctly modern origin1 it should be understood that it is so only in the systematic form which it has recently assumed1 for individual expressions of discontent have been handed down from remote ages1 and any one who cared to rummage through the dust-bins of literature would find material enough to compile a dictionary of pessimistic quotation4 ,for these pages but little rummaging will be attempted1 but as the proper presentation of the subject demands a brief account of the ideas and opinions in which it was cradled1 a momentary examination of general literature will not1 it is believed1 cause any after-reproach of time misspent4 ,to begin1 then1 with ,greece1 whose literature has precedence over all others1 it will be remembered that in former days1 when the citizen expended the greater part of his activity for the common good1 the poets in like manner sang of national topics1 the gods1 the heroes1 and the charms of love4 ,there was1 therefore1 little opportunity for the expression of purely personal ideas1 and the whole background of the poetry of antiquity is in consequence brilliant with optimistic effect4 ,nevertheless1 here and there1 a few complaints crop out from time to time4 ,homer1 for instance1 says that man is the unhappiest wight that ever breathed or strutted1 and describes his ephemeral existence in a wail of gloomy hexameters4 ,then1 too1 there is the touching ,orphean distich1 which runs3-- ,from thy smile1 ,o ,jove1 sprang the gods1 ,but man was born of thy sorrow4 ,pindar in one of his graceful odes compared men to the shadows of a dream1 while the familiar quotation1 ,whom the gods love die young1 comes to us straight from ,menander4 ,with the peculiar melancholy of genius1 that in those favored days seems more a presentiment than the expression of a general conception1 ,sophocles1 in his last tragedy1 says that not to be born at all is the greatest of all possible benefits1 but inasmuch as man has appeared on earth1 the very best thing he can do is to hurry back where he came from4 ,in spite1 too1 of the general tendency of thought1 sentiments not dissimilar are to be found in schylus and ,euripides1 while something of this instinctive pessimism was expanded into a quaint and national custom by the ,thracians1 who1 according to ,herodotus1 met birth with lamentations1 but greeted death with salvos and welcoming festivals4 ,with but few exceptions the early philosophers considered death not as a misfortune1 but as an advantage4 ,empedocles taught that the sojourn on earth was one of vexatious torment1 an opinion in which he was firmly supported by ,heraclitus1 and even ,plato1 whose general drift of thought was grandly optimistic1 said in the ,apology1 ,if death is the withdrawal of every sensation1 if it is like a sleep which no dream disturbs1 what an incomparable blessing it must be6 for let any one select a night passed in undisturbed and entire rest1 and compare it with the other nights and days that have filled his existence1 and then from his conscience let him answer how many nights and days he has known which have been sweeter and more agreeable than that4 ,for my part ,i am sure that not the ordinary individual alone1 but even the great ,king of ,persia would find such days and nights most easy to enumerate4 ,the doctrine of ,epicurus held1 in substance1 that the moment it was no longer possible to delight the senses death became a benefit1 and suicide a crowning act of wisdom4 ,the teaching of the ,socratic school and its offshoots amounted1 in brief1 to the idea that the only admissible aim of life was the pursuit and attainment of absolute knowledge4 ,absolute knowledge1 however1 being found unattainable1 the logical culmination of their doctrine was delivered by ,hegesias1 in ,alexandria1 in the third century before the ,christian era4 ,this disciple of ,socrates argued that as there was a limit to the knowable1 and happiness was a pure illusion1 a further prolongation of existence was useless4 ,life seems pleasing only to the fool1 he stated2 the wise regard it with indifference1 and consider death just as acceptable4 ,death1 he added1 is as good as life2 it is but a supreme renunciation in which man is freed from idle complaints and long deceptions4 ,life is full of pain1 and the pangs of the flesh gnaw at the mind and rout its calm4 ,in countless ways fate intercepts and thwarts our hopes4 ,contentment is not to be relied on1 and even wisdom cannot preserve us from the treachery and insecurity of the perceptions4 ,since happiness1 then1 is intangible we should cease to pursue it1 and take for our goal the absence of pain2 this condition1 he explained1 is best obtained in making ourselves indifferent to every object of desire and every cause of dislike1 and above all to life itself4 ,in any event1 he concluded1 death is advantageous in this1 it takes us not from blessings but from evil4#a ,this curious mixture of pessimism and theology was1 it is said1 delivered with such charm of persuasive grace and eloquence that several of his listeners put his ideas into instant practice1 and that the city might be preserved from the contagion of suicide1 ,king ,ptolemy felt himself obliged to prevent this seductive misanthrope from delivering any further harangues4 ,literature has the same tendency to repeat itself as history1 and as the ,romans took much of their culture and many of their ideas from ,greece1 the tone of their principal writers is only dissimilar to those already quoted in that with the fall of their religion1 the decline of the empire and the universal intoxication of the senses1 the pessimist element became somewhat accentuated4 ,it would be an idle task1 however1 to attempt to cite even a fraction of the cheerless distress which pervades the ,roman classics1 and it will perhaps suffice for the moment to note but a passage or two1 which bear directly upon the subject4 ,seneca1 for instance1 whose insight was as clear and whose understanding was as unclouded as any writer with whom the world is acquainted1 sent his letters down the centuries freighted with such ideas as these3 ,death is nature's most admirable invention4 ,there is no need to complain of particular grievances1 for life in its entirety is lamentable4 ,no one would accept life were it not received in ignorance of what it is4 ,pliny1 also1 is very quotable4 ,nature's most pleasing invention1 he says1 is brevity of life4 ,and he adds1 ,no mortal is happy1 for even if there is no other cause for discontent there is at least the fear of possible misfortune4 ,then1 too1 ,petronius1 the poet of the ,roman orgy1 opening and closing his veins1 toying with death1 as with a last and supreme delight1 is of familiar1 if repulsive1 memory4 ,english literature is naturally as well stocked with individual expressions of distaste for existence as that of ,rome4 ,the poets1 nearly one and all1 from ,chaucer to ,rossetti1 have told their sorrow in a variety of more or less polished metre1 and even ,macpherson was careful1 in dowering his century with another bard1 to put thoughts into ,ossian's verse which would not have been unfitting in a ,greek chorus4 ,in speaking of the world1 ,chaucer had already said1-- ,here is no home1 here is but a wilderness1 when ,sir ,thomas ,wyatt1 enlarging on the theme1 repeated1-- ,wherefore come death and let me dye4 ,the delicate muse of ,samuel ,fletcher found-- ,nothing's so dainty sweet1 as lovely melancholy1 and ,shakespeare's depressing lines on the value of life are familiar to every schoolboy4 ,dryden wrote1-- ,when ,i consider life1 't is all a cheat2 ,yet1 fooled with hope1 men favour the deceit1 ,trust on and think to-morrow will repay2 ,to-morrow's falser than the former day4 ,all of which was afterwards summed up in the well-known line1-- ,man never is but always to be blessed1 while ,thomson noted-- 444 all the thousand1 nameless ills ,that one incessant struggle render life4 ,keats1 and especially ,byron1 wrote stanza after stanza of enervating sadness4 ,moore's dear gazelle is nowadays a familiar comparison4 ,shelley's tremulous sensibility forbade his finding any charm in life1 and we none of us need to be reminded that ,poe's soul was sorrow-laden4 ,but the poets are not alone in their tale of the deceptions of life2 the moralists and essayists1 too1 have added their quota to the general budget1 and it is not simply the value of life that has been questioned by many of the best writers2 there has been also a certain surprise expressed that man should care to live at all4 ,indeed1 the ,i see no necessity of the wit1 to the beggar imploring aid that he might live1 is the epigram of the thoughts of a hundred scholars4 ,in ,france1 pessimism cannot be said to have been ever regarded otherwise than as an intellectual curiosity4 ,the ,frenchman1 it is true1 not infrequently lapses into a cynical indifference2 yet the value of life is as a rule so evident to him1 that he seldom vouchsafes more than a passing shrug to any theory of disparagement4 ,in the first place1 death1 to which the hat is gravely raised1 has never been in ,france a polite or welcome topic2 moreover1 ,french literature1 while lawless enough in other respects1 has left its readers generally unprepared to view the world as a fiasco1 in which misery is the one immense success4 ,the trouvres and troubadours sang to the medival chtelaine little else than the praise of love1 with here and there the account of some combat1 to show what they might do were they put to the test4 ,later1 ,villon told gently of the neiges d'antan1 ,ronsard aimed a dart or two at fate1 and ,rabelais's laugh was sometimes very near to tears2 but1 broadly speaking1 the ,french asked of their writers little else than wit1--if they could not give them that1 then should they hold their peace4 ,the delicate irony of ,candide had1 therefore1 when appreciated1 something almost novel in its savor2 and1 indeed1 it may fairly be said that it was not until the blight of ,byron had been cheerfully translated1 that the ,french were in any measure prepared to understand ,rolla and the pathetic beauties of ,de ,musset's verse4 ,pascal1 ,helvetius1 and other writers of desultory depression had of course already appeared4 ,maupertuis had found no difficulty in showing that life held more pain than pleasure1 while ,chamfort's conclusions on the same subject were as luminous as they were gloomy2 and yet it is difficult to say that the gall with which these authors dashed their pages served otherwise than as a condiment to fresher and less flavored works4 ,baudelaire1 the poet of boredom1 praying for a new vice that should wrest life into some semblance of reality1 was in consequence almost a novelty1 and not a perfectly satisfactory one at that4 ,it is therefore only within the last ten years or so that pessimism has in any wise attracted the notice of ,french thinkers1 and the attention which has recently been paid to it is due partly to ,leconte de ,lisle1 and partly to a surge of ,german thought4 ,during the eighteenth century the majority of the scholars who represented the culture of ,germany were faithfully following the optimist theories of ,leibnitz and ,wolf4 ,the doctrine that the world was the best one possible1 supported as it was by official theology and strictly in accord with the deism of ,pope and ,paley1 was very generally and unhesitatingly accepted4 ,indeed1 there is no apparent reason why it should not have been4 ,the ,minnesingers doubtless had formulated some few complaints1 but then these literary vagrants had already begun to form part of mythology1 and besides1 poets are all more or less prone to discontent and voluble of sorrow4 ,beyond the classics of ,greece and ,rome there was1 therefore1 no precedent for pessimistic thought4 ,german literature1 strictly speaking1 did not begin until ,lessing's advent1 and before that the theatre1 with its ,hans ,wurst and its ,pickleherring1 had offered only a succession of the broadest farce4 ,the calm and quiet which the ,germans then enjoyed was ruffled1 if at all1 only by some confused echoes of the obiter dicta which ,voltaire's royal disciple was pleased to disseminate1 but it is probable that the better part of this ferocious gayety was drowned in crossing the ,rhine1 and1 in any event1 it was too delicately pungent to do more than disturb the placid current of their thought4 ,later1 when ,kant appeared1 the effect of his philosophy was very much like a successful treatment of cataract on the eyes of the whole nation4 ,happiness1 he insisted in the ,kritik der ,urtheilskraft1 has never been attained by man1 for he is unable to find contentment in any possession or enjoyment1 444 and were he called upon to fashion a system of happiness for his fellows he would be unable to do so1 for happiness is in its essence intangible4 ,no one1 he added elsewhere1 has a right conception of life who would care to prolong it beyond its natural duration1 for it would then be only the continuation of an already tiresome struggle4 ,after this the teaching of ,leibnitz slowly disappeared1 and though a certain amount of optimism necessarily subsisted1 the tendency of thought veered to the opposite direction4 ,fichte1 ,kant's immediate successor1 declared1 in direct contradiction to ,leibnitz1 that this world was the worst one possible1 and was only consoled by thinking he could raise himself by the aid of pure thought into the felicity of the supersensible4 ,men1 he says1 in the vehement pursuit of happiness grasp at the first object which offers to them any prospect of satisfaction1 but immediately they turn an introspective eye and ask1 ',am ,i happy8' and at once from their innermost being a voice answers distinctly1 ',no1 you are as poor and as miserable as before4' ,then they think it was the object that deceived them1 and turn precipitately to another4 ,but the second holds as little satisfaction as the first4444 ,wandering then through life1 restless and tormented1 at each successive station they think that happiness dwells at the next1 but when they reach it happiness is no longer there4 ,in whatever position they may find themselves there is always another one which they discern from afar1 and which but to touch1 they think1 is to find the wished delight1 but when the goal is reached discontent has followed on the way and stands in haunting constancy before them4#b ,schelling expressed himself more guardedly4 ,as professional pantheist1 he seemed to think that anything not rigidly vague and inaccessible was inconsistent with his philosophy4 ,still there was probably a secret revolt1 some propelling impulse to deny his own syllogisms1 and to bathe for once in some clear stream of common sense4 ,in the ,nachtwachen1 which he published under the pseudonym of ,bonaventura1 this incentive is evidently1 though unsuccessfully1 at work4 ,it may be that the force of habit was too strong1 but at any rate this rhapsody1 which was intended to be a confession of the combat that he had waged with his belief1 and a recognition of the immedicable misery of life1 brings with it something of that impression of delirium which ,poe and ,dor not infrequently suggest4 ,nor was ,hegel hostile to pessimism2 he regarded it as an inevitable phase of universal evolution1 and indeed its dawn as a science had then already broken4 ,meanwhile the poets had not been idle4 ,herder and ,schiller had already attested the bitterness of life to unreluctant ears1 and the number of suicides that were directly traceable to the appearance of ,werther and his sorrows was instructively large4 ,this phase of sentimentalism1 which immediately preceded the riotous rebirth of the ,romantic school1 was not without its influence on ,heine's verse1 and in some measure affected the literary tone of the day4 ,it would1 however1 be erroneous to suppose that the poets of this epoch were more agitated by the impression of universal worthlessness of life than were their classic predecessors4 ,the distress of ,werther1 as that of ,lara and of ,rolla1 was not the pain of suffering humanity2 it was in each case merely the poet's complacent analysis of his own exceptional nature and personal grievances2 it was the expression of the inevitable surprise of youth1 which notes for the first time reality's unsuspected yet yawning indifference to the ideal1 and the stubborn disaccord between aspiration and fact4 ,it was indeed very beautiful and elegiac1 and yet so fluent in its polished melancholy that somehow it did not at all times seem to have been really felt4 ,in any case1 it was not a theory of common woe1 and lacked that clear conception of the universality of suffering1 which the less exalted minds of the philosophers had already signaled1 but for which no one as yet had been able to suggest a remedy4 ,it was about this time that an action was being instituted against humanity by a young ,italian1 the ,count ,giacomo ,leopardi1 and the muffled discontent which for centuries had been throbbing through land and literature was raised by his verse into one clear note of eloquent arraignment4 ,now1 in most countries there is a provision which inhibits a judge from hearing a cause which is pleaded by one of his connections1 for it is considered that the scales of justice are so delicately balanced1 that their holder should be preserved from any biasing influence1 however indirect2 for much the same reason1 there are few communities that permit a man to sit in judgment on his own case4 ,some knowledge of ,leopardi himself1 therefore1 will be of service in deciding whether the verdict which he brought against the world should be accepted without appeal1 or returned as vitiated by extraneous circumstances4 ,leopardi passed a joyless boyhood at ,recanti1 one of those maddeningly monotonous ,italian towns whose unspeakable dreariness is only attractive when viewed through the pages of ,stendhal4 ,the unrelaxing severity of an austere and pedant father curbed1 as with a bit1 every symptom of that haphazard gayety which is incident to youth4 ,at once precocious and restive1 deformed yet inflammable1 he was necessarily enervated by the exasperating dullness of his life1 and chafed1 too1 by the rigid poverty to which his father condemned him4 ,as he grew up1 his mind1 richly stored with the wealth of antiquity1 rioted in a turbulency of imagination which1 unable to find sympathetic welcome without1 consumed itself in morbid distrust within1 and led him at last from fervid ,catholicism down the precipitate steps of negation4 ,he was not much over twenty before excessive study had well-nigh ruined such health as he once possessed4 ,the slightest application was wearisome both to eye and brain4 ,he wandered silently about the neighboring forests1 seeking solitude not only for the sake of solitude1 but also perhaps for the suggestions1 at once soothing and rebellious1 which solitude always whispers to him who courts her truly4 ,at other times he sat hour by hour in a state as motionless as that of catalepsy4 ,i am so much overcome1 he wrote to a friend1 by the nothingness that surrounds me1 that ,i do not know how ,i have the strength to answer your letter4 ,if at this moment ,i lost my reason1 ,i think that my insanity would consist in sitting always with eyes fixed1 open-mouthed1 without laughing or weeping1 or changing place4 ,i have no longer the strength to form a desire1 be it even for death4 ,the ,muse1 however1 would have none of this2 she flaunted her peplum so seductively before him that1 a little later1 when he had been visited by some semblance of returning health1 he resisted no longer1 and delivered himself up to her1 heart and soul4 ,the present century1 especially during its earlier decades1 has been racked with a great glut of despondent verse2 but no batch of poets1 however distressed1 has been able1 at any time1 to catch and cling to such a persistent monotone of complaint as that which runs through every line of ,leopardi's verse4 ,to quote ,de ,musset3-- ,les plus dsesprs sont les chants les plus beaux1 ,et j'en sais d'immortels qui sont de purs sanglots4 ,his odes1 his adjurations to ,italy1 and his elegies are1 one and all1 stamped with such unvarying and changeless despair1 that their dominant motive seems not unlike that tower which ,ren1 finding alone in the desert1 compared to a great thought in a mind ravaged by years and by grief4 ,his theory of life never altered2 he resumed it in a distich1-- 444 ,arcano tutto ,fuor che il nostro dolor4 ,it may be said1 and with justice perhaps1 that it was the invalid body1 aggravating and coexisting with a mind naturally morbid1 that afterwards wrote of the gentilezza del morir1 but it was the thinker1 conquering the ills of the flesh1 who later whispered to the suffering world the panacea of patience and resignation4 ,in ,leopardi there is none of the vapid elegance and gaudy vocabulary of ,french verse2 technically1 he wrote in what the ,italians call rime sciolte1 and he charms the reader as well through a palpitant sincerity as evident and continuous inspiration4 ,now1 the educated ,italian turns naturally to rhyme2 any incident holds to him the germ of a sonnet1 and there is perhaps no other country in the world so richly dowered with patriotic canzoni as this joyously unhappy land4 ,but of all who have sounded this eloquent chord1 not one has done so with the masculine originality and fervor of expression that ,leopardi reached in his ode to ,italy1 in which1 in a resounding call to arms1 he exclaims3-- ,let my blood1 ,o gods6 be a flame to ,italian hearts4 ,italian hearts1 however1 had other matters to attend to1 and ,leopardi's magnificent invocation was barely honored with a passing notice4 ,for that matter1 his poetry1 in spite of its resonant merit1 has1 through some inexplicable cause1 been generally ignored2 and while it resembles no other1 it has never1 so to speak1 been in vogue4 ,as has been seen1 he was a lover of solitude2 indeed1 it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was glued to it2 and in the isolation which he partly made himself1 and which was partly forced upon him1 he watched the incubation of thought very much as another might have noted the progress of a disease4 ,a life of this description1 even at best1 is hardly calculated to awaken much enthusiasm for every-day matters1 and it was not long before ,leopardi became not only heartily sick of the commonplace aspects of life1 but contemptuous1 too1 of those who lived in broader and more active spheres4 ,poetically untrammeled1 and of advanced views on all subjects1 he regarded erudition as the simple novitiate of the man of letters1 or in other words1 as a preparation which renders the intelligence supple and pliant2 and in one of those rare moments1 when the timid approach of ambition was seemingly unnoticed1 he caressed the pleasing plan of attacking ,italian torpor with reason1 passion with laughter1 and of becoming1 in fact1 the ,plato1 the ,shakespeare1 and the ,lucian of his epoch4 ,to ,giordani1 his mentor1 he wrote3 ,i study night and day1 so long as my health permits2 when it prevents me from working1 ,i wait a month or so1 and then begin again4 ,as ,i am now totally different from that which ,i was1 my plan of study has altered with me4 ,everything which savors of the pathetic or the eloquent wearies me beyond expression4 ,i seek now only the true1 the real1 which before was so repulsive4 ,i take pleasure in analyzing the misery of men and things1 and in shivering as ,i note the sinister and terrible mystery of life4 ,i see very clearly that when passion is once extinguished1 there subsists in study no other source of pleasure save that of vain curiosity1 whose satisfaction1 however1 is not without a certain charm4 ,but ,leopardi was so essentially the poet that1 in spite of his growing disdain of the pathetic and the eloquent1 he became not infrequently the dupe of his own imagination4 ,that which he took for the fruit of deduction was probably little more than ordinary hypochondria1 and in turning as he did to other work1 he was never able to free himself entirely from the jealous influence of the muse4 ,he was1 from a variety of causes1 very miserable himself1 and his belief in universal misery amounted very nearly to a mania4 ,his logic reduced itself to the paraphrase of an axiom1 ,i am1 therefore ,i suffer1 and the suffering which he experienced was not1 he was very sure1 limited solely to himself4 ,it was1 he considered1 the garment and appanage of every sentient being4 ,in this he was perfectly correct1 but his error consisted in holding all cases to be equally intense1 and in imagining that means might be devised which would at once do away with or1 at least1 lessen the evil4 ,patience and resignation he had already suggested1 but naturally without appreciable success2 indeed1 the regeneration of man1 he clearly saw1 was not to be brought about through verse1 and he turned therefore to philosophy with a fixity of purpose1 which was strengthened by the idea that he could work therein another revolution4 ,this was in #ahbe4 ,leopardi at that time was in his twenty-seventh year1 and the task to which he then devoted himself was1 he said1 to be the sad ending of a miserable life4 ,his intention was to run the bitter truth to earth1 to learn the obscure destinies of the mortal and the eternal1 to discover the wherefore of creation1 and the reason of man's burden of misery4 ,i wish1 he said1 to dig to the root of nature and seek the aim of the mysterious universe1 whose praises the sages sing1 and before which ,i stand aghast4 ,forthwith1 then1 in the ,operette ,morale1 ,leopardi began a resolute1 if poetic1 siege against every form of illusion4 ,his philosophy1 however1 provoked no revolution1 nor can it be even said that he discovered any truth more bitter than the old new ones1 which antiquity had unearthed before him4 ,his work1 nevertheless1 sent the old facts spinning into fresh and novel positions1 and is to be particularly admired for the artistic manner in which it handles the most stubborn topics4 ,the starting point of each of his arguments is that life is evil2 to any objection1 and the objections that have been made are countless1 ,leopardi has one invariable reply1 ,all that is advanced to the contrary is the result of illusion4 ,but supposing life to be painless1 some one presumably may interject1 whereupon ,leopardi1 with the air of an oracle1 too busy with weighty matters to descend to chit-chat on the weather1 will answer tersely1 ,evil still4 ,it is useless for the practical man of the day1 who knows the price of wheat the whole world over before he has tasted his coffee1 and who digests a history of the world's doings and misdoings each morning with his breakfast1--it is useless for him to say1 as he invariably does3--,why1 this is rubbish1 look at modern institutions1 look at progress1 look at science2 for if he listens to ,leopardi he will learn that all these palpable advantages have1 in expanding activity1 only aggravated the misery of man4 ,in other words1 that the sorrows of men and of nations develop in proportion to their intelligence1 and the most civilized are in consequence the most unhappy4 ,indeed1 ,leopardi's philosophy is nothing if not destructive2 he does not aim so much to edify as to undermine4 ,according to his theory the universe is the resultant of an unconscious force1 and this force1 he teaches1 is shrouded in a vexatious mystery1 behind which it is not given to man to look4 ,in one of his dialogues1 certain mummies resurrect for a quarter of an hour and tell in what manner they died4 ,and what follows death8 their auditor asks1 eagerly4 ,but the quarter of an hour has expired and the mummies relapse into silence4 ,in another fantastic scene1 an ,icelander1 convinced that happiness is unattainable1 and solely occupied in avoiding pain1 has1 in shunning society1 found himself in the heart of the ,sahara1 face to face with ,nature4 ,this ,icelander1 who1 by the way1 singularly resembles ,leopardi1 had found but one protection against the ills of life1 and that was solitude2 but wherever he wandered he had been pursued by a certain malevolence4 ,in spite of all he could do1 he had roasted in summer and shivered in winter4 ,in vain he had sought a temperate climate3 one land was an ice-field1 another an oven1 and everywhere tempests or earthquakes1 vicious brutes or distracting insects4 ,in short1 unalloyed misery4 ,finding himself1 at last1 face to face with ,nature he took her to task1 demanding what right she had to create him without his permission1 and then1 having done so1 to leave him to his own devices8 ,nature answers that she has but one duty1 and that is to turn the wheel of the universe1 in which death supports life1 and life death4 ,well1 then1 the obstinate ,icelander asks1 tell me at least for whose pleasure and for what purpose this miserable universe subsists8 ,but before ,nature can enlighten her embarrassing questioner1 he is surprised by two famished lions and conveniently devoured4 ,the moral of all this is not difficult to find4 ,life1 such as it is1 is all this is accorded4 ,beyond it there is only an impenetrable silence4 ,the blue of the heavens is pervasive1 but void4 ,the hope of ultramundane felicity is1 therefore1 an illusion1 and man is to seek such happiness as is possible only in this life4 ,but if it be asked what the possibilities of earthly happiness are1 ,leopardi is quick to tell his reader that there are none at all4 ,as has been seen1 he regarded life as an evil2 and he insisted in so regarding it1 not only as a whole1 but in each of its fractional divisions4 ,this idea is quaintly expressed in a dialogue between a sorcerer and a demon1 the latter having been presumably summoned with an incantatory blue flame4 ,the demon is somewhat sulky at first1 and asks why he has been disturbed4 ,is it wealth that the sorcerer wishes8 ,is it glory or grandeur8 ,but the sorcerer has neither greed nor ambition4 ,do you wish me to procure for you a woman as captiously capricious as ,penelope8 ,the sorcerer probably smiles1 for he answers wittily3-- ,do you think ,i need the aid of a devil for that8 ,thus outfaced1 the demon begs to know in what manner he may be of service4 ,i simply want one moment of happiness1 the sorcerer answers4 ,but ,mephisto declares1 on his word as a gentleman1 that such a thing is impossible1 because the desire for happiness is insatiable1 and no one can be happy so long as it is unsatisfied4 ,well1 then8 the sorcerer asks1 moodily querulous4 ,well1 then1 answers the demon1 if you think it worth while to give me your soul before the time1 behold me ready to oblige you4 ,since happiness1 then1 is intangible1 the wisest thing to do is to try to be as little unhappy as possible4 ,one of the chief opponents to such a state of being is evidently discontent1 and this1 ,leopardi hints1 should be routed at any cost1 and the yawning spectre of ennui flung with it into fettered exile4 ,in the warmth of these instructions it is curious to note how ,leopardi turns on himself1 so to speak1 and recommends as cure-all the very activity which he had before proscribed4 ,in his dialogue between ,columbus and ,gutierrez1 the navigator admits to his discouraged companion that the success of the undertaking is far from certain2 but1 he adds1 even if no other benefit accrue from our voyage1 it will be an advantage at least in this2 it has for a certain time delivered us from boredom2 it has made us love life1 and appreciate1 moreover1 many things of which otherwise we would have thought nothing4 ,it should not1 however1 be supposed that ,leopardi had no higher rule of life than that which is circumscribed in the narrow avoidance of discontent4 ,that man has certain duties to perform1 he frequently admitted1 but he denied that he owed any to the unconscious and tyrannical force which had given him life4 ,i will never kiss1 he said1 the hand that strikes4 ,any obligation to society was equally out of the question4 ,society1 he noted in the ,pensieri1 is a league of blackguards against honest men4 ,man's duties are to himself alone2 and the essence of ,leopardi's ethics 7as1 indeed1 of all other ethics7 is held simply in the recommendation that virtue and self-esteem be preserved4 ,to thine own self be true1 ,polonius had said long before1 and to this ,leopardi had nothing to add4 ,the illusions which hamper life have been so clearly and thoroughly analyzed by other thinkers1 whose conclusions will be found to constitute the groundwork of the subsequent part of this monograph1 that it will be unnecessary at this stage to examine any of ,leopardi's theories on this subject1 save such1 perhaps1 as may seem to contain original views4 ,he had1 as has been intimated1 a thorough contempt for life3 ,it is1 he said1 fit but to be despised4 ,nostra vita a che val1 sola a spregiarla4 ,he was1 in consequence1 well equipped to combat the illusion which leads so many to imagine that were their circumstances different1 they would then be thoroughly content4 ,this idea is presented with vivacious ingenuity in a dialogue between a man peddling calendars and a passer-by4 ,it runs somewhat as follows3-- ,calendars6 ,new calendars6 ,for the coming year8 ,yes1 sir4 ,do you think the year will be a good one8 ,yes1 indeed1 sir4 ,as good as last year8 ,better1 sir1--better4 ,as year before last8 ,much better1 sir4 ,but wouldn't you care to have the next year like any of the past years8 ,no1 sir1 ,i would not4 ,for how long have you been selling calendars8 ,nearly twenty years1 sir4 ,well1 which of these twenty years would you wish to have like the coming one8 ,i8 ,i really don't know1 sir4 ,can't you remember any one year that seemed particularly attractive8 ,i cannot1 indeed1 ,i cannot4 ,and yet life is very pleasant1 isn't it8 ,oh1 yes1 sir1 we all know that4 ,would you not be glad to live these twenty years over again8 ,god forbid1 sir4 ,but supposing you had to live your life over again8 ,i would not do it4 ,but what life would you care to live8 mine1 for instance1 or that of a prince1 or of some other person8 ,ah1 sir1 what a question6 ,and yet1 do you not see that ,i1 or the prince1 or any one else1 would answer precisely as you do1 and that no one would consent to live his life over again8 ,yes1 sir1 ,i suppose so4 ,am ,i to understand1 then1 that you would not live your life over again8 ,no1 sir1 truly1 ,i would not4 ,what life would you care for1 then8 ,i would like1 without any other condition1 such a life as ,god might be pleased to give me4 ,in other words1 one which would be happy-go-lucky1 and of which you would know no more than you do of the coming year4 ,exactly4 ,well1 then1 that is what ,i would like too2 it is what every one would like1 and for the simple reason that up to this time there is no one whom chance has not badly treated4 ,every one agrees that the misery of life outbalances its pleasure1 and ,i have yet to meet the man who would care to live his old life over4 ,the life which is so pleasant is not the life with which we are personally acquainted2 it is another life1 not the life that we have lived1 but the life which is to come4 ,next year will treat us all better2 it will be the beginning of a happy existence4 ,do you not think it will8 ,indeed1 ,i hope so1 sir4 ,show me your best calendar4 ,this one1 sir2 it is thirty soldi4 ,here they are4 ,thank you1 sir1 long life to you1 sir4 ,calendars6 new calendars6 ,there are few scenes as clever as this1 and fewer still in which irony and humor are so delicately blended2 and yet1 notwithstanding its studied bitterness1 there is little doubt that its author clearly perceived that life does hold one or two incontestable charms4 ,in speaking of glory1 ,pascal noted in his ,penses that even philosophers seek it1 and those who wrote it down wished the reputation of having written it down well4 ,to this rule ,leopardi was no exception2 he admitted as much on several occasions2 and even if he had not done so1 the fact would have been none the less evident from the burnish of his verse and the purity of his prose1 which was not that of a writer to whom the opinion of others was indifferent4 ,in the essay1 therefore1 in which he attacks the illusion of literary renown1 he reminds one forcibly of ,byron hurrying about in search of the visible isolation which that simple-minded poet so seriously pursued2 and yet while no other writer1 perhaps1 has been more thoroughly given to pose than the author of ,childe ,harold1 there are few who have been so entirely devoid of affectation as ,leopardi4 ,the comparative non-success of his writings1 however1 was hardly calculated to make him view with any great enthusiasm the subject of literary fame2 and as1 moreover1 he considered it his mission to besiege all illusions1 he held up this one in particular as a seductive chimera and attacked it accordingly4 ,in the ,ovvero della ,gloria1 he says reflectively3 ,before an author can reach the public with any chance of being judged without prejudice1 think of the amount of labor which he expends in learning how to write1 the difficulties which he has to overcome1 and the envious voices which he must silence4 ,and even then1 what does the public amount to8 ,the majority of readers yawn over a book1 or admire it because some one else has admired it before them4 ,it is the style that makes a book immortal2 and as it requires a certain education to be a judge of style1 the number of connoisseurs is necessarily restricted4 ,but beyond mere form there must also be depth1 and as each class of work presupposes a special competence on the part of the critic1 it is easy to see how narrow the tribunal is which decides an author's reputation4 ,and even then1 is it one which is thoroughly just8 ,in the first place1 the critic1 even when competent1 judges--and in that he is but human--according to the impression of the moment1 and according to the tastes which age or circumstances have created4 ,if he is young1 he likes brilliance2 old1 he is unimpressionable4 ,great reputations are made in great cities1 and it is there that heart and mind are more or less fatigued4 ,a first impression1 warped in this way1 may often become final2 for if it be true that valuable works should be re-read1 and are only appreciated with time1 it is also true that at the present time very few books are read at all4 ,supposing1 however1 the most favorable case3 supposing that a writer1 through the suffrage of a few of his contemporaries1 is certain of descending to posterity as a great man1--what is a great man8 ,simply a name1 which in a short time will represent nothing4 ,the opinion of the beautiful changes with the days1 and literary reputations are at the mercy of their variations2 as to scientific works1 they are invariably surpassed or forgotten4 ,nowadays1 any second-rate mathematician knows more than ,galileo or ,newton4 ,genius1 then1 is a sinister gift1 and its attendant glory but a vain and empty shadow4 ,the life of ,leopardi1 as told by his biographers1 is poetically suggestive of the story of the pale ,armide1 who burned the palace that enchanted her2 and the similarity becomes still more noticeable when he is found hacking and hewing at the illusion of love4 ,personally considered1 ,leopardi was not attractive2 he was undersized1 slightly deformed1 near-sighted1 prematurely bald1 nervous1 and weak2 and though physical disadvantages are often disregarded by women1 and not infrequently inspire a compassion which1 properly tended1 may warm into love1 yet when the body1 weak and infirm as was his1 incases the strength and lurid vitality of genius1 the unlovable monstrosity is complete4 ,indeed1 in this respect1 it may be noted that while the love of a delicate-minded woman for a coarse and stupid ruffian is an anomaly of daily repetition1 there are yet few instances in which genius1 even when strong of limb1 has succeeded in inspiring a great and enduring affection4 ,against ,leopardi1 then1 the house of love was doubly barred4 ,when he was about nineteen1 he watched the usual young girl who lives over the way1 and with a navet which seems exquisitely pathetic he made no sign1 but simply watched and loved4 ,the young lady does not appear to have been in any way conscious of the mutely shy adoration which her beauty had fanned into flame1 and at any rate paid no attention to the sickly dwarf across the street4 ,she sat very placidly at her window1 or else fluttered about the room humming some old-fashioned air4 ,this went on for a year or more1 until finally she was carried away in a rumbling coach1 to become the willing bride of another4 ,this1 of course1 was very terrible to ,leopardi4 ,through some inductive process1 which ought to have been brought about by the electric currents which he was establishing from behind the curtain1 he had in his lawless fancy made quite sure that his love would sooner or later be felt and reciprocated4 ,when1 therefore1 from his hiding place he saw the bride depart in maiden ignorance of her conquest1 and entirely unconscious of the sonnets which had been written in her praise1 the poet's one sweet hope faded slowly with her4 ,this pure and sedate affection remained vibrant in his memory for many years1 and formed the theme of so many reveries and songs that love finally appeared to him as but another form of suffering4 ,in after life1 when much of the lustre of youthful candor had become dull and tarnished1 he besieged the heart of another lady1 but this time in a bolder and more enterprising fashion4 ,his suit1 however1 was unsuccessful4 ,it may be that he was too eloquent2 for eloquence is rarely captivating save to the inexperienced1 and the man who makes love in rounded phrases seems to the practised eye to be more artistic than sincere4 ,at all events1 his affection was not returned4 ,the phantom had passed very close1 but all he had clutched was the air4 ,he was soon conscious1 however1 that he had made that mistake which is common to all imaginative people3 it was not the woman he loved1 it was beauty2 not woman herself1 but the ideal4 ,it was a conception that he had fallen in love with2 a conception which the woman1 like so many others1 had the power to inspire1 and yet lacked the ability to understand4 ,this time ,leopardi was done with love1 and forthwith attacked it as the last1 yet most tenacious1 of all illusions4 ,it is1 he said1 an error like the others1 but one which is more deeply rooted1 because1 when all else is gone1 men think they clutch therein the last shadow of departing happiness4 ,error beato1 he adds1 and so it may be1 yet is he not well answered by that sage saying of ,voltaire1 ,l'erreur aussi a son mrite8 ,it was in this way that ,leopardi devastated the palace from whose feasts he had been excluded4 ,at every step he had taken he had left some hope behind2 he had been dying piecemeal all his life2 he was confessedly miserable1 and this not alone on account of his poverty and wretched health1 but chiefly because of his lack of harmony with the realities of existence4 ,the world was to him the worst one possible1 and he would have been glad to adorn the gate of life with the simplicity of ,dante's insistent line1-- ,lasciate ogni speranza voi ch'entrate4 ,there was a time1 he said1 when ,i envied the ignorant and those who thought well of themselves4 ,to-day1 ,i envy neither the ignorant nor the wise1 neither the great nor the weak2 ,i envy the dead1 and ,i would only change with them4 ,this1 of course1 was purely personal4 ,toward the close of his life he