Sublime
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“One can never read too little of bad, or too much of good books: bad books are intellectual poison; they destroy the mind.”
– Arthur Schopenhauer
Hence, the first rule-nay, this in itself is almost sufficient for a good style-is this, that the author should have something to say. Ah! this implies a great deal.
Arthur Schopenhauer • Works of Arthur Schopenhauer
there is nothing an author should guard against more than the apparent endeavour to show more intellect than he has;
Arthur Schopenhauer • Works of Arthur Schopenhauer
Reading is nothing more than a substitute for thought of one’s own. It means putting the mind into leading-strings. The multitude of books serves only to show how many false paths there are, and how widely astray a man may wander if he follows any of them. But he who is guided by his genius, he who thinks for himself, who thinks spontaneously and
... See moreArthur Schopenhauer • On Thinking for Oneself
But the more of personal worth a man has, the less pleasure he will take in these conventional arrangements; and he will try to withdraw from the sphere in which they apply. The reason why these arrangements exist at all, is simply that in this world of ours misery and need are the chief features: therefore it is everywhere the essential and
... See moreArthur Schopenhauer • The Collected Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer (Unexpurgated Edition) (Halcyon Classics)
"The art of not reading is a very important one. It consists in not taking an interest in whatever may be engaging the attention of the general public at any particular time. When some political or ecclesiastical pamphlet, or novel, or poem is making a... See more
Style is the physiognomy of the mind. It is a more reliable key to character than the physiognomy of the body. To imitate another person's style is like wearing a mask. However fine the mask, it soon becomes insipid and intolerable because it is without life; so that even the ugliest living face is better.
Arthur Schopenhauer • Works of Arthur Schopenhauer
That human life must be a kind of mistake is sufficiently clear from the fact that man is a compound of needs, which are difficult to satisfy; moreover, if they are satisfied, all he is granted is a state of painlessness, in which he can only give himself up to boredom. This is a precise proof that existence in itself has no value, since boredom is
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