Life presents itself first and foremost as a task: the task of maintaining itself, the task of earning one’s living. If this task is accomplished, what has been gained is a burden, and there then appears a second task: that of doing something with it so as to ward off boredom, which hovers over every secure life like a bird of prey. Thus the first task is to gain something and the second to become unconscious of what has been gained, which is otherwise a burden.
Arthur Schopenhauer
Tasks, Existence, Boredom, Labor, Human Experience
Arthur Schopenhauer’s Quotes On Topics
Inspiration | Intellectual Nourishment | Slavery | Narrative | Audience | Repetition | Translation | Freedom | Compassion | Identity | Existential Inquiry | Distance | Ethical Principles | Intellectual Exercise | Science | Determinism | Entrapment | External Factors | Emotional Growth | Emotions | More
More Arthur Schopenhauer Quotes
“Every time a man is begotten and born, the clock of human life is wound up anew to repeat once more its same old tune that has already been played innumerable times, movement by movement and measure by measure, with insignificant variations.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Life, Repetition, Cycles, Existence, Human Experience
Arthur Schopenhauer Life, Repetition, Cycles, Existence, Human Experience“It is only a man's own fundamental thoughts that have truth and life in them. For it is these that he really and completely understands. To read the thoughts of others is like taking the remains of someone else's meal, like putting on the discarded clothes of a stranger.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Thoughts, Truth, Understanding, Individuality, Personal Perspective
Arthur Schopenhauer Thoughts, Truth, Understanding, Individuality, Personal Perspective“The first forty years of life give the text; the next thirty supply the commentary on it.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Life Stages, Experience, Reflection, Growth, Understanding
Arthur Schopenhauer Life Stages, Experience, Reflection, Growth, Understanding“The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Happiness, Pain, Boredom, Emotional States, Human Experience
Arthur Schopenhauer Happiness, Pain, Boredom, Emotional States, Human Experience“Das Leben schwingt, gleich einem Pendel, hin und her, zwischen dem Schmerz und der Langeweile.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Life, Pendulum, Pain, Boredom, Emotional Swings
Arthur Schopenhauer Life, Pendulum, Pain, Boredom, Emotional Swings“Thus also, every keen pleasure is an error and an illusion, for no attained wish can give lasting satisfaction.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Pleasure, Illusion, Desire, Satisfaction, Human Condition
Arthur Schopenhauer Pleasure, Illusion, Desire, Satisfaction, Human Condition“Any book, which is at all important, should be reread immediately.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Reading, Importance, Comprehension, Knowledge, Reflection
Arthur Schopenhauer Reading, Importance, Comprehension, Knowledge, Reflection“In our monogamous part of the world, to marry means to halve one’s rights and double one’s duties.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Marriage, Monogamy, Rights, Responsibilities, Social Commentary
Arthur Schopenhauer Marriage, Monogamy, Rights, Responsibilities, Social Commentary“Honor has not to be won; it must only not be lost.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Honor, Integrity, Values, Self-respect, Moral Standing
Arthur Schopenhauer Honor, Integrity, Values, Self-respect, Moral Standing“A man’s face as a rule says more, and more interesting things, than his mouth, for it is a compendium of everything his mouth will ever say, in that it is the monogram of all this man’s thoughts and aspirations.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Expression, Face, Communication, Thoughts, Non-verbal Cues
Arthur Schopenhauer Expression, Face, Communication, Thoughts, Non-verbal Cues“We can regard our life as a uselessly disturbing episode in the blissful repose of nothingness.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Existence, Meaning, Nihilism, Philosophical Thought, Reflection
Arthur Schopenhauer Existence, Meaning, Nihilism, Philosophical Thought, Reflection“The problem with Germans is that they look in the clouds for what lies at their feet.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Critique, Cultural Observation, Perspective, Human Nature, Societal Values
Arthur Schopenhauer Critique, Cultural Observation, Perspective, Human Nature, Societal Values“Genuine contempt, on the other hand, is the unsullied conviction of the worthlessness of another.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Contempt, Judgment, Morality, Human Nature, Social Dynamics
Arthur Schopenhauer Contempt, Judgment, Morality, Human Nature, Social Dynamics“Again, you may look upon life as an unprofitable episode, disturbing the blessed calm of non-existence. And, in any case, even though things have gone with you tolerably well, the longer you live the more clearly you will feel that, on the whole, life is a disappointment, nay, a cheat.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Life, Disappointment, Existential Reflection, Non-existence, Human Experience
Arthur Schopenhauer Life, Disappointment, Existential Reflection, Non-existence, Human Experience“If a relationship is perfectly natural there will be a complete fusion of the happiness of both of you- owing to fellow-feeling and various other laws which govern our natures, this is, quite simply, the greatest happiness that can exist.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Relationships, Happiness, Connection, Fellow-feeling, Natural Harmony
Arthur Schopenhauer Relationships, Happiness, Connection, Fellow-feeling, Natural Harmony“Something of great importance now past is inferior to something of little importance now present, in that the latter is a reality, and related to the former as something to nothing.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Importance, Reality, Perception, Past Vs Present, Value
Arthur Schopenhauer Importance, Reality, Perception, Past Vs Present, Value“Life is only the mirror into which a man gazes not in order that he may get a reflection of himself, but that he may come to understand himself by that reflection; that he may see what it is that the mirror shows.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Self-reflection, Understanding, Life, Perspective, Mirror Metaphor
Arthur Schopenhauer Self-reflection, Understanding, Life, Perspective, Mirror Metaphor“There is no doubt that life is given us, not to be enjoyed, but to be overcome; to be got over.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Life, Struggle, Existence, Overcoming, Philosophical Perspective
Arthur Schopenhauer Life, Struggle, Existence, Overcoming, Philosophical Perspective