recognized that his judgment had been in a measure warped by the peculiar misfortunes of his own position1 but in so doing he seemed almost to be depriving himself of a last1 if sad1 consolation4 ,nor did he ever wholly recant1 and it is in the conception of the universality of misery which stamped all his writings1 and which1 even had he wished1 he was then powerless to alter1 that his relation to the theoretic pessimism of to-day chiefly rests4 ,as a creed1 the birthplace of pessimism is to be sought on the banks of the ,ganges1 or far back in the flower-lands of ,nepaul1 where the initiate1 with every desire lulled1 awaits ,nirvna1 and murmurs only1 ,life is evil4 ,now1 as is well known1 in every religion there is a certain metaphysical basis which is designed to supply an answer to man's first question2 for while the animal lives in undismayed repose1 man of all created things alone marvels at his own existence and at the destruction of his fellows4 ,to his first question1 then1 ,what is life and death8 each system attempts to offer a perfect reply2 indeed1 the temples1 cathedrals1 and pagodas clearly attest that man at all times and in all lands has continually demanded that some reply should be given1 and it is perhaps for this very reason that where other beliefs have found fervent adherents1 neither materialism nor skepticism have been ever able to acquire a durable influence4 ,it is1 however1 curious to note that in attempting the answer1 nearly every creed has given an unfavorable interpretation to life4 ,aside from the glorious lessons of ,christianity1 its teaching1 in brief1 is that the world is a vale of tears1 that nothing here can yield any real satisfaction1 and that happiness1 which is not for mortals1 is solely the recompense of the ransomed soul4 ,to the ,brahmin1 while there is always the hope of absorption in the ,universal ,spirit1 life meanwhile is a regrettable accident4 ,but in ,buddhism1 which is perhaps the most nave and yet the most sublime of all religions1 and which through its very combination of simplicity and grandeur appeals to a larger number of adherents than any other1 pessimism is the beginning1 as it is the end4 ,to the ,buddhist there is reality neither in the future nor in the past4 ,to him true knowledge consists in the perception of the nothingness of all things1 in the consciousness of-- ,the vastness of the agony of earth1 ,the vainness of its joys1 the mockery ,of all its best1 the anguish of its worst2 and in the desire to escape from the evil of existence into the entire affranchisement of the intelligence4 ,to the ,buddhist1-- 444 ,sorrow is ,shadow to life1 moving where life doth move4 ,the ,buddhist believes that the soul migrates until ,nirvna is attained1 and that in the preparation for this state1 which is the death of ,death1 the nothingness of a flame extinguished1 there are four degrees4 ,in the first1 the novitiate learns to be implacable to himself1 yet charitable and compassionate to others4 ,he then acquires an understanding into the nature of all things1 until he has suppressed every desire save that of attaining ,nirvna1 when he passes initiate into the second degree1 in which judgment ceases4 ,in the next stage1 the vague sentiment of satisfaction1 which had been derived from intellectual perfection1 is lost1 and in the last1 the confused consciousness of identity disappears4 ,it is at this point that ,nirvna begins1 but only begins and stretches to vertiginous heights through four higher degrees of ecstasy1 of which the first is the region of infinity in space1 the next1 the realm of infinity in intelligence1 then the sphere in which nothing is1 and1 finally1 the loss of even the perception of nothing4 ,when ,death is dead1 when all have attained ,nirvna1 then1 according to the ,buddhist1 the universe will rock forevermore in unconscious rest4 ,in brief1 then1 life to the ,christian is a probation1 to the ,brahmin a burden1 to the ,buddhist a dream1 and to the pessimist a nightmare4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #a3 ,zeller1 ,philosophie der ,griechen4 ,footnote #b3 ,werke1 v4 p4 #djh1 et seq4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,high ,,priest ,,of ,,pessimism4 ,arthur ,schopenhauer1 the founder of the present school1 was born toward the close of the last century1 in the now mildewed city of ,dantzic4 ,his people came of good ,dutch stock1 and were both well-to-do and peculiar4 ,his grandmother lost her reason at the death of her husband1 a circumstance as unusual then as in more recent years2 his two uncles passed their melancholy lives on the frontiers of insanity1 and his father enjoyed a reputation for eccentricity which his end fully justified4 ,this latter gentleman was a rich and energetic merchant1 of educated tastes and excitable disposition1 who1 when well advanced in middle life1 married the young and gifted daughter of one of the chief magnates of the town4 ,their union was not more unhappy than is usually the case under similar circumstances1 his time being generally passed with his ledger1 and hers with the poets4 ,with increasing years1 however1 his untamable petulance grew to such an extent that he was not at all times considered perfectly sane1 and it is related that on being visited one day by a lifelong acquaintance1 who announced himself as an old friend1 he exclaimed1 with abrupt indignation1 ,friend1 indeed6 there is no such thing2 besides1 people come here every day and say they are this1 that1 and the other4 ,i don't know them1 and ,i don't want to4 ,a day or two later1 he met the same individual1 greeted him with cheerful cordiality1 and led him amiably home to dinner4 ,shortly after1 he threw himself from his warehouse to the canal below4 ,he had always intended that his son1 who was then in his sixteenth year1 should continue the business2 and to prepare him properly for his duties he had christened him ,arthur1 because he found that name was pretty much the same in all ,european languages1 and furthermore had sent the lad at an early age first to ,france1 and then to ,england1 that he might gain some acquaintance and familiarity with other tongues4 ,the boy liked his name1 and took naturally to languages1 but he felt no desire to utilize these possessions in the depressing atmosphere of commercial life1 and after his father's death loitered first at the benches of ,gotha and then at those of ,gttingen4 ,meanwhile his mother established herself at ,weimar1 where she soon attracted to her all that was brilliant in that brilliant city4 ,goethe1 ,wieland1 ,fernow1 ,falk1 ,grimm1 and the two ,schlegels were her constant guests4 ,at court she was received as a welcome addition1 and such an effect had these surroundings upon her imagination1 that in not very many years she managed to produce twenty-four compact volumes of criticism and romance4 ,during this time her son was not idle4 ,thoroughly familiar with ancient as with modern literature1 he devoted his first year at ,gttingen to medicine1 mathematics and history2 while in his second1 which he passed in company with ,bunsen and ,william ,b4 ,astor1 he studied physics1 physiology1 psychology1 ethnology and logic2 as these diversions did not quite fill the hour1 he aided the flight of idle moments with a guitar4 ,he was at this time a singularly good-looking young man1 possessing a grave and expressive type of beauty1 which in after years developed into that suggestion of majestic calm for which the head of ,beethoven is celebrated1 while to his lips there then came a smile as relentlessly implacable as that of ,voltaire4 ,from boyhood he had been of a thoughtful disposition1 finding wisdom in the falling leaf1 problems in vibrating light1 and movement in immobility4 ,already he had wrung his hands at the stars1 and watched the distant future rise with its flouting jeer at the ills of man4 ,in this1 however1 there was little of the cheap sentimentalism of ,byron1 and less of the weariness of ,lamartine4 ,his griefs were purely objective2 life to him was a perplexing riddle1 whose true meaning was well worth a search2 and as the only possible solution of the gigantic enigma seemed to lie in some unexplored depth of metaphysics1 he soon after betook himself to ,berlin1 where ,fichte then reigned as ,kant's legitimate successor4 ,but the long-winded demonstrations that ,fichte affected1 his tiresome verbiage1 lit1 if at all1 only by some trivial truism or trumpery paradox1 bored ,schopenhauer at first well-nigh to death1 and then worked on his nerves to such an extent that he longed1 pistol in hand1 to catch at his throat1 and cry1 ,die like a dog you shall2 but for your pitiful soul's sake1 tell me if in all this rubbish you really mean anything1 or take me simply for an imbecile like yourself4 ,for ,schopenhauer1 it should be understood1 had passed his nights first with ,plato and then with ,kant2 they were to him like two giants calling to one another across the centuries1 and that this huckster of phrases should pretend to cloak his nakedness with their mantle seemed to him at once indecent and absurd4 ,schelling pleased him no better2 he dismissed him with a word1--mountebank2 but for ,hegel1 ,caliban-,hegel as he was wont in after years to call him1 his contempt was so violent that1 with a prudence which is both amusing and characteristic1 he took counsel from an attorney as to the exact limit he might touch in abusing him without becoming amenable to a suit for defamation4 ,hegel's philosophy1 he said1 is a crystalized syllogism2 it is an abracadabra1 a puff of bombast1 and a wish-wash of phrases1 which in its monstrous construction compels the mind to form impossible contradictions1 and in itself is enough to cause an entire atrophy of the intellect4 ,it is made up of three fourths nonsense and one fourth error2 it contains words1 not thoughts2 and then1 rising in his indignation to the heights of quotation1 he added1 ',such stuff as madmen tongue and brain not4' ,time1 it may be noted1 has to a great extent indorsed ,schopenhauer's verdict4 ,the tortures of ,fichte1 ,schelling1 and ,hegel linger now in the history of philosophy very much as might the memory of a nightmare1 and except in a few cobwebbed halls the teachings of the three sophists may safely be considered as a part of the inexplicable past4 ,it should not1 however1 be supposed that because he found the philosophy of the moment so little to his taste he necessarily squandered his time2 on the contrary1 he turned to ,aristotle and ,spinoza for consolation1 and therewith followed sundry lectures in magnetism1 electricity1 ichthyology1 amphiology1 ornithology1 zology1 and astronomy1 all of which he enlivened with rapid incursions to the rich granaries of ,rabelais and ,montaigne1 and moreover gave no little time to the study of the religion and philosophy of ,india4 ,it was at this time characteristic of the man1 that while his appearance1 wealth1 and connections would have formed an open letter to the best society in ,berlin1 which was then heterogeneously agreeable1 or even to the worst1 which is said to have been charming1 he preferred to pass his leisure hours in scrutinizing the animals in the ,zological ,gardens1 and in studying the inmates of the ,state ,lunatic ,asylum4 ,in this cit dolente his attention was particularly claimed by two unfortunates who1 while perfectly conscious of their infirmity1 were yet unable to master it2 in proof of which1 one wrote him a series of sonnets1 and the other sent him annotated passages from the ,bible4 ,in the second year of his student life at ,berlin the war of #ahac was declared1 and ,schopenhauer was in consequence obliged to leave the city before he had obtained his degree4 ,he prepared1 however1 and forwarded to the faculty at ,jena an elaborate thesis1 which he entitled the ,quadruple ,root of ,conclusive ,reason1--a name which somewhat astounded his mother1 who asked him if it were something for the apothecary1--and meanwhile prowled about ,weimar meditating on the philosophy which he had long intended to produce4 ,he visited no one but ,goethe1 took umbrage at his mother's probably harmless relations with ,fernow1 treated her to discourse not dissimilar to that which ,hamlet had addressed to his own parent1 received his degree from ,jena1 and then went off to ,dresden1 where he began to study women with that microscopic eye which he turned on all subjects that engaged his attention4 ,the result of these studies was an essay on the metaphysics of love1 which he thereupon attached to his budding system of philosophy2 an axiom to the effect that women are rich in hair and poor in thought2 and the same misadventure that befell ,descartes4 ,his life at ,dresden was necessarily much less secluded than that to which he had been hitherto accustomed2 he became an habitu at the opera and comedy1 a frequent guest in literary and social circles1 and1 as student of men and things1 he went about disturbing draperies and disarranging screens1 very much as any other philosopher might do who was bent on seeing the world4 ,meanwhile1 he was not otherwise idle3 the morning he gave to work1 and in the afternoon he surrendered himself to ,nature1 whom he loved with a passionate devotion1 which increased with his years4 ,the companionship of men was always more or less irksome to him2 and while it was less so perhaps at this time than at any other1 it was nevertheless with a sense of relief that he struck out across the inviting pasture-lands of ,saxony1 or down the banks of the ,elbe1 and left humanity behind1 in search of that open-air solitude which is ,nature's nearest friend4 ,in the companionship of others he was constantly seeking a trait or a suggestion1 some hint capable of development2 when in the world1 therefore1 he flashed a lantern1 so to speak1 at people1 and then passed them by2 but in the open country he communed with himself1 and strolled along1 note-book in hand1 jotting down the thoughts worth jotting very much after the manner that ,emerson is said to have recommended4 ,with regard to the majority of men1 it will not seem reckless to say that their end and aim is happiness and self-satisfaction2 but however trite the remark may be1 it may still perhaps serve to bring into relief something of ,schopenhauer's distinctive purpose4 ,it would1 of course1 be foolish to assert that he did not care for his own happiness1 and disregarded his own satisfaction1 for of these things few men1 it is imagined1 have thought more highly4 ,if his ideas of happiness diverged widely from those generally received as standards1 it has but little to do with the matter in hand1 for the point which is intended to be conveyed is simply that above all other things1 beyond the culture of self1 that which ,schopenhauer cared for most was truth1 and that he pursued it1 moreover1 as pertinaciously as any other thinker whom the world now honors4 ,whether he ran it to earth or not1 the reader must himself decide2 indeed1 it was very many years before any one even heard that he had been chasing it at all4 ,of late1 however1 some of the best pickets who guard the literary outposts from ,boston to ,bombay have brought a very positive assurance that he did catch it1 and1 moreover1 held it fast long enough to wring out some singularly valuable intimations4 ,in hurrying along after his quarry1 ,schopenhauer became convinced that life was a lesson which most men learned trippingly enough1 but whose moral they failed to detect2 and this moral1 which he felt he had caught on the wing1 as it were1 he set about dissecting with a great and sumptuous variety of reflection4 ,wandering1 then1 on the banks of the ,elbe1 massing his thoughts and arranging their progression1 his system slowly yet gradually expanded before him4 ,he wrote only in moments of inspiration1 yet his hours were full of such moments2 little by little he drifted away from the opera and his friends into a solitude which he made populous with thought1 and in this manner gave himself up so entirely to his philosophy that one day1 it is reported1 he astonished an innocent-minded gate-keeper1 who asked him who he was1 with the weird and pensive answer1 ,ah6 if ,i but knew1 myself6 ,meanwhile his work grew rapidly beneath his hands1 and when after four years of labor and research ,die ,welt als ,wille und ,vorstellung was so far completed as to permit its publication1 he read it over with something of the same unfamiliarity which he would have experienced in reading the work of another author1 though1 doubtless1 with greater satisfaction4 ,fascinated with its merits1 he offered the manuscript to ,brockhaus1 the ,leipsic publisher4 ,my book1 he wrote1 is a new system of philosophy1 but when ,i say new ,i mean new in every sense of the word2 it is not a restatement of what has been already expressed1 but it is in the highest degree a continuous flow of thought such as has never before entered the mind of mortal man4 ,it is a book which1 in my opinion1 is destined to rank with those which form the source and incentive to hundreds of others4 ,brockhaus1 familiar with the proverbial modesty of young authors1 lent but an inattentive ear to these alluring statements1 and accepted the book solely on account of the reputation which ,schopenhauer's mother then enjoyed2 a mark of confidence1 by the way1 which he soon deeply regretted4 ,it is so much waste paper1 he said1 dismally1 in after years2 ,i wish ,i had never heard of it4 ,he lived long enough1 however1 to change his mind1 and in #ahhj his successors published a stout little pamphlet containing the titles of over five hundred books and articles1 of which the ,world as ,will and ,idea formed the source and incentive4 ,le monde1 ,montaigne has quaintly noted1 regorge de commentaires1 mais d'auteurs il en est grand chiert4 ,schopenhauer's philosophy first appeared in #ahah2 but while it was still in press1 its author1 like one who has sprung a mine and fears the report1 fled away to ,italy1 where he wandered about from ,venice to ,naples bathing his senses in color and music4 ,he associated at this time very willingly with ,englishmen1 and especially with ,english artists and men of letters4 ,germans and ,americans he avoided1 and as for ,jews1 he not only detested them1 but expressed an admiring approval of ,nebuchadnezzar1 and only regretted that he had been so lenient with them4 ,the ,jews are ,god's chosen people1 are they8 he would say1 very good2 tastes differ1 they certainly are not mine4 ,in this dislike he made no exception1 and scenting in after years some of the foetor judaicus on ,heine and ,meyerbeer1 he refused them the attention which others were only too glad to accord4 ,schopenhauer's distaste1 however1 for everything that savored of the ,israelite will be perhaps more readily understood when it is remembered that the ,jews1 as a race1 are optimists1 and their creed1 therefore1 to him1 in his consistency1 was like the aggressive flag to the typical bull4 ,with the ,germans he had another grievance4 ,the ,germans1 he said1 are heavy by nature2 it is a national characteristic1 and one which is noticeable not only in the way they carry themselves1 but in their language1 their fiction1 their conversation1 their writings1 their way of thinking1 and especially in their style and in their mania for constructing long and involved sentences4 ,in reading ,german1 he continued1 memory is obliged to retain mechanically1 as in a lesson1 the words that are forced upon it1 until after patient labor a period is reached1 the keynote is found1 and the meaning disentangled4 ,when the ,germans1 he added1 get hold of a vague and unsuitable expression which will completely obscure their meaning1 they pat themselves on the back2 for their great aim is to leave an opening in every phrase1 through which they may seem to come back and say more than they thought4 ,in this trick they excel1 and if they can manage to be emphatic and affected at the same time1 they are simply afloat in a sea of joy4 ,foreigners hate all this1 and revenge themselves in reading ,german as little as possible4444 ,wherefore1 in provision of my death1 ,i acknowledge that on account of its infinite stupidity ,i loathe the ,german nation1 and that ,i blush to belong thereto4 ,at various tables-d'hte ,schopenhauer had encountered traveling ,yankees1 and objected to them accordingly4 ,they are1 he said1 the plebs of the world1 partly1 ,i suppose1 on account of their republican government1 and partly because they descend from those who left ,europe for ,europe's good4 ,the climate1 too1 he added1 reflectively1 may have something to do with it4 ,nor did ,frenchmen escape his satire4 ,other parts of the world have monkeys2 ,europe has ,frenchmen1 a balance4 ,but with ,englishmen he got on very well1 and during his after life always talked to himself in their tongue1 wrote his memoranda in ,english1 and read the ,times daily1 advertisements and all4 ,meanwhile ,schopenhauer held his hand to his ear unavailingly4 ,from across the ,alps there came to him no echo of any report1 only a silence which was ominous enough to have assured any other that the fusee had not been properly applied4 ,but to him it was different2 he had1 it is true1 expected a reverberation which would shake the sophistry of all civilization1 and when no tremor came he was mystified1 but only for the moment4 ,he had been too much accustomed to seek his own dead in the great morgue of literature not to know that any man1 who is to belong to posterity1 is necessarily a stranger to his epoch4 ,and that he was to belong to posterity he had no possible doubt2 indeed he had that prescience of genius which foresees its own future1 and he felt that however tightly the bushel might be closed over the light1 there were still crevices through which it yet would shine1 and from which at last some conflagration must necessarily burst4 ,it was part of the man to analyze all things1 and while it cannot be said that the lack of attention with which his philosophy had been received left him entirely unmoved1 it would be incorrect to suppose that he was then sitting on the pins and needles of impatience4 ,deeply reflective1 he was naturally aware that as everything which is exquisite ripens slowly1 so is the growth of fame proportioned to its durability4 ,and ,schopenhauer meant to be famous1 and this not so much for fame's sake1 as for the good which his fame would spread with it4 ,he could therefore well afford to wait4 ,his work was not written especially to his own epoch1 save only in so far as his epoch was part of humanity collectively considered4 ,it did not1 therefore1 take him long to understand that as his work was not tinted with any of the local color and fugitive caprices of the moment1 it was in consequence unadapted to an immediate and fictitious vogue4 ,indeed1 it may be added that the history of art and literature is eloquent with the examples of the masterpieces which1 unrewarded by contemporary appreciation1 have passed into the welcome of another age2 and of these examples few are more striking than that of the absolute indifference with which ,schopenhauer's philosophy was first received4 ,it was presumably with reflections of this nature that ,schopenhauer shrugged his shoulders at the inattention under which he labored1 and wandered serenely among the treasuries and ghosts of departed ,rome4 ,about this time an incident happened which1 while not possessing any very vivid interest1 so affected his after life as to be at least deserving of passing notice4 ,schopenhauer was then in his thirty-first year4 ,on coming of age1 he had received his share of his father's property1 some of which he securely invested1 but the greater part he deposited at high interest with a well-known business house in ,dantzic4 ,when leaving for ,italy1 he took from this firm notes payable on demand for the amount which they held to his credit1 and after he had cashed one of their bills1 learned that the firm was in difficulties4 ,shortly after1 they suspended payment1 offering thirty per cent4 to those of their creditors who were willing to accept such an arrangement1 and nothing to those who refused4 ,all the creditors accepted save ,schopenhauer1 who1 with the wile of a diplomat1 wrote that he was in no hurry for his money1 but that perhaps if he were made preferred creditor he might accept a better offer4 ,his debtors fell into the trap1 and offered him first fifty1 and then seventy per cent4 ,these offers he also refused4 ,if1 he wrote1 you offer me thirty per cent4 when you are able to pay fifty1 and fifty per cent4 when you are able to pay seventy1 ,i have good reason to suspect that you can pay the whole amount4 ,in any event1 my right is perennial4 ,i need not present my notes until ,i care to4 ,settle with your other creditors1 and then you will be in a better position to attend to me4 ,a wise man watches the burning phoenix with a certain pleasure1 for he well knows what that crafty bird does with its ashes4 ,keep my money1 and ,i will keep your drafts4 ,when your affairs are straightened either we will exchange1 or you will be arrested for debt4 ,i am1 of course1 very sorry not to be able to oblige you1 and ,i dare say you think me very disagreeable1 but that is only an illusion of yours1 which is at once dispelled when you remember that the money is my own1 and that its possession concerns my lifelong freedom and well-being4 ,you will say1 perhaps1 that if all your creditors thought as ,i do1 it would be deuced hard for me4 ,but if all men thought as ,i do1 not only would more be thought1 but there would probably be neither bankrupts nor swindlers4 ,machiavelli says1 ,giacch il volgo pensa altrimente1--although the common herd think otherwise1--ma nel mondo non se non volgo1--and the world is made up of the common herd1--e gli pocchi ivi luogo trovano1--yet the exceptions take their position1--dove gli molti stare non possono1--where the crowd can find no foot-hold4 ,by the exercise of a little patience1 and after a few more dagger thrusts of this description1 ,schopenhauer recovered the entire amount which was due him1 together with the interest in full4 ,but the danger which he had so cleverly avoided gave him1 so to speak1 a retrospective shock2 the possibility of want had brushed too near for comfort's sake4 ,he was thoroughly frightened2 and in shuddering at the cause of his fright he experienced such a feeling of insecurity with regard to what the future might yet hold that he determined to lose no time in seeking a remunerative shelter4 ,with this object he returned to ,berlin1 and as privat-docent began to lecture on the history of philosophy4 ,hegel was then in the high tide of his glory4 ,scholars from far and near came to listen to the man who had compared himself to ,christ1 and said1 ,i am ,truth1 and teach truth4 ,in the ,reisebilder1 ,heine says that in the learned caravansary of ,berlin the camels collected about the fountain of ,hegelian wisdom1 kneeled down1 received their burden of precious waters1 and then set out across the desert wastes of ,brandenburg4 ,at that time not to bend before ,hegel was the blackest and most wanton of sins4 ,to disagree with him was heretical1 and as few understood his meaning clearly enough to attempt to controvert it1 it will be readily understood that in those days there was very little heresy in ,berlin4 ,among the few1 however1 ,schopenhauer headed the list4 ,i write to be understood1 he said2 and indeed no one who came in contact with him or with his works had ever the least difficulty in seizing his meaning and understanding his immense disgust for the pachyderm hydrocephali1 pedantic eunuchs1 apocaliptic retinue della bestia triumphante1 as in after years1 with gorgeous emphasis1 he was wont to designate ,hegel and his clique4 ,the war that he waged against them was truly ,homeric4 ,he denounced ,hegel in a manner that would have made ,swinburne blush2 then he attacked the professors of philosophy in general and the ,hegelians in particular1 and finally the demagogues who believed in them1 and who had baptized themselves ,young ,germany4 ,for the preparation of such writings as theirs he had a receipt1 which was homeopathic in its simplicity4 ,dilute a minimum of thought in five hundred pages of nauseous phraseology1 and for the rest trust to the ,german patience of the reader4 ,he also suggested that for the wonder and astonishment of posterity every public library should carefully preserve in half calf the complete works of the great philosophaster and his adorers2 and1 considering very correctly that philosophers cannot be hatched like bachelors of arts1 he further recommended that the course in philosophy should be cut from the ,university programmes1 and the teaching in that branch be limited to logic4 ,you can't write an ,iliad1 he said1 when your mother is a dolt1 and your father is a cotton nightcap4 ,there are few debts which are so faithfully acquitted as those of contempt2 and as ,schopenhauer kicked down every screen1 tore off every mask1 and jeered at every sham1 it would be a great stretch of fancy to imagine that he was a popular teacher4 ,but this at least may be said3 he was courageous1 and he was strong of purpose4 ,in the end1 he dragged ,germany from her lethargy1 and rather than take any other part in ,hegelism than that of spectre at the feast1 he condemned himself to an almost lifelong obscurity4 ,if1 therefore1 he seems at times too bitter and too relentless1 it should be remembered that this man1 whom ,germany now honors as one of her greatest philosophers1 fought single-handed for thirty years1 and routed the enemy at last by the mere force and lash of his words4 ,but in the mean time1 while ,hegel was holding forth to crowded halls1 his rival1 who1 out of sheer bravado1 had chosen the same hours1 lectured to an audience of about half a dozen persons1 among whom a dentist1 a horse-jockey1 and a captain on half pay were the more noteworthy4 ,such listeners were hardly calculated to make him frantically attached to the calling he had chosen1 and accordingly at the end of the first semester he left the empty benches to take care of themselves4 ,early in life ,schopenhauer wrote in ,english1 in his note-book1 ,matrimony--war and want6 and when the privat-docent had been decently buried1 and the crape grown rusty1 he began to consider this little sentence with much attention4 ,as will be seen later on1 he objected to women as a class on purely logical grounds1--they interfered with his plan of delivering the world from suffering2 but against the individual he had no marked dislike1 only a few pleasing epigrams4 ,during his ,dresden sojourn1 as in his journey to ,italy1 he had knelt1 in his quality of philosopher who was seeing the world1 at many and diverse shrines1 and had in no sense wandered from them sorrow-laureled2 but all that had been very different from assuming legal responsibilities1 and whenever he thought with favor of the petits soins of which1 as married man1 he would be the object1 the phantom of a milliner's bill loomed in double columns before him4 ,should he or should he not1 he queried1 fall into the trap which nature has set for all men8 ,the question of love did not enter into the matter at all4 ,he believed in love as most well-read people believe in ,william ,tell2 that is1 as something very inspiring1 especially when treated by ,rossini1 but otherwise as a myth4 ,nor did he need ,montaigne's hint to be assured that men marry for others and not for themselves4 ,the subject1 therefore1 was somewhat complex3 on the one side stood the attention and admiration which he craved1 and on the other an eternal farewell to that untrammeled freedom which is the thinker's natural heath4 ,the die1 however1 had to be cast then or never4 ,he was getting on in life1 and an opportunity had at that time presented itself1 a repetition of which seemed unlikely4 ,after much reflection1 and much weighing of the pros and cons1 he concluded that it is the married man who supports the full burden of life1 while the bachelor bears but half1 and it is to the latter class1 he argued1 that the courtesan of the muses should belong4 ,thereupon1 with a luxury of reminiscence and quotation which was usual to him at all times1 he strengthened his resolution with mental foot-notes1 to the effect that ,descartes1 ,leibnitz1 ,malebranche1 and ,kant were bachelors1 the great poets uniformly married and uniformly unhappy2 and supported it all with ,bacon's statement that he that hath wife and children has given hostages to fortune1 for they are impediments to great enterprises1 either of virtue or of mischief4 ,in #ahca the cholera appeared in ,berlin1 and ,schopenhauer1 who called himself a choleraphobe by profession1 fled before it in search of a milder and healthier climate4 ,frankfort he chose for his hermitage1 and from that time up to the day of his death1 which occurred in ,september1 #ahfj1 he continued to live there in great peace and tranquillity4 ,schopenhauer should in no wise be represented as having passed his life in building dungeons in ,spain4 ,like every true scholar he was1 in the absence of his peers1 able to live with great comfort with the dead4 ,he was something of a ,mezzofanti2 he spoke and read half a dozen languages with perfect ease1 and he could in consequence enter any library with the certainty of finding friends and relations therein4 ,for the companionship of others he did not care a rap4 ,he was never so lonely as when associating with other people1 and of all things that he disliked the most1 and a catalogue of his dislikes would fill a chapter1 the so-called entertainment headed the obnoxious list4 ,he had taken off1 one by one1 the different layers of the social nut1 and in nibbling at the kernel he found its insipidity so great that he had small approval for those who made it part of their ordinary diet4 ,it should not1 however1 be supposed that this dislike for society and the companionship of others sprang from any of that necessity for solitude which is noticeable in certain cases of hypochondria2 it was simply due to the fact that he could not1 in the general run of men1 find any one with whom he could associate on a footing of equality4 ,if ,voltaire1 ,helvetius1 ,kant1 or ,cabanais1 or1 for that matter1 any one possessed of original thoughts1 had dwelled in the neighborhood1 ,schopenhauer1 once in a while1 would have delighted in supping with them2 but as agreeable symposiasts were infrequent1 he was of necessity thrown entirely on his own resources4 ,his history1 in brief1 is that of the malediction under which king and genius labor equally4 ,both are condemned to solitude2 and for solitude such as theirs there is neither chart nor compass4 ,of course there are many other men who in modern times have also led lives of great seclusion1 but in this respect it may confidently be stated that no thinker of recent years1 ,thoreau not excepted1 has ever lived in isolation more thorough and complete than that which was enjoyed by this blithe misanthrope4 ,it is not as though he had betaken himself to an unfrequented waste1 or to the top of an inaccessible crag2 such behavior would have savored of an affectation of which he was incapable1 and1 moreover1 would have told its story of an inability to otherwise resist the charms of society4 ,besides1 ,schopenhauer was no anchorite2 he lived very comfortably in the heart of a populous and pleasant city1 and dined daily at the best table d'hte1 but he lived and dined utterly alone4 ,he considered that1 as a rule1 a man is never in perfect harmony save with himself1 for1 he argued1 however tenderly a friend or mistress may be beloved1 there is at times some clash and discord4 ,perfect tranquillity1 he said1 is found only in solitude1 and to be permanent only in absolute seclusion2 and he insisted that the hermit1 if intellectually rich1 enjoys the happiest condition which this life can offer4 ,the love of solitude1 however1 can hardly be said to exist in any one as a natural instinct2 on the contrary1 it may be regarded as an acquired taste1 and one which must be developed in indirect progression4 ,schopenhauer1 who cultivated it to its most supreme expression1 admitted that at first he had many fierce struggles with the natural instinct of sociability1 and at times had strenuously combated some such ,mephistophelian suggestion as1-- ,hr' auf1 mit deinem ,gram zu spielen1 ,der1 wie ein ,geier1 dir am ,leben frisst3 ,die schlechteste ,gesellschaft lsst dich fhlen ,dass du ein ,mensch1 mit ,menschen bist4 ,but solitude1 more or less rigid1 is undoubtedly the lot of all superior minds4 ,they may grieve over it1 as ,schopenhauer says1 but of two evils they will choose it as the least4 ,after that1 it is presumably but a question of getting acclimated4 ,in old age the inclination comes1 he notes1 almost of itself4 ,at sixty it is well-nigh instinctive2 at that age everything is in its favor4 ,the incentives which are the most energetic in behalf of sociability then no longer act4 ,with advancing years there arises a capacity of sufficing to one's self1 which little by little absorbs the social instinct4 ,illusions then have faded1 and1 ordinarily speaking1 active life has ceased4 ,there is nothing more to be expected1 there are no plans nor projects to form1 the generation to which old age really belongs has passed away1 and1 surrounded by a new race1 one is then objectively and essentially alone4 ,then1 too1 many things are clearly seen1 which before were as veiled by a mist4 ,as the result of long experience very little is expected from the majority of people1 and the conclusion is generally reached that not only men do not improve on acquaintance1 but that mankind is made up of very defective copies1 with which it is best to have as little to do as possible4 ,but beyond converting his life into a monodrama with reflections of this description1 ,schopenhauer considered himself to be a missionary of truth1 and in consequence as little fitted for every-day companionship as missionaries in ,china feel themselves called upon to fraternize with the ,chinese4 ,it was the rule of his life to expect nothing1 desire as little as possible1 and learn all he could1 and as little was to be expected and nothing was to be learned from the majority of the dull ruffians who go to the making of the census1 it is not to be wondered that he trod the thoroughfares of thought alone and dismissed the majority of men with a shrug4 ,they are1 he said1 just what they seem to be1 and that is the worst that can be said of them4 ,epigrams of this description were naturally not apt to increase his popularity4 ,but for that he cared very little4 ,he considered that no man can judge another save by the measure of his own understanding4 ,of course1 if this understanding is of a low degree1 the greatest intellectual gifts which another may possess convey to him no meaning2 they are as colors to the blind2 and consequently1 in a great nature there will be noticed only those defects and weaknesses which are inseparable from every character4 ,but to such a man as ,schopenhauer1--one who considered five sixths of the population to be knaves or blockheads1 and who had thought out a system for the remaining fraction1--to such a man as he1 the question of esteem1 or the lack thereof1 was of small consequence4 ,he cared nothing for the existence which he led in the minds of other people4 ,to his own self he was true1 to the calling of his destiny constant1 and he felt that he could sit and snap his fingers at the world1 knowing that ,time1 who is at least a gentleman1 would bring him his due unasked4 ,schopenhauer's character was made up of that combination of seeming contradictions which is the peculiarity of all great men4 ,he had the audacity of childhood and the timidity of genius4 ,he was suspicious of every one1 and ineffably kind-hearted4 ,with stupidity in any form he was blunt1 even to violence1 and yet his manner and courtesy were such as is attributed to the gentlemen of the old school4 ,if he was an egotist1 he was also charitable to excess2 and who shall say that charity is not the egotism of great natures8 ,he was honesty itself1 and yet thought every one wished to cheat him4 ,to mislead a possible thief he labeled his valuables ,arcana ,medica1 put his banknotes in dictionaries1 and his gold pieces in ink bottles4 ,he slept on the ground floor1 that he might escape easily in case of fire4 ,if he heard a noise at night he snatched at a pistol1 which he kept loaded at his bedside4 ,indeed1 he might have chosen for his motto1 ,je ne crains rien fors le dangier1 and yet who is ever so foolish as a wise man8 ,kant's biography is full of similar vagaries1 and one has but to turn to the history of any of the thinkers whose names are landmarks in literature1 to find that eccentricities no less striking have also been recorded of them4 ,voltaire said1 ,on aime la vie1 mais le nant ne laisse pas d'avoir du bon2 and ,schopenhauer1 not to be outdone1 added more massively1 that if one could tap on the tombs and ask the dead if they cared to return1 they would shake their heads4 ,his views of life1 however1 and of the world in general1 will be considered later on1 and for the moment it is but necessary to note that he regarded happiness as consisting solely in the absence of pain1 and laid down as one of the supreme rules for the proper conduct of life that discontent should be banished as far as possible into the outer darkness4 ,when1 therefore1 to this ,emerson in black there came those moments of restlessness and dissatisfaction which visit even the most philosophic1 he would argue with himself in a way which was almost pathetic1 and certainly nave2 it was not he that was moody and out of sorts1 it was some privat-docent lecturing to empty halls1 some one who was abused by the ,philistines1 some defendant in a suit for damages1 some one whose fortune was engulfed perhaps beyond recovery1 some lover pleading to inattentive ears1 some one attacked by one of the thousand ills that flesh is heir to2 yet this was not he2 these things truly he might have endured and suffered as one bears for a moment an ill-made shoe1 but now the foot no longer ached2 indeed1 he was none of all this1 he was the author of the ,welt als ,wille und ,vorstellung1 and what had the days to do with him6 ,but through all the intervening years the book had lain unnoticed on the back shelves of the ,leipsic publisher2 and ,schopenhauer1 who had at first been puzzled1 but never disheartened1 at the silence which had settled about it1 became convinced that through the influence of the three sophists at ,berlin1 all mention of its merit had been suppressed from the start4 ,i am1 he said1 the ,iron ,mask1 the ,caspar ,hauser of philosophy1 and thereupon he pictured the ,hegelians as looking admiringly at his system1 very much as the man in the fairy tale looked at the genie in the bottle which1 had he allowed it to come out1 would carry him off4 ,truth1 however1 which is long-lived1 can always afford to wait2 and ,schopenhauer1 with something of the complacency of genius that is in advance of its era1 held his fingers on the public pulse and noted the quickening which precedes a return to consciousness4 ,germany was waking from her torpor4 ,already the influence of ,hegel had begun to wane2 his school was split into factions1 and his philosophy1 which in solving every problem had left the world nothing to do but to bore itself to death1 was slowly falling into