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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A natural relationship leads to shared happiness for both partners.
Arthur Schopenhauer suggests that in a perfectly natural relationship, the happiness of each partner is intertwined and dependent on one another. This connection, facilitated by empathy and the intrinsic laws of human nature, creates the highest form of happiness that one can achieve in life, emphasizing the importance of mutual understanding in relationships.
Themes
RelationshipHappinessNatureFusionEmpathy
In practice
Example use cases
Sharing this quote at a wedding to emphasize the power of love.
More from Arthur Schopenhauer
All quotes →To 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.
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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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