We can come to look upon the deaths of our enemies with as much regret as we feel for those of our friends, namely, when we miss their existence as witnesses to our success.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
The first forty years of life give us the text; the next thirty supply the commentary on it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is divided into two phases: the experiences and the reflections on those experiences.
Arthur Schopenhauer suggests that the first part of our lives is focused on gathering experiences and understanding the world, while the latter part allows us to reflect on those experiences, offering insights and deeper understanding. This highlights the importance of both living life fully and taking the time to reflect upon it, acknowledging that wisdom often comes from contemplation of our past.
Themes
LifeExperiencesReflectionWisdomGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
During a graduation speech to reflect on the journey of life and learning.
More from Arthur Schopenhauer
All quotes βTo be shocked at how deeply rejection hurts is to ignore what acceptance involves. We must never allow our suffering to be compounded by suggestions that there is something odd in suffering so deeply. There would be something amiss if we didn't.
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Almost all of our sorrows spring out of our relations with other people.
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Life is full of troubles and vexations, that one must either rise above it by means of corrected thoughts, or leave it.
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Our religions will never at any time take root; the ancient wisdom of the human race will not be supplanted by the events in Galilee. On the contrary, Indian wisdom flows back to Europe, and will produce a fundamental change in our knowledge and thought.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
We will gradually become indifferent to what goes on in the minds of other people when we acquire a knowledge of the superficial nature of their thoughts, the narrowness of their views and of the number of their errors. Whoever attaches a lot of value to the opinions of others pays them too much honor.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
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