disrepute4 ,moreover1 the great class of unattached scholars and independent thinkers1 who cared as little for ,university dogmas as they did for the threats of the ,vatican1 were earnestly watching for some new teacher4 ,schopenhauer was watching too2 he knew that a change was coming1 and that he would come in with the change4 ,he had but to wait4 ,my extreme unction1 he said1 will be my baptism2 my death1 a canonization4 ,meanwhile old age had come upon him unawares1 but with it the rich fruition of lifelong study and reflection4 ,the perfect tranquility in which he passed his days had been utilized in strengthening and expanding his work1 and in #ahdc1 in his fifty-sixth year1 the second and complementary volume of his philosophy was completed4 ,twelve months later he wrote to ,brockhaus1 his publisher3-- ,i may tell you in confidence that ,i am so well pleased with this second volume1 now that ,i see it in print1 that ,i really think it will be a great success4444 ,if1 now1 in return for this great work1 you are willing to do me a very little favor1 and one that is easily performed1 ,i will beg you each ,easter to let me know how many copies have been sold4 ,for two years he heard nothing1 then in answer to a letter from him1 ,brockhaus wrote3-- ,in reply to your inquiry concerning the sale of your book1 ,i can only tell you that1 to my sorrow1 ,i have made a very poor business out of it4 ,further particulars ,i cannot enter into4 ,many a rose1 ,schopenhauer murmured1 as he refolded the note and turned to other things4 ,in #ahej1 when1 after six years' daily labor1 he had completed his last work1 ,parerga und ,paralipomena1 his literary reputation was still so insignificant that ,brockhaus refused to publish it4 ,schopenhauer then offered it1 unavailingly1 to half a dozen other publishers4 ,no one would have anything to do with it2 the name which it bore would have frightened a pirate1 and the boldest in the guild was afraid to examine its contents4 ,one thing is certain1 said ,schopenhauer1 reflectively1 ,i am unworthy of my contemporaries1 or they of me4 ,the ,parerga1 however1 in spite of the lack of allurement in its title1 was not destined to wither in manuscript4 ,after much reconnoitring a publisher was discovered in ,berlin who1 unwillingly1 consented to produce it1 and thereupon two volumes of the most original and entertaining essays were given to the public4 ,for this work ,schopenhauer received ten copies in full payment4 ,meanwhile a few adherents had rallied about him4 ,brockhaus1 in an attempt to make the best of a bad bargain1 had marked the ,welt down to the lowest possible price1 and a few copies had in consequence fallen into intelligent hands4 ,among its readers there were some who came to ,frankfort to make the author's acquaintance2 a proceeding which pleased1 yet alarmed ,schopenhauer not a little4 ,one of them wrote to people with whom he was unacquainted1 advising them to read the work at once4 ,he is a fanatic1 said ,schopenhauer1 in complacent allusion to him1 a fanatic1 that's what he is4 ,dr4 ,gwinner1 his subsequent biographer1 whom he met about this time1 was his apostle1 while ,dr4 ,frauenstadt1 another ,boswell1 whose acquaintance he made at table d'hte1 he called his arch-evangelist1 and1 not without pathos1 repeated to him ,byron's seductive lines1-- ,in the desert a fountain is springing1 ,in the white waste there still is a tree1 ,and a bird in the solitude singing1 ,that speaks to my spirit of thee4 ,these gentlemen1 together with a few others1 made up a little band of sturdy disciples1 who went about wherever they could1 speaking and writing of the merits of ,schopenhauer's philosophy4 ,but the first note of acclamation which1 historically speaking1 was destined to arouse the thinking world1 came1 curiously enough1 from ,england4 ,in #ahec the ,westminster ,review published a long and laudatory article on ,schopenhauer's philosophy2 and this article ,lindner1 the editor of the ,vossiche ,zeitung1 to whom ,schopenhauer had given the title of doctor indefatigabilis1 reproduced in his own journal4 ,in the following year ,dr4 ,frauenstadt published1 in a well-written pamphlet#c which only needed a little more order and symmetry to be a valuable handbook1 a complete exposition of the doctrine2 and the applause thus stimulated rechoed all over ,germany4 ,the ,welt als ,wille und ,vorstellung1 the ,world as ,will and ,idea1 which for so many years had lain neglected1 was dragged from its musty shelf like a ,raphael from a lumber-room2 and the fame to which ,schopenhauer had not made a single step came to him as fame should1 unsought and almost unbidden4 ,my old age1 he said1 is brighter now than most men's youth1 for time has brought its roses at last2 but see1 he added1 touching his silvered hair1 they are white4 ,from all sides now came evidences of the most cordial recognition4 ,the reviews and weeklies published anecdotes about him and extracts from his works4 ,indeed1 it was evident that the ,iron ,mask had escaped1 and that to ,caspar ,hauser light and air had at last been accorded4 ,thinkers1 scholars1 and philosophers1 of all creeds and colors1 became his attentive readers4 ,decorations were offered to him1 which he unostentatiously refused4 ,the ,berlin ,academy1 within whose walls ,hegel had reigned supreme1 invited him to become one of its faculty4 ,this honor he also declined4 ,they have turned their back on me all my life1 he said1 and after my death they want my name to adorn their catalogues4 ,his philosophy was lectured upon at ,breslau1 and the ,university of ,leipsic offered it as a subject for a prize essay4 ,all this was very pleasant4 ,much to his indignation1 however1 for he was by nature greatly disinclined to serve as pastime to an idle public1 the ,illustrirte ,zeitung published his likeness1 and added insult to injury by printing his name with two p's4 ,ah6 how truly has it been said that fame consists in seeing one's name spelt wrong in the newspapers6 ,one of the most flattering manifestations of this sudden vogue was the curiosity of the public1 the number of enthusiasts that visited him1 and the eagerness with which artists sought to preserve his features for posterity4 ,to all this concert of praise it is difficult to say that ,schopenhauer lent a rebellious ear4 ,the success of his philosophy of disenchantment enchanted him4 ,he accepted with the seriousness of childhood the bouquets and sonnets which rained in upon him on his subsequent birthdays1 and in his letters to ,frauenstadt alluded to his ascending glory with innocent and amusing satisfaction3-- ,,frankfort1 ,september #bc1 #ahed4 444 ,a fortnight ago1 a ,dr4 ,k41 a teacher1 came to see me2 he entered the room and looked so fixedly at me that ,i began to be frightened1 and then he cried out1 ,i must look at you1 ,i will look at you1 ,i came to look at you4 ,he was most enthusiastic4 ,my philosophy1 he told me1 restored him to life4 ,what next8444 ,june #bi1 #ahee4 444 ,b4 called to-day2 he had been here for twenty-four hours under an assumed name1 and after many hesitations came in a closed carriage to pay his respects4444 ,on taking leave1 he kissed my hand4 ,i screamed with fright4444 ,august #ag1 #ahee4 444 ,my portrait1 painted by ,lunteschtz1 is finished and sold4 ,wiesike saw it in time1 and bought it while it was still on the easel4 ,but the unheard-of part of the whole matter is that he told me1 and ,lunteschtz too1 that he was going to build a temple on purpose for it4 ,that will be the first chapel erected in my honor4 ,recitativo1 ,ja1 ja1 ,sarastro herrschet hier4#d ,what will be said of me1 ,i wonder1 in the year #bajj8444 ,september1 #ahee4 444 ,received a number of visits4 ,baehr1 the ,dresden painter and professor1 came2 he is a charming fellow1 and pleased me very much4 ,he knows all my works1 and is full of them4 ,he says1 at ,dresden every one is interested in them1 especially the women1 who1 it appears1 read me with passionate delight4 ,hornstein1 a young composer1 came also2 he is a pupil of ,richard ,wagner1 who1 it seems1 is also one of my students4 ,hornstein is still here1 and pays me an exaggerated respect2 for instance1 when ,i want my waiter1 he rises from table to summon him4444 ,my portrait has been for a fortnight at the exposition4 ,there has been a great crowd to see it4 ,von ,launitz1 the ,frankfort ,phidias1 wants to take my bust4444 ,december #bc1 #ahee4 444 ,a gentleman has written to me from ,zurich to say that in the club to which he belongs my works are read with such admiration that the members are crazy to get a picture of me of any kind1 nature1 or description1 and that the artist who takes it has but to forward it ,c4 ,o4 ,d4444 ,you see that my fame is spreading like a conflagration1 and not in arithmetical ratio either1 but in geometric1 and even cubic4444 ,march #bh1 #ahef4 444 ,r41 too1 kissed my hand1--a ceremony to which ,i cannot accustom myself2 yet it is one1 ,i suppose1 that forms part of my imperial dignity4444 ,june #f1 #ahef4 444 ,becher sent his son and nephew here1 and ,baehr sent his son also1 and that only that these young people may in their old age be able to boast that they had seen and spoken to me4444 ,june #aa1 #ahef4 444 ,professor ,baehr1 of ,dresden1 was here yesterday1 and1 penetrated with the most praiseworthy enthusiasm1 wished to exchange his beautiful silver snuff-box for my forlorn old leather one4 ,i refused1 however4 ,he told me of a certain ,herr von ,wilde1 who was a perfect fanatic on the subject of my philosophy1 and who1 at the age of eighty-five1 died with my name on his lips4 ,my ,buddha1 re-gilded1 glittering on his pedestal1 gives you his benediction4 ,august #ad1 #ahef4 444 ,four pages and a half of ,tallendier about me4#e ,you have seen it1 ,i suppose4 ,french chatter1 personal details1 etc41 but where the devil did he hear that ,i am tout etonn du bruit que font mes crits dans le monde8 ,i am so little astonished1 that ,emden told ,nordwall1 to the latter's intense surprise1 that ,i had predicted to him my future celebrity fully twenty years ago4444 ,now1 mediocrity may1 of course1 be praised1 but1 as ,balzac has put it1 it is never discussed4 ,and ,schopenhauer1 in the matter of discussion1 came in for his full share4 ,he was praised and abused by turn4 ,like every prominent figure1 he made a good mark to fire at4 ,certain critics said that he had stolen from ,fichte and ,schelling everything in his philosophy that was worth reading1 others abused him personally2 and one writer1 a woman with whom he had refused to converse1 and who had probably expected to pay her hotel bill with the protocol of his conversation1 wrote a quantity of scurrilous articles about him4 ,but censura perit1 scriptum manet4 ,the criticisms are forgotten1 while his work still endures and1 moreover1 grows each year into surer and stronger significance4 ,among his visitors at the time was ,m4 ,foucher de ,carsil1 and the portrait which that gentleman subsequently drew of him is so graphic that it is impossible to resist the temptation of making the following extract3#f-- ,when ,i first saw him1 in #ahei1 at the ,htel d',angleterre1 at ,frankfort1 he was then an old man1 with bright blue and limpid eyes4 ,his lips were thin and sarcastic1 and about them wandered a smile of shrewd intelligence4 ,his high forehead was tufted on either side with puffs of white hair that gave to his physiognomy1 luminous as it was with wit and malice1 a stamp of nobility and distinction4 ,his garments1 his lace jabot1 his white cravat1 reminded me of that school of gentlemen who lived toward the close of the reign of ,louis ,,xv4 ,his manners were those of a man accustomed to the best society2 habitually reserved and timid even to suspicion1 he rarely entered into conversation with any save his intimates and an occasional sympathetic traveler4 ,his gestures were abrupt1 and in conversation they became at once petulant and suggestive4 ,he avoided discussions and combats in words1 but he did so that he might the better enjoy the charm of familiar conversation4 ,when he did speak1 his imagination embroidered on the heavy canvas of the ,german tongue the most subtle and delicate arabesques that the ,latin1 ,greek1 ,french1 ,english1 or ,italian languages were capable of suggesting4 ,indeed1 when he cared to talk1 his conversation possessed swing and precision1 and joined thereto was a wealth of citation1 an exactitude of detail1 and such tireless flow of wit1 as held the little circle of his friends charmed and attentive until far into the night4 ,his words1 clear-cut and cadenced1 captivated his listener wholly3 they both pictured and analyzed1 a tremulous sensitiveness heightened their fervor1 they were precise and exact on every topic4 ,a ,german1 who had traveled extensively in ,abyssinia1 was so astonished at the minute details which he gave on the different species of crocodiles1 and their customs1 that he thought that in him he recognized a former companion4 ,happy are they who heard this last survivor of the conversationalists of the eighteenth century6 ,he was a contemporary of ,voltaire and of ,diderot1 of ,helvetius and of ,chamfort2 his brilliant thoughts on women1 on the part that mothers hold in the intellectual qualities of their children2 his theories1 profoundly original1 on the connection between will and mind2 his views on art and nature1 on the life and death of the species2 his remarks on the dull and wearisome style of those who write to say nothing1 or who put on a mask and think with the thoughts of others2 his pungent reflections on the subject of pseudonyms1 and on the establishment of a literary censure for those journals which permitted neologisms1 solecisms1 and barbarisms2 his ingenious hypotheses on magnetic phenomena1 dreams1 and somnambulism2 his hatred of excess of every kind2 his love of order2 and his horror of obscurantism1 'qui1 s'il n'est pas un pch contre le ,saint ,esprit en est un contre l'esprit humain1' make for him a physiognomy entirely different from any other of this century4 ,a few tags and tatters of these conversations have been preserved by ,dr4 ,frauenstadt1#g and in them ,schopenhauer is discovered sprawled at ease1 and expressing himself on a variety of topics with a disinvoltura and freedom of epithet which recalls the earlier essayists4 ,with them1 as with him1 periphrasis was avoided4 ,spades were spades1 not horticultural implements2 and in one dialogue ,frauenstadt compliments his master in having1 in breadth and reach of his polemic1 nothing in common with contemporary regard for ears polite4 ,citations of this class1 however1 may well be omitted4 ,a thinker in slippers1 and especially in puris naturalibus1 is generally unattractive even to those the least given to prudishness4 ,but beyond certain instances of this description1 the scholar and man of the world is usually very discernible4 ,at times he is profound1 at others vivacious2 for instance1 he is asked what man would be if ,nature1 in making the last step which leads to him1 had started from the dog or the elephant2 to which he answers1 in that case man would be an intelligent dog or an intelligent elephant1 instead of being an intelligent monkey4 ,as may be imagined1 there was about ,schopenhauer very little of the ,sunday-school theologian1 and religion was in consequence seldom viewed by him from an orthodox standpoint2 when1 therefore1 ,schleiermacher was quoted before him to the effect that no man can be a philosopher who is not religious1 he observed very quietly1 ,no man who is religious can become a philosopher1--metaphysics are useless to him1 and no true philosopher is religious2 he is sometimes in danger1 but he is not fettered1 he is free4 ,elsewhere he said1 ,religion and philosophy are like the two scales of a balance2 the more one rises1 the more does the other descend4 ,in ,schopenhauer's opinion1 the greatest novels were ,tristram ,shandy1 ,wilhelm ,meister1 ,don ,quixote1 and the ,nouvelle ,hlose4 ,to ,don ,quixote he ascribed an allegorical meaning1 but as an intellectual romance he preferred ,wilhelm ,meister to all others4 ,he believed in clairvoyance1 but not that man is a free agent2 and it may be here noted that1 according to the most recent scientific opinion1 man is a free agent1 at most1 about once in twenty-four hours4 ,everything that happens1 happens necessarily1 he would say2 and it was with this maxim1 of whose truth he had a variety of every-day examples1 and with the aid of the theory of the ideality of time1 that he explained second sight4 ,everything is now that is to be1 he said2 but with our ordinary eyes we do not see it2 the clairvoyant merely puts on the spectacles of ,time4 ,in the ,parnesen und ,maximen1 in which ,schopenhauer chats quietly with the reader and not with the disciple1 many quaint and forcible suggestions are to be found4 ,for instance1 among other things1 he says1 ,i accord my entire respect to any man who1 when unoccupied1 and waiting for something1 does not immediately begin to beat a tattoo with his fingers1 or toy with the object nearest his hand4 ,it is probable that such a man has thoughts of his own4 ,his advice1 too1 on the manner in which we should think and work is quite ,emersonian in its directness4 ,it was1 it may be added1 the manner in which he thought and worked1 himself3 ,have compartments for your thoughts and open but one of them at a time2 in this way each little pleasure you may have will not be spoiled by some lumbering care2 neither will one thought drive out another1 and an important matter will not swamp a lot of smaller ones4 ,such1 vaguely outlined1 was this great and interesting figure4 ,with the appearance of the ,parerga his work was done4 ,he lived ten years longer in great seclusion1 receiving only infrequent visits4 ,there1 where two or three are gathered together1 he would say1 and suggested that his friends and believers should meet and consult without him4 ,such literary labor as he then performed consisted mainly in strengthening that which he had already written1 and in making notes and suggestions for future editions4 ,at the age of seventy-two he died1 very peacefully though suddenly1 leaving all his fortune to charitable purposes4 ,in these pages no attempt has been made to enter into the details of biography1 for that pleasant task has been already well performed by other and better equipped pens4 ,the present writer has therefore only sought to present such a view of ,schopenhauer as might aid the general reader to a clearer understanding of the doctrine which he was the first to present1 and which will be briefly considered in the next chapter4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #c3 ,briefe ber die ,schopenhauer'sche ,philosophie4 ,footnote #d3 ,yes1 yes1 ,sarastro reigns herein4--,air from the ,magic ,flute4 ,footnote #e3 ,an article in the ,revue des ,deux ,mondes4 ,footnote #f3 ,hegel et ,schopenhauer4 ,paris3 ,hachette et ,cie4 ,footnote #g3 ,arthur ,schopenhauer4 ,von ihm1 ,ueber ihn4 ,berlin4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,sphinx',s ,,riddle4 ,in the ,munich beer halls1 when one student is heard laying down the law about something which he does not understand to a companion who cares not a rap on the subject1 it is very generally taken for granted that the two are talking metaphysics4 ,indeed1 metaphysics has a bad name everywhere4 ,in itself1 it suggests nothing very enticing1 and even its nomenclature seems to bring with it a sort of ponderosity which is very nearly akin to the repulsive4 ,this prejudice1 of course1 is not without its reason4 ,the philosophers1 nearly one and all1 seem to have banded themselves into a sort of imaginary freemasonry1 whose portals they bar to any one refusing to robe his thoughts in a garment of technical speech4 ,moreover1 at the very gateway of their guild there looms before the timorous the fear of a hideous initiation1 the cold douche of logic1 and the memorizing of hateful terms4 ,there can therefore be no stronger proof of ,schopenhauer's ability than that which is contained in the fact that he successfully eluded all these stale abuses1 and turned one of the heaviest kinds of writing into one of the most agreeable4 ,indeed1 ,schopenhauer is not only one of the most profound thinkers of the essentially profound nineteenth century1 but1 what is still more noteworthy1 he is an exceptionably fascinating teacher4 ,his spacious theories and tangential flights are1 of course1 not such as charm the reader of the penny dreadful2 but any one who is interested in the drama of evolution and the tragi-comedy of life will1 it is believed1 find in him a fund of curious information1 such as no other thinker has had the power to convey4 ,he has1 it is true1 made the most of the worst2 but beyond this reproach1 but one other of serious import remains to be brought against him1 and that is that though he has been dead and buried for very nearly a quarter of a century1 he is still on the outer margin of his epoch4 ,for this he is not1 of course1 entirely to blame4 ,there are among thinkers many pleasant optimists still1 who form a respectable majority2 to be sure1 a wise man once said that in considering a new subject the minority were always right2 but1 disregarding for the moment the fallacy of believing that this world is the best one possible1 it cannot but be admitted that scientific pessimism is still in its infancy4 ,it has yet many prejudices to disarm1 and many errors of its own to correct4 ,like meaner things1 it must mature4 ,for this it has ample time4 ,berkeley says that few men think1 yet all have opinions2 and it is now very frequently asserted that when more is thought1 not only there will not be such a diversity of opinion1 but at that time ,pessimism1 as the religion of the future1 will begin its sway4 ,it has been elsewhere noted that the effect of ,kant's philosophy was not dissimilar to that of a successful operation on cataract1 and the aim of the ,world as ,will and ,idea is to place in the hands of those on whom that operation has been satisfactorily performed a pair of such spectacles as are suitable to convalescent eyes4 ,schopenhauer is therefore in a measure indebted to ,kant1 as also1 it may be added1 to ,plato1 and the sacred books of the ,hindus4 ,in saying1 however1 that ,schopenhauer is indebted to ,kant1 it is well to point out that ,schopenhauer begins precisely where ,kant left off4 ,kant's great merit consisted in distinguishing the phenomenon from the thing-in-itself1 or in other words1 in showing the difference between that which seems and that which is4#h ,for the inaccessible thing-in-itself he had no explanation to offer4 ,he called it the ,ding an sich1 regarded it as the result of an unintelligible cause1 and then left it to be a bugbear to every student of his philosophy4 ,this unpleasant ,ding an sich was exorcised1 and well-nigh banished for good and all1 by ,fichte and ,hegel2 but ,schopenhauer restablished the incomprehensible factor on a fresh basis1 christened it ,will1 and asserted it to be the creator of all that is1 and at once independent1 free1 and omnipotent2 in other words1 the interior essence of the world of which ,christ crucified is the sublime symbol4 ,thus disposed of1 the ,ding an sich may now be left to take care of itself1 and the examination of the great theory begun4 ,schopenhauer opens his philosophy with the formula1 ,the world is my idea2 a formula which1 it may be noted1 condenses in the fewest possible words all that is worth condensing of the idealism of ,germany4 ,beginning in this manner it is evident that he proposes to show neither whence the world comes nor whither it tends1 nor yet why it is1 but simply1 what it is4 ,the question has been asked before4 ,according to ,schopenhauer1 the world is made up of two zones1 the real and the ideal2 and it may here be said that over the real and the ideal ,schopenhauer successfully read the banns4 ,to return1 however1 to the opening formula4 ,the world is my idea is a truth which holds good for everything that lives and thinks1 but which1 however1 is appreciable only by man4 ,when appreciated1 it is at once clear that what we know is neither a sun nor an earth1 for we have at best an eye which sees the one1 and a hand which feels the other4 ,in brief1 we are unacquainted with either forms or colors2 we have but senses which represent them to us1 while objects exist for us merely through the medium of the intelligence4 ,indeed1 as ,schopenhauer has said1 no other truth is more certain and less in need of proof than this1--that the whole world is simply the perception of a perceiver2 in a word1 idea4 ,emerson says that the frivolous make themselves merry with this theory2 and it must be admitted that at first it does not seem quite satisfactory to be told that the world in which we live is nothing more nor less than a cerebral phenomenon1 which man carries with him to the tomb1 and which1 in the absence of a perceiver1 would not exist at all4 ,to arrive1 however1 at a clear understanding of the purely phenomenal existence of the exterior world1 it will suffice to represent to one's self the world as it was when entirely uninhabited4 ,at that time it was necessarily without perception4 ,later1 there sprang up a great quantity of plants1 upon which the different forces of light1 air1 humidity1 and electricity acted according to their nature4 ,if1 now1 it be remembered how impressionable plants are to these agents1 and how thought leads by degrees to sensation and thence to perception1 immediately then the world appears representing itself in time and space4 ,or1 reverse the argument and imagine that the dream of the poet is realized1 that nations have disappeared1 and that every living thing has ceased to be1 while beneath the sun's unchanging stare1 and enveloped in the sky's bland1 pervasive blue1 the earth with her continents and archipelagoes continues to revolve in space4 ,under such circumstances it would naturally seem as though the universe subsisted still4 ,but if the question is examined more closely1 it will perhaps be admitted that these things remain as they are only on condition of being seen and felt4 ,for supposing one spectator present1 but of a different mental organization from our own1 then the entire scene is changed2 suppress him1 and the whole spectacle tumbles into chaos4 ,this doctrine1 as it will be readily understood1 does not in any sense deny the reality of the world in the ordinary acceptation of the term2 it maintains merely that every object is conditioned by its subject2 or1 to explain the theory less technically1 it will be sufficient to reflect that for the world1 or for anything else1 to be an object1 there must be some one as subject to think it2 for instance1 the dreamless sleep proves that the earth exists only to the thinking mind1 and should all ,nature be rocked in an eternal slumber1 there could then be no question of an exterior world4 ,if it be asked in what this perception consists1 which represents the exterior world1 we find that it is limited to three fundamental concepts1 that of time1 space1 and their concomitant causality2 but inasmuch as time and space are the receptacle of every phenomenon1 once their ideality is established1 the ideality of the world is proven at the same moment1 and with it the truth of the formula1 ,the world is my idea4 ,now the ideality of time is established1 according to ,schopenhauer1 by what is known in mechanics as the law of inertia4 ,for what1 he asks in the ,parerga1 does this law teach8 ,simply1 that time alone cannot produce any physical action1 that alone and in itself it alters nothing either in the repose or movement of a body4 ,were it either accidentally or otherwise inherent in things themselves1 it would follow that its duration or brevity would affect them in a certain measure4 ,but it does nothing of the sort2 time passes over all things without leaving the slightest trace1 for they are acted upon only by the causes that unroll themselves in time1 but in no sense by time itself4 ,when1 therefore1 a body is withdrawn from chemical action1 as the mammoth in the ice fields1 the fly in amber1 and the ,egyptian antiquities in their closed necropoli1 thousands of years may pass and leave them unaffected4 ,indeed1 he adds elsewhere1 the living toads found in limestone lead to the conclusion that even animal life may be suspended for thousands of years1 provided this suspension is begun in the dormant period and maintained by special circumstances4 ,the ,london ,times1 #bast ,september1 #ahdj1 contains a notice to the effect that1 at a lecture delivered by ,mr4 ,pettigrew1 at the ,literary and ,scientific ,institute1 the lecturer showed some grains of wheat which ,sir ,g4 ,wilkenson had found in a grave at ,thebes1 where they must have lain for three thousand years4 ,they were found in an hermetically sealed vase4 ,mr4 ,pettigrew had sowed twelve grains1 and obtained a plant which grew five feet high1 and the seeds of which were then quite ripe4 ,many other instances are given of this absolute inactivity2 for example1 let a body once be put in motion1 that motion is never arrested or diminished by any lapse of time2 it would be never ending were it not for the reaction of physical causes4 ,in the same manner a body in repose would remain so eternally did not physical causes put it in motion4 ,it follows1 therefore1 that time is not a real existence1 but only a condition of thought1 or purely ideal4 ,in regard to the ideality of space1 ,schopenhauer says1 ,the clearest and most simple proof of the ideality of space is that we can never get it out of our thoughts1 as we might anything else4 ,we can fancy space as having no longer anything to fill it1 we can imagine that everything within it has disappeared1 we can represent it as being1 between the fixed stars1 an absolute void1 but space itself we can never get rid of2 whatever we do1 however we turn1 there it is in endless expansion4 ,this fact certainly proves that space is a part of our intellect2 or1 in other words1 that it is the woof of the tissue upon which the different objects of the exterior world apply themselves4 ,as soon as ,i think of an object1 space appears with it and accompanies every movement1 every turn and dtour of my thought1 as faithfully as the spectacles on my nose accompany every movement1 every turn and dtour of my person1 or just in the same manner as the shadow accompanies the body4 ,if ,i notice that a thing accompanies me everywhere1 and under all circumstances1 ,i naturally conclude that it is in some way connected with me2 as if1 for instance1 wherever ,i went ,i noticed a particular odor from which ,i could not escape4 ,space is precisely the same2 whatever ,i think of1 what ever ,i imagine1 space comes first and yields its place to nothing4 ,it must1 therefore1 be an integral part of my understanding1 and its ideality in consequence must extend to everything that is thinkable4 ,space and time being but the empty framework of phenomenal existence1 something must fill them1 and that something is causality1 which1 according to ,schopenhauer1 is synonymous with action and matter4 ,into these abstract regions1 however1 it is unnecessary to follow him any further4 ,suffice it to say that having shown in this way that one of the two zones of which the world is formed is but an effect of the perceptions1 he passes therefrom to the world as it is4 ,now there were many paths which might or might not have led him to the unravelment of the great secret which ,kant gave up in despair1 there were many ways which seemed to tend to a direct solution of the ,sphinx's riddle1 but the course which he chose1 and which brought him nearer to the proper answer than any other system of which the world yet knows1 may be fairly said to have been inspired by the spirit of truth1 and as an inspiration given first to him of all men4 ,it was not mathematics that he selected to aid him in his search for the real1 for whatever the subtleties of that science may be1 it is still too superficial to contain an explorable depth4 ,the natural sciences could aid him as little4 ,anatomy1 botany1 and zology reveal1 it is true1 an infinite variety of forms1 but these forms at best are but unrelated perceptions1 a series of indecipherable hieroglyphics4 ,even etiology1 when embracing the whole range of physical science1 gives at most but the nomenclature1 succession1 and changes of inexplicable forces1 without revealing anything of their inner nature4 ,all these methods were smitten with the same defect1--they were all external1 and offered not the essence of things1 but only their image and description4 ,to employ them1 therefore1 in a search for truth would1 he said1 be on a par with a man who1 wandering about a castle looking vainly for the entrance1 takes meanwhile a sketch of the faade4 ,such1 however1 he noted1 is the method which all other philosophers have followed4 ,he concluded1 therefore1 as man was not only a thinking being1 to whom the world was merely an idea1 but an individual riveted to the earth by a body whose affections were the starting-point of his intuitions1 that reality would come to him1 not from without1 but from within4 ,for this body of man's is1 he argued1 but an object among other objects2 its movements and actions are unknown to the thinking being save as are the changes of the others1 and they would be as incomprehensible to him as his own were not their signification revealed to him in another manner4 ,he would see movements follow motives with the constancy of a natural law1 and would as little understand the influence of the motive as the connection of any other effect with its cause4 ,he could1 if he chose1 call it force1 quality1 or character1 but that is all that he would know about it4 ,what1 then1 is the interior essence of every manifestation and of every action8 ,what is that which is identical with the body to such an extent that to its command a movement always answers8 ,what is that with which ,nature plays1 which works dumbly in the rock1 slumbers in the plant1 and awakes in man8 ,schopenhauer answers with a word1 ,will4 ,will1 he teaches1 is a force1 and should not be taken1 as it is ordinarily1 to mean simply the conscious act of an intelligent being4 ,in ,nature it is a blind1 unconscious power2 in man it is the foundation of being4 ,but before entering into an examination of the functions and vagaries of this force1 of which everything1 from a cataclysm to a blade of grass1 is a derivative1 it is well to inquire what its exact rank is4 ,it has been already said that in man it was the foundation of being1 but from very early times1--as a matter of fact1 since the days in which ,anaxagoras lived and taught1--the intellect has held1 among all man's other attributes1 a sceptre hitherto uncontested4 ,if ,schopenhauer1 however1 is to be believed1 the supremacy hitherto accorded to it has been the result of error4 ,the throne1 by grace divine1 belongs to ,will4 ,the intellect is but the prime minister1 the instrument of a higher force1 as the hammer is that of the smith4 ,if the matter be examined however casually1 it will become at once clear that what we are most conscious of in effort1 hope1 desire1 fear1 love1 hatred1 and determination1 are the workings and manifestations of ,will4 ,if the animal is considered1 it will be seen that in the descending scale intelligence becomes more and more imperfect1 while ,will remains entirely unaffected4 ,the smallest insect wants what it wants as much as man4 ,the intellect1 moreover1 becomes wearied1 while ,will is indefatigable4 ,indeed1 when it is remembered that such men as ,swift1 ,kant1 ,scott1 ,southey1 ,rousseau1 and ,emerson have fallen into a state of intellectual debility1 it is well-nigh impossible to deny that the mind is but a function of the body1 which1 in turn1 is a function of the ,will4 ,but that which probably shows the secondary and dependent nature of the intelligence more clearly is its peculiar characteristic of intermittence and periodicity4 ,in deep sleep1 the brain rests1 while the other organs continue their work4 ,in brief1 then1 ,intellect is the light and ,will the warmth4 ,in me1 ,schopenhauer says1 the indestructible is not the soul1 but rather1 to employ a chemical term1 the basis of the soul1 which is ,will4 ,will1 moreover1 is not only the foundation of being1 but1 as has been noted1 it is the universal essence4 ,schopenhauer points out the ascension of sap in plants1 which is no easy problem in hydraulics1 and the insect's marvelous anticipations of the future1 and asks what is it all but ,will8 ,the vital force itself1 he says1 is ,will1--,will to live1--while the organism of the body is but ,will manifested1 ,will become visible4 ,as ,schopenhauer describes it1 ,will is also identical1 immutable1 and free4 ,its identity is shown in inorganic life in the irresistible tendency of water to precipitate itself into cavities1 the perseverance with which the loadstone turns to the north1 the longing that iron has to attach itself to it1 the violence with which contrary currents of electricity try to unite the choice of fluids1 and in the manner in which they join and separate4 ,in organic life1 it is shown by the fact that every vegetable has a peculiar characteristic3 one wants a damp soil1 another needs a dry one2 one grows only on high ground1 another in the valley2 one turns to the light1 another to the water2 while the climbing plant seeks a support4 ,in the animal kingdom there exists another form1 which is noticeable in the partly voluntary1 partly involuntary movements of the lowest type4 ,when1 however1 in the evolution of ,will the insect or the animal seeks and chooses its food1 then intelligence begins and volition passes from darkness into light4 ,will1 too1 is immutable4 ,it never varies2 it is the same in man as in the caterpillar1 for1 as has been said1 what an insect wants it wants as decidedly as does a man2 the only difference is in the object of desire4 ,the immutability of ,will1 moreover1 is the base of its indestructibility2 it never perishes1 and for that matter what does8 ,in the world of phenomena all things1 it is true1 seem to have a birth and a death1 but that is but an illusion1 which the philosopher does not share4 ,our true being1 and the veritable essence of all things1 dwell1 ,schopenhauer says1 in a region where time is not1 and where the concepts of birth and death are without significance4 ,the fear of death1 he adds parenthetically1 is a purely independent sentiment1 and one which has its origin in the ,will to live4 ,briefly1 it is an illusion which man brings with him when he is born1 and which guides him through life2 for notice that were this fear of death perfectly reasonable1 man would be as uneasy about the chaos which preceded his existence as about that which is to follow it4 ,let the individual die1 however2 the species is indestructible1 for death is to the species as sleep is to the individual4 ,the species contains the indestructible1 the immutable ,will of which the individual is a manifestation4 ,it contains all that is1 all that was1 and all that will be4 ,when we think of the future and of the coming generations1 the millions of human beings who will differ from us in habits and customs1 and we try in imagination to fancy them with us1 we wonder from where they will spring1 where they are now8 ,where is this fecund chaos1 rich in worlds1 that hides the generations that are to be8 ,and where can it be save there1 where every reality has been and will be1--here1 in the present1 and what it contains4 ,and you1 foolish questioner1 who do not recognize your own essence1 you are like the leaf on the tree which1 withering in autumn1 and feeling it is about to fall1 laments at death1 inconsolable at the knowledge of the fresh verdure which in spring will cover the tree once more4 ,the leaf cries1 ',i am no more4' ,foolish leaf1 where do you go8 ,whence do the fresh leaves come8 ,where is this chaos whose gulf you fear8 ,see1 your own self is in that force1 interior and hidden1 acting on the tree which1 through all generations of leaves1 knows neither birth nor death4 ,and now tell me1 ,schopenhauer concludes1 as though he were about to pronounce a benediction1 tell me1 is man unlike the leaf8 ,this doctrine1 which teaches that through all there is one invariable1 identical1 and equal force1 is the great problem whose solution was sought by ,kant1 and which he gave up in despair2 it is the discovery which makes of ,schopenhauer one of the foremost thinkers of the century1 and one1 it may be added without any unguarded enthusiasm1 which will suffice to carry his name into other ages1 somewhat in the same manner as the name of ,columbus has descended to us4 ,if we were to consider1 he said1 the nature of this force which admittedly moves the world1 but whose psychological examination is so little advanced that the most certain analytical results seem not unlike a paradox1 we should be astonished at this fundamental verity which ,i have been the first to bring to light1 and to which ,i have given its true name1--,will4 ,for what is the world but an enormous ,will constantly irrupting into life4 ,gravitation1 electricity1 heat1 every form of activity1 from the fall of an apple to the foundation of a republic1 is but the expression of ,will1 and nothing more4 ,this doctrine of volition coincides1 it may be noted1 very perfectly with that of evolution1 and it was not difficult for ,schopenhauer to show that the more recent results of science were a confirmation of his philosophy4 ,in the ,parerga1 which he wrote thirty years after the publication of his chief work1 he says that during the early stages of the globe's formation1 before the age of granite1 the objectivity of the ,will-to-live was limited to the most inferior forms2 also that the forces were at that time engaged in a combat whose theatre was not alone the surface of the globe1 but its entire mass1 a combat too colossal for the imagination to grasp4 ,when this ,titan conflict of chemical forces had ended1 and the granite1 like a tombstone1 covered the combatants1 the ,will-to-live1 by a striking contrast1 irrupted in the peaceful world of plant and forest4 ,this vegetable world decarbonized the air1 and prepared it for animal life4 ,the objectivity of ,will then realized a new form1--the animal kingdom4 ,fish and crustaceans filled the sea1 gigantic reptiles covered the earth1 and gradually through innumerable forms1 each more perfect than the last1 the ,will-to-live ascended finally to man4 ,this stage attained is1 in his opinion1 destined to be the last1 for with it is come the possibility of the denial of the ,will1 through which the divine comedy will end4 ,this possibility of the denial of the ,will1 and the ransom of the world from its attendant misery thereby1 will be explained later on1 and for the moment it will be sufficient to note that ,schopenhauer refused to admit that a being more intelligent than man could exist either here or on any other planet1 for with enlarged intelligence he would consider life too deplorable to be supported for a single moment4 ,if1 now1 the foregoing arguments are admitted1 and it is taken for granted that there are two separate and distinct hemispheres1 one apparent and one real1 one the world of perceptions and one the world of ,will1 there must necessarily be some connection between the two1 some point at which they meet and join4 ,this chasm ,schopenhauer lightly bridges over with those ideas of ,plato which the ,middle ,ages neglected1 and which formed the banquet and the sustenance of the ,renaissance3 in fact1 the eternal yet ever fresh suggestions that ,nature offers to the artist1 and which the sculptor with his chisel1 the poet with his pen1 the painter with his brush1 resuscitate and explain anew4 ,it is1 however1 only in the purest contemplation that these suggestions can be properly received1 and it is1 of course1 in genius that a preminent capacity for such receptivity exists4 ,for it is as if when genius appears in an individual1 a larger measure of the power of knowledge falls to his lot than is necessary for the service of an individual will1 and this superfluity1 being free1 becomes1 as it were1 the mirror of the inner nature of the world1 or1 as ,carlyle puts it1 the spiritual picture of ,nature4 ,this1 ,schopenhauer notes parenthetically1 explains the restless activity of the genius1 for the present can rarely satisfy him1 because it does not fill his thoughts4 ,there is in him a ceaseless aspiration and desire for new and lofty things1 and a longing to meet and communicate with others of similar status4 ,the common mortal1 on the other hand1 filled with the hour1 ends in it1 and finding everywhere his like enjoys that satisfaction in daily life from which the genius is debarred4 ,the common mortal1 the bourgeois1 as it is the fashion to call him1 turned out as he is daily by the thousand1 manufactured1 it would seem1 to order1 finds in his satisfied mediocrity no glimmer1 even1 of a spark that can predispose him to disinterested observation4 ,whatever arrests his attention does so only for the moment1 and in all that appears before him he seeks merely the general concept under which it is to be brought1 very much in the same manner as the indolent seek a chair1 which then interests them no further4 ,and yet it is unnecessary to pore over ,german metaphysics to know that whoso can lose himself in ,nature1 and sink his own individuality therein1 finds that it has suddenly become a suggestion1 which he has absorbed1 and which is now part of himself4 ,it is in this sense that ,byron says3-- ,are not the mountains1 waves1 and skies a part ,of me and of my soul1 as ,i of them8 ,this theory1 it is true1 is not that of all great poets1 many of whom1 as witness ,shelley and ,leopardi1 did not see in the splendid face of ,nature that they could not be absolutely perishable1 and so selfishly mourned over their own weakness and her impassibility4 ,according to ,schopenhauer1 art should be strictly impersonal1 and contemplation as calm as a foretaste of ,nirvna1 in which the individual is effaced and only the pure knowing subject subsists4 ,this condition he praises with great wealth of adjective as the painless state which ,epicurus1 of refined memory1 celebrated as the highest good1 the bliss of the gods1 for therein man is freed from the hateful yoke of ,will1 the penal servitude of daily life ceases as for a ,sabbath1 the wheel of ,ixion stands still4 ,the cause of all this he is at no loss to explain1 and he does so1 it may be added1 in a manner poetically logical and peculiar to himself4 ,every desire is born of a need1 of a privation1 or a suffering4 ,when satisfied it is lulled1 but for one that is satisfied how many are unappeased6 ,desire1 moreover1 is of long duration1 its exigencies are infinite1 while pleasure is brief and narrowly measured4 ,even this pleasure is only an apparition1 another succeeds it2 the first is a vanished illusion1 the second an illusion which lingers still4 ,nothing is capable of appeasing ,will1 nor of permanently arresting it2 the best we can do for ourselves is like the alms tossed to a beggar1 which in preserving his life to-day prolongs his misery to-morrow4 ,while1 therefore1 we are dominated by desires and ruled by ,will1 so long as we give ourselves up to hopes that delude and fears that persecute1 we have neither repose nor happiness4 ,but when an accident1 an interior harmony1 lifting us for the time from out the infinite torrent of desire1 delivers the spirit from the oppression of the ,will1 turns our attention from everything that solicits it1 and all things seem as freed from the allurements of hope and personal interest1 then repose1 vainly pursued1 yet ever intangible1 comes to us of itself1 bearing with open hands the plenitude of the gift of peace4 ,the fine arts1 therefore1 as well as philosophy1 are at work on the problem of existence4 ,every mind that has once rested in impersonal contemplation of the world tends from that moment to some comprehension of the mystery of beauty and the internal essence of all things2 and it is for this reason that every new work which grapples forcibly with any actuality is one more answer to the question1 ,what is life8 ,to this query every masterpiece replies1 pertinently1 but in its own manner4 ,art1 which speaks in the ingenuous tongue of intuition1 and not in the abstract speech of thought1 answers the question with a passing image1 but not with a definite reply4 ,but every great work1 be it a poem1 a picture1 a statue1 or a play1 answers still4 ,even music replies1 and more profoundly than anything else4 ,indeed1 art offers to him who questions an image born of intuition1 which says1 ,see1 this is life4 ,briefly1 then1 contemplation brings with it that affranchisement of the intelligence1 which is not alone a release from the trammels of the ,will1 but which is the law of art itself1 and raises man out of misery into the pure world of ideas4 ,in the treatment of this subject1 which in the hands of other writers has been productive of inexpressible weariness1 ,schopenhauer has given himself no airs4 ,in what has gone before there has been1 it must be admitted1 no attempt to narrate history1 and then pass it off as an explanation of the ,universe4 ,he has gone to the root of the matter1 seized a fact and brought it to light1 without any nauseous accompaniment of ,absolutes or ,supersensibles4 ,in view of the magnitude of the subject1 it has been handled1 ,i think1 very simply1 and that perhaps for the reason that simplicity is the cachet which greatness lends to all its productions4 ,if in these pages it has seemed otherwise1 the fault is not that of the master1 but rather that of the clerk4 ,the question as to what the world is has been considered1 and the answer conveyed that ,will1 the essence of all things1 is a blind1 unconscious force which1 after irrupting in inorganic life and passing therefrom through the vegetable and animal kingdom1 reaches its culmination in man1 and that the only relief from its oppressive yoke is found in art and impersonal contemplation4 ,taking these premises for granted1 and admitting for a moment their corollary that life is a restless pain1 it will be found that the sombre conclusion which follows therefrom has been deduced with an exactitude which is comparable only to the precision of a prism decomposing light4 ,literature is admittedly full of the embarrassments of transition1 and philosophy has naturally its attendant share4 ,it is1 of course1 not difficult for the metaphysician to say1 ,this part of my work is theoretical1 and this1 practical2 but to give to the two that cohesion which is necessary in the unfolding of a single1 if voluminous1 thought is a feat not always performed with success4 ,it is1 therefore1 no little to ,schopenhauer's credit that he triumphantly connected the two in such wise that they seem as though fused in one1 and after disposing of the world at large was able to turn to life and its attendant1 pain4 ,now in all grades of its manifestation1 ,will1 he teaches1 dispenses entirely with any end or aim2 it simply and ceaselessly strives1 for striving is its sole nature4 ,as1 however1 any hindrance of this striving1 through an obstacle placed between it and its temporary aim1 is called suffering1 and on the other hand the attainment of its end1 satisfaction1 well-being1 or happiness1 it follows1 if the obstacles it meets outnumber the facilities it encounters1 that having no final end or aim1 there can be no end and no measure of suffering4 ,but does pain outbalance happiness8 ,the question is certainly complex1 and for that matter unanswerable save by a cumbersome mathematical process from which the reader may well be spared4 ,the optimist points to the pleasures of life1 the pessimist enumerates its trials4 ,each judges according to his lights4 ,schopenhauer's opinion goes without the telling1 and as he gave his whole life to the subject his verdict may1 for the moment1 be allowed to pass unchallenged4 ,still1 if the question is examined1 no matter how casually1 it will be seen1 first1 that there is no sensibility in the plant and therefore no suffering2 second1 that a certain small degree is manifested in the lowest types of animal life2 third1 that the capacity to feel and suffer is still limited1 even in the case of the most intelligent insects2 fourth1 that pain of an acute degree first appears with the nervous system of the vertebrates2 fifth1 that it continues to increase in direct proportion to the development of the intelligence2 and1 finally1 that as intelligence attains distinctness1 pain advances with it1 and what ,mr4 ,swinburne calls the gift of tears finds its supreme expression in man4 ,truly1 as ,schopenhauer has expressed it1 man is not a being to be greatly envied4 ,he is the concretion of a thousand necessities4 ,his life1 as a rule1 is a struggle for existence with the certainty of defeat in the end1 and when his existence is assured1 there comes a fight with the burden of life1 an effort to kill time1 and a vain attempt to escape ennui4 ,nor is ennui a minor evil4 ,it is not every one who can get away from himself4 ,schopenhauer could1 it is true1 but in so doing he noted that its ravages depicted on the human countenance an expression of absolute despair1 and made beings who love one another as little as men do seek each other eagerly4 ,it drives men1 he said1 to the greatest excesses1 as does famine1 its opposite extreme4 ,public precautions are taken against it as against other calamities1 hence the historical panem et circenses4 ,want1 he added1 is the scourge of the people as ennui is that of fashionable life4 ,in the middle classes ennui is represented by the ,sabbath1 and want by the other days of the week4 ,in this way1 between desire and attainment1 human life rolls on4 ,the wish is1 in its nature1 pain1 and satisfaction soon begets satiety4 ,no matter what nature and fortune may have done1 no matter who a man may be1 nor what he may possess1 the pain which is essential to life can never be dodged4 ,efforts to banish suffering effect1 if successful1 only a change in its form4 ,in itself it is want or care for the maintenance of life2 and if in this form it is at last and with difficulty removed1 back it comes again in the shape of love1 jealousy1 lust1 envy1 hatred1 or ambition2 and if it can gain entrance through none of these avatars1 it comes as simple boredom1 against which we strive as best we may4 ,even in this latter case1 if at last we get the upper hand1 we shall hardly do so1 ,schopenhauer says1 without letting pain in again in one of its earlier forms2 and then the dance begins afresh1 for life1 like a pendulum1 swings ever backward and forward between pain and ennui4 ,depressing as this view of life may be1 ,schopenhauer draws attention to an aspect of it from which a certain consolation may be derived1 and even a philosophic indifference to present ills be attained4 ,our impatience at misfortune1 he notes1 arises very generally from the fact that we regard it as having been caused by a chain of circumstances which might easily have been different4 ,as a rule1 we make little1 if any1 complaint over the ills that are necessary and universal2 such1 for instance1 as the advance of age1 and the death which must claim us all2 on the contrary1 it is the accidental nature of the sorrow that gives its sting4 ,but if we were to recognize that pain is inevitable and essential to life1 and that nothing depends on chance save only the form in which it presents itself1 and that consequently the present suffering fills a place which without it would be occupied by another which it has excluded1--then1 from convictions of this nature1 a considerable amount of stoical equanimity would be produced1 and the amount of anxious care which now pervades the world would be notably diminished4 ,but fortifications of this description1 however cunningly devised1 form no bulwark against pain itself2 for pain1 according to ,schopenhauer1 is positive1 the one thing that is felt2 while on the other hand1 satisfaction1 or1 as it is termed1 happiness1 is a purely negative condition4 ,against this theory it is unnecessary to bring to bear any great battery of argument2 many thinkers have disagreed with him on this point1 as they have also disagreed with his assertion that pleasure is always preceded by a want4 ,it is true1 of course1 that unexpected pleasures have a delight whose value is entirely independent of antecedent desire4 ,but unexpected pleasures are rare2 they do not come to us every day1 and when they do they cease to be pleasures2 indeed1 their rarity may in this respect be looked upon as the exception which confirms the rule4 ,ample proof1 however1 of the negativity of happiness is found in art1 and especially in poetry4 ,epic and dramatic verse represent struggles1 efforts1 and combats for happiness2 but happiness itself1 complete and enduring1 is never depicted4 ,up to the last scene the hero copes with dangers and battleaxes difficulties1 whereupon the curtain falls upon his happiness1 which1 being completely negative1 cannot be the subject of art4 ,the idyl1 it is true1 professes to treat of happiness1 but in so doing it blunders sadly1 for the poet either finds his verse turning beneath his hands into an insignificant epic made up of feeble sorrows1 trivial pleasures1 and trifling efforts1 or else it becomes merely a description of the charm and beauty of ,nature4 ,the same thing1 ,schopenhauer says1 is noticeable in music4 ,melody is a deviation from the keynote1 to which1 after many mutations1 it at last returns2 but the keynote1 which expresses the satisfaction of the will is1 when prolonged1 perfectly monotonous1 and wearisome in the extreme4 ,from the logic of these arguments it is clear that ,voltaire was not very far wrong when he said3 ,happiness is but a dream1 and only pain is real4 ,i have thought so for eighty-four years1 and ,i know of no better plan than to resign myself to the inevitable1 and reflect that flies were born to be devoured by spiders1 and man to be consumed by care4 ,to this conclusion the optimist will naturally object1 but he does so in the face of history and experience1 either of which is quite competent to prove that this world is far from being the best one possible4 ,if neither of them succeeds in so doing1 then let him wander through the hospitals1 the cholera slums1 the operating-rooms of the surgeon1 the prisons1 the torture-chambers1 the slave-kennels1 the battlefields1 or any one of the numberless haunts of nameless misery2 or1 if all of these are too far1 or too inconvenient1 let him take a turn into one of the many factories where men and women1 and even infants1 work from ten to fourteen hours a day at mechanical labor1 simply that they may continue to enjoy the exquisite delight of living4 ,moreover1 as ,schopenhauer asks with grim irony1 ,where did ,dante find the materials for his ',inferno' if not from this world2 and yet is not his picture exhaustively satisfactory8 ,to some minds it is even a trifle overcharged2 but look at his ,paradise2 when he attempted to depict it he had nothing to guide him1 this pleasant world could not offer a single suggestion2 and so1 being obliged to say something1 and yet not knowing what to say1 he palms off in place of a celestial panorama the instruction and advice which he imagines himself as receiving from ,beatrice and the ,saints4 ,briefly1 then1 life1 to the pessimist1 is a motiveless desire1 a constant pain and continued struggle1 followed by death1 and so on1 in secula seculorum1 until the planet's crust crumbles to dust4 ,since1 therefore1 life is so deplorable1 the deduction seems to follow that it is better to take the poet's advice3-- ,count o'er the joys thine hours have seen1 ,count o'er thy days from anguish free1 ,and know1 whatever thou hast been1 ',tis something better--not to be4 ,but here the question naturally arises1 how is this annihilation to be accomplished8 ,through a vulgar and commonplace suicide8 ,not at all4 ,schopenhauer is far too logical to suggest a palliative so fruitless and clap-trap as that4 ,for suicide1 far from being a denial of the will to live1 is one of its strongest affirmations4 ,paradoxical as it may seem1 the man who takes his own life really wants to live2 what he does not want are the misery and trials attendant on his particular existence4 ,he abolishes the individual1 but not the race4 ,the species continues1 and pain with it4 ,in what manner1 then1 can we decently rid ourselves1 and all who would otherwise follow1 of the pangs and torments of life8 ,schopenhauer will give the receipt in a moment2 but to understand the method clearly1 it is necessary to take a glance at the metaphysics of love4 ,we are told by ,dr4 ,frauenstadt that ,schopenhauer considered this portion of his philosophy to be a pearl4 ,a pearl it may be1 but as such it is not entirely suited to an ,anglo-,saxon setting2 nevertheless1 as it is important to gain some idea of what this clear-eyed recluse thought of the delicate lever which disturbs the gravest interests1 and whose meshes entwine peer and peasant alike1 a brief description of it will not be entirely out of place4 ,by way of preface it may be said that1 save ,plato1 no other philosopher has cared to consider a subject so simple yet complex as this1 and of common accord it has been relinquished to the abuse of the poets and the praise of the rhymesters4 ,it may be1 perhaps1 that from its nature it revolted at logic1 and that the seekers for truth1 in trying to clutch it1 resembled the horseman in the familiar picture who1 over ditches and dykes1 pursues a phantom which floats always before him1 and yet is ever intangible4 ,la ,rochefoucauld1 who was ready enough with phrases1 admitted that it was indefinable2 a compatriot of his tried to compass it with the epigram1 ,c'est l'gosme deux4 ,balzac gave it an escutcheon4 ,every one has had more or less to say about it2 and as some have said more than they thought1 while others thought more than they said1 it has been beribboned with enough comparisons to form an unportable volume1 while its history1 from ,tatterdemalia to ,marlborough ,house1 is written in blood as well as in books4 ,love1 however1 is the basis of religion1 the mainstay of ethics1 as well as the inspiration of lyric and epic verse4 ,it is1 moreover1 the principal subject of every dramatic1 comic1 and classic work in ,india1 ,europe1 and ,america1 and the inexhaustible spring from whose waters the fecund lands of fiction produce fresh crops more regularly than the seasons4 ,it is a subject never lacking in actuality1 and yet one to which each century has given a different color4 ,it is recognized as a disease1 and recommended as a remedy4 ,and yet what is it8 ,there are poets who have said it was an illusion2 but however it may appear to them1 it is no illusion to the philosopher3 far from it2 its reality and importance increase in the ratio of its ardor1 and whether it turns to the tragic or the comic1 a love affair is to him1 above all other early aims1 the one which presents the gravest aspects1 and the one most worthy of consideration2 for all the passions and intrigues of to-day1 reduced to their simplest expression and divested of all accompanying allurements1 are nothing more nor less than the combination of the future generation4 ,it is through this frivolity1 ,schopenhauer says1 that the dramatis person are to appear on the stage when we have made our exit4 ,the existence of these future actors is absolutely conditioned on the general instinct of love1 while their nature and characteristics depend on individual choice4 ,such is the whole problem4 ,love is the supreme will to live1 the genius of the species1 and nature1 being highly strategic1 covers itself1 for the fulfillment of its aims1 with a mask of objective admiration1 and deludes the individual so cleverly therewith1 that he takes that to be his own happiness which1 in reality1 is but the maintenance of the species4 ,the love affairs of to-day1 therefore1 instead of representing questions of personal joy or sorrow1 are simply and solely a series of grave meditations on the existence and composition of the future generation4 ,it is this grand preoccupation that causes the pathos and sublimity of love4 ,it is this that makes it so difficult to lend any interest to a drama with which the question is not intermingled4 ,it is this that makes love an every-day matter1 and yet an inexhaustible topic4 ,it is this that explains the gravity of the rle it plays1 the importance which it gives to the most trivial incidents1 and above all1 it is this that creates its measureless ardor4 ,to quote ,madame ,ackermann3-- ,ces dlires sacrs1 ces dsirs sans mesure1 ,dchans dans vos flancs comme d'ardents essaims1 ,ces transports1 c'est dj l'humanit future ,qui s'agite en vos seins4 ,however disinterested and ideal an affection may seem1 however noble and elevated an attachment may be1 it is1 from ,schopenhauer's standpoint1 simply ,will projecting itself into the creation of another being2 and the moment in which this new being rises from chaos into the punctum saliens of its existence is precisely that moment in which two young people begin to fancy each other4 ,it is in the innocent union and first embrace of the eyes that the microbe originates1 though1 of course1 like other germs1 it is fragile and prompt to disappear4 ,in fact1 there are few phenomena more striking than the profoundly serious1 yet unconscious1 manner in which two young people1 meeting for the first time1 observe one another4 ,this common examination1 this mutual study1 is1 as has been stated1 the meditation of the genius of the species1 and its result determines the degree of their reciprocal inclination4 ,in comedy and romance the sympathies of the spectator are invariably excited at the spectacle of these two young people1 and especially so when they are discovered defending their affection1 or1 to speak more exactly1 the projects of the genius of the species1 against the hostility of their parents1 who are solely occupied with their individual interests4 ,it is unquestionably for this reason that the interest in plays and novels centres on the entrance of this serene spirit1 who1 with his lawless aims and aspirations1 threatens the peace of the other actors1 and usually digs deep graves for their happiness4 ,as a rule1 he succeeds1 and the climax1 comformably with poetic justice1 satisfies the spectator1 who then goes away1 leaving the lovers to their victory1 and associating himself in the idea that at last they are happy1 whereas1 according to ,schopenhauer1 they have1 in spite of the opposition of their parents1 simply given themselves up as a sacrifice to the good of the species4 ,in tragedies in which love is the mainspring1 the lovers usually die1 because1 as follows from the foregoing logic1 they have been unable to triumph over those designs of which they were but the instruments4 ,as ,schopenhauer adds1 however1 a lover may become comic as well as tragic1 and this for the reason that in either case he is in the hands of a higher power1 which dominates him to such an extent that he is1 so to speak1 carried out of himself1 and his actions in consequence become disproportioned to his character4 ,hence it is that the higher forms of love bring with them such poetic coloring1 such transcendental and supernatural elevation1 that they seem to veil their true end and aim from him completely4 ,for the moment1 he is animated by the genius of the species4 ,he has received a mission to found an indefinite series of descendants1 and1 moreover1 to endow them with a certain constitution1 and form them of certain elements which are only obtainable from him and a particular woman4 ,the feeling which he then has of acting in an affair of great importance transports the lover to such superterrestial heights1 and garbs his material nature with such an appearance of immateriality that1 however prosaic he may generally be1 his love at once assumes a poetic aspect1 a result which is often incompatible with his dignity4 ,in brief1 the instinct which guides an insect to a certain flower or fruit1 and which causes it to disregard any inconvenience or danger in the attainment of its end1 is precisely analogous to that sentiment which every poet has tried to express1 without ever exhausting the topic4 ,indeed1 the yearning of love which brings with it the idea that union with a certain woman will be an infinite happiness1 and that the inability to obtain her will be productive of insufferable anguish1 cannot1 according to ,schopenhauer1 be considered to have its origin in the needs of the ephemeral individual2 it is in fact but the sigh of the genius of the species1 who sees herein a unique opportunity of realizing his aims1 and who in consequence is violently agitated4 ,inasmuch as love rests on an illusion of personal happiness1 which the supervising spirit is at little pains to evoke1 so soon as the tribute is paid the illusion vanishes1 and the individual1 left to his own resources1 is mystified at finding that so many sublime and heroic efforts have resulted simply in a vulgar satisfaction1 and that1 taking all things into consideration1 he is no better off than he was before4 ,as a rule1 ,theseus once consoled1 ,ariadne is forsaken1 and had ,petrarch's passion been requited his song would then have ceased1 as that of the bird does when once its eggs are in the nest4 ,every love-match1 then1 is contracted in the interest of the future generation1 and not for the profit of the individual4 ,the parties imagine1 it is true1 that it is for their own happiness2 but1 as ,schopenhauer has carefully explained1 owing to the instinctive illusion which is the essence of love they soon discover that they are not united to each other in any respect1 and this fact becomes at once evident when the illusion which first joined them has at last disappeared4 ,hence it happens1 ,schopenhauer adds1 that love-matches are usually unhappy1 for they but assure the presence of the next generation at the expense of everything else1 or1 as the proverb runs1 ,quien se casa por amores ha de viver con dolores4 ,if now1 he concludes1 we turn our attention to the tumult of life1 we find that all men are occupied with its torments1 we see them uniting their efforts in a struggle with want and massing their strength against misery1 and yet there1 in the thick of the fight1 are two lovers whose eyes meet1 charged with desire6 ,but why do they seem so timid1 why are their actions so mysterious8 ,it is because they are traitors who would perpetuate the pain which1 without them1 would soon come to that end which they would prevent1 as others have done before them4 ,there can be but one objection to this novel theory1 which1 at least1 has the merit of being thoroughly logical1 as well as that of connecting a subject so intangible as love to the fundamental principle of the whole doctrine1 and that is that it leaves those higher and purer realms of affection1 of which most of us are conscious1 almost entirely unvisited4 ,this objection1 however1 loses much of its force when it is remembered that ,schopenhauer gave to this division of his subject the title of ,metaphysics of ,love1 and in so doing sought solely to place the matter on a scientific basis4 ,in this he has undoubtedly succeeded1 and his explanation1 if characteristic1 is not for that reason necessarily unsound4 ,in another essay1#i which is narrowly connected with the one in hand1 he takes the reader from the highest spheres of pure love to the foundation of ethics1 and shows that both are derived from an identical sentiment1 which he calls compassion4 ,and since grief is king1 what better primate can he have than sympathy8 ,to the thinker who sees joy submerged by pain1 and death rule uncontested1 what higher sentiment can come than that of pity8 ,schopenhauer has1 however1 been very frequently blamed for giving this as the foundation of morality2 to many it has seemed too narrow and incomplete1 and an academy 7that of ,copenhagen7 refused to crown his essay1 for that very reason4 ,but whatever objections may be brought against it1 its originality at least is unattackable4 ,in ancient philosophy1 ethics was a treatise of happiness2 in modern works1 it is generally a doctrine of eternal salvation2 to ,schopenhauer1 it is neither2 for if happiness is unobtainable1 the subject is necessarily untreatable from such a standpoint1 and on the other hand1 if morality is practiced in the hope of future reward1 or from fear of future punishment1 it can hardly be said to spring from any great purity of intention4 ,with such incentives it is but a doctrine of expediency1 and at best merely adapted to guide the more or less interested motives of human action2 but as the detection of an interested motive behind an action admittedly suffices to destroy its moral value1 it follows that the criterion of an act of moral value must be the absence of any egotistic or interested motive4 ,schopenhauer points out that acts of this description are discernible in the unostentatious works of charity1 from which no possible reward can accrue1 and in which no personal interest is at work4 ,so soon1 he says1 as sympathy is awakened the dividing line which separates one being from another is effaced4 ,the welfare and misfortunes of another are to the sympathizer as his own1 his distress speaks to him and the suffering is shared in common4 ,meanwhile this phenomenon1 which he sees to be of almost daily occurrence1 is yet one which reason cannot explain4 ,all1 even the most hard-hearted1 have experienced it1 and they have done so very often intuitively and to their own great surprise4 ,men1 for instance1 risk their lives spontaneously1 without possible hope of gain or applause1 for a total stranger4 ,england1 some years ago1 paid twenty millions sterling to free the slaves in her colonies1 and the motive of that grandiose action can certainly not be attributed to religion1 for the ,new ,testament does not contain a word against slavery1 though in the days to which it refers slavery was universal4 ,it is pity1 then1 according to ,schopenhauer1 which is the base of every action that has a true moral value4 ,indeed1 he says1 the soundest1 the surest guarantee of morality is the compassionate sympathy that unites us with everything that lives4 ,before it the casuist is dumb4 ,whoso possesses it is incapable of causing the slightest harm or injury to any one2 rather to all will he be magnanimous1 he will forgive1 he will assist1 and each of his actions will be distinguished by its justice and its charity4 ,in brief1 compassion is the spontaneous product of nature1 which1 while independent of religion and culture1 is yet so pervasive that everywhere it is confidently evoked1 and nowhere counted among the unknown gods4 ,it is compassion that makes the mother love best her feeblest child4 ,truly the man who possesses no compassion is outside of humanity4 ,the idea that runs through the whole subject1 and which is here noted because its development leads to the logical climax of the entire philosophy1 is that all love is sympathy1 or1 rather1 all pure love is sympathy1 and all love which is not sympathy is selfishness4 ,of course combinations of the two are frequently met2 genuine friendship1 for instance1 is a mixture of both1 the selfishness consisting in the pleasure experienced in the presence of the friend1 and the sympathy in the participation in his joys and sorrows4 ,with this theory as a starting-point1 ,schopenhauer reduces every human action to one1 or sometimes to two1 or at most three motives3 the first is selfishness1 which seeks its own welfare2 the second is the perversity or viciousness which attacks the welfare of others2 and the third is compassion1 which seeks their good4 ,the egotist has but one sincere desire1 and that is the greatest possible amount of personal well-being4 ,to preserve his existence1 to free it from pain and privation1 and even to possess every delight that he is capable of imagining1 such is his end and aim4 ,every obstacle between his selfishness and his desires is an enemy to be suppressed4 ,so far as possible he would like to possess everything1 enjoy everything1 dominate everything4 ,his motto is1 ,all for me1 nothing for you4 ,when1 therefore1 the power of the state is eluded1 or becomes momentarily paralyzed1 all at once the riot of selfishness and perversity begins4 ,one has but to read the ,causes ,clbres1 or the history of anarchies1 to see what selfishness and perversity are capable of accomplishing when once their leash is loosed4 ,at the bottom of the social ladder is he whose desire for life is so violent that he cares nothing for the rights of others1 and for a small personal advantage oppresses1 robs1 or kills4 ,above him is the man who never violates the rights of others1--unless he has a tempting opportunity1 and can do so with every reasonable assurance of safety1--the respectable citizen who pays his taxes and pew-rent1 and once in a while serves on the jury4 ,on a higher level is he who1 possessing a considerable income1 uses but little of it for himself and gives the rest to the poor1 the man who makes less distinction than is usually made between himself and others4 ,such an one is as little likely to let others starve while he himself has enough and to spare1 as another would be to hunger one day that he might eat more the next4 ,to a man of this description the veil of ,my1 which may be taken to mean the veil of illusions1 has become transparent4 ,he recognizes himself in every being1 and consequently in the sufferer4 ,let this veil of ,my be lifted from the eyes of a man to such an extent that he makes no distinction at all between himself and others1 and is not only highly benevolent1 but ready at all times to sacrifice himself for the common good2 then he has in him the holiness of the saint and the germ that may flower into renunciation4 ,the phenomenon1 ,schopenhauer says1 by which this change is marked is the transition from virtue to asceticism4 ,in other words1 it then no longer suffices for him to love others as himself2 there arises within him a horror of the kernel and essence of the world1 which recognizably is full of misery1 and of which his own existence is an expression1 and thereupon denying the nature that is in him1 and ceasing to will anything1 he gives himself up to complete indifferentism to all things4 ,such1 in outline1 is ,schopenhauer's theory of ethics1 which1 starting from the principle of kindness of heart1 leads to the renunciation of all things1 and1 curious as the dnouement may appear1 at last to universal deliverance4 ,in earlier pages the world has been explained to be utterly unsatisfactory1 and it has been hinted that the suicide1 were he delivered of his suffering1 would gladly rehabilitate himself with life2 for it is the form of life that the suicide repudiates1 not life itself4 ,but life1 to be scientifically annihilated1 should be abolished1 not only in its suffering1 but in its empty pleasures and happiness as well2 its entire inanity should be recognized1 and the whole root cut once and for all4 ,in explaining in what manner this is to be accomplished1 ,schopenhauer carries his reader bon gr1 mal gr1 far off into the shadows of the ,orient4 ,on the one side is the lethargy of ,india1 on the other ,china drugged with opium1 while above all rises the fantasy of the ,east1 the dogma of metempsychosis4 ,as has been seen1 ,schopenhauer holds that there is in every life an indestructible principle4 ,this belief he shares with the ,buddhist1 the ,brahmin1 the ancient ,druid1 and the early ,scandinavian2 historically speaking1 the doctrine is so old that a wise ,anglican is reported to have judged it fatherless1 motherless1 and without genealogy4 ,properly speaking1 however1 this creed does not now insist that there is a transmigration of the soul1 but rather1 in accordance with recent esoteric teaching1 it implies simply that the fruit of good and evil actions revives with the individual through a succession of lives1 until the evil is outbalanced1 the good is paramount1 and deliverance is at last attained4 ,in other words1 the beautiful myth of the early faith is superseded by an absurd and awkward palingenesia4 ,schopenhauer gives the name of ,will to that force which1 in ,indian philosophy1 is considered to resurrect with man across successive lives1 and with which the horror of ulterior existences reappears4 ,it is from this nightmare that we are summoned to awake1 but in the summons we are told that the awakening can only come with a recognition of the true nature of the dream4 ,the work to be accomplished1 therefore1 is less physical than moral4 ,we are not to strangle ourselves in sleep1 but to rise out of it in meditation4 ,in man1 says ,schopenhauer1 the ,will-to-live advances to consciousness1 and consequently to that point where it can readily choose between its continuance or abolition4 ,man is the saviour1 and all nature awaits its redemption through him4 ,he is at once the priest and the victim4 ,if1 therefore1 in the succeeding generations the appetite for death has been so highly cultivated1 and compassion is so generally practiced1 that a widespread and united pity is felt for all things1 then through asceticism1 which the reader may construe universal and absolute chastity1 that state of indifference will be produced in which subject and object disappear1 and--the sigh of the egoist ,will once choked thereby into a death-rattle--the world will be delivered from pain4 ,it is this1 ,schopenhauer exclaims in his concluding paragraph1 that the ,hindus have expressed in the empty terms of ,nirvna1 and reabsorption in ,brahma4 ,we readily recognize that what remains after the entire abolition of the ,will is without effect on those in whom it still works2 but to those in whom it has been crushed1 what is this world of ours with its suns and stellar systems8 ,nothing4 ,in the preface to the second edition of the ,welt als ,wille und ,vorstellung1 ,schopenhauer recommends that the work be read by the light of his supplementary essays4 ,this task1 beyond demanding an agility of pencil and some concentration1 is otherwise one of the most morbidly agreeable that can be suggested4 ,the sensation that comes with a first reading is that of an abrupt translation to the wonders of a world which heretofore may have been dimly perceived1 but which then for the first time is visited and thoroughly explored4 ,the perspective1 it is true1 holds no ,edens2 in the distance there are no ,utopias2 but when the journey is ended and the book laid aside1 the peaks and abysses to which the reader has been conducted stand steadfast in memory1 and the whole panorama of deception and pain groups itself in a retrospect as sudden and clear as that which attends the last moments of the drowning man4 ,and ,schopenhauer is the least pedantic1 and yet the most luminous of ciceroni3 in pages which ,hugo would not disavow1 and of which the foregoing analysis can give at best but a bald and unsatisfactory idea1 he explains each height and ruin with an untiring verve1 and with an irony as keen and fundamental as ,swift's4 ,but beyond his charm as a stylist1 and his exhaustive knowledge of life1 he claims attention through his theory of the universal force1 his originality in the treatment of ethics1 and the profound ingenuity with which he attaches everything1 from a globule to an adagio in ,b flat1 to his general system4 ,it is said that philosophy begins precisely where science ends2 the doctrine1 therefore1 which has just been considered is1 in a measure1 impregnable to criticism4 ,reduced to its simplest expression1 it amounts briefly to this3 an unknown principle--an x1 which no term can translate1 but of which ,will1 taken in the widest sense of ,force1 is the rendition the least inexact--explains the universe4 ,the highest manifestation of ,will is man2 any obstacle it encounters is pain4 ,pain is the attendant of life4 ,man1 however1 duped by the instinct of love1 has nothing better to do than to prolong through his children the sorrowful continuation of unhappy generations4 ,the hope of a future existence in a better world seems to be a consolation1 but as a hope it rests on faith4 ,since life is not a benefit1 chaos is preferable4 ,beyond suicide1 which is not a philosophic solution1 there are but two remedies for the misery of life2 one1 a palliative1 is found in art and disinterested contemplation2 the other1 a specific1 in asceticism or absolute chastity4 ,were chastity universal1 it would drain the source of humanity1 and pain would disappear2 for if man is the highest manifestation of ,will1 it is permissible to assume that1 were he to die out1 the weaker reflections would pass away as the twilight vanishes with the full light4 ,all great religions have praised asceticism1 and in consequence it was not difficult for ,schopenhauer to cite1 in support of his theory1 a number of texts from the gnostics1 the early fathers of the church1 the thinkers1 such as ,angelius1 ,silesius1 and ,meister ,eckhard1 the mystics1 and the quietists1 together with pertinent extracts from the ,bible and the sacred books of the ,orient4 ,but none of these authorities seem to have grasped the principle which1 according to ,schopenhauer1 lies at the root of asceticism and constitutes its chief value4 ,at best1 they have seen in it but the merit of obedience to a fantastic law1 the endurance of a gratuitous privation1 or else they have blessed in celibacy the exaltation of personal purity and the renunciation of worldly pleasures4 ,from the philosophic standpoint1 however1 the value of asceticism consists in the fact that it leads to deliverance1 prepares the world for the annihilation of pain1 and indicates the path to be pursued4 ,through his labors and sympathy the apostle of charity succeeds in saving from death a few families which1 in consequence of his kindness1 are condemned to a long misery4 ,the ascetic1 on the other hand1 does far better2 he preserves whole generations from life1 and in two or three instances very nearly succeeded in saving the world4 ,the women1 ,schopenhauer says somewhere1 refused to join in the enterprise1 and that is why ,i hate them4 ,if asceticism were practiced by all men1 it follows that pain1 so far as man is concerned1 would cease in it4 ,but is it permissible to assume that with the disappearance of man the world will vanish with him--in other words1 if humanity dies out1 that animality must necessarily follow after8 ,it is here1 if anywhere1 that ,schopenhauer has blundered2 the world is deplorably bad1 let the optimist and thoughtless say what they will1 and it would undoubtedly be very advantageous to have the whole universe tumble into sudden chaos2 but that such a consummation is to be brought about by voluntary asceticism is1 in the present state of society1 and independent of the opposition of women1 greatly to be doubted4 ,schopenhauer has denied that a being superior to man could exist2 if1 then1 the nineteenth century1 which plumes itself on the mental elevation and culture of the age1 and in looking back at the ignorance of earlier epochs considers itself the top of all creation1--if1 then1 the nineteenth century1 in its perspicacity1 refuses such a solution1 there is little left for humanity to do save to bear the pains of life as it may1 or1 better still1 with the resignation which ,leopardi long ago suggested4 ,when1 putting aside this eccentric theory of deliverance1 the teaching of ,schopenhauer is reviewed1 it will1 according to the nature of the reader1 bring with it a warm approval or a horrified dissent4 ,to some he will appear like an incarnation of the ,spirit of ,truth2 to others like the skeleton in ,goya's painting1 which1 leaning with a leer from the tomb1 scrawls on it the one word1 ,nada1--nothing4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #h3 ,this distinction of ,kant's is not strictly original4 ,its germ is in ,plato1 and ,voltaire set all ,europe laughing at ,maupertuis1 who had vaguely stated that nous vivons dans un monde ou rien de ce que nous apercevons ne ressemble ce que nous apercevons4 ,whether ,kant was acquainted or not with ,maupertuis' theory is1 of course1 difficult to say2 at any rate1 he resurrected the doctrine1 and presented idealism for the first time in a logical form4 ,footnote #i3 ,das ,fundament der ,moral1 contained in ,die beiden ,grundprobleme der ,ethik4 ,leipsic3 ,brockhaus4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,borderlands ,,of ,,happiness4 ,it was with something of the lassitude which succeeds an orgy that ,schopenhauer turned from the riot of the will and undertook to examine such possibilities of happiness as life may yet afford1 and1 as incidental thereto1 the manner in which such possibilities may be most enjoyed4 ,to this subject he brought a sumptuous variety of reflections1 which are summed up in a multi-colored essay1 entitled ,lebensweisheit1 or ,conduct of ,life1 but in which1 in spite of the luxury of detail and brilliancy of description1 ,schopenhauer almost unconsciously reminds the reader of a man who takes his constitutional at midnight1 and preferentially when it rains4 ,the suggestions that occur to him are almost flamboyant in their intensity1 and yet about them all there circles such a series of dull limitations that one somehow feels a sense of dumbness and suffocation1 a longing to get away and rush out into an atmosphere less charged with sombre conclusions4 ,concerning the baseness and shabbiness of every-day life ,schopenhauer has but little to say4 ,he touches but lightly on its infinite vulgarity1 while its occasional splendor is equally unnoticed4 ,indeed1 he preaches not to redeem nor convert1 but simply that his hearers may be in some measure enlightened as to the bald unsatisfactoriness of all things1 and so direct their individual steps as to come as little in contact with avoidable misery as possible4 ,to many it will1 of course1 seem quite appalling that a mind so richly receptive as his should have chosen such shaggy moorlands for habitual contemplation1 when1 had he wished1 he might have feasted his eyes on resplendent panoramas4 ,the moorlands1 however1 were not of his making2 he was merely a painter filling in the landscape with objects which stood within the perspective1 and if he happened upon no resplendent panoramas1 the fault lay simply in the fact that he had been baffled in his attempt to find them4 ,voltaire says1 somewhere1 ,i do not know what the life eternal may be1 but at all events this one is a very poor joke4 ,in this sentiment ,schopenhauer solemnly concurred4 ,that which was a boutade to the one became a theory to the other1 and it is to his treatment of this subject that the attention of the reader is now invited4 ,the introduction which he gives to it1 if not as light as the overture to a ballet1 will1 it is believed1 still be found both interesting and instructive1 while its conclusion and supplement form1 it may be noted1 an admitted part of that which is best of the modern essayists4 ,the first chapter opens with an enumeration of those possessions which differentiate the lot of man1 and which in so doing form the basis of possible happiness4 ,it has been said that the happiest land is the one which has little1 if any1 need of importations1 and he notes that the man is most contented whose interior wealth suffices for his own amusement1 and who demands but little1 if anything1 from the exterior world4 ,or1 as ,oliver ,goldsmith has expressed it1-- ,still to ourselves in ev'ry place consigned ,our own felicity we make or find4 ,in a world such as ours1 ,schopenhauer thinks1 he who has much to draw upon from within is not unlike a room in which stands a ,christmas tree1 bright1 warm1 and joyous1 while all about are the snows and icicles of a ,december night4 ,that which a man is in himself1 that which accompanies him into solitude1 and which none can give him or take from him1 is necessarily more essential than all that he may possess or all that he may appear in the eyes of others4 ,the scholar1 for instance1 even when utterly alone feeds most agreeably on his own thoughts1 and we are most of us very well aware that he whose intelligence is limited may ceaselessly vary his festivals and amusements without ever succeeding in freeing himself from the baleful weariness of boredom4 ,according to ,schopenhauer1 then1 the supreme and all-important elements of earthly happiness are subjective possessions1 such as a noble character1 a capable mind1 an easy disposition1 and a well-organized and healthy body2 and it is these gifts1 he rightly insists1 that should be cultivated and preserved1 even at the expense of wealth and emolument4 ,an easy disposition1 however1 is that which above all other things contributes most directly to contentment4 ,gayety of heart is1 indeed1 its own recompense1 and he who is really gay has a reason for so being from the very fact that he is so4 ,supposing a man to be young1 handsome1 rich1 and respected1 the one question to be asked about him is1 ,is he light-hearted8 ,on the other hand1 if he is light-hearted1 little does it matter whether he is young or old1 straight-limbed or deformed1 poor or rich2 in any case he is contented4 ,it is light-heartedness alone which is1 so to speak1 the hard cash of happiness2 all the rest is but the note-of-hand2 and in making this observation1 he 7,schopenhauer7 is careful to point out that there is nothing that contributes so little to gayety as wealth1 and nothing that contributes so much thereto as health4 ,it is in the lower classes1 among the laborers1 and particularly among the tillers of the soil1 that gayety and contentment are to be found1 while on the other hand1 the faces of the great and the rich generally present an expression of sullen constraint4 ,to thoroughly understand1 however1 how greatly happiness depends on gayety of disposition and the state of health1 it is only necessary to compare the impression which the same circumstances and similar wants bring to us in days of health and vigor1 with that which is paramount when through our condition we are predisposed to dullness and discontent4 ,in brief1 it is not the event itself1 but the way in which we view it1 that makes or unmakes our happiness4 ,or1 as ,epictetus said long ago1 man is not moved by things1 but by his opinion of them4 ,as a general rule1 nine tenths of happiness may be said to rest on the state of health2 when this is perfect1 anything and everything may be a source of pleasure2 in illness1 on the other hand1 nothing1 no matter what its nature may be1 is capable of affording any real enjoyment4 ,it follows1 therefore1 that it is wanton stupidity to sacrifice health for any purpose1 even for wealth and fame1 and especially to passing and fugitive pleasures1 however alluring they may appear4 ,the next class of possessions of which ,schopenhauer treats is property2 and in considering this division he seems not unlike that contented individual who1 on seeing a quantity of objects exposed for sale1 exclaimed pensively1 ,how much there is of which ,i have no need6 ,every man1 it will be admitted1 has his own horizon1 beyond which his pretensions do not extend4 ,they reach the edge1 but they do not cross it4 ,in other words1 the absence of those possessions with which a man is unacquainted is in no sense a privation to him2 and it is probably for this reason that the day-laborer bothers himself so little about the flaring wealth of the rich4 ,wealth1 on the other hand1 is like salt water2 the more one drinks1 the greater the thirst4 ,but1 even so1 this grim philosopher was far from despising it4 ,it is a rampart against an incalculable number of discomforts2 and it is in this manner that it should be viewed1 instead of being considered1 as is generally the case1 in the light of a permission to procure a diversity of pleasure4 ,as a practical man1 ,schopenhauer saw nothing that could make his ink blush in repeatedly recommending the preservation of a fortune1 made or inherited2 for even1 he says1 if it simply suffices to permit its possessor to live without the necessity of labor1 it is still an inappreciable advantage in that it brings with it an exemption from the general drudgery which is the ordinary lot of man4 ,it is only on this condition that man is born free1 master of his hour and his strength1 and enabled to say each morning1 ',the day is mine4' ,the difference1 therefore1 between him who has a thousand crowns a year and the landlord whose rent-roll runs into millions is infinitely less than the difference between the first and the man who has nothing4 ,if the man whose necessities are provided for is inclined to follow ,schopenhauer's advice1 he will1 first of all1 seek in repose and leisure the avoidance of every form of discomfort2 especially will he seek to lead a tranquil and unpretentious existence which1 so far as possible1 will be sheltered from all intruders4 ,after having for a certain time kept up relations with what is termed the world1 he will prefer a retired life2 and if he is of superior intelligence1 he will give himself up to solitude4 ,this he will do1 because the more a man possesses in himself1 the less he has need of the exterior world4 ,superiority of intelligence will therefore lead him to insociability2 for1 as ,schopenhauer says1 ,it is precisely in solitude1 where each of us is dependent on his own resources1 that every one is brought face to face with his own individuality2 there the imbecile in his purple groans beneath the weight of his miserable self1 while he who is mentally gifted peoples and animates with his thoughts the most arid and desert region4 ,now1 it may be objected that contentment is not to be found in an idle folding of the hands behind a hedge set against vexation4 ,nor is this ,schopenhauer's meaning4 ,wealth is but the means1 not the source of contentment4 ,it is not the certainty of an income that brings happiness1 for its accompanying affranchisement from want carries the tenant to the opposite pole of misery1 where gapes the hydra1 ennui4 ,and it is there that he whose necessities are provided for surely lands1 unless he fills the hour with some one of the many elevated pursuits from which those who are obliged to work for their bread are in a great measure debarred4 ,the third and last class of possessions that ,schopenhauer discusses is that which a man represents2 or1 in other words1 the manner in which he appears to his neighbors4 ,there is1 he says1 no superstition more universally dominant than that which leads us to attach a high value to the opinion of others2 and whether it be that this superstition has its roots in our very nature1 or that it has followed us up from the birth of society and civilization1 it is none the less certain that it influences our conduct in a manner which is incommensurate1 and hostile to our well-being4 ,this influence may be traced from the point in which it shows itself beneath the anxious and servile deference to the qu'en dira-t-on1 to that in which it drives the dagger of ,virginius into his daughter's heart1 or else to where it leads men to sacrifice their peace1 their fortune1 their wealth1 and their lives1 for the sake of posthumous renown4 ,the existence1 however1 which we lead in the minds of others is a possession1 ,schopenhauer has carefully explained1 which1 through a singular weakness1 while highly prized is yet entirely unimportant to our happiness4 ,indeed1 if the comparison be drawn between that which we are in reality and that which we are in the eyes of others1 it will be seen that the first term of the comparison comprises our entire existence1 for its sphere of action is in our own perceptions1 while1 on the other hand1 that which we represent acts on other minds than our own1 and in consequence has no direct existence for us1 and an indirect one only so far as it may influence their conduct toward us4 ,the wealthy1 in their uttermost magnificence1 can but say1 ,our happiness is entirely outside of us2 it dwells in the minds of others4 ,certainly1 to a happiness of this description every thinker is indifferent1 or will necessarily become so as he grows aware of the superficiality and dullness of mind1 the narrow sentiments and limited ideas1 the absurdity of opinion and numberless errors1 which go to the making of his neighbor's brain4 ,indeed1 it is generally sufficient to note with what contempt half-a-dozen imbeciles will speak of some distinguished man1 to be quite ready to agree with ,schopenhauer that in according a high value to the opinion of others we are paying them an honor which they in no sense deserve4 ,it is essential to our well-being to thoroughly understand the simple fact that each one lives but in his own particular skin and not in the opinion of others1 and that1 therefore1 our actual condition as determined by health1 temperament1 intellect1 wife1 children1 and home1 is a hundred times more important than what it may please others to think about us2 fame1 of course1 is very pleasant2 so is glory2 but1 after all1 what do they amount to8 ,as has been seen1 ,leopardi snapped his fingers at them both4 ,to him they were simply illusions4 ,schopenhauer goes more deeply into the subject1 and explains with great opulence of detail and fantasy of adjective that glory and fame are founded on that which a man is in comparison to others2 in other words1 that their value is purely relative1 and would disappear entirely if every one became that which a celebrity is already4 ,it is not fame that is so desirable1 but rather the merit which should precede it4 ,the predisposing conditions are1 so to speak1 the substance1 while glory itself is but the accident1 which works on its possessor as an exterior symptom1 and confirms his own high opinion of himself4 ,but this symptom is yet not infallible1 for is there not glory without merit and merit without fame8 ,as glory is incontestably but the echo1 the image1 the shadow1 the simulachre of merit1 and as in any case that which is admirable should be more highly valued than the admiration that it excites1 it follows that that which causes happiness does not consist in glory1 but rather in the attracting force of merit2 or1 to put it more exactly1 in the possession of such character and faculties as predispose thereto4 ,to be deserving of fame is1 then1 its own exceeding great reward4 ,there all the honor lies1 and necessarily this must be true1 for1 as a rule1 the reverberation of a glory that is to echo through future ages rarely reaches the ears of him who is the object2 and though certain instances to the contrary may be objected1 yet they have usually been due to fortuitous circumstances which are otherwise without great importance4 ,men lack ordinarily the proper balance of judgment which is necessary for the appreciation of superior productions2 and in these matters they usually take the opinion of others1 and that1 too1 in such wise that ninety-nine admirers out of a hundred accord their praise at the nod of one4 ,it is for this reason that the approbation of one's contemporaries1 however numerous their voices may be1 has so slight a value for the thinker1 for at best he can hearken to the voices of the few1 which in themselves may be but the effect of the moment4 ,would a virtuoso be greatly flattered by the applause of his public if he learned that1 with but two or three exceptions1 the auditorium was filled with deaf mutes who1 to conceal their infirmity1 clapped a loud approval so soon as they saw a real listener move his hands8 ,and how would it be if he knew the leaders of the clique were often paid to procure a great success to the most insignificant scraper of cat-gut8 ,it is with reflections of this description that ,schopenhauer explains why it is that sudden celebrity so rarely passes into immortal glory1 and points-- 444 how hard it is to climb ,the heights where ,fame's proud temple shines afar1 and even1 the summit gained1 the uselessness of it all4 ,this same conclusion has been reached by several other writers1 notably by ,leopardi1 whose views have been already explained1 and by ,von ,hartmann1 whose theories are mentioned in the next chapter2 but the main idea has perhaps been best expressed by ,d',alembert1 who1 in speaking of the temple of fame1 says1 ,its interior is inhabited only by the dead who were not there in their life-time1 and by certain aspirants who are shown the door as soon as they die4 ,to sum up what ,schopenhauer has set forth1 and of which the foregoing detached ideas can give at best but a lame conception1 we find that to his mind1 as perhaps to that of every serious thinker1 the first and most essential condition of contentment is the quality of character2 and this would be essential if only because it is always in action1 but it is so1 even to a greater extent1 because it is the only possession which cannot in some manner be taken from us4 ,in this sense he considers its value as absolute when opposed to the relative value of mere possessions and the opinion of others4 ,in brief1 man is not so susceptible to the influence of the exterior world as it is generally supposed1 for only ,time can exercise his sovereign rights upon him4 ,beneath this force the physical and intellectual qualities wane and gradually succumb1 the moral character alone remaining invulnerable4 ,considered in this connection1 actual possessions and the opinions which others hold concerning us have this advantage over character3 they need not necessarily be affected by time2 moreover1 being accessible in their nature they both may be acquired1 while1 on the other hand1 character once established remains invariable for life4 ,schopenhauer evidently does not hold with him who sings-- ,that men may rise on stepping-stones ,of their dead selves1 to higher things4 ,all that can be done1 he has explained1 is to employ the individuality1 such as it is1 to the greatest profit2 or1 in other words1 a man should pursue only those aspirations which correspond to his disposition1 and only choose in consequence that occupation and walk of life which is best suited to it4 ,from the preponderance thus given to the first of these three divisions over the two others1 it follows that it is far better to watch over health and the development of the intellect than it is to attend to the acquisition of wealth4 ,schopenhauer1 of course1 does not mean that the acquisition of that which is necessary to one's proper maintenance should be in any wise neglected2 far from it4 ,his idea is simply that a superfluity of riches1 instead of contributing to well-being1 brings with it an inevitable vexation in the constant care which the management of a large fortune demands4 ,briefly1 then1 the essential element of contentment is that which one is in himself1 and it is simply because the dose is ordinarily so small that the majority of those who have been conquerors in the struggle with want feel themselves to be as thoroughly unhappy as those who are still in the thick of the fight4 ,but still1 whatever the issue of the conflict may be1 each one among us is enjoined to aspire to a good repute4 ,honor is an inappreciable belonging1 and glory1 the most exquisite of all that is within the reach of man1 is the ,golden ,fleece of the elect4 ,the second and third divisions have upon each other a reciprocal effect3 wealth brings with it the good opinion of others1 and the good opinion of others has aided many a man on the road to fortune2 taken together they represent over again the habes1 haberis of ,petronius1 yet the factors that reside within us contribute more liberally to contentment than those which are born of things4 ,it is somewhat in this manner1 but with a conciseness of deduction and a felicity of diction which the foregoing summary is inadequate even to suggest1 that ,schopenhauer1 without any noticeable effort1 points quietly and with a certain suavity of self-confidence to the fact that there is1 in spite of all our bluster and hurrying about1 very little in life that is of much consequence4 ,there is1 of course1 little that is terrifying in what he has written2 there is no incentive and no stimulus1 as the phrase goes1 to be up and doing2 indeed1 to the reflective mind his logic will have somewhat the effect of a sedative1 and to many he will seem to hold that the best use life can be put to is to pass it in a sort of dilettante quietism4 ,such in the main is his idea1 but it is an idea which1 to be acted upon1 necessitates a refinement of the senses and a burnish of the intellect such as is possessed but by the few1 and consequently the fear of its general adoption need cause but small alarm4 ,it may be remembered that1 beyond the surface of things here examined1 he pointed1 in another essay1 to the influence of morality on general happiness1 and recommended the practice of charity1 forbearance1 and good will to all men1 as one of the first conditions of mental content4 ,against all this1 naturally1 many objections might be raised1 and several ameliorations could be suggested1 but in the main the teaching has a certain sound value which it would be difficult to talk away4 ,champfort has said1 ,happiness is no easy matter2 it is hard to find it within us1 and impossible to find it elsewhere1 and this aphorism1 with which ,schopenhauer decked his title-page1 served pretty much as keynote to the whole essay4 ,all the way through he has insisted that the prime essential is what one is in one's self1 that is1 in character and disposition1 but not wealth nor yet the esteem of others2 these1 it is true1 are pleasing additions1 but not the sine qua non4 ,wealth1 however1 is too greatly prized to suffer from a theoretic treatment any appreciable diminution in general esteem1 and there are necessarily few who will object to it because they are told it is an extra burden4 ,perhaps ,schopenhauer would not have turned his back upon it either had he been put to the test1 but as he escaped that1 the conjecture is comparatively useless2 still1 few men can eat two dinners1 and those who have that capacity are seldom objects of envy1 even to the disciples of ,baron ,brisse4 ,the dinners may stand1 of course1 for figurative repasts1 and1 according to ,schopenhauer1 if a man has enough1 a superfluity is not only unnecessary1 but may readily resolve itself into a cause of vexation4 ,certainly1 as ,schiller said1 we are all born in ,arcadia3 that is1 we enter life fully persuaded that happiness exists1 and that it is most easy to make acquaintance with it2 but1 generally speaking1 experience soon lets us know that happiness is a will o' the wisp1 which is only visible from afar1 while on the other hand1 suffering and pain have a reality so insistent that they present themselves not only at once and unexpectedly1 but without any of the flimsiness of illusion4 ,in ,schopenhauer's view1 the best the world has to offer is an existence of painless tranquillity2 pleasures are and always will be negative1 and to consider them otherwise is a mistake which brings its own punishment with it4 ,pain1 on the contrary1 is positive1 and it is in its absence that the ladder to possible contentment may be found4 ,if1 then1 from a condition of this description1 viz43 one which is devoid of pain1 boredom be also subtracted1 then the reader may be sure that this is the pinnacle of earthly happiness1 and that anything that lies beyond belongs to the domain of pure chimera4 ,in the chapter succeeding the one just considered ,schopenhauer added certain reflections on the proper conduct of life which1 though loose and unsystematic1 are yet peculiarly fertile in suggestion1 and entirely free from the more or less accentuated platitudes with which other writers have dulled the subject4 ,in this essay he holds that the supreme rule of earthly wisdom is contained in ,aristotle's dictum that the sage will seek to dwell where pain is not1 and not where pleasure is4 ,the truth of this axiom he establishes by a constant reiteration of his favorite theory that pleasure as well as happiness is negative1 and only pain is real4 ,now other writers1 particularly ,mr4 ,james ,sully and ,herr von ,hartmann1 have rebelled against this statement1 but the force of their arguments has not been strong enough to confute it4 ,indeed1 mere logic can make no man contented1 and in any event1 if a philosopher considers pleasure as a negative condition1 and the critic prefers to look upon it in a different light1 the student is no more bound to agree with the one than with the other2 he will1 if properly advised1 draw his conclusions from his own sensations4 ,in accordance with the best views1 however1 ,schopenhauer is right and his critics wrong4 ,a homely example which he suggests may perhaps serve to set the matter straight3 when we are in perfect health1 and there is but one little painful spot somewhere--for instance1 an aching tooth or a swollen finger--our otherwise perfect health is unnoticed1 and our attention is directed entirely to the pain we are experiencing1 while pleasure1 determined1 as always1 by the totality of the sensations1 is entirely effaced4 ,in the same manner1 when everything in which we are interested is going as we wish1 save one thing which is going the wrong way1 it is this particular thing that is constantly in our mind1 and not the other and more important matters1 which are giving us no concern4 ,schopenhauer's advice1 therefore1 is that attention should not be directed to the pleasures of life1 but to the means by which its innumerable evils may best be escaped4 ,if this recommendation is not sound1 then ,voltaire's aphorism--happiness is but a dream and only pain is real--is as false in appearance as it is correct in reality4 ,whoever1 then1 would draw up a balance sheet of pleasure and pain should not base the sum total on the amount of pleasures which he has enjoyed1 but rather in accordance with the pains which he has avoided4 ,for as it has been pointed out1 life at best is not given to us to be enjoyed1 but to be endured1 and the happiest man is1 therefore1 he who has wandered through life with the smallest burden of physical and mental suffering1 and not he to whom the most vivid delights and intensest joys have been accorded4 ,in any case1 the greatest piece of stupidity of which man can be guilty is to wish to transform his theatre of misery into a pleasure-ground1 and to attempt to seek happiness therein1 instead of trying1 as he should1 to avert as many pains as possible4 ,there are1 of course1 many who are foolish enough not to take this view of life2 but1 according to ,schopenhauer1 those who do not do so are much more at fault than those who1 with excess of precaution1 look upon the world as a burning pit1 and occupy themselves to the best of their ability in procuring a fire-proof dwelling4 ,the simpleton will always run after pleasure1 and the pessimist will do all he can to give pain a wide berth2 if1 in spite of his efforts1 the success of the latter is small1 the fault is not so much his as that of fate2 and if1 in pursuance of this idea1 he has taken a very roundabout way and uselessly sacrificed any amount of possible pleasures without any appreciable benefit1 he can at least take heart again in the knowledge that he has in reality lost nothing at all1 for the possible pleasures are such pure chimeras that it is simply childish to grieve about them4 ,it is1 ,schopenhauer says1 because this mistake is so frequently made in favor of optimism that such a number of misfortunes occur1 for in those moments that we are free from discomfort disquieting desires dazzle our eyes with the illusions of an unreal yet seductive happiness1 and lure us on to a suffering which is neither the one nor the other2 then indeed do we grieve over the lost estate1 which was exempt from pain1 as over a paradise on which we have wittingly turned the key4 ,in this way it seems as though some evil spirit was constantly working a deceptive mirage to draw us from that freedom from pain1 which is the supreme and only real happiness4 ,now1 the average young man is usually possessed of some vague conviction that the world1 stretching out before him to unseen limits1 is the seat of a tangible happiness1 which only escapes those who are not clever enough to grasp it4 ,this conviction1 moreover1 is strengthened by romance and verse1 and by that hypocrisy which leads the world always by the thread of exterior appearance4 ,ever after1 his life is a more or less prudently conducted hunt1 a chase for a fictitious game1 until at last with a round turn he is pulled up face to face with disenchantment1 and finds that the infinite vistas narrow down to a dark alley1 with a dead wall at the end4 ,on the other hand1 the careful observer of men and things will mark a protest on his own existence2 he will have no great hopes1 and but few regrets2 ,plato long ago said there is nothing in life worth a struggle1 and to this maxim ,schopenhauer's ideal reader will attune his days and1 in any variations he may attempt1 keep always to the minor key4 ,the chief difficulty1 however1 which the candidate in pessimism will encounter in his first attempt to practice the foregoing recommendations is that which is raised by the hypocrisy of the world1 to which allusion has been already made2 and yet1 in ,schopenhauer's teaching1 the most practical lesson that can be given to youth is the showing up of the whole thing for the sham that it is4 ,the splendors are merest tinsel1 he says2 the essence of the thing is lacking2 the ftes1 the balls1 the illuminations1 the music1 are but the banners1 the indications1 the hieroglyphics of joy2 yet1 as a rule1 joy is absent1 it alone has sent a regret4 ,when it does present itself1 it comes ordinarily without invitation and unannounced2 it enters1 sans faon1 in the simplest manner1 often for the most trivial reason1 and under circumstances that are well-nigh insignificant4 ,like the gold in ,australia1 it is spread about here and there according to the whim of hazard1 without law or rule1 generally in small particles1 and but seldom in an appreciable quantity4 ,this certainly cannot be termed an enthusiastic view of life1 nor1 for that matter1 is it intended to be so considered4 ,there was too much unreasoning enthusiasm1 ,schopenhauer thought1 and too much unwary skating over thin surfaces1 and it was precisely for this reason that he set about painting ,danger in the biggest and blackest-looking characters4 ,if his advice1 therefore1 is not always cheerful1 it is at least practical1 and in any event no one can go far astray in following the monitory finger-posts which he was the first to erect2 the wayfarer who takes them for guidance may perhaps stand still1 but at least he will not stumble into any artificial pitfalls1 or happen upon unexpected quagmires4 ,in treating of our conduct to ourselves1 ,schopenhauer lays much stress on the recommendation that such proportion be preserved between the attention which we give to the present and that which we grant to the future1 that the one will in nowise interfere with the other4 ,as there are many who live for the hour and many who live for the future1 the right measure is seldom attained2 but1 as ,schopenhauer points out1 the future1 like the past1 has a value which is more apparent than real4 ,it is the present that is actual1 it is the present that is certain1 while the future1 on the contrary1 usually turns out in a manner totally different from our expectation4 ,the distance which robes the mountains expands them in our thoughts1 but the present alone is true and effective2 and as it is therein that our existence exclusively rests1 it should not only be hospitably received1 but every hour that is free from vexation or pain should be enjoyed to the fullest extent1 and not saddened with the memory of irrecoverable hopes1 or darkened by apprehensions of the morrow4 ,in other words1 let the dead past bury its dead1 and for the moment take ,seneca for model1 and agree with him that each day separately is a separate life4 ,as for the future1 it rests in the lap of the gods4 ,the only misfortunes concerning which we should alarm ourselves are those that are inevitable2 but then1 after all1 how many are there of this nature8 ,misfortunes1 broadly considered1 are either possible and probable1 or else certain1 though in the indefinite future2 and if we bother ourselves over all that might come to pass1 we would never enjoy a moment's repose4 ,in order1 therefore1 that tranquillity may not be unnecessarily disturbed1 ,schopenhauer advises that possible misfortunes be looked upon as though they would never occur1 and inevitable misfortunes as though they were still far distant4 ,it is a curious fact that the blind1 who of all people are usually pitied as the most unfortunate1 possess1 as a class1 the calmest and most contented expression4 ,this phenomenon may serve as some corroboration of a theory1 which ,schopenhauer expands at great length1 that the narrower the circle of vision the greater the happiness2 and conversely1 the wider it is the greater the inquietude and torment4 ,it is1 then1 in the simplicity and uniformity of life--so long1 of course1 as it does not engender weariness of mind--that the greatest measure of happiness is to be found4 ,under conditions of this description1 which every poet from ,horace to ,joaquin ,miller has more or less praised1 the burden from which life is inseparable is borne most lightly1 and existence flows like a rivulet1 without tides or waves4 ,the claims of society1 the effort to keep in the swim1 dans le mouvement1 as the ,french say1 is not1 of course1 very conducive to the tranquil contentment which is here so earnestly commended4 ,schopenhauer has much to say on the subject4 ,as a self-constituted recluse he necessarily judged the world1 and as necessarily found it wanting4 ,indeed1 it may fairly be said that he held in utter contempt the entire machinery of fashion1 and looked upon the whole thing as a toy for imbeciles4 ,to say that he hated it would be unjust1 for1 like most sensible people1 he held hatred to be an elixir far too precious to be wasted on trivial matters4 ,he simply took up society and then let it drop1 and he did so not because it soiled his gloves1 but because it did not seem worth the holding4 ,such views as he cared to express on this subject are unmarked by any striking vividness of originality2 for the most part they are simple1 every-day observations1 as pertinent to ,europe half a century ago as to contemporary ,london and ,new ,york1 and imply1 briefly1 that society is a mill of the conventional which grinds individualities into a tiresome sameness of sample4 ,individuality was like a strong-box into which ,schopenhauer placed all his valuables1 and to which1 we are led to believe1 he clung with all his might and main4 ,rather than have it tampered with he carried it off to a hermitage and kept it there1 one might say1 in cotton4 ,it may be1 however1 that the underlying reason of the sombre obliqueness with which he viewed the world at large sprang from a cause which was natural1 if commonplace2 it did not appreciate him4 ,nor is this very surprising2 society1 as a rule1 has an immense fund of appreciation1 which it lavishes liberally on every merit1 save alone that of intellectual ability2 on this it looks askant1 or1 as ,schopenhauer says1 as if it were smuggled4 ,furthermore1 he goes on to say1 good society1 so called1 not only brings one in contact with a lot of people whom he can neither approve of nor like1 but it will not permit us to be ourselves1 to be such as our nature demands2 on the contrary1 it compels us1 that we may remain on the same diapason with the rest1 to shrivel up completely1 and even at times to appear deformed4 ,wit and repartee are admittedly out of place save among one's peers2 in ordinary society such manifestations are either not understood1 or looked upon as dreadfully bad form4 ,for that matter1 it is only the novice who thinks that brilliant conversational powers will serve as passport2 as a rule1 it does nothing of the sort2 rather does it excite among the majority a feeling nearly akin to hatred1 and which is all the more bitter because it must be concealed4 ,ordinarily1 ,schopenhauer says1 when two people are talking together1 so soon as one of them notices a great superiority on the part of the other he tacitly concludes1 and without definite reason for so doing1 that his own inferiority has been noticed by his companion1 for whom he immediately conceives a blind resentment1 even a violent dislike2 nor in this is he much to be blamed1 for what is a display of wit and judgment but an accusation to others of their own commonplace stupidity and dullness8 ,to please in society1 therefore1 one needs to be scatter-brained or ignorant2 and it is precisely those who are the one or the other1 or even both1 who are welcome and well received4 ,from ,schopenhauer's standpoint1 then1 the society that is worth the trouble of cultivating is not such as is told of in the morning papers4 ,the ball-goers1 the dinner-givers1 the pleasure-seekers of every class and denomination1 were to him mentally insolvent1 and unable to offer any indemnity for the boredom and fatigue which their reunions and conversation created4 ,to be socially inclined was to him irrefutable evidence of a vacuous mind2 and with some of that grim humor which characterized much of his work1 he compared the modern assembly to that ,russian orchestra which1 composed of horns that have but one note apiece1 is harmonious only through the exact coincidence of each instrument2 taken separately1 each one is appallingly monotonous1 and it is only in conjunction with others that they amount to anything at all4 ,so it is1 he finds1 with the majority of people2 individually1 they seem to have but one thought1 and are in consequence both tiresome and sociable4 ,there is a tolerably familiar anecdote of ,louis ,,xiii41 which represents that feeble monarch as hailing one of his officers with the bland suggestion that they should wile away the hour in common boredom3 ,venez1 monsieur1 run the historic words1 allons nous ennuyer ensemble2 and it is perhaps this self-same1 but unanalyzed motive which leads so many to ease their weariness in the companionship of their fellows1 for1 after all1 it cannot but be admitted that the most gregarious seek the presence of others1 and even of those for whom they care nothing1 not so much for the sake of society as to get away from themselves and the dull monotone of an empty head4 ,such1 at any rate1 is ,schopenhauer's idea2 and he is careful1 in pointing to the retired existence of all really distinguished thinkers1 to note that the desire for companionship is not derived from a love of society1 but from a fear of solitude1 and that so soon as the latter is mastered there is no further desire to mingle with the crowd4 ,the only society1 therefore1 that is worth the trouble of cultivation is that of one's own self2 in this ,schopenhauer apparently makes no exception2 however closely the bonds of love or friendship may be woven1 there is always some clash of temperament2 an echoless shock it may be1 but to nerves properly attuned none the less unpleasant4 ,in regard to the society of the distinguished thinkers1 of whose conspicuous solitude he makes constant parade1 nothing is said2 but it is perhaps allowable to suppose that genius1 when it does descend from its lofty seclusion1 quickly tires of giving1 giving always1 without return1 and on its summits fraternizes as seldom with its peers as kings do with their equals4 ,in brief1 then1 the sociability of man is in an inverse ratio to his intellectual value1 and to say of some one he is not at all sociable1 may be generally taken to mean he is a man of great ability4 ,the praises of solitude have been written over and over again2 almost all the essayists1 and most of the poets1 have expatiated more or less volubly on its charms1 but no one has entered so thoroughly into the core of the subject as did this spectacled misanthrope4 ,emerson has told a quaint little story of a friend who took an exquisite delight in thinking of the incalculable number of places where he was not1 and whose idea of felicity was to dwell far off somewhere among the back stars1 there to wear out ages in solitude1 and forget memory itself4 ,had ,schopenhauer known this gentleman he would have loved him1 though perhaps at a distance2 as it was1 he expressed an approval that was well-nigh rapturous of ,la ,bruyre's well-known axiom3 ,all our misfortunes come from an inability to be alone1 and at measured intervals repeated ,voltaire's maxim that the world is full of people who are not worth speaking to4 ,his own ideas on the subject savor highly of the epigrammatic4 ,solitude1 he says1 offers a double advantage to the thinker3 the first in being with himself1 the second in not being with others4 ,the love of solitude1 however1 cannot be considered otherwise than as an acquired taste2 it must come as the result of experience and reflection1 and advance with the development of the intellect as well as with the progress of age4 ,a child will cry with fright if it be left alone even for a moment2 in boyhood1 solitude is a severe penance2 young men are eminently sociable1 and it is only the more elevated among them who from time to time wander off by themselves2 but even so1 a day passed in strict seclusion is no easy matter4 ,in middle age1 it is not so difficult1 while to the aged1 solitude seems the natural element4 ,but in each individual1 separately considered1 the growth of the inclination for solitude is always in proportion to the strength of the intellect1 and1 according to ,schopenhauer1 it is never thoroughly matured until the individual becomes firmly convinced that society is the most disagreeable of all the unpleasant things in the world4 ,to this conclusion both ,petrarch and ,zimmerman came in their respective works on solitude4 ,chamfort says somewhere1 very wittily1 ,it is sometimes said of a man that he lives alone and does not care for society2 this is very much the same as saying that he does not care for exercise1 because he does not make excursions at night in the forest of ,bondy4 ,in short1 all those whom ,prometheus has fashioned from his finer clay have brought testimony of like purport4 ,to ,schopenhauer a desire for solitude was a sure indication of aristocratic tastes4 ,every blackguard1 he says1 is pitiably sociable1 but true nobility is detected in the man who finds no pleasure in the companionship of others1 and who1 in preferring solitude to society1 gradually acquires the conviction that1 save in rare exceptions1 there is little choice between isolation and vulgarity4 ,angelus ,silesius1 whose name has descended to us in a halo of ,christian tenderness1 bears witness to the truth of this theory1 ,though solitude is hard1 yet the refined ,will still in ev'ry place a desert find4 ,it is especially in old age1 when one has ceased to expect anything in particular from the generality of mankind1 when one has become pretty well satisfied that in the long run men do not improve on acquaintance1 and when one is usually divested of those illusions which make the companionship of others seem desirable1--it is at this period that the taste for solitude1 which heretofore has demanded a succession of struggles1 becomes at once natural and matter of fact4 ,one feels1 then1 as much at ease therein as the fish does at high water4 ,but in spite of the advantages of solitude there is a hackneyed proverb about the rose and the thorn which has here a most direct application4 ,in the same manner that every breath of frosty air injuriously affects any one who constantly keeps to his own room1 so does a man's disposition become so sensitive in solitude that he is vexed and annoyed at the most trivial incident1 at a word1 or even at an expression of the countenance4 ,it is hard1 however1 to catch ,schopenhauer napping1 and for this he has a remedy which1 if not within the reach of all1 is none the less efficacious4 ,his recipe is simply that every aspirant should accustom himself to carry a part of his solitude into society1 and learn to be alone even in a crowd2 in other words1 not to tell others at once what he thinks1 and not to pay much attention to what others may say2 in this way he will in a measure keep himself unaffected by the stupidities which must necessarily surge about him1 and harden himself to exterior influences4 ,as has been noted1 it was far from ,schopenhauer's intention to recommend an idle folding of the hands4 ,solitude is all very well1 but to be habitable it must be peopled with thoughts and deeds2 the essence of life is movement1 and in inaction it is a most difficult thing to be tranquil4 ,indeed1 the most thoughtless must do something1 even if that something consist but in a tattoo beaten on the window-pane4 ,schopenhauer's words1 however1 are presumably not addressed to thoughtless people4 ,to struggle and cope is1 he says1 as much of a necessity to man as burrowing is to the mole4 ,to conquer resistance constitutes the fullness of human delight1 and whether the obstacles are of a material nature1 as in action and exercise1 or purely mental1 as in study and research1 it is the combat and the victory that bring happiness with them4 ,in treating of our conduct to others1 ,schopenhauer seems always to be peering down and sounding bottom in unfathomed depths of the human heart1 and to be taking measure of those crevices and sinuosities for which ,balzac and ,la ,rochefoucauld1 with all their equipment of bitterness1 possessed no adequate compass4 ,the result of his soundings and measurements is a lesson of circumspection and indulgence1 of which the first stands as guarantee against prejudice1 and the second as shelter from quarrels and disputes4 ,machiavelli warned every one to as carefully avoid an injury to the self-esteem of an inferior as one would the commission of a crime4 ,schopenhauer goes even further2 his theory is that whoever is obliged to live among his fellows should never repulse any one1 however pitiful1 wicked1 or ridiculous his character may be2 on the contrary1 he should accept him as something immutable1 and consider that there must necessarily be some one of that class too4 ,if he does otherwise he commits not only an imprudence1 but provokes a life-long enmity1 for1 after all1 no one can modify his own character1 and if a man is condemned unreservedly there is1 of necessity1 nothing left for him to do but to declare war to the knife4 ,it is for this reason that when one wishes1 or is obliged to live among his fellow-creatures1 it becomes necessary to let each one work out his own nature and accept each individual as he stands2 the most that can be done is to attempt to utilize the qualities and dispositions of each1 so far as they may be adaptable1 but in no case is a man to be condemned purely and simply for what he is4 ,this is the true signification of the dictum1 ,live and let live4 ,meanwhile1 in learning how to treat others it will not come amiss1 ,schopenhauer goes on to say1 to exercise a little patience on any of the inanimate objects which in virtue of some physical or mechanical necessity obstinately annoy and thwart us every day2 for in so doing we learn to bestow on our fellows the patience already acquired1 and in this manner become accustomed to the thought that they1 too1 whenever they form an obstacle to our wishes1 do so because they cannot help it1 in virtue of a natural law which is as rigorous as that which acts on inanimate things1 and because it is as absurd to get angry with them as to be annoyed at the stone which slips between our feet4 ,but in all this ,schopenhauer is far from recommending any over-indulgence or excess of amiability1 for he readily recognizes that the majority of people are like children1 who become pert as soon as they are spoiled4 ,refuse a loan to a friend1 he says1 and you will not lose him as readily as you would if you had advanced the money2 in the same manner a trace of haughtiness and indifference on your part will generally quell any of those preliminary symptoms of arrogance that follow upon too much kindness4 ,indeed1 it is the idea that one has need of them that few men can bear1--they become presumptuous at once2 and it is for this reason that there are so few with whom one can be really intimate4 ,most especially should we avoid any familiarity with vulgar natures4 ,if by chance an inferior imagines for a moment that ,i have more need of him than he has of me1 he will suddenly act as though ,i had stolen something from him1 and hurry to revenge himself and get his property back4 ,in brief1 the only way in which superiority can be maintained is in letting others see that we have no need of them at all4 ,moreover1 ,schopenhauer notes1 it is a good plan to appear a trifle disdainful from time to time2 such an attitude has a strengthening effect on friendship3 ,chi non istima1 vien stimato 7he who shows no respect is respected himself7 runs the sagacious ,italian proverb4 ,but above all1 if any one does possess a high value in our eyes it should be hidden from him as a sin4 ,this advice is not particularly exhilarating1 but it is sound4 ,too much kindness disagrees with dogs1 to say nothing of men4 ,it is a curious fact that the more intellectual a man is the more easily he is deceived4 ,there seems to be something almost incompatible between a high degree of culture and an extended knowledge of men and things1 whereas1 in the case of people of ordinary calibre1 a lack of experience will not necessarily hinder them from properly conducting their affairs2 they possess1 as it were1 an a priori knowledge which is furnished to them by their own nature1 and it is precisely the absence of this knowledge that causes the mistakes of the more refined4 ,even when a man has learned from the teaching of others and through his own experience just what he may expect from men in general1 even when he is thoroughly convinced that five sixths of them are so constituted that it is better for him to have nothing at all to do with them1 even then1 his knowledge is insufficient to preserve him from many false calculations4 ,a presumable wiseacre1 for instance1 may accidentally be drawn into the society of people with whom he is unacquainted1 and be astonished to find that in conversation and manners they are sensible1 loyal1 and sincere1 and1 perhaps1 intelligent and witty4 ,in that case1 ,schopenhauer warns him to keep well on his guard1 for the reason that ,nature is entirely unlike the dramaturge who1 when he wishes to create a scoundrel or a simpleton1 sets about it so awkwardly that he seems to be standing behind each character in turn1 and in disavowing their gestures and words to be warning the audience that one is a ruffian and the other a fool1 and that no one is to believe a word that they say4 ,it is not at all in this way that ,nature acts3 her method is that of ,shakespeare and ,goethe1 in whose plays each person1 be he the ,devil himself1 speaks as he ought to1 and is conceived so realistically that he attracts and commands attention4 ,to think1 then1 that the ,devil goes about with horns1 and the fool with bells1 is to lay one's self open to a continual deception1 for1 as a rule1 our moralist says1 men behave very much like the moon or like the hunchback2 they show only one side1 and even then they have a peculiar talent for making up their faces into a species of mask1 which exactly represents what they ought to be1 and this they assume whenever they wish to be well received4 ,put not your trust in princes1 say some2 ,schopenhauer's advice is1 ,put not your trust in masks2 and to substantiate his warning he quotes an old proverb1 which holds that no matter how vicious a dog may be he can still wag his tail4 ,to all these rules and suggestions there are1 of course1 exceptions2 there are even exceptions that are incommensurably great1 for the difference between individuals is gigantic1 but taken as a whole1 ,schopenhauer condemns the world as irreclaimably bad1 and it may be added that one does not need to be a professional pessimist to arrive at very nearly the same conclusion4 ,but beyond these broad recommendations a few others are given on our proper bearing and attitude to the world at large1 and which1 summed up in his own words1 amount1 in brief1 to the teaching that one half of all wisdom consists in neither loving nor hating1 and the other half in saying nothing and believing nothing4 ,lamennais exclaimed one day1 ,my soul was born with a sore1 and to some it may perhaps seem that on ,schopenhauer's heart an ulcer had battened during each of the seventy years that formed his life4 ,certainly he has appeared to force the note many times1 but it is permissible to doubt that he prepared a single paragraph in which he expressed himself otherwise than as he really thought4 ,in his pessimism there is no pose and as little affectation2 he wrote only what he felt to be true1 and he did so with a cheerful indifference to approval or dislike2 his position was simply that of a notary drawing up provisos and conditions in strict accord with the statutes of life of which he stood as witness4 ,his mother1 who had little cause to come forward as an eulogist1 paid him--years after their separation--this one sincere tribute3 ,with all his vagaries1 she said1 ,i have never known my son to tell a lie4 ,other encomiums have1 of course1 been passed upon him1 but it is impossible to imagine one more glorious than this4 ,over and above his disregard of sham and falsehood1 beyond his theory of force and the seductions of his ethics1 ,schopenhauer is chiefly remarkable in this3 that he was the first to detect and logically explain that universal nausea which1 circulating from one end of ,europe to the other1 presents those symptoms of melancholy and disillusion which1 patent to every observer1 are indubitably born of the insufficiencies of modern civilization4 ,where1 then1 it may be asked1 for this malady of the refined1 are the borderlands of happiness to be found8 ,from the standpoint of this teacher the answer is that they are discoverable simply and solely in an unobtrusive culture of self1 in a withdrawal from every aggressive influence1 and above all in a supreme indifference which1 culpable though alluring1 permits the neophyte to declaim with ,baudelaire1-- ,rsigne-toi1 mon coeur1 dors ton sommeil de brute4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the foregoing attempt to winnow some of the finer fibres of thought from the six volumes which form the complete edition of ,schopenhauer's works leaves admittedly much to be desired4 ,there has been1 as the phrase goes1 an embarras des richesses1 and in consequence much attendant indecision as to the choice to be made of different yet equally interesting topics4 ,the passages that have been selected and annotated in this and in the preceding chapter have been1 it may be explained1 so selected1 because they seemed1 when arranged with some attempt at orderly sequence1 to present in the fewest possible words the essence of the main idea which runs through the entire philosophy1 and which in the absence of some such arrangement demands a concentration more prolonged than is usually at the disposal of the ordinary reader4 ,those who are already acquainted with ,schopenhauer's works1 and who may do the present writer the honor of reading this exposition1 will perhaps object to it on the ground that it does not enter sufficiently into the scientific side of the doctrine1 and through this neglect leaves the reader in the dark as to its true value4 ,to this presumable objection the writer begs leave to make answer that the scientific aspect of the doctrine has been so exhaustively treated by others that it has seemed to him a waste of time to enter into any further consideration of a subject whose true value1 in spite of the numberless controversies and arguments which it continues to create1 still remains undetermined4 ,moreover1 as will have been readily seen1 the foregoing pages have in no sense been addressed to the scientist1 and that for the reason that exact information is only obtainable from the philosophy itself1 or from such a complete and1 therefore1 voluminous analysis as would be out of place in a treatise of this description4 ,the aim of these chapters is but to draw in outline the principal features of this doctrine1 and in so doing to present in the absence of complete translations a little of that vigor and color which has raised the original to the prominent position it holds among the foremost works of modern thought4 ,no attempt at the polemical has been made1 and this for the reason that it is seldom advisable to attack the truth2 the notations and criticisms which have been offered have been prepared1 not with the wish to controvert1 but rather with the hope that they might serve to a clearer understanding of the whole philosophy4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,great ,,quietus4 ,it is related of ,schopenhauer that he was in the habit of putting down a gold piece on the table d'hte where he dined1 and of taking it up again when the dinner was ended4 ,this gold piece1 he explained to his ,boswell1 was for the waiter the first time that any one of the different officers1 who frequented the dining-room1 was heard discussing a loftier topic than that which is circled in wine1 woman1 and song4 ,as the story runs1 no occasion ever presented itself in which he could in this manner express his pleasure and contentment2 but had he lived long enough to meet ,lieutenant ,von ,hartmann there is little doubt that the gold piece would have formed an immediate and rightful part of the waiter's perquisites4 ,this gentleman1 who is now no longer an officer1 but simply a thinker and a man of letters1 may1 in many respects1 be regarded as ,schopenhauer's direct descendant4 ,to the world at large very little concerning him is known1 and that little is contained in a modest autobiography which appeared a few years ago1 and to which his publisher has since added a supplement4 ,the meagre details that are furnished therein amount1 in brief1 to this3 ,eduard von ,hartmann was born in #ahdb1 in ,berlin1 in which city he passed an uneventful boyhood4 ,the school which he attended1 and which like most other schools forced the pupils to master a quantity of subjects whose usefulness may be questioned1 brought him into an almost open revolt against a system of education which1 in nine cases out of ten1 is nothing more than a pure waste of time4 ,on leaving the gymnasium he decided1 for reasons which to the average ,german must seem fantastic1 to enter the military service at once instead of passing the usual semesters at a university4 ,to this budding pessimist student life seemed to offer but dull variations between commonplaceness and vulgarity3 to listen or not to listen to sundry poorly expressed lectures by day1 to engulf at night a certain quantity of beer in stone measures1 and to diversify these occupations in receiving slashes on the cheek-bone1 or in affording amusement to the ,hebes of ,prussian restaurants1 was not to him the life that was called ideal4 ,very wisely1 then1 and in accordance with the example which his father had already given1 he chose in a military career a profession most apt to satisfy those inclinations of the scientist and of the artist which had already begun to exert an influence upon him4 ,in the year #aheh ,herr von ,hartmann entered the crack artillery regiment of ,berlin as volunteer4 ,he then passed three years at the artillery school1 intermingling the scientific studies of his profession with artistic and philosophic researches1 and frequenting meanwhile the refined society to which his family belonged4 ,about this time a rheumatic affection1 which had first declared itself toward the close of his school-days1 became complicated with a fracture of some of the delicate machinery of the knee4 ,the injury was both painful and incurable1 and in #ahfd he was obliged to resign his position1 and thereupon left the army with the grade of first lieutenant4 ,these latter details are given by way of counterbalance to the calumnies of his enemies1 who1 in explaining his pessimism by the state of his health1--which they insinuate was brought about by excessive and unusual debauchery1--have in one way and another managed to vituperate his chief work into nine editions4 ,on leaving the army he sought a career first as painter and then as musician2 it did not take him long1 however1 to discover that his vocation was not such as is found in purely artistic pursuits2 the bankruptcy of all my ambitions1 he says1 was complete2 there remained to me but one thing1 and that was thought4 ,it was from thought1 then1 that he demanded a consolation and an employment1 and turning to metaphysics he began at once to plan his ,philosophy of the ,unconscious4 ,meanwhile1 for his own distraction and instruction he had written a few essays1 of which but one was destined to see the light of day4 ,this monograph1 ,die dialektische ,methode1 was so favorably viewed at ,rostock1 that he received therefrom the degree and title of ,doctor of ,philosophy4 ,the ,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 when completed1 remained a year in his closet1 and was only published in #ahfh1 owing to an accidental meeting with an intelligent publisher4 ,before1 as since1 the appearance and success of this work1 which is very generally considered as the chief philosophical event of the last two decades1 ,dr4 von ,hartmann has lived at ,berlin1 where he endeavors in every-day life to prove the practical value of evolutionary pessimism1 which it is his wish to substitute for the indifferentism and quietist doctrines of ,schopenhauer4 ,personally1 ,dr4 von ,hartmann is a very attractive individual1 and his attractiveness is increased by the fact that there is nothing commonplace1 and at the same time nothing affected about him4 ,when ,i called at his house1 ,i found him coiled up in a rug on one of those long chairs that are familiar to every ocean traveler4 ,my first impression was that ,i was in the presence of a giant2 and as the ,berlinese as a race are notoriously tall1 ,i was only surprised at the great size of his head1 which differed singularly from that of the ordinary ,prussian4 ,his hair was brushed back from his forehead in the manner popularly termed la ,russe1 but which is more noticeable in ,vienna than in ,st4 ,petersburg2 his eyes1 which were large and luminous1 possessed an expression of such indulgence as would put the most timid visitor at ease4 ,owing partly to the arrangement of his hair1 his forehead seemed to me to be the most expansive that ,i had ever seen2 the lower part of his face was hidden in a beard which descended very nearly to his waist1 while as for his moustache1 it is1 ,i think1 the longest in metaphysics4 ,in some way or another ,i had gotten to believe that it was part of the professional philosopher to be both self-contained and absent-minded2 ,i always pictured him as a class as wearing spectacles far down on the nose1 as being somewhat snuffy1 and carelessly tired in loose and shabby dressing-gown4 ,i can give no reason for this fancy of mine other than that it is one of those pictures which we all draw of people and places that we have not seen4 ,if ,i remember rightly1 ,mr4 ,sala said that he imagined ,leipzig to be a city of very squat houses1 in which dwelt little girls in blue skirts1 and this until he got there and found that it was precisely like any other of its kind4 ,as a child1 and indeed until very lately1 ,i invariably thought of ,hungary as having red roads1 bordered by crimson houses and bluffs of green1 while all about ,i saw in fancy splendid horses prancing in rich caparisons2 but1 as any traveler will admit1 ,hungary1 in point of natural effects1 is as humdrum as ,connecticut2 for real color1 ,i suppose one must go to ,japan1 and yet there are many who have done so and then returned utterly disillusioned4 ,dr4 von ,hartmann took away my illusion about the philosopher2 he had a rug1 it is true1 but no dressing-gown1 or at least not one which was visible1 and there was nothing of the careless mien and abstracted attitudes which ,i had expected2 to use a current phrase1 he was very wide awake1 and ,i may add that to one who has lived among ,germans he seemed refreshingly hospitable and graciously courteous4 ,even in its most pleasant season1 ,berlin is not a pleasant city2 a lounge of but half an hour on the ,unter den ,linden results through unconscious imitation in an enforced quickstep2 to begin with1 there are too many big houses1 and then there are too many big soldiers2 and while the soldiers present to the stranger an appearance of arrogant hostility1 the houses1 not to be outdone1 try to look as much like the soldiers as possible1 and loom up in alert unbending aggressiveness2 indeed1 ,i have now in my mind a certain street which1 when ,i looked down it1 almost got up and threatened me4 ,i experienced1 therefore1 a subtle pleasure on discovering that out of the whole of rigid ,berlin ,dr4 von ,hartmann had chosen his residence in the most unsoldierly1 and for that reason the most attractive part2 and it was to this quarter of the city that ,i went to visit the man who1 in spite of certain vagaries of thought1 may be considered as ,germany's first thinker4 ,when he had disentangled himself from the folds of his rug1 the impression which had been produced by the size of his head and the breadth of his shoulders vanished entirely4 ,i thought for the moment of the quaint myths of the earlier ,teutons1 of the gnomes and kobolds1 for ,dr4 von ,hartmann1 while massive in head and shoulders1 is yet short and undersized1 and the suggestion of the ,rhine legends which his appearance caused was heightened by the strange effect produced by the luxuriance of his beard and moustache4 ,he had barely spoken1 however1 before ,i recognized in him not only the man of the world1 which goes without the telling1 but the gentleman1 and1 in a moment1 the thinker4 ,stendhal says somewhere1 in speaking of ,german1 that it took him two whole years to forget the beastly language4 ,stendhal was what is termed nowadays an impressionist1 and his expression may perhaps on that account be excused2 in any event ,german is decidedly an unpleasant tongue2 it is very rich1 rich even to exuberance1 and when it is well handled it is to the initiate delightful in many respects2 but to the ,latin1 and the average ,anglo-,saxon1 it is terribly tortuous1 and most easy to lose one's way in4 ,i had hoped1 therefore1 that ,i might be allowed to talk with ,dr4 von ,hartmann in some more flowing form of speech1 but as he preferred ,german1 it was not1 of course1 my place to rebel1 and ,i soon found that ,i had nothing to regret4 ,i have had in the ,fatherland the privilege of hearing some very accomplished actors1 and ,i have also sat beneath some very eloquent speakers1 but the amplitude and resources of the ,german language were first made clear to me by this gentleman4 ,when he spoke1 ,i may say1 without exaggeration1 that his words seemed less like figures of speech than evocations of pictures4 ,i had puzzled for some time over a particular point in his teaching1 and when ,i told him of my difficulty he drew down before me a series of illustrations and examples1 which were as well defined as though they formed a panorama on the wall2 and therewithal was such a fluency of verb1 such a precision of adjective1 and such a nicety of accent1 that for the first and only time ,i loved the ,german language4 ,dr4 von ,hartmann is in no sense a misanthrope4 ,he leads a quiet and easy life1 demonstrating by his own example that pessimism is not a gospel of desolation4 ,personally1 he has had many grave misfortunes2 he has suffered in health1 in name1 and in purse1 he has lost many who were most dear to him1 but his laugh is as prompt and as frank as a boy's4 ,at the head of his table sits a gracious and charming woman1 his children are rich in strength and spirits1 and an observer lately said of him and his family1 ,if you wish to see happy and contented faces1 go call on the ,hartmanns4 ,beyond writing a dozen or more monographs1 and dissertations on philosophical subjects1 ,dr4 von ,hartmann has also charmed the public with two elaborate and well-conceived poems4 ,his chief claim to recognition1 however1 and the one which has placed him at the head of contemporary metaphysics1 is the work already mentioned1 in which1 somewhat after the manner of his predecessor1 and yet with a diffuseness of argument which had no part in ,schopenhauer's system1 he reduces the motor forces of the universe to a dual principle which he terms the ,unbewussten1 or the ,unconscious4 ,it is unnecessary to enter into any minute examination of this theory of his1 in which1 with a juggle of fancies and facts1 he tries to reconcile the teaching of ,hegel with that of ,schopenhauer1 for1 however it may be considered1 it is in any event but loosely connected with that part of his philosophy which treats of the matter in hand4 ,it will be sufficient for the understanding of what is to follow1 to note simply that after examining the forms of phenomenal existence1 matter1 life organic and inorganic1 humanity1 and so on1 he presents the ,unconscious as the ,one-in-all1 the ,universal soul1 from which1 through determined laws1 the multiplicity of individuals and characters is derived4 ,this one-in-all is sovereignly wise1 and the world is admirable in every respect2 but while he argues in this way that the world is the best one possible1 he has no difficulty in showing that life itself is irreclaimably miserable4 ,the originality of his system consists in a theory of optimistic evolution as counterbalanced by a pessimistic analysis of life1 and also in the manner in which1 with a glut of curious argument1 he concludes that as the world's progressus does not tend to either universal or even individual happiness1 the great aim of science should be to emancipate man from the love of life1 and in this wise lead the world back to chaos4 ,the main idea runs somewhat as follows4 ,the interest of the ,unconscious is opposed to our own2 it would be to our advantage not to live1 it is to the advantage of the ,unconscious that we should do so1 and that others should be brought into existence through us4 ,the ,unconscious1 therefore1 in the furtherment of its aims1 has surrounded man with such illusions as are capable of deluding him into the belief that life is a pleasant thing1 well worth the living4 ,the instincts that are within us are but the different forms beneath which this unreasoning desire to live is at work1 and with which the ,unconscious inspires man and moulds him to its profit4 ,hence the energy so foolishly expended for the protection of an existence which is but the right to suffer1 hence the erroneous idea which is formed of the pain and pleasure derivable from life1 and hence the modification of past disenchantments through the influence of fresh and newer hopes4 ,with regard to happiness1 there are1 according to ,hartmann1 three periods or forms of illusion1 from all of which the world must be thoroughly freed before the great aim of science can be attained4 ,the first of these illusions consists in the idea that under certain circumstances happiness is now obtainable on earth2 the second1 in the belief that happiness is realizable in a future state2 and the third1 in the opinion that happiness will be discovered in the march of progress through the coming centuries4 ,of these three ideas1 the first has for some time past been recognized by many as a chimera4 ,in certain quarters the decomposition of the second has already begun1 but the belief in the reality of the third is unquestionably the paramount conviction of the present century4 ,when each of these three illusions has been utterly routed and universally done away with1 then1 ,hartmann considers1 the world will be ripe for its great quietus4 ,the first of these three forms is1 of course1 the most tenacious2 indeed1 it is an incontestible fact that man1 even when miserable1 clings to life1 and loves it not only when there is some vague hope of a brighter future1 but even under its most distressing conditions4 ,it is1 therefore1 against this illusion that pessimism1 to be successful1 must rain the hardest blows4 ,the views of many eminent writers on this subject have already been expressed in the course of these pages1 but their views1 while in a measure important1 should nevertheless be received with a certain amount of caution1 for they emanate from superior minds1 in which melancholy as the attribute of genius constantly presides4 ,let us imagine1 then1 with ,hartmann1 a man who is not a genius1 but simply a man of ordinary culture1 enjoying the advantages of an enviable position2 a man who is neither wearied by pleasure nor oppressed by exceptional misfortunes2 in brief1 a man capable of comparing the advantages which he enjoys with the disadvantages of inferior members of society2 let us suppose that ,death comes to this man and speaks somewhat as follows3 ,your hour is at hand2 it remains with you1 however1 to live at once a new life1 with the past entirely effaced1 or to accept the grave as it is4 ,there can be little doubt1 if this hypothetical individual has not lived carelessly and thoughtlessly1 and does not permit his judgment to be biased by the desire for life at any price1 that he would choose death in preference to another existence1 in which he would be assured of none of the favorable conditions which he had hitherto enjoyed4 ,he will recommence his own life1 perhaps1 but no other of an inferior grade4 ,this choice1 however1 would be that of an intelligent man1 and might be objected to on a ground not dissimilar to the one already advanced against the judgments of genius4 ,but let us follow ,hartmann still further1 and in descending the spiral of humanity put the same question to every one we meet2 let us take1 for instance1 a woodcutter1 a ,hottentot1 or an orang-outang1 and ask of each which he prefers1 death1 or a new existence in the body of a hippopotamus or a flea4 ,each will answer1 death1 but none of them will hesitate between their own lives and death2 and if a like question be put to the hippopotamus and the flea1 their answers will be precisely similar4 ,the difference in the comparative judgment that each would bring to bear on his own life1 and on that of life in an inferior degree1 results evidently from the fact that on being questioned each enters imaginatively into the existence of the lower creation1 and at once judges its condition to be insupportable4 ,the difference between the opinion which the flea holds on the value of its own existence and our own private judgment on this insect is derived simply from the fact that the flea has a quantity of absurd illusions which we do not share1 and these illusions cause it such an excess of imaginary happiness that in consequence it prefers its own life to death4 ,in this the flea is not wrong2 on the contrary1 it is quite right1 for the value of an existence can only be measured in accordance with its natural limitations4 ,in this sense illusion is as serviceable as truth4 ,from this introduction it follows quite of itself that each and every creature is capable of weighing the discomforts of an existence inferior to that in which it dwells1 and yet is unable to rightly judge its own4 ,each can discern the illusions with which its inferior is surrounded1 but is always defenseless against its own1 save under exceptional circumstances1 as in the case of genius4 ,hartmann concludes1 therefore1 very logically that an intelligence which is capable of embracing every form of life would condemn existence in its totality in the same manner that an intelligence relatively restricted condemns it in part4 ,in drawing up the balance-sheet of life1 ,hartmann differs from ,schopenhauer on the question of the purely negative character of pleasure4 ,that pleasure is at times a negative condition1 as in the cessation of pain1 he willingly admits1 but from his standpoint it is something else besides2 it may be either positive1 although derived from an illusion1 as in love1 or real1 as in art and science4 ,nevertheless1 the predominance of pain over pleasure seems to be firmly established1 and his examination of this subject is not without a repellant interest4 ,the four greatest blessings of life are admittedly health1 youth1 liberty1 and well-being2 but from their nature1 ,hartmann points out1 these things are incapable of raising man out of indifference into pleasure save only as they may help to diminish an anterior pain1 or guard him from a possible discomfort4 ,take the case of health1 for instance2 no man thinks of his nerves until they are affected1 nor yet of his eyes until they ache2 indeed1 it may fairly be said that a man who is in perfect condition only knows that he has a body because he sees and touches it4 ,liberty may be regarded in much the same manner3 it is unnoticed until it is in some way interfered with2 while youth1 which is the most propitious condition of life1 is in itself but capability and possibility1 and not possession1 nor yet delight4 ,well-being1 the certainty of shelter from need and privation1 ,hartmann very rightly considers merely as the sine qua non of life in its baldest aspect1 for1 he argues1 were it otherwise1 the simple fact of living would satisfy and content us2 but we all know that an assured existence is a torment if nothing fills the gap4 ,in the menagerie of beasts that torture life there is one1 ,baudelaire says in his easy metre1 that is more hideous than all the rest2 it is3-- 444 l'ennui6 ,l'oeil charg d'un pleur involontaire ,il rve d'chafauds en fumant son houka-- ,tu le connais1 lecteur1 ce monstre dlicat1 --,hypocrite lecteur1--mon semblable1--mon frre6 ,this insupportable companion of inaction is usually banished by work2 but then1 to him who is obliged to labor1 is not work often distasteful1 and even a species of misfortune8 ,indeed1 there are few1 if any1 who ever work save under compulsion2 and whether the compulsion is caused by the attracting force of fame1 the desire to escape from want1 or comes simply as a promise of relief from boredom1 the incentive and necessity are one and the same4 ,it is true that man when at work is consoled by the thought of rest1 but then work and rest merely serve to change his position1 and they do so very much in the same manner as that uneasiness which forces the invalid to turn in bed1 and then to turn back again1 when it has shown him that the second position is no better than the first4 ,the great blessings of life1 therefore1 reduce themselves1 in brief1 to this3 they represent but that affranchisement from pain which is equivalent to a state of pure indifference2 but as no one reaches this condition save momentarily and by accident1 it seems to follow that life has less charm than non-existence1 which represents indifference in its most absolute and unquestioned form4 ,this state of beatitude is yet to be acquired2 meanwhile1 as ,schiller says1 so long as philosophy does not govern the world1 hunger and love will suffice to keep it in motion4 ,after the four causes of contentment1 ,hartmann's views on the two incentives to activity remain to be examined4 ,in regard to the first1 it may be said without extravagance that the sufferings of hunger rule the greater portion of the #acjj millions of the earth's inhabitants4 ,europe not long since averaged a famine every seven years2 now1 the facilities of communication have replaced famine with an increased valuation of food4 ,death is the rarest and the least important evil that hunger occasions2 what is most to be regarded is the physical and intellectual impoverishment1 the mortality among children1 and the particular maladies which it engenders4 ,according to ,hartmann1 the analysis of hunger shows that in satisfying its demands the individual does not raise his sensibility above a state of pure indifference4 ,he may1 it is true1 under favorable circumstances1 cause a certain pleasure to predominate over suffering by means of taste and digestion2 but in the animal kingdom1 as in humanity1 taken as a whole1 the tortures caused by hunger are greatly in excess of any pleasures that may attach to it4 ,in fact1 from ,hartmann's standpoint1 the necessity of eating is in itself a misfortune4 ,after all that has been said through centuries of literature on the subject of love1 it is certainly difficult to be original2 but ,hartmann has at least the merit of presenting it in a more abstract light1 and from a less alluring standpoint than any other writer who has handled the subject4 ,for love1 according to his views1 is either contrary to the laws of society1 and as such environed by perils and pains1 vice and degradation1 or it is perfectly legal1 and1 in that case1 quickly extinguished4 ,in the majority of cases1 he says1 insurmountable obstacles arise between the two lovers and cause a consequent and immense despair1 while in the rarer and more fortunate instances the expected happiness turns out to be purely illusory4 ,it is1 however1 as hard to love as it is not to love2 but he 7,hartmann7 says1 ,who once recognizes that the happiness which it offers is but a chimera1 and that its pains are greater than its pleasures1 will1 while unable perhaps to escape entirely from its allurements1 be none the less able to judge it differently from the novice1 and therefore capable of diminishing some of its suffering1 and some of the disproportion between its joys and its sorrows4 ,according to this savage moralist1 then1 love is either an illusory and quickly vanishing happiness1 or an actual suffering1 and resembles hunger precisely in that it is in itself and to the individual a veritable curse4 ,hartmann judges marriage with an epigram borrowed from ,lessing3 ,there is1 at most1 but one disagreeable woman in the world2 it is only a pity that every man gets her for himself4 ,in very much the same manner are the ties of family and friendship weighed and judged4 ,scattered here and there is some reflection of ,schopenhauer's wit and wisdom1 but generally the discussion is defective1 and lacks the grace of style and purity of diction which characterized the latter writer4 ,the sentiments of honor1 public esteem1 ambition1 and glory depend1 he says1 on the opinion of others1 and are therefore merely toys of the imagination1 for my joys and troubles exist in my mind1 and not in the minds of other people4 ,their opinion concerning me has merely a conventional value1 and not one which is effective for me4 ,but to him who journeys through the desert called life1 there is still one suave and green oasis4 ,hartmann is not utterly relentless1 and though perhaps on all other subjects he may seem skeptical as a ragpicker1 he has yet a word or two of cheer for art and science4 ,these pleasant lands1 however1 are only traversable by rare and privileged natures1 for if from the pleasure which attaches to music1 painting1 poetry1 philosophy1 and science1 a deduction be made of all that which is but sham1 dilettanteism1 and vanity1 the more considerable part of this supreme resource will be found to have disappeared4 ,that which remains over is the compensation which nature preserves as recompense to the extreme sensibility of the artist and thinker1 to whom the miseries of life are far more poignant than to other men1 whose sensibilities are duller and less impressionable4 ,now1 if the ubiquity of suffering is admitted1 the temperament of this latter class is1 in the long run1 undoubtedly preferable to the more refined organization of the artist2 for1 after all1 a state of comparative insensibility is evidently not too dearly bought1 when the price is merely the lack of a delight1 whose absence is not a privation1 and which1 to those able to appreciate it1 is as rare as it is limited in duration4 ,moreover1 even the real and ineffaceable pleasures which the thinker and artist enjoy are obtainable only after much trouble and discomfort4 ,genius does not fall from the skies ready-made and complete in armor and equipment2 the study which is to develop it is a task painful and tiresome1 whose pleasures are rare1 and1 generally speaking1 but those of anticipation and vanquished obstacles4 ,each art has its mechanical side1 which demands a long apprenticeship2 and even then1 after the preliminary preparation1 the only pleasant moments are those of conception1 which1 in turn1 are directly succeeded by the long hours of technical execution4 ,in the case of the amateur1 the pleasure of listening to good music1 of seeing a fine actor1 or of looking at works of art1 is undoubtedly the one that causes the least amount of inconvenience1 and yet ,hartmann is not to be blamed for noting that even this pleasure is seldom unalloyed4 ,in the first place1 there is the bother of going to the picture-gallery2 then there is the bad air and hubbub in the theatre2 after this come the dangers of catching cold1 of being run into1 or annoyed in a dozen different ways1 and especially the fatigue of watching and listening4 ,in the case of the artist there are the inevitable deceptions2 the struggles with envy1 the indifference and disdain of the public4 ,chamfort was wont to exclaim1 ,the public indeed6 how many idiots does it take to make a public8 ,the public1 nevertheless1 has the ability to make itself very disagreeable1 and not every one courts its smile with success4 ,if1 in addition to all these things1 the nervous organization of the thinker1 more vibrant a thousandfold than that of other men1 is taken into consideration1 it will be seen that ,hartmann is not wrong in stating that the pleasures to which this class is privileged are expiated by a greater sensibility to pain4 ,but while art is not without its disadvantages1 ,hartmann declares that life still holds one solace that is supreme and unalloyed4 ,unconscious sleep1 he says1 is relatively the happiest condition1 for it is the only one from which pain is completely banished4 ,with dreams1 however1 all the miseries of life return2 and happiness1 when it then appears1 does so only in the vague form of an agreeable sensation1 such as that of being freed from the body1 or flying through the air4 ,the pleasures of art and science1 the only ones which could reconcile a sensible man to life1 are intangible herein1 while suffering1 on the other hand1 appears in its most positive form4 ,among the different factors which are generally supposed to be more or less productive of happiness1 wealth or its symbol1 money1 usually represents the enchanted wand that opens the gate to every joy of life4 ,it is true that we have seen that all these joys were illusions1 and that their pursuit was more painful than pleasing1 but ,hartmann here makes an exception in favor of the delights which art and science procure1 and also1 like a true ,berlinois1 of those which the table affords4 ,wealth1 he says1 makes me lord and master4 ,with it ,i can purchase the pleasures of the table1 and even those of love4 ,it is unnecessary to contend with him on this point3 our tastes all differ2 still there are few1 it is to be imagined1 who will envy him in an affection which is purchasable with coin of the realm4 ,moreover1 wealth does not make one lord and master2 there is a certain charm in original and brilliant conversation which neither ,hartmann nor any one else could buy1 even though all the wealth of ,ormus and the ,ind stood to his credit on the ledgers of the ,landesbank4 ,wealth1 however1 he hastens to explain1 should be valued not for the commodities which it can procure1 but rather because we are enabled therewith to shield ourselves from inconveniences which would otherwise disturb that zero of the sensibility which the pessimist holds to be the nearest approach to reality in happiness4 ,it is said that the drowning man will clutch at a straw1 and it is possible that the reader who has seen his illusions dispersed and slaughtered one by one has perhaps deluded himself with the fancy that hope at least might yet survive2 if he has done so1 he may be sure that he has reckoned without his host4 ,hartmann guillotines the blue goddess in the most off-hand manner2 she is the last on the list1 and he does the job with a hand which is1 so to speak1 well in4 ,of course hope is a great delight2 who thinks of denying it8 ,certainly not the headsman1 who even drops a sort of half tear over her mangled wings4 ,but if we come to look over the warrant which has legalized the execution1 the question naturally arises who and what is hope8 ,it is of little use to ask the poets1 for they are all astray2 what they see in hope is a fair sky girt with laurels1--in other words1 the rape of happiness2 but has it not been repeated even to satiety that happiness does not exist1 that pain outbalances pleasure8 ,what is hope1 then1 but an illusion8 and an illusion1 too1 that plays all manner of tricks with us1 and amuses itself at our expense2 one1 in fact1 which makes use of us until our task is accomplished1 and we understand that all things are different from that which we desired4 ,he1 then1 ,hartmann says1 who is once convinced that hope is as vain and illusory as its object will see its influence gradually wane beneath the power of the understanding1 and the one thing to which he will then look forward will be1 not the greatest amount of happiness1 but the easiest burden of pain4 ,in all that has gone before1 ,hartmann has endeavored to show that suffering increases with the development of the intellect1 or rather1 that happiness exists only in the mineral kingdom1 which represents that zero of the senses above which man struggles in vain4 ,it has been seen that they whose nervous systems are most impressionable have a larger share of suffering than their less sensitive brethren2 furthermore1 experience teaches that the lower classes are more contented than the cultivated and the rich1 for while they are more exposed to want1 yet they are thicker-skinned and more obtuse4 ,in descending the scale of life1 therefore1 it is easy to show that such weight of pain as burdens animal existence is less than that which man supports4 ,the horse1 whose sensibility is most delicate1 leads a more painful existence than the swine1 or even the fish1 whose happiness at high tide is proverbial4 ,the life of the fish is happier than that of the horse1 the oyster is happier than the fish1 the life of the plant is happier yet1 and so on down to the last degrees of organic life1 where consciousness expires and suffering ends4 ,the balance sheet of human pleasure and pain may therefore be summed up somewhat as follows3 in the first column stand those conditions which correspond to a state of pure indifference1 and merely represent the absence of certain sufferings2 these are health1 youth1 liberty1 and well-being2 in the second are those which stand as illusory incentives1 such as the desire for wealth1 power1 esteem1 and general regard2 in the third are those which1 as a rule1 cause more pain than pleasure1 such as hunger and love2 in the fourth are those which rest on illusions1 such as hope1 etc42 in the fifth are those which1 recognized as misfortunes1 are only accepted to escape still greater ones3 these are work and marriage2 in the sixth are those which afford more pleasure than pain1 but whose joys must be paid for by suffering1 and in any event can be shared but by the few3 this is the column of art and science4 ,let a line be drawn and the columns added up1 the sum total amounts to the inevitable conclusion that pain is greatly in excess of pleasure2 and this not alone in the average1 but in the particular existence of each individual1 and even in the case of him who seems exceptionally favored4 ,hartmann has taken great care to point out that experience demonstrates the vanity of each of the opulent aspirations of youth1 and that on the subject of individual happiness intelligent old age preserves but few illusions4 ,such is the schedule of pleasure and pain which each one is free to verify by his own experience1 or1 better still1 to disregard altogether2 for1 from what has gone before1 it is easy to see that man is most happy when he is the unconscious dupe of his own illusions4 ,in ,koheleth it is written3 ,to add to knowledge is to add to pain4 ,he1 then1 whose judgment is obscured by illusions is less sensible to the undeniable miseries of life2 he is always prepared to welcome hope1 and each deception is forgotten in the expectation of better things4 ,mr4 ,micawber1 whose acquaintance we have all made1 is not alone a type1 but a lesson1 the moral of which is sometimes overlooked4 ,in brief1 ,hartmann's teaching resolves itself into the doctrine that the idea that happiness is obtainable in this life is the first and foremost of illusions4 ,this conclusion1 in spite of certain eccentricities of statement1 is none the less one which will be found singularly difficult to refute4 ,but every question has two different sides1 and this one is no exception4 ,the devil1 whom ,schopenhauer painted in a good grim gray1 ,hartmann has daubed all over with a depth of black of which he is certainly undeserving2 and not only that1 but he has taken an evident pleasure in so doing4 ,it is not1 therefore1 unfair to use his own weapon1 and tell him that he1 too1 is the dupe of an illusion1 or1 to borrow a simile from the prince of wits1 to insist that while he may not carry any unnecessary quantity of motes in his eye1 some dust has assuredly settled on his monocle4 ,as is the case with others who have treated the subject1 ,hartmann confounds the value of the existence of the unit with the worth of life in the aggregate4 ,taken as a whole1 it is undeniably and without doubt unfortunate1 but that does not prevent many people from being superlatively1 and1 to the pessimist1 even insultingly happy2 and though the joy of a lifetime be circumscribed in a single second1 yet it is not rash to say that that second of joy may be so vividly intense as to compensate its recipient for all miseries past and to come4 ,it may be noted1 further1 that the balance-sheet which has just been reviewed is simply a resultant of ,hartmann's individual opinion4 ,sometimes1 it is true1 he deals with unquestioned facts1 and sometimes with unanswerable figures2 but it has been wittily said that nothing is so fallacious as facts except figures2 and certain of these figures and facts1 which seem to bear out his statements1 are found at times to be merely assertions1 and exaggerated at that4 ,the second great illusion from which ,hartmann would deliver us is the belief that happiness is realizable in a future life4 ,as has been seen1 he has already contended that earthly felicity is unobtainable1 and his arguments against a higher state are1 in a word1 that unless the condition which follows life is compared to the anterior state of being1 chaos1 the successor of life1 can bring to man neither happiness nor unhappiness2 but as the belief in the regeneration of the body is no longer tenable1 it follows that this contrast cannot be appreciated by the non-existent1 who are necessarily without thought or consciousness4 ,this doctrine1 which is very nearly akin to ,buddhism1 has1 of course1 but little in common with ,christianity4 ,christianity does not1 it is true1 recognize in us any fee simple to happiness1 but it recommends the renunciation of such as may be held1 that the value of the transcendent felicity which it promises may be heightened to a still greater extent4 ,it was this regenerating hope1 this association of a disdain for life to a promise of eternal well-being1 that saved antiquity from the despair and distaste for life in which it was being slowly consumed4 ,but1 according to the tendency of modern thought1 every effort to demonstrate the reality of ultramundane happiness only results in a more or less disguised and fantastic representation of ,nirvna1 while the idea which each forms of such a condition varies naturally with the degree of his culture4 ,it is certainly not at all astonishing that all those who are more or less attached to the ,christian conception of life should1 as ,hartmann says1 indignantly repulse any and every suggestion of this description4 ,for such ideas to be accepted1 a long and worldly civilizing preparation is needed4 ,a period of this nature is found in his analysis of the third and last great illusion1 which holds that happiness will be realizable in the progressing evolution of the world4 ,the chapter in which this subject is treated is one of the most masterly in his entire work1 and as such is well deserving of careful examination4 ,first1 it may be explained that to the student of modern science the history of the world is that of a continuous and immense development4 ,the union of photometry and spectral analysis enables him to follow the evolution of other planets1 while chemistry and mineralogy teach him something of the earth's own story before it cooled its outer crust4 ,biology discloses the evolution of the vegetable and animal kingdom2 archology1 with some assistance from other sources1 throws an intelligible light over the prehistoric development of man1 while history brings with it the reverberation of the ordered march of civilization1 and points at the same time to larger and grander perspectives4 ,it is not hard1 then1 to be convinced of the reality of progress2 the difficulty lies in the inability to present it to one's self in a thoroughly unselfish manner4 ,from an egoist point of view1 man--and by man is meant he who has succeeded in divesting himself of the two illusions just considered--would condemn life not only as a useless possession1 but as an affliction4 ,he has1 however1 ,hartmann tells him1 a rle to fill under the providential direction of the ,unconscious1 which1 in conformity with the plan of absolute wisdom1 draws the world on to a beneficent end1 and this rle exacts that he shall take interest in1 and joyously sacrifice himself to life4 ,if he does otherwise1 his loss prevents no suffering to society1 on the contrary1 it augments the general discomfort by the length of time which is needed to replace a useful member4 ,man may not1 then1 as ,schopenhauer recommended1 assist as a passive spectator of life2 on the contrary1 he must ceaselessly act1 work1 and produce1 and associate himself without regret in the economic and intellectual development of society2 or1 in other words1 he must lend his aid to the attainment of the supreme goal of the evolution of the universe1 for that there is a goal it is as impossible to doubt as it is unreasonable to suppose that the world's one end and aim is to turn on its orbit and enjoy the varied spectacle of pain4 ,and yet1 what is this goal to which all nature tends8 ,according to a theory which nowadays is very frequently expressed1 it is the attainment of universal happiness through gradual advancement and progress4 ,but1 whatever progress humanity may realize1 it will never be able1 ,hartmann affirms1 to do away with1 nor yet diminish those most painful of evils1 illness1 old age1 poverty1 and discontent4 ,so1 no matter to how great an extent remedies may be multiplied1 disorders1 and especially those which are light but chronic1 will spread with a progression far more rapid than the knowledge of therapeutics4 ,the gayety of youth1 moreover1 will never be but the privilege of a fraction of mankind1 while the greater part will continue to be devoured by the melancholy of old age4 ,the poverty of the masses1 too1 as the world advances1 becomes more and more formidable1 for all the while the masses are gaining a clearer perception of their misery4 ,the happiest races1 it has been said over and over again1 are those which live nearest to nature1 as do the savage tribes2 and after them come necessarily the civilized nations1 which are the least cultivated4 ,historically speaking1 therefore1 the progress of civilization corresponds with the spread of general nausea4 ,may it not be1 then1 as ,kant maintained1 that the practice of universal morality is the great aim of evolution8 ,hartmann considers the question at great length1 and decides in the negative2 for1 were it such1 it would necessarily expand with time1 gain ground1 so to speak1 and take a firm hold on the different classes of society4 ,these feats1 of course1 it has not performed1 for immorality in descending the centuries has changed only in form4 ,indeed1 putting aside the fluctuations of the character of every race1 it will be found that everywhere the same connection is maintained between egotism and sympathy4 ,if one is shocked at the cruelty and brutality of former days1 it should nevertheless be remembered that uprightness1 sincerity1 and justice were the characteristics of earlier nations4 ,who shall say1 however1 that to-day we do not live in a reign of falsehood1 perfidy1 and the coarsest crimes2 and that were it not for the assured execution of the repressive enactments of the state and society1 we should see the naked brutality of the barbarians surge up again among us8 ,for that matter1 it may be noted that at times it does reappear in all its human bestiality1 and invariably so the moment that law and order are in any way weakened or destroyed4 ,what happened in the draft riots in ,new ,york1 and in ,paris under the ,commune8 ,since morality cannot be the great aim of evolution1 perhaps it may be art and science2 but the further back one looks1 the more does scientific progress appear to be the exclusive work of certain rare and gifted minds1 while the nearer one approaches the present epoch1 the more collective does the work become4 ,hartmann points out that the first thinkers were not unlike the magicians who made a monument rise out of nothing1 whereas the laborers who work at the intellectual edifice of the present day are but corporations of intelligent builders who each1 according to their strength1 aid in the construction of a gigantic tower4 ,the work of science hereafter will1 he says1 be broader and less profound2 it will become exclusively inductive1 and hence the demand for genius will grow gradually less4 ,similarity of dress has already blended the different ranks of society2 meanwhile we are advancing to an analogous leveling of the intelligence1 which will result in a common but solid mediocrity4 ,the delight in scientific production will gradually wane1 and the world will end in knowing only the pleasures of passive understanding4 ,but the pleasure of knowledge is tasteless when truth is presented like a cake already prepared3 to be enjoyed it must cost an effort and a struggle4 ,art will be handicapped in much the same manner4 ,it is no longer now what it was for the youth of humanity1 a god august dispensing happiness with open hands2 it is simply a matter of amusement1 a remedy for ennui1 and a distraction from the fatigues of the day4 ,hence the increase of dilettantism and the neglect of serious study4 ,the future of art is to ,hartmann self-evident4 ,age has no ideal1 or rather1 it has lost what it had1 and art is condemned in the increasing years of humanity to hold the same position as the nightly ballets and farces now do to the bankers and brokers of large cities4 ,this consistent treatment of the subject ,hartmann cleverly founds on the analogy of the different ages of the life of the individual with the development of humanity4 ,it is1 of course1 merely a series of affirmations1 but not for that reason necessarily untrue4 ,the great thinkers have disappeared1 as have also the great artists2 and they have done so1 ,hartmann would say1 because we no longer need them4 ,indeed1 there can be little doubt that could the ,greeks come back1 they would tell us our art was barbarous2 even to the casual observer it has retrograded1 nor is it alone in painting and sculpture that symptoms of decadence are noticeable2 if we look at the tendencies in literature1 nothing very commendable is to be found1 save in isolated instances1 where the technicalities of style have been raised very near to perfection2 but1 apart from a few purists who can in no sense be called popular1 the majority of the manufacturers of fiction have nothing to offer but froth and rubbish4 ,the modern stage1 too1 brings evidence that a palpitant tableau is more appreciated than a polished comedy1 and the concert-hall tells a story which is not dissimilar4 ,music1 which with ,mozart changed its sex1 has been turned into a harlot by ,offenbach and his successors2 and there are but few nowadays who would hesitate between ,don ,juan and the last inanity of ,strauss4 ,one composer1 however1 of incontestable genius1 has been slowly fighting his way into the hearts of cultivated people1 and1 curiously enough1 has sought to translate with an orchestra some part of the philosophy of pessimism4 ,schopenhauer1 it is said1 shook his head at ,wagner1 and would have none of him2 yet if ,schopenhauer was ever wrong1 he was certainly wrong in that2 for ,wagner has expressed1 as no one will do again1 the flooding rush of ,will1 and the unspiritual but harmonious voice of ,nature4 ,but whatever may become of art1 science is not to be dismissed so abruptly4 ,practically considered1 the political1 social1 and industrial advance of the world depends entirely on its progress2 and yet1 from ,hartmann's standpoint1 all that has been accomplished hitherto1 by the aid of manufactories1 steamships1 railways and telegraphs1 has merely served to lessen the embarrassments which compressed the activity of man2 and the sole advantage which society has reaped by their aid is that the force heretofore expended in actual labor is now free for the play of the intellect1 and serves to hasten the evolution of the world4 ,this result1 ,hartmann remarks1 while of importance to general progress1 in no wise affects the happiness of the individual4 ,this last statement of his will perhaps be better understood if it be taken into consideration that the increased production of food which will necessarily follow on a more intelligent culture of the soil will greatly augment the population4 ,an increase of population will multiply the number of those who are always on the verge of starvation1 of which there are already millions4 ,but an advance of this kind1 while a step backward one way1 must yet be a step forward in another2 for the wealth which it will bring in its train will necessarily aid in diminishing suffering4 ,politically considered1 the outlook does not seem to be much more assured4 ,an ideal government can do nothing more than permit man to live without fear of unjust aggressions1 and enable him to prepare the ground on which he may construct1 if he can1 the edifice of his own happiness4 ,socially1 the result will be about the same3 through solidarity1 association1 and other means1 men will learn how to make the struggle of the individual with want less severe2 yet1 in all this1 his burdens will be merely lightened1 and positive happiness will remain unobtained4 ,such are the outlines of ,hartmann's conception of what future progress will amount to4 ,if the ideal is realized1 man will be gradually raised out of the misery in which he is plunged1 and little by little approach a state of indifference in every sphere of his activity4 ,but it should be remembered that the ideal is ever intangible2 man may approach1 but he can never reach it1 and consequently will remain always in a state of suffering4 ,in this manner1 but with a profusion of argument1 which1 if not always convincing1 is yet highly instructive1 ,hartmann has shown in brief that the people that dwell nearest to nature are happier than the civilized nations1 that the poor are more contented than the rich1 the poor in spirit more blessed than the intelligent1 and that in general that man is the happiest whose sensibilities are the most obtuse1 because pleasure is then less dominated by pain1 and illusions are more steadfast and complete2 moreover1 that the progress of humanity develops not only wealth and its needs1 and consequently discontent1 but also the aptitudes and culture of the intellect1 which in turn awaken man to the consciousness of the misery of life1 and in so doing heighten the sentiment of general misfortune4 ,the dream that another golden age is to visit the earth is1 therefore1 puerile in the extreme4 ,as the wayfarer's burden grows heavier with the miles1 so do humanity's suffering and the consciousness of its misery continually increase4 ,the child lives in the moment1 the adolescent dreams of a transcendent ideal2 man aspires to glory1 then to wealth or practical wisdom2 lastly1 old age1 recognizing the vanity of all things1 holds but to peace1 and bends a tired head to rest4 ,and so it is with civilization1--nations rise1 strengthen1 and disappear4 ,humanity1 by unmistakable signs1 shows that it is on the wane1 and that having employed its strength in maturity1 age is now overtaking it4 ,in time it will be content to live on the accumulated wisdom of the centuries1 and1 inured to thought1 it will review the collective agitations of its past life1 and recognize the vanity of the goal hitherto pursued4444 ,humanity1 in its decline1 will leave no heir to profit by its accumulated wealth4 ,it will have neither children nor grandchildren to trouble the rigor of its judgment through the illusions of parental love4 ,it will sink finally into that melancholy which is the appanage of great minds2 it will in a measure float above its own body like a spirit freed from matter2 or1 as oedipus at ,colonna1 it will in anticipation taste the calm of chaos1 and assist with compassionate self-pity at the spectacle of its own suffering4 ,passions that have vanished into the depths of reason will be resolved into ideas by the white light of thought4 ,illusions will have faded and hope be done with1 for what is there left to hope8 ,its highest aim can be but the absence of pain1 for it can no longer dream of happiness2 still weak and fragile1 working to live1 and yet not knowing why it does so1 it will ask but one gift1 the rest of an endless sleep that shall calm its weariness and immense ennui4 ,it is then that humanity will have passed through the three periods of illusion1 and in recognizing the nothingness of its former hopes will aspire only to absolute insensibility and the chaos of ,nirvna4 ,it remains but to inquire what is to become of disillusionized humanity1 and to what goal evolution is tending4 ,the foregoing account of ,hartmann's theory should have shown that this goal cannot be happiness1 for at no period has it ever been reached1 and1 moreover1 that with the progress of the world man is gaining a clearer perception of his misery4 ,on the other hand1 it would be illogical to suppose that evolution is to continue with no other aim than that of the discharge of the successive moments that compose it2 for if each of these moments is valueless1 evolution itself would be meaningless2 but ,hartmann1 it may be remembered1 has recognized in the ,unconscious a principle of absolute wisdom1 and the answer must be looked for elsewhere1 but preferably in that direction which most noticeably points to some determined and progressive perfection4 ,no such sign1 however1 is to be met with anywhere save in the development of consciousness2 here progress has been clearly and uninterruptedly at work1 from the appearance of the first globule to contemporaneous humanity1 and in all probability will continue to advance so long as the world subsists4 ,all things aid in its production and development1 while to its assistance there come not only the perfecting of the nervous system1 but also such personal incentives as the desire for wealth1 which in increasing general welfare disfranchises the intellect2 then1 too1 there are the stimulants to intellectual activity1 vanity and ambition1 and also sexual love1 which heightens its aptitudes2 in short1 every instinct which is valuable to the species1 and which costs the individual more pain than pleasure1 is converted into an unalloyed and increasing gain for consciousness4 ,in spite of all this1 however1 the development of consciousness is but the means to an end1 and cannot therefore be considered as an absolute goal2 for consciousness1 ,hartmann says1 is born of pain1 and exists and expands with suffering1 and yet what manner of consolation does it offer8 ,merely a vain self-mirroring4 ,of course1 if the world were good and beautiful1 this would not be without its advantage2 but a world which is absolutely miserable1 a world which must curse its own existence the moment it is able to judge it1 can never regard its apparent and purely ideal reflection as a reasonable goal and termination of its existence4 ,is there not suffering enough in reality8 ,is it necessary to reproduce it in a magic lantern8 ,no2 consciousness cannot be the supreme goal of a world whose evolution is directed by supreme wisdom4444 ,some other end must be sought for1 then1 to which the development of consciousness shall be but the means4 ,but1 however the question is regarded1 from whatever standpoint the matter is viewed1 there seems to be but one possible goal1 and that is happiness4 ,everything that exists tends thereto1 and it is the principle on which rests each of the diverse forms of practical philosophy2 moreover1 the pursuit of happiness is the essence of ,will seeking its own pacification4 ,but happiness has been shown to be an illusion2 still there must be some key to the riddle4 ,the solution is at once simple and unexpected4 ,there can be no positive happiness1 and yet happiness of some kind is necessary2 the supreme aim of universal progress1 of which consciousness is but the instrument1 is then the realization of the highest possible felicity1 which is nothing else than the freedom from all pain1 and1 in consequence1 the cessation of all life2 or1 in other words1 total annihilation4 ,this climax is the only one which ,hartmann will consent to consider2 from any other point of view evolution would be a tireless progressus which some day might be blindly arrested by chance1 while life in the mean time would remain in the utter desolation of an issueless purgatory4 ,the path1 however1 through which the great deliverance is to be effected is as tortuously perplexing as the irrational duality of the ,unconscious4 ,many generations of pessimists are needed before the world will be fully ripe for its great leap into the night of time2 even then1 though ,hartmann does not appear to suspect it1 there will probably be quite a number of pantheists who1 drunk on ,nature1 will stupidly refuse the great bare bodkin1 which will have thus been carefully prepared for their viaticum4 ,it should not be supposed that in all this there is any question of the suicide of the individual3 ,hartmann is far too dramatic to suggest a final tableau so tame and humdrum as that2 besides1 it has been seen that the death of the individual does not drag with it the disappearance of the species1 and in no wise disturbs the heedless calm of ,nature4 ,it is not the momentary and ephemeral existence that is to be destroyed1 for1 after its destruction1 the repairing and reproducing force would still survive2 it is the principle of existence itself which must be extinguished2 the suicide1 to be effectual1 must be that of the cosmos4 ,this proceeding1 which will shortly be explained1 will be the act of the last moment1 after which there will be neither will nor activity2 after which1 to quote ,saint ,john1 'time will have ceased to be4' ,but here it may be pertinently asked whether humanity1 such as it now is1 will be capable of this grandiose development of consciousness which is to prepare the absolute renunciation of the will to live1 or whether some superior race is to appear on earth which will continue the work and attain the goal4 ,may it not be that the globe will be but the theatre of an abortive effort of this description1 and long after it has gone to increase the number of frozen spheres1 some other planet1 which is to us invisible1 may1 under more favorable circumstances1 realize the self-same aim and end8 ,to this the answer is made that if humanity is ever destined to conduct the world's evolution to its coronation1 it will assuredly not complete its task until the culminating point of its progress has been reached1 nor yet until it has united the most favorable conditions of existence4 ,we need not1 however1 bother about the perspective which science has disclosed1 and which points to a future period of congelation and complete inertia2 long before that time1 ,hartmann says1 evolution will have ended1 and this world of ours1 with its continents and archipelagoes1 will have vanished4 ,the manner in which this great and final annihilation is to be accomplished is of a threefold nature2 the first condition necessary to success is that humanity at some future time shall concentrate such a mass of ,will that the balance1 spread about elsewhere over the world1 will be insignificant in proportion4 ,this1 ,hartmann explains1 is in no wise impossible1 for the manifestation of ,will in atomic forces is greatly inferior to that which is exercised in the vegetable and animal kingdom1 and hence much less than that which irrupts in man4 ,the supposition1 therefore1 that the greater part may be capitalized in man is not necessarily an idle dream4 ,when that day arrives1 it will suffice for humanity to no longer will to live to annihilate the entire fabric2 for humanity will at that time represent more ,will than all the rest of ,nature collectively considered4 ,the second condition necessary to success is that mankind shall be so thoroughly alive to the folly of life1 so imperiously in need of peace1 and shall have so completely disentangled every effort from its aimlessness1 that the yearning for an end to existence will be the prime motive of every act4 ,a condition such as this1 ,hartmann thinks1 will probably be realized in the old age of humanity4 ,the theory that life is an evil is already admitted by thinkers2 the supposition1 therefore1 that it may some day triumph over the prejudices of the multitude is neither absurd nor preposterous4 ,as is shown in the history of other creeds1 an idea may penetrate so deeply into the minds of its adherents as to breed an entire race of fanatics2 and it is the opinion1 not of ,hartmann alone1 but of many serious and cultivated scholars1 that if ever an idea was destined to triumph without recourse to either passion or violence1 and to exercise at the same time an action purely pacific1 yet so profound and durable as to assure its success beforehand1 that idea1 or rather that sentiment1 is the compassion which the pessimist feels not only for himself1 but for everything that is4 ,its gradual adoption these gentlemen consider not as problematical1 but merely as a question of time4 ,indeed1 the difficulty is not so great as might be supposed2 every day the will of the individual suffices to triumph over the instinctive love of life1 and1 ,hartmann logically argues1 may not the mass of humanity do the same thing8 ,the denial of the will to live on the part of the individual is1 it is true1 barren of any benefit to the species1 but1 on the other hand1 a universal denial would result in complete deliverance4 ,mankind1 however1 has yet a long journey before it1 and many generations are needed to overcome1 and to dissipate little by little1 through the influence of heredity1 those passions which are opposed to the desire for eternal peace4 ,in time1 ,hartmann thinks1 all this will be brought about2 and he holds1 moreover1 that the development of consciousness will correspond with the weakening of passion1 which is to be one of the characteristics of the decline of humanity1 as it is now one of the signs of the day4 ,the third condition necessary for the perfect consummation of this gigantic suicide is that communication between the inhabitants of the world be so facilitated that they may simultaneously execute a common resolution4 ,full play is allowed the imagination in picturing the manner in which all this is to be accomplished4 ,hartmann has a contempt for details1 and contents himself with asserting that it is necessary and possible1 and that in the abdication of humanity every form of existence will cease4 ,such1 in brief1 is this vehement conception of the ordering of the world1 and the plan for its precipitate destruction4 ,with a soldierly disregard of objection1 but with a prodigality of argument and digression which1 if not always substantial1 is unusually vivid1 ,hartmann explains the ,unconscious and its reacting dualism of ,will and ,idea4 ,one principle is1 as has been seen1 constantly irrupting into life1 and it is through the revolt of the second that the first is to be thwarted and extinguished4 ,nothing1 indeed1 could be more simple2 and it would be a graceless and pedantic task to laboriously clamber to the same vague altitudes to which ,hartmann has so lightly soared1 and there contradict his description of the perspective4 ,to any one who has cared to follow the writer thus far1 the outlines given of ,hartmann's conspiracy against pain must have seemed aggressively novel4 ,schopenhauer's ideas on the same subject were seemingly more practical1 if less lurid1 but then ,schopenhauer hugged a fact and flouted chimeras4 ,it may be that ,schopenhauer was a little behind the age1 for ,hartmann has criticised him very much as a collegian on a holiday might jeer at the old-world manners of his grandfather4 ,as they cannot both be right1 each may be wrong2 and it may be that the key to the whole great puzzle is contained in that one word1 resignation1 which the poet-philosopher pronounced so long ago4 ,as a remedy this certainly has the advantage of being a more immediate and serviceable palliative to the sufferer than either of those suggested in the foregoing systems4 ,it is admitted that-- ,man cannot feed and be fed on the faith of to-morrow's baked meat2 and it is in the same manner difficult for any one to hypnotize himself and his suffering with the assurance that in the decline of humanity all pain will cease2 on the other hand1 whether we have in regard to future generations an after-me-the-deluge feeling1 and practically care very little whether or no they annihilate themselves and pain too1 still the more intelligent will readily recognize the ubiquity of sorrow1 and consider resignation at present as its most available salve4 ,but in spite of its vagaries1 pessimism1 as expounded by ,schopenhauer and ,hartmann1 possesses a real and enduring value which it is difficult to talk away2 it is naturally most easy to laugh1 in the heyday of youth and health1 at its fantastic misanthropy2 indeed1 it is in no sense perfect2 it has halted and tripped many times2 it has points that even to the haphazard and indifferent spectator are weak and faulty1 and yet what creed is logically perfect1 and what creed is impregnable to criticism8 ,that there is none such can be truly admitted4 ,the reader1 then1 may well afford to be a little patient with pessimism2 theoretically1 it is still in its infancy1 but with increasing years its blunders will give way to strength2 and though many of the theories that it now holds may alter1 the cardinal1 uncontrovertible tenet that life is a burden will remain firm and changeless to the end of time4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,is ,,life ,,an ,,affliction8 ,in very stately words1 that were typical of him who uttered them1 ,emerson said1 ,i do not wish to be amused2 and turned therewith a figurative back on the enticements of the commonplace4 ,broadly speaking1 the sentiment that prompted this expression is common to all individual men4 ,the so-called allurements and charms of the world are attractive to the vulgar1 but not to the thinker1 and whether the thinker be a ,trappist or a comedian1 he will1 if called to account1 express himself in a manner equally frank4 ,for sentiments of this description neither orthodoxy nor pessimism is to blame4 ,they are merely the resultants of the obvious and the true2 they leap into being in every intelligent mind4 ,the holiday crowd on its way to the ,derby1 to ,coney ,island1 the ,lido1 or to any one of the other thousand places of popular resort1 causes even the ordinary observer to wonder why it is that he cannot go too1 and enjoy himself with the same boisterous good humor which palpitates all about him2 he thinks at first that he has some fibre lacking1 some incapacity for that enjoyment which has in so large a measure been given to others2 but little by little the conviction breaks upon him that he has a fibre more1 and that it is the others who lack the finer perceptions with which he is burdened4 ,that the others are to be envied1 and he to be pitied1 there can be no manner of doubt1 but all the same the fact that he is unable to take part in popular amusements steadfastly remains2 and while the matter of the extra fibre is more or less reassuring1 it is not always perfectly satisfactory1 and he then begins to look about for the reason4 ,if to his power of observation there be added also a receptive mind and an introspective eye1 it will be unnecessary for him to have ever heard of ,m4 ,renan to become gradually aware that he is the victim of a gigantic swindle4 ,in common with many others1 he has somehow imagined that the world was a broad and fertile plain1 with here and there a barren tract4 ,it is impossible for him to give any reason for this fancy2 ,in the world ye shall have tribulation1 is the explicit warning of the ,founder of ,christianity1 and to this warning all creeds1 save that of the early ,hellenists1 concur4 ,it did not1 therefore1 come from any religious teaching1 nor1 for that matter1 from any philosophy4 ,still the impression1 however vague it may seem when analyzed1 has none the less been with him1 as with all others1 the reason being simply that he grew up with it as he may have grown up with fairy tales1 and it is not until his aspirations stumble over facts that he begins to see that life1 instead of being the pleasant land flowing with milk and honey1 which he had imagined1 is in reality something entirely different4 ,these deductions1 of course1 need not follow because a man finds that he is more or less indifferent to every form of entertainment1 from a king's revel to a walking-match2 but they may follow of any man who has begun to dislike the propinquity of the average1 and to feel that where the crowd find amusement there will be nothing but weariness and vexation of spirit for him4 ,under such circumstances he is an instinctive pessimist1 and one who needs but little theoretic instruction to learn that he1 as all others1 has been made use of1 and cheated to boot4 ,the others1 it is true1 are1 generally speaking1 unaware of the deception that has been practiced on them2 they have1 it may be1 a few faint suspicions that something has gone wrong somewhere1 but even in uttermost depression the untutored look upon their misfortunes as purely individual1 and unshared by the world at large4 ,of the universality of suffering1 of the fact1 as ,john ,stuart ,mill has put it1 that there is no happiness for nineteen twentieths of the world's inhabitants1 few have any conception or idea4 ,they look1 it may be1 over their garden wall1 and1 hearing their neighbor grumble1 they think that1 being cross-grained and ill-tempered1 his life is not one of unalloyed delight4 ,but their vision extends no further4 ,they do not see the sorrow that has no words1 nor do they hear the silent knell of irrecoverable though unuttered hopes1 the toil of heart1 and knees1 and hands4 ,of all these things they know nothing2 household worries1 and those of their neighbor and his wife1 circle their existence4 ,if they are not contented themselves1 then happiness is but a question of distance4 ,another street1 or another town1 or another country holds it1 and if the change is made1 the old story remains to be repeated4 ,there are those1 too1 who from dyspepsia1 torpidity of the liver1 or general crankiness of disposition1 are inclined to take a gloomy view of all things2 then there is a temperamental pessimism which displays itself in outbursts of indignation against the sorrows of life1 and in frantic struggles with destiny and the meshes of personal existence2 there is also the sullen pessimism of despair noticeable in the quiet folding of hands1 and which with tearless eyes awaits death without complaint2 then there are those who complain and sulk1 who torment themselves and others1 and who have neither the spunk to struggle nor the grace to be resigned1--this is the forme miserable2 there is also a haphazard pessimism which comes of an unevenness of disposition1 and which asserts itself on a rainy day1 or when stocks are down2 another is the accidental type1 the man who1 with loss of wife1 child1 or mistress1 settles himself in a dreary misanthropy2 finally1 there is hypochondria1 which belongs solely to pathology4 ,in none of these categories do the victims have any suspicion that a philosophical significance is attached to their suffering4 ,curiously enough1 however1 it is from one or from all of these different classes that the ordinary acceptation of pessimism is derived2 it is these forms that are met with in every-day life and literature1 and yet it is precisely with these types1 that spring from the disposition and temperament of the individual who exhibits them1 that scientific pessimism has nothing to do4 ,it ignores them entirely4 ,broadly stated1 scientific pessimism in its most advanced form rests on a denial that happiness in any form ever has been or ever will be obtained1 either by the individual as a unit or by the world as a whole2 and this for the reason that life is not considered as a pleasant gift made to us for our pleasure2 on the contrary1 it is a duty which must be performed by sheer force of labor1--a task which in greater matters1 as in small1 brings in its train a misery which is general1 an effort which is ceaseless1 and a tension of mind and body which is extreme1 and often unbearable4 ,work1 torment1 pain1 and misery are held to be the unavoidable lot of nearly every one1 and the work1 torment1 pain1 and misery of life are considered as necessary to mankind as the keel to the ship4 ,indeed1 were it otherwise1 were wishes1 when formed1 fulfilled1 in what manner would the time be employed8 ,imagine the earth to be a fairyland where all grows of itself1 where birds fly roasted to the spit1 and where each would find his heart's best love wreathed with orange flowers to greet his coming2 what would the result be8 ,some would bore themselves to death1 some would cut their throats1 while others would quarrel1 assassinate1 and cause generally more suffering than is in the present state of affairs actually imposed upon them4 ,pain is not the accident1 but the necessary and inevitable concomitant of life2 and the attractiveness of the promise that thy days may be long in the land which the ,lord thy ,god giveth thee1 is1 in consequence1 somewhat impaired4 ,nor1 according to scientific pessimism1 is there any possibility that happiness will be obtained in a future life4 ,in this there is no atheism1 though the arguments that follow may seem to savor of the agnostic4 ,as has been seen1 pleasures are1 as a rule1 indirect1 being cessations or alleviations of pain4 ,if it be taken for granted that in a future life there will be no pain1 the difficulty is not overcome1 but rather increased by the fact of the rapid exhaustion of nervous susceptibility to pleasure4 ,furthermore1 as without brain there is no consciousness1 it will not be illogical to suppose that every spirit must be provided with such an apparatus2 in which case the psychological laws in the other life must be strictly analogous to those of early experience4 ,the deduction follows of itself1--there1 too1 must be pain and sorrow4 ,to this it may be objected that in a future life there need be no question either of pain or pleasure1 and that the ransomed soul will1 in contemplation1 or love1 or the practice of morality1 be too refined to be susceptible to any sensations of a grosser nature4 ,to all this advanced pessimism has a ready answer3 first1 there can be no morality1 for where there is no body and no property it is impossible to injure another2 second1 there can be no love1 for every form of love1 from the highest to the lowest1 rests on the basis of sensibility2 when1 therefore1 after the abstraction of shape1 voice1 features1 and all bodily actions that are manifested through the medium of the brain1 nothing but an unsubstantial shadow remains1 what is there left to love8 third1 there can be no contemplation1 for in a state of clairvoyance contemplation is certainly useless4 ,in these arguments pessimism1 it may be noted1 does not deny the possibility of future existence2 it denies merely the possibility of future happiness2 and its logic1 of course1 can in no wise affect the position of those who hold that man is unable to conceive or imagine anything of that which is1 or is not to be4 ,from a religious standpoint advanced pessimism teaches that the misery of life is immedicable1 and strips away every illusion with which it has been hitherto enveloped2 it offers1 it is true1 no hope that a future felicity will be the recompense of present suffering1 and if in this way it ignores any question of reward and punishment1 it does not for that reason necessarily open a gate to license and immorality2 on the contrary1 pessimism stands firmly to the first principle of the best ethics1 and holds that men shall do good without the wish to be rewarded1 and abstain from evil without the fear of being punished4 ,in regard to what follows death1 it recognizes in the individual but the aspiration to be liberated from the task of coperating in evolution1 the desire to be replunged in the ,universal ,spirit1 and the wish to disappear therein as the raindrop disappears in the ocean1 or as the flame of the lamp is extinguished in the wind4 ,in other words1 it does not aim at mere happiness1 but at peace and at rest2 and meanwhile1 until the hour of deliverance is at hand1 it does not acquit the individual of any of the obligations that he owes to society1 nor of one that is due to himself4 ,in short1 the creed as it stands is one of charity and good-will to all men2 and1 apart from its denial of future happiness1 it does not in its ethics differ in any respect from the sublime teachings of the ,christian faith4 ,it seems trite to say that we are passing through a transition period1 for all things seem to point to a coming change2 still1 whatever alterations time may bring in its train1 it is difficult to affirm that the belief here set forth is to be the religion of the future1 n'est pas prophte qui veut2 in any event1 it is easy to prove that pessimism is not a religion of the past4 ,its very youth militates most against it2 and while it may outgrow this defect1 yet it has other objectionable features which to the average mind are equally unassuring3 to begin with it is essentially iconoclastic2 wherever it rears its head1 it does so amid a swirl of vanishing illusions and a totter and crash of superstition4 ,there are few1 however1 that part placidly with these possessions2 illusions are relinquished grudgingly1 and as for superstitions1--a wise man has said1 ,are they not hopes8 ,it would seem1 then1 that in showing the futility of any quest of happiness here or hereafter1 this doctrine1 if received at all1 will have performed a very thankless task4 ,indeed1 it is this reason1 if no other1 that will cause it for some time to come to be regarded with distrust and dislike4 ,the masses are conservative1 and their conservatism usually holds them one or two centuries in arrears of advancing thought2 and even putting the masses out of the question1 one has to be very hospitable to receive truth at all times as a welcome guest1 for truth is certainly very naked and uncompromising2 we love to sigh for it1 ,branger said1 and1 it may be added1 most of us stop there4 ,pessimism1 moreover1 seemingly takes1 and gives nothing in return2 but if it is examined more closely it will be found that its very melancholy transforms itself into a consolation which1 if relatively restricted1 is none the less valuable4 ,taubert1 one of its most vigorous expounders1 says1 ,not only does it carry the imagination far beyond the actual suffering to which every one is condemned1 and in this manner shield us from manifold deceptions1 but it even increases such pleasures as life still holds1 and doubles their intensity4 ,for pessimism1 while showing that each joy is an illusion1 leaves pleasure where it found it1 and simply incloses it in a black border1 from which1 in greater relief1 it shines more brightly than before4 ,another objection which has been advanced against pessimism is that it is a creed of quietist inactivity4 ,such1 however1 it can no longer be considered2 for if it be viewed in the light of its recent developments1 it will be found to be above all other beliefs the one most directly interested in the progress of evolution4 ,pessimism1 it may be remembered1 came into general notice not more than twenty-five years ago2 at that time it aroused in certain quarters a horrified dislike1 in others it was welcomed with passionate approval2 books and articles were written for and against it in much the same manner that books and articles leaped into print in defense and abuse of the theory generally connected with ,darwin's name4 ,since then the tumult has gradually calmed down2 on the one hand pessimism is accepted as a fact2 on the other new expositors1 less dogmatic than their great predecessor1 and with an equipment of a quarter of a century's advance in knowledge1 prune the original doctrine1 and strengthen it with fresh and vigorous thought4 ,among these1 and directly after ,hartmann1 ,taubert takes the highest rank4 ,this writer recognizes the truth of ,schopenhauer's theory that progress brings with it a clearer consciousness of the misery of existence and the illusion of happiness1 but at the same time much emphasis is laid on the possibility of triumphing over this misery through a subjugation of the selfish propensities4 ,it is in this way1 ,taubert considers1 that peace may be attained1 or at least the burden of life noticeably diminished4 ,the bleakness in which ,hartmann lodged the ,unconscious is through this treatment rendered1 if not comfortable1 at least inhabitable4 ,but while in this manner ,taubert plays the upholsterer1 another exponent wanders through the shadowy terraces of thought1 and in so doing looks about him with the grim suavity of a sheriff seeking a convenient spot on which to clap a bill of sale4 ,this writer1 ,julius ,bahnsen1 is best known through his ,philosophy of ,history1#aj and a recent publication1 ,the ,tragic as the ,world's ,first ,law1 whose repulsively attractive title sent a fresh ripple eddying through the seas of literature4 ,in these works the extreme of pessimism may be said to have been reached1 for not only does their author vie with ,schopenhauer in representing the world as a ceaseless torment which the ,absolute has imposed on itself1 but he goes a step further1 and in denying that there is any finality even immanent in ,nature1 asserts that the order of phenomena is utterly illogical4 ,it may be remembered that the one pure delight which ,schopenhauer admitted was that of intellectual contemplation3-- ,that blessed mood1 ,in which the burden of the mystery1 ,in which the heavy and the weary weight ,of all this unintelligible world ,is lightened4 ,but from ,bahnsen's standpoint1 inasmuch as the universe is totally lacking in order or harmonious design1 since it is but the dim cavernous abode of unrelated phenomena and forms1 the pleasure which ,schopenhauer admitted1 so far from causing enjoyment1 is simply a source of anguish to the intelligent and reflective mind4 ,even the hope of final annihilation1 which ,schopenhauer suggested and ,hartmann planned1 has brought to him but cold comfort4 ,he puts it aside as a pleasant and idle dream4 ,to him the misery of the world is permanent and unalterable1 and the universe nothing but ,will rending itself in eternal self-partition and unending torment4 ,beyond this it is difficult to go2 few have cared to go even so far1 and the bravado and vagaries of this doctrine have not been such as to cause anything more than a success of curiosity4 ,indeed1 ,bahnsen's views have been mentioned here simply as being a part of the history1 though not of the development of advanced pessimism1 and they may now very properly be relegated to the night to which they belong4 ,to sum up1 then1 what has gone before1 the modern pessimist is a ,buddhist who has strayed from the ,orient1 and who in his exodus has left behind him all his fantastic shackles1 and has brought with him1 together with ethical laws1 only the cardinal tenet1 ,life is evil4 ,broadly considered1 the difference between the two creeds is not important4 ,the ,buddhist aspires to a universal nothingness1 and the pessimist to the moment when in the face of ,nature he may cry3-- ,oh6 quelle immense joie1 aprs tant de souffrance6 travers les dbris1 par-dessus les charniers1 ,pouvoir enfin jeter ce cri de dlivrance-- ',plus d'hommes sous le ciel6 ,nous sommes les derniers6' ,beyond this difference1 the main principles of the two beliefs vary only with the longitude4 ,the old1 yet still infant ,east demands a fable1 to which the young yet practical ,west turns an inattentive ear4 ,eliminate palingenesis1 and the steps by which ,nirvna is attained1 and the two creeds are to all intents and purposes precisely the same4 ,of the two1 ,buddhism is1 of course1 the stronger2 it appeals more to the imagination and less to facts2 indeed1 numerically speaking1 its strength is greater than that of any other belief4 ,according to the most recent statistics the world holds about #h1jjj1jjj ,jews1 #ajj1jjj1jjj ,mohammedans1 #acj1jjj1jjj ,brahmins1 #cgj1jjj1jjj ,christians1 and #dhj1jjj1jjj ,buddhists1 the remainder being pagans1 positivists1 agnostics and atheists4 ,within the last few years ,buddhism has spread into ,russia1 and from there into ,germany1 ,england1 and the ,united ,states1 and wherever it spreads it paves in its passing the way for pessimism4 ,the number of pessimists it is of course impossible to compute3 instinctive pessimists abound everywhere1 but however limited the number of theoretic pessimists may be1 their literature at least is daily increasing4 ,for the last twenty years1 it may safely be said that not a month has gone by unmarked by some fresh contribution2 and the most recent developments of ,french and ,german literature show that the countless arguments1 pleas1 and replies which the subject has called forth have brought1 instead of exhaustion1 a new and expanded vigor4 ,the most violent opposition that pessimism has had to face has come1 curiously enough1 from the ,socialists4 ,for the ,socialists1 while pessimists as to the present1 have optimistic views for the future4 ,their cry is not against the misery of the world1 but against the capital that produces it4 ,the artisan1 they say1 is smothered by the produce of his own hands3 the more he produces1 the more he increases the capital that is choking him down4 ,in time1 ,marx says1 there will exist only a few magnates face to face with a huge enslaved population2 and as wealth increases in geometric proportion so will poverty1 and with it the exasperation of the multitude4 ,then the explosion is to come1 and ,socialism to begin its sway4 ,now ,socialism does not1 as is generally supposed1 preach community of goods2 it preaches simply community of profits1 and the abolition of capital as a productive agent4 ,when the explosion comes1 therefore1 the ,socialists propose to turn the state into one vast and comprehensive guild1 to which all productive capital1 land1 and factories shall appertain4 ,the right of inheritance of personal property1 it may be noted1 will be retained2 and this for a variety of reasons1 of which the most satisfactory seems to be that such a right serves as an incentive to economy and activity4 ,money may be saved and descend1 but it is not to be allowed the power of generation4 ,it will be readily understood1 even from this brief summary1 that such a doctrine as ,hartmann's1 which is chiefly concerned in disproving the value of every aspect of progress1 was certain to call out many replies from those who see a vast area for the expansion of human comfort and happiness in the future developments of social life4 ,to these replies the pessimists have but one rejoinder1 and that is that any hope of the expansion of happiness is an illusion4 ,and is it an illusion8 ,simple ,mrs4 ,winthrop said1 ,if us as knows so little can see a bit o' good and rights1 we may be sure as there's a good and a rights better nor what we knows of4 ,but then ,mrs4 ,winthrop was admittedly simple1 and her views in consequence are hardly those of the seer4 ,from an endmonist standpoint1 the world does not seem to be much better off now than it was two or three thousand years ago2 there are even some who think it has retrograded1 and who turn to the civilization of ,greece and ,rome with longing regret2 and this1 notwithstanding the fact that from the peace and splendor of these nations cries of distress have descended to us which are fully as acute as any that have been uttered in recent years4 ,truly1 to the student of history each epoch brings its own shudder4 ,there have been ameliorations in one way and pacifications in another1 but misery looms in tireless constancy through it all4 ,each year a fresh discovery seems to point to still better things in the future1 but progress is as undeniably the chimera of the present century as the resurrection of the dead was that of the tenth2 each age has its own1 for no matter to what degree of perfection industry may arrive1 and to whatever heights progress may ascend1 it must yet touch some final goal1 and meanwhile pessimism holds that with expanding intelligence there will come1 little by little1 the fixed and immutable knowledge that of all perfect things which the earth contains misery is the most complete4 ,to question whether life is an affliction seems1 from the facts and arguments already presented1 to be somewhat unnecessary4 ,the answer appears in a measure to be a foregone conclusion4 ,yet1 if the question be examined without bias and without prejudice the issue is not only doubtful1 but difficult to ascertain4 ,if in any intelligent community the matter were put to vote by acclamation1 the decision would undoubtedly be in the negative2 and that for a variety of reasons1 first and foremost of which is that ninety and nine out of a hundred persons are led by the thread of external appearance1 and whatever their private beliefs may be1 they still wish their neighbors to think that they at least have no cause to complain4 ,it is this desire to appear well in the eyes of others that makes what is termed the shabby-genteel1 and which prevents so many proud yet vulgar minds from avowing their true position4 ,indeed1 there are few who1 save to an intimate1 have the courage to acknowledge that they are miserable2 there is at work within them the same instinct that compels the wounded animal to seek the depths of the bushes in which to die4 ,people generally are ashamed of grief1 and turn to hide a tear as the sensitive turn from an accident in the street1 and veil their eyes from deformity4 ,moreover1 it is largely customary to mock at the melancholy2 and in good society it is an unwritten law that every one shall bring a certain quota of contentment and gayety1 or else remain in chambered solitude4 ,added to this1 and beyond the insatiable desire to appear serene and successful in the eyes of others1 there is the terrible dread of seeming to be cheated and outwitted of that which is apparently a universal birthright2 and1 according to a general conception1 there is the same sort of moral baseness evidenced in an unuttered yet visible appeal for sympathy1 as that which is at work in the beggar's outstretched palm4 ,many1 it is true1 there are who drop the furtive coin1 but the world at large passes with averted stare4 ,there is work for all1 is a common saying1 and for the infirm there are hospitals and institutions2 ,what1 then1 is the use of giving8 it is queried1 and the answer follows1 ,they who ask for alms are frauds4 ,if the alms be taken to stand for sympathy1 the frauds will be found to be few and far between2 for1 if each man and woman who has arrived at the age of reason1 at that age1 in fact1 which is not such as is set by the statute1 but which each individual case makes for itself2 if each one should have his heart first wrung dry and then dissected1 there would be such an expanse and prodigality of sorrow discovered as would defy an index and put a library to shame4 ,if the tendency of current literature is examined1 it will be found to point very nearly the same way4 ,in earlier days the novel ended with the union of two young people1 and the curtain fell on a tableau of awaited happiness4 ,nowadays1 however1 as the ,french phrase goes1 we have changed all that4 ,realistic fiction is a picture of life as it is1 and not1 as was formerly the case1 a picture of life as we want it4 ,probably the strongest and most typical romance of recent ,american authors is ,the ,portrait of a ,lady2 and this picture of a thoroughbred girl1 awake to the highest possibilities of life1 ends not only in her entire disenchantment1 but also1 if ,i have understood ,mr4 ,james aright1 in her utter degradation4 ,in that very elaborate novel1 ,daniel ,deronda1 the moral drawn is not dissimilar1 and yet its author stood at the head of ,english fiction4 ,in ,french literature1 the same influence is even more noticeably at work4 ,it is the fashion to abuse ,zola1 and to say that his works are obscene2 so they are1 and so is the life that he depicts1 but his descriptions are true to the letter2 and the gaunt and wanton misery which he described in l',assommoir is not1 to my thinking1 such as one need blush over1 but rather such as might well cause tears4 ,the work which those princes of literature1 the ,goncourts and ,daudet1 have performed1 has been prepared1 as one may say1 with pens pricked in sorrow4 ,germanie ,lacerteux1 la ,fille ,eliza1 ,chrie1 ,jack1 the ,nabab1 and the vangliste1 are but one long-drawn-out cry of variegated yet self-same agony4 ,in this respect ,tourgunieff was well up to the age1 as is also ,spielhagen1 who is very generally considered to be the best of ,german novelists4 ,the splendid wickedness of medival ,italy has done little to inspire her modern authors4 ,the romances most abundant there are cheap translations from the ,french4 ,de ,amicis1 the most popular native writer1 and one whose name is familiar to every one as a traveler in ,gautier's footsteps1 has written but few stories1 of which the best1 however1 ,manuel ,menendez1 is the incarnation of the soul of tragedy4#aa ,less recently1 ,stendhal1 ,balzac and ,flaubert have harped the same note of accentuated despair2 ,musset has sung songs that would make a statue weep1 and ,baudelaire seems to have supped sorrow with a long spoon4 ,in brief1 the testimony of all purely modern writers amounts pretty much to the same thing2 life to them seems an affliction4 ,this1 of course1 it may do without altering its value to others2 let any one1 for instance1 go to a well-nurtured and refined girl of eighteen and tell her that life is an affliction1 and she will look upon her informant as a retailer of trumpery paradox4 ,and at eighteen what a festival is life6 ,to one splendid in beauty and rich in hope how magnificent it all seems2 what unexplored yet inviting countries extend about the horizon6 winter is a kiss that tingles1 and summer a warm caress2 everything1 even to death1 holds its promise4 ,and then picture her as she will be at eighty1 without an illusion left1 and turning her tired eyes each way in search of rest4 ,life is not an affliction to those who are1 and who can remain young2 there are some who1 without any waters of youth1 remain so until age has sapped the foundation of their being2 and it is from such as they that the greatest cheer is obtained4 ,but to those who live1 so to speak1 in the thick of the fight1 who see hope after hope fall with a crash1 and illusion after illusion vanish into still air2 to the intelligent1 to the observer1 and especially to him who is forced against his will to struggle in the van1 life is an affliction1 a mishap1 a calamity1 and sometimes a curse4 ,that there are many such is proven by the statistics which the daily papers afford2 and could one play ,asmodeus1 and look into the secret lives of all men1 the evidence obtainable would in its baldness seem hideously undesirable4 ,the degrees of sensitiveness1 however1 and the ability or inability to support suffering1 vary admittedly with the individual4 ,there are men who rise from an insult refreshed2 there are many to whom an injury is a tonic and pain a stimulant2 and there is even a greater number whose sensibilities are so dull that what is torture to another is barely a twinge to them4 ,it was the melancholy privilege of the writer to assist1 a short time since1 at an operation performed in a ,german hospital4 ,a common soldier had been thrown from a horse with such force that his elbow was dislocated2 in the ,klinik he put his uninjured arm around a post1 and then let the surgeon pull on a strap which had been fastened to the other1 until the joint was once more in position4 ,his arm was then bandaged1 and he was told to return in a fortnight4 ,on his second visit the bandage was removed1 and the surgeon1 after a violent effort1 moved the stiffened joint backwards and forwards4 ,during both operations1 the only noticeable evidence of pain was a slight contraction of the upper lip1 while the general expression of his face was that of a calm as stolid as is required of the soldier when in the presence of his superior4 ,to such an one as he life is no more an affliction than it is to the turtle4 ,then1 there are those to whom life is the amusing dream of an hour1 who flit through existence in loops of yellow light1 who find pleasure in all things1 and are careless of the morrow2 and these1 perhaps1 above all others1 are the most to be envied4 ,it is such natures as theirs that are usually met with in ordinary fiction1 and which are so singularly infrequent in real life4 ,in fancy they are evoked with ease1 and yet somehow they do not seem to bear the stamp which experience has set upon the real4 ,that there are such natures it is1 of course1 absurd to deny1 but to affirm that they are persistent types is scarcely in accordance with facts4 ,there are1 for instance1 many young people who enter life with a prodigality of supposition which is certainly lavish2 they see that others are smiling1 and that life1 even to its outskirts1 presents an appearance of pleasing serenity4 ,the supposition which they foster1 that a percentage of happiness will be allotted to them1 is then not unreasonable2 on the contrary1 it is very natural2 but as far as the expectation goes1 we are1 most of us1 very well aware that it holds its own but for a short space of time4 ,this fact1 while self-evident1 is not always satisfactorily explained2 indeed1 the reason why so many become disappointed with life is1 perhaps1 explainable only on psychological grounds4 ,by all means the most important rle throughout the entire length and breadth of humanity is that which is played by thought4 ,its influence is as noticeable in a bakeshop as in the overthrow of an empire2 yet1 in spite of the results which are constantly springing from it1 it was ,rousseau's opinion that l'homme qui pense est un animal dprav4 ,balzac caught at this theme1 and wrung from it its most severe deductions4 ,to him it was a dissolvent of greater or less activity1 according to the nature of the individual in whom it worked4 ,others have considered it to be the corrosive acid of existence1 and the mainspring of every misfortune2 all this it may or may not be1 but that at least it is the prime factor of disenchantment is evidenced by such an every-day instance as that man1 as a rule1 and with but few exceptions1 pictures in advance the pleasures and sensations which the future seems to hold1 and yet when the pictured future becomes the actual present the disproportion between fact and fancy is so great that it results1 in nine cases out of ten1 in a complete insolvency4 ,after one or more bankruptcies of this description the individual very generally finds that he has had enough1 so to speak1 and lets hope ever after alone1 whereupon disillusionment steps in and takes its place4 ,it is thought1 then1 that does the mischief2 or to be more exact1 it is the inability to maintain an equilibrium between the real and the ideal2 that is1 in the majority of cases1 the cause of disenchantment4 ,to this it may be also added that it is because every one is so well organized for misfortune that such a small amount of open revolt is encountered4 ,when it does appear1 it is1 as a rule1 presented by such thinkers as have been mentioned in the course of these pages1 who1 through their assertion of the undeniable awake the dislike and animosity of those who have not yet had their fill of proceedings in bankruptcy1 and still hope to find life a pleasant thing well worth the living4 ,it may be said in conclusion1 and without any attempt at the discursive1 that the moral atmosphere of the present century is charged with three distinct disturbances1--the waning of religious belief1 the insatiable demand for intense sensations1 and the increasing number of those who live uncompanied1 and walk abroad in solitude4 ,that each of these three effects is due to one and the self-same cause is well-nigh unquestionable4 ,the immense nausea that is spreading through all lands and literature is at work on the simple faith1 the contented lives1 and joyous good-fellowship of earlier days1 and in its results it brings with it the signs and portents of a forthcoming though undetermined upheaval4 ,jean ,paul said that we care for life1 not because it is beautiful1 but because we should care for it2 whence follows the oft repeated yet hollow reasoning1--since we love life it must be beautiful2 and it is from a series of deductions not dissimilar that the majority of those who are as yet unaffected by that which after all may be but a passing change still cling resolutely to the possibility of earthly happiness4 ,out of a hundred intelligent ,anglo-,saxons there are seldom two who think precisely alike on any given subject1 be that subject what it may1--art1 politics1 literature1 or religion4 ,indeed1 there is but one faith common to all1 and that is custom4 ,it is not1 however1 customary to discuss a subject such as that which is treated in these pages2 and it is1 as a rule1 considered just as bad form to question the value of life as it is to touch upon matters of an indelicate or repulsive nature4 ,it is1 perhaps1 for this latter reason1 as also in view of the great difference of expressed opinion on all topics1 that in ,england1 and especially in ,america1 so little is said on this subject1 which for many years past has been of interest to the rest of the thinking world1 and which each year is gaining in strength and significance4 ,what its final solution will be is1 of course1 uncertain4 ,schopenhauer recommended absolute chastity as the means to the great goal1 and ,hartmann has vaguely suggested a universal denial of the will to live2 more recently1 ,m4 ,renan has hazarded the supposition that in the advance of science some one might discover a force capable of blowing the planet to atoms1 and which1 if successfully handled1 would1 of course1 annihilate pain4 ,but these ideas1 however practicable or impracticable they may be in the future1 are for the moment merely theories2 the world is not yet ripe for a supreme quietus1 and in the mean time the worth of life may still be questioned4 ,the question1 then1 as to whether life is valuable1 valueless1 or an affliction can1 with regard to the individual1 be answered only after a consideration of the different circumstances attendant on each particular case2 but1 broadly speaking1 and disregarding its necessary exceptions1 life may be said to be always valuable to the obtuse1 often valueless to the sensitive2 while to him who commiserates with all mankind1 and sympathizes with everything that is1 life never appears otherwise than as an immense and terrible affliction4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #aj3 ,zur ,philosophie der ,geschichte1 u4 s4 w4 ,carl ,duncker1 ,berlin2 also ,das ,tragische als ,weltgesetz1 u4 s4 w4 ,lauenburg4 ,footnote #aa3 ,an admirable translation 7the work of ,professor ,charles ,carroll1 of ,new ,york7 of this romance appeared a few years ago in ,harper's ,monthly4 ,standard and ,popular ,library ,books ,,selected ,,from ,,the ,,catalogue ,,of ,,houghton1 ,,mifflin ,,and ,,company4 ,a ,club of ,one4 ,an ,anonymous ,volume1 #afmo1 #a4be4 ,brooks ,adams4 ,the ,emancipation of ,massachusetts1 crown #hvo1 #a4ej4 ,john ,adams and ,abigail ,adams4 ,familiar ,letters of1 during the ,revolution1 #abmo1 #b4jj4 ,oscar ,fay ,adams4 ,handbook of ,english ,authors1 #afmo1 #ge cents2 ,handbook of ,american ,authors1 #afmo1 #ge cents4 ,louis ,agassiz4 ,methods of ,study in ,natural ,history1 ,illustrated1 #abmo1 #a4ej2 ,geological ,sketches1 ,series ,i4 and ,,ii41 #abmo1 each1 #a4ej2 ,a ,journey in ,brazil1 ,illustrated1 #abmo1 #b4ej2 ,life and ,letters1 edited by his wife1 #b vols4 #abmo1 #d4jj2 ,life and ,works1 #f vols4 #aj4jj4 ,alexander ,agassiz4 ,three ,cruises of the ,blake4 #b vols1 #hvo4 ,anne ,a4 ,agge and ,mary ,m4 ,brooks4 ,marblehead ,sketches4 #dto1 #c4jj4 ,elizabeth ,akers4 ,the ,silver ,bridge and other ,poems1 #afmo1 #a4be4 ,thomas ,bailey ,aldrich4 ,story of a ,bad ,boy1 ,illustrated1 #abmo1 #a4ej2 ,marjorie ,daw and ,other ,people1 #abmo1 #a4ej2 ,prudence ,palfrey1 #abmo1 #a4ej2 ,the ,queen of ,sheba1 #abmo1 #a4ej2 ,the ,stillwater ,tragedy1 #abmo1 #a4ej2 ,poems1 ,household ,edition1 ,illustrated1 #abmo1 #a4ge2 full gilt1 #b4be2 ,the above six vols4 #abmo1 uniform1 #i4jj2 ,from ,ponkapog to ,pesth1 #afmo1 #a4be2 ,poems1 ,complete1 ,illustrated1 #hvo1 #c4ej2 ,mercedes1 and ,later ,lyrics1 cr4 #hvo1 #a4be4 ,rev4 ,a4 ,v4 ,g4 ,allen4 ,continuity of ,christian ,thought1 #abmo1 #b4jj ,american ,commonwealths4 ,per volume1 #afmo1 #a4be4 ,virginia4 ,by ,john ,esten ,cooke4 ,oregon4 ,by ,william ,barrows4 ,maryland4 ,by ,wm4 ,hand ,browne4 ,kentucky4 ,by ,n4 ,s4 ,shaler4 ,michigan4 ,by ,hon4 ,t4 ,m4 ,cooley4 ,kansas4 ,by ,leverett ,w4 ,spring4 ,california4 ,by ,josiah ,royce4 ,new ,york4 ,by ,ellis ,h4 ,roberts4 #b vols4 ,connecticut4 ,by ,alexander ,johnston4 7,in ,preparation47 ,tennessee4 ,by ,james ,phelan4 ,pennsylvania4 ,by ,hon4 ,wayne ,mac,veagh4 ,missouri4 ,by ,lucien ,carr4 ,ohio4 ,by ,rufus ,king4 ,new ,jersey4 ,by ,austin ,scott4 ,american ,men of ,letters4 ,per vol41 with ,portrait1 #afmo1 #a4be4 ,washington ,irving4 ,by ,charles ,dudley ,warner4 ,noah ,webster4 ,by ,horace ,e4 ,scudder4 ,henry ,d4 ,thoreau4 ,by ,frank ,b4 ,sanborn4 ,george ,ripley4 ,by ,o4 ,b4 ,frothingham4 ,j4 ,fenimore ,cooper4 ,by ,prof4 ,t4 ,r4 ,lounsbury4 ,margaret ,fuller ,ossoli4 ,by ,t4 ,w4 ,higginson4 ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson4 ,by ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes4 ,edgar ,allan ,poe4 ,by ,george ,e4 ,woodberry4 ,nathaniel ,parker ,willis4 ,by ,h4 ,a4 ,beers4 ,benjamin ,franklin4 ,by ,john ,bach ,mc,master4 7,in ,preparation47 ,nathaniel ,hawthorne4 ,by ,james ,russell ,lowell4 ,william ,cullen ,bryant4 ,by ,john ,bigelow4 ,bayard ,taylor4 ,by ,j4 ,r4 ,g4 ,hassard4 ,william ,gilmore ,simms4 ,by ,george ,w4 ,cable4 ,american ,statesmen4 ,per vol41 #afmo1 #a4be4 ,john ,quincy ,adams4 ,by ,john ,t4 ,morse1 ,jr4 ,alexander ,hamilton4 ,by ,henry ,cabot ,lodge4 ,john ,c4 ,calhoun4 ,by ,dr4 ,h4 von ,holst4 ,andrew ,jackson4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,sumner4 ,john ,randolph4 ,by ,henry ,adams4 ,james ,monroe4 ,by ,pres4 ,d4 ,c4 ,gilman4 ,thomas ,jefferson4 ,by ,john ,t4 ,morse1 ,jr4 ,daniel ,webster4 ,by ,henry ,cabot ,lodge4 ,albert ,gallatin4 ,by ,john ,austin ,stevens4 ,james ,madison4 ,by ,sydney ,howard ,gay4 ,john ,adams4 ,by ,john ,t4 ,morse1 ,jr4 ,john ,marshall4 ,by ,allan ,b4 ,magruder4 ,samuel ,adams4 ,by ,j4 ,k4 ,hosmer4 ,thomas ,h4 ,benton4 ,by ,theodore ,roosevelt4 ,henry ,clay4 ,by ,hon4 ,carl ,schurz4 #b vols4 ,patrick ,henry4 ,by ,moses ,coit ,tyler4 7,in ,preparation47 ,martin ,van ,buren4 ,by ,edward ,m4 ,shepard4 ,george ,washington4 ,by ,henry ,cabot ,lodge4 #b vols4 ,martha ,babcock ,amory4 ,life of ,copley1 #hvo1 #c4jj4 ,hans ,christian ,andersen4 ,complete ,works1 #aj vols4 #abmo1 each #a4jj4 ,new ,edition1 #aj vols4 #abmo1 #aj4jj4 ,francis1 ,lord ,bacon4 ,works1 #ae vols4 cr4 #hvo1 #cc4ge2 ,popular ,edition1 with ,portraits1 #b vols4 cr4 #hvo1 #e4jj2 ,promus of ,formularies and ,elegancies1 #hvo1 #e4jj2 ,life and ,times of ,bacon1 #b vols4 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etc41 #ae vols4 #afmo1 #bb4jj2 ,works1 #h vols4 cr4 #hvo1 #ac4jj2 ,ferishtah's ,fancies1 cr4 #hvo1 #a4jj2 ,jocoseria1 #afmo1 #a4jj2 cr4 #hvo1 #a4jj2 ,parleyings with ,certain ,people of ,importance in their ,day1 #afmo or cr4 #hvo1 #a4be4 ,works1 ,new ,edition1 #f vols4 cr4 #hvo1 #aj4jj2 ,lyrics1 ,idyls1 and ,romances1 #afmo1 #a4jj4 ,william ,cullen ,bryant4 ,translation of ,homer1 ,the ,iliad1 cr4 #hvo1 #b4ej2 #b vols4 royal #hvo1 #i4jj2 cr4 #hvo1 #d4jj4 ,the ,odyssey1 cr4 #hvo1 #b4ej2 #b vols4 royal #hvo1 #i4jj2 cr4 #hvo1 #d4jj4 ,sara ,c4 ,bull4 ,life of ,ole ,bull4 ,popular ,edition4 #abmo1 #a4ej4 ,john ,burroughs4 ,works1 #g vols4 #afmo1 each #a4ej4 ,thomas ,carlyle4 ,essays1 with ,portrait and ,index1 #d vols4 #abmo1 #g4ej2 ,popular ,edition1 #b vols4 #abmo1 #c4ej4 ,alice and ,phoebe ,cary4 ,poems1 ,household ,edition1 ,illustrated1 #abmo1 #a4ge2 cr4 #hvo1 full gilt1 #b4be2 ,library ,edition1 including ,memorial by ,mary ,clemmer1 ,portraits and #bd ,illustrations1 #hvo1 #c4ej2 ,early and ,late ,poems1 #abmo1 #a4ej4 ,wm4 ,ellery ,channing4 ,selections from ,his ,note-,books1 #a4jj4 ,francis ,j4 ,child 7,editor74 ,english and ,scottish ,popular ,ballads4 ,eight ,parts4 7,parts ,i4-,,iv4 now ready74 #dto1 each #e4jj4 ,poems of ,religious ,sorrow1 ,comfort1 ,counsel1 and ,aspiration4 #afmo1 #a4be4 ,lydia ,maria ,child4 ,looking ,toward ,sunset1 #abmo1 #b4ej2 ,letters1 with ,biography by ,whittier1 #afmo1 #a4ej4 ,james ,freeman ,clarke4 ,ten ,great ,religions1 ,parts ,i4 and ,,ii41 #abmo1 each #b4jj2 ,common ,sense in ,religion1 #abmo1 #b4jj2 ,memorial and ,biographical ,sketches1 #abmo1 #b4jj4 ,john ,esten ,cooke4 ,my ,lady ,pokahontas1 #afmo1 #a4be4 ,james ,fenimore ,cooper4 ,works1 new ,household ,edition1 ,illustrated1 #cb vols4 #afmo1 each #a4jj2 the set1 #cb4jj2 ,fireside ,edition1 ,illustrated1 #af vols4 #abmo1 #bj4jj4 ,susan ,fenimore ,cooper4 ,rural ,hours4 #afmo1 #a4be4 ,charles ,egbert ,craddock4 ,in the ,tennessee ,mountains1 #afmo1 #a4be2 ,down the ,ravine1 ,illustrated1 #a4jj2 ,the ,prophet of the ,great ,smoky ,mountains1 #afmo1 #a4be2 ,in the ,clouds1 #afmo1 #a4be2 ,the ,story of ,keedon ,bluffs1 #afmo1 #a4jj4 ,c4 ,p4 ,cranch4 ,ariel and ,caliban4 #afmo1 #a4be2 ,the neid of ,virgil4 ,translated by ,cranch4 #hvo1 #b4ej4 ,t4 ,f4 ,crane4 ,italian ,popular ,tales1 #hvo1 #b4ej4 ,f4 ,marion ,crawford4 ,to ,leeward1 #afmo1 #a4be2 ,a ,roman ,singer1 #afmo1 #a4be2 ,an ,american ,politician1 #afmo1 #a4be2 ,paul ,patoff1 #abmo1 #a4ej4 ,m4 ,creighton4 ,the ,papacy during the ,reformation1 #d vols4 #hvo1 #ag4ej4 ,richard ,h4 ,dana4 ,to ,cuba and ,back1 #afmo1 #a4be2 ,two ,years ,before the ,mast1 #abmo1 #a4jj4 ,g4 ,w4 and ,emma ,de ,long4 ,voyage of the ,jeannette4 #b vols4 #hvo1 #g4ej2 ,new ,one-,volume ,edition1 #hvo1 #d4ej4 ,thomas ,de ,quincey4 ,works1 #ab vols4 #abmo1 each #a4ej2 the set1 #ah4jj4 ,madame ,de ,stael4 ,germany1 #abmo1 #b4ej4 ,charles ,dickens4 ,works1 ,illustrated ,library ,edition1 with ,dickens ,dictionary1 #cj vols4 #abmo1 each #a4ej2 the set1 #de4jj4 ,j4 ,lewis ,diman4 ,the ,theistic ,argument1 etc41 cr4 #hvo1 #b4jj2 ,orations and ,essays1 cr4 #hvo1 #b4ej4 ,theodore ,a4 ,dodge4 ,patroclus and ,penelope1 ,illustrated1 #hvo1 #c4jj4 ,the ,same4 ,outline ,illustrations4 ,cr4 #hvo1 #a4be4 ,e4 ,p4 ,dole4 ,talks about ,law4 ,cr4 #hvo1 #b4jj2 sheep1 #b4ej4 ,eight ,studies of the ,lord's ,day4 #abmo1 #a4ej4 ,george ,eliot4 ,the ,spanish ,gypsy1 a ,poem1 #afmo1 #a4jj4 ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson4 ,works1 ,riverside ,edition1 #aa vols4 each #a4ge2 the set1 #ai4be2 ,little ,classic ,edition1 #aa vols4 #ahmo1 each1 #a4ej2 ,parnassus1 ,household ,edition1 #abmo1 #a4ge2 ,library ,edition1 #hvo1 #d4jj2 ,poems1 ,household ,edition1 ,portrait1 #abmo1 #a4ge2 ,memoir1 by ,j4 ,elliot ,cabot1 #b vols4 #c4ej4 ,english ,dramatists4 ,vols4 #a-c1 ,marlowe's ,works2 ,vols4 #d-aa1 ,middleton's ,works2 ,vols4 #ab-ad1 ,marston's ,works2 each vol4 #c4jj2 ,large-,paper ,edition1 each vol4 #d4jj4 ,edgar ,fawcett4 ,a ,hopeless ,case1 #ahmo1 #a4be2 ,a ,gentleman of ,leisure1 #ahmo1 #a4jj2 ,an ,ambitious ,woman1 #abmo1 #a4ej4 ,fnelon4 ,adventures of ,telemachus1 #abmo1 #b4be4 ,james ,t4 ,fields4 ,yesterdays with ,authors1 #abmo1 #b4jj2 #hvo1 ,illustrated1 #c4jj2 ,underbrush1 #ahmo1 #a4be2 ,ballads and other ,verses1 #afmo1 #a4jj2 ,the ,family ,library of ,british ,poetry1 royal #hvo1 #e4jj2 ,memoirs and ,correspondence1 cr4 #hvo1 #b4jj4 ,john ,fiske4 ,myths and ,mythmakers1 #abmo1 #b4jj2 ,outlines of ,cosmic ,philosophy1 #b vols4 #hvo1 #f4jj2 ,the ,unseen ,world1 and other ,essays1 #abmo1 #b4jj2 ,excursions of an ,evolutionist1 #abmo1 #b4jj2 ,the ,destiny of ,man1 #afmo1 #a4jj2 ,the ,idea of ,god1 #afmo1 #a4jj2 ,darwinism1 and ,other ,essays1 ,new ,edition1 enlarged1 #abmo1 #b4jj4 ,edward ,fitzgerald4 ,works4 #b vols4 #hvo1 #aj4jj4 ,o4 ,b4 ,frothingham4 ,life of ,w4 ,h4 ,channing4 ,cr4 #hvo1 8 ,william ,h4 ,furness4 ,verses1 #afmo1 vellum1 #a4be4 ,gentleman's ,magazine ,library4 #ad vols4 #hvo1 each #b4ej2 ,roxburgh1 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each #a4ej2 ,mother ,goose for ,grown ,folks1 #abmo1 #a4ej2 ,pansies1 #afmo1 #a4be2 ,daffodils1 #afmo1 #a4be2 ,just ,how1 #afmo1 #a4jj2 ,bonnyborough1 #abmo1 #a4ej2 ,holy ,tides1 #afmo1 #ge cents2 ,homespun ,yarns1 #abmo1 #a4ej2 ,bird-,talk1 sq4 #abmo1 #a4jj4 ,john ,greenleaf ,whittier4 ,poems1 ,household ,edition1 ,illustrated1 #abmo1 #a4ge2 full gilt1 cr4 #hvo1 #b4be2 ,cambridge ,edition1 ,portrait1 #c vols4 #abmo1 #e4be2 ,red-,line ,edition1 ,portrait1 ,illustrated1 small #dto1 #b4ej2 ,cabinet ,edition1 #a4jj2 ,library ,edition1 ,portrait1 #cb ,illustrations1 #hvo1 #c4ej2 ,prose ,works1 ,cambridge ,edition1 #b vols4 #abmo1 #c4ej2 ,the ,bay of ,seven ,islands1 ,portrait1 #afmo1 #a4jj2 ,john ,woolman's ,journal1 ,introduction by ,whittier1 #a4ej2 ,child ,life in ,poetry1 selected by ,whittier1 ,illustrated1 #abmo1 #b4jj2 ,child ,life in ,prose1 #abmo1 #b4jj2 ,songs of ,three ,centuries1 selected by ,whittier3 ,household ,edition1 ,illustrated1 #abmo1 #a4ge2 full gilt1 cr4 #hvo1 #b4be2 ,library ,edition1 #cb ,illustrations1 #hvo1 #c4ej2 ,text and ,verse1 #ahmo1 #ge cents2 ,poems of ,nature1 #dto1 ,illustrated1 #f4jj2 ,st4 ,gregory's ,guest1 etc41 #afmo1 vellum1 #a4jj4 ,woodrow ,wilson4 ,congressional ,government1 #afmo1 #a4be ,j4 ,a4 ,wilstach4 ,translation of ,virgil's ,works1 #b vols4 cr4 #hvo1 #e4jj4 ,justin ,winsor4 ,reader's ,handbook of ,american ,revolution1 #afmo1 #a4be4 ,w4 ,b4 ,wright4 ,ancient ,cities from the ,dawn to the ,daylight1 #afmo1 #a4be2 ,the ,world to ,come1 #afmo1 #a4be4 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,notes ,pages #ej-ea3 ,changed othwise to otherwise4 7although the common herd think oth-end of page wise17 ,page #fe3 ,retained ,vossiche1 but possibly a typo for ,vossische4 7,lindner1 the editor of the ,vossiche ,zeitung17 ,page #afd3 ,changed fastastic to fantastic4 7to the average ,german must seem fastastic17 ,page #agf3 ,changed negaitve to negative4 7the purely negaitve character of pleasure47 ,page #bca3 ,retained uncompanied1 but possibly a typo for unaccompanied4 7increasing number of those who live uncompanied17 ,ad ,page #e3 ,added 8 to missing price4 7,o4 ,b4 ,frothingham4 ,life of ,w4 ,h4 ,channing4 ,cr4 #hvo1